Dear Customer: Tarot Edition

Dogs&Coffee

If you work in retail you're familiar with "Dear Customer" as a story telling device for relating ridiculous things customers do, i.e. " 'free samples' is apparently dear customer speak for 'dump all of these in your purse'".

There must be some good tarot customer stories out there, so let's hear them!

From ridiculous questions to asinine behavior, let's go! :D
 

Grizabella

There's at least one other thread similar to this one but I don't know where to go to find it.

I don't like doing this. It's basically making fun of the people who sit for us and that's wrong. I respect my clients no matter what their foibles and faux pas might be. If we just feel we must vent about something or other, it's best we do it in private.

Just because I read cards doesn't mean I'm better than the people who sit for me by any means. Participating in threads like this is like a bunch of elementary school kids picking on other kids for not looking or speaking like them.

I don't mean to sound uppity, although it will probably come out like that, but I just wanted to add my two cents. Others can do what they want to about it, but if we have the ability to read cards, we also have the ethical obligation to treat our clients with respect and things like this aren't respectful, ethical or helpful.
 

Dogs&Coffee

Sorry to have offended you. I meant this to be a little more lighthearted than it came across. Obviously I don't mean let's mock the people that come seeking help and certainly not anything so specific it breeches confidentiality.

I truly meant more generally frustrating themes that could be spun with a bit of satire.
 

Padma

I wasn't personally offended - I just said it was not my way of dealing with it! ;)

I agree that people can be frustrating at times!
 

prudence

Sorry to have offended you. I meant this to be a little more lighthearted than it came across. Obviously I don't mean let's mock the people that come seeking help and certainly not anything so specific it breeches confidentiality.

I truly meant more generally frustrating themes that could be spun with a bit of satire.

I took your opening post in the way I think you meant it. I'm not sure why the replies have been so serious. I didn't see anything encouraging us to mock or make fun of our sitters....and since this is an anonymous place, it seems private enough to me. No one is going to be naming names here. :bugeyed:

My first paid reading, which was word of mouth and I had met the lady a few times previously, she never seemed to recall meeting me ever, until she found out I read cards. Then everything changed. I went to her house for this reading, after a friend of mine recommended me to her, and my friend thought I'd have an easy time dealing with this woman. Ha!!

We sat down and chatted for a bit, then I moved on to my schpiel on what I do and what I charge. She then said, quite shocked, oh, I thought the first reading was always free. Uh, no. Not when I've driven out to your remote home, which is almost a mansion on vast acreage. No, I charge when it is a paid reading. I ended up reading for her for at least 3 hours, as she was probably one of the most manipulative and disarming people I've ever encountered in my life. Ever. She paid me $50. She told me that was all she had planned to pay me, regardless of the amount of cards and time I spent. I left feeling utterly drained and a bit nutty, also very much taken advantage of, but lesson learned. She kept trying to contact me, for more readings, and no intention of paying me at all. I just stopped answering her calls, though when we have run into each other in town, it's very awkward.

Some folks just seem to think that they don't need to pay for most of the services they seek out and enjoy. I guess that's how they manage to have giant homes on vast acreage. I'm also not the only person she has done this sort of thing to, as I found out later. Take a class that costs X amount? Pay them with a bag of oranges. And be very dismayed when the teacher says, no this class costs X. Literally.
 

Dogs&Coffee

Some folks just seem to think that they don't need to pay for most of the services they seek out and enjoy. I guess that's how they manage to have giant homes on vast acreage. I'm also not the only person she has done this sort of thing to, as I found out later. Take a class that costs X amount? Pay them with a bag of oranges. And be very dismayed when the teacher says, no this class costs X. Literally.

LOL Oh noes! That's the absolute worst. "What do you mean I have to pay you actual money? Wasn't basking in my effervescent glow payment enough?" Nope. It really isn't.
 

prudence

LOL Oh noes! That's the absolute worst. "What do you mean I have to pay you actual money? Wasn't basking in my effervescent glow payment enough?" Nope. It really isn't.

And the thing was, I had been reading for about 16 years before I decided to start charging. I just felt like I truly needed to hone my skills and read for as many people as I could before I should start charging for money. Never ever, in all of those years had I come across a person like this, so amazing at getting you to do what she wanted. I can't actually remember the number of spreads I did for her, I'm embarrassed to say this, especially when I did have loads of experience of reading for people (strangers, friends, family), face to face, on the internet, on the phone. She was the best and worst learning experience I've had in the tarot realm. I learned so much, but I didn't really enjoy it. :D
 

Barleywine

Some folks just seem to think that they don't need to pay for most of the services they seek out and enjoy. I guess that's how they manage to have giant homes on vast acreage. I'm also not the only person she has done this sort of thing to, as I found out later. Take a class that costs X amount? Pay them with a bag of oranges. And be very dismayed when the teacher says, no this class costs X. Literally.

I kind of fell into the best possible situation. I read at a shop where the shop-owner takes care of the money in advance and we do a split, with me getting most of it. So that's all settled when we sit down for the reading. If I get follow-up requests for another reading directly from the clients, I steer them through the shop since we don't want strangers in our home, and I go there. It's not a long drive, and it helps keep the shop in business, which was one of my objectives; plus, I can always find a secondary reason for being in town, so it's not a hardship.
 

Zephyros

Moderator Note:

Dear friends,

The purpose of this thread is to share stories, case studies if you will, about remarkable clients or sitters that we have had. There have been other threads like this in the past, and many stories that came up in those threads were fascinating.

Discussion about whether or not these stories should be discussed at all really should go into its own thread, which you are all invited to open. Here, let's try to get back on topic and share stories. If you have no stories or have other opinions on the matter, then it should really be discussed elsewhere.

Talking Tarot Moderators
 

DaughterOfDanu

I in no way am poking fun at this particular sitter. I'm just sharing a story that taught me a good lesson.

A while back, may have even been a year ago, I was doing $1 1 card readings. In my listing it stated they're not meant to be full readings and only give a general overview. Anyway someone purchases the listing and asks what their boyfriend feels for them. I answered as the cards told me. Then the follow up questions begin... Which I don't mind if they're about clarification but it became quickly obvious that this person wanted me to tell them what they wanted to hear. They even went so far to ask "But does he think I'm pretty?" And I really felt for them since I got the impression they knew the truth about their relationship but just wanted some hope. The issue came though when I tried to advise them to try another reader because tarot can only give so much info, especially in one card. Nope, they want ME. Next thing I know this person is buying two of my $1 listings (Rather than a full reading which isn't outrageously priced at all) to entice me to continue reading only to keep asking the same question. I even posted a thread here asking what to do because I'd never met someone who refused to take a hint. They also immediately after purchase asked when the reading would be done and begged for me to do it the same day... which rubbed me the wrong way something fierce.

But as I didn't want drama I did their reading and from that point forward anytime they'd message me from time to time asking if I was free. I'd tell them no and say I was either too full with orders or had an event in person to go to and that I was too busy. Eventually they stopped asking or found some other poor reader to trouble.

It's never a bad thing to set boundaries with your sitters...or to stand up for yourself when you feel they're being too demanding or simply aren't comfortable with reading for them. I wish I had!