I read an interesting article from Seth Godin this week when he talked about the downside of doing things ‘by heart’. (Read his post “The Problem With Doing It By Heart“)

Waitresses often try to impress customers by remember a long order. While it is impressive when they get it right, most of the time I wonder why they’re not writing it down. It makes me uncomfortable. The other day I got bacon with my pancakes instead of sausage. I didn’t mention it, because I was ready to eat about anything, but it happened because she didn’t take the time to write it down.

How does this apply to contracting?

Are there things that we do with clients ‘by heart’ that don’t serve our client’s well. Pehaps a good example would be communicating up front more specifically in the estimate. Lots of contractors will go to do an estimate, take about 10 minutes to sit in the truck and fill out a proposal and hand it to the client for a $3500 job.

More than likely, this kind of estimate is very lacking in detail, which is where customer satisfaction may get lost.

You may say that you’ll renovate a bathroom for $3500, but fail to mention specifically what types of materials you’ll use. You may even mention replacing an old tub, but will the new one be the plastic or cast iron, with jets or without? You are asking for trouble down the road with this type of agreement.

I’m still fairly new at the whole contracting thing, but I’ve been taught through my career that communication is the key to customer satisfaction. I believe this to be true, provided that it’s honest communication.

WHY ARE MY CLIENTS UPSET?

  • They’re not upset that you’re late, they are upset that you weren’t even considerate enough to call to let them know.
  • They’re not upset that the job is running late, they’re upset that there has been no communication throughout the process.

Communication builds trust. Overdo it if you want. It’s my guess that you’ll blow them away just by doing this.

Who ever heard of a contractor that over-communicates, right? Over and over I hear about all those ‘other’ guys that never return calls or don’t show for appointments.

This is basic stuff, but it may just help you rise to the top of your marketplace. That’s what I’m hoping, at least! :)

-Peter