| Author | Subject: Gilbert Keaton a bad customer. |
| Randall L Turner Jr | Posted At 13:06:21 07/15/2001
I sell burmese python babies and since I am new to the market I work with the customers that I have. One customer in particular has caused a headache. Gilbert Russel Keaton Jr aka Ricco aka RJ wanted a pair of burms from me but said that he was wary of purchasing over the internet so I agreed with him that I would send the snakes out first and he would send the money upon receipt. Well he has had the snakes for over 2 weeks and I still have not received my payment. He also has not responded to phone calls or emails. So unless he comes up with his end of the deal I would not do any business with this individual. If I receive the payment I will repost with this info. untill then he is not a good customer to work with. Randall Turner. |
| Brian Oakley |
Re: Gilbert Keaton a bad customer.
5857.html Posted At 15:09:53 07/16/2001 Randall, although I agree it is QUITE obsurd for someone not to pay for the snakes they received from you, I also cannot understand how you got there in the first place. I was in the same situation with a gentlemen once. he had never bought over the net and wanted me to ship the snakes COD. I refused to do so for a few reasons. What I did instead was talked to him over the course of a week or so. He and I speant MANY hours on the phone and we developed a little report with each other and trust on his end. I went as far as to give him my work phone number which I have NEVER done before. I also explained to him that if he fealt leary then don't buy them. I can only do what I can do and still protect myself. There is only one person I have ever done deals with and not required money up front. he and I have done business for many years and that is the difference. Now on the negative side. I would NEVER ship something out with hopes of someone paying me. It is NO DIFFERENT than any other business, you want something you pay for it, then you get the product. I can assure you even had you lost that one particular sale (which really is not a sale at this point anyway) you would have sold them to someone who will pay for them in order to receive them. I know you said something in your post about being "new" to the trade. I respect the fact that you put yourself, your animal, and your profit on the line to gain ones trust, but it was/is a completely free ride for them. All they did is moan and groan that they did not feel comfortable. I hope this has been a learning tool for you and wish you the best of luck in the future! Brian Oakley |
| Corey Woods |
Re: Gilbert Keaton a bad customer.
5895.html Posted At 21:31:29 07/16/2001 Randall, Everyone on this board at sometime or another has been a "newbie" into the hobby. As such we all make mistakes and thus every dealing is a learning experience. I myself have been in a situation like yours. Only in mine I got partial payment upfront and then sent the animal out as he needed the breeder male to breed his females (and it was getting late in the season). I didn't want him to miss a breeding season so I sent the male out. Well, needless to say 18 months later I still haven't seen the 1800US that is still owing on the male. What I'm trying to get at is that everything is a learning experience. Now, from this experience you won't send out anything until it is fully paid for. You will also learn that you don't send out anything COD either. When the animal is fully paid for then it is shipped. Corey Woods |
| JERRY TRESSER |
Re: Gilbert Keaton a bad customer.
5912.html Posted At 11:49:59 07/17/2001 Loosing money is a learning experience! But so is learning how to keep your money! Being new to the business is no excuse for loosing money. In this case not only was the money lost but the items as well. It could have been worse! The answer is very simple. Understand your limitations,have some kind of policy to protect your own interest, and speak to others in the business. These things may save you alot of heartache in the future. |
| Randall Turner |
Re: Gilbert Keaton a bad customer.
5965.html Posted At 01:21:20 07/18/2001 I finally got a response from him, he is in between jobs and has promised to send the money out this saturday so he has made good and finished his end of the bargain. |
| Patrick |
Re: Gilbert Keaton a bad customer.
6131.html Posted At 22:11:41 07/20/2001 Not yet he hasn't....wait until your eggs hatch before counting! Patrick North Texas Reptiles |