Rude Comments

[#1]

I was thinking about rude comments by customers at shows. And the only two I can come up with are "I can make that" and "Who would buy that".

Do you have any others?

[lowe40]

When they say: oh, I can make this at home cheaper!

My answer is: ONLY IF YOU ALREADY HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE IT AT HOME! If you have to go out to BUY the stuff to make it, I can promise you it will cost more than it will if you just buy 1 or 2 from me!

[Former_Member]

I am working on "killing with kindness," as my dad used to say. The rude people need more of it. I will not get into an ego contest by trying to say wittier, quicker, tart replies because it leaves me and my tent with an energy atmosphere of irritation and resentment. Silence with a smile is a response.

Everyone wants to feel special, the insecure more so. Most of the crowd moves about in an unconscious way. I set my intention while setting up to make my tent a "field of awake, aware presence." Some people are drawn to that.

[JustMeToo]

I've stopped someone from measuring an item with a tape measure, and keying in dimensions on her ipad, REALLY closeup photographing, etc.
Many people have never had, nor will ever have an original thought, so they have to try to copy others.
One "lady" showed up as a vendor at a show that I do with a very bad copy of one of my items. I had a great show - she had a lousy show (people know the difference) and she never came back. Karma!

[TigersandDragons]

I don't remembering hearing any rude comments at the show I did that ended yesterday. While I was walking around and doing my shopping in the other room, a woman walked up and touched my arm. She said, "I've looked at everything and you have the best jewellery in your booth."
So that was a lovely, pick-me-up.

[TheCatFarm]

Wow, some of these comments left me in open-mouth surprise, and others made me laugh! As far as comments I've heard about my own stuff, I hear "we can get grandma to make that" when someone is looking at my cat beds. Sure, you could get her to, but you won't.

The other comment I hear a great deal of is "our cat doesn't play with toys." Well you know what, when it comes to the big box store-bought catnip toys, our cats don't play much with them either. The catnip isn't as potent as what I use. The toys that get played with are the ones I make and the ones another Etsy seller I buy from make. I guess I gotta come up with a quick response to these comments because their cat is missing out if I can't close a sale!

Recently my husband did some cat sitting for his parents while they were out of town. I gave their cat a mouse toy so he'd have something new to play with. Fast forward to yesterday when my MIL ordered 10 mice because their cat keeps losing the mouse under a closed closet door. She said its the only toy he plays with now and he keeps looking for it whenever he loses it. Come to think of it, when I hear 'our cat won't play with toys' I think I'll use this story as a rebuttal!

[StinsonPaperCompany]

I love your cat toys, Alicia. My kitties will be getting some of these for Christmas!

Yesterday I had more rude people in four hours than in the previous two years. One little girl was looking at a notebook to buy, but the mom tugged her away and said, "You don't want to spend your money on that." Ouch. What made it worse was that this woman was a fellow seller at the market (she was just shopping that day) and I had given her kids some notebooks earlier in the year.

That was just one of several similar comments. It was pretty discouraging. It did force me to take a hard look at sales vs. costs, the amount of work involved in doing this market , and whether it's even worth it to do anymore. It's not, but I'm sad about it. The market managers are very nice, many of the other sellers are wonderful, and I did have some great customers. But it's best to just concentrate on fall and winter craft shows and figure out something else to do for the summer.

[ElunaJewelry]

I was on facebook the other day and saw a post asking how to respond to "I can make that."

One of the best quotes I saw, (and for the record asked to use) was "the hardest part is making it look easy."

;)

[JustMeToo]

Another good response I saw to "I can make that" went something like - "I'm sure you can, but now you don't have to"!

[WhimsyBits]

If they don't say something to me directly then I don't say anything to them. Either way I'm not getting a sale.

And as crafters I'm sure most of us when we are in the buyer position will often times see something and say "well i can make that". We just know better to not say it out loud.

[Former_Member]

We haven't really received any rude comments per se'. Of course, with our soaps & skin care products we use lots of different EO's & FO's to scent our products. When it comes to scent, everyone's different & some people will love a certain scent while others may not. When people pick up our soaps to smell, sometimes they'll say "I don't like this one" or "I really love this one" but I expect that. If someone doesn't like a particular scent, I don't take that as being rude, that's just the way it is.

The one scent that get's the biggest swing between negative & positive comments is Patchouli. That one is either a Love It or Hate It type scent. I've never seen anyone that was in the middle. People either love patchouli or hate it. I had one lady run away when I held up a bar of patchouli, she couldn't stand it. But at another show, an elderly man walked straight up to me and said "Patchouli?". Yes sir, right over here.

Over the years I've had several people tell me that their daughter or sister made soap or tried making soap. I've had a few people tell me that they would like to try making soap. I just smile & remind them to wear industrial safety protection when they try. They often look at me with a puzzled expression. That's when I tell them that the sodium hydroxide used to make soap will melt their skin all the way down to the bone if they're not really careful & protected. The look on their face after they hear that is just priceless, lol.

[ImLaughingMyGlassOff]

I work with 18 year olds so A) I have heard every rude statement in the book. I am not afraid to tell them they need 10 minutes on the bench outside my office before we can continue. B) Patchouli is not a deodorant. C) you learn to pity rude people and blame their parents. Even when the offender is 60 years old you have to wonder why they never learned how to interact with people. D) Most aggressively rude people just want to be better than you, so let them think that. My worst offender this summer -- "Is this all you do?" ummmm no, I leave the good stuff at home so its safe.

[JustMeToo]

I've had people say "where are you?" I say "here!" They laugh, and say "no, I mean do you have a store?"

[TheCatFarm]

Thank you Staci! :-) April, I love that reply! Gonna have to remember that one.

I just remembered a story. Its not a rude story, more of a chuckle. My hubby and I went to a big show here in Houston, as shoppers, to have a look see at all the goodies. A young couple had the coolest tent weights on their tent. They were obviously cut from something at a machine shop and weren't the usual cement filled pvc tubes. We were fascinated by them and talked to the gal's husband about them. I don't know if they get many inquiries on their tent weights so we may have left them scratching their heads over that one!

[TigersandDragons]

Carol, I am so tired of hearing that question, people expect that they can find you anywhere, anytime at their convenience. When I get asked where my store is, I hold up my arms and state, "You're standing in it, this is our travelling store."

[JustMeToo]

tigers. I agree (again)! Sometimes they won't buy but they pretend they want to buy later. They ask me where I'll be next, so I tell them the date and location of my next show. "Oh, I don't know if I can make it to that show".
I don't answer. Now they have to think of something else to say :)
"If you want it, here it is, you're here right now" is what I want to say!
I'm not having strangers in and out of my private home!

[WhimsyBits]

This probably isn't considered rude but maybe on how it's said. Very often I will get "do you make all of this YOURSELF?!"

[TigersandDragons]

When people see a lot of stock, they find it hard to believe that one or two people can produce that much. My response is, "Yes, this is our full time job."

Carol, I just cut to the chase now, because I'm tired of people assuming they can come over to my house. I tell them straight out that I don't have the space for a showroom, nor do I have the zoning approval or insurance coverage to allow customers in my home.
I don't have local pick ups either. If you can't spend $2 on shipping, then you don't want it enough. $2 is well worth the gas and effort a local pick-up would cost anyone. I used to do free local delivery, but most of the time I end up mailing it and eating the cost, because I can't spare the time or gas to drive half way across the city.

[JustMeToo]

I don't deliver. Purchase it at my shows, or if you purchase it through email, or etsy, I will ship it (customer paying postage)!
As far as coming to my home, I just say "no, that's my private home."
Straight and simple. I even have nosy neighbours who would just LOVE to get into my house!? They've never been here either, nor will they be! My home is for my friends, and loved ones, and me.

[Mulchandmore]

Besides the question about having a shop, I also get the question "do you raise your own sheep?" The answer to both is pretty much the same, no my business is doing shows on the road or selling on line (different inventory than I have with me in case one of a kind item sells at the same time!)
And no, with doing shows no one is home to tend animals, plus buying the fleece or roving gives me a much larger variety to spin from!

I have found most people aren't intentionally rude (they just don't know any better) and some even understand the work involved in hauling all the things we do, as well as the time spent making things!

[LilyLouLou]

I had someone ask yesterday at a show if my purses were handmade. I said yes, and thank you for the compliment! It made my day to think these women actually thought they weren't handmade by me.

[FayeValentineJewelry]

I've had, 'It's all just made in China.' And, 'It's not handmade, though.'

I was peeved!

[Former_Member]

"Those look like kidsmade them"

[Meliciap]

I was thinking of responding to the 'i can make this myself' with 'I love to share ideas-I'd love to see a picture of it when it;s done"

too snarky?

[saranoh77]

I often get asked "How long did it take you to make this". I'm not really sure why they need to know? Maybe trying to calculate out my hourly wage or trying to see how "easy" it would be to make themselves? I usually tell them the truth: its hard to say because I work on 12 at a time, but usually its between 20 minutes to an hour per piece and sometimes more for the bigger and more elaborate pieces. And probably 99% of the time just say "oh" and move on.

[Former_Member]

Bev, my banner has pictures of my sheep. I have a sheep farm.
"Are those your sheep?"
"Yes, and they each have a name."
"What are their names?"
And many want to know if they can come to the farm, they have visions of cuddling lambs. Then I explain that they aren't petting zoo tame. They will come to me and run from you.