One of the most difficult customers to deal with are the Negotiators. The Negotiators are on a mission. Sometimes to get a specific item they want but just as often to get as much as they can.
There are a number of books on negotiating that all tell the reader how to get whatever they want by negotiating. In reality they are not negotiating as much as trying to manipulate someone to get a desired result. One example given in one of these books is if you are looking to buy a car always tell the car salesperson that you like the car you are looking at but hate the color, even if the car is your favorite color. The strategy is to make the salesperson think you do not like the car so he will lower the price to induce you to buy the car you wanted all along. The trouble with this particular tactic is every car salesperson has heard it a hundred times and all the good ones have read the same book.
In our housing business we had customers who had read these books and when they wanted something they were not entitled to by contract would express displeasure over some item then try to turn the expressed displeasure for what they really wanted. We had a customer call us about a scratched cabinet after they moved into the home. The "scratch" had not shown up on our list of incomplete or damaged items on the walkthrough and upon inspection the "scratch" was on the side of a cabinet and nearly invisible. We could repair the item with a dab of touch up wax but the customer wanted the entire cabinet replaced which would have been costly and disruptive to the family.
After a few minutes of discussion he said "You know what, we really do not want to put up with the hassle and put you through the expense. How about you give us a wine rack for under our counter as compensation?" I discussed the issue with my superintendent and discovered there had been a number of similar "trade offs" during the construction and the customer was talking bad about us to other home buyers in the community but was telling all the neighbors how he got us to give him free stuff.
I called the customer and told him that because the item was not on the walkthrough list we would not be doing any work on the cabinet. We told him we would give him the touch up wax if he wanted to make the repair himself.
He asked me if I was sure that I did not to make him a happy customer by giving him the wine rack. I told him that it was unlikely we would ever make him happy. I told him I knew what he had been say about us to his neighbors. I also told him that giving in to a made up warranty claim was unlikely to make him happy.
If your customer has a legitimate complaint deal with the complaint even if it is more expensive and time consuming than the proposed alternative. Giving in will only open you up to future similar claims. If your customer does not have a legitimate complaint tell them so politely but firmly. If the customer threatens to withhold their satisfaction or happiness it is more often time to call their bluff.
Original Content copyright 2011 Thomas Robinson
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