I got a message on FB tonight from a "friend" asking if I was available and if I could quote a price on a cake if I was...photo attached. I replied....and as I pushed the reply button I realized it said "reply all"!!! I've never encountered such a thing!!!! She sent it as a group message and only included me and one other local decorator.... a notorious photo thief! I am not a happy camper right this moment....my mistake for not paying more attention, I know that....
Sorry, I don't know if I had a question, or just needed to vent! LOL. Has this happened to anyone else? How would you deal with it? Wow. Just wow.
Either way that's fine, we all come here to talk to someone else. I never payed attention to that on FB, I will now.
I would definitely be taken aback! I am curious to see if the other vendor replies as well!
I have had issues with my facebook in the past. I insist on an email or phone number and take the conversation off of facebook. I can't always log on to facebook and also I find that if someone is not willing to email or call, they are not serious. Also, in my first contact, I send my order information (order 2 weeks before event, deposit, min. order, pick-up and delivery options, etc.) so that everything is clear.
I also insist on a face to face meeting. I'll say something like, "Why don't we meet at Starbucks and you can look at some sketches of my ideas and then you can decide which option you want to go with. Bring a $50 deposit check (for birthday or small cakes) and we can reserve your date." If they do not bring the check to the meeting, I tell them I'm sorry, but I can't help them.
It has saved me so much grief. I've had two instances (before I knew better) where a facebook contact cancelled the order the week of the event (no deposit collected...i know...) and then a large birthday order who was supposed to paypal a deposit by a certain date and never contacted me again. Thankfully I waited to work on the cake until I got the deposit.
I agree. When someone asks me, I always politely reply "I would love to discuss this with you! Send me an email at [email protected] and we can talk further details."
FB is a blessing and a curse.
I agree. When someone asks me, I always politely reply "I would love to discuss this with you! Send me an email at [email protected] and we can talk further details."
FB is a blessing and a curse.
Yep. Email or call only. I keep really good records of conversations and what not, and can't include stupid FB messages to keep track of. Blah!
ASame here, any potential customers who send FB messages or texts are redirected to the order form on our web site.
Facebook has its pros and cons as we all know, but from a business standpoint (of which I'm no pro by any means) I like to keep things as professional as possible.
If a customer is not aware of how you conduct your business - by inviting them to engage with you via email/face to face will certainly sort that out.
I have had inquiries from customers via email and I always always get "gmail" to show/reveal the other third parties aka cake bakers involved or by simply clicking reply all to see who else was on the distribution list if any.
That normally gets my brain ticking as to what the customer is up to...and normally its to see which one of us "cake bakers" can offer them the best price - which is fair game to a certain extent. Nothing wrong with comparing prices!
However when I reply back to the customer I don't include the other bakers.
Don't beat yourself up too much it happens to the best of us...but the most important thing is to dust ourselves off and move on.
Oh! With regards to the notorious photo thief - assuming that you post your pictures on Facebook do your pictures have watermarks on them?
If not then I suggest you do asap, smack bang in the middle of all your futures pictures so it will be impossible for them to claim your work as their own.
Just my two pennies worth.
x
Quick update....thanks to each of you for your input!!! Seriously! I haven't heard a peep from either of them today, probably won't. The "photo thief" has stolen every thing! From cakes in bridal magazines, including The Knot....to many of our friends here and other local decorators. As for me, my FB is set to friends only. She has me blocked, so I can't even tell she exists. :) She knows I know. And she knows I don't like it one little bit. She may be reading this. LOL, who knows! I just cannot wrap my head around what she does. She was a student of mine for a short time and seemed like such a nice person. Oh well..... I doubt she would ever take one of my photos. :) I'll let ya'll know if I hear anything else though. Thanks!
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