Challenging customer for a custom item.

[Former_Member]

Hi
Have any of you had a customer ask for a custom item and become quite challenging in all aspects? I make custom letters, a customer aksed me to make a letter like one I had but using another font and letter. With all my custom work I send photos along the way to make sure they are happy.

After creating the letter to look like the one referenced they decided they wanted to completely change the paper and color. I happily went through 2 days of sending them exapmle of papers and colors from what they were now describing what they wanted and they picked out a whole nes look. I completed this look and they said it didnt look like what they 'imagined'. So they showed me a letter they already owned and wanted me to 'copy it' (a whole different direction from the first two attempts-I was unsure why we didnt just do this first?) and they again approved papers and photos until it was complete.

I sent it off, then they didnt recieve it, (I always track my parcels and it had been delivered) then they just contacted me telling me its completely the wrong color and they are extremely unhappy.

I graciously apologized and immediately refunded the money.

Somehow lookig back at this process I feel 'played' somehow. The item actually cost me more than the orginal cost after so many changes and I never even charged them. I dont feel they even understood what they wanted.

Has anyone else come across this kind of issue?

I guess I just needed to vent and hope I was not a fool. I did learn something from it. I did learn to be less inclined to continue a custom order if they make too many changes-just stop at the first politely and refund the money-but how do you know?

Thanks for listening and any feedback.

[rusticcraftdesign]

I would want the letter returned to me prior to issuing a refund.

[HullStreetStudio]

You could also set some ground rules like 'five changes included' or whatever number you're comfortable with. Then if they want more they can pay a small fee like a dollar per change. I also feel like that would help keep customers from asking for changes just to see what it would look like.

[Former_Member]

Sam -I think at this point It was easier to refund-honestly I just wanted to be free of this transaction in the future.

Good idea Erica & Jeb-I will definately try that.

Thanks for responding.

[LovgrenandDaughter]

I think you handled the whole thing perfectly. Myself, I would want to be done with the whole idea too. Did they take advantage? Probably. Should you set limits for the future? Probably.

You're gaining karma points. If they needed it that badly then let them have it. In dealing with the public, there is a segment of people who do these things. You've had yours now :)

I'm sorry they drove you nuts. I'm sure you did beautiful work. You are a good person and an excellent shop owner.

xoK

[thegardenstudio]

Wow, I must say this is about the 3rd or 4th time I've read horror stories with a custom listing where the seller ended up refunding without ever getting the item returned.

First of all, I'm sorry this has happened to you and I completely understand your frustration and concerns and personally, I probably would not have gone through with the transaction altogether as it sounded like it was going to be more costly than the actual value of the transaction. So, it wasn't a surprise to read you did not profit from it.

Unfortunately, I actually have yet another concern, it is troubling that customers are walking away with merchandise, having been issued a refund, without returning the item. While I understand this is a business decision I do wonder if more and more will engage in the same or similar tactics in order to potentially walk away or try to walk away with a nice freebie? It smells a great deal like what customers on that other site (who shall be nameless intentionally) engage in.

Best wishes.

[ALFAdesigns]

I just wonder - did you leave any feedback for them? I have yet to see any negative feedback for anybody on Etsy, even though the feedback system was invented specifically to ward off frauds, nuts, and louts. If I saw a negative feedback for somebody asking me for custom order, I would think twice before accepting it, and then only after setting strict ground rules.

In any case, don't be too upset. You behaved like a lady, they behaved like scammers. Guess who got better karma out of it?

[Former_Member]

Custom orders wreak havoc on my peace. Seriously. I have now learned to say NO to certain requests. I feel SO much better.
I think you did great....
Going to check out your shop now!

[Former_Member]

I had a trying customer the other day. After being told to "go for it" I then got email that she wasn't happy with one of the fabric choices .... spent time finding another print and taking more pics and sending them out for approval. I got a "perfect" and then "no stop" ... I was about to go out of my mind. We finally agreed on prints and I quickly made the quilt so no more changes. =)

Sometimes it does get troublesome .... but most times it is smooth.

Sorry you went thru that and I really hope that wasn't a scam but you did well and I understand you're just wanting to be done with it.

[Former_Member]

Just had almost exact same thing happen with a "custom" wreath. 35 emails back and forth, wound up losing money on the product because material used for wreath changed in the middle, isn't thrilled I sent it USPS and on and on. I really worked hard to keep up with changes. She hasn't gotten it yet so I'm keeping my fingers crossed ... I truly want each customer to be satisfied and excited with their purchase but sometimes it's challenging to meet requests. I think you did the right thing! I too would want to end that as fast as I could.

[Former_Member]

There is no way Paypal will issue a refund without a DC number from the buyer upon returning item. This way they won't try it again if they have to get back in their car and return it via PO or however you sent it. I see your point though on just 'getting it over with'.

I would say that customers get up to 2 changes, and thats it, otherwise your profits go out the window. We are not on Etsy to lose money because people can't make up their minds. I think 2 changes is very fair since you give them plenty of choices up front.

Its hard to make things and satisfy people from photos since they can't see it in real life, so they need to realize your doing your very best. If they want you to change it a 3rd time, then its time to refund them. Some people just can't be pleased.

[LovgrenandDaughter]

When I worked in retail sales certain people would buy, for example, a face moistuizertake it home, scoop it out and returrn it with a cheap alternative (drugstore cold cream).

And we gave them their money back.

As I write this, I do realize that we are all opeating on terribly narrow margins of profitablitiy. I think it is the betrayal of trust we have with our customers. It is the matter of pride with which we make our creations and share them with the world.

In the end, if they need something that badly, then let them go. Maybe think of it as a gift to someone who would go to any lengths to get this piece. Let them sort out the morals and ethics with their own belief system.

[Former_Member]

I have not take many custom requests on etsy. I have ready too many horror stories. Outside of Etsy, I have a 50% not refundable deposit because of issues like were mentioned above. Wish we could do something like that here. good luck and hope this was your worst for the year.

[Former_Member]

What Kristin said: When I worked in retail sales certain people would buy, for example, a face moistuizertake it home, scoop it out and returrn it with a cheap alternative (drugstore cold cream).

And we gave them their money back.
.....................

When I worked in retail we had a customer who routinely returned a half-dozen pairs of hosiery, saying they didn't wear well. She had been doing this for years, getting 6 pairs free over and over again.

One day we had a new hosiery manager who had been warned about her, and she told her "I'm sorry but it's against the state health laws for us to touch intimate merchandise that's been worn and not washed."

The customer stormed over to the lady's room, dunked the pantyhose in the sink, brought them back dripping on the counter and said "Okay now they're clean. Gimme 6 new pairs".

There will always be customers like that, thankfully few and far between!

[PiecesofMeCardsnMore]

Anna from ALFAdesigns says
I just wonder - did you leave any feedback for them? I have yet to see any negative feedback for anybody on Etsy, even though the feedback system was invented specifically to ward off frauds, nuts, and louts. If I saw a negative feedback for somebody asking me for custom order, I would think twice before accepting it, and then only after setting strict ground rules.

*******************************************************

Buyer feedback is kept hidden so the only person who sees it is the buyer. But anyone can see a seller's negative feedback. It's an unfair feedback system.

[AnimalFancy]

I had a very similar situation. After days of one change after another, and a grand total of 132 email exchanges and no end in sight, I finally put my foot down and told the customer that we are now into "custom design" and my charge for this kind of work is $50/hr. She paid an additional $50 for a phone consultation to wrap up final changes, with the understanding that any further change would be at a rate of $50 per change.

She finally accepted the final product and paid a ridiculous amount of money for custom cards.

Incidentally, the final result was essentially the same as the very first design.

Lesson: By the third change, it's time to charge for your additional time. Either the customer wants something bad enough to pay a lot of money for it, or they make a final decision. Either way, your time is not lost.

Cheers,
Donna

[Former_Member]

I do a lot of custom orders and for the most part I've had very few problems. There have been a couple cases where I felt the person was wishy washy with what they wanted and countless emails back and forth before a final decision got made.
In one case, a woman ordered a custom laptop bag for her daughter. We went back and forth about her fabric choices (which is normal, and fine) I shipped the bag to her daughter and a week later, got an email from her saying that she didn't want to hurt her mother's feelings but she wasn't fond of the print. She asked me if she could have it replaced with another...for free. I kind of couldn't believe she would even ask...but after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to go ahead and do it and I would just list the original in my store. Looking back, I HATE that I did that because I put A LOT of work into a bag like as well as cost for the materials, I felt 'played' as well.
And even though I know she received it through shipping confirmation...not another word from her.

I also think that with custom ordering...seller's may feel 'bullied' into accommodating unreasonable requests out of fear of negative feedback. I would be crushed to ruin my 100% positive rating and have no way of telling my side of the story.

[Former_Member]

Oh, I feel your pain. Fortunately, I've not had to deal with this (yet, knock on wood) but i do primarily custom items. I have stated in my shop policies that any changes made after I have purchased materials the cost is passed on to the buyer. For example, if i needed two yards of a fabric and because the buyer changed her mind and wants a different fabric forcing me to purchase an additional two yards of the new material, the buyer will have to pay for the new 2 yards if they want to make the change.
Best to have a clearly stated policy regarding changes to custom orders, in my opinion. I would not want to remake items over an over again.

[CatherineMarissa]

I feel like I've seen quite a few thread with similar scenarios lately. Seems to me like quite a few people are getting something for nothing.

I always require a return before a refund.

[Former_Member]

Wow! Thank you everyone for your time and thoughts.

Firstly-I did not know that buyers cannot see feedback about them. If thats true it definately changes my attitude on it and it then becomes a great seller tool which I will now take advantage of. Yes-I have become wary of negative feedback as I have a used bookstore at another site and an issue with USPS created an awful situation and a very bad rating for me and did cost me some sales for a bit.

As feedback is something I feel helps your shop-I am also intinidated by the possiblity of anything negative said in my Etsy shop.

Yes-absolutely learned the lesson of making policy clear about changes-and will do so this weekend. I am less inclined to let it go past one change (IF AT ALL) and happier to refund and let it go if the changes go beyond that-and not send the item. Explain politely that we are not on the same wave length and maybe another avenue for the item would be a better option.

True-when I worked in retail I remember the big Prom dress return issue and slipping the tags inside the dress for prom and then returning it. Sadly not many of them smart enough to have it cleaned first-but what can you do?

I also think that as 'creators and artists' the people requesting items dont always have a true 'vision' of what they want-thinking we can mind read to some extent and I know my hairdresser talks about this often, She says people come in with a picture of a hair cut and think they will get that face as well through some sort of osmosis.

I appreciate all your words and suggestions more than you know and I think we all need to work together to make issues like these less by all being on the same page with how we sell, our policies and dealing with customers.

I am so glad I found this team and feel alot more savvy for it.

thanks again and still open to more feedback, ideas and suggestions!

[Former_Member]

Umm buyers CAN see their feedback. Its other sellers that CANT see the feedback.
IE...if I totally screwed over a seller here, and they left a long blah blah explanation of how I screwed them over please avoid me warning to other sellers. You would not be able to see it.

[Former_Member]

After all this they are still contacting me and now accusing me of bad craftmenship because they decided to paint over the work I did with paper decoupage and they are upset the paper is now lifting. I explained that the paper should be removed before painting otherwise the moisture from the paint will lift the paper.

Surely a full refund is enough-I did not know I was in charge of their further craftwork? Honestly the letter did not cost her a great deal in the first place and she could buy one from any craft shop and replace it with the refund.

I am not sure how to deal with this person? I can do no more and what if they continue to contact me with angry emails? Any suggestions?!

[PaperFlora]

Yes, I've had customers ask for so many changes it's not just a special order it becomes their design!
I limit the amount of changes I can make, it takes so much time to do these changes over and over, time you can't get back and you aren't getting paid for.

I try to do everything to please my customer but sometimes it just can't be done.
I'd suggest you request they send your merchandise back asap.

[PaperFlora]

WHAT they painted over your work? Don't respond to anymore of their emails. It's not going to get any better and you are only going to get more upset.

This is just crazy!!

[Former_Member]

yes-they painted over my work. I usually seal the letters in a gloss which is water proof but they specifically wanted matte. It isnt water proof, They are upset about something they did to it but its somehow my fault.

Thanks for saying its crazy cause thats how it feels.

No I will not respond anymore. Then I'm crazy....