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Residential problems

Terry Miller

New member
Being a residential contractor give us many problems the commercial / industrial contractor does not deal with. When having a problem with a customer how do you solve the impossible problem?
 

Terry Miller

New member
Hi Jim,
I was just asking if anyone had anything they would like to discuss. With a lot of versality here we may come up with something positive. I know as a resi I get beat up at times and always seems like something new? LOL This makes the day go by. We are lucky as we really only have a problem about 1-2 times a year. When we started 13 years ago, it was ugly at times. People would think of wasy to cut our profit or complain about the new rope I gave them! LOL Not to bad today. I'm sure some resi has a problem somewheres where we can help. Thank you.
 

Douglas Hicks

New member
Hi Jim,
I was just asking if anyone had anything they would like to discuss. With a lot of versality here we may come up with something positive. I know as a resi I get beat up at times and always seems like something new? LOL This makes the day go by. We are lucky as we really only have a problem about 1-2 times a year. When we started 13 years ago, it was ugly at times. People would think of wasy to cut our profit or complain about the new rope I gave them! LOL Not to bad today. I'm sure some resi has a problem somewheres where we can help. Thank you.


I feel your pain. We do very little residential, 99% of our work is commercial. Residential customers seem to think you make at least $100.00 an hour, with very minimal expenses. Throught the years, I have solved many problems by being more specific about our scope of practice in the written contracts we use. Even more important, list what you will not do. Will you ladder the 2nd story so you can wash the windows by hand? Who moves the patio furniture? Are children, pets and adults allowed in proximity to your cleaning process? If they decide at the last moment to add gutter cleaning, do you make a contract change, or hope they will pay for add-ons? As experts, we forget our customers may have expectations that exceed normal business practices.

Most improtant, when you get the feeling, pay attention and do not accept the job.
 

Terry Miller

New member
Douglas,
That is pretty much the basics for survival. Too man folks let customers add on without charge. I specify that I'd be happy to give them an estimate or add on signed by them to pay for the extra work. Writing everything is not always possible, but could be costly if we don't. I could have a three page estimate with all the trimmings, but prefer to keep it simple. Change orders are always available though.
Red Flags are built into my Nature after 13 years. If it talks like a duck, walks like a Duck, It is a Duck. Thanks for the response.
 

Terry Miller

New member
Florin, That may be the toughest problem with resi. Some folks can't read the fine print. They always say my spouse has the checkbook, etc. I will say, we have only had 1 no pay in 13 years. We have a lean on their home. Slow pay is acceptable as long as they pay for us.
 

plainpainter

New member
The residential repaint 'scene' sucks. The majority of homeowners are so unprofessional in general. And the cheaper a homeowner is, the more aggravating they are if you are misfortunate enough to get the job. And they all seem to think add-on's are freebies for some unknown reason?
 

Chris Apple

New member
How about homeowners who hem and haw then work you on price? Ive had this happen twice in the last two weeks. Gave them a good deal just to have them cancel on me when I called to set a day.

I wont do that again!
 

James Foley

New member
Most problems I've had are with burning plants and foliage. No killage !! Had people send soil to be tested , Arborist check trees , got paid and still do there work. Cause I told the people it would probably happen and it did ? We always remember the Jerks. I've been in business for 25 years and can still count on my fingers the people who were problems. I've talked my way out of a couple of potential huge issues. Things I didn't cause but uncovered, that caused issues for other contractors and home owner's . Not fun !!

One time my machine died right after i put wash solution on the front of the house. Lost all the petals on the plantings in the front yard ( owner is a landscaper). Told him what happened and advised him to use back door!!LOL He new I didn't kill the plants and they would be back next year . Wife was a bit more not understanding but received check and was called back.
 

Brian Wendling

New member
We always try to solve any problem. Customer service and always doing the right thing For the customer is good but not what we do all the time. Doing the right thing is what we try to do. My problem is people calling and wanting everything done tomorrow.
 

Greg Rentschler

New member
We always try to solve any problem. Customer service and always doing the right thing For the customer is good but not what we do all the time. Doing the right thing is what we try to do. My problem is people calling and wanting everything done tomorrow.

Ditto - In most cases we'll bend over backwards to make a customer happy but there always that one that would complain about a winning lottery ticket.

I too have the problem with everyone wanting things done immediately but we've been able to work around that after our presentation.
 

Doug Rucker

UAMCC Board of Directors
We always try to solve any problem. Customer service and always doing the right thing For the customer is good but not what we do all the time. Doing the right thing is what we try to do. My problem is people calling and wanting everything done tomorrow.

I like Larry Millette's Line, "a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part"
 
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