People don't realize they are one of about 50 a day that just have a few questions. They can't understand why 20 minutes on the phone is a big deal. Well when the other 49 people do the same it adds up. I used to help everyone I could but I literally ran out time in the day answering questions for free and no income was being generated. Now I only offer tech to paying customers. Like I tell the people who call just wanting info "If you knew about me to call for help then you knew about me to order the parts". If they had I'd give them all the time they need. It's nothing for me to spend 6+ hours on the phone before I can even start working.
I get 50+ calls a day, starting long before I open and continuing long after I close..........on a good day I speak to 3 or 4 people.
My avg call is 15 minutes, with the customer stating, "I have just one more question"........then........."while I have you on the phone I have just one more questions"..........when that goes on for 4 or 5 more questions it starts to get old..........
Bingo! I think I recall a conversation about this with you...It really sucks that most people don't have the common sense to realize this.
I literally have people call me over and over every 15 minutes.......I recall one customer, nice guy in fact, calling me over and over, literally every 5-10 minutes for well over an hour, I finally got freed up and could answer his call.........he wanted to know why I did not answer the other 15 times he called me ??.......Seriously, the 1st thing you ask me is why I did not answer your call.
Maybe I was out of the office driving a truck, maybe I was with a customer in my shop/office, maybe it was lunch time, maybe I was too busy, or maybe I was on the phone with someone else !
So I just stated that "I was busy, and that had he left me a message the 1st time he called I might have called him back sooner, but since he made it a point to call me 15 times I was going to wait to call him back because I was that busy and figured it would be a long time on the phone."
The Guy saw nothing wrong with blowing up my phone and had one question, 5 minutes, bought nothing.........
You are the first vendor I have heard of that has called people out on that. I have to applaud you for that. I remember how Merchant's phone would not stop ringing, even on Saturdays. Id imagine MikeL's is the same way.
I had a shop call me about a truck I tuned over 2 years ago, the guys at the shop states the truck "IS CUTTING OUT"......I ask him to be more specific, he states the same thing over and over again and again, and then wanted me to solve it.
I asked him, can you send me a data log, he states no, but I can send you a "FAX"........:roflmao:
I'm as up front as it gets. Some people appreciate it and some people say I'm an a$$hole
Same here !!!!