mild rant, contractors and repair folks
Having run. what I feel is a successful business, for 40 plus years. We have always called folks back. And showed up when we said we would. On occasion, where something came up, we always call or e...
Forum Discussion
I have a hard time believing that any business is SO busy that they can't return calls from potential customers, even if it is to say, sorry I can't/don't/won't do your requested project. It takes all of 30 seconds to do so, and while you may consider it wasted time, it may very well be the difference between staying in business and going bankrupt 2-5-8 years down the road when the economy changes (which it always does) and you are scraping for work.
In 2005, we had a room addition done to our house. Unfortunately, the economy was booming and housing developments were going on everywhere. Out of 10 contractors that I called (whose ads specifically included "room additions"), 7 didn't even bother to return my call/message. The 3 that did were honest about the fact that they were working on large developments and either couldn't help me or that they would have to fit me in when they could. No problem, I understood, and I ended up hiring one of them. Fast forward a few years when the economy crashed, and most of those 7 that ignored me are no longer around. The 3 that returned my calls? They survived and are still in business today. Coincidence? No, the simple result of customer service.
I have no problem being told no. I DO have a problem being ignored, or worse, being told that you will show up at a certain time and then you don't bother. Newsflash, my time is just as important as yours, if not more so.
In 2005, we had a room addition done to our house. Unfortunately, the economy was booming and housing developments were going on everywhere. Out of 10 contractors that I called (whose ads specifically included "room additions"), 7 didn't even bother to return my call/message. The 3 that did were honest about the fact that they were working on large developments and either couldn't help me or that they would have to fit me in when they could. No problem, I understood, and I ended up hiring one of them. Fast forward a few years when the economy crashed, and most of those 7 that ignored me are no longer around. The 3 that returned my calls? They survived and are still in business today. Coincidence? No, the simple result of customer service.
I have no problem being told no. I DO have a problem being ignored, or worse, being told that you will show up at a certain time and then you don't bother. Newsflash, my time is just as important as yours, if not more so.
