Reptile & Amphibian Forums

....... that there are people in this industry that blow you off. You would think that someone trying to run a buisiness would at least have the consideration to simply answer a email huh?

That's ok, who needs that type of so called "BUISINESS". There are plenty out there who do care about their reputation. Word of mouth is a powerful thing !!

Walter

I have had that happen to me also. Needless to say, the caring people, who actually answer my emails, are the ones I am still doing "business" with.

The first thing you learn, doing customer service work, is "take care of the customer, and treat them right". This should be applied in any type of business.

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Paula
17 Corns,6 Ratsnakes, 1 Ball Python, 1 Hognose(for now)

Snake Addict
"Always Learning"

Yep i recently ordered worms from a business, and they took forever to respond and when they did they just sent me the caresheet again, that didn't answer my question. Then i wrote to a manufacture about a product and no answer what so ever. So time to write nice letters in the mail for them. lol
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My roomates are 1BP,1BCI 4 corns,Rotti,3cats and snake food AKA the food chain. See my kids at: http://community.webshots.com/user/diggy415

It IS an extremely busy time of year for a lot of big breeders. I myself have been frustrated by a lack of response to some of the questions I've posted on another forum, until I realized that many of the very people whose opinions I would most appreciate (the people with the large operations who have the most experience) are simply swamped this time of year. They're trying to get their hundreds of hatchlings to eat, getting their adults rebred, cleaning cages, refilling all those tiny water bowls, handling egg-bound females, etc. -- in other words, trying to keep their stock healthy and productive. On top of that, they've got all the demands of the height of the selling season -- dealing with various buyer requests (as in, "I just want to buy one hatchling, but I'd really like the very best purple-spotted female with the least green and the most perfect paisley pattern you've got. -- would you mind looking through your 327 babies to find me the very best one?", packing up and shipping out sold snakes, walking newbie buyers through the basics of feeding/temperatures/handling baby snakes, answering panicky newbies who can't get their babies to eat the day after they've arrived at the doorstep, dealing with complaints ("Hey, the male you sent to me doesn't look exactly like the female -- I want a refund, now!", etc. I'm sure it must get utterly overwhelming at times. And even the big-name breeders get sick sometimes, or have a family emergency, or simply need a mental-health downtime day (or week) now and then.

Having said all that, I do agree with Sparda. Certain breeders that I know are very busy, but who are consistently responsive to my questions and who still find time to answer my emails, will always be at the top of my list when I'm looking to spend money and expand my collection.

Liz

Good post.While Ive never had a gazillion hatchlings to care for there are times when work,family,cleaning,feeding,etc
get in the way of answering emails promptly.And yes,I also get pi$$y when Ive waited for more than a week for a reply...Paul

I love it when people place adds saying they want something and will pay cash then reply with, I have some (insert crappy reptile here) to trade.Well by gosh sure I will trade you $500 worth of reptiles for 50 smackers worth of yours.Want me to pay for shipping also?That just stews my buns to no end.Glad to get that off my chest.I feel better now...Paul

:

>>It IS an extremely busy time of year for a lot of big breeders. I myself have been frustrated by a lack of response to some of the questions I've posted on another forum, until I realized that many of the very people whose opinions I would most appreciate (the people with the large operations who have the most experience) are simply swamped this time of year. They're trying to get their hundreds of hatchlings to eat, getting their adults rebred, cleaning cages, refilling all those tiny water bowls, handling egg-bound females, etc. -- in other words, trying to keep their stock healthy and productive. On top of that, they've got all the demands of the height of the selling season -- dealing with various buyer requests (as in, "I just want to buy one hatchling, but I'd really like the very best purple-spotted female with the least green and the most perfect paisley pattern you've got. -- would you mind looking through your 327 babies to find me the very best one?", packing up and shipping out sold snakes, walking newbie buyers through the basics of feeding/temperatures/handling baby snakes, answering panicky newbies who can't get their babies to eat the day after they've arrived at the doorstep, dealing with complaints ("Hey, the male you sent to me doesn't look exactly like the female -- I want a refund, now!", etc. I'm sure it must get utterly overwhelming at times. And even the big-name breeders get sick sometimes, or have a family emergency, or simply need a mental-health downtime day (or week) now and then.
>>
>>Having said all that, I do agree with Sparda. Certain breeders that I know are very busy, but who are consistently responsive to my questions and who still find time to answer my emails, will always be at the top of my list when I'm looking to spend money and expand my collection.
>>
>>Liz

eh... even if I am busy, or sick, I still make somewhat of an effort to reply to any business emails I get, even if its with a short note letting the customer know I am busy or sick.

-cat
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My collection and herp photography

www.lowergroundreptiles.net

Well said cat. This is my point EXACTLY !!!

Walter

If it has a LOT of questions, or questions that require long, involved answers, I usually send a quick reply and invite them to call (I can talk faster than type, lol! I even have a portable headphone so I can feed and clean while I talk!). I think some people who do not run a business would be amazed at the volume of email received, many just asking questions about caring for the snake they just bought at a local shop. As somebody mentioned, the heaviest volume of email comes at the same time as the heaviest workload for breeders. I try to answer them all, but can't write long individual answers - I just don't type fast enough! But I did write up some FAQs to send out for the most common questions.

This is an IMPORTANT NOTE - every month I get a couple of emails that I CAN NOT reply to - they just get returned to me and I am unable to get them through the system for whatever reason. So please send a phone # - put it in your signature. I normally don't phone everyone who emails (that would cost a fortune!), but the few emails that won't go back through the system would get a quick call from me IF there was a phone # in the original email.

is when they do respond, but it's as if they didn't read your email. Like when they don't answer any or all your questions. I've corresponded with one breeder about some babies he has available. I maybe asked one question with regard to general care/husbandry (and that was what size tub to start out with), but the other questions were about the animal in particular (if eating live/ft/prekilled, what size, etc). He comes highly recommended, but it took me like 5 emails to get answers to what was in the original...and there's still one question he hasn't answered - it's regarding how to actually place an order and pay for one of his babies! I understand being busy, and it's great that you (Kathy) at least offer to talk on the phone, and I try to be understanding of that but it sometimes makes me wonder if he's not intersted in selling to me or knows he'll get a buyer somewhere so is in no hurry to do business with me in particular. I still may do business with him, but am not decided yet. I'm picky about who I do business with and tend to stick to the same 3 breeders, but there's noone locally who sells this species (that I feel comfortable with).
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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

Kathy replied to me VERY quick. I asked if she was attending the NARBC in Philly and got an email two days later with her reply! I usually give a buisness 5-7 buisness days to reply which is usually the standard. Like people have said top notch breeders have to care for 100's of hatchlings,fill orders,deal with gravid females,try to rebreed AND take care of personal issues IE family! Now being that most top notch breeders breed alone or with one partner/family member they do not have time to answer all emails right away. Most do have phone numbers on their websites that people can call. I know I prefer to answer a voice mail faster then to reply to an email. PLUS with so much spam and all some good emails can go straight to a spam mail/junk mail box.

I find it a real turn-off when people only give you their time if you're making a purchase or have already made a purchase. I can rememember a few times I've emailed people asking a few questions about husbandry/breeding specifics for some of the uncommonly kept species that they worked with and would get a response something like "well, had you bought yours from us I'd be more than happy to answer all your questions"....people like this have permently lost any chance of ever getting any of my hard earned money!

The worst experience I've ever had was about 10 years ago...this was back when Savu Pythons were fairly new to the hobby and there wasn't much known about them. I called one of the "big name" python specialists since they were known breeders of Savus (at this time they still had their phone# posted in their ad in REPTILES Mag.) and the wife of this husband/wife team totally reamed me out telling me how they are not in the business of giving out free information and how dare I buy some w.c. snakes and then call them asking for info about them, and her time is too valuable...BLAH, BLAH, BLAH....

About a week later, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Anyone who knows me knows I am nothing but polite and respectful to people, so I knew it was nothing I said, either she had "issues" or I had just caught her at a bad time on a bad day. I decided to apologize (as if I had done something wrong) but didn't want to call again or send an easily dismissed email, so I sent a handwritten letter and mailed it...I never got a reply.

I get tons of email from visitors to my website, most asking detailed husbandry questions since my site is more of an informational site rather than a breeder/pricelist site. My life can be incredably busy and hectic at times, but I always try to find time to answer the emails even if it's just to tell them to email me again on the weekend so I can give them a better answer.

Our hobby has lots of great people in it, I'll not let the few bad interactions I've had ruin it for me. I've been fortunate enough to meet some wonderful people in the online reptile community, people that have become friends via email, phone, and at each others' homes...I consider myself greatly blessed
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Mike Heinrich
mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

Because I absolutely HATE exactly what you're talking about. I get screwed ALOT of times with this and it would be nice to know on a scale of 1 to 10 where a breeder ranked in reply time.

I understand that people are busy, especially breeders this time of year...HOWEVER this is the business they've chosen AND if its full-time, I'm sure there is some balance of off-time during the non-breeding season. If it becomes too much for a breeder to handle something as simple as customer service and returning emails, then he/she should take a step back and work with less animals OR seek help by hiring a part-time assistant or a volunteer apprentice.

For instance, IF I lived in a place like Florida growing up, I would have been extremely eager to volunteer my time to help one of the many big breeders down there for experience as well as a discount on buying herps. Maybe there should be more outreach to younger generations of herpers for assistance and for molding positive business practices for the future.

Its a shame...it really is b/c I think poor customer service has become a standard in the 10plus years I've been keeping. Meanwhile exceptional cust. service is exactly that, an exception.

We should rate the service and not just by providing positive/negative feedback but a specific list of categories which are the most commonly applicable. Just my 2 cents.
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Sincerely,
Jason
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There is an old saying "walk a mile in my shoes". I do not know how many have collections to match the large breeders, but I personally can not imagine caring for 4000 hatchlings, 600 -700 breeders, and other odds and ends. Sometimes short of a nervous breakdown I do not think I could handle it. I know in this society everyone demands ultra customer service and exacting personal service. And it is great that some breeders have seemingly found a solution, but to those who have not completly satisfied us with on the spot answers...let us give them some leway. They produce magnificant animals that make a lot of us drool. These animals are not produced by the luck of the draw or by some wave of a wand. It takes HARD work. I am sure some of our questions could be answered elsewhere or at another time. I think if anything was life and death we would get a very quick response...because these people truly CARE about the animals. So if you really love someones product..do not give up so easily and do not let your temper get in the way of your reason.
Like I said just my opinion
Nancy
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Some of my best friends are snakes
Snakes Rule

I do reward great customer service with loyalty and repeat purchases. When a breeder/seller takes the extra time to answer my questions, I see that as a sign of respect that they value me as a person and appreciate my desire to learn and better care for my animals. And after all, we do tend to most like the people who make us feel good about ourselves (not act as if we're an annoyance).

However, on the flip side, I do imagine that a lot of breeders get bombarded with questions that (1) could be simply answered if the asker would do a little homework on the Internet or in books and (2) are asked by people who never intend to buy anything from them in the first place. If I were in business selling something, my top priority would be to take care of my product and take care of the people who had already bought from me, as a thank-you for their business. IF I still had extra time (after paying bills, doing household chores, spending time with my children and/or spouse, checking in on my parents, doing the everyday tasks that we all have), THEN I'd tackle answering questions from people I don't know and, for all I know, are just looking for something free, at my expense.

Let's face it. We're all terribly busy, and time is a precious commodity. I just think we need to cut our fellow man a little slack now and then. Sometimes emails get lost in cyberspace. Sometimes an isolated thunderstorm fries a computer. Sometimes a close friend or family member gets diagnosed with cancer. Sometimes life just throws a person a curve, and answering an email just doesn't make the cut for things that must be done that day.

Liz

I don't care what you say....if you buy from someone and then email them a question and get NO response at all, its unacceptable...it has nothing to do with ULTRA customer service. It has to do with BASIC customer service.

"I am sure some of our questions could be answered elsewhere or at another time."
I completely disagree with you....there is an obligation for a seller to reply to a buyer that has a legitimate concern or problem, especially if it involves the health of an animal. You take a very laid back approach, and thats fine BUT I maybe you have never bought a snake from someone, gauranteed to feed and then it doesn't feed EVER for you...AND then trying to contact that person again is like trying to reach Osama bin Laden. This has happened to me in the past and you take your losses as they come, given the nature of the herp business.

"I think if anything was life and death we would get a very quick response..."
Why should it ONLY be life and death situations? Those seem to be the kind that end up on the 'other' website most often with fueds....I think preventative communication is MORE important and vital in preventing life and death situations later down the road.

I agree, I think that its important to not let temper get in the way...you can kill more flies with honey than with vinegar. More can be accomplished IF the situation is handled maturely, BUT it doesn't mean someone should cut off communication in the event a buyer is upset or expressing emotion. Mediation can be a successful tool if done fairly by 3rd parties. However, you cannot make a generalization that ALL sellers care about animals....most breeders have a vested interest in their animals but more and more brokers are hitting the scene and some of them buy from big breeders in bulk/wholesale and sell the animals quickly to make a decent profit....nothing wrong with that but they may not 'care' as much as private breeders.

Hey I guess we all have our opinions based on our personal experiences so we can only try to improve and be better for it. Maybe a 'rating' or 'recognition' system is not necessary BUT you may find that some breeders could take pride in a high rating based on a level of customer service. Most big corn breeders have become that way because they do provide exceptional service....I think breeders of other species can learn alot from people like Don, Rich and Kathy, etc....thats why they're known so well....for both nice animals and wonderful service.

Well gotta run...no worries....
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Sincerely,
Jason
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Maybe the breeders would like to have a customer rating system. 10 could be courteous, understanding,non demanding and 1 would be obnoxious butt heads. Not to say ANYONE here would be a 1 LOL..but what I am getting at is this...I know everyone here has seen or done this..Advertised trying to get more money from their offspring by "name dropping" ..THIS IS FROM SO AN SO'S STOCK...well how did you think so and so's stock became so desirable? Again as I said before hard work. So if they are doing all of the waiting for years to produce the latest and greatest and we want to "cash" in ..then we have to understand.
"customer relations" I work in a very high customer relation business And believe me the customer is NOT always right. We owe them that much respect and consideration.
Thanks
Nancy
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Some of my best friends are snakes
Snakes Rule

If you buy or sell something on Ebay, then both the customer and seller have the opportunity to rate the other. Perhapse it is not so far out on a limb to think that someone could set up a herp buyer/seller rating site - maybe even the site we're on now...
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2.0 Anerythristic Corns
1.0 Amelanistic Corn
2.3 Leopard Geckos
3.1 Crested Geckos
1.0 Peacock Day Gecko
0.1 Gold Dust Day Gecko
1.1 Giant Day Geckos
4.2 Cats

I was in a huge customer service based business as well and I ALWAYS used that expression....too funny...
the customer is NOT always right BUT I always felt they should be given benefit of the doubt and consideration as if they were right....and as such always be taken care of regardless. I think its fair to say that most big breeders follow this to some degree or another but its not just about the big breeders since they obviously got to be big b/c of their love for animals and cust. service.
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Sincerely,
Jason
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just checked out your website - nice collection! Are you working on breeding any species right now?
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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I'm not going to breed anything for a few more years probably. I'm not in any particular hurry and will not take any shortcuts or anything since I'm in this for the long term. I figure its better to wait until the snakes I have are without a doubt up to weight and super healthy. I recently bought a digital scale for weighing them. I actually have two virgin 99' Green Tree Pythons that I plan on finding a mate for this year. who knows..maybe at the next herp show I'll find one to my liking.lol. I am not ready for dealing with incubators and babies again just yet...I'll only breed some snakes off and on over the next few years.
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Sincerely,
Jason
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Great to hear you're in no rush. I'll certainly keep an eye on your site. Good luck!
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Check Out My Albums

1.0 Ball Python "Aragorn"
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa "Gimli"
1.0 Saharan Sand Boa "Frodo"
0.1 Rough-Scale Sand Boa "Arwen"
0.1 California Kingsnake "Gentoo"
1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Indigo"
1.0 Snow Corn snake "Chile"

0.0.1 Crested Gecko
0.0.1 Irian Jaya BlueTongued Skink

0.1 Australian Cattle Dog/Pointer
"Kira"

I usually email back.....

hate to ship....

and forget who's who anyways......

...figure...people use wierd names and not a real mname..that can be a good thing or a bad thing......depends on how easy it is to remember.....

doesn't matter..I forget everything anyways........

LOL
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are we having fun yet?.........
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