Vent.....(NBR)
Elsa1984
member
My SO works in sales and I am constantly getting emails and text from people that want help with their products (the products that he sells). Normally I would love to help people out, but he already is on call 24/7 when it comes to work and he doesn't get paid for helping people with their products. He is already helping friends and family with them (when they need it), so that already takes up some of his free time. For the past 5 years, I have been helping people I know when it comes to their products or products that they want to purchase...and the questions that I cannot answer....I direct them to my SO and he takes the time to answer them or help someone with troubleshooting.
Well I am pretty much tired of it. All of these people have asked for help for years, yet when it comes to actually spending the money and buying the product (or accessories).....they buy from another store or someone else. So my SO is doing all of the work (for free) and then someone else or another company is getting the benefits. In this economy, it is really hard to stay afloat when you are working in sales. So to have my SO do all of the work and then turn around and purchase from a big box store.....it pisses me off. The other stores aren't even saving them any money!!!
And then after they get the item, they are always calling SO with help. I told SO that he needs to start telling them to call the phone number that came with the product and not call him. But nobody wants to do that because why call a 1-800 number, when you can just call or text my SO and talk to someone without having to wait.....so he is always doing the work and never getting any benefits from it. I don't mind if someone purchases something from him and then is calling him for help.....because he has at least gotten SOMETHING out of it with the purchase. I have a friend all of the time who is calling for help, but she is also calling a lot to order more products for herself and for others who are wanting to purchase products. He goes above and beyond with his customers, giving them his cell number and always helping them out with their new stuff.....if you purchase from a big box store, you are making the choice not to get that special service.
I am finally at the end of my rope and told someone that he works in sales (completely leaving out that he is also a specialist).....because the first thing she did was send me a question about some problem she is having with her product. Sorry......take it back to the store you got it from and get some help....maybe next time if you want someone who cares about your sale you will buy from him....and not someone just looking to sell you something and never see/hear from you again.
UGH! Vent over......
Re: Vent.....(NBR)
I completely understand. My DH is an art teacher, but also does his own artwork on the side. People are always asking him to do things because he's artistic- design a new logo, paint a picture of their kids, Photo Shop their wedding pictures, etc... he's too nice to say no, so he does 10xs more work for free and it takes away from his free time.
I would tell people that your SO is really bogged down with other things and can't help right now, but feel free to go see him at work during his business hours and he can help you. The people that want to make a purchase for real will go out of their way to go there and get your SO the commission, and those that don't intend to purchase won't make the effort.
My husband works in IT and everyone and there and their cousin want him to fix their computers.
It got really bad, now he just tells people "I would love to help you out, but my wife gets mad about me fixing computers and taking time away from her and the kids so I 'll fix your computer if you buy me a gift card to take her out on a date."
He usually gets 7-8 $50.00 gift cards a year, to go out to eat. I don't mind that much now.
I cake decorate and I have now stopped cake decorating for family and friends. I would make a cake and It would cost me 10-15 dollars in supplies and I would be lucky to get paid a dime, plus my kitchen would be a mess. The cakes I were making if we sold them at the bakery I work at would cost at the very least 50.00. My MIL even expected me to make my own birthday cake.
I'm the same way with my cake decorating. I love to do it, and I don't mind making them for a special occasion as part of my gift to them (family bridal shower, baby shower, etc) but it just gets to be too much other times, both money and timewise. For example, I made this princess birthday cake 2 months ago, supplies ended up being around $50 and I had about 15 hrs in on it and since I can't charge for my cakes, I ended up getting $60 for it. (Not at all worth it to me)
Yep mine too. We are always getting calls and sometime he even ends up working on someones laptop or something when we are at family functions. So he ends up off away from the rest of us working, and most the time getting nothing for it. It's a big bummer and I know sometime he wants to just tell people to pi** off.