No thanks, I’m just looking…

Maybe some of you have heard that ad that runs on the radio. Doesn’t it make you feel good when you are able to say that at a store? Even if a sales associate spends some time explaining you the beauties of certain appliance you can just thank him and keep looking around trying to make up your mind. You don’t need to go across the street to another store, you can do it right there, even with the same employee. No fears of retaliation or making you feel bad if you have further inquiries. How would you feel if the employee would turn his back on you and decided not to answer your questions anymore? Would you complain to the manager? Let’s face it. How many of us have even decided on the purchase grabbed the item, walked towards the register, and then turned around only to put the item back in it’s shelf?

What has happened with selling reptiles on-line though? Some sellers seem to be increasingly less customer oriented. Unless they are absolutely sure you are going to buy they pay little attention to inquiries or are even upset when they have to spend time answering questions. Worse yet maybe some won’t even dignify you with a reply. There's more and more ads that request a name and telephone number for them to dignify a person with a reply! Yes, they want the convenience of online sales but one is not allowed to reply on-line. What would you think if you went to WalMart to inquire about something and the sales representative would say "please leave your name and number and I will anser it for you"?

Are we becoming more sales rather than customer oriented?

Regards.

I can see both sides of this.
Last year was our first year selling offspring on the net. We got a bunch of emails asking about the babies but no one followed through. It was frustrating.

If this happens with larger breeders on a much larger scale I can see why they would want more info before responding to someone. How much time do they waist in a day responding to people who will never follow through. This is how they make a living and their time is valuable.

I don't agree with doing it and no matter how large we get I hope we never act like that but I do understand why they do it.
On a side note we normally won't respond to an add that wants personal info before answering a question.

Daniel, I agree entirely. Selling online takes away the overhead of a brick-and-mortar retail location, but it opens the door to many, many inquiries from people who may or may not be potential customers.

I've always looked at the non-buyers as the people who gave me the opportunity to practice my sales techniques

I believe that if you're running a business, you should do everything in your power to provide the best service, period. Inquiries should be handled as if every one is from someone considering buying your entire inventory! If someone doesn't like dealing with John Q. Public, sales is not for you!

I have often wondered if there is a decent enough market for professional brokers. NOT those people who try to sell someone else's animal as their own, but for someone to be designated as the broker to answer all inquiries, etc. I know so many people who love their animals but just shudder at the thought of going through the entire sales ordeal.

I've always looked at the non-buyers as the people who gave me the opportunity to practice my sales techniques

Excelent point!

Speaking from the buyers perspective, the quality of customer service can not only make or break a deal, it determines if I will be a repeat customer.

I try to treat every single inquiry as a customer. If they are not buying this time, they might next time. Regardless I want them to come back. I know that when I am looking at buying something, if the seller can't take the time to answer my questions, I would just as soon take my business to someone who will. So I try to do my best to field all questions.

That’s probably what makes the difference between those that are really successful in this business and those that are not. In MHO each contact that’s made is a client whether they buy or not.

I'm all for answering inquiries whether they will lead to a sale nor not. One person may not buy anything from you, but maybe he'll end up referring 20 people to you.

Just recently, one of my friends needed clarification in IDing a few gecko species she'd just acquired. I referred her to another one of my buddies whom I've never personally bought anything from. He didn't know at the time that I had referred her or that she knew me at all. As far as he was concerned, she'd just popped out of nowhere with a bunch of questions. He later told me they exchanged about a dozen e-mails, all with him answering her questions. She then checked out his availability page and made a couple of purchases. Score! But it doesn't end there.

It turns out that she started referring some of her friends to him as well. One of them was another large gecko breeder (large in terms of number of species, not necessarily number of animals). He and my buddy are in the process of arranging some breeding projects that could possibly lead to huge rewards. My buddy is just oogling with excitement about that. But couldn't figure out why my friend originally approached him with her gecko questions if she had this other guy as a comparable source.

I'm speculating that maybe this other guy has a wealth of information and experience, but he simply didn't make himself available to her. I know from experience that I usually feel like I'm annoying a breeder when all I get in response to my e-mails are single line responses, as if the breeder couldn't take the extra time to type a little more and at least seem more inviting. Ever dealt with breeders who make it seem like they're doing a huge favor to share even the most basic details about their advertised animals such as weight, age, and feeding? Lack of writing skills is no excuse for that. I know of other breeders who will pick up the phone and call me if that's what they find more suitable.

The way I see it, you could have all the best stock or all the knowledge in the world, but if you don't make it accessible to people by open communication, then you're missing out. The BOI makes it rather evident that in addition to a love for the animals and passion for the hobby, it takes a good sense of customer service and business tact to be a successful breeder.

Well said Olivia! One-line replies don't bother me so much though. I recognize some people are pretty busy and if they wrote half a page every time they answer an e-mail they wouldn't have the time to get back to all the people. Someone will eventually complain that they are not responding to inquiries!

Regards

In the local area I seem to have become the designated frog expert. People will email or call with questions pretty frequently. Even if they didn't buy from me I help them out. I spend alot of time doing this but eventually it pays back as more people are referred to me. I also care more about the animal's welfare, so it is worth it to me to take the time.

I even have people come up to me at reptile shows asking about other vendors animals. I give my honest opinion which is usally positive for the other vendor and will even help pick out an animal. I am glad that other people value my opinion and trust me that much. Most of the vendors at the Kentucky show are friends and everyone helps each other out. One vendor actually took a snake for me and got it feeding without asking for anything in return, but I would do the smae for just about anyone there.

People ask why I won't go to other reptile shows and it is generally the attitude of other vendors that keeps me from going. Alot of people are in this business to make a quick buck and have terrible customer service skills. They care little about the animals or their customers it seems. I hate when soem person who didn't even bother to shower before the show gives me a dirty look when I ask a polite question about something on their table. It is people like this who give the reptile hobby its "dirty" image. A little more professionalism would help this hobby alot. Thank goodness for things like the BOI to help weed out the bad guys in the hobby.