Received a Dinner Invite

I am used to getting personal thank you letters from my customers, but this is the first time I received a dinner invite from a couple. I bailed them out on their flooded basement several weeks ago and they texted me an invite this week to a very expensive steak house.

Being friendly is my trademark and I like it when customers see me around town and run up to say hello, but I am not certain the dinner is a good idea. Somehow that feels like I am crossing a line for some reason...not sure why it feels that way, but it does.

Anyone run into this before? What do you think, go or nicely decline the offer?

I'm not a real social guy, and personally, I would turn it down.

But there is an opportunity here to make a connection with someone who may be "connected".

I think are really a lot alike, I am not the most social either these days. I don't want to be rude nor miss out on an opportunity either, but to be honest, I really don't want to go. Partly because they are really just strangers and partly because I don't really care for dressing up for a pompous restaurant these days.

If it was an invite to a bbq party or something, that would be cool, but this dinner thing just isn't feeling right.

Ive had lunch with a customer twice.

But a formal dinner with a couple does sound a little awkward. I think what they should have done is given you a dinner certificate if they really appreciated what you did for them.

What if they invited a blind date for you. Would you go?

Maybe they're interested in a ménage à trois

The couple are in their 70's, so you just ruined my breakfast Mo.

The gift certificate thing would have been a different story, but I am stuck with the yes/no option here. It will likely be a game-time decision.

You didn't mention their age

I would go, what's the worse can happen ? Nothing, right ?
I think it could lead to a lot of good things, like you might get their inheritance ?
If not, then at least you made a couple of friends out of them.
And you get to eat some really good steak.
We got invited to have dinner with the customers right after we clean for them many years ago, they wouldn't take no for an answer, we sat down and had a home made dinner, really good food, I also got invited for lunch 2 weeks ago, but because it was a girl that invited me ( a married one too ), I politely declined.
Good luck with your decision

Well, I left my hermit cave and attended. I must say, it was a very good meal. The couple brought along a couple of Grandchildren which made the conversation diverse enough to be of interest so I didn't feel like a complete stranger.

Turned out that they were good friends with the owner and before the night was over, I was asked to leave a carpet cleaning bid on a napkin....that was first for me.

So, it turned out to be a good decision. A well prepared steak meal and a cleaning bid, what more can a guy ask for?

Hopefully, it turns into a job as things are so dead right now that I might as well be collecting unemployment. A couple of scattered jobs is all I am seeing.

Well, that's awesome Rob.

I'm really slow myself. May was a record breaker in sales, June was nearly a bust, and so far, July isn't good either.

I have been dropping postcards, and got a couple calls, but this is ridiculous.

Good to know that I am not alone, almost identical activity. May was really good, June was the worst in 4 years, and July is not looking good yet either.

I don't know what to try next, have a single house to clean in the morning, but it is 40 minutes away. I might have to take the job cleaning up the hoarder house....which has been closed up with no A/C for weeks and we are steadily in the upper 90's these days.

That is how desperate I am beginning to feel.

Wished I could offer advice to help, but I don't know what would work for you.

For my own situation, I just didn't get cards out fast enough this year, and so I am suffering for it. July last year was slow, and it's the "slow season" for most that do windows. So I doubt I'm going to get much in July no matter what I do.

My biggest problem is that I am normally very busy during the traditional slow period because of the commercial side of the business. For some reason, that is almost non-existent this year and I haven't been able to find out why.

Just not good.

Well, I told you so, lol ( about the dinner ), so you didn't get inheritance but at least you got a good meal and got an opportunity of a new client ( I really hope you will get the job ! ).
I'm glad I'm not alone, I don't know why we are all slow this year, I heard on the news that consumer's confidence are high, and when it's high, they are more likely to spend, unemployment rate has been pretty steady as well, I know those numbers can be unpredictable because after 6 months, those guys that's been collecting them can't collect anymore, right ? I never collected unemployment, so I don't know how long can you collect them for, but usually those numbers are tell tale signs that affect us small businesses, nothing makes sense right now.

It sure doesn't make sense. I just discovered that one of my competitors has been purchased by a person out of town that also owns 300 rental homes.

Actually, that person bought up several service companies in this area....all of them existing mainly on paper for tax purposes as far as I can see. Those trucks never leave the shop.

So, at least that guy is making a good salary without getting work.

I usually clean a school and office building in June been doing them for years not so this year. I even sent reminder cards to both and still nothing.

Maybe its time to hit the pavement to drum up some commercial work. Luckily I have a good week next week

milspec6 wrote:It sure doesn't make sense.  I just discovered that one of my competitors has been purchased by a person out of town that also owns 300 rental homes.  

Actually, that person bought up several service companies in this area....all of them existing mainly on paper for tax purposes as far as I can see.  Those trucks never leave the shop.

So, at least that guy is making a good salary without getting work.

I bet you that guy just had his carpets cleaned and timed his cleaner and thought to himself, if the carpet cleaner can make $ 150 / hour, I can too, and there he was buying the companies thinking it can't be that hard to market cleaning service.

He very well had been thinking that Dp, but it sure hasen't worked out that well. I don't think I have seen those vans move from the shop in months.

I am doing that very thing Mo. I will be spending my Sunday plastering as many businesses as I can with flyers in this area and doing follow-up calls on Monday. Something has to shake loose, just can't understand the quiet?