How I dealt with some of my difficult customers

Well where do I begin, we see on our televisions all the time about poor quality workmen and how bad they are.

Well, what about bad customers?  We never see anything about this topic, do we?

I shall give you some real examples, of just a few of my let’s say, delightful clients.

Client One:

One potential client always sticks in my mind that took place years ago, I was asked to visit the new client in the evening, my time my expense!  So I went off on my little moped to visit, I found the road but not the house as it did not have a number only a house name, in a posh neighbourhood, after going up and down the road several times and in the dark I eventually found the house name partially hidden in the undergrowth, this made me late for my appointment time.

I rang the doorbell and was greeted by a lady; she was very rude to me from the moment I stepped over the door Ok!  I was a little late but if the sign was in clear view or a number showing there would not have been a problem.

The lady seemed to become from rude to ignorant and eventually, I got to see the furniture, well I took one look at the piece and thought no this lady is not the kind of customer for me.

She asked me for my advice, regarding her furniture, and I told her that there was no way in this world, I would wish to work on her furniture and headed for the front door.

Her husband looked at me as if to say that she had deserved my remarks, and I promptly left never to return. 

Lesson for the day!  Ignorance is bliss.

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Client Two:

Another potential client called me up to view his furniture; I went to visit with my colleague and on arrival, we were greeted and shown into a darkened room to view an old wooden headboard, well a quick glance around the still darkened room, revealed an elderly lady sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, what a surprise we had, well I had visions of a scene from the film psycho in the Bates Motel.

I looked at the headboard which had a worm patch in the polished finish, I gave the client my price for taking the item away and returning after completion, and I was told by the client how much he wished to pay me per hour and it was not very much!  Well, I thought quickly and proceeded to leave I turned and said that “I only do serious work for serious people” A classic I know, and off the top of my head!  My colleague still reminds me of this event and we still have a good laugh about it from time to time.

Lesson for the day!  Don’t tell the working person, what you think you want to pay them.

Client Three:

Do you want more?  Of course, you do.

Here’s another, once again I was called to visit a lady about her Dining table; the table had ring marks etc.   I went off on my moped again this time I was on time.

I rang the bell and as from my last story the lady began to be rude to me, she said in a satirical voice where is your van!!!  Well, I thought quickly and replied “If I have a van will it make me a better French polisher”?  This took the lady by surprise, I have a workman with a brain, she did not know what to say except come in and take a look at her table.

After she settled down she changed and became very polite and even made me a cup of tea.

I left her house with the knowledge that she had understood just how rudeness does not always work.  Upon completion of the job the lady I must say was really a nice person however, perhaps a little misguided. Lesson for the day!  Don’t judge a person by their appearance, judge them on their skills.

Client Four:

Now, this client tried to as we say here in the UK con me!  Cheat me, now let me explain.

Again I turned up to view a set of Dining chairs I have forgotten just how many in the set perhaps six.  Well, let’s say that four of the chairs had loose joints and needed to be taken away for a full repair.

I was given the approval to carry out the works, I think it was four of the chairs that were taken to my workshop where they were repaired to a high standard and dully delivered back to the client he was very pleased with my efforts was paid and left.

About one or two weeks later I received a telephone call from the client “Saying that the chairs I had repaired had become loose etc”.

Well, I went over to see what had happened and what could be done to rectify the situation.

I turned the chairs upside down to see if they were the same ones that I had worked on, the client looked at me when I said to him, “Are you sure that these were the ones I had repaired”.  Astonished by this he replied, “Yes these are the ones”.

I repeated my question again, “Are you sure that these were the ones”?

“Yes, I am sure he said” I looked at him and said that you are lying to me, as these are not the same chairs; these are different ones and have never been touched by me.

Well, he did not know how I knew he was lying!  I shall tell you!

Whilst I was repairing the chairs I individually name stamped them with my late Fathers’ name stamp, this leaves an impression in the wood that only I could have known about, and when I pointed this stamped name out he could not deny that he had told me a lie.

He had the cheek to ask me if I would proceed to repair the loose chairs I politely told him no thanks.  “He said that was very clever” And I replied I have to be clever, so as to outsmart people like you!

Lesson for the day!  If given the chance to come clean don’t lie and make things worse for yourself.

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Client Five:

 

Beware of old ladies!

I remember once I visited a very elderly lady that was living in an expensive care home in my neighbourhood, she showed me a small circular wine table with the usual marks, wear and tear.

We agreed on a price and I took the table away to be done.

I worked very hard to make sure that the table looked nice and that there could be no problems upon return.

Well, my colleague took the table back for me, I told him how much the works cost so as to know what amount to expect, and when he arrived I received a phone call from him saying “That the lady was shall we say a trickster”  As she deliberately underpaid him on the amount of money.

He was worried that if he was to force the point about payment, she may well collapse on the floor, and he would be blamed for causing her to do so.

So he left her home and I was short-changed by a very smart old lady.

Lesson for today!  Beware not all old ladies are honest.

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Thank you for reading.

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 Client Six:
 

Another classic!

A client asked me to work on several items of her furniture, the works turned out fine, and whilst placing the items back in the clients home, I had to just pop out of the room for a few minutes, upon returning to the room I heard the client complaining to my colleague that he had broken a carved wooden Elephant how strange I thought.

Well I thought we all have accidents from time to time, so I listened to what the client had to say then I asked my colleague for his side of the story, and he said “That he had not touched the Elephant” upon hearing this I picked up the Elephant very carefully and took a close look at it and I could see several lines of old glue, this showed me that it had been broken in several places in the past.

Now with this conclusive evidence, the client could say nothing more on the subject.

Seems she was trying for a free repair.

Lesson for the day!

Remember Elephants never forget!

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Client Seven:

Patience is a virtue.

This story is about a customer that called me up one day to price her Dining table for French polishing well, as usual, I went to visit the potential customer and gave her a price and came away with the thought that this might just become another job for me!

I did not have to wait long before the phone rang to give me permission to go ahead with the work, so on the pickup day I went off with my colleague in his van, and upon arrival, I took the Dining table apart for ease, as I only needed to work on the top.

Then whilst taking the top off the lady “Asked me about another table in the front room,” so in I go to have a look and it turned out to be an oval coffee table, again she “Asked the price and that was duly accepted and she said that I could take this away whilst we were there in the house.”

Before I moved the coffee table I asked “How she was going to manage to eat her food without any tables?”  “She replied don’t worry I have a table in the garden that I can use,” I thought hang on I, “Asked are you sure you can manage?”  And the lady again replied “That’s fine” she then asked as we were leaving “How long will the works take?” A fair question so I replied “At least two weeks.”

So away they went back to my workshop.

After about seven days later, the lady phoned me to say that “She was annoyed that her tables work not yet ready,” when I explained “That it had not been two weeks yet” she replied, “That she was going to sue me!”  “I asked why?” “She said that she had nowhere to be able to have her meals and that she would have to move out of her house as a result”

So I “Said that she will just have to sue me.”

I thought to myself because I can’t just magic how long or how complex the job might be until I actually start the work.

I completed the two tables within the time span and when dry they were taken back to her home, the lady was very happy with the work that I had done for her, however, I was very sceptical of her as you might imagine.

This is the first time I have ever come across a customer like this, and hope I don’t ever come across another like it again.

You see you don’t just have to be a French polisher!  It takes a great deal more perhaps a course in psychology might just do the trick.

Thanks for reading.  Feedback, always welcome.