You Can't Please Them All!

As business owners, we like to think of our workmanship as flawless, unmatched, and the best around town. We like to think ourselves as the master detailing technician. So may be true! But what happens when you get that one customer who is just impossible to please? What do you do then? How do you keep yourself from being discouraged or from even losing your cool? It's very hard but it happens to all of us. It doesn't matter who you are: a professional, a novice just starting out, or the detail god whom all look up to. It's going to happen. That one client will say unacceptable even after you put all your efforts into your artwork. It happened to me just this past summer.

Back in early August I was working on a 1987 28' Chris Craft boat that hasn't been detailed since 2002. The boat was severely oxidized to the point of declining the job and walking away. My first mistake was assuming he understood what detailing was. It's a word that gets thrown around so often that it can be confusing to the average consumer. Some think of detailing as a wash and a wax; and some interpret detailing as complete restoration -- such as this gentleman. On my website I have an explanation of what my detailing procedures are. I again assumed he read it thoroughly since he got my number off the Internet. I did a brief demonstration to show the customer what the hull of the boat will look like when done. The top half of the hull was colored and neglected pigmented gel coat doesn't hold up as well as the regular substrate (I'm still not sure why, different binders maybe). He wasn't too thrilled with the results but said "it's an old boat" and still expected pristine results. You know, the kind of customer that points out missed spots and asks "did you get this area yet?" After 3 days of hard labor on a 28' boat, I lost money, time, and patience. When I was about to leave he said he wanted the aluminum to shine like chrome and that he is paying good money for my services. Those pieces were so severely oxidized I told him to leave them since they have a dull sheen to them and if I did touch them they will ook horrible and mismatched. Well, he opted for a "polishing" and my judgement was right that the aluminum would shine up in some spots and remain dull on the others. It looked like complete hell. He wasn't happy with those results either. Let's just say I was so glad to get out of there and never look back. Luckily the check cashed.

 

So learn from my lesson fellow detailers:

 

1. Never assume customers know what detailing is on their own judgement. Explain to them what it is.

2. Don't let a customer talk you into doing something you aren't being paid for, like being nice and taking 3 hours to scrape off lettering. Being nice doesn't pay the bills.

3. Know when you're out of your league and know your limits.

4. The customer is paying you and they are paying for your judgement. They don't know better than you.

5. Know when to say no.

 

The main lesson here should be that you can please them all.

 

Happy Detailing!

 

Brian Angelucci

Precision Auto & Marine