Advice on Unprofessional/Unethical Customer

How would you handle a situation like this?

Mr. H contacted me several months ago and said he wanted to buy a PF64 MPL
coin off my website. We came to an agreement, so I marked the coin "sold" on
my website. Then Mr. H decided he wanted larger photos of the coin and
contacted my coin photographer directly. Since I was the one who paid for
the photos, the photographer asked if I was ok with him sending Mr. H
additional photos, and I said it was ok and chose not to say anything at
that time to Mr. H about needing to contact me directly to obtain additional
photos of my coins.

After Mr. H received the larger photos, he saw an imperfection in the PF64
coin and decided he no longer wanted that coin, but said he'd buy the PF65
MPL I had on my website instead. I agreed to sell him the PF65, unmarked the
PF64 as no longer being sold, then marked the PF65 as sold on my website.
Mr. H once again went directly to my photographer requesting larger images.
I was about to tell Mr. H that he needed to go through me to make that
request (even though my photographer sent the first set of additional photos
at no extra charge, I didn't want to burden him with having to do that again
without paying for them), when all of a sudden Mr. H again changed his mind
and cancelled the order for the higher grade coin!

Fast forward to now. Mr. H contacted me again out of the blue and said he
wanted to purchase the original PF64 MPL again. I decided to forget about
the past and give him a second (well, third) chance, so we agreed on a
price, and he said he'd send me a check. I received the check and deposited
it into my account. I then sent Mr. H an email letting him know that I
received the check and that since I knew he would be at the Baltimore show
the next week, I would bring the coin to him rather than ship it since
registered mail would take longer to reach him.

The next day I received an email curtly stating he was cancelling his
order - nothing further, no explanation whatsoever. I sent him an email
asking him to call me about what was going on but I never heard from him.
Two days later, he stopped payment on the check I had deposited, still no
explanation or communication.

I subsequently discovered (through his own admission on a post on another
forum) that Mr. H had purchased a similar PF64 MPL a few days after he
purchased mine, which is why I am guessing he cancelled our transaction and
stopped payment on his check.

So, any thoughts or suggestions?

-------------------------
Charmy Harker - The Penny LadyT
ThePennyLady.com

In article , "Charmy Harker" wrote:
How would you handle a situation like this?

Mr. H contacted me several months ago and said he wanted to buy a PF64 MPL
coin off my website. We came to an agreement, so I marked the coin "sold" on
my website. Then Mr. H decided he wanted larger photos of the coin and
contacted my coin photographer directly. Since I was the one who paid for
the photos, the photographer asked if I was ok with him sending Mr. H
additional photos, and I said it was ok and chose not to say anything at
that time to Mr. H about needing to contact me directly to obtain additional
photos of my coins.

After Mr. H received the larger photos, he saw an imperfection in the PF64
coin and decided he no longer wanted that coin, but said he'd buy the PF65
MPL I had on my website instead. I agreed to sell him the PF65, unmarked the
PF64 as no longer being sold, then marked the PF65 as sold on my website.
Mr. H once again went directly to my photographer requesting larger images.
I was about to tell Mr. H that he needed to go through me to make that
request (even though my photographer sent the first set of additional photos
at no extra charge, I didn't want to burden him with having to do that again
without paying for them), when all of a sudden Mr. H again changed his mind
and cancelled the order for the higher grade coin!

Fast forward to now. Mr. H contacted me again out of the blue and said he
wanted to purchase the original PF64 MPL again. I decided to forget about
the past and give him a second (well, third) chance, so we agreed on a
price, and he said he'd send me a check. I received the check and deposited
it into my account. I then sent Mr. H an email letting him know that I
received the check and that since I knew he would be at the Baltimore show
the next week, I would bring the coin to him rather than ship it since
registered mail would take longer to reach him.

The next day I received an email curtly stating he was cancelling his
order - nothing further, no explanation whatsoever. I sent him an email
asking him to call me about what was going on but I never heard from him.
Two days later, he stopped payment on the check I had deposited, still no
explanation or communication.

I subsequently discovered (through his own admission on a post on another
forum) that Mr. H had purchased a similar PF64 MPL a few days after he
purchased mine, which is why I am guessing he cancelled our transaction and
stopped payment on his check.

So, any thoughts or suggestions?

-------------------------
Charmy Harker - The Penny LadyT
ThePennyLady.com

sounds like a typical me generation asshole.
hwe would become a raving psychotic if you asked him to pay for the extrs
photos he comissioned.

"Charmy Harker" wrote in message
...
How would you handle a situation like this?

Mr. H contacted me several months ago and said he wanted to buy a PF64 MPL
coin off my website. We came to an agreement, so I marked the coin "sold"
on my website. Then Mr. H decided he wanted larger photos of the coin and
contacted my coin photographer directly. Since I was the one who paid for
the photos, the photographer asked if I was ok with him sending Mr. H
additional photos, and I said it was ok and chose not to say anything at
that time to Mr. H about needing to contact me directly to obtain
additional photos of my coins.

After Mr. H received the larger photos, he saw an imperfection in the PF64
coin and decided he no longer wanted that coin, but said he'd buy the PF65
MPL I had on my website instead. I agreed to sell him the PF65, unmarked
the PF64 as no longer being sold, then marked the PF65 as sold on my
website. Mr. H once again went directly to my photographer requesting
larger images. I was about to tell Mr. H that he needed to go through me
to make that request (even though my photographer sent the first set of
additional photos at no extra charge, I didn't want to burden him with
having to do that again without paying for them), when all of a sudden Mr.
H again changed his mind and cancelled the order for the higher grade
coin!

Fast forward to now. Mr. H contacted me again out of the blue and said he
wanted to purchase the original PF64 MPL again. I decided to forget about
the past and give him a second (well, third) chance, so we agreed on a
price, and he said he'd send me a check. I received the check and
deposited it into my account. I then sent Mr. H an email letting him know
that I received the check and that since I knew he would be at the
Baltimore show the next week, I would bring the coin to him rather than
ship it since registered mail would take longer to reach him.

The next day I received an email curtly stating he was cancelling his
order - nothing further, no explanation whatsoever. I sent him an email
asking him to call me about what was going on but I never heard from him.
Two days later, he stopped payment on the check I had deposited, still no
explanation or communication.

I subsequently discovered (through his own admission on a post on another
forum) that Mr. H had purchased a similar PF64 MPL a few days after he
purchased mine, which is why I am guessing he cancelled our transaction
and stopped payment on his check.

So, any thoughts or suggestions?

-------------------------
Charmy Harker - The Penny LadyT
ThePennyLady.com


You're a dealer and have never run into jerks before? Just remember that
"the customer is always right" and move on. He won't be back. Be thankful
you're only out a little inconvenience and irritation plus a few bucks for
the photos. Otherwise, no need to write to Dear Abby for advice on
something like this that needs no further action.

On 11/12/2011 9:07 AM, Bremick wrote:
"Charmy wrote in message
...
You're a dealer and have never run into jerks before? Just remember that
"the customer is always right" and move on. He won't be back. Be thankful
you're only out a little inconvenience and irritation plus a few bucks for
the photos. Otherwise, no need to write to Dear Abby for advice on
something like this that needs no further action.


There might be bank fees to regarding the stopped check. At least one
of my banks still levies a fee of around $25 for problem checks. YMMV

""Roßert G. Schaffrath"" wrote in message
...
On 11/12/2011 9:07 AM, Bremick wrote:
"Charmy wrote in message
...
You're a dealer and have never run into jerks before? Just remember that
"the customer is always right" and move on. He won't be back. Be
thankful
you're only out a little inconvenience and irritation plus a few bucks
for
the photos. Otherwise, no need to write to Dear Abby for advice on
something like this that needs no further action.


There might be bank fees to regarding the stopped check. At least one of
my banks still levies a fee of around $25 for problem checks. YMMV


Still, isn't that an inevitable part of running a business and not an issue
that should prompt a businessman to ask for advice?

On Nov 11, 11:56*pm, "Charmy Harker" wrote:

How would you handle a situation like this?

My only suggestion is to not advertise your photographer's service so
prominently. I
think that, given the wording of your website, it was an easy mistake
to assume that
Todd is in some way working in partnership with you. Or at least that
he might be the
appropriate person to contact if a customer wants a larger image of a
coin. This
customer probably was not aware that this is simply a service you are
using and that
he is not connected to your business.

If you think this sort of situation could become problematic, a simple
paragraph that
states your policy on photos is in order. You could simply add that,
while Todd takes the
pictures, all image inquiries should be directed to yourself. If you
have a good relationship
with Todd, I'm sure he would appreciate a clarification of your
policy: if a customer requests
a photo of one of your coins, he should simply and politely inform the
customer that picture
inquiries should be addressed to you. Problem solved.

As for the on-again off-again deal, I suspect that is a common enough
ocurrence in any
business where a customer is looking for an aesthetically pleasing
item. If someone else
has a prettier coin, you can expect cancelled orders. Nor do you know
how many of your
own satisfied customers have pulled this same trick on another dealer.

This situation may not be nice, but it is hardly unethical. In no way
did the customer
deceive you or commit fraud against you. At worst, it is a case of bad
manners. The
customer should have had the courtesy to write to you saying that he
found a coin more to
his liking elsewhere, but thank you for your time, etc. Nothing you
can do about that.

It's up to you whether you wish to deal with this person again. If
this situation continues to
wrankle you, you might simply respond to him that you didn't
appreciate the way he conducted
his transaction last time. Communications is a key to good business,
and when he failed to
alert you to his change in plan, you lost an opportunity to freely
advertise merchandise that
he no longer wished to buy. You'd be more than happy to deal with him
in person at a show,
or, if he wishes to buy through your website, let him know that until
trust is rebuilt, you will
not mark a coin as "sold" until his check clears and you send the item
in question.

Padraic

Mr. H contacted me several months ago and said he wanted to buy a PF64 MPL
coin off my website. We came to an agreement, so I marked the coin "sold" on
my website. Then Mr. H decided he wanted larger photos of the coin and
contacted my coin photographer directly. Since I was the one who paid for
the photos, the photographer asked if I was ok with him sending Mr. H
additional photos, and I said it was ok and chose not to say anything at
that time to Mr. H about needing to contact me directly to obtain additional
photos of my coins.

After Mr. H received the larger photos, he saw an imperfection in the PF64
coin and decided he no longer wanted that coin, but said he'd buy the PF65
MPL I had on my website instead. I agreed to sell him the PF65, unmarked the
PF64 as no longer being sold, then marked the PF65 as sold on my website.
Mr. H once again went directly to my photographer requesting larger images.
I was about to tell Mr. H that he needed to go through me to make that
request (even though my photographer sent the first set of additional photos
at no extra charge, I didn't want to burden him with having to do that again
without paying for them), when all of a sudden Mr. H again changed his mind
and cancelled the order for the higher grade coin!

Fast forward to now. Mr. H contacted me again out of the blue and said he
wanted to purchase the original PF64 MPL again. I decided to forget about
the past and give him a second (well, third) chance, so we agreed on a
price, and he said he'd send me a check. I received the check and deposited
it into my account. I then sent Mr. H an email letting him know that I
received the check and that since I knew he would be at the Baltimore show
the next week, I would bring the coin to him rather than ship it since
registered mail would take longer to reach him.

The next day I received an email curtly stating he was cancelling his
order - nothing further, no explanation whatsoever. I sent him an email
asking him to call me about what was going on but I never heard from him.
Two days later, he stopped payment on the check I had deposited, still no
explanation or communication.

I subsequently discovered (through his own admission on a post on another
forum) that Mr. H had purchased a similar PF64 MPL a few days after he
purchased mine, which is why I am guessing he cancelled our transaction and
stopped payment on his check.

So, any thoughts or suggestions?

-------------------------
Charmy Harker - The Penny LadyT
ThePennyLady.com

On Nov 13, 7:45*am, "Bremick" wrote:
""Roßert G. Schaffrath"" wrote in ...

On 11/12/2011 9:07 AM, Bremick wrote:
"Charmy *wrote in message
...
You're a dealer and have never run into jerks before? *Just remember that
"the customer is always right" and move on. *He won't be back. *Be
thankful
you're only out a little inconvenience and irritation plus a few bucks
for
the photos. *Otherwise, no need to write to Dear Abby for advice on
something like this that needs no further action.

There might be bank fees to regarding the stopped check. *At least one of
my banks still levies a fee of around $25 for problem checks. *YMMV

Still, isn't that an inevitable part of running a business and not an issue
that should prompt a businessman to ask for advice?

Women aren't really ever asking for advice. They just want you to
listen.

oly

On 11/13/2011 10:35 AM, oly wrote:
On Nov 13, 7:45 am, wrote:
""Roßert G. wrote in ...

On 11/12/2011 9:07 AM, Bremick wrote:
"Charmy wrote in message
...
You're a dealer and have never run into jerks before? Just remember that
"the customer is always right" and move on. He won't be back. Be
thankful
you're only out a little inconvenience and irritation plus a few bucks
for
the photos. Otherwise, no need to write to Dear Abby for advice on
something like this that needs no further action.

There might be bank fees to regarding the stopped check. At least one of
my banks still levies a fee of around $25 for problem checks. YMMV

Still, isn't that an inevitable part of running a business and not an issue
that should prompt a businessman to ask for advice?

Women aren't really ever asking for advice. They just want you to
listen.

oly

Too bad you can't find a woman to suck your dick, Oly.

Why don't you and Finnan make a circle jerk?


Or did that douchebag FINALLY kill himself? I hope to god he did!

(Cause I'm damn tired of having my tax dollars paying for his babbling,
drooling, asswipe self.)