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F O C U S O N S A F E T Y 4 Being a Field Ambassador II ... Angry Property Owners by Jim Craner, Safety Director Any line clearance tree trimmer who has been around for a while has most likely dealt with an angry, upset property owner. If you haven’t had the pleasure, stick around, and read on for tips to prepare you for dealing with the situation professionally. Generally, property owners become angry and upset with us for a number of reasons. Usually, it is a result of the property owner misunderstanding the impact that overgrown trees and brush have on the reliability of their electric service. There are also times when, despite explaining why you are doing what you’re doing, the property owner still objects to the work being performed. And finally, there are instances when property owners verbally attack you for no apparent reason at all. Misunderstandings Misunderstandings can be very frustrating. One example of a misunderstanding that occurs is when people see you “standing around doing nothing.” It may not cross their mind that you have a good reason. Instead, they simply assume you are wasting time. They may feel you are wasting their money as well, since a portion of the utility bills they pay goes toward our wages. This is the kind of logic you will be faced with and how you react to it will make a difference. If you handle it well, most people will come around to seeing things “your way.” And the next time they see another Nelson Tree employee who seems to be “loafing” they may think twice before criticizing. Handling Misunderstandings People believe what they are saying is true; when a property owner says, “You’re not trimming those trees the right way,” they truly believe it. If you ignore them, or make some “smart” remark, you will confirm what they already believe and their opinion of our company will be worse than ever. Getting someone who has a negative opinion of you or our company to listen is a challenge. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to let them know you are listening to them and that you understand their viewpoint. This is the strategy of showing heightened concern as discussed in the previous LifeLine issue. Once they are listening, you can calmly make your point and provide them with the information they need to clear up the misunderstanding. You may need to give a brief explanation of what you’re doing and how long you expect it will take to complete. Objections Another common issue we face is property owners or the general public objecting to the work we are doing or how we are doing it. Sometimes, people object to things you are doing that they have no way of stopping. Other times, people object and actually stop you with physical threats. When a person objects and has no legal right to stop you, you may be tempted to ignore the objection. (For example, they don’t like the fact that you have two trucks on the road while you trim.) If you think they can’t do anything about it so why worry, think again. People can call upon a variety of resources that can negatively impact the professional image you work so hard to uphold, such as your utility representative, a local newspaper, radio or television station, a federal, state or local government agency. A call to any one of these will cost more time than just dealing with the objection. People may make physical threats that will without question stop you. Any time a person comes at you or anyone on the crew with some sort of weapon, odds are you will not complete the task you set out to do. And you shouldn’t attempt to, there is never a good reason to accept the risk.
F O C U S O N S A F E T Y Regardless of the outcome, if we ignore a person’s objection, their opinion of our company will be negative. The ignored person may talk negatively to family, neighbors and friends and create more resistance and conflict. Any way you look at it, ignoring an objection is a no-win situation. It is important that we understand some of the common reasons why people object: • Fear that we will damage property • A bad experience with a line clearance company or utility in the past • They may be uncomfortable with strangers on or near their residence • They simply do not like the ways trees look when we are finished Often people who show anger do so out of fear. If you can identify with the fear instead of reacting to the anger you will be more successful at reaching an agreement. Handling Objections People make their objections known in many ways. They may be angry, upset, sobbing, whiney or scared. You can often identify their emotion by their tone of voice or the words they use. One of the best strategies for handling objections is: • First, react to the emotion by showing heightened concern. • Then, get them to listen. • And finally, give information that will lead them to a different point of view. This is the same strategy used for dealing with misunderstandings; however, when dealing with objections, people may be more concerned because you’re likely to be on or near their property and may impact the aesthetics of the environment. So, when you offer a reason why the person go along with what you are doing, it really has to reflect the person’s best interests as much as possible. For example, saying to a property owner, “That’s the way we trim and that’s the way it’s going to be,” is not likely to resolve any conflicts. However, saying, “The trimming is necessary to provide reliable electric service and we trim to arborist specifications, which are proven to be the healthiest for the tree,” may influence the person to stop objecting. There are times when you may find yourself in a situation where you are unable to think of a good reason why it is in the property owner’s best interest to go along with what you are doing. If so, do not give a reason. People will not buy into anything that sounds fabricated or half true. In these cases, use the heightened concern strategy and think about finding another way to accomplish the task. For example, if the property owner says, “I don’t want the trees butchered the way you did the ones down the street,” you may respond with, “I can understand you feeling that way.” Then, ask yourself if the trees can be trimmed any differently while still meeting the required clearance. If you can, then do so. If you can’t, you will need to explain why the trimming is necessary. If they won’t accept your explanation, inform them that you will need to put them in contact with someone else and let them know when to expect that correspondence. continued on page 6 5
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