Do you feel like you need to explain

[rmonks]

I have had several people email or call with small orders lately, most less that a dozen shirts. multi color and the customer doesn't understand why they have to order 24-36 min. or pay high prices to get them. I always feel like I have a need to come up with some way of explaining what is involved in printing 6-8 shirts with 2 or 3 color prints, Just to help them understand that I will loose my A*! If I even talk to them about doing the order. I  How do you explain you can't afford to do it.

[Prosperi-Tees]

A used Brother 541 DTG could take care of alot of those. The machines are around pretty cheap nowadays.

[mk162]

There are a couple routes...

1. The deep fryer analogy...it's not worth it to warm up a deep fryer to cook just 1 order of fries.  When you heat it up, you cook a whole basket after basket.

2. The amusement park....it's not worth it for Six Flags to open up for 1 family.

That is the easiest way of explaining it...if they don't get one of those, they are either dumb or broke...or both.

[Ryan]

someone had posted before the cupcake anology. You don't mix up ingredients to cook one cupcake or saying you don't order just 1 cupcake to be made. I suck at regurgitating but you get the idea

[Screened Gear]

Don't let questions bother you. We hear the something all the time. They just want to know why. Its normal. If we worked at a gocart track we would have to answer: How fast do they go?, all day long.  Just be honest and tell them what they need to hear. Make it a fast answer and say the same thing everytime people ask.

I say something like:

Customer: Why are 12 shirts going to be so much more. Can't I get them for the same price as 100?

You: I wish, that would be awesome. I just can't do them that cheap. There are a ton of setup that goes into each job. That cost for the setup is decided by how many shirts we print. If you think the 12 shirt price is alot you should see how cheap it is to get 1000 shirts. Then laugh... If they keep asking questions then just say the price is what it is.

[royster13]

I saw a price list the other day......It was the same price for 1 shirt to 1,000 shirts.....But they had a 150.00 set-up charge......1 shirt was something like 3.00 + 150.00...2 shirts were 6.00 + 150.00, etc. etc.....

[mk162]

The question doesn't really bother me, it's when they keep pressuring you and then you reach a point when you don't want to work with them anymore.  I had a guy that found an online price of like $3.50, I was closer to $5.  The kicker was you needed to order like 500 shirts for that price and he would only order them 100 at a time.  But he wanted the price he found online.

The bad part was there was a language barrier.  That made it a lot harder to get him to come around to where I was.  So finally he hung up on me...ah well, it happens.

[dave58]

It goes with the territory...

[Homer]

yup. cupcakes. . . I tell them to make me one cupcake, not a cake, but ONE cupcake. You can see the light bulb go off. the ones that don't get it won't have money on them for a deposit anyway....

[tpitman]

Don't let questions bother you. We hear the something all the time. They just want to know why. Its normal. If we worked at a gocart track we would have to answer: How fast do they go?, all day long.  Just be honest and tell them what they need to hear. Make it a fast answer and say the same thing everytime people ask.

I say something like:

Customer: Why are 12 shirts going to be so much more. Can't I get them for the same price as 100?

You: I wish, that would be awesome. I just can't do them that cheap. There are a ton of setup that goes into each job. That cost for the setup is decided by how many shirts we print. If you think the 12 shirt price is alot you should see how cheap it is to get 1000 shirts. Then laugh... If they keep asking questions then just say the price is what it is.

Hire someone like Abe Simpson instead of the hot chick to work the customer line or front counter. Tell 'em a L-O-N-G drawn out story that goes nowhere about how much trouble it is to print a couple of shirts. They'll either sign up for your minimum or leave.
When my first-born was ready to go home, I went down to "Finance" to settle the hospital bill. I asked the old dude behind the desk about installments. He started telling me this pathetic story about what a rough time the hospital had with collections so I whipped out my credit card just to put myself out of my misery.
http://youtu.be/TRUj8dma0oo

[Croft]

I had this one the other day from a good customer, they use a couple of screeners.

Customer: we have to do something about your minimum charges "  look for a 6 colour print you charge $3.00" plus 6 setup charges of $5.00 ( they are a customer that repeats alot so we keep there screens on file"   ,   Printer X only charges $2.75

Me: No setup from X just $2.75

custy: no I don't think so, here is there pricing

Me : sorry won't even look at it  at that price I'd be losing just opening the bag, let me see there pricing

custy : here you go

Me: whats this $10.00 per screen setup on all orders under 500 pieces

Custy:  ??

Custy : Call accounting

Accounting:  Yes that is charged by X everytime  "thats why I say use Croft , but you don't"

Me: Then I'm half his price?

Custy : Ah, Oh Ok

Me : Have received 5 new constant repeat jobs in last 2 weeks!!!!


Sorry for being longwinded but I wanted to strangle this guy after being drawn out on the carpet on a delivery.

[kingscreen]

There are some great analogies in this thread that I'm definitely going to borrow!

[whitewater]

I just say we dont do it...or i tell them its $100 per shirt...and I send them to the mall where they can get their 1 or 2 shirts (i guess it is 10 seconds of my life i can't get back)...Im a larger dude so they don't keep going on and on trying to get me to do it...LOL

[Sbrem]

There are a couple routes...

1. The deep fryer analogy...it's not worth it to warm up a deep fryer to cook just 1 order of fries.  When you heat it up, you cook a whole basket after basket.

2. The amusement park....it's not worth it for Six Flags to open up for 1 family.

That is the easiest way of explaining it...if they don't get one of those, they are either dumb or broke...or both.

I like opening the bakery to make one cupcake, or mowing a 1/4 acre lawn 50 miles away...

Steve

[ebscreen]

We tried to scare someone away yesterday, 1 piece, 2 colors, $160.

They bit.