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Taming the
Demon Customer?
Alas, the demons are within!
by Steve Ryan
Painting for the most part is an easy trade. Yes, you heard
me right. It’s easy. You go to the job, paint, and go
home. There are very few emergencies, no daily life and
death situations -- meat and potatoes easy.
So why is it that so many painters look worn and strained (and
make so little money)? Why do I get phone calls everyday day
from painting veterans who tell me sob stories like, “This customer
is way too picky.”
As a little boy, my grandfather used to tell me after a hard day,
as a foreman in the Boston shipyard, “Steve, its not the work,
it’s the aggravation.”
So what makes contracting so aggravating and so hard? The
hard part is managing customer expectations and properly executing
the project. These same veterans who can coordinate
a good-sized painting project, have trouble completing the
proper paperwork necessary to run a business.
Although you can paint, can you run a business that provides
painting as a service? It is the systems of the business, which
make your work life easy or difficult. No systems…always
equal Pain. It is your mastery of the dreaded systems and paperwork
that will make your days easier.
Sales are the root of all evil in contracting. Seriously!
Most problems arise as the job progresses because the sales
person didn’t manage and document the customer’s expectation.
Here are the top complaints from customers:
» Surface preparation and smoothness expectations
» Colors and sheens
» Neatness or lack of neatness around the project
» Toilet use, parking, radio use, garbage, shrub damage
» Extra charges and change orders
» Job length
» What is included and not included
» Warranty concerns on problem areas
The best idea is to address common issues and concerns at the
proposal stage and document everything. Ask the prospect
what they expect or give them a quick run down on how you
handle most of the common issues. Document what the pros-
| pdca.org
pect expects and what it will cost to perform at those expectations.
Don’t worry about novelizing the details, make notes.
Having notes of your conversations works.
Create ever changing and improving systems:
One irritation my painters had on every job was a customer
pointing out little details at the beginning stages of a project.
This regularly stopped the flow of production. As a solution
(on a Pre-Installation Checklist form), we addressed the issue
by mentioning the painter’s focus on the “big picture” first and
then the “little details” at the end of the project. This all but
eliminated the issue and gave my painters a catch phrase to
use. “Thanks for pointing that area out ma’am, we’re focusing
on the big picture right now. We’ll get to that soon.” This
one trick turned a constant headache into empowerment. I
learned that trick at a PDCA meeting.
Many contractors who join and become active in PDCA soon
realize the demons of your business go away when they organize
and systematize. Successful contractors realize the demons
are within.
Many tired and unsuccessful contractors are joining PDCA,
learning how to run a business and doubling and even quadrupling
their income in less than 2 years!
With a little training and determination you too can tame your
own inner demons. At the PACE conference last year, countless
painters said, “The work is easier, the money is better, and I’m
having fun again. I learned how to move from being a painter
to a business person who provides painting services.”
Good Luck,
—Steve Ryan
Interested in forms to help with your business? Go to the contractor’s Blue Collar
Advice section at www.maddogprimer.com
Steve Ryan has 20 years of experience as a contractor. He now produces Mad
Dog Primer. He can be reached at steve@maddogprimer.com