"Ted,
I am sorry things didn't work out. Its unfortunate that your dealer was unable to secure a set or even accurately predict when the sets would arrive. In any event, I am disappointed that after a considerable amount of investigation, work and compromise on both sides we could not arrive at a deal. Please accept this e-mail as notice of termination of our discussions." (name withheld)

Short story but long one to type out. A customer, that I hooked up some existing equipment for several years ago, called last week asking me to hang a plasma from Costco. I will do that for existing customers on time and materials basis(with a minimum). The customer did ask me to research the costco set (which I partly did here) and give him a quote for something comparable.
First mistake, I mistyped the price on a Sammy 50" in my reply email last week, by a grand low. Even though I said there was no way I was going to beat Costco at 4Gs he still took my word at $3100 for a 50" panel.
So after anther phone call I confirm the price verbally of $4100 and we agree on an install of Saturday, depending on availability. Well as often happens in this game the Sammy panel can't be had for a week or two. I call to explain this to him and he's pissed because he tore his system apart last night to get ready for his new TV and the price has now jumped a grand. Understandable but I absolutely did say depending on availability and I did say $4100
First he says he'll wait, then he calls back to say he found the TV locally and will I install it. I reluctantly agree if I can't secure the TV elsewhere. Well I can't without jumping through hoops I'm not willing to jump through. So I call him to say as much and to confirm that I will hang the TV for him but if it is a local, competant dealer then he really should consider having them do the install for all the reasons you guys already know. Well the conversation goes poorly after that and the quote at the top appears to be the end of it. I haven't replied yet and I don't see a reason to. Although "go finger #$%#$ yourself" comes to mind.

So the moral of the story for me is to go back to my previous stance of not agreeing to hang a costco plasma to begin with and, in this type of situation, not setting up an install time until availability is confirmed. I just thought this one was going to go smoothly and let one of my rules slide. Always call the warehouse before you even spec the damn thing, let alone give a tentative install date. I got burned for it and clearly lost a customer along the way.

But "Please accept this e-mail as notice of termination of our discussions"? What the hell is this? A multi million dollar arms deal? It's a TV for pete sake. I feel like the Donald is in the house. I guess I'll just have to re-hire myself in the morning.

doesn't sound like a customer i'd like to deal with. you might lose a couple of sales over it through word of mouth but at least you don't have to deal with the headaches.

He sounds like a bargain shopping dick that did you a favor. I would try exchanging the word 'yourself' for "Your mother"

Works like a charm.

He let you off the hook. You had a written quote done with a mistake and then verbally tried changing it. I'd be pissed too. strike one.
You should try and quote availability before and then after he hands you a deposit check have a look again and be honest with them should there be a delay. Give him the option of waiting or returning the deposit. "oh I can't get one" Strike two.
Now he calls back with trusting you to hang the new television. Your chance to step up with a good attitude and make $$ or tell him you will not be able to meet his schedule.
A 50" install is $250 on up just to bracket, bolt and hang only. More to cable. More cable to sell. Surge protection. Calibration. It's your biz. Get in front and make the dough. Make sure on your receipt that there is a service charge for removing and reinstalling the plasma should there be issues with the TV. He will need to take it back to the dealer for service.
Are you going around the bases or draggin' your bat back to the pen?

Sometimes its better to return to the dugout if the pitcher is trying to take your head off.

ALWAYS REMEMBER - A GOOD DEAL GETS BETTER AND A BAD DEAL ONLY GETS WORSE.

As much as you would like to, DO NOT take it personally. Most of us in this business do it b/c we actually care about the customer and something like this feels like a kick in your moral fibers. The customer is probably just a businessman in some trade (manager, lawyer, etc.) who pounds out emails all day and becomes desensitized to their actual content. You tried in good faith to satisfy the customer and it didn't work so just take the higher ground a reply with a short message that says in effect "I tried my best and sorry it didn't work out." Remember, he was your customer once for good reason and if he chooses not to be now consider it his loss........

Well, If he is trying to take my head off, He is in for a Knuckle sandwich. :)

Send a follow up and apologize (try to be sincere) for the mixup regsrding the typo. As for the availability, it's Q4 after a dramatic price shift in the market... ALL PDPs are hard to get at this stage, and the "your dealer" comment makes me wonder if he sees you as a legitimate supplier or just a guy with a toolbag and a drill.

ALL distributors are waiting for the price leader sets (Sammys, LGs, and Panasonics), and have most if not ALL of them sold before they even hit the dock door. You are just as important as anyone else, and the fact that you decided to wait to provuide a date until a firm one was available and didn't offer a BS date should be seen as a testament to your integrity vs. a "say anything" retail clerk looking to pad his commission check.

The honest truth is that NOBODY knows when the oversold and extremely hot 50" panels will hit their dock doors... not the custom installers, not the distributors, and certainly not the idiots on some retail floor who are purposely removed from the buying process. When we get the call from the freight line to arrange a delivery date, we know... Otherwise, all other dates are pretty much speculation and conjecture and we prefer not to pass them along and mislead anyone.

Don't let him get you down, and try to salvage the relationship. I bet that he will soon see and appreciate that you had the integrity to shoot straight with him....
If HE has any integrity, he will call you back after he gets screwed over by another outfit who gets caught over-promising an undeliverable solution to this obvious tough customer.

I have a freakin' nightmare customer on a stupid $10k phone system I am doing short notice for a real estate agent friend of mine. All sorts of custom programming required since we wants it to act like a 'basic' phone with answering machine type of setup. Everyday I think we're done he calls with some other off the wall request that most likely goes against his initial desires for the 'basic' system. I just take it all in stride with a lot of "Yes Sirs" and then frantic phone calls to my panasonic phone sub-contractor. He called today after I dropped off the final user cheat sheet documentation last night and said "You know E. J., I think we're really going to like the system. When I get back from Europe next week I'd like to put another 14 wired phones in the house." Me: "Yes Sir."

gotta go with OEX on this one...sometimes its just better to let it go, chalk it up as a learning experince and a headache you don't have to deal with. I know we stay plenty busy and if you know what you are doing and customers like you, more will come your way.

We've talked about the issues with shrinking margins on panels; plus the possibility of a DOA not getting exchanged. I say let him get his own panel and bring it home himself.

There is a difference of opinion amongst us about installing clients' equipment. To each his own.

I'm not afraid to hang someone's panel for them. Like Game says, you get a bracket sale, you get labor, if you are on your toes, you should get some minimal surge protector at least, a decent profit on a few cables, and certainly not least, a remote out of the deal.

Sounds like a grand and up sale to me. Send them all to me.

It doesn't bother me either to hang someone elses Plasma/LCD, in fact in the current market...good get your own I can't make any money on them anyway. My biggest worry with large panels is warranty though and even though I have been lucky up to this point it is still always in the back of my mind. In regards to the original post here and the customers rude email my gut reaction would be anger but after a few minutes of anger I would calmly respond and offer my humble apology and wish him the best.

blow him off, kill him with kindness when you really want to tell him to hump his mother. let some other sucker deals with his bullshit....they will most likely screw him up and you can be the hero and charge him 3 times what you would have and he'll be happy to pay it

I'm guessing you feel bad for the two errors you mention in your post. Common errors, both, and I've done each in the last four weeks.

Think of it this way; you didn't lose any real income on the deal, you have a customer mad at you for a couple of common mistakes, and you can move on with your career. Maybe just be happy this didn't happen with a customer that really counts?

Email him back a humble apology and explain the condition of the current PDP market and offer him 10% off the $4,100.00 cost if he is willing to wait for Sammy to get you a plasma.

I usually never leave an unhappy customer unhappy.. I think an unhappy customer is never a good thing for the company and you can usually eliminate whatever he is unhappy about with a short conversation and a little price break.