people

[tamz]

sounds like you need a salesman if you are willing to give people advice over the phone for free, give them a phone number and get out to them within 2 weeks when you are fully booked.

I often tell people how to fix simple things over the phone if i can't be bothered which isn't as daft as it sounds.

 

[Ray Stafford]

and went mad again at the girl in the office.

This is a real pet hate of mine.

I can't stand big brave men who think its ok to shout and swear at the girls in our office - then almost always when they are put through to me or one of the other more senior guys, they come over all sweet reasonableness.

 

[jase158]

I dont say "I can not see it" I would say "Its hard to say without seeing it, it would be better for me to come out"

never trust what they say on the phone, they say not filling up, usually means not flushing, not flushing can be anything and not working means they havent got a clue.

 

[heliotrope]

:confused5::confused5::confused5:

 

[heliotrope]

if they can wait 2 weeks I normally ask further questions and give them an idea on what they can do in the mean time. most plumbers I know are a lot ruder on the phone. I am so curtious it is unbelieveable.

What you drinking tonight?????????????

Think you need to sober up!

 

[jase158]

This forum is more stressful then my customers!! Go on here for several hours and you will be able to cope with anything!! Lol only joking. What I am trying to say is that the OP should try and chill a little, relax and stop taking it to heart. For every bad customer I have 50 good ones.

 

[SimonG]

You'll always come across an unreasonable customer now and again, and it's certainly easier to deal with them being self employed. If somebody thinks that they can have a go at me for no reason I just turn around and tell them that they can have a bill for what I've done upto now as the tools are going back in the van unless they start speaking to me how they want to be spoken to. They tend to get the point, especially this time of year.

I would like to think I'm pretty thick skinned, but I'm no mug.

Went to look at a leaking electric water heater 8.30 Friday morning, booked in Thursday night as they hadturned the mains cold water off. So 8.30 here's me knocking on the door and knocking and knocking. Sod it off back to the bathroom I was doing. Hour later phone rings, irate woman saying I should have been there an hour ago. Said I was, she told me I should have knocked louder, told her she had better find somebody else as I had better things to do than have time wasted by muppets.

 

[TBServices]

I had a "customer" complain about a labour charge on repairing her tenants boiler a few weeks ago.

She called me after I emailed her chasing payment, at which point she spouts off about the unfair labour charge for diagnosing and repairing the boiler the in same day, with no delay. I charged her £25 per hour, instead of £35, because she works for an estate agent that occasionally give me work. I told her I'd email a response as I was in car with missus on speakerphone at the time.

I knocked another fiver off the hourly rate and basically said, thanks for bleeding me dry - Out of that £20 per hour, I have to pay for GS, ACS, PLI, Van, Van insurance, Income tax and all my other business expenditure, then hopefully at the end of the month, I'll be able to pay for my mortgage, bills and put food on the table while my missus is on state maternity pay.

She paid the original invoice price.

TBF most of my custs are okay, few late payers but not many complainers/ rude people. I've learnt to avoid them.

 

[CES]

"This job would be great if it wasn't for the customers" - Don't know who first said it but they were right. I used to worry about work and would generally sort stuff out as part of my customer service, that was until I realised that no-one pays for this and I could be running around sorting everyone's problems out for nowt.
Dealing with rude and arrogant people is one of the few joys I get in life these days. As previously said one of the best reasons for being self employed is choosing what work you want to do and who to do it for. If anyone is abusive over the phone they get the "Does your phone do this?.. click brrrrrrr" message. If I arrive to a tirade of abuse I get back into the van, if I'm halfway through the job, then the gas gets capped (if I'm working on gas) and the tools packed up and I leave. We all die eventually, we don't need idiots piling on stress to help us get there faster. Chill out, stay calm and let the solicitors deal with it if need be.

 

[Plum Bob 66]

I've not had any customers like that. Payment is not a problem, I write the invoice out there and then and they pay it. It's even easier now I've got the card terminal.

Ditto, never had an abusive customer, but if they were I would just pack up tools, shut up shop and go to the next job. Lifes to short to put up with insulting, abusive behaviour when all your trying to do is earn an honest crust.