Customers Moaning

[Hodge]

Don't let it get your back up, I get them ringing up, "how much is your wood?" They don't ask if its seasoned or what type of wood it is they just ask how much. To these I just tell them, " sorry I don't want to sell to you, goodbye!!"

[Alycidon]

Lets think about this another way.

 

Customer complains for 2 reasons, either a, he feels he has a genuine point, or b, he is trying to get you to drop the price.

 

A, Is easy to dispel, ALWAYS carry a moisture meter in your truck, then when the logs are delivered insist on testing a few selected at random in front of him. This proves that when delivered your logs are to an agreed moisture level, the Hetas maximum is 25%, most stove manufacturers say 20%. Once the customer has been shown and agreed the logs are good then tip them but NOT before.

 

B, Agree the price beforehand,and confirm before tipping.

 

Do this 3 or 4 times and problems never arise.

 

I do agree as a stove retailer and firewood merchant by default that customer education should be part of the process of selling a stove. In these days of online sales this just does not happen (except to my customers !!!) So print a few of the FC articles on firewood, Moisture Content, log size, splitting, etc and issue those with your logs.

 

There is a forthcoming standard coming through I think the RHI on log standards. this is leading to the requirement that boilers funded via RHI grants only be fed fuel from RHI assured suppliers. Have read the paperwork but not sure if I can find it again !!. 3 standards, A,B and C. A is what I am aiming at. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can post a link up on a new thread as we dont want to hijack this one.

 

A

[easy-lift guy]

I once had a customer who had trouble starting a fire in her fireplace. Now this customer was ok to start with but by the time this last incident took place I had had enough. It seems she was just old and lonely. Nothing wrong with the wood she just needed the reasurrance from her firewood supplier that there was no problem. When I left her house I knew there was nothing really wrong. It just really stinks when folks get older and their neighbors and family either don't care or are passed on.

easy-lift guy

[Coletti]

Had a bit of trouble in the Barnstable area years ago when working for someone else. Someone had just had a new stove fitted by a company recommended to them by the stove shop. The stove shop then told them that logs could only be burnt if of a certain moisture content (if memory serves me well they were told between 10 and 15% moisture). I don't know too much about the correct moisture content but this seems quite low moisture? Anyway, as I was unloading, the woman I was delivering to was testing every other log I chucke out for its moisture content with a moisture meter supplied at cost to her by the shop and after unloading everything she began to complain and tried to refuse to pay as the logs were to wet, I think they averaged around 20-25% moisture bearing in mind these logs had been stored in a shed i then argued and eventually got full payment but found the whole situation bang out of order. I even suggested I would load it all back up and take it away which she would not allow! Some people now a days will try and get everything for free, especially when they think your doing it for beer money on a weekend which I think most do. Best thing is to note the name and number and never deal with them again in my opinion.

[woodworm]

My favorite response to anyone asking for my best price is just to tell them that a 4 cubic metre load is the cheapest. It works out to be about £2.50/cube cheaper than a a single cube but it's just what I charge, no discounts offered here as the shed is almost empty. Next year the prices will definitely be going up by £5/cube and then we will see if they moan. I would rather deliver fewer loads for a bit more money. Costs too much to run around for free these days

[Alycidon]

Had a bit of trouble in the Barnstable area years ago when working for someone else. Someone had just had a new stove fitted by a company recommended to them by the stove shop. The stove shop then told them that logs could only be burnt if of a certain moisture content (if memory serves me well they were told between 10 and 15% moisture). I don't know too much about the correct moisture content but this seems quite low moisture? Anyway, as I was unloading, the woman I was delivering to was testing every other log I chucke out for its moisture content with a moisture meter supplied at cost to her by the shop and after unloading everything she began to complain and tried to refuse to pay as the logs were to wet, I think they averaged around 20-25% moisture bearing in mind these logs had been stored in a shed i then argued and eventually got full payment but found the whole situation bang out of order. I even suggested I would load it all back up and take it away which she would not allow! Some people now a days will try and get everything for free, especially when they think your doing it for beer money on a weekend which I think most do. Best thing is to note the name and number and never deal with them again in my opinion.

 

She does have a point. Morso recommend no more than 18%. Mine usually go out at 10-14% but last summer was very wet and the logs have picked up moisture since last spring. Currently mine are at 18-20%. Personally I would feel uncomfortable sending out 25% product unless agreed beforehand with the customer.

 

A

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

i`v had 2 like that this week!!!!

 

proper know it alls!!!!

 

the first one even said they had just had the stove fitted yesterday!!! then starts telling me that i dont know anything about firewood!!

 

wtf???????

 

the second one only wanted beech & ash logs as all other wood is no good for burning!!!!

 

lmfao!!!!!

 

i did think about selling him a load of white ash thats stuck at the back of the yard!!!!!

 

 

i do find it funny that people who have only had a wood burner for a few months or couple of years & dont know how to use it properly demand that all the beech & ash trees be felled so they can burn them to keep warm!!!

 

 

and dont get me started about people trying to get money off!!!

 

my favourite at the moment is customers keep asking for money off as theres a recession on dont you know

 

believe me luv if i had known i would have asked for double & then knocked you 25% off as a recession beating price!!!!!

 

Yeah, got one bloke - "i only want ash - I don't want that beech and hornbeam rubbish you were doing"... He'd rather have green ash than <20%mc beech !!!

[Big J]

She does have a point. Morso recommend no more than 18%. Mine usually go out at 10-14% but last summer was very wet and the logs have picked up moisture since last spring. Currently mine are at 18-20%. Personally I would feel uncomfortable sending out 25% product unless agreed beforehand with the customer.

 

A

 

I think that we've had this discussion before, but where you are in the country will hugely affect the MC of logs you are drying. Northamptonshire is one of the driest places in the country, both in terms of rainfall and relative humidity. In Edinburgh, we are probably somewhere in the middle, but you would genuinely struggle to ever get logs below 20% on the west coast of Scotland or parts of Wales.

 

Sub 25% is fine. If customers are having issues with timber of that MC, it's most likely because they don't know how to operate the stove.

 

Jonathan

[DN22 Gardening]

We had one last Tuesday, moaning that the logs were heavy, so must be wet !!!!

 

Luckily i've just treated myself to moisture meter off fleabay... it was reading 16% in the middle of the log, and 14% at the edge.

 

Kind of makes it hard for them to argue

[likeitorlumpit]

We had one last Tuesday, moaning that the logs were heavy, so must be wet !!!!

 

Luckily i've just treated myself to moisture meter off fleabay... it was reading 16% in the middle of the log, and 14% at the edge.

 

Kind of makes it hard for them to argue

 

Arh but your moisture meter is fixed:001_smile:

The things you all do to keep a new customer happy. I suspect this is across the board. Once they have got your message then you usually have a customer for life.