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Here’s the problem, I received a repair dragon Jan. 18th, he was repaired by the 21st. I have made repeated attempts to communicate with his owner, no replies. She sent payment for the repair enclosed with the dragon, but did not include all of the shipping. For some reason she originally thought repair cost included, shipping…when I explained that it did not, she said, to let her know the difference when I shipped him back and she would send it.
Problem, I can’t ship him back without the shipping funds in hand. I don’t know this person, this is a business transaction, who ever heard of, oh just mail it and I’ll pay you for it when it gets here? It’s not a sound financial risk, once she has her dragon back, who says she has to reimburse me for shipping him? Nothing!
Should I make a policy regarding abandoned items? If so, what should that be? How long do I go with no contact, no payment, etc? I’ve repaired over 30 items over the last year, this is the first time I have ever had an issue getting an owner to take their item back.
Oh, and BTW, I actually have two dragons here by two different people who are still waiting for their Mommies…one sorta responded a couple days ago, but still has not paid, and the other just doesn’t write back.
I’m at a loss. What should I do?
Kyrin
Start giving deadlines for payment from now on for sure. I’m not someone who minds waiting if the person needs time to gather funds, but when they drop off the face of the planet, it’s frustrating.
As for the ones you have now, I would send them a message saying that if by such a date, you don’t hear from them, you’ll consider their claim on the piece forfeit (especially if they haven’t paid for the repair yet). Then you decide what to do with the pieces.
That’s what I would do.
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmdragonmedley wrote:Start giving deadlines for payment from now on for sure. I’m not someone who minds waiting if the person needs time to gather funds, but when they drop off the face of the planet, it’s frustrating.
As for the ones you have now, I would send them a message saying that if by such a date, you don’t hear from them, you’ll consider their claim on the piece forfeit (especially if they haven’t paid for the repair yet). Then you decide what to do with the pieces.
That’s what I would do.
I agree. That way if the deadline isn’t met and you were both perfectly clear on the terms it’s %100 fair. 😀 Although I know it still makes you feel bad to enforce a deadline, sometimes it’s just necessary.
dragonmedley wrote:Start giving deadlines for payment from now on for sure. I’m not someone who minds waiting if the person needs time to gather funds, but when they drop off the face of the planet, it’s frustrating.
As for the ones you have now, I would send them a message saying that if by such a date, you don’t hear from them, you’ll consider their claim on the piece forfeit (especially if they haven’t paid for the repair yet). Then you decide what to do with the pieces.
That’s what I would do.
Yeah, the dropping off the planet is the issue at hand here, I don’t mind waiting for payment, etc. But communication would be nice!
I guess if I made the deadline 60 days, that would be more than reasonable, and most people would get back to me by then, at least one would hope!
I would really just like to see the repair items go home, but I don’t want to be out my costs to do it.
Kyrin
That sounds frustrating. Well, how about charging a “babysitting fee”. Say $10 a week, or a month….
Maybe you should set up a policy that says before you fix an item they should pay for everything up front, including the shipping back. As soon as you get it done, send off pictures to the person. If they don’t respond within a week send it back to them.
Or, another thing you can do is include shipping with the quote for fixing. It would be difficult since you’d have to figure out how much it would be to ship without having the item, boxes and packing materials with you.
Romeodanny wrote:That sounds frustrating. Well, how about charging a “babysitting fee”. Say $10 a week, or a month….
Maybe you should set up a policy that says before you fix an item they should pay for everything up front, including the shipping back. As soon as you get it done, send off pictures to the person. If they don’t respond within a week send it back to them.
Or, another thing you can do is include shipping with the quote for fixing. It would be difficult since you’d have to figure out how much it would be to ship without having the item, boxes and packing materials with you.
Including shipping with the fixing quote is impossible, there are too many variables. Weights, box sizes, who they want to use to ship, insurance, it’s impossible. I’d either overcharge, or not charge enough. Which is why I usually get the item, repair it, then take the package to the shipping store for a quote, then email or PM the person with the totals.
My turnaround time is also usually only 2 to 3 days. If someone needs more time to get the money to pay, no problem, just email me to let me know and I’ll just wait. My issue is trying to figure out what to do when the client won’t respond to messages.
Kyrin
Kyrin wrote:My issue is trying to figure out what to do when the client won’t respond to messages.
Well if you still have their address from when they shipped the piece you could always try looking up their phone number online. Anywho.com is a great way to find phone numbers in the US. Of course if the phone number is unlisted that doesn’t help you much, but it’s a start.
pegasi1978 wrote:Kyrin wrote:My issue is trying to figure out what to do when the client won’t respond to messages.
Well if you still have their address from when they shipped the piece you could always try looking up their phone number online. Anywho.com is a great way to find phone numbers in the US. Of course if the phone number is unlisted that doesn’t help you much, but it’s a start.
That’s an idea. She just moved to a new town, etc…so I have no idea if it would work though, but it would be worth a shot.
I think a phone number shall be required from now on too…need to run over to the Flea Market thread and add that!
Kyrin
Here’s what I’d recommend you do, from now on- with friends, or people you don’t know, equally. I learned the hard way that you should always treat ‘friend’ customers the same way you do with any customer- that way there are no hidden expectations from either party that leads to problems.
Write up a TOS- Terms of Service. Like a generic contract. Include what you expect of the customer, and what the customer can expect of you. Make clear, before a dime or a dragon passes hands, exactly what your policies regarding things like abandoned pieces, late payments, etc are. Put it all in the open in clear terms so your customer knows what they are getting into before hand. Protect yourself!
Then, anytime you get a repair job, send the document to your prospective customer. Say, “I will do this for you if you agree to the following.” Most people will have no problem agreeing to reasonable guidelines.
Also, you may want to gather contact info any time you start a job from here on out. That way if you or the other person loses their internet you can still complete the transaction. Things happen in life that keep us away from the computer. 🙂
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My art: featherdust.comJennifer wrote:Here’s what I’d recommend you do, from now on- with friends, or people you don’t know, equally. I learned the hard way that you should always treat ‘friend’ customers the same way you do with any customer- that way there are no hidden expectations from either party that leads to problems.
Write up a TOS- Terms of Service. Like a generic contract. Include what you expect of the customer, and what the customer can expect of you. Make clear, before a dime or a dragon passes hands, exactly what your policies regarding things like abandoned pieces, late payments, etc are. Put it all in the open in clear terms so your customer knows what they are getting into before hand. Protect yourself!
Then, anytime you get a repair job, send the document to your prospective customer. Say, “I will do this for you if you agree to the following.” Most people will have no problem agreeing to reasonable guidelines.
Also, you may want to gather contact info any time you start a job from here on out. That way if you or the other person loses their internet you can still complete the transaction. Things happen in life that keep us away from the computer. 🙂
very good idea.
Jennifer wrote:Here’s what I’d recommend you do, from now on- with friends, or people you don’t know, equally. I learned the hard way that you should always treat ‘friend’ customers the same way you do with any customer- that way there are no hidden expectations from either party that leads to problems.
Write up a TOS- Terms of Service. Like a generic contract. Include what you expect of the customer, and what the customer can expect of you. Make clear, before a dime or a dragon passes hands, exactly what your policies regarding things like abandoned pieces, late payments, etc are. Put it all in the open in clear terms so your customer knows what they are getting into before hand. Protect yourself!
Then, anytime you get a repair job, send the document to your prospective customer. Say, “I will do this for you if you agree to the following.” Most people will have no problem agreeing to reasonable guidelines.
Also, you may want to gather contact info any time you start a job from here on out. That way if you or the other person loses their internet you can still complete the transaction. Things happen in life that keep us away from the computer. 🙂
Thanks Jenn! I came to that conclusion too…and updated my repair thread in the Flea Market, but I’ll need to rewrite it for official repair jobs.
But at least it gives folks a start and they can look that over before the email me or whatever, and they’ll know what to expect.
Kyrin
Send them a letter, certified mail return receipt requested along with a regular letter in the mail. Indicating the repair is complete but they need to contact you and send you $X.XX to pay for the return shipping before the piece will be returned. (I’d also charge ’em for the cert. letter since you’ve had to go to so much trouble.) Indicate that if they don’t respond in X amount of time you will assume they don’t want their piece back. Indicate in the letter that will keep/sell whatever the piece in an attempt to recoup you losses. The Cert. letter is important becuase they have to sign for it so you have proof they actually received it. Make a copy of the signed letter and the envelope you’re mailing it in for your records.
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