customer time

[dougie]

after discussions with the boss he thinks i should be a bit more mercenary when it comes to customers,wanting me to spend less time with them and more doing the job,or charging for the time spent picking the framing,as you would and i quote "when your at the lawyers office and spend ten mins yapping about the footie,your getting charged for it".any thoughts?

[prospero]

There are lots of things in a business that you can't charge for directly. Bookwork, picking materials, sweeping the floor, making the tea....... In an 8 hour day, you are not making frames for 8 hours. Half that is more realistic. So you have to calculate your hourly rate based on that.
Time spent with customers is something you have to absorb. It's not good to bill folks just for shooting the breeze. You have to put that down to PR. It hardly creates a good impression to put a stopwatch on people the minute you start to talk to them.
What you can do is try to limit the ones who like to yack on.
There was a recent thread on the Grumble on this very subject.
Some sneaky tricks.

[JFeig]

All that "lip flapping" is part of OVERHEAD that should be taken into consideration when we all calculate our shop rates for labor.

Shop rates a generally about 3 times what we pay our employees and sometime ourselves.

[Roboframer]

It's up to your boss to show you ways to get to the "next please" stage faster, but there will always be some customers who take for ever and if it comes to a p.... taking amount of time I don't have a problem adding a PITA charge. I don't itemise it - that wouldn't look good on the invoice.

[Dave]

I generally find that the longer a customer takes to make their mind up, the more likely they are to walk out undecided and go somewhere else. I do try and keep it as brief as possible without being rude or pushy. The worst scenario is trying to get a comittee decision, especially after lunch when a glass of wine has been taken (customer not me).

Sometimes I can predict a customer will not place an order from the second they open they their mouths. The Hyacinth Buckets of the world are the worst.

Overall I would say it's less than 2% walk out wthout ordering.

Dave

[ChrisG]

I find many customers are after a framing service not just a frame. They like to see various options and alternatives and arrive at a well thought out, unrushed decision and then have no quibble about the price.

Mary Portas concluded in her report on the High Streets that to survive small shops need to provide a service not just a product. If the customer feels that is what they have had they'll be back and recommend you to others. So for me spending the time the customer needs is essential.

Having said that for the really indecisive I've suggested they take a photograph on their mobile of the various options that they can't decide between then call me back when a decision is made. I have occasionally even lent chevrons out.

[kev@frames]

its up to your boss to show or train you how he wants you to speed up the process.
thats his job.

We have two shop counter staff, and two workshop staff who also work the counter when necessary, and it is completely random how long an order will take, regardless of who it is.

Average is 15-20 minutes, as it has been for the past 20 years, and that is factored into the overall pricing and business costs. So customers can take as long as they need to, some are quick, others not so. Your boss should factor the cost of taking orders into the business as part of the operating costs.

[IFGL]

I completely agree with Kev, but over the years I have learnt not to ask certain questions, for example, is this your medal then? you can be there ages listening to the answer, be polite but try not to initiate lengthy conversation.

[stcstc]

whats ya want
gimmie money
byeeee

[Steve N]

In total agreement with Chris G and Kev this is where the small business scores over the big boys. Service