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Monday, July 25, 2011

A real example of a difficult client

(if anyone has an example of a difficult client send me the deatils and I'll post it....(change the names / places etc so you dont get shot!)

Now mine

I'll give you a condensed version

Principal is a shipowner and we have a small contract. But alas I really represent the charterer because that is where the power is (eventhough the shipowner is paying my commission).

The shipowners is doing very well from this contract but the charterer is asking for some flexibility that is technically out of the scope of the contract. There are production issues and the charterer needs some laycans to be adjusted.

The shipowner in question can sometime be a bit shortsighted and does not like to change anything from the original contract - even if the changes are not necessarily bad. He just doesn't like change. So we have been going back and forward, with raised voices, and the often reminder that he is paying my commissions...

Eventually things got sorted, and sure enough all is ok but THIS client always gets his pound of flesh.

I also win because he realises that this is a great paying client and that the charterer has my trust. The shipowner is paying my commissions BUT this charterer always chooses which broker to use - ME! WAHOO!!!!!!.



That's actually a very interesting point............who pays commissions? The shipowner or the charterer? The answer is not always as straightforward as it appears on the surface.

Stick around and I'll explain in another post
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2 comments:

  1. surazJuly 30, 2011 at 7:41 AM

    Hi,

    Isn't it like a farmer with a goose which lays golden eggs. now who's more important? the guys who buys the eggs or the goose? both are equally important. the customer pays you money but its the goose who is generating opportunity

    i guess the charterer is the goose. Keep the goose happy and keep generating more biz?

    rgds
    Sz

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  2. The Virtual ShipbrokerJuly 31, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    I am often heard to mutter the word GOOSE when talking about principals and competing brokers but in a slightly different context to what Suraz alludes too above (but thats a whole different story).

    But yes Suraz - at the end of the day the shipowner may be the one writing the checks but it is the charterer who actually pays the price of a commission. They pay the price in the form of a higher freight rate or higher TC rate. Its factored in the cost. So if a shipowner cries foul about paying your brokerage remind them that surely they allowed for 1.25 percent in their calculations before they quoted on the business!

    Cheers
    VS

    ReplyDelete