Dealing with Difficult Clients, Part 1

“Just did a large project for an unscrupulous wealthy business man – who loved the floor in the kitchen area - upon doing another area insisted we changed the color of the stain even before we got the opportunity to seal and finish that would have duplicated the exact process we used on the Kitchen. Of course he brought in someone else who sided with his whims because he decided he did not like the color he chose. How can we get protection on these types of difficulties – I’m open for advice.”

The above comment was posted as a comment on an article on www.woodfloorbusiness.com, and Kim asked me to write about it as if I were this guy’s instructor at a school. TO THE PERSON WHO POSTED THIS: I am writing to all contractors reading this blog, and I am trying to cover all bases. By no means whatsoever am I implying anything negative on you. I will analyze the causes and talk about a remedy in the end.
Let’s look at the problem first. The problem is that clients challenge you—the contractor—while you are doing the work. I see it as a result of two things:

1.    Your presence/credential/reputation/expertise is NOT good enough and easy to look down at.
2.    Clients and consumers as a whole had become more confident in their demands and in their own knowledge.

Little did I know I was the 15th contractor to meet with them. They only revealed it to me after I was done with the project months later.

Let’s look at each cause. The first has to do with you. In not so many words: You are not good enough for this client, that’s how your client views you. Before I go too far, let me give you an example: I walked into a very luxurious home in the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf area to meet the husband, wife and her brother, who was a designer. It was an estimate for a new floor installation. Little did I know I was the 15th contractor to meet with them. They only revealed it to me after I was done with the project months later. They read about me and my company online, so the two hour discussion was very respectful. I was the first contractor to tell them, not ask, not recommend. I told them I had to re-sheet the subfloor before I put in a new wood floor. The husband looked at me straight in the eye and asked why, because none of the other contractors told them that. I, without looking away or stuttering gave him a three-minute, fact-based explanation about wood movement. The fact was that they were very educated in our trade, but I was more educated and, as you know me, very confident. I had to tell them that the meeting was over after two hours because I had to go pick up my kids. They were very nice about it. We continued the discussion via emails. Weeks went by about what the other contractors said about me and my extra work requirement before I got the job. They let me do “my thing,” they paid on time and hired me years later to do more work for them. Note that I wasn’t the cheapest and I came up with extra (but necessary) work for the project.

What it means is that you could have done better and you didn’t, so they trust Google more than you.

Let’s go back to you and your client. I said you were not good enough for your client. What does it mean? Does it mean you are not good enough or that you are a bad contractor? No. What it means is that you could have done better and you didn’t, so they trust Google more than you. The relationship starts at the door when you introduce yourself. A lot of people would say that the problem started when you stained the floors. Well, my friend, the problem started a long time before that. It started when you said hello. Here are some of the factors that could go into play in a situation like this:

•    Your website and reputation are not solid. In fact, for the sake of this discussion you are “just” a good flooring guy. This type of being doesn’t cut it anymore.
•    You showed up late or looking like hell.
•    Your meeting was not educational to the client. If you taught your client nothing when you met, he thinks he knows as much as you or even more.
•    Common mistake: You’re trying to save money for your client, so for every question he has, your answer is based on money and you keep mentioning that. You come across as cheap. Cheap is unprofessional. You should answer the questions as if he had money to pay for it. Someone needs to pay for it, right?
•    You’re asked a question and your answer is not good enough. Even more, your client challenges you on what the other guy said. Let’s say it’s about a moisture barrier. The other contractor said that a moisture barrier was required on the slab based on trade guidelines. Your response is the selling point. If he believes you, then he sees you as a better contractor. If he thinks your answer is nonsense, well, you lost the job.
•    You have a lot of experience but no current credentials.
•    You have a lot of experience but no current tools (don’t try to sell against me with my dustless work, I can tell you that much).
•    You’re a nice guy but that’s all you are.

A lot of guys ask why their clients treat them a certain way. Well, there are a lot of reasons. None of the reasons are fun to know, but they are true. So if you want to learn, become better and master your craft get over yourself and learn accountability for who you are as a salesman. I will not apologize for any comments made on this blog and the next. I am giving all you guys out there a hard time now. You can handle it. I will give your clients a hard time on the next one.

Be cool.