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PLUMBING CONNECTION
AUTUMN 2015
‘THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT’
I
f you do the job well, your customer
might recommend you to one to ten
people, but if it goes wrong, they
will be sure to tell a hundred people to
never use you.
We’ve all heard an expression or
two along those lines but now, with
the emergence of social media – such
as LinkedIn, Facebook and other
independent, online advisory services
– that’s probably more like a thousand
people who are going to find out if a
customer thinks you did a bad job.
So what do you do when, clearly, the
customer is a nightmare to deal with
and you just need to get the job done
as quickly and pain-free as possible?
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve come
from a large family of plumbers, and
have been a plumber myself for over
24 years, so I’ve seen, dealt with or
heard of, pretty much every type of
customer horror story. I’m going to
share some of the most common
‘difficult’ customer types with you and
offer some tips on how best to manage
them.
THE UNUSUAL
Unfortunately, as in all walks of
life, some personalities just clash.
Some clashes will simply come down
to opposing personality traits while,
at times, medical conditions, such as
Alzheimer’s, dementia, and a range of
other medical or personality-related
conditions make dealing with certain
customers particularly difficult.
If you know that you can’t remain
patient with such clients and don’t
need them as clients, it is likely going
to work out better for you, and the
customer, to let them know that they
will need to find another plumber. You
can use the excuse that you are too
busy to do their job for them in the
timeframe requested and perhaps,
even have another plumber’s number
ready to recommend.
In many cases though, you can’t
avoid dealing with such clients
because they are either tenants who
rent, or an owner of an apartment
within a building you work at. In these
situations, I always remind myself
that they can’t actually change their
behaviour and that it’s not personal,
even when it feels personal.
I also try and treat my elderly
customers – who may have memory
problems, with the same dignity that
I would treat my own elderly family
members.
THE CONTROL FREAK
These customers are going to
micro-manage you and your work
from the moment they call you. They
often won’t trust you, or anyone who
enters their domain. They are usually a
complete pain in the neck because you
will not have a moment of peace but
if you work within their comfort zone,
things will generally work out fine. So,
first of all, just expect that this type
of customer assumes that you are a
potential ‘burglar’ who is really only
there to case out their place while
you do the plumbing – yep, they are
going to follow you like a hawk and look
for any opportunity to become high
maintenance or suspicious of you, even
YOU’VE ALL DEALT WITH TRICKY CUSTOMERS IN THE PAST AND YOU’LL CERTAINLY DEAL WITH MORE IN THE
FUTURE.
BRAD FALLON
HAS ENCOUNTERED HIS FAIR SHARE AND OFFERS SOME ADVICE WHEN DEALING WITH
CERTAIN TYPES.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BRAD FALLON