What Your Customers Say vs. What They Mean

Posted on July 20, 2017 Written by Paula Brewers

Have you ever talked to a customer who didn’t quite say what they mean? Talking to your customers can occasionally be as much like translating as it is like listening to their instructions. Here are eleven things your customers might be saying, and what they really mean.
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Disclaimer: This is just for fun. We love our customers, and we know you appreciate your customers, too.

1. What Customers Say: “Make it look more luxurious…”
   What Customers Mean: “I want this to be shinier.”​
2. What Customers Say: “I just have a small adjustment.”What Customers Mean: “I just checked that proof you sent me, and finally noticed a typo that needs to get fixed. It’s entirely possible that you’ve already sent the order to press.” What Customers Might Also Mean: “I’m totally changing this print order. I might also need to get a quote for a special ordered stock.”

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1. What Customers Say: “I’m on a tight budget.”
   What Customers Mean: “My wish list is much bigger than my budget; can you adjust that pricing a little bit for me?”

1. What Customers Say: “I’m looking to update my print collateral.”
   What Customers Mean: “I want to look at everything you offer, just in case, but I’ll probably end up ordering the exact same design on a slightly different stock.”

1. What Customers Say: “It’s such a shame that you have to work on holidays.”
   What Customers Mean: “I’m so glad you’re open, because this is the only day off I have this week and I’ve got an order that really needs to get placed.”

1. What Customers Say: “Can you make the logo a little bigger?”</strong >What Customers Mean: “Can you make the logo a lot bigger?”

1. What Customers Say: “I like that idea, but…”
   What Customers Mean: “I don’t actually like that idea all that much; please show me something totally different.”

1. What Customers Say: “What’s the turnaround time on that?”
   What Customers Mean: “I meant to place this order weeks ago and now I’m in a time crunch. I’m going to need you to call your printer to see if you can get this printed ASAP.”

1. What Customers Say: “I definitely need [product].”
   What Customers Mean: “I know I have a problem, and [product] is the best solution I could think of.”

1. What Customers Say: “What time do you close?”
   What Customers Mean: “I’m going to call 5 minutes before you need to close with a complicated question.”

1. What Customers Say: “I’ll know what I want when I see it.”
   What Customers Mean: “I have no idea what I’m looking for, but I’ve got strong opinions about everything else.”

Do your customers ever have requests that you need to translate? We’d love to hear more about it in the comments below.