How to handle tough client complains...

[Belleu]

Hi guys,

I`m new on the forum, but I read a lot of your advices! I started my mobile detailing company last year and everything are going well! I did 30 cars this summer (it`s a part time job actually) and all my clients were very satisfied. Some people said I "repainted" their car to show their satisfaction, some others said I was a magician! Anyway, I really love detailing cars.



This week-end, I did a minivan, Chrysler Town&Country. The guy took my premium package + the engine cleaning. I worked 9 hours on the car, doing all the spots and scratches he showed me plus others.



When I delivered the car, he was satisfied but complain a bit on the price. He thought it was less than that. However, he gave me his other car to do.



20 minutes later, he call me back, really upset, saying that he looks his car carefully and found a lot of things not done correctly and asking me to bring back his other car.



I went to his house, he showed me what was not done ok based on his opinion:

1- The bottom of the front bumper, in some little cracks, there was some small dirty spots (but you need to lay on the ground to see them).

2- The under rear bumper, close of the muffler.

3- A spot in the window not cleaned

4- Some spot close of the aisle, it was not dirty, it was damaged in the plastic but he said that he can get rid of those...

5 - And so on...



He said I did not passed 9 hours on his car, probably just wash it with a pressure washer, I charged really too much, that he will not pay me...You can imagine the rest and the yelling...



I stayed calm, said that I was sorry about that, it was true I missed some little spot and I can fix them, but I can`t restart the job from the beginning because he will not be satisfied anyway.



He wanted to give me half of the price (140$ instead of 285$). I stayed on my position, said that I did my best, even if he doesn`t believe me and asked for the full price. After some negociation, he throws me the full price and said that he will bad mouthing me at all his friends. I said again that I was sorry about this situation, it was the first time and that I`m pretty sure that nobody would satisfy him.



With your experience, what do you think about that ? As I reacted well ? Is there something I should have done differently ? What`s the best way to handle those type of client ?



Thanks in advance!

[gigondaz]

It`s very common to encounter idiots like that.

I know " the customer is king".

But sometimes, kings can be morons. And you`ve just met one last few days.



These are morons who give nightmares to their maids, babysitters and employees in the office, and they`ll "slaughter" their business suppliers/vendors. These morons usually grew up in a very street-wise fashion, thinking of excuses and tricks everyday to get the lowest price. Others who pay the "normal price" are definitely idiots. And he is certainly not an idiot (LOL)!

He is the most streetwise guy alive.



My advice to you: FORGET THIS CUSTOMER.

You have nothing to gain by entertaining him, and accepting even more cars from him.

It`ll only give you more problems in the future.

He is NOT the only guy interested in detailing. Lots more honest, polite and understanding customers out there.

Is he paying you $1000 or more per car??? Or is he a millionaire with lots of Bentleys and Bugattis for you to detail on a contractual basis?

You can do 10 good jobs for him, but if he dislikes the 11th job...he`ll screw you and rip off a huge discount from you.



Another piece of advice for you:

These imbeciles may appear to be very casual and un-demanding when he hands the car to you.

He appears to be NOT a critical person. But he has his Modus Operandi, that has always victimised other detailers and retailers.

When he collects the detailed car...WOW!!! he transforms into a concours judge!!!



When I "sniff" such a customer during a conversation, I will do the following:



1. Can that car be done to customer`s expectation? Diagnosis skill is important here. If I am sure.....

2. I`ll specify a very high "average price", cos I know I`m facing a trouble-causing imbecile.

Stress that if he has any specific additional requirements, it could entail more work and cost more.

If this doesn`t turn him away.....

3. Diagnose slowly and accurately, and give the final price. Compare to average market price.

4. Explain what`s possible and what`s not.

5. Set the amount of time required.

When job is done, inspect in detail under the sun. I think this is where you could have done better.

Don`t give these "overly smart" customers the luxury of finding a small missed area and turning it into a weapon to slash your price significantly. Take plenty of videos and show it to him the extent of the work done.



Yes, you missed out on a few areas.

It`s yur 1st time doing his car. You can give a small discount from his car or the 2nd car and this could`ve been easily resolved.

But that is not a valid reason to HALVE your price, and take back the other car from you.

[Alexshimshimhae]

generally i agree with gig (though depending on how much he pissed me off i MIGHT fully detail like half of two random panels and leave the rest looking crappy...JK =]..........)



Correct me if I`m wrong, but alot of guys here take loads of pictures (yes to brag) partially to document the amount and level of work done, I also sometimes use it as a point of reference, I may only post up a few pictures, but there`s a load of others that I used kind of as a check list to make sure I address (though I don`t do this professionally I DO detail other people`s cars)



Esp for business, as long as you exercise caution in how you explain it (in other words what`s guaranteed, or implied to be guaranteed), going over the car with the owner from top to bottom like gig said would cut down your liabilities...



In this situation, probably give him maybe 10-30% off depending and toss his information in the DO NOT ANSWER box (I would say throw it out--but you never know if the moron calls back and you forget his number).

[Dan]

Be really careful of customers with crappy cars that go for your best packages, these are the ones that are most likely to try to scam you. Sounds like he was hoping to get the second car done for free and/or get some money back. You did the right thing, you stood your ground and offered to fix the problems. Also, it is wise to set expectations before you start the job and work to exceed those.

[WAS]

After some negociation, he throws me the full price and said that he will bad mouthing me at all his friends. I said again that I was sorry about this situation, it was the first time and that I`m pretty sure that nobody would satisfy him.



With your experience, what do you think about that ? As I reacted well ? Is there something I should have done differently ? What`s the best way to handle those type of client ?

You basically handled the situation properly. You offered to fix his concerns and didn`t offer a discount, this is the correct way of handling the situation from a business perspective. Let me interject some personal thought there, $285 is NOT a lot of money for a detail (at least where I live). $285 won`t get you a minute of correction in my city, from any shop. $285 won`t get you JUST an interior detail (vinyl, windows, vacuum and shampoo) on a mini-van in my city. You missed a small spot that isn`t visible unless you`re UNDER the vehicle ? This is one of those customers that wants everything, yet doesn`t want to pay for anything. I`ve dealt with these people before as well, and there isn`t really much you can do.



However, there is one thing I would say / mention to these people the second they say they`re going to bad mouth you: "Sir / Ma`am, I just want to let you know that you can be held personally liable for what you say". People need to realize that their bad mouthing can cost you business and money. People also need to be very careful about what they say, and how they say it. If he tells his friends the story exactly the way you`ve said it to us (assuming that`s exactly how it happened), then that`s perfectly fine. If his friends have an IQ above 35, they will scratch their heads and say "so... what exactly was the issue ?". Most likely, he`ll twist the story to his liking, leave out the part about you offering to remedy the issues, etc. When people start to lie about what happened, that`s when they`re 100% liable for those comments from a legal perspective.



I say this to every single person who flies off the handle on me or any of my staff. Actually, three weeks ago I had someone so angry that their truck was dusty on the outside several days AFTER the detail, they threatened to kill myself and my staff. That comment went straight to the police of course, but you get the idea. Most of these people are simply school-yard bullies, and when someone stands up to them, they back right down.

[Belleu]

Wow, guys, thanks a lot for your comments. As I said, it`s the first time I went through a situation like that but I will try to make the best out of it.



@Gigondaz: When I met him the first time, he explained me what he wanted, showing me all the spot and stain he wanted to be removed. I did all of them, so I think the pre-job part was ok. Some people on this forum said they have the customer signed a contract, explaining all the work to be done. Is it a good idea ?



I agree for the inspection, I should have done a complete inspection under the sun before to gave it back. I`ll take note of that but in this particular case, I would not had looked under the rear bumper anyway... And I`ll also take some picture of my work... Thanks for your advices!



@yakky: In the future, I will try to be more specific on what can be done and what not. In this case, his general expectation was "I want the car to be ready to sale" and I`m 100% sure that I did that. Thanks for your advice.



@Was: Thanks for the advice, next time (hope not in a near future!) I will use it! When he said that, my only response was "Again, I`m so sorry I was not able to satisfy you but I really did my best" but he was so angry that he (again, for the ten times) said "I don`t believe you, you don`t care, you just wanted my money by doing a fast and bad job"...



Again, thanks to have taken the time to answer me!

[WAS]

Wow, guys, thanks a lot for your comments. As I said, it`s the first time I went through a situation like that but I will try to make the best out of it.



@Gigondaz: When I met him the first time, he explained me what he wanted, showing me all the spot and stain he wanted to be removed. I did all of them, so I think the pre-job part was ok. Some people on this forum said they have the customer signed a contract, explaining all the work to be done. Is it a good idea ?



@Was: Thanks for the advice, next time (hope not in a near future!) I will use it! When he said that, my only response was "Again, I`m so sorry I was not able to satisfy you but I really did my best" but he was so angry that he (again, for the ten times) said "I don`t believe you, you don`t care, you just wanted my money by doing a fast and bad job"...

Everytime you go through this type of situation, it becomes easier. I almost don`t even get worked up anymore. I calmly appologize that the customer isn`t happy, I offer any remedies to take care of their concerns, and then I stand my ground. And recently, I got sick and tired of people threatening to bad mouth the business, bad mouth the employees, or threaten people / property, so I started getting firm with people and advising them that they can be held liable for what they say. The fact that he kept accusing you of trying, more or less, to rip him off is very irritating.



Do you have this person`s mailing address ? Or you obviously know where he lives ? Write a letter to him. Write down everything he said, write down how you feel about it (that you`re very insulted that he would accuse you of lying about the services that you provided), and write down any solutions you offered that were refused. Put it all down on paper, quote his exact words if you remember them (or quote as much as you can remember). Send a copy of the letter to him, then keep a copy for yourself. If he ever tries to go to the BBB, the media, etc, you have written documentation of what occurred. I`ve sent a few of these letters out, and NEVER gotten a response from them. Most times I think the customer has had a chance to cool down, and upon reading how foolishly and child-like they acted, feels embarrassed.



Also, yes, a contract / waiver is VERY important, in my opinion. Here is a copy of mine if you`d like to see: http://www.whitehorseautospa.ca/waiver.doc

[Alexshimshimhae]

Do you have this person`s mailing address ? Or you obviously know where he lives ? Write a letter to him. Write down everything he said, write down how you feel about it (that you`re very insulted that he would accuse you of lying about the services that you provided), and write down any solutions you offered that were refused. Put it all down on paper, quote his exact words if you remember them (or quote as much as you can remember). Send a copy of the letter to him, then keep a copy for yourself. If he ever tries to go to the BBB, the media, etc, you have written documentation of what occurred.http://www.whitehorseautospa.ca/waiver.doc

Make sure you mail it certified pref with signature so you have definitive proof that it was actually mailed to him

[Belleu]

@ WAS: Thanks for the contract / Waiver, I will use it for sure! It`s a great idea! I`ll translate it (I work in Montreal area) in french also.

About the letter idea, not bad at all. I`ll do it, to make a final point to this story in a professional manner.

Thanks again (to Alexshimshimae also) for you advice, I feel less alone... It`s so great to have good comments, but it`s so bad to have bad ones...

[AeroCleanse]

The waiver is a great idea.



AS for your customer, say you will try and fix what`s wrong. For people that said your price is too high, tell them that they knew that before they brought it to you.

[Jean-Claude]

There`s a lot of good advice here.



Realize that, sometimes, when you make a mistake and cost a client time and effort, more is required than just doing the job right a second time around.



In this case, I believe you did the right thing and the client was just being a jerk. Fortunately, I`ve not crossed a client that could not be reasonably pleased, yet.

[David Fermani]

Anytime a customer complains.....

*Let them vent without interruption

*Don`t make excuses

*Be respectful

*Acknowledge their complaints / go over the vehicle together

*Politely insist that you`ll do your best to rectify the problem and insure they`re satisfied

*Go 110% beyond their requests

*Ask them if they`re satified and get your agreed price

*Settle on agreeing to disagree and move on

[gigondaz]

Be really careful of customers with crappy cars that go for your best packages, these are the ones that are most likely to try to scam you. Sounds like he was hoping to get the second car done for free and/or get some money back. You did the right thing, you stood your ground and offered to fix the problems. Also, it is wise to set expectations before you start the job and work to exceed those.

Yakky...MARVELLOUS COMMENT!

These problematic customers, i suspect....have probably used this tactic before on other previous detailers and retailers.

When he meets you the 1st time and before handing the car to you, he has already known he`ll use the same tactic on you, the new detailer. It always works for him. Regardless of what happens, he`ll get some "benefit" out of this tactic, and if the detailer is pissed off, so what??? This idiot will just forget about you the detailer, and look for another victim.

[ltebow34]

Very good comment I agree. You have to stick to your price esp if you and customer agree on it. Very good idea with reminding customer legal stuff as well. Plus, it always remind you to photo all your before and after in case these type of customer try to scam you after.

[WAS]

@ WAS: Thanks for the contract / Waiver, I will use it for sure! It`s a great idea! I`ll translate it (I work in Montreal area) in french also.

About the letter idea, not bad at all. I`ll do it, to make a final point to this story in a professional manner.

Thanks again (to Alexshimshimae also) for you advice, I feel less alone... It`s so great to have good comments, but it`s so bad to have bad ones...

No prob, best of luck !