Hey
Im out in west TX and have been running my own business for 3 years now. I was hoping by now I would have weeded out all the unreliable and one timers. But that's not the case at all. I do quality, clean and correct work at a far price.
Like I tell my clients, I may not be the best Farrier in the business but I promise to provide the best service and stand by my work.
Here are my problems
Cant get clients to stay on schedule.(Excuses,no call back)

Clients try to take advantage of me.(Call and need horse done that day
Post date checks with out asking)
Having to deal with people who dont deserve horses.

Spending a hour trying to catch horses, with no help like thats part of my job.


I believe its just cause of where im located, West Tx is all oil field and when the economy is down my good so caled reliable clients under cut me for some guy with a bucket full of tools, who is 10 bucks cheaper than me. Any ideas or help from you all who have stable businesses will be great

Bo

Bo, tough deal, with not so many good answers...

The best advice I can give is this, "Make no Exceptions", the second you do the easier it gets to just accept the situation and go on with it...

Tough when your new in the business and trying to do good work and provide a quality service. IF clients won't schedule every six to eight weeks, they are no longer my clients. I worry that they will be somebody else's clients next time, but the reality is they will be somebody else's and then somebody else's and the somebody else's...

Sorry...

Hang in there Bo. We all start out with these problems. In time you will have been doing this long enough to change some of your B and C clients into A clients. It takes time and experiences to get people to come around and do the right thing. I wish you all the best.

13puppet wrote:SERVICE, GOOD WORK and reliability. It took me about 5-6 yrs to get my business going so I could support myself. If it hadn't been for my work with the Army Reserve during that time, I wouldn't have survived. Stick to your guns and it will come. Sooner or later people will learn that they can depend on you, that's the key.

13puppet wrote:Just keep telling yourself that their money is just as green as anyone else. While all the time remembering that there will become a day where you will ether like them or you will be so busy you won't need them.

13puppet wrote:Keep providing high quality work and service, while at the same time working to better yourself/knowledge/skills.

13puppet wrote:Make sure you are scheduling the next appointment before you leave. Then give them a reminder call the day before the appointment. If they want to change appointment then make them set a new date right then while you have them on the phone. If they say they will call you when they need you then ether wright them off, or give them a date two weeks out when they call.

13puppet wrote:Always make them schedule out, even if you could find the time that day. This will make them understand you run on a schedule.

13puppet wrote:While this is a annoying inconvenance I don't have much of a problem with this as long as the check is good and it not an all the time thing. But then I have some customer who mail me a check or do Bill Pay so its not much of a big deal. I however will not go to the next schedule appointment unless the prior bill has been paid.

13puppet wrote:Not much we can do here but a good job and take their money.

13puppet wrote:If the customer is there I expect them to catch the horse unless we have made prior arrangements. Where most of my customers are not around when I'm there I catch most of the horses, however my customer usually have them in out of the pasture for me. If I have to spend much more than 15 min to catch a horse then I leave and call the customer with a new appointment date where they can be there to catch the horse.

13puppet wrote:This is going to happen no matter what. I have on customer where I trim three horses, but someone else shoe another because his shoeing price is cheaper than mine. My trim price is higher also but the customer likes my trim.

13puppet wrote:Hang in there it take longer than 3 years to build a good client base.

You need to create a written service policy and distribute it to your clients.

You can download a sample service policy from a course I taught a few years ago. Pick and choose from it what suits your needs.

CLICK HERE

Need Acrobat Reader to view the file.

OR you can download an editable version for MS Word - CLICK HERE

Good luck.

Thank you all so much for tahing the time to help me.

Do you live in the town of West, Texas or do you live in west Texas? You have Odessa posted on your title and that is west not West, Texas. Sorry just trying to see where you really are? Three years is still really raw in this business, expecially if you are in west Texas, where the wind is raw on a man, and I am sure the horse owning public gets alittle slow riding during winter. Best advice is when you shoe or trim a horse and finish, ask then if they want to reschedule for 6 or 8 weeks away. Always call them on Sat night or Sun of the week and confirm appt. Things change everyday and people don't always read their calendars like Farriers do. Call back again early the evening before to make sure they leave the horses up for you so you don't have to chase them down. That is something I will not do, they best be in a stall or lot that takes no time at all for me to grab and do or it is down the road I go. IF all the Farriers in your area would get together sometime for the benefit of talking about owners , Farriers could control alot of things. Problem there is EGOS that Farriers have that get in the way. Good Luck!

Ilson youve been given some good advise so far
Im gonna be short n sweet with you
MAN UP olmate n shove ya gurres out in front of ya
Look the clients in the eye and tell straight how its gonna be
and you will not work on horses on your own
either the owner or some one responsible in age and competance of their choise be there or you will charge a fee to bring your own handler to the job
ITS your buisness olmate not theirs
you run it you set the rules and you bend them if n when and how it suits you NOT THEM
youve been in the game three years now you said
ITS TIME YOU TOOK MORE COTROL
you will loose some but the ones you keep will be good O
Dont become a pig just dont let your clients treat you like one

you seem like a nice respectfull type you can stay that way n good O but you pick time place as much as fairly possible and you choose what you will n wont get under and you be smart about that one matey yeah
even big bucks to try do the rank horse is worth squot if you get busted up and your off work for months
Mind how you go Mate ay
I mean that in the nicest way son

Bo,

I think most Farriers have dealt with every one of your issues. I think I went thru each one myself (and more). So have heart, stick to your standards, there is nothing wrong with them.

And as for the guy with the bucket and $10 off, either he'll wear out, or true out in his work quality. Once people realize that the job is substandard, they will be crying to have you back.

However, I wouldn't put yourself down by saying you aren't the best farrier (it just makes people loose confidence in you and think your work is no good before you even pick up a leg). In your dicussions, talk about doing what is right for the horse.

Heather

Thanks for all the help folks. Since i posted this I have revised my business and have and will be handing out a service policy that will be in effect as of the 1st of the year. This is what i came up with to suit my area.

Shod horses 6-7 week schedule
Trims 8-9 weeks
Any client allowing the animal to become more than 2 weeks over due will have an extra $10 per horse

Clients are more than welcome too use me as they feel service is needed at an increased price, from regular customers.

Canceling an apt must be done atleast 24hrs in advance. If not client will have to pay a rescheduling fee of $10 per horse not too exceed $30

Extra charge same or next day service.

How does this sound any advice will help. Thanks Bo

Don't forget to explain WHY you have implemented these policies . . . to keep costs down for REGULAR clients on whom you depend for your living.

Don't forget to THANK your clients up front for their business and tell them that they are the best clients any farrier could work for - 'nuther words, the "rules" aren't for "them" - the rules are for the "other people" you have been dealing with. You don't want people to think you are accusing "them personally" of being a PITA.

HeatherR wrote:I agree. "The best farrier" is a subjective judgment. OTOH, the best SERVICE is something one can quantify by comparison.

A farrier can be a highly educated, proficient, high priced "big shot." But a horse owner won't care how "good" you are if they can't get you to show up, return telephone calls, and deliver a decent "customer service experience."

Here's a classic example of what I'm talking about - typical telephone call from a prospective client:

Prospect - "How much do you charge?"

Me - "Two hundred dollars."

Prospect - "WOW! Joe Blow is only $135, and he has 30 years of experience."

Me - "Then why aren't you using Joe Blow? He's a great guy and a heck of a hand . . ."

Prospect - "Well I've been trying to get Joe on the phone for a month and he never returns my calls. And if my horse loses a shoe I might not get him out here for several weeks."

Me - "Well if you can't get Joe to come to your barn or talk to you on the phone, then it really doesn't matter what he charges does it?"

Prospect - "But you are so much higher!"

Me - "My level of individualized service is also much higher. But I have to serve fewer clients so that I have time to return your calls, manage your horse on a schedule, and be available on short notice to replace lost shoes ASAP. I have a lot of respect for Joe. He works really hard and does a great job, but he depends on big barns with lots of horses. He also has to compete with everybody else that wants to work in the same big barns with lots of horses. Why don't you hook up your trailer and haul your horse to one of the barns where Joe works regularly?"

Prospect - "I don't have time to do that every 6 weeks."

Me - "I don't compete with other farriers for big barns because that market is already well served. However, I can guarantee YOUR HORSE has an appointment every 6 weeks, return YOUR calls in 24 hours (4 hours in an emergency), and replace lost shoes within 24 hours of notification. Right now I have room for you in my business and the ability to deliver better service than you would get in a big barn. Would you like to schedule an appointment?"

tbloomer wrote:
Thanks Tom ... your example was very informative and gave me insight on how to handle first contact calls...getting my point across and not disparaging but rather showing respect to other farrier!!