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A while ago I had a big job done on my drive and parking area along with some walling . The job kept expanding and I accepted nearly all the quotes for additional work . They told me that the job was the biggest the company had ever done for a residential client . I paid fully and on time .
When they finished , I asked if they could give me a quick handdrawn diagram of where the utilities ran under the drive and they agreed . It ’ s never been supplied . Two years later there was a bit of a problem with a small part of the job . They denied they had done the work involved .
I now hate this company and take every opportunity I can to bad mouth them . Living in a smallish town that matters . If it was more significant I would have sued them . Why ? They didn ’ t keep their word to me and then treated me as a mug .
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5 . Avoid the unreasonable
Every so often you will come across customers who are truly unreasonable . Fortunately , it ’ s not too common but it does happen from time to time . Incidentally , if you seem to come across customers like this frequently , you need to take a long hard look at yourself . Then consider the points in this article carefully because your experiences may suggest that some changes are needed . Virtually every customer will become unreasonable if they feel they are not being treated right .
What to do with the unreasonable customer ? The answer is to run a mile . If you haven ’ t yet started the job , make your excuses and drop out . If you have , try to resolve whatever dispute has arisen and get away as fast as possible . The time and emotional energy
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consumed by standing up for your rights , unless it threatens your business , is not worth it . The truly unreasonable customer will not only refuse to pay , they will also complain to trading standards . In the worst case they will sue you . It can be a world of pain .
If you work with too many unreasonable customers this can cause endless problems . It ’ s all too easy to start feeling that everyone is against you . The danger then is that you can dismiss valid complaints . It ’ s a dangerous path .
6 . Respond professionally to complaints
We all make mistakes and sometimes that ’ s likely to happen in your business . I always accept that people make mistakes and it doesn ’ t upset me when it happens . What does upset me is if the person responsible doesn ’ t pull out
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all the stops to fix the problem . I think that ’ s how most customers feel .
‘ remedial work should be a priority
’ This means that when remedial work is required , it shouldn ’ t be fitted in when there is a lull in workload . Rather it should be a priority . There is actually a big benefit to this . Research has shown that when customers who experience problems and have them fixed to their satisfaction , they become more loyal than customers whose job went smoothly . That ’ s because they know from experience that you will stand behind your work . It engenders more trust than mere talk can ever produce .
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An easy life
I ’ ve said some hard things in this article but my intention wasn ’ t to offend . Some of us are naturally empathetic and will adopt many of the approaches suggested here instinctively . This article will mostly be for those that don ’ t have this advantage .
A lack of empathy with customers can explain lots of difficulties in business life . My intention is that there might be some useful thoughts here to help smooth the path .
About the author Benjamin Dyer is CEO and co-founder of Powered Now . Powered Now ’ s mobile app aims to take the pain out of paperwork for installers and other trade businesses .
www . powerednow . com
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