 Lauren Pritchard |
How to deal with rude customers I need some advice on how to deal with rude customers. Right now, I am ready to tell her off. But I know that is not professional. How should deal with this problem?
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Some minor things can depend on what they're being rude about. Can't agree on price, or just being condescending? Whatever, you mainly have to lay down your stance on not being treated right, and/or make it your final conclusion that you're just going to come to terms. Then you set that raft adrift and let it float away.
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Lauren Pritchard |
First, she was rude about how long it was taking for her to get her pictures. (A wedding). It usually takes me 6 weeks to complete. It wasn't even 4 weeks when she started calling and emailing wanting her pictures. When she finally got her pictures, she was rude about what the pictures look like. She only paid me $450. We were only to be there for the ceremony and a few posed pictures afterwards. I usually charge $900. I knew I only had a limited amount of time to work with so I gave them a lower price. The limited time was like 30 minutes. How could I possibly take a bunch of different angels in 30 minutes when she had all kinds of pictures she wanted to do in 30 minutes. Either way, there is no reason to be rude.
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Pat Harry |
Just remember that an unhappy customer spreads the word far, far more than a happy customer. I own and operate my own business (not photography related), and I've learned that no matter what, I have to be sickly sweet. That doesn't mean you have to give in to her demands. Just make sure you keep your composure and very, very polite voice. Try asking her what you could do to make things right with her. Believe me - I know how hard this is when you really want to say a few other things!!!
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Mark Feldstein |
You said: "How could I possibly take a bunch of different angels in 30 minutes when she had all kinds of pictures she wanted to do in 30 minutes". The answer is you can't. Which begs the question why you even agreed to do this assignment in the first place. A half an hour to photograph a wedding, no matter how small, is basically a drive-by shooting. What does your written contract say about delivery, availability, time for shooting, etc. Quite honestly, and I'm sure some will disagree, but I wouldn't have even accepted this deal unless I could give it my full attention and spend sufficient time shooting. Even if they came to you at the last minute in desparation, you should have declined if you couldn't spend the time. IMHO, charging 450 bucks for a half hour of shoot time and not delivering the shots the client wanted is pretty excessive. This was their wedding, not yours. You acknowledge that you shot less than what you normally do. So it seems to me that you could have spent correspondingly less time to deliver 30 minutes worth of work. Instead of say six or four weeks, maybe done it in two. I don't know how much fixing you have to do to your work, but I don't fix and I can deliver all the contact sheets or proofs from a two or three day assignment to an art director or any client in less than a week. Sometimes, even on the same day. It may sound a bit harsh, but if you're that busy you still should have turned them down. Learning how to say "no" in this business is just as important at times, as saying "yes". You also work for them, not the other way around. Aside from advice, it appears you're also looking for some degree of sympathy here. In my view, the way to really handle this is refund some of her money, even all of it, after you come to grips with the fact that you contributed to this situation in the first place and to me, it seems you really set the stage for these problems. In other words, it appears the client has sufficient reason to be disgruntled with what you provided versus what she paid for. I'm sure you're aware that if you don't somehow make this right, your reputation will soon likely precede you. Afterall, you're only as good as the last job you shot and how satisfied your client was with how you handled the entire gig from start to finish. Right?
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Lauren Pritchard |
I was booked to do their ceremony and the formal pictures afterwards. So I was not there for 30 minutes. I also had to drive an hour to and from the wedding. So that is why I charged $450. We took over 400 pictures still. So with the other jobs that I do it is impossible to fix over 400 pictures in 1 week. My contract did not state how long it would take. So she should not have assumed it would take 1 week to get them done. I didn't realize that I was only going to have 30 minutes to take posed pictures or I would not have agreed to do their wedding. They live in California and I live in West Virginia. They were getting married in Pittsburgh, Pa which is an hour from where I live. So there was no meeting them before hand to go over the amount of time I was going to have to take pictures. I gave them what I had to work with. I didn't post this to get sympathy, I posted for advice on how to handle the situation.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
First you said you knew you had a limited amount of time, then you're surprised by the 30 minutes. This is poor planning by both of you, so I agree that both of you created the situation. You went through signing a contract but sounds like you didn't even talk about how the wedding was going to go. Not even an estimate on how long to get the pictures. With these details in this particular situation you may not need to refund anything, but Pat's advice comes as close to anything I can think of. But you said she already has her pictures, so if you're looking for advice on avoid a repeat, then there's several things you did that you need to change. One is taking pictures that you don't need to fix. If you go through the steps of having contracts, you should also talk about the ceremony and anything else you get picture of. And that includes turn around time. Even people who don't bother with contracts would do those things. And as soon as somebody wants something, like a large number of posed pictures in a short amount of time, if you know that's not enough time to do it then say something at that moment. If you don't say there's not enough time for that many so narrow it down to ones that have a priority, you'll have problems later like you had with this one.
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Debby A. Tabb |
Lauren, I am sorry for what your going through, But I have to agree with what the guys are saying here. and when it comes to Weddings, I pass them up if I don't have the next 2 weeks to dedicate to Editing the event. I have editied as many as 4000 usable shots for a Wedding in 2 weeks.(Chained to my Desk!) So, I find 6 weeks a bit excessive, but regardless, You and those involved in the contract should have discussed this thoughly. I geuss I wish you better luck next time. All events ARE learning experiances, I don't think I have walked away from one without learning something about the job or humans,lol. wishing you the best, Debby
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Lauren Pritchard |
Maybe I should have been a little bit more clear here before everyone assumed what was going. I don't do photography as a hobby. This is my occupation. This is my only means of income. I do seniors, families, children and weddings. Sometimes I do up to 5 appointments a week. So I think it is excessive to say that I can do a wedding in 2 weeks when I have other customers. So all of my customers are entitled to my time as well. I can't afford to agree to do a wedding and then take 2 weeks off from my other customers to complete a wedding. I have asked other photographers in my area how long they take to complete a wedding and everyone of them said 6 weeks. Secondly, this bride had a wedding planner that I was dealing with. So there was no contact with the bride and groom. I had to go through the wedding planner to go over everything that they wanted. The planner told me they wanted ceremony shots and posed pictures afterwards. I have done several weddings that I have just done ceremony and posed pictures and still had plenty of time to do all the posed pictures without any problems. So I don't think this is my fault at all. They signed my contract without reading it and she admitted that. If she had any questions, she should have told her planner to tell me what she wanted. As a photographer, I don't think it is my job to make sure that the bride and groom are not stupid. Out of all the weddings I do this is the first one who has ever been rude. So I guess that means that out of the 50 weddings I have done having one bride that is rude makes me a bad photographer. That is something.
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Debby A. Tabb |
"I don't do photography as a hobby. This is my occupation. " No one has ment you any offence. Chiming in, you actually have several PROs here,including myself. Just giving you another opinion as this is OUR occupation as well. and I don't think rude people surprise most of us, better yet we try to prepare for them. And as we have conduted business and Learned, then passed the same comments as seen here to others, not just you. I don't believe anyone said you were a Bad Photographer, but maybe that if you were more clear in nagociation some problems may be avoided. and WOW, this should be one of those Lessons Learned:
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Well, since it's not evident whether this lady has her pictures and you're more concerned about future possibilities, or you're still dealing with her, I'll look at it from both angles. For future reference, people treat you as bad as you let them. At some point you stand your ground, you can be as polite as you have the strength to be. But you tell people being rude doesn't make things go any quicker, and actually makes things counter productive. After that, things change or the end. Do as much interaction as you can with the bride to find out what they want and how they have the ceremony set up. And even if a bride is too stupid to read a contract, still tell them how long it takes to get everything they want finished to a complete product package. That's the difference between ignorant and stupid. Ignorant, you tell people something they don't know, afterwards they know it. They're no longer ignorant to what you told them. Stupid, you tell them something they don't know. Point it out in written form. They still don't get it and do the opposite. Even if it's a wedding planner, at some point somebody needs to say or ask questions to get some idea about what can be done about pictures. Where, when, how many, how much time. All good contracts should allow for the possibility of agreements falling apart and a way out, or a way to conclude. So that segways into dealing with a present customer. At some point you have to stand your ground because of what I said, people treat as bad as you let them. If it's six weeks in the contract, then you have six weeks. If she still can't wait, and if she keeps being rude to the point where it's impossible to take, then your choice should be clear. Refund the money minus a non-refundable deposit if you had one. Remove yourself from a toxic situation and move on to. Since you say you have a full plate, it seems clear that you can by the contract and tell her to stop being rude. You can trade the rudeness for whatever money she owes. Or you can agree to end it.
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dennis w. mcclain |
ok I am a hobby photographer. sounds like me and you do much the same thing. I have people call me the next day after the shoot wanting to know how long. even though I tell them upfront. in fact I tell them alot of things up front. 1st I am a hobby phototgrapher, I have to do alot with little. this means it will take more time than a professional will.you are also taking a chance, since I am an " amature" they might not be as good as a professional would do. that said, I do this mainly for my love of photography and will give you the very best I can. ill even show them, in my consult, an example of the post-processing I do. this gives them an idea of how long it takes for each picture. I know you didnt have alot of time upfront with them, but dont lose your cool. try your best to make them as happy as you can and then wash your hands of it. if you have made other people happy your business wont suffer. as far as how long, before I shoot and the dayafter when they call and ask when they will be done, I tell mine 6weeks. then like scotty off of startrek I get it done in half the time. can anyone say miricle worker? my advice tho, do what you can to get clear of this. then in the future, be more asertive up front. they might complain but will be better satisfied after. I ussually get at least a $50 tip, because people just dont realize how much work we really do. good luck
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