Love Hurts

I love contractors – seriously. That’s why you get to read exploits with the various good, bad, and ugly varieties out there, hopefully learning along the way. Today, we’ll look at a bad and a good, while I play the role of the ugly.

Now, this may be a shock, but the deep south is hot. This causes electrical panels to erupt, irrigation systems to work overtime, and hvac systems to burn their little bearings up. Contractors love it here.

A couple weeks ago, a tenant at our old office (we still own) called the property manager to say, politely, that she thought the ac vents were blowing hotter than the ‘bad place’. (No, not Cleveland.) The property manager suggested his “ac guy” take a look, and I agreed. Told him, “Whatever he says, I’m probably fine with it. Just get the system and her cooled down.”

After about 3 hours for him to actually make it out to the property, he checked the outdoor unit (without announcing himself to the tenant – take a note) and surmised that it was too small for the building. This was made more astonishing since I later found his company had done the installation. He also said the duct system (which they didn’t do) was “a mess”.

I waited for him to give me a suggestion, or options, but he said nothing else. So I just asked, “Then your only recommendation is to replace the system? That’s it?”

His response? “Yeah, that’s about it. If you’re interested, I can go back, do some more measurements and give you a quote.”

Let's see, it's 103 ̊; this is Alabama; it's late July, I have a tenant who is about to ignite, and his statement, in case you missed it, is: "If you’re interested, I can give you a QUOTE."

Not terribly impressed, I felt stuck, so I answered “Sure, I’d like a quote, but in the meantime, can you do SOMETHING, like make sure the charge is up, the system clean, or even let me rent a couple window units to help her out?”

“Nope, I don’t do that. Plus, I'm kind of shorthanded right now. I’ll try to get back by there in a couple days.”

Maybe I expect too much. But my blood pressure was just under the level required to boing your eyeballs out on cartoon like springs.

Mr. "Get a Quote in Days! Not Hours!” seemed a little lacking in the customer service department, and perhaps a couple pounds shy of coolant himself. Given this, I made my way to the dreaded Yellow Pages, called another company I had used in the past. Can’t remember now why I didn’t use them again. (Take another note.)

Says they’ll be there in about a half hour.

Wondrously, he’s early. The tenant lets him inside (note). He handles her very professionally, apologizes for her inconvenience (note #3), takes a look and calls me. “The unit probably is a quarter ton too small, but mainly just dirty, both of which are exaggerated by the heat. BUT, we’re gonna clean it up, reduce some flow to the storage room she’s hardly using, pump that to her office (note) and I recommend you install some solar tinting on the back of the building. I don’t do this but have a pro who can” (note)

Whoa. Not bad for the first 20 minutes. “How about the duct system?” I ask.

He replies, “Beautiful. All hard pipe, well-crafted. Not sure who did it but it’s first class.” (note)

Credibility of Contractor #1 goes subterranean. “Can you help her out a little now, and then go ahead and schedule whatever repairs will make the unit work for her?”

“Sure thing. I don’t have window units, but I have a bunch of desk fans I picked up at Harbor Freight and left her a couple. She seems appreciative. I’ll call the window tinter now and give him your info…”

“No need to,” I interrupted, “just have him do it and bill me”. (Please note, sales occur quickly with a trusted referral.)

One day later, Contractor #2 does the work, drops the temps in the office, re-calms the tenant, reclaims his fans. Calls me to give the update.

He then quotes on a Maintenance Agreement for the building. Done. Asks what else I need. He’s installing a new system at a warehouse as I write this. We’ll see how that goes.

Funny thing. A little turns into more, long as you keep the momentum with some customer service and good sense. Don’t make doing business with you too hard. Rivers of money are forged with the path of least resistance.


Questions for you:
1. Is solving your customers’ problems your first concern?
2. How much income do you lose a year if this scenario is repeated in your business just once a month?
3. Once your image is shattered, it’s hard to repair. How are you using service to keep a higher image in your market?