Customer Service – - Don’t Break Your Back
You know I completely agree that you should provide good customer service for your company. You want others to treat you right when you go into a store right? So make sure you do unto others as you would want for yourself… The problem is that sometimes no matter how nice you are to the customer, they still jump down your throat and not let you get a word in. Sometimes they had a bad day, or something happened at work, it could be numerous things that sometimes you need to take into consideration. I have also had some people tell me that some customers get the way they are because of how the contractor and/or business talked to them that made them so mad. Well yes this can change the pace of a conversation if someone pisses the other off, but what if you were as nice as can be to this customer and did everything in your power to do what they wanted and did a great job?
I have had numerous bids that I have gone on with the fencing company I work for, and the customer can run all over you when you get there, acting as if you know nothing about what you are doing. (being down in FL, many of the retired people think their way is the only way) But if you go out there trying to do your job and give them an estimate and be very polite but they already are pushovers, you should know what you are getting into with this job. On the other hand, I have been to some bids where the people were as nice as could be when I went out there, they decide to go with the job and then they make up things as if I had said all these things to them when it would be installed, or how long it will take to get materials in…. They turn out to be customers from hell and you did not see that coming at all and you are doing a dang good job with how you are getting their materials and job set up.
Just the other day I had someone I did a bid for, nice older couple, and they paid their 40% down for materials, we got them in, set up locates, and I called them saying it would be around wed/thurs that we would come install the fence. I called them that week and said it would be Thurs. and the wife said well I have a doctors appt. and my husband wants to be here and he will not be back til 1:00pm, so I let her know that we had another job that we would be on then after could swing over there to meet their needs and time. Well our job that was a rather large one, we had bad rain come through and it held us up, so it took the whole day rather than a few hours like we thought. So I called them and let them know it would be tomorrow (Fri) that we could come install, and again she said that she would be there but her husband still wanted to be there but will not be back until 1:00pm, and I told her I could get them to do a job before them but it would not take that long to do and then head over to their house. (we all know as businesses, you cant give an exact time or wait around for others when you have jobs lined up) The guys finished the first job on Fri morning by 10:30am and headed to the couples house, they called on their way there and no answer. They tried again, no answer. Then they went to the house and knocked, no one home, so he left them a message at 11am saying that they were there and could not wait because they had a few more installs that day. Well the older man gets home at 1, calls our installer chewing him out because he did not wait on him (he wanted us to wait from 11-1 on him to get there because he had to be there to oversee it. We asked why the wife was not there, he said she had to run to the grocery, when knowing good and well that we were headed there. So he calls the office three times while we were at lunch, saying he had been calling all afternoon and that the workers were not coming to him, when I talked to our guys and said that they had already talked to him and were going to install it after they got done with the last job.
And see, with this job, we were very proffesional with them and trying to work around their schedule but the minute that we did not sit around and waste our time for them, they blew up. They knew we were coming to do an install, but she still went to the grocery store. It is like some customers think we need to bow down to them and only run on their time where we are trying to make a living and run a good company by making all of our customers happy and getting their fencing installed. He expected us to leave the job we were on and come to his. Now do you think he would be very happy if we had a customer call and wanted us to leave his job? No I don’t think so…
That is just one of the many I have dealt with in the past few months that no matter how hard you try, you just cannot please some people. That is what Business Beware is all about, even if it makes the customer realize when they see their names posted on there from different businesses to step back and think ‘hmmm you know maybe I do need to watch how I am with what I say or do..’
Customer service is a good thing and you should learn from it as you do anything, but don’t break your back for certain people who you just cannot please because they are just absolutely not worth it. Instead, complain about them on Business Beware and warn others so they don’t have to have the same headache you did and maybe you will shut that customer up for once 
