Handling the not-so-nice customer situations

Good communication skills will help make things much easier.

Article provided courtesy of Rich Gallagher, Point of Contact Group

I have been teaching people how to handle their most difficult customer situations for over 15 years, and one thing I have learned is that arborists have some of the worst ones imaginable. For example, when I spoke at TCIA Expo 2012, one firm related the following situation: A man arranged to have a tree removed during the daytime — when his wife wasn’t home. She then came back while the arborist’s crew was working on the tree, demanded to know what was going on, and the husband replied, “I have no idea what they are doing here! I didn’t call them!”

While most situations aren’t this bad, you deal with two of the most important things to customers: their money and their property. So it is inevitable that tensions will sometimes boil over. The good news? By using some of the same techniques that hostage negotiators, crisis counselors and psychotherapists use in their worst situations, you and your team can confidently handle almost anything.

Learn how to defuse anger.

Here are some examples:

  1. Delivering bad news: Break it down – It’s spring. You have a seven-week backlog. And a new homeowner wants his property serviced right away. What do you say? Instead of just blurting out the bad news, acknowledge the customer and give him options: “You have a beautiful property, and I can see why you want this done as soon as possible. Here is how we handle things during our busy season. We can guarantee coming within the next two months, but since you really want this done sooner, we can put you on our cancellation list. Would that work for you?”
  2. How to defuse anger: Lean into it – When someone gets angry, most people try to minimize it — which only makes the customer angrier. Instead, crank the heat even higher: “Wow, that didn’t turn out at all the way you expected! You must be furious!” You’ll actually calm the customer down quicker, and have an easier time negotiating a solution.
  3. Getting your price: Credential yourself, don’t defend yourself – You’ve just prepared an estimate, and the customer replies, “My uncle Charlie could probably take down this tree for a fraction of this estimate.” Now what? Most people would defend themselves: “(Snort!) We are trained arborists! Here is why uncle Charlie is a bad idea…” But essentially, you have (a) told the customer she is wrong, and (b) made her suspicious that she is getting a sales pitch. Instead, make the customer feel good and sell yourself: “Uncle Charlie is a much cheaper option. Sometimes, an option like that may be the only one for a very small budget. Now, here are some advantages of using a trained arborist (safety, equipment, liability, etc.).”

So how would I handle the situation at the very beginning of this article? Probably by calling the police, a marriage counselor or both. But in most cases, good communications skills will make things much easier — and much more profitable — with your most challenging customers.

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