I’m worried I’ve got myself into a difficult order …
A customer messaged me a few weeks ago on Facebook asking about having a custom reborn made to look like it could be her and her husband’s child - I posted a customs sale and have had about 50 different messages, but only one actual order, so I didn’t think much of it! After about a week, she sent me some photos of her son as a baby, and I suggested some kits that look similar to him. She picked BB Frankie.
I was drawing up the order for her - explaining what she was ordering, the price, the down payment, etc. She then messages me and tells me her husband wants the baby to have full limbs. I explain that the kit she chose has 3/4 limbs, but I can order full limbs from a different kit of the same size. She’s happy with that answer - then asks me what the difference is. What? Why would you be willing to pay extra if you don’t know the difference? I show her an example and she confirms that she wants to pay for the full limbs so the baby can wear tank tops.
She wants to pay her down payment in two parts. That’s fine with me, I just won’t order any supplies until she’s paid the down payment in full. I explain that the arms available will depend on what’s available from BB when she pays, and she agrees that if there are no appropriately sized full arms available when I order, she’d like me to wait. I live in Canada, so the shipping isn’t cheap, I order all my supplies at once or I’d have to charge my customers a lot extra. 3 times before she pays her full down payment, she asks me if I’ve found the full arms yet. I explain 3 different ways that BB’s stock changes frequently and I need the full down payment to order the arms, each time she seems to understand, yet asks again.
She finally pays off the down payment (on time! 
) and Summer Rain’s arms are in stock, so I order those too. When I message her to let her know the supplies are on their way, she then tells me she’s still not sure if she wants rooted hair - which never came up before, we’d agreed on the price for a bald baby, and that’s what she paid for. I tell her as much, and she says she’d like to decide when the baby is done. I certainly hope she understands the hair needs to be rooted before the baby is assembled, but it’s alright. I tell her the rooted hair would take much longer, and she seems okay with this.
This woman then messages me 3 business days after I ordered supplies - ordered last Thursday, she messaged me Monday - and asks if I have any updates. I explain that the supplies may not even have shipped yet - she does know I’m in Canada and BB is in America. She says she understands, she’s just excited. Then she tells me she has a 7 year old, do I have any tips? I’m not even sure what that means - is the doll FOR the 7 year old? Are you raising the reborn like the 7 year old’s new sibling? Are you asking me for parenting tips? I don’t know!
Then today, she messaged me again asking for updates, and then again 20 minutes later to ask what a belly plate is.
She’s messaged me nearly every day since placing an order and sends messages more rapidly if I don’t respond within an hour - I work 8 hour shifts 4-6 days a week during random hours. I’m very very worried that this customer is going to become very difficult if I don’t spend every waking hour making rapid progress on her baby. I do tell customers, including her, that my customs can take up to 12 weeks to complete from the date I receive supplies, but I also let them know that it would rarely take this long unless I have many other complicated orders. I’m just worried!
Partially venting, and partially wondering how you usually deal with needy customers? I want to make her happy without running myself ragged!
