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I agree with you that there are other aspects that people can ask about by phone, but the topic is about 'ringing for a quote', not ringing for advice or because they have had a bad experience elsewhere, etc.
I was trying to stay on topic. ie, "Customers ringing for a quote ?"
Bad experiences elsewhere, 'do you frame....', can you frame a ... by next thursday, etc, etc are a different kettle of phone calls. I have obtained many jobs from that type of call.
I think when someone rings 'to check you out' the most likely thing they are going to ask is the price, but they actually want help in choosing who to use, so all the other stuff like turnaround time, whether you take cards, your qualifications, location, do you have parking etc etc are part of the deal, so it is important to 'sell yourself'.
There are some people that think price is the only consideration, I consider it part of my job to educate them - sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't.
Anyone who has studied economics will have come across a 'Giffen good'- or if you are younger than me, they now call it a Luxury Good. This is a product or service that does not follow the normal Demand and Supply curve rule (lower the price and you sell more) - so for example if Rolex watches were much cheaper they wouldn't sell loads more - because the motivation to buy one is the fact that it is expensive. I find this principle often applies in our industry - an original painting MUST be good, because it is expensive - if it is too cheap, customers believe it is carp.
I know some customers do phone for the cheapest price, but if you allow yourself into the mindset that price is their ONLY motivation, and always their REAL motivation, then I believe you will be missing out on some good customers, sometimes, you just have to peel back a few layers . . . . .
We are not too far away from a biggish city centre where all the main shopping is done John Lewis, 2 x M&S, etc. but when I advertise I often put in the ad. "only x mins. drive from xxxxxxxx" (city suburb) and free parking outside the door.
If they park in the city I think min parking charge is £1.50 plus the hassle of walking from car park if the item is large. So two trips to drop off and collect is £3.00 which is equvalent to a 5% discount on a £60 frame.
Having said that I think all the city centre framers have closed down now as they cannot afford the rent/rates.
I think Jim (Gesso&Bole) summed it up very well in his first post, I don't mind giving a quote over the phone, it's not much different from when people just pop in without the work because they are just passing and ask" how much to frame something this big" hold their hands out apart, or they draw it out on the counter with their fingers. I normally ask what type of frame they would like and use Estlite to give them a price, and say this is a ballpark figure and I ask them when they have time bring it in and let me see it and I can advise them the best way to frame it, there is no obligation . Being known as a helpful framer cost nothing and does the world of good.
Steve
Steve CEO GCF (020) Believed in Time Travel since 2035
Interests: An unhealthy obsession with frames, mounts and anything and everything relating to framing, mounting and fine art printing. I am also a bit of a geek when it comes to computers, especially involving our Valiani CMC and designing websites relating to photo frames.
I seem to spend about half my day providing quotes for customers by phone (or dozens of emails back and forth!) - It's not just price they're comparing - this is the first impression many people get of us so a helpful and knowledgeable answer goes a long way (in my opinion).
