The Good, The Bad, and the Fugly

Service (NOT) with a smile…

Car trouble again 😒 Frank The Mondeo needed to go, all the big jobs came up at the same time – faulty turbo, Dual Mass Fly Wheel was dodgy, Cam Belt, Corroded subframe… plus more. Time to shop about! Usually car shopping has me dancing around with excitement, but that excitement quickly turned to boredom and frustration on day one of looking. My dad kindly offered to take me to view 3 identical cars at dealers within half a mile of each other. Great. Nice and easy. Or so I thought. Not ONE of the cars was clean, or even ready to drive away if I wanted it. They were all filthy, poorly presented, in one case it was impossible to open the boot (a vital bit for me) and the ‘dealers’ really didn’t care for the questions I was asking. All their answers were directed at my dad, I was seemingly invisible, I didn’t matter. Yet I was the one spending the cash! for reference, the values of the cars were between 6k and 9k. One dealer used the excuse ‘Well it is Manchester’ for the reason the car was pure filth inside and out. Used tissues the lot. EW. One of the cars was being used by a staff member to go to his evening job so I didn’t even get a chance to see it properly before he had to leave! So let’s fast forward to the car I did buy. I decided another Mondeo was the only way forward, I knew the cars inside out, knew their faults, positives, etc and it made the process a whole ton easier! I lost out on 3 by not being quick enough, but then I found THE ONE. He was BEAUTIFUL. So off we went. The dealer was brilliant. Everything was transparent, they accepted I knew it was exactly what I wanted, were actually interested in WHY I wanted that particular make and model. The dealer specialises in performance and sports models, each beautifully presented and the process of actually buying was easy as anything. The staff were lovely. Even the documents were given to me in a printed folder along with a boxed (very tasty) bottle of wine – I even got to choose which one I wanted!  I drove it away with a big fat smile on my face. Thank you Baskeyfield Motors (Stoke On Trent).

So how does this relate to being an artist? what can you learn as a business? Firstly, if you’re selling your art, you have to make sure you are doing your very BEST for your client. They’ve come to you for a reason. If they wanted generic they’d of gone to IKEA or B&M for the mass-produced stuff. They want your specialism, your thing. Make sure your service & knowledge reflects that. Like when I knew I wanted another Mondeo it was so easy, the dealer made it pleasurable from start to finish. I’d like to think that all my clients get the very best of me, and in order to do that I stick to subjects I know well, I place myself at events where I can have great conversations with like-minded people. It flows beautifully. Put the effort into knowing what your clients want to see, what they expect. Present your work in the best possible way. Covid is NOT an excuse for lazy behaviour.