Anyone ever have a customer like this??

R

Richard Grasa

New member
Last Friday I had a customer come in for an interior detail. Apparantly she brought it to a dealer the day before and they did a horrible job, so she wanted me to fix what they screwed up. Her main complaint was a bad vacuum job and fingerprints and smears everywhere, which there was. I could have easily re-detailed it in about an hour, but took twice as long since I knew she was going to be picky. Well she ended up inspecting my job and then asked me to hand her my MF and spray bottle of APC. She then proceeded to go over the entire interior herself from top to bottom TWO TIMES! I mean she was trying to clean off scrapes and scuff marks and would not understand that these marks are permanant and will not come out, she complained that the dash was still faded (needed to be dyed), she complained that the leather seats looked faded which I could not see. At one point she was like oh look this pen or whatever is coming off for me, why not you? I said what pen mark, I don't see anything. She was like yeah you probably don't, nobody ever sees what I see. Then she had the nerve to complain that her fingers were hurting because it was so cold in the shop. I had to bite my tongue because lady you aren't even supposed to be out here doing this. She ended up paying me the $100 but I doubt she will be back and is probably trash talking me to her friends now, after I gave her top quality service and gave her more than she payed for. 99.9999% of any other people would have been thrilled to death with my results, without the extra work I put into it. That's just a bit of it, she was really working my nerves. What would you have done in a situation like this? Besides tell her to get lost and not come back.
 
Yep, had a few customers like that. There is no way to please them, just do your best, deal with them and get them gone, nowing that you did the best quality possible. Hell I have actually stopped volume work for someone after a few vehicles because the headache of dealing with them was not worth the pay.
 
"I'm sorry the vehicle is not up to your expectations. We can certainly accomodate a complete dash re-dye, plastic repair to take care of those scuffs, etc, but it will cost hourly based on the amount of time required in the shop. You're probably looking at around $[insert estimate here]."



That's all you can really do. If she's all pissy and mad about it, let her be, some people are just like that and there isn't anything you can do about it. She may trash talk you, sure, and there is little you can do about that as well. But remember, EVERY business experiences this, and I'm sure all of us have had customers who have done things every similar. As long as you addressed it as best you could, brush it off and continue on, it's just a part of being in business.
 
I have had someone like that. Only 1 tho. Thankfully, it was some lady that drove by and saw me working on one of her co-workers cars.



Then again, I had the complete opposite today. f360 getting a clean up so it could be sold at a dealership. He stressed quality and I ensured him he had nothing to fret. So he parks the car in a parking garage(URGH) for me to detail w/o any sun and he didn't let me know I'd be underground working, so I didn't bring lights. Once I finished I ask him to let me follow him outside to inspect everything in sunlight. Once I did I noticed many things that could not be seen and got to bangin' it out. Got most of it done and he ask me why I kept cleaning, ect. He didn't even see what I was cleaning.



You run into all kinds of folks doing this.
 
Let someone else put up with her crap. People like that who have completely unrealistic expectations aren't worth keeping as customers.
 
i once had someone ask me why the front end looked faded...rock rash,...and why I couldnt fix it...."um, there is no paint to fix there"...lol
 
I fully sympathise with you, and understand your frustrations:mmph:



This woman is not doing anything wrong. She's just a weirdo.

That's how she runs her household, professional and personal life.

Her husband, if she has one at all, might need to dis-infect his body nightly before bed.



You should have told her:

"Maam...for $100, no one can RESTORE your interior into a brand new interior. What you seek is actually RESTORATION....and not merely cleaning of stains. "



Unfortunately, that's the PRICE that any polish/wax person has to pay for grabbing any low-budget easy jobs off the street. This kinda weirdo can ruin your day, and even ruin your name/image on Facebook, forums, blogs etc......all for a measly $100.



You sweated like crazy over it and was proud of your results. That, I applaud you:wave:...cos you went that extra mile for her. Just imagine if you encountered 3 similar experiences in a day. It would be hell.



I avoid these kinda situations by keeping to my Golden Rule for the past 7yrs.



1. NEVER EVER grab any "appetising" low-budget jobs from the street.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.



2. NEVER EVER entertain the "low-class" customers who don't hv money, knows nuts and ask for the moon.



If I wanna be stressed out by a customer, I don't mind if that job is $3000 or more. Not for a mere $100.



In this profession, and in any profession, we have our own integrity and values. Don't let the customer push you around. Don't give them an opportunity to bad-mouth you.



1. Appraise the interior/exterior and explain what can and cannot be done.

Talking too little, and jumping straight into the job is the main recipe for disaster. No money is easy money.



2. Listen carefully to her questions, her sentiments, her lamenting etc...and you can easily sniff potential trouble.
 
psycho and ocd. I have given people like that my card and told them "Give these to your friends and make sure they do not call me because if they are friends of yours i do not want them calling" I have customers that when i drive up,i get their keys,i clean their vehicle,i get my money and we all are happy.I will not sell my soul for a buck
 
Obviously not the type of customer you want. I have some picky customers, but they are usually pretty rational once I explain things to them. This is an example of why I try to target owners of newer cars, who are dedicated to keeping them in great condition. The people who wait 5 years and all of the sudden decided their cars need detailing, expect miracles and are not willing to pay for it. Detailing is a means to keep a car in top condition, not restore a car that has years of interior soil buildup and paint damage.
 
Thanks for all the replies, very good advice here. This was actually an '09 Murano so it's not like it even had serious fading and scuffing like she was seeing, I think this lady was just "unique" as she even said herself. I'm not really worried about her trashing me to her friends, as detailman1 said, I probably would not want them coming to me either. It was after she left that I started thinking of how I should of handled a few things differently, I could not even think straight while she was doing all that, I was just amazed at the whole thing lol. She was actually nice about it all so I didn't put up much defense, just let her do whatever to make herself feel better. I did take the time to explain what to expect in the beginning but I guess people like this are just unreasonable, or maybe she did have ocd or something. I think I took the whole thing more personally than I should have because this was the first retail job I did in my brand new shop (been there just over a week, I used to be mobile). I will just look at it as a learning experience. Thanks all!
 
Make sure to send a 'Thank You' card to make sure her expectations were exceeded. Seriously, that makes a huge impression, even if the person expectations were unrealistic.
 
brwill2005 said:
Make sure to send a 'Thank You' card to make sure her expectations were exceeded. Seriously, that makes a huge impression, even if the person expectations were unrealistic.
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Great idea, I will send her something tomorrow! I plan to do this for all customers in the near future but I should send her one now.
 
Scottwax said:
Let someone else put up with her crap. People like that who have completely unrealistic expectations aren't worth keeping as customers.
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I absolutely agree with this, but, you do have to make SOME effort on the business end. Telling someone to "go away" and outright refusing their patronage is by far the best way to get a bad reputation (although, as I've said before, it takes a lot to actually get a widely known bad reputation). Even if you go ludacris with your pricing ($2000 to fix the dash, $1500 for the center console, etc), you're still offering your services, which is important. You want the choice to be the CUSTOMERS whether they keep using you or not.
 
I have had plenty of customers like this. Although it may ruin your day and take twice as long in the short run, being able to "satisfy" or somewhat meet her unrealistic expectations will make up for all the hassle originally. It might take you 3-4 hours to complete the detail, but the referrals you get from her over time will be 100% confident in your service.



Facts about picky/ocd customers:

1)they know they are picky and hard to deal with. Most of the time they are testing your commitment to meeing their expectations. Once you have met there expectations they are your customer for life.

2)Because she knows she is picky she might be willing to pay more for additional services

3) Her referrals usually wont be as picky and ocd as her. When she refers you toher friends they will be amazed that you could satisfy a lady as "crazy" as her and will have complete confidence in your service.



I cannot tell you how many of customers and referrals I have gained as loyal and repeat business because of crazy and very picky customers. It is hard to please them at first but you will see the value down the road.



Then there are some customers who are having a terrible day and just want to share there misery with everyone--which looks like you were one of the victims that day lol.
 
It seems like the world is coming back to a more reasonable business model. Remember when customer service was joke with big companies and you had to find the little store/service provider that still cared? Then, the big boys started falling over themselves to provide great service - like Larry the Cable Guy said - you can take used baby diapers back to walmart and they'll take em! Now, folks are less likely to just give stuff because a customer whines. A little more reason and common sense is always nice. However- that lady is a nut!
 
WAS said:
"I'm sorry the vehicle is not up to your expectations. We can certainly accomodate a complete dash re-dye, plastic repair to take care of those scuffs, etc, but it will cost hourly based on the amount of time required in the shop. You're probably looking at around $[insert estimate here]."
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Best response you can give. OR show her a hammer and her bill and ask "which do you prefer?"
 
WAS said:
I absolutely agree with this, but, you do have to make SOME effort on the business end. Telling someone to "go away" and outright refusing their patronage is by far the best way to get a bad reputation (although, as I've said before, it takes a lot to actually get a widely known bad reputation). Even if you go ludacris with your pricing ($2000 to fix the dash, $1500 for the center console, etc), you're still offering your services, which is important. You want the choice to be the CUSTOMERS whether they keep using you or not.
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I've had to refuse to take care of a car in the past after meeting the customer. I was contacted by a construction firm about a Civic that had some cement overspray on it. I went out to look at the car and it was a mid 90s single stage, badly faded white Civic. I talked to the lady who owned the car and found her to be a very unpleasant person in general and had unrealistic expectations about what I was going to do vs what the construction firm was willing to pay for. Basically, she was expecting me to bring the finish to showroom condition. The construction firm was only paying for a wash, cement removal and rewaxing. I told them there was no way I was going to be able to do a good job because this woman had allowed her car to become so oxidized. Any waxing was going to leave streaks all over the car and there was a high likelyhood the chemical that TOL sells for concrete overspray would stain the paint since it contains a green dye for coloring.



The woman refused to pay to have the paint polished and was ranting and raving about the concrete (which I understood) and that the construction firm should pay for everything her car needed or I should take care of that on my own. I told her I am not employed by the construction firm, I was an independent contractor and I don't eat costs on jobs like this. I also told her if I did the work she would have to sign a waiver so that I would not be held liable for any staining the concrete removal product may cause. She got pissed off at me over that, but like I told her, it wasn't my fault she had let her paint deteriorate to the point it looked like chalk. She kept jawing at me, so I told her she needed to work it out with the construction firm and find someone else to do the work and walked away.



When the construction firm called me to find out what happened, I told them what she had said and that she wasn't the type of person I wanted to deal with. Never heard back from them or her.
 
Scott: In that scenario, I would have definitely done the same thing. My train of thought was more geared towards work you've already done and someone's complaining, vs still at the estimating stage.
 
there are some people you won't be able to please no matter what you do, just do the best that you can. Autopian standards are high, so if a customer decides to go somewhere else next time, they'll probably wish they didn't...
 
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