Is this common

Went to deliver large order of micros to new client.when I got there, sous chef informed me that by no means would we be accepting these. They found micros a little less from one of there vendors, and would be using only one kind. Spoke with executive chef the day before, and did not even mention to this to me. Was no where to be found, made his sous chef do his dirty work. What do you do in this case. Just accept the loss? Have two more weeks of micros growing specifically for him. Sous chef mentioned that the micros he had from my previous order were some of the best he ever had. I hope to believe he was sincere I. His comment.

Also, what do you do when a client refuses their order. Same day, I had restaurant tell me they could not accept them, because there power went out. Unable to rede liver because of distance.
Thanks!

Nance Smith wrote:Went to deliver large order of micros to new client.when I got there, sous chef informed me that by no means would we be accepting these. They found micros a little less from one of there vendors, and would be using only one kind. Spoke with executive chef the day before, and did not even mention to this to me. Was no where to be found, made his sous chef do his dirty work. What do you do in this case. Just accept the loss? Have two more weeks of micros growing specifically for him. Sous chef mentioned that the micros he had from my previous order were some of the best he ever had. I hope to believe he was sincere I. His comment.

Also, what do you do when a client refuses their order. Same day, I had restaurant tell me they could not accept them, because there power went out. Unable to redeliver because of distance.
Thanks!

Judging from your post, this chef is not looking to form a relationship. By refusing the order he made he has taken advantage of the situation and will do so again. Idea, could you charge a service delivery fee in advance to weed out uncommitted customers? Would that be too aggressive?

Do they pay at receipt or do you bill? If you email/ mail the bill, there's nothing wrong with sending the invoice. It was ordered, you delivered, there was no quality reason for the refusal.

If you have a decent relationship with them you are entitled to one billing " oops" in a given timeframe. If called on the percieved billing problem, you can hold your ground or say " oops" and make it go away.

The electricity shutdown is different. They didn't know the day before. When it happens there is so much other stuff to deal with that I am amazed you even got a phone call. If it's a regular customer I would take the hit and move on.

I miss read. You didn't get a phone call on the second one but my opinion remains. They have to secure refrigerated items. Cancel reservations. Put signage up. Call employees to not come in. It's chaotic.

Walk away from the first. They are not going to be worth the A-hole factor. If they come back to you, double your price and say cash in advance--a grow-to-order arrangement.

The power outage--roll with it. It is outside their control, too.

You need to plan for these unexpectedness. Although usually not that much at the same time, sometimes it pours.

I can imagine if you are in business for any length of time you will hear every excuse there is. Keep a diary, turn it into a book someday. No way to foresee a power outage, I'm sure they would prefer to get your product than to deal with trying to save the product they already need to keep from spoiling. Make some new customers(I prefer Jay Abraham's "clients", someone under your protection), when your client can't take their order, go visit other similar businesses in the area.

On keeping track of problems that arise for power outages, keep a list of great generator suppliers that will give you a referral fee for sending clients their way.