SWGTailor

by n'Jessi on Scylla

Greetings fellow tailors. I’ve been reading the posts about tailoring, and the one thing I’ve noticed is that we all have the same “social” problems in terms of customers and time issues. So I’ve drafted a little guide for new (or veteran) tailors on the practical aspects of having a life outside tailoring.

#1 – Decide What Kind of Tailor You Want to Be. Then Set Your Boundaries.

There are many different ways to play, and it’s up to you, not to your customers, to decide what works best for you. Ask yourself the following:

• Would I rather take custom orders or vendor sales?
• Would I rather work with a customer about what he or she wants, or would I rather the customer send me a detailed list of every item?
• Would I rather make the items while the customer is there, or make the items at my convenience and leave the items for pickup?
• Would I prefer tells or e-mail? Will I make exceptions?
• What do I want to promise my customers in terms of pickup times?
• Do I want to let friends take priority over customers or do the friends get in line, same as anyone else?
• Do I take rush orders? On what terms?
• Do I want to take anyone’s custom order, or only do custom orders for friends/guildmates/referrals?
• Do I want to do re-dos if the color comes out wrong? Do I want to do re-dos if the style doesn’t work?
• Do I want to take returns? If so, under what conditions?
• Do I want to do “pro bono” work? If so, for what sort of player?
• Do I want to give discounts to guildmembers/friends? How much of a discount? If so, will that create more work for me (because they can’t just grab what they want off the vendor at regular prices)?
• When am I on-call? Do I want set hours? Set days? Do I want to have times when I’m unavailable to everyone, including my friends/guildmates? Unavailable to all but my friends/guildmates?
• Do I want to do repairs? Sell repair tools?
• Do I want to do bioengineered clothing? On the vendor or custom order only? Using the customer’s tissues?
• Do I want to ban people from my shop who annoy me, or simply refuse to do custom orders for them?
• Do I want to be involved in my town’s affairs? For example, if someone is banned from the city, do I want to ban him from my shop as well?
• Do I want to accept resources in trade for items? From certain people? For certain resources?
• Do I want to accept large orders, such as guild uniforms or weddings?
• Do I sell crates? At what prices? To grinders or to legitimate crafters only?
• Do I want to play fashion consultant and create entire wardrobes for customers, or let the customers choose what they want without help?
• Do I want to travel to my customers? Meet them halfway?
• Do I want to train fellow tailors? When do I want to do that? Do I expect payment?
• Do I want to make every item or specialize in certain items?

There are no right or wrong answers. Once you figure out where you stand on these issues, though, be firm.

• Example #1: I am off to entertain at a friend’s cantina. I’ve decided that I’m not going to be taking custom orders at this time. Therefore I leave all my materials and crafting tools in my house. One quick fleshwrap can turn into a line of customers. I simply say “I left my pack at home, but I’ll be happy to make x for you tomorrow when I get back to my shop. Please e-mail me with your order.”
• Example #2: I have exams. I am not taking orders or restocking until they’re over. A good friend asks me for an item. I say no, not until after exams. He says, I’ll wait. See, very easy.
• Example #3: Customer wants a ring made. I tell him I can make it tomorrow because I’m at a wedding. He says he needs it tonight and that he’ll pay me extra. I tell him to find another tailor.

Don’t be afraid to set your boundaries. The important thing is to think about how you want to deal with these issues before they come up, so you don’t end up making a decision on the spot that you might regret (as you’re churning out 50 guild uniforms saying to yourself “this is not worth it!”) Figure out how you want to play, and stick to your guns, and don’t feel guilty. Repeat after me: “games are fun, I play in a way that maximizes my fun.”

Final tip: When in doubt say “I’m not sure, can I get back to you on that?” Will save you headache in the long run because you won’t make promises you later regret.

#2 – The AFK Flag: An Unwieldy Tool, but Your Friend.

Without an effective /anonymous system, the AFK flag is the one buffer between you and the cruel world. The person who gets the AFK message could be anyone, friend, customer, pain in the… you get the picture. That’s why it’s important to craft a good AFK message. It’s equally important to decide whether you’re going to answer tells despite the flag being on, and if so, from whom.

Messages should be short: Nobody wants to read a long afk message, and any important information will get lost.

Messages should be specific: People want to know why you can’t take custom orders, whether you’re ignoring them, and generally what is going on for your end. The following messages are probably ineffective for deterring impatient people.

• I am currently afk.
• Hi, I’m currently busy, please visit my shop at XXXX XXXX.
• Hi, I’m probably with a customer right now, please e-mail your order and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Very nice, very generic, but they don’t get across the feeling that you’re busy! It gets across the feeling that you’re screening your calls for undesirables, and no customer considers him/herself undesirable. Here’s what I found work:

• Really, truly afk doing laundry.
• Drunk, shakin my booty, e-mail me if it’s important.
• Can’t talk now or the pubam warlords will spear me, please e-mail me and I’ll get back to you later.
• Not taking custom orders today because feeling sick and pouty. E-mail me and I’ll get back to you by Friday.

Something like that indicates that you are busy right now, explains why, and makes it clear that you’re probably not going to make an exception. Also helpful is to explain how the customer can contact you, and when you will be available.

Change your message often: This way people know that you have your afk on intentionally and that you’re really truly busy doing the event that you say you are.

Kara's suggestion: the fake AFK: Don't want to go to an event with a big fat AFK over your head? Or simply in the middle of a conversation and don't want to keep getting afk spam? Format an afk hotkey! Make yourself afk and then send yourself a message. Then format your hotkey look exactly like the text you just got "/reply AFK Auto-Response: blah blah". Bind that to F12 or whichever you want, and if you hit it really quickly when you get an unwelcome tell, nobody will know the difference. You can even have multiple messages on multiple hotkeys for multiple pests.

#3 – Trust Your Instincts

This may be controversial, so judge for yourself if this is advice you want to follow. Sometimes you can just tell that someone is going to make you do 40 color redos, is going to find another tailor to do the same order quicker and fail to pick up the custom order, or will haggle with you over price. If you are pretty sure this person is going to be a pest, you don’t have to deal with him or her. Remember, don’t do anything that really stresses you out. It’s a game. Usually, I find that the problem clients are usually ones who want things now, so a simple “I’ll be able to do that tomorrow” may be enough to send him or her looking for another tailor.

On the other hand, trust your instincts on whether to break your own self-imposed rules. There are certain friends for whom I’ll drop everything and rush 4 planets over to make them whatever their little hearts desire (even though they would never ask.) Why? Because if I were to tell one of them “I need Nabooan scaley hide” they would immediately fly to Naboo and abuse some scaley creatures for me.

#4 – When You Feel Ready to Quit: Re-examine

Many of us feel frustrated and helpless sometimes. Sometimes it feels like more of a chore than a game. First ask yourself why you want to quit. Then is the time to step back and ask yourself what you can do to make things better. A vacation? Stricter rules? A break from custom orders? A planetary move? A new guild? Remember, this is your gaming experience, and you have the power to make changes for the better. Don’t let the actions of others bully you into quitting: figure out how to fix the root causes of why you want to quit.