I'd rather be angry..

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
112,312
Location
The High Chapperal
1st timer today set up for a sectional cleaning..

1st clue something was off was a firm request for a 1pm arrival, no ifs ands or buts.
The permanent wheelchair and freshly divorced mentions we our second clue

We arrived a few minutes after 1pm with no mention of being late but greeted with a smile and plenty of conversation about all his musical instruments and unique artwork.
We get around to talking about his upholstery, he asks about methods and I explain how we offer them all and felt that a HWE would be best for his situation.
10 minutes later I ask him if "the office talked pricing with him" and he tells me "your girl said you'd be using a 3 step process that would not included water and she quoted me $225.
So now is where in his mind the bait and switch happened, I explain how moisture of some form is used in just about all options and that due to the complexity of the setup, type of fabric, furniture to be moved etc that it was going to cost a bit more than $225.

"Well how much?? he says in a tone that tell me I'm in trouble, so I go as low as I dare and tell him $250 (when I wanted to say $300) and instead of negotiating or asking for a discount he says " I don't want to do it, just forget it all.

and here is where I may have blown it.. I tell him "my office is not suppose to quote firm prices and always are to provide a price range" and he ruins my day with a "When MY secretary or office staff makes a mistake, I take the blame and fix the problem, I don't push it off on them."



At this point I tell apologize and offer to do the cleaning for $225 and he says no thanks no longer interested. to which I reply, you know sire I'd rather clean your upholstery for free than have you angry at us..


I'd rather be angry....



I apologized again and left as I could see there would be no charming my way out of this situation..



This guy was a very unique situation but it has me thinking..
Phone quote mishaps, I'm sure the whole industry deals with these problems at some level. Room or square foot, there will always be some misunderstandings.

In this day of Internet reviews and reputation would we be better off just apologizing for the miscommunication and always providing the cleaning at the price they hear or think they here or should we stick to our guns and negotiate? (some would say argue)



I know what Ken Snow would say...
 

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
Some people prefer to live their lives unhappy, this guy was prick and no matter what you would have done he wasn't going to satisfied.

If he leaves a bad review just explain yourself. Phone estimates are approximate, you can only give a solid price when you see the fabric and condition on site.

Any reasonable person will understand that. Some how we have to keep from being held hostage by those that might write a bad review about our services. I'm not suggesting we ignore them but if they are in the wrong I don't think we can cave in out of fear either.
 

Mardie

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
1,523
Location
London Ontario,Canada
Name
Mardie VanBree
If your phone girl did not handle it properly and she did not explain herself clearly about it being just a guesstimate then I applaud him for seeing you as a bait and switch and running you of . And what was she telling him over the phone about this 3 step process that would not include water ? How can she make such an assumption without seeing it ? Has this phone girl of yours ever cleaned upholstery ? And why did you wait 10 min. before asking what the girl said on the phone about price. When I do rarely give a rough price on the phone the first thing I do when I walk in the door is repeat our conversation that we had on the phone and let them know that I will take a look at it so I can give them an exact price then I get into the small talk and chit chat. Not trying to be a jerk but I think you know that that whole episode went sideways and it has nothing to do with that guy wanting to be angry.
 

Willy P

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
10,579
Location
Vancouver
Name
Willy P
You handled it much better than I would have Mikey. I would just politely thanked him for the opportunity, packed up and rode off into the sunset. This story reminds me of a guy I did a job for years ago. No debating price, but he was outright rude. After I gave him the invoice and got my cheque, I Said to him " Sir, somwhere along the way , I must have offended or upset you in some way. I'm always trying to improve my service and would you tell me where I fell short?"
He looked at me and said"You're a common janitor. I'm an accountant. I make $50 an hour."
I took a look at the $175 cheque I earned in about 2 hours, and just gave him a big smile. "It must suck to be you". Never heard from him again.
 

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
112,312
Location
The High Chapperal
Mardy you are correct in phone staff should not only never quote exact pricing but should never promise a certain method when we provide many and most often clean with a combination of those.

We/I fvcked up for sure.

But he was still an ahole.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EDS and FB7777

Jim Pemberton

MB Exclusive.
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
12,021
Name
Jim Pemberton
Mike I'm with Scott. This guy is the type that can find fly feces in a shaker of pepper. He would have picked apart your job, made you reclean it a few times to force you to perfection for daring to charge him an extra 25.00.

Or worse, decided you damaged something and filed a claim against you.

Add to that the statement that he'd rather be angry. If its true, he's an emotionally disturbed individual.

If he's not clinically insane, he's a manipulative sociopath who detected how much this upset you, and chose those words to give you an emotional kick in the groin.

I give you credit for not saying "it's not wonder you are divorced...who could live with someone like you?"
 

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
112,312
Location
The High Chapperal
Its just that I've dealt with so much worse over the years, this guy's sudden change from let me show you all my neato art and trinkets to get the hell out really caught me off guard.

Having my helper there only made it worse, embarrassed the heck out of me.
 

Derek

Supportive Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
2,165
Location
NY
Name
Derek
you handled it perfect.

i just go with my gut, no hard & fast rules. the client isn't always right with me. after he poo-poo'ed my real price i would have started like you did with the offer to clean for the price he mentioned. beyond that i would have walked and he would have never called me again. at least how you handled it, he might call you in the future. not that you want him to!
 

cu

Supportive Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2006
Messages
1,402
Location
San Lorenzo Ca
Name
Cu
Being a first time custy I would not have brought up the price change, I would have just got the job out of the way . By the time the job was done you would have known if you ever wanted to to go back .

If nothing else you found a new spot to dump a tank.....fook him if he can't take a joke
 

Mardie

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
1,523
Location
London Ontario,Canada
Name
Mardie VanBree
Mike I'm with Scott. This guy is the type that can find fly feces in a shaker of pepper. He would have picked apart your job, made you reclean it a few times to force you to perfection for daring to charge him an extra 25.00.

Or worse, decided you damaged something and filed a claim against you.

Add to that the statement that he'd rather be angry. If its true, he's an emotionally disturbed individual.

If he's not clinically insane, he's a manipulative sociopath who detected how much this upset you, and chose those words to give you an emotional kick in the groin.

I give you credit for not saying "it's not wonder you are divorced...who could live with someone like you?"

Or it is very possible that he just got stung to many times when trying to get this type of work done before that he just had his guard up and was laying for anything that did not sound correct. I have had several clients that the first time I worked for them I found them to be very cold and defensive and I was just glad to get out of their and new that for whatever reason that they would never call me again and this made me feel bad. BUT they do call back and they are some of the best and most pleasant people I have ever worked for. So you cannot blame some people for having their guard up the first time.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: -JB-

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
112,312
Location
The High Chapperal
Like I said,I would have normally asked $300 due to the complexity of the set up and would have gladly given some sort of 1st timer discount.


it was almost like he was looking for any excuse to not have them cleaned. Maybe a relative asked him to do it due to the abundance of dog hair and possibly allergic children.?
 

Mardie

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
1,523
Location
London Ontario,Canada
Name
Mardie VanBree
Like I said,I would have normally asked $300 due to the complexity of the set up and would have gladly given some sort of 1st timer discount.


it was almost like he was looking for any excuse to not have them cleaned. Maybe a relative asked him to do it due to the abundance of dog hair and possibly allergic children.?

I personally have almost a zero tolerance for unreasonable people. Its not worth it to cater to these people.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ron K

Jim Pemberton

MB Exclusive.
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
12,021
Name
Jim Pemberton
Having been challenged by a customer and having your attempts to make peace so nastily rebuffed by him in front of your helper would be embarrassing, but make it a teaching moment for him and your other staff.

Sorry it happened to you bud.

The best thing about this business? The people you meet.

The worst thing about it? The people you meet
 

Chris A

Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
5,475
Location
OH
Name
Chris
It's a tough call to make, sometimes it just comes down to how I feel that day. I usually don't squabble over $20 or so, I just eat it, and I know we screw up estimating over the phone from time to time. More than that I'll stick to my guns and do the old "Well we ain't doin that..."
 

Steve Toburen

Supportive Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
1,912
Location
Durango, Colorado/Santiago, Dominican Republic
Name
Steve Toburen
In this day of Internet reviews and reputation would we be better off just apologizing for the miscommunication and always providing the cleaning at the price they hear or think they here or should we stick to our guns and negotiate? (some would say argue)
You have it nailed here, Mike. So a question. How far away was this guy? Rethinking the situation, Mike, instead of you riding around playing carpet cleaner would it make sense for you to finally cede control of the truck, dress up and focus on pre-inspecting FIRST TIME customers?

My guess is with your charming personality (I'm not even being sarcastic here) and in the non-confrontational atmosphere of the work not having to be decided on IMMEDIATELY you would have walked out of this fellow's house with a 500.00 work order AND a happy customer. Or maybe he really was a jerk. (But at least IF you had pre-inspected the job you would not have had your production schedule blown apart and a unhappy customer who may blast you on Yelp!)

When I got myself off the truck and started doing all our pre-inspections of FIRST TIME customers plus doing regular, consistent sales our business exploded. For me at least (and I suspect for most cleaners who want to grow their business) my "highest and best use" was not pushing a wand. (Even though I loved it when a tech was out sick and I got to go "play carpet cleaner".)

Plus I found that in addition to avoiding the inevitable "phone misunderstandings" the much higher job ticket produced by a separate pre-inspection more than paid for the cost of a tech to replace ME on the truck. and at the end of the day that is what determines if the owner should stay doing the work- the hourly cost of the person to replace him! (Think about this after a hot, sweaty day on the truck.) So what is YOUR time worth?

Steve

PS
I know what Ken Snow would say...
So what would Ken have said? :) (BTW, I think the very best way to honor our friend's memory is to keep on bringing up his wisdom in our conversations here.)
 

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
I agree with Steve with the level of clientele you have I think maybe would prefer an estimate. Not for the price so much as they want you to hold there hand and set them at ease that they are making the right decision using you and for your regulars they want some guidance as they cleaning professional.

Oh and Steve is wrong about the guy.

"I'd rather be angry...."
anyone with THAT attitude, after he was going to get what he wanted, has serious issues. He needs to grow up! That maturity level is saved for grade school kids! :icon_rolleyes:
 

Brian H

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2006
Messages
3,568
Location
Detroit Michigan area
Name
Brian H
What would Ken say? I know what I would have done in that situation. I would have given it to the customer for the price "quoted" over the phone. I would then talk to the Customer Care Coordinator that took the order and remind them on how to give pricing over the phone. One of the challenges is that you don't really know if the person giving the estimate did it perfectly or not. You only know what the customer told you.

I have had situations where I have flat out told the customer they must have remembered it wrong because there is no way we had given them that price over the phone. Things like "the girl in the office told me the stairs would be cleaned at no charge",etc. On those I hold my ground and tell them the crew can just pack up and leave and she would be free to call another company.

Whenever we do have a price concession, a note goes on their file so that they can't something similar in the future. And we do have some call backs that do try the same thing.

And isn't it the case that the more you try to accommodate someone like this, the more likely it will come back to haunt you one way or another.
 

Jim Pemberton

MB Exclusive.
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
12,021
Name
Jim Pemberton
Mike, having married and successful having stayed married to the wife of your youth, you've not had the questionable privilege of being part of the dating scene for several years like some of us have.

I think I can speak for others that we've met, or have even been involved with, such people, and know that anyone who makes that kind of statement is going to be someone you do NOT want to have any going relationship with, either professional or personal.

He did you such a huge favor by revealing what he was in that moment.

That said, the larger teaching moment here is what the person on the phone is actually authorized to say (my guess is she didn't make the statements he said she did) and how you would handle the situation with an otherwise mature and reasonable person in the future.
 

SMRBAP

Supportive Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
667
Location
Pittsburgh PA
Name
Anthony
Unfortunately, in the recent years, a great many of our customers have shifted to using "what they were told by phone" as means to get what they want at the price they want.

So much so that I added phone monitoring into my system. When the customer takes that approach, what we call the EAD - extorted additional discount, the tech immediately responds, we will honor whatever you were told by phone ma'am/sir.

The techs text the office, office pulls the call in about a minute and emails it to the customer. The tech tells the custy to check their email the booking call was just emailed to them.

We haven't had a single situation where the customer was misinformed, over 3 years.

One of 2 things happens, the customer changes their disposition, let's work as need be happen (happy ending) - or - customer gets po'd and continues trying to find reason to get discount, you were 30 seconds late, I'm a realtor, are you connecting to my water, etc etc (no service list ending).

We have gotten to the point of identifying the trouble makers prior to booking and referring them to Sani-Bright (lol) - just kidding Tom.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom