Ever just have that one customer who is a pain in the A**!!!

[Scott S.]

I did a large commercial job the other day and the lady was just a total pita. she dropped the temp to 50 deg and closed up the building expecting that carpet to dry instantly when she left.. told her to turn the heat up to 70-72 and prop open the doors in the morning if it was nice. (and it was) called me said the carpet felt wet. no duh.. told her the same thing again. and stopped by that night. she still hadnt upped the temp. or opened the doors (70 deg that day).. now she wants me to go back and touch up spots that she doesnt understand are wear. (heavy traffic lanes) wtf. i need to make everyone sign a waiver so somthing stating that i do not cover customer stupidity.. Oh and she wasnt even the one paying for the job. wtf..

anyone got a waiver like that?

Tell Everyone about your Pita customer.

 

[Scott S.]

And yes it was a hwe job. im encapping next commercial i do.. dont worry. and i am dropping this lady as a customer...
Cant stand her..

 

[Padden McFadden]

I know what your talking about my friend,

I had one lady mad at me that I "didn't get that stain out overthere" I didn't see any stain, so I asked her to piont it out to me . So she stomps on over and points down a says "right there" I looked real hard but there was NO stain.

So I told her I would treat it with my best stain remover. I grab my spotter put a little on the stain (that did not exist), blot with a white rag, then I asked her "how dose that look mam" She says WOW it looks so much better. lol

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

P.I.T.A. custy's can be the best resource for referrals. They are for me.
Sure its no fun, and you have to work harder, but if they are a P.I.T.A. to
you they are a P.I.T.A. to everyone else too. The people that know them
think, "wow if so and so company can make my P.I.T.A. friend happy, they
can surely make me happy".
I get some of my best new clients that way.

 

[bob vawter]

I had one call back about "hundreds of spots...everywhere"

You could only see them when the DR lite was on.....YEP..YOU GUESSED IT

Reflections from the glass chanderlere.....

DA

 

[Jim Martin]

P.I.T.A. custy's can be the best resource for referrals. They are for me.
Sure its no fun, and you have to work harder, but if they are a P.I.T.A. to
you they are a P.I.T.A. to everyone else too. The people that know them
think, "wow if so and so company can make my P.I.T.A. friend happy, they
can surely make me happy".
I get some of my best new clients that way.

Kevin nailed it....we all have a few pita clients....goes with the job.....

I just turn on the Martin charm and just get threw the job....most times I get good referrals from them....

 

[Aaron Richards]

[quote="Kevin McCreary":1z3gqmsv]P.I.T.A. custy's can be the best resource for referrals. They are for me.
Sure its no fun, and you have to work harder, but if they are a P.I.T.A. to
you they are a P.I.T.A. to everyone else too. The people that know them
think, "wow if so and so company can make my P.I.T.A. friend happy, they
can surely make me happy".
I get some of my best new clients that way.

Kevin nailed it....we all have a few pita clients....goes with the job.....

I just turn on the Martin charm and just get threw the job....most times I get good referrals from them....[/quote:1z3gqmsv]

This is all very true. If you can make that big PITA happy, odds are you'll get some extra work from it.

 

[Jimmy L]

Life is too short to put up with these type of people.

Birds of a feather flock together.
Meaning any referrals will also be of the same flock.

They are what is called a "Psychic vampire" where they just draw the energy right out of you.

Take their money ONE time and move on to better customers who appreciate you and whom you enjoy being around.

I will not put up with condensending better than you because they think you live in a trailer park assholes.

NO MORE!

 

[Rex Tyus]

Life is too short to put up with these type of people.

Birds of a feather flock together.
Meaning any referrals will also be of the same flock.

They are what is called a "Psychic vampire" where they just draw the energy right out of you.

Take their money ONE time and move on to better customers who appreciate you and whom you enjoy being around.

I will not put up with condensending better than you because they think you live in a trailer park assholes.

NO MORE!

Are you serious? Some of my best referals have come from a situation described by Kevin and Jim. I have only walked out ONCE in Ten years. Oddly enough she actually called me back a 2 years later. She had tried every other cleaner in town and said she kept hearing my name from her friends. She is one of my best CLIENTS now, and a GREAT referal source. :mrgreen:

I have found that many times they don't know they are being pitas. You have to just bring them along. Don't instruct them what to set the temp at. ASK them where the thermostat is so you can adjust it for proper airflow and drying environment. ASK if there is a clock that will shut off the system and retard the drying process.

 

[XTREME1]

I am in agreemnet with all the metrosexuals here IE kevinn , rex and now I am guessing aaron. I find the pain in the ass run you through the wringer are the best referrals. They love to brag and people know "if they made that bitch happy they must be good"

 

[Mikey P]

I agree, since I am arguably world's greatest Carpet Cleaner I am no longer challenged by soil levels, detergent residues, fiber distortion, color loss, odors or perceivable permanent stains

The only battle to get aroused form these days remains to be the difficult woman.

 

[XTREME1]

I agree, since I am arguably world's greatest Carpet Cleaner

I am the greatest just because it tool you longer don't mean shit

 

[Fon Johnson]

Some people are just difficult, some just like to argue.. With that said:

PRE-QUaliFy! If you HAMMER home that "this is wear and won't come out" and "if you don't leave the ac/heat on, it WILL NOT be dry in the morning, MOST will get it. You also have to remember that women have a better sense of smell AND color distinction than most men. I always explain this to the lady of the house and have them walk through with me. Sometimes they will find something I missed (rare, but it does happen.) I'm blessed with the ability to see slight variations in color which is why I do well with color repair, most men don't have that ability. Same with smell..

 

[rhino1]

I only have one that sticks in my head, and it was a big T&G job at at retirement home. Doing the pre-job walk through with the admin. I explained that when I applied the finish that it could not be walked on for 4 hours, and after that only light foot traffic for 24 hours for the best results. She said that it was OK, do the best I could with the conditions, she knew the residents would be running in and out and nothing could be done about it, she just wanted it to look better.

After 2 days of scrubbing, stripping, finishing, fighting with the residents to keep them off the floor, and having to refinish areas they messed up, the WORST job I ever had was finally finished and looked good. About a dozen of the residents who had been pestering us thru the whole ordeal lined up to tell us how great everything looked, how the floors never looked like that before, etc. The employee who had been assigned to oversee us was happy, everything was just rosy! Until the "understanding admin." showed up Monday.

I got a call from this lady screeching in my ear about how awful the floors were, I had to come back and redo the whole job! Right now!

I trudged back to the place expecting a disaster. Did something go wrong with the finish after we left? NO. She found a few spots on the floor where there were some bits of sand or something that had been tracked in by her residents while we were working. You had to get down on your hand and knees and reeeally look to find these spots. For this she demanded the whole job be redone- 5 or 6K of terrazzo. I said "NO, thank you, I will not spend another 5 minutes on this job." and handed her the bill, which included an additional $350 charge for having to deal with her residents.

The bill was paid about 3 months later after I sent a few collection letters. I never got anymore work from them but you couldn't have paid me triple to step another foot in that place again!

 

[Hoody]

It sucks when the customer doesn't take your advice, and then complains. With commercial customers especially try this maybe. Create a small piece/letter. This will take a small amount of your time, you could save a master copy, change the name and date of cleaning. But in the letter, request how they can prepare for you, so that you can serve them better and give them the best experience and best results possible. Mention things like moving desk mats, and having papers and other miscellaneous items off the floor, to prevent damage. And of course mention the temperature settings as well, and explain to them how doing these things benefit them. Its kindly asking/telling them what you want them to do. The reason to have the date of cleaning is you can use the letter as a "How to prepare for your carpet cleaning" letter, or using it as a confirmation. Have the person read and sign it, they'll be confirming their cleaning appointment with you, and also that they've read the information/education you provided them to better serve them. Its like having a waiver, but more in a positive light. You can do this in an email, and they could also send it to their staff so that everyone in the building knows, and prepares their area.

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

Its all about communication!

 

[Hoody]

P.S.

My public service announcement was brought to you Google and one of my many stolen Jeff Cross articles, thank you.

 

[Jimmy L]

I was referring to the one in a 5 year period whom you can't please hate all men type of bitch.

 

[Rex Tyus]

I was referring to the one in a 5 year period whom you can't please hate all men type of bitch.

Yea, the "hate all men until they meet Rex type". I can see how that would be discouraging for some.