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huggytree
08-05-2009, 05:18 PM
had a customer who called weeks ago for a kitchen sink redo.
i told her to call me 1 week before the install to get on my schedule

she called this moring to schedule for next monday morning. I called her back and spent 15 min. discussing her project....she didnt take my advice and got her own fixtures..im not making much on this project..probably wages + $25-$45 profit.......at the end of the conversation she said she may cancel if another plumber calls her back...he's cheaper...ugggghhhhhh

i was told to call her at the end of the day....i did...she said she wasnt sure yet...i told her im booking up Monday morning to who ever calls first...i was a bit rude to her, but ive had a few who cancel Sunday night...i cant possibly book anything else and i lose a few hours of work....

she is 101% self centered.....i told her to call me when she's sure i have the job...also said 'if your other plumber cant call you back how good will he be at showing up on time or calling you back if you have problems?'

like i said i was a bit rude and im sure i lost the job...probably wasted 25 minutes of my phone time total with this lady...im her backup date incase mr.popular doesnt ask her to the prom...she'll let me know the day before the dance.

anyone else had someone like this?

orion_joel
08-05-2009, 09:47 PM
It can be a hard call how to handle this sort of customers often. If she calls you back to book, then obviously she needs you to do the job more then you need the job from her. So i may look to try and stick to the 1 week before you can do the job. I mean if she does call and you can fit it in Monday and want to do it then go ahead, however it means that she is dictating the way you schedule your time.

While maybe customers as a whole do dictate how your time is spent, you need to consider that the more you let customers get away with very last minute bookings the more it is likely to impact future expectations. If you get to a point in a month or two where you are booked up a week in advance, and she was to call again for some other job, she may expect that you would just fit it in when she calls.

Dan Furman
08-05-2009, 11:07 PM
at the end of the conversation she said she may cancel if another plumber calls her back...he's cheaper

If a client tells me that, I say "save us both the trouble - use the other company".

You said you are doing well, Huggy. So learn to say "no".

Steve B
08-05-2009, 11:09 PM
I would walk away from the job - regardless of what you have going on Monday. Just tell her you no longer have that opening available. Then, use that time doing some marketing effort that has a chance to make you quadruple the profit. Just my opinion - but, I'd find a better use of my time.

billbenson
08-05-2009, 11:53 PM
If a client tells me that, I say "save us both the trouble - use the other company".

You said you are doing well, Huggy. So learn to say "no".

Only thing about that Dan, is he's in a local market and you are in a national or international one. HT probably has more business impact from her than you turning down a client. He deals with a lot of personal local referrals. I wouldn't do work for her, but I'd say no in a way it won't hurt you.

I agree with steve, "sorry mam, I'm booked up and won't be available for several weeks. Then recommend another plumber and give her his phone. Let your competition deal with your problem customers. It's business you don't want.

Harold Mansfield
08-06-2009, 12:06 AM
had a customer who called weeks ago for a kitchen sink redo.
i told her to call me 1 week before the install to get on my schedule

she called this moring to schedule for next monday morning. I called her back and spent 15 min. discussing her project....she didnt take my advice and got her own fixtures..im not making much on this project..probably wages + $25-$45 profit.......at the end of the conversation she said she may cancel if another plumber calls her back...he's cheaper...ugggghhhhhh

i was told to call her at the end of the day....i did...she said she wasnt sure yet...i told her im booking up Monday morning to who ever calls first...i was a bit rude to her, but ive had a few who cancel Sunday night...i cant possibly book anything else and i lose a few hours of work....

she is 101% self centered.....i told her to call me when she's sure i have the job...also said 'if your other plumber cant call you back how good will he be at showing up on time or calling you back if you have problems?'

like i said i was a bit rude and im sure i lost the job...probably wasted 25 minutes of my phone time total with this lady...im her backup date incase mr.popular doesnt ask her to the prom...she'll let me know the day before the dance.

anyone else had someone like this?

I would have told her real simply:
"Give me a call when your ready, and we'll try and squeeze you in on the following week if I have an opening or finish a job early."

It sucks when you want the work, but if you are already not making much, if you give up the power to her, she will make the job not worth doing and run you all over the place.

Bad thing about customers, is some of them are used to totally taking advantage of people, and treat every service person like they are doing them a favor.

Those are the kind of people that made me get out of customer service...couldn't take it anymore and lost my patience too many times towards the end.

Someone getting all the answers to make the best decision is one thing, but she all but told you that she has no respect for you, your business, or your time.

I would have made it perfectly clear to her that "I have an opening now, and won't have another one for a few weeks"....even if I didn't.

You were nicer to her than I would have been.

Spider
08-06-2009, 12:17 AM
In other service businesses with which I have dealt, a customer is not put on the schedule until they have committed to the work being carried out. I don't see why a reservation would be made until the customer is certain they want the work done. Once they have decided, then they get the next available slot that is convenient to them. If that is Monday, then they get Monday. If Monday is booked, they get to choose from future slots that are not booked.

Why would a business discuss when work is to be performed when it hasn't even been decided that they will perform the work? Doesn't make sense to me.

KristineS
08-06-2009, 09:11 AM
I've got to agree with Frederick on this one. Why can't you just tell the lady, in a very nice way, that your available time is open to any customer who agrees to book a job. When she's ready to schedule with you, then you'll offer her the available time you have open. You do not, however, reserve time for possible jobs. If she can't commit, she'll have to take her chances.

huggytree
08-06-2009, 09:18 AM
i agree with you Fredrick....i will handle it that way next time..

she never called back and if she does i was planning on making her wait a day or 2 extra anyways....i dont need that extra $350....thousands yes...a couple of hundred..no

thanks for all the advice

Dan Furman
08-06-2009, 10:39 AM
Only thing about that Dan, is he's in a local market and you are in a national or international one. HT probably has more business impact from her than you turning down a client.

That's a great point, and a perfect example of why I love this forum - it makes me think of things I have not considered.

Spider
08-06-2009, 12:07 PM
Further, I don't understand why the customer needs to be told anything regarding scheduling. Until they have confirmed that I am to do the work, *when* it is to be done doesn't come into the conversation.

Should the customer bring it up - which I find odd, anyway - why would they want to discuss scheduling with me if they haven't yet decided I am to do their work?

But should they bring it up, I would simply say, "Oh! Does that mean you want me to do the work?" (It's called a trial close, in salesman-speak.)

When the customer says, "No, I haven't decided yet," my reply is obviously, "Well, we can discuss the scheduling once you have decided."

There is another sales note worth making here -- If you are discussing when work can or cannot be done before the buying decision has been made, you are giving the buyer *another* reason to say No. The purpose of any conversation prior the Close is to get as many Yeses as possible and eliminate the Noes.

Steve B
08-06-2009, 01:04 PM
"why would they want to discuss scheduling with me if they haven't yet decided I am to do their work?"

There is a good answer to this. If they are having a big party in 10 days - then the plumber who has an opening before the party might get the job. I get asked this question all the time before people commit to using my service. If I can get to a job a couple weeks before my competitor - I'll likely get the job.

Spider
08-06-2009, 04:47 PM
I understand, Steve, and if that is put to me by a potential customer, I will calmly reply, "At the moment, Monday the 17th is open." (Or whatever is open.)

That doesn't mean I am keeping it open, that I am allocating the time to a "maybe" job, or that it will stay open after we hang up. It's open now. If they order now it will be allocated to them. To press the sale, I might even say, "...but I cannot guaranteee how long it will be available."

My point is that locking down a job date and time before you have a job is not very businesslike.

huggytree
08-06-2009, 06:36 PM
she left the message that she wanted me to do the job!!!! and wanted it scheduled for monday morning!!!!

at the end of the conversation she said 'i have another plumber scheduled, so you may get a call to cancel'

i should have said 'your not scheduled then, call me when i have the job'

she's the definition of a bad customer..101% her ,-1% me...when it should be 50/50 or 75/25

Steve B
08-06-2009, 09:49 PM
Frederick - well put. That's exactly the way I say it. My customers have been great, even if they call me back a couple hours later they will ask if it is still open.

HT - that's a tough one - she wanted to have you in her pocket just in case the next guy was cheaper. It's tough to play hardball when you are still hoping to get the job.

Spider
08-06-2009, 10:27 PM
It is as important to not lock yourself into an open-ended commitment as it to not lock yourself out of a job.

One of the things I have found useful is to choose one's words carefully and remain silent when necessary.

"Can you do it Monday morning?" - "Monday morning is free, right now."

"I want it done Monday morning." - "Thank you for your order."

"If I give you the order, I want it done on Monday morning." - [silence]


It's easy for us to talk from the sidelines, though, and not so easy when you are on the spot!

huggytree
08-09-2009, 07:27 PM
its Sunday and she called for me to come tomarrow....her 'friend' couldnt get the job done....now the job is 1/2 done and my little profit is now mostly gone..

im slow this week, so ill do it....i scheduled her for Tuesday even though i have only 1 small job for Monday...I want her to suffer mentally alittle for her decision..

ill bring her folder with me and call her tomarrow...she begged for a Monday install....Im going to be going right past her house anyways, so why not do it and collect my minimum charge....maybe it will be difficult and ill end up making a couple of hours...

Steve B
08-10-2009, 03:00 AM
Let us know how it turns out. Sometimes something that starts out this way ends up being a great job. Maybe she'll give you a big referral this year.

huggytree
08-10-2009, 10:27 AM
she has cheap written all over her...i will be tearing out and replacing everything the other guy did...i have to guarantee no leaks, so i cant build off of his work....i also will not reuse the other guys parts....so she may not be happy to pay 2x for the same parts(or similar parts)....so i will guess she will not be happy about that..i can only hope paying 2 people to do 1 job will cost her more in the end.....

ive had repeat jobs from homeowners who try to do this stuff....ive rarely had repeat when they hire handymen first and then me though....some people are always looking for cheap and dont care about quality/service.....hey its probably going to be $200 in my pocket rather than $0....why not just do it....its a slow day

Spider
08-10-2009, 11:01 AM
Why not just do it, certainly. But make sure you smile and "butter her up" a bit. Tell her how wise she is to try to keep her costs down. This is a good time to be the "Used car salesman."

If you don't get a referral, you at least made somebody a bit happier for the day. Maybe she won't grumble quite so much about your bill. :)

But she will be more likely to give you a referral if you are nice to her than if you are miserable, too.

Think of this as your Good Deed for the Day.

huggytree
08-10-2009, 05:45 PM
Im always positive in front of customers...i always try to be friends no matter how irriated i am...

got some more calls today and did those jobs instead of getting to her early...i was expecting a call to cancel...im shocked it didnt come

huggytree
08-11-2009, 05:41 PM
did the project today

had to redo everything her 'friend' did...faucet installed wrong,drains installed wrong, garbage disposal broken, home depot disposal flange wouldnt work.

i charged her more than i originally estimated, but she got a new disposal.

i spent an extra 30 minutes trying to get her Home Depot disposal flange to stop leaking...i finally threw it out and used my own...

she said she learned her lesson with hiring a friend/handyman, but i dont think she liked my final price...she did bring up future work, but that was before the final bill.

she was very nice and things were friendly...she was just happy to have a kitchen sink.