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**Update posted at the end of this thread***
I work for a furniture manufacturer. A lot of my time is spent talking to customers about custom products they want, writing quotes for custom work, and doing drawings of those items. I came in to work today at 7:15 am (eastern time…because I live in Michigan). I read my e-mail from oldest to newest. The first un-read message was from a dealer in California telling me that she wanted a simple special, and needed pricing back today (our normal turn around is 48 hours). The e-mail came in at 5:45pm (my time). I leave at 5, so I was already gone. The next message was at 6:15 asking how it was going. Keep in mind, a special quote is at the very least 2 hours of work, and this dealer KNOWS this. The next e-mail came at 8:15, it was to my boss and copied me “I requested a quote be completed by the end of the day today, can you see what the hold up is?” The next e-mail came in at 8:30 “I’m still waiting.” The next e-mail at 8:45 “I’m going home now. Call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. I expect to hear from you ASAP!”
What do I do? I call her…at 7:30 am Eastern time. Apparently, you should not give out your home number and then tell someone three time zones ahead of you to call you ASAP…because ASAP may be 4:30 am local time. She is none to happy that I woke up her family at 4:30 in the morning. She tells me that she will be in touch when she gets up.
About 30 minutes later I got an e-mail written to my boss, but the VP of sales and I were copied in:
“I made a reasonable request to Bob that he have a quote back to me by the end of the day yesterday. He never responded. Then, he called me at home at 4AM this morning! You should know that if you do business in a state that it is the law that you have people that work those hours so you are available to help me. Please do something about this, so I don’t have to contact someone legally about this.”
I grabbed my Boss and printouts of my e-mail, and we went to the VP’s office. We talked over everything. I got the following e-mail about 5 minutes later from the VP to the dealer and my boss:
“I reviewed the situation with Bob and (my boss). I have a few points I would like to point out:
1) We close at 5pm Eastern Time.
2) Your request did not come in until 5:45pm.
3) Our quote turn around time is averaging 48 hours. 2 hours is not reasonable.
4) You e-mailed, providing your home number, and asking to be called ASAP.
5) When Bob got into the office at 7:15 (Eastern) was when he received that message so by definition, that was ASAP.
6) There is no law requiring that we provide customer service during the hours of operation in any given time zone.
7) Even if there was, Bob may have not been that person.
8) I am going to do something about this. I reviewed your dealership’s numbers this past year. Last year, based on volume, you qualified for an extra 10% discount. This year you have failed to maintain that volume so I am removing that extra discount.
I have asked Bob to complete that quote within 48 hours of its receipt. If you have any questions regarding this, contact me directly.
(Have I mentioned that some days I LOVE my job?)
I work for a furniture manufacturer. A lot of my time is spent talking to customers about custom products they want, writing quotes for custom work, and doing drawings of those items. I came in to work today at 7:15 am (eastern time…because I live in Michigan). I read my e-mail from oldest to newest. The first un-read message was from a dealer in California telling me that she wanted a simple special, and needed pricing back today (our normal turn around is 48 hours). The e-mail came in at 5:45pm (my time). I leave at 5, so I was already gone. The next message was at 6:15 asking how it was going. Keep in mind, a special quote is at the very least 2 hours of work, and this dealer KNOWS this. The next e-mail came at 8:15, it was to my boss and copied me “I requested a quote be completed by the end of the day today, can you see what the hold up is?” The next e-mail came in at 8:30 “I’m still waiting.” The next e-mail at 8:45 “I’m going home now. Call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. I expect to hear from you ASAP!”
What do I do? I call her…at 7:30 am Eastern time. Apparently, you should not give out your home number and then tell someone three time zones ahead of you to call you ASAP…because ASAP may be 4:30 am local time. She is none to happy that I woke up her family at 4:30 in the morning. She tells me that she will be in touch when she gets up.
About 30 minutes later I got an e-mail written to my boss, but the VP of sales and I were copied in:
“I made a reasonable request to Bob that he have a quote back to me by the end of the day yesterday. He never responded. Then, he called me at home at 4AM this morning! You should know that if you do business in a state that it is the law that you have people that work those hours so you are available to help me. Please do something about this, so I don’t have to contact someone legally about this.”
I grabbed my Boss and printouts of my e-mail, and we went to the VP’s office. We talked over everything. I got the following e-mail about 5 minutes later from the VP to the dealer and my boss:
“I reviewed the situation with Bob and (my boss). I have a few points I would like to point out:
1) We close at 5pm Eastern Time.
2) Your request did not come in until 5:45pm.
3) Our quote turn around time is averaging 48 hours. 2 hours is not reasonable.
4) You e-mailed, providing your home number, and asking to be called ASAP.
5) When Bob got into the office at 7:15 (Eastern) was when he received that message so by definition, that was ASAP.
6) There is no law requiring that we provide customer service during the hours of operation in any given time zone.
7) Even if there was, Bob may have not been that person.
8) I am going to do something about this. I reviewed your dealership’s numbers this past year. Last year, based on volume, you qualified for an extra 10% discount. This year you have failed to maintain that volume so I am removing that extra discount.
I have asked Bob to complete that quote within 48 hours of its receipt. If you have any questions regarding this, contact me directly.
(Have I mentioned that some days I LOVE my job?)
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