I have to share a short story that leads to the title of this post. I get inquiries every day about my puppies, mostly through email, most of them good, some of them bad. I will admit there have been several times where I have simply hit the delete button instead of responding to a message because I instantly knew I was not interested in working with the person that had messaged me, this doesn't happen often but in all my years of doing this I can usually tell pretty quickly if someone is wasting my time or just not what I am looking for. Recently I was contacted by someone asking about a puppy I had for sale, their first message was normal so I responded and then a few messages later it was clear that I was not interested in going any farther with this person and did not want to do business with them. They asked me for references and wanted to come to my house and I declined because my gut was just telling me this wasn't going to work out and boy was I right! I really value my customers and the people who are on my reference list and I don't want to waste their time by directing people to them for a reference if I don't feel the family is what I am looking for. I don't often deny people references but if I do I have a reason for it. This person did not like being told "no" which resulted in them sending me a flood of nasty emails telling me I was rude, unprofessional, fake, etc. They posted negative things on our Facebook page and then posted a negative review on a website with little or no verification (careful about some of the reviews you read.) After the barrage of emails I simply explained to them that I didn't provide references because I didn't want to do business with them and they replied that 'it was a silly excuse to simply not give references' so they had the last word and hopefully felt better about themselves! The whole experience really bothered me and my husband said it's all part of doing business and to brush it off, which I think is easier for a male to say, we females get our emotions mixed up into things, we just can't help it. In the end I got a bad review online but I went with my gut and a few verbal punches directed my way was much better than having that person get their hands on one of our puppies! So to anyone that witnessed the garbage on our Facebook page I am sorry, I'm not on the computer all the time and I don't always see what gets posted right away.
Now with that all being explained I do want to tell you that I screen my customers and I hope you understand and respect that. Thankfully the majority of families that contact me are good people who can provide good homes for my puppies but I still feel it's my job to ask questions to be sure. I often get asked if I have an application for adoption and I don't but I will ask you common questions about your dog experience, living situation, work situation, finances, etc. I don't ask questions to be nosey, if I were selling you a lamp it would be a different story, but a puppy is obviously a living breathing beautiful creature that deserves a wonderful life and I am a big part of that process. Consumers definitely have a much easier time doing research on a business than a business does when screening a customer. Business opportunity here: Can someone please design a website where a company can look up reviews on a potential customer just like a consumer does on a business? I would gladly post glowing reviews on my clients!
Long story short, I will never be able to appease everyone that contacts me, I won't always bend over backwards for every request that is asked of me, but I will always try very hard to make my customers happy and will continue to screen potential customers to give my puppies good homes.
If you would like to see some heartwarming pictures and honest updates from actual clients here is a link to a post on our Facebook page that will definitely make you smile:
https://www.facebook.com/cutecockapoos/photos/a.194733553882704.43032.143281459027914/1632508063438572/?type=3&theater
