Electrical Connection Winter 2015

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E L E CT R I C AL CONNE CT I ON

W I NT E R 2 01 5

the more they are probably panicking

that you are eyeing off their valuables,

rather than just doing the job they called

you about in the first place. It’s annoying

and unfair, but it’s probably what’s going

through their minds as you innocently

work away.

Also, I often take photos of the job,

before and after, with this type of client

so that I have evidence of what I have

done, including any changes that have

been made. I pay particular attention

to recording any pre-work damage or

condition that existed on the premises.

3. THE ENTITLED

Ironically, a ‘entitled’ client is generally not

a home owner but a tenant of a property,

who thinks that somehow you’ve landed on

earth to serve them at their convenience.

They usually don’t want you to come and

do the job during standard work hours,

because well, they have to go to work and

want to be there to let you in. Why can’t you

just come and do the job at 6:00pm for a

standard price?

I admit, over the years I’ve had to really

learn to be patient with these customers

because they tend to be the most selfish and

demanding of all. If I find myself wanting to

be rude back, I just have to remind myself

that one day they may be a building owner,

or an apartment owner, or the head of the

building management committee which

is responsible for telling the strata manager

which tradies they would prefer to use. I just

tend to suck up the attitude and point out

that if they want after-hours service, they will

have to pay the after-hours rate. This usually

fixes the ‘I’m not available to let you in during

regular hours’ statement.

The other type of customer that often

has an entitled attitude is the one who

may have an issue that is causing problems

in an apartment that is not their own, for

example, an apartment beside or below

them. They generally resent needing to be

at home to let you in because they don’t

have any issues in their home, so therefore,

in their opinion, their home mustn’t be the

cause of the problem.

I usually shut this type of customer

complaint down by asking that customer

to imagine how they would feel if water

was dripping through their ceiling and their

neighbour above was refusing access to

inspect the problem. Once you give them

an example of a situation where they are

the central one suffering, they will generally

become more helpful.

4. THE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE

This type of customer usually catches

you by surprise. But once bitten, twice shy.

They are generally really friendly while you

are working, thank you for your job and

smile happily as you leave. Then, bang, the

next thing you know you get a nasty email

from that same customer, accusing you of

all sorts of injustices, or even worse, you

get a call from the building strata manager,

asking you what went wrong. You end up

feeling really angry and annoyed because

they have been so ‘two-faced’.

Once I know a customer is like this, I try

and get them off my client list as quickly as

possible because they will usually continue

to be a nightmare. Often the motivation

behind this behaviour is to avoid payment

or to try and get a discount. They will have

all the time in the world to wear you down

and try and get out of paying. They are

best avoided at all costs but if you can’t

avoid them, remain polite and professional,

especially when dealing with the strata

manager or managing agent because you

can pretty much guarantee that the passive

aggressive customer is going to treat them

in exactly the same way at some point. It’s

their personality, and not you personally, so

don’t allow them to let you lose it.

5. THE HOARDER

Ah, the most unusual and the filthiest

of customers to deal with – the hoarder.

I have had to walk out of apartments

because I couldn’t even get to the problem

due to the piles upon piles of rubbish all

through the house.

This type of customer is at the extreme

end of a disorder but it doesn’t mean you

have to risk your health (mental or physical)

to get the job done. So, here’s what I do – if

it’s disgusting but I can get to the actual

problem. I will wear a facemask, gloves and

spare overalls. Then I just act as normal as

possible, but at least I can’t smell anything

and my health is being protected. I get in

and out as quick as possible.

Other times, if I have to inspect the job

first and then come back, I will politely

explain that I will need them to clear a

pathway for me when I come back and that

all garbage within the immediate area of the

problem will need to be removed in order

for me to fix the problem. If I return and this

hasn’t happened, I explain that I am unable

to undertake the job. If they aren’t the home

owner, then I will contact the owner, rental

agent or strata manager to alert them to

the problem. This is a problem that often

doesn’t come to light until a tradie is called.

Luckily though, this is a rare customer

and in general, most customers are great

to work with. There are many other types

of high-maintenance customers out there

and also customers who are usually great

and happen to have an off-day. I just try and

remember that if I remain professional, even

if the customer is definitely not right, then

it’s going to make me feel better about an

unfortunate situation. If I lose my temper

too, it just gives that annoying customer

more ammunition and won’t really leave me

feeling any better.

Staying cool under pressure is the best

way to shut the situation down and avoid

finding yourself at the end of an unfair,

poor write-up that may end up damaging

your reputation.

Brad Fallon is the director of Ivy St Plumbing

– specialists in the stratamanagement trade.

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