What’s the best approach when a customer demands I use the stain or finish they’ve picked out?
Toby Merrill, national technical manager at Cleveland, Ohio-based DuraSeal, answers:
We’ve all had customers who have done all their internet research, or they heard some social media influencer say a certain product is the best. Now they’re trying to tell us—the professionals—what we should use on their job. Do you go to the mechanic for an oil change and tell them which brand of oil they should use in your car?
My contracting business was all referral-based, so I would have this conversation: “These are the products I used for all the customers who referred me to you, and this is why I used them on their floors.” I found it helps if you are familiar with the chemistry and can give them actual facts about the products that explain why you have chosen what you use.
One common scenario is that the customer has picked out a color of a stain from a big box store. If you’re able to explain the difference between a big box stain and a professional-grade stain, they are more likely to be convinced. (A professional-grade stain is going to create some build and seal the floor instead of just soaking color into the wood, so it offers better protection for the floor.)
Another common situation is asking you to use a specific topcoat finish. If it was a lower grade of finish, that was a hard no for me—using low-quality products was the antithesis of my business. Even if they are the ones who pick it, and then it underperforms, it would still be my fault. Even a quality finish might not apply the same as what you’re used to—it might dry faster or not flow as well, and then it doesn’t look as nice as your usual result.
If you have the conversation with the customer and they still insist that you use a product you don’t usually work with, that’s something you’ll have to consider on a case-by-case basis: Is this a customer you really want to work for? Will they be this demanding and not rely on your expertise about other parts of the job?
