Dangers of custom drying

[Fla._Deadheader]

      Works for me 

[Kedwards]

I had a customer just a week and a half ago drop off about 250bf of Oak to be dried. I told him it takes about a week to dry (Didn't say when it would be put in the kiln) he dropped off the wood after hours (LATE) and then just called asking if he could pick up his wood. I told him it wasn't ready and that its is suppose to go in the kiln this week. He got all in a knot about it not being dried on time and that he needed it for a job this month. I told him that he never communicated when it needed to be done and that it will be a week or two before it is complete. I also communicated that if the timeframe wasn't acceptable he can pick up the trailer tommorow. I guess I will just have to communicate better my timeframe it will be done and see if it meshes with their timeframe.

How do you gentlemen handle customers like this?

[Frickman]

Kedwards,

I tell these kind of folks that the road in front of the mill runs two directions, east and west. Pick one and head on down it. These kind of folks have always been around, and will always be around, so nothing I can do will change them. There is enough "good business" out there that I don't worry about losing some of the hard cases. I let my competition deal with these people, I won't.