Give your customer more than you take!

[RCP]

Article here (http://www.womenentrepreneur.com/2009/08/give-your-customer-more-than-you-take.html)

[George Z]

If you give them more than you take, you are screwed!
I know, I know... give them the impression you do that.
Right?

I think customers are overrated,
if it wasn't for their money, I am not sure they would be any useful at all.

[sparkydave]

If you give them more than you take, you are screwed!
I know, I know... give them the impression you do that.
Right?

I think customers are overrated,
if it wasn't for their money, I am not sure they would be any useful at all.

Hey George; not having a good week? don't want to agree with you, although I was at a job recently where the customer got a first class painting job, picked it to death. Seems to be the trend lately.

[George Z]

Having a great week!
I am kidding, let me try this :smiley2:

You know,
if what you give: job costs
what you take: money

If it isn't the right percentage, you are screwed.
That's not the spirit of the article I know,
I am only kidding.

What I am serious about, is the ever increasing
"bend over backwards" outlook many contractors have.

Chris, not you,
I am sure you know that

[Silvertree]

I'd say it depends on the situation.
Time is valuable, so spend a little more time handholding and explaining maybe.

But as a contractor I have delivered some flawless jobs only to get a complaint on how now the rest of the house doesn't look as good.
Doesn't make sense but you deal with it.

Example was a water damage job, vacated a wall, insulated, primed and painted the whole room and got a complaint that the other 3 walls were not a smooth. Insurance and the customer only wanted to pay for the one wall repair and paint. Even with an itemized work scope the issue came up that my price should have included all the walls being skimmed because that is the right way to do this. I did more than I charged for and got a lukewarm customer as far as satisfaction went.

Articles like this generalize and give the wrong impression, giving is a dangerous sport and you must be very careful in setting a fair limit for what you can afford as far as service goes.

Good article but just a fluff piece in my opinion.

[DavidC]

What's with the highlighted words that are roll over pop up ads? Irritating and disappointing.

A decent article, but seems to be more about B2B than consumer oriented. Same ideas could easily apply I'm sure. But everything we do must be weighed against the value of our time. Ideally the cost to us would be much lower than the perceived value to the client.

A good example; I have to go to my van to get a tool. With a few extra steps I drag the customers now empty trash can back to the garage. Minor investment on my part, largely appreciated by the customer.

Good Luck
Dave

[The Perminator]

Chris,
Thanks for posting that article. I liked that reminder that little extras are noticed and appreciated, especially Dave's post. It shows that you are aware of the client's world, not just your own.
Jean