In this live conversation, we discuss some real-life situations with difficult customers. We also cover some helpful tips we learned along the way.

When Bryan started Kalos, there was one situation where a customer blamed him for lying about a customer diagnosis. So, that was how Bryan fired his first customer. However, many of us want to fire several customers, and that's when we have to look in the mirror and evaluate ourselves. When the problem truly isn't with us, we have to make a choice to say, "Sorry you feel that way," and walk away after we've tried our best.

Sometimes, customers will demand that certain procedures are done or certain systems installed. Even if we were to give in to their demands, difficult customers would still be inclined to blame us, so it's up to us to assert our boundaries and do the job correctly. We also need to stop saying that our work is "easy." When we say that work is "easy," it appears to cheapen our work in the customer's eyes.

We may encounter customers who are a bit neurotic or who want to take advantage of us. In those situations, the best thing we can do is take the customer seriously and take full responsibility for our work: carry out tests, answer questions, and solve the issue. The manufacturer may do very little to help a situation, so we must be prepared and knowledgeable.

We also discuss:

• Bryan's Christmas pool heater meltdown
• Commercial HVAC/R finger-pointing
• Being "good with money" and how that translates to doing good business
• Valuing our work
• Working for family members and charging them
• A ductless disaster with a nervous customer
• "Calm down"
• Listening productively
• Setting expectations
• Pricing and making a profit
• Moving on from failing customer relationships
• Buyer's remorse

 

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