I get questions on email all the time; the blog has international reach, so I'm never sure where the person I'm talking to is. These emails are edited only to remove the persons name and location, and presented in the order that they were received: I offer this conversation with no further comment
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Subject: pig
From: Rachel xxxx <rachxxxx@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, May 17, 2015 4:13 pm
To: "bruceki@bigpig.net" <bruceki@bigpig.net>
How much can I expect to pay for a smaller half pig
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You can eat a pig at any size; a half-pig at regular slaughter size is about 100lbs, and from that you get about 75lbs of cuts, sausage, a ham and bacon.
Subject: Re: RE: pig
From: Rachel xxxx <rachxxxx@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, May 18, 2015 7:43 pm
To: "bruceki@bigpig.net" <bruceki@bigpig.net>
I am actually just interested ina 70 lb whole pig for rotisserie. how much could I expect to pay
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The price varies by region. We sell that size pig for $220 live at the farm gate. We charge $60 to kill, scald, scrape, gut and chill the pig so that it is bbq ready.
Are you local to the seattle area?
Bruce / 206 940 4980
The closest pig that I've got to that size is a 110lb pig, that will dress out at 85lbs. If you'd like us to hold that pig for you and have it ready on a particular date we'll need a deposit of $50, with the balance due on pickup. You're welcome to come and look at the pig and drop off a check, or mail me a check.
Bruce King
28611 139th avenue NE
Arlington WA 98223
206 940 4980
Subject: Re: RE: RE: RE: pig
From: Rachel xxxx <rachxxxx@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, May 18, 2015 7:54 pm
To: "bruceki@bigpig.net" <bruceki@bigpig.net>
so I would not need it until aug 8th and im assuming it will no longer be that size
I'm going to give up on this conversation. this is a little like pulling teeth.
From:"Rachel xxxx" < racheyxxxx@yahoo.com>
Date:Tue, May 19, 2015 at 5:18 AM
Subject:Re: RE: RE: RE: RE: pig
Wow you have to be the most unprofessional person I have ever met. I am so sorry that I have never done this before I just wanted to make sure I was giving you all the details you needed. I will make sure and put this conversation up on a review for others to decide which of us is in the wrong here. I am so glad I did not do buisness with you.
From:"Rachel xxxx" <racheyxxxx@yahoo.com>
Date:Tue, May 19, 2015 at 5:25 AM
Subject:Re: RE: RE: RE: RE: pig
| ..... also in the future if you don't want to do buisness with someone just say so, there is no reason to be nasty, you must be a very misserable personal to be so rude for no reason. I feel sorry for you |
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I gotta say... I think I'm on Rachael's side. If the e-mails were drawn out with their reply coming days or weeks later, that would be one thing. She clearly doesn't have any idea what she is asking for. I'd bet someone said, "Hey, you should get a pig for our luau." To which she replied, "We'd never eat a whole pig." Then person 1 said, "Just get half a pig then!" I'd suck it up, appologize and tell her you can contract grow a pig to an approximate target range for her with an appropriate deposit for Aug 8th.
ReplyDeleteBill, I'm actually mixed about this one. I agree that she didn't know what she was after, but she did have a date in mind. So if she'd said something like "hey, I'm looking to BBQ a pig on august 8th" I'd probably have asked her how many folks she was feeding and reccomended a pig about 2lbs weight per person served; that's enough for some leftovers; just buy an extra roll of aluminum foil and send everyone home with yummy pulled pork. We could have covered that in a couple of minutes. Trying to hit a moving target was what got me.
ReplyDeleteTo someone on the outside, it might look like you were rude to an innocent customer. From my perspective of working a boutique ranch producing cattle and pigs, I laughed my ass off at the exchange. I know EXACTLY the kind of person Rachel is: a time waster who will run you in endless circles, never getting anything at the end. You recognized the type and terminated it, and now you're the bad guy.
ReplyDeleteBut despite having 100% empathy for your position, I think you hurt yourself as a businessman by calling her out. You'll never win these things (public relations/perceptions) because the customer is always the "victim." In my opinion it's better to tell them that you have nothing to meet their needs at this time, refer them to your most hated competitor and let her waste their precious time and resources!
It's hard for people that have been conditioned by their Costco shopping experience to appreciate what we do with livestock. They want to walk up, find exactly what they want stacked floor to ceiling, have a multitude of employees swarm them with asskissing assistance and never be told a negative word no matter how big a selfish jerk they are. We probably agree that the best part of what we do is working with the land and animals, not the humans!
Best of luck in your endeavors Bruce. Hope to meet you someday
I can see why you lost patience, but I still think it was a mistake. You could have simply said "Ok, contact me the week before August 8" and let it go. She was a new customer and didn't know the way around your business. It's even possible someone told her that she ought to order way ahead of time.
ReplyDelete