How do you deal with difficult customers???

   / How do you deal with difficult customers???
  • Thread Starter
#71  
I always get in trouble when I say "normally" so I use "typically" now.... just smile and cash the check.

Actually, IIRC I used typically in one ad and normally in another ad. (have to change a few words on c-list to post different cities)

But either way, the meaning is the same.

I keep looking for one of them "Dont use this guy he is a scam" ads by her. But nothing yet.:rolleyes:
 
   / How do you deal with difficult customers??? #72  
Some people just dont seem to get it.:mur:

MY ad reads something to the effect of "prices normally 35-50/acre" and "minimums apply"
This ad is for field mowing

So I had a lady call earlier this week. Explained she had ~2 acres of overgrown pasture. And lives about 15 minutes away. I told here I have a $150 minimum and should be able to do it all for that price.

So I show up this AM to get started. This overgrown pasture, was actually 3 smaller fenced in areas, and more trees and briar patches than one can shake a stick at. IT really wasnt mowing, it was land clearing. Constantly stopping and having to back over briar patches and dogwoods. And nowhere on the whole job was I able to go more than 20' in a straight line without having to go around a tree.

I finished after working about 2.5hrs, and she asked me If I could do an area (~1 acre) outside the fence. It was just as dense with trees and briars as the rest. I told her I had no problem doing that, but that I had exhausted my $150 minimum and it would be an additional $50 to do and would probably take me another hour.

She instantly got upset and said "I though your ad was $35-$50 per acre and you only have done 2 acres".

I told her that prices were Normally 35-50, but normally I am mowing fields and overgrown grass, NOT clearing brush and going around trees every 2 seconds. I explained that if the whole lot were open and no trees, it would have taken me less than an hour and it wouldnt be a problem to do a little more.

She then said " so your charging me $150 for 2.5hrs of work". I said that my target is $50/hr from the time I leave my house till the time I get home, and a 15min drive each way, I am now at my 3hr limit for my minimum.

Her reply was "well Im in the wrong line of work then" I tried to explain to her about the cost of equipment, fuel, trailer, damage, etc. But she just didnt get it:mur:

This is precisly why I dont do work by the hour. I bid by the job (as I did on this one), but she thought she didnt get her moneys worth @ only 2.5hrs and wanted more for nothing:confused2:

How do you guys handle people like that?? What do you say to them??

Okay, rant off.

im an electrical contractor...i get these kinds of people on a daily basis.

I had a Doctor once ask me if i could add a couple of recessed cans above the dining room table, i told him a price. He had the nerve to say "But your already here...why should it cost anything more".

I asked him if i went to his hospital for an exam then asked for a free surgery "since your already there" what would you do.... i think he finally got the point.

People for the most part are air heads. end of story.


Also, as a side note. I no longer rent out my equipment or my time on tractor for anything except an occasional neighbors snow removal. It got to be too much of a bother . Also got tired of being beaten to death mowing a rock pile. Bidding snow removal is a no brainer. easy money in my nice heated cab.

The more i have to deal with the general public the more i love my dogs,
 
   / How do you deal with difficult customers??? #73  
grsthegreat,
I am thinking about removing my passenger seats and replacing them with carpeted platforms for my dog to ride on. He is much better company than any of my employees and doesn't need workmens comp, a paycheck or Obamacare.
 
   / How do you deal with difficult customers??? #74  
It's unfortunate, but most people just want to get the best bang for their buck, they don't care about you, your equipment, or your time and other expenses, they think that all the "other" factors are your problem.

When I have to hire out, say a track hoe, I normally keep an eye on them and keep them working. I don't pay $200/hr to have them get out and play engineer, I pay them $200/hr to operate. I'm not a complete hardass, I understand they need lunch and coffee breaks, but I don't appreciate getting charged 10 hours when all they did was 4 hours of machine work and a total of 1 hour trucking.

I learned the hard way this past summer the same as you did. My customer expected a "golf course" job on a 10 acre plot of 3' tall pasture grass. I way under-bidded and didn't look too close at the plot, there was probably about 30% alfalfa mixed in too, which slowed me to a crawl. The plus side...a different landowner saw me mowing, liked what saw and hired me to do his 8 acre field twice for the season...at 4 times the $$$!! After all this, the learning I gained was to physically look at the area, discuss what needs to done, and come to an agreement on price, and what the end result will be.

I normally bid by the job too, unless it's oilfield, then it's by the hour with a 3 hour minimum.

Snow plowing is more interesting...if the customer doesn't like the job or the price, I just tell 'em that I'll put the snow back where I found it. :)
 
   / How do you deal with difficult customers??? #75  
Typical bargaining scheme. I see it all the time and I'm not even in business for myself.
Just keep your cool. Explain that you've already completed the job as agreed and that any new requests constitute a new job.

I've also found that flipping the situation around on them gets them to back off. In her case, ask her if she thought it would be fair for you to hire her to clean your kitchen and dining room for a fixed price, and when she was all done want her to clean your bathrooms and bedrooms for nothing.
 
   / How do you deal with difficult customers??? #76  
I've also found that flipping the situation around on them gets them to back off. In her case, ask her if she thought it would be fair for you to hire her to clean your kitchen and dining room for a fixed price, and when she was all done want her to clean your bathrooms and bedrooms for nothing.

I once sent a customer a bill in the mail (not the first one for that job) and wrote basically the same thing on it. I asked how happy he'd be if I took the money for the job up front and then took the same amount of time to come do the job that he was taking to pay me. I was still 3 more weeks getting my money.
 
 
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