By David Crary
I was at Best Buy years ago, and there was an obviously irate customer making quite a scene. Apparently, he tried to return an expensive item, but Best Buy said they couldn’t give him his money back in the store. They had to have the corporate office send him a check.
He was getting pretty heated, and peppering his rather animated discussion with words that would make a nun blush. Which got me thinking – what stupid things do green industry for contractors do that make their customers swear like a sailor – and turn to the competition for service.
So here are five things your customers might be thinking – and how to make sure they never do again:
That b*stard lied to me. – We recently ran into this one ourselves. One of our customers accused our sales rep of saying our software could do something that it couldn’t. He was pretty upset. Ultimately, the real issue wasn’t our fault (he’d had some turnover in his organization that hurt him a lot, and he was trying to use us as the scapegoat), but it was hard to tell him that.
Likewise, the same can happen to you. A common complaint from buyers of lawn care services is that they get a great price on the phone, but when someone comes out to actually do the work, suddenly the price has doubled.
So make sure your sales reps are well-trained, honest folks who don’t mislead customers just to get a sale. And make sure your customer understands the work you plan to do – and potential upsells that are available – before you send someone to do the work.
That guy is a dumbsh*t – One my friends hired a contractor to install a paver driveway. He also wanted the driveway sealed. The guy did a great job installing the driveway, but failed dramatically sealing the driveway. Apparently, he used a sprayer to apply the sealant, when the manufacturer indicated that the sealant should only be applied with a roller. It was ugly.
Customers hire you because they have neither the time nor the knowledge to do what you do. So make sure you know what you’re doing. I’ve heard of green industry contractors who killed a lawn because they applied too much fertilizer. That should never, ever happen. Make sure you consistently train your crews so that mistakes like that never happen.
I wish they’d answer the d*mn phone – I’ve said it before, but I’m shocked at how infrequently green industry contractors actually answer their phone. We call them a lot – both our customers and prospects – and we consistently find that about half of our calls during regular business hours go unanswered. Even stranger, about 20% don’t even have voicemail. It just rings and rings.
Nothing infuriates a customer more than a contractor who doesn’t answer the phone, especially a customer who may already be angry and is calling to complain. Or worse, a new customer who found your phone number online and is calling to schedule their first appointment. If you don’t answer, you may have lost a sale.
Work order software like HindSite can actually make you more available to answer the phone. Whoever is responsible for answering the phone will spend less time on each call thanks to the customer database inherent to work order software. They can schedule faster, answer customer questions almost immediately, and when used in conjunction with our mobile field service software, you’ll field less calls from your field staff so you aren’t tying up your phone with internal business.
I didn’t authorize it, so don’t f*cking do it. – Years ago, I took my dog to the vet to have her spayed. While they had her under, they decided to clean her teeth and proceeded to charge me $300 for it. I was a little bit angry because I’d never authorized it and the form I signed when I left required authorization first.
Make sure you only do the work that your customer has authorized you to do. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look for additional work on the property – you most definitely should. But it does mean that once you find those opportunities, be sure to get authorization before performing the work.
Be here when you say you’re going to be here, godd*mn it . - My refrigerator broke down about five years ago and I went online to schedule an appointment to get it fixed. No one showed, even though I received a confirmation email stating that my appointment was scheduled. I was not happy.
So make sure you arrive when you say you’re going to arrive. You don’t have to be specific. People understand that some jobs may take longer than expected. So give them a two hour range or tell them you’ll be there in the morning or the afternoon. Whatever you decide, be there when you say you’re going to be there.
You don’t want to have customers use swear words when they’re thinking about your business. So make sure you follow the advice above so your customers only speak glowingly about your business.
Want more tips on common mistakes contractors make and how to fix them? Then download our eBook, 33 Stupid Things Contractors Do (And How to Fix Them) today!
