how to handle customer complaints

[huggytree]

I typically get 1 bad customer a year....I just got a 2nd one this year....2 bad customers in the first 6 months

this one wanted a rebate after the job was done...it was a Fixed bid...I busted my butt on this job, did everything perfect....my 1 flaw? I worked too hard and the customer felt they over paid...I got paid in full by them, but got a complaint letter in the mail today.....it was somewhat insane....he talked about me laughing at him over all the money I made and how I legally protect myself in my contract that I must do this stuff to people all the time.....its a full page of goofy stuff...he even threatened to sue me over $300 he thought I over charged him

I know you MUST respond to any bad internet reviews, but would you respond to a letter in the mail?

I responded, but I kept it very short, stayed positive about things, explained my position.......I didn't respond to any of his nonsense and didn't give him any more ammunition.....

I haven't mailed it yet.....im waiting to see if his check clears and wondering if its better to not respond?


I wonder if I should have knocked $100 off his bill originally just to keep things good.....he still wouldn't have been happy, but better than he is now

I still have the BBB fear.....I fear any complaining customer will file a complaint with the BBB....it doesn't matter if they are right or not, the complaint still counts against me

another thing is I take them all personally.....I will have trouble sleeping tonight over the complaint letter...I can never get this stuff out of my head.....

[nealrm]

Are your rates in line with other plumbers? Did the final price end up close to the amount you told him to expect? Do you have a strong reputation for providing good service at a fair price? If so, then I wouldn't worry.

[billbenson]

I wouldn't respond. A friend who sold used cars at the beginning of his sales career told me this: All of his prospects looking at used cars would complain about something. A scratch, tires, door ding, whatever. Probably every used car buyer tries to negotiate in one way or another. His strategy was to ignore the complaint as if they never said it. It worked. I have used similar strategies in selling over the years'

This is something IMO you shouldn't respond to.

[Steve B]

I would be curious to the exact details of what he is complaining about. From what you said - I have a feeling it might be because you finished the job faster than your original estimate. If your estimate makes any references to "time" and you finish sooner than that - then I can understand why somone would think they got over charged. I know I'm making an assumption here, so I apologize if I'm wrong. If I'm correct, then my suggestion is to remove any references to time.

I think a short response is probably a good idea. You never know where things are going to go so I think you will want to respond so you'll have more stuff to show the judge (or the BBB) if the time comes.

[Freelancier]

I think you make sure the check clears. Then you respond with something like:


I bid the project and you accepted the bid. If it had taken longer or had more issues, I would have eaten the additional costs. If you had wanted a bid that was T&M, you should have asked for that, but then any overage would have been paid by you. I'm glad you're happy with the quality of my work. (NOTE: I'm assuming here that he's only complaining about the cost and not the quality) You could have paid someone less and gotten inferior quality, but you were smart and went with a plumber who strives to deliver a quality service at a reasonable price. Thank you for your business.

[patrickprecisione]

I wouldn't bend on this. They guy agrees to a price, waits until the work is done THEN tells you the price is too high? Give me a break. This guy is a shyster who's trying to weasel his way out of paying you the money you deserved (again assuming you cam through on everything you promised to do).

[Harold Mansfield]

...he talked about me laughing at him over all the money I made ...

If there's one aspect of this you should look at, it's this one. Are you flaunting it? Do you talk with customers about how much money you spend? Your toys and possessions? Do you say little braggy things that are presented as complaints, but in reality is just really showing off the fact that you have the money to complain about trivial matters that other people can't afford?

Call it being envious, player hating, or whatever you want, but customers hate hearing about how someone that they are paying for services makes more than them. Every time they will walk away feeling that they got taken advantage of.

Never discuss your personal life, and how much money you have or spend with customers. EVER. They don't care how well you are living. People like an under dog. They like the guy who works hard and appears to struggle to get ahead. They like doing business with the blue collar guy. They like thinking they are at the top of the food chain when they are paying people for services. No doubt if people are calling you for repairs, they aren't in the mood to hear about your new car or vacation. If there is small talk, they want to hear that your kid needs braces..or complain about your truck needing it's yearly maintenance check up.

I learned this lesson a few times as a Bartender and as a Limo Driver. It doesn't matter if you are. They should never see or hear about it, or they will resent you and when given the chance to take you down a notch, they will.

[huggytree]

The bid has no reference to time....just a price

he asked me how long it may take and I told him around 4 hours....it took me a bit over 2 hours....my MISTAKE is giving him a guess on the time and he's using it against me

I will send him the response letter after his check clears...if he canceled the check I will lien his house

I do not discuss my personal life other than talking about my family...I hide my success

I will never discuss guesses on time again with a customer......

I have had customers try to renegotiate before after the job is done....its always been men from India...this guy is also a immigrant..he's 1st Gen. German...I wonder if the cultural differences are at play here too

I worry some day one of these crazy customers will show up at my door step.....his letter shows he's not all there mentally

[billbenson]

Do you have your physical address on your paperwork huggy? If customers can go on Google and see your house, perhaps with your car toys shown, that shouldn't be happening. If you aren't using a po box or a ups store or the likes you may want to consider this. Have you ever looked at how your address shows on Google Maps?

[huggytree]

my boat is outside, but my cars are inside...I have a nice house(built in 1980), its completely redone and appears new..its nothing that appears that special..just nice

my address is all over everything...to me it shows im honest.......the first time someone shows up at my door step it will change though

i don't think this guy will, but i warned my wife about the last guy....he wanted me to cover a sump pump that was 1.5 years out of warranty...he threatened to call the local news on me

[Harold Mansfield]

my address is all over everything...to me it shows im honest.......the first time someone shows up at my door step it will change though

The first time someone shows up at your door it will be too late.
I don't know your community or how other contractors do it, but there is no way that I would give my home address to customers or the public in general.

Maybe in your neck of the woods is shows honesty. I don't live there so I can't really say what works in that community. Surely every city isn't like Vegas, Miami or Detroit.
But I know for a fact that if I made my address public, I'd get "Hey, we were in Vegas for the weekend and thought we'd drop by".

Besides, even though I work from home my address is still personal. I don't see clients in my home, so there's no reason for them to know where it is.

[Steve B]

I agree about the home address thing. I don't think you get any points for honesty with your home address. As a matter of fact, you probably lose business from people that don't want to hire a super small business. I use a UPS store mail box for my mailing address and I don't even put that address on any marketing material.

I guess the verbal reference to time was the thing that sparked this guy's complaint. I don't think there's much you can do about that because people will sometimes need to plan their day based on how long they need to be around for the plumber. Maybe you could give your time references in ranges - makeing sure to cover both the best and worst case scenarios.

[huggytree]

I agree about the home address thing. I don't think you get any points for honesty with your home address. As a matter of fact, you probably lose business from people that don't want to hire a super small business. I use a UPS store mail box for my mailing address and I don't even put that address on any marketing material.

I guess the verbal reference to time was the thing that sparked this guy's complaint. I don't think there's much you can do about that because people will sometimes need to plan their day based on how long they need to be around for the plumber. Maybe you could give your time references in ranges - makeing sure to cover both the best and worst case scenarios.

most contractors are out of their homes and have their address all over everything just like mine...very few(VERY FEW) use PO Boxes.....when I see a PO BOX I think its someone trying to hide something

if a guy shows up at my door and try's to get in/break in its legal to kill/shoot him here in WI.....odds are he would just show up to verbally assault me.....to which id just slam the door

yes Steve I know it was the verbal reference....he asked me how long I guessed so he could plan his day....so I told him.....next time I wont...ill tell the customer I refuse to give a time reference and explain the reason.....new company policy----no reference to time on bid jobs

his check will clear in a couple of days...fingers crossed



one of my customers has it worse

he's the prime contractor on a job...$24k owed for a kitchen redo
the homeowner has MS and also a broken leg....his dog is pooping/peeing all over the house(I saw poop in the basement where I was working)
the dog peed on the grout(tile floor)..staining it before it was sealed....the homeowner says it didn't happen
builder spent hours getting the grout out and redoing it
now the homeowner wants to deduct $4k over it
then send a check for $22k and said 'final payment' on the bottom
builder cashed it, then sent a new invoice for $2k more
homeowner canceled check before it cleared and said 'now you get $0'

makes my homeowner issues seem like nothing....my advice to the builder was to lien the house and spend $10k to foreclose on it + put 1.8% per month interest on the debt

sounds like that's the route its going....intent to lien has been filed and the lien will go into effect in 30 days

[Steve B]

I agree with you about the P.O. Box - that's why I don't put any kind of address on any marketing material. The only time they see my address is on the invoice - after the work is completed. When someone asks me where I'm located I tell them we work out of our van and tell them the areas we cover. Or, I might tell them the location of my warehouse (which isn't manned and doesn't have a mailbox). Giving out a home address is just crazy in my opinion.

[huggytree]

I agree with you about the P.O. Box - that's why I don't put any kind of address on any marketing material. The only time they see my address is on the invoice - after the work is completed. When someone asks me where I'm located I tell them we work out of our van and tell them the areas we cover. Or, I might tell them the location of my warehouse (which isn't manned and doesn't have a mailbox). Giving out a home address is just crazy in my opinion.

I see a home address on every contractor website around here....its how I find addresses many times to try to sell to them

it may be crazier as I grow and run into these nutty people more often....when I get my first threat is when ill change it...right now I think an honest businessman doesn't need to hide where he lives...I DO notice when people don't disclose an address and it makes me think 1. they had a threat or .2 they are hiding on purpose because they are dishonest

[billbenson]

I don't see it as a case of threats. And don't uses shooting people as a defense. While I do use my home address as a business address, I think it's a bad idea. It is unprofessional. I just don't feel like going to the post office every day.

[Harold Mansfield]

I DO notice when people don't disclose an address and it makes me think 1. they had a threat or .2 they are hiding on purpose because they are dishonest

Or they don't want identity thieves to have enough of their personal information to clean them out. It's not about small town honesty. It's about knowing the dangers of doing such a thing.

A phone number, and company email is all I expect from a business (and of course to answer the phone). If they have an address that's cool too. It doesn't matter to me that it's not thier home address because I understand why you wouldn't want to post that information online.

And I'll be honest, if they are that careless with their own personal information...why would I trust them with mine...like my credit card number and MY address and phone number.

So look at this beyond how you think it looks for a second and look at it for what it actually says...
You deal in high end clients. You have all of their addresses. You also take credit cards. And I know where you live.
See what I mean yet?

Your name, address, and phone number is enough for a savvy ID thief to get CC's in your name, or at the very least build a batch of ID info to sell on the open market. (yes there is such a thing).

[davidb3069]

I typically get 1 bad customer a year....I just got a 2nd one this year....2 bad customers in the first 6 months

Some people you will just never make happy no matter what you do. If you are doing a good job, keep going.

In some of my legal businesses, I have had people complain because I don't respond fast enough over the weekend or off work hours! I am not a 24-hour legal business. I enjoy my time off too.

I would not worry about the BBB too much. They seem like a joke. There are companies out there with hundreds or thousands of complaints and they maintain a A+ rating. How is that possible? I only recently made sure they have me in their records only because they told me people are checking on my business. They had reported me out of business because a phone # wasn't updated and that probably cost me some business. Hard to tell.

[davidb3069]

By the way, your comment about someone showing up at your house was funny to me. The reason being is I owned an immigration business that I operated in a foreign country. In that business, I made sure people could not find out where I live. It's about as risky as the divorce attorney work. They don't publish their home addresses either. But still I had people complain they couldn't know where I live. Strange people.

[Steve B]

HT - you need to look at things beyond just the way you see them. Your logic makes perfect sense to you, but when I see a contractor that lists their address as "123 Maple Court" I know they are so small that they work from their home. I also believe that means if he is sick - that I won't get service that day because he probably doesn't have any employees to send out in his absence. It also means to me that when he goes on vacation, I probably won't be able to get a hold of anybody for service. It also means to me that he has low overhead compared to the bigger companies so he probably charges less than them too. I also know that most companies go under in a just a few years so he (the smaller ones that haven't been successful enough to need to hire employess) may not be around later if I have a service issue. I realize some or many of these things don't always apply and/or could be bad assumptions - but, I also know I'm correct about all or some of these most of the time. Honestly, I also think the business owner is not very bright because he hasn't thought of these things. It's very cheap to get a professional looking address. I know one guy that rented a very small store front just so he could have an address to give to people that looked professiona. He only stopped by once a day to get mail.

Just realize that a home address used as a business address has many negatives as well.

[huggytree]

I would not worry about the BBB too much. They seem like a joke. There are companies out there with hundreds or thousands of complaints and they maintain a A+ rating. How is that possible? I only recently made sure they have me in their records only because they told me people are checking on my business. They had reported me out of business because a phone # wasn't updated and that probably cost me some business. Hard to tell.

I checked my BBB rating last week...I found that my records were checked 15x in the past 6 months....people are checking on me

if I get a couple of complaints and get into the B grade status I have no doubts it will effect me to some degree

I advertise on my website and business cards that im a BBB member....yes I know the BBB is a joke, but to many people its not

one of my builders is a big Angies list guy....I assume that many of his customers are who's checking on me...the ones who are savy and want to check into every sub contractor they are using

ive only gotten 1 job ever directly from the BBB.....so I could care less about them....but I do care about the 15-30 customers who are checking on my BBB account every year...that has the potential of $30k-50k worth of business

[huggytree]

I don't see it as a case of threats. And don't uses shooting people as a defense. While I do use my home address as a business address, I think it's a bad idea. It is unprofessional. I just don't feel like going to the post office every day.

the shooting comment was kinda a joke.. I don't expect people are going to come and break into my house because of a plumbing issue....

no chance im going to get a PO Box right now...im not driving to the post office every few days....as my company grows (if it grows) I would definitely consider it

[Harold Mansfield]

no chance im going to get a PO Box right now...im not driving to the post office every few days....as my company grows (if it grows) I would definitely consider it

What does the size of your company have to do with it?
We're trying to get you to see the personal safety, privacy and professionalism issues.

[patrickprecisione]

I do care about the 15-30 customers who are checking on my BBB account every year...that has the potential of $30k-50k worth of business

Does BBB offer some type of option that allows you to appeal a complaint? I'd imagine there might be some sort of system so you can at least share your side of the story. Or maybe I'm being naive.

[Steve B]

You don't need to get a P.O. Box if you don't want. You can still remove your home address from your marketing material.

Or, if you get a P.O. Box - you can have your wife check it for you 2 or 3 times a week. I like using a UPS store because I have big packages delivered there and they are there to sign for them and don't mind holding them a couple days until I can pick them up. I always have my wife pick up stuff for me when I know it's heavy boxes. That way she never runs out of things to complain about.

[huggytree]

Does BBB offer some type of option that allows you to appeal a complaint? I'd imagine there might be some sort of system so you can at least share your side of the story. Or maybe I'm being naive.

your naïve

I had a complaint from a woman who wanted me to repipe the water pipes in her whole house because I repiped a small leaking section and then rust plugged her pipes....she said it never happened before and I must have done something wrong....I offered to come and clean her faucets out for T&M w/ no minimums or trip charge....then she complained that I charged her to unload and load my tools..

I made every attempt to appeal...BBB gives no option.....the complaint doesn't have to be a customer....I could just write a complaint letter about any company and claim im a customer....once the complaint is written it doesn't get taken back.....my rating went from A+ to A over night and even though her complaint is 2 years old and doesn't show up I still never got back to a A+ rating

Angies list is very similar...if its NOT a actual customer they do have a method to remove the complaint...otherwise they also do not have any appeal

this is the big flaw with the BBB/Angies list....any nut ball customer can complain.....there are customers out there who are users....trying to get services for free or deep discounts....they screw with you....I think my BBB complaint was one of those...she went into it wanting me to repipe her whole house for $400 and tried to use a BBB complaint to threaten me to do it (or else)

[huggytree]

You don't need to get a P.O. Box if you don't want. You can still remove your home address from your marketing material.

Or, if you get a P.O. Box - you can have your wife check it for you 2 or 3 times a week. I like using a UPS store because I have big packages delivered there and they are there to sign for them and don't mind holding them a couple days until I can pick them up. I always have my wife pick up stuff for me when I know it's heavy boxes. That way she never runs out of things to complain about.

why is having my address on my marketing material a big deal???? no ones showing up at my doorstep over that

I need to have an address of some sort on my invoices and bids

0 interest in a PO Box....my wife takes 2-3 days just to pick up some pills for me from the pharmacy....im not waiting a week to get thousands of dollars

when im large enough that im sitting around and just bidding all day long its not a big deal for me to run 2-3x a week to the post office....right now it doesn't work for me or my family.....when im larger the nuts will be x2 or x3.....I will run into them 4-6x a year +.....it will be more important

[billbenson]

why is having my address on my marketing material a big deal???? no ones showing up at my doorstep over that

I need to have an address of some sort on my invoices and bids

0 interest in a PO Box....my wife takes 2-3 days just to pick up some pills for me from the pharmacy....im not waiting a week to get thousands of dollars

when im large enough that im sitting around and just bidding all day long its not a big deal for me to run 2-3x a week to the post office....right now it doesn't work for me or my family.....when im larger the nuts will be x2 or x3.....I will run into them 4-6x a year +.....it will be more important

Ya, but they Google you and decide not to use you because of what they see. You NEVER have anything on the internet that you don't want people to see. If it's on any kind of paperwork its on the internet as well!

You are worried about some thug on your door step when you should be worried about identity theft.

[Steve B]

"why is having my address on my marketing material a big deal????"

Re-read my previous posts. I thought I itemized quite a few significant points that would show why it's a big deal. In summary, it's showing all your potential customers that you're so small you work out of your home and probably don't have any employees. This will be a major turn off for some customers. Some people will think that's a good thing and will want to hire you because they like dealing with extremely small "one man" companies. Others will stay away from you like the plague.

[Freelancier]

There's a company we work with, every meeting I've ever had with them occurred in a crowded Starbucks, because they don't have an office. They probably do $3M in business a year working for huge companies (the kind that have a stock ticker symbol). They work virtually, no office, everyone works from home, something like 10 permanent employees and contractors out the wazoo when they get overloaded. I looked up their address... it's an apartment over a dry cleaner (according to Google) in an expensive part of town.

I have one customer who is HUGE (I mean the kind that gets talked about regularly on CNBC) and they know I work out of my house and they still spend a lot of money on my services each year. Customers in 2013 understand the concept of the virtual office and many wish they could do that themselves, so working out of your home is no longer an issue.

Every customer sees my address if they Google my company (or get an invoice, since nearly all of my customers pay by check). I don't mind if they know where I live, because I start off with the belief that my customers aren't nuts. 20 years of doing that, I haven't been proven wrong so far. My first wife was far nuttier than any customer, and she had to know where I lived while we were married.

So... if you want to put your address on something, go ahead. And if you don't, then don't. Whatever you are comfortable with.

[Harold Mansfield]

"why is having my address on my marketing material a big deal????".

Even if not for all of the business reasons listed, the privacy, personal and financial security aspect alone is enough not to want to do it. I mean this is where I live. Why would I want that going out to the general public?

[billbenson]

Do you own a paper shredder? Identity theft is a big deal these days and by giving out any part of your personal information puts you at risk. Sure, you can buy the information online, but why make a thief’s job easier.

[Wozcreative]

Do you own a paper shredder? Identity theft is a big deal these days and by giving out any part of your personal information puts you at risk. Sure, you can buy the information online, but why make a thief’s job easier.

Identity theft is bigger than any of the other types of thefts. It's just not as "punished" as the other thefts so people don't think of it as so common.

Regarding publishing addresses... the only address I post is the general city location that I am in. I happen to be in a prospering location so it looks good on me to post that I'm there. I don't post my actual address though. For those clients that I do need to send an invoice to, or have them mail me something, they will get the address. Fortunately I also live in a condominium with 24 hour security. No one can get in the building without a fob. Cameras on every step corner and the security knows everyone by name and what they do. IE, they know that I may have clients over in the board room sometimes because I have to get parking passes for each and every one of them.

I wouldn't post a home address publicly otherwise like that. I've come accross a few creeper clients before, and being a home business no one has had issues doing business with me. My business has been growing by $20K per year with no sign of stopping.

We're in different industries though.. most people are used to working with a designer that has a home based business.

[Steve B]

It's definitely different per industry. There are lots of services that I would expect the person to be working from home, but with some it's a clear indication of the size of the operation.

Assuming your customers (and potential customers) aren't nuts is a wonderful thought. However, the fact is that a percentage of the general public is NUTS. Eventually one of them will become a customer if you're in business long enough.

[Freelancier]

However, the fact is that a percentage of the general public is NUTS.

Turns out that the percentage seems smaller if you stop watching TV news. It's a perception issue.

What are the odds of your child being kidnapped? The odds of being hit by lightning are 2.5 times HIGHER. But child kidnappings are HUGE news events, so they seem bigger than they really are.

[Steve B]

I'm not sure how you interpreted what I wrote as meaning that a "High" percentage of the population is nuts. Or, that I got my perception from TV news. My statement is 100% correct - a percentage of the population is NUTS and a percentage will become nuts in their lifetime. I used to sell equipment to mental health facilities and prisons - they always had patients or inmates in them so, by definition, the percentage is greater than zero.

Eventually, you are likely (although certainly not assured) to run into one of the nuts if you are in business long enough.

[huggytree]

I probably have around 250+ customers a year....its been pretty consistent that 1-2 are Angry nuts a year......i have several more that are REALLY nuts, but don't get angry with me....they are ''happy nuts''