Customer is always right?

[txgrassguy]

I make it known up-front when called for service/repair I intend to inspect the majority of the system to determine additional problems.

I used to chase client's demands and be subject to their whimsy's. Not any longer.

If the client does not want the additional work I deem necessary to address the problem(s) I won't do any of the work. Period. No way will I be subject again to the incessant return demands to piecemeal a system back together.

The second I get interference from the client I immediately "size" them for revenue potential. Some I'll stick around and discuss the site issues with, on more than a few I simply drove away. I have left more than a few standing at the curb with their mouths open in astonishment when I said "Adios". And I have gotten some really nice, long term maintenance accounts simply because the client couldn't push me around - makes up for the difference.

[FIMCO-MEISTER]

This kind of bs is why i always try to do a walk through and give them a ball park for an overhaul. Then when they do call about some piddly azz chit i can respond "so you want to do the overhaul?"
Posted via Mobile Device

[txirrigation]

Originally Posted by mitchgo

damn

I know business is business
but ahhh when I repair a single head and that's my sole reason to be there .. I'll still make sure the zone is working properly and has good coverage.. if not I'll make suggestions . Only takes a few minutes and it makes you not look incompetent to the customer. Id rather do that then have the client call and complain. Then again we have a min charge of one hour to come out

This old lady is from a notorious retirement comm, that does not pay for extra work. I was under strict instruction to have my guy fix ONLY the broken and flagged head (That she marked with a wooden stick) and do no more. When my tech arrived she wouldnt let him in the garage to blow out the nozzle, or check anything else. The st. agustine had covered all the valves so my guy couldn't find them.

Now she wants me to come back to a system bc of coverage that we never even got to see running.

I should have explained that a little more. On all service calls we do a full system check, the customer pays for a min. of an hour so we will stay that long to check and adjust things as needed.

[SoCalLandscapeMgmt]

In some cases (homeowners mostly) the customer is rarely right. They watch a lot of HGTV and think that what we do is simple and they instantly become experts on all things landscape related! I hate all of those landscape shows because they offer a warped vision of what it takes to install or renovate a landscape. They convinently edit out the three days of prep work or the dozens of people it takes to make the job happen in one weekend. All you see is the easy stuff.

[1idejim]

Originally Posted by txirrigation

On all service calls we do a full system check, the customer pays for a min. of an hour so we will stay that long to check and adjust things as needed.

you can be required to stay on site for the amount of the minimum, most of us don't and i don't have hourly mins. i have monetary mins, that way once i am done, i can leave.

[ArTurf]

On the bill for spring start up I include a watering guideline and mention that things can happen along the way with a list of things to check throughout the year. Maybe 2 out of 50 actually do these things but at least I said it up front. I also mention the shortcomings of the system and if they want to fix them now is the time of year to change them and not when it is 100+ degrees and the ground is like concrete. Been doing this long enough to predict how customers react along the way. If you learn to say things ahead of time you can say I told you so and you will get less argument and really makes you look more knowledgeable.

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by txirrigation

I was under strict instruction to have my guy fix ONLY the broken and flagged head (That she marked with a wooden stick) and do no more. When my tech arrived she wouldnt let him in the garage to blow out the nozzle, or check anything else.

"Load up the cones and up the driveway, boys."

[txirrigation]

Originally Posted by Mike Leary

"Load up the cones and up the driveway, boys."

Usually that is the way to go. I told her it was going to be x-amount for a service call and she agreed to the inflated price. My tech jumped out of the truck with a pop-up, switched out heads and pulled away in 5 min. Kind of like a HACK service call, but she made us do it.