Sent a price/date request through GROUP MESSAGE on FB???

Either way that's fine, we all come here to talk to someone else. I never payed attention to that on FB, I will now.

I would definitely be taken aback! I am curious to see if the other vendor replies as well!

I never do business through my business FB. I always send an e-mail.

I have had issues with my facebook in the past. I insist on an email or phone number and take the conversation off of facebook. I can't always log on to facebook and also I find that if someone is not willing to email or call, they are not serious. Also, in my first contact, I send my order information (order 2 weeks before event, deposit, min. order, pick-up and delivery options, etc.) so that everything is clear.

I also insist on a face to face meeting. I'll say something like, "Why don't we meet at Starbucks and you can look at some sketches of my ideas and then you can decide which option you want to go with. Bring a $50 deposit check (for birthday or small cakes) and we can reserve your date." If they do not bring the check to the meeting, I tell them I'm sorry, but I can't help them.

It has saved me so much grief. I've had two instances (before I knew better) where a facebook contact cancelled the order the week of the event (no deposit collected...i know...) and then a large birthday order who was supposed to paypal a deposit by a certain date and never contacted me again. Thankfully I waited to work on the cake until I got the deposit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godot 

I never do business through my business FB. I always send an e-mail.

I agree.  When someone asks me, I always politely reply "I would love to discuss this with you!  Send me an email at xxxxx@xxxx.com and we can talk further details."  

FB is a blessing and a curse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyndsayscott 

I agree.  When someone asks me, I always politely reply "I would love to discuss this with you!  Send me an email at xxxxx@xxxx.com and we can talk further details."  

 

FB is a blessing and a curse.

Yep. Email or call only. I keep really good records of conversations and what not, and can't include stupid FB messages to keep track of. Blah!

Facebook has its pros and cons as we all know, but from a business standpoint (of which I'm no pro by any means) I like to keep things as professional as possible.

If a customer is not aware of how you conduct your business -  by inviting them to engage with you via email/face to face will certainly sort that out.

I have had inquiries from customers via email and I always always get "gmail" to show/reveal the other third parties aka cake bakers involved or by simply clicking reply all  to see who else was on the distribution list if any.

That normally gets my brain ticking as to what the customer is up to...and normally its to see which one of us "cake bakers" can offer them the best price - which is fair game to a certain extent. Nothing wrong with comparing prices!

However when I reply back to the customer I don't include the other bakers.

Don't beat yourself up too much it happens to the best of us...but the most important thing is to dust ourselves off and move on.

Oh! With regards to the notorious photo thief - assuming that you post your pictures on Facebook do your pictures have watermarks on them?

If not then I suggest you do asap, smack bang in the middle of all your futures pictures so it will be impossible for them to claim your work as their own.

Just my two pennies worth.

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