A GRIPE posting area.

theXman

theXman

Branched out member
Location
MD, USA
I've thought about this for a few years now.

I wish treebuzz would have a GRIPE posting area that was private. Meaning, you have to sign in with your password to read it. That way there isn't much chance a customer would ever come across it.

We don't get many bad customers a year, but a small handful, maybe 2 to 4 a year that are just a pain in the rear.

As a business owner, I feel I need to bite my tongue and just make the person happy if I can, but I'd sure like to let that stuff out.

I think a forum with other Arborist that would empathize would be a great place to let that out.

I have TWO customers right now that I'd love to tell you about. ARRRRrrrhhhh.
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Momma said, "if you've got nothing good to say then say nothing."

Along those lines it may be helpful to tell us about them but in a way that isn't just a gripe but insightful. We all have the CFH but how we handle them is the key to maintaining our sanity and enjoying the pay day at the end.
 
Jamin,

I used to try to wrap my head around that one...the customer being, or perceiving right and it just never washed for me.

What I've come up with that works better for me is that despite our best efforts at giving the customer the proper information to lead them to the right decision the customer <u>has the right</u> to make whatever choice they want whether it be the right one or wrong.

I also have the "right" to make my own decisions and when a customer is "right" even though they are "wrong."

I can exercise my right to do the right thing by turning down the work. Graciously, courteously and professionally, of course, and by clearly explaining why.

Usually this ends up happening in the bidding process but it has happened in mid-job.

Some customers will respect you as a result, others will "forgive" you and others will resent you.

Anyhoo, just my two pennies worth.
 
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X,

you could always make an alias log in name as to remain anonymous from your clientele.

I have several.
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Kinda curious to know who else you are.
 
Good post Rick.
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As professionals we bring both best practice and decades (if not centuries) of ever developing arboricultural research along with your own level of specialised understanding and knowledge.

It remains the perogative of the property owner to ignore our advice....

As Arborists I (along with a great many others) believe we have a professional repsonsibility to provide honest informed advice to our clients...which is not necessarily the advice they want to hear.

Or as I used to like to say to myself with the most unpleasant unreasonable clients.... "you can lead a horse to water, then shoot it and eat horse steaks for a month"
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We have an unwritten PITA charge planted in the quote for those who believe they know trees better than us, stand near and suggest which twig should be trimmed next, ask 10,000 variations of the same question, or generally just be a Pain In The A**. It's usually tied to the extra time it takes us in dealing with them, and my mood at the time.
 
To me it is a wonderful luxury to have the customer there "suggesting which twig should be trimmimed next" I only wish they would flat out tell me which twig to trim next; it would save me a lot of thinking; and it's their tree; I wouldn't trust a tree of mine even to someone I know let alone a stranger with "Tree Service" written on his truck. Treat customers in the same way you wish they would treat you if things were reversed.
 
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