Contractor’s Corner: A winning strategy for handling client complaints – May 2025

By Dave Stafford

Even with our best intentions, we all make mistakes and underperform expectations. We usually find this out via a telephone call from a client who is yelling, cursing and threatening all manner of consequences if we fail to “immediately fix the problem.” Attempting to be nice and civil is a chore while bearing the brunt of this frustration, yet how we handle this first contact often determines how successful we’ll be in fixing the problem and having a customer for life.

DAMAGE CONTROL
The goal is to have impeccable frontline service, and this means training on how to handle the incoming phone call or transfer it to someone who can really help. Select someone with a nice, pleasing telephone voice who sounds like they really want to help. A bored, grating or rough voice doesn’t bode well. You want a welcoming, musical voice in the lower tones.

“I want to talk with someone right now who can fix my issue.”

“Please tell me a little more about how we can help.”

“My new floor has a variation in color that I didn’t expect.”

“And may I ask what type of floor you have-carpet, ceramic or VCT-so I can get you to the right person?”

“I have carpet, and it was just installed yesterday.”

“Okay, great. You’ll be speaking with Brad in our service department. Please hold while I connect you, okay?”

Should Brad be on another call, the call should be directed to a designated backup until Brad can answer the phone-do not let it go to voicemail. When the call is taken by Brad, he will ask the pertinent questions and take steps to deal with the client’s problem.

Unfortunately, answering phones is often relegated to the newest hire, with little training, or to someone emotionally unsuited to do the job. You know the type: easily frazzled, introverted and blows up under pressure. I once experienced this with a colleague named Jamie, who had received minimal training and was unprepared to be on the front line. After one particular call, she threw the phone down and proclaimed, “I quit. I will not take this abuse.” When asked, she explained that a client was angry that our installer was late and then used a variety of colorful words to describe his frustration. Jamie had failed to understand the most important lesson: Don’t take it personally. They’re just angry at the situation and blowing off steam.

NATURE VERSUS NURTURE
Even with training, personal temperament does not really change; it may only be modified. Under stress, the real person will emerge. Develop some bona fide tests or checklists to make sure you’ve identified the right individuals for these key positions.

We used to use handwriting analysis, done by a professional, and we found that to be a very accurate predictor of one’s talents. In some cases, we uncovered a very low degree of empathy; high propensity toward rage, drug abuse or alcoholism; and low self-esteem-which might personalize abuse being dished out by a frustrated client. We also found excellent matches of intelligence, concern for others and willingness to help solve problems.

CHARM SCHOOL
The key to training is to develop the company’s focus on taking care of clients-your most precious resource. We used a very effective Carpet One/CCA Global training program for all personnel that included workbooks, scheduled meetings for diverse personnel and testing to make sure they were listening. Many participants resisted before beginning the program, but they ended up finding significant value in the personal classroom atmosphere and discussions. And it really made a difference when they saw that all company employees participated, even management.

Role-playing and company emphasis play a part in shaping the culture toward excellence in service and a winning attitude in handling complaints. With our installation personnel, we called this going to “charm school.”

“Joe, tell me what you’d do if the facility manager yelled about the slow pace of your job. How would you respond?”

Some responded in all seriousness with, “Get off my back-you are the one who had other trades in my way.” Others tempered their response with, “If you’re unhappy, talk with our field supervisor.”

We explained in detail that the latter response was much better than venting their frustration-keep a smile on your face, grit your teeth and explain (if possible) the slow pace. Provide the direct phone number for the project manager or installation supervisor or get him on the line.

Once, a fight broke out on the client’s premises over the slow pace of installation. We lost that client, who said, “It’s bad enough that the job is late, but I won’t put up with having to hose blood off the loading dock.” This illustrates the type of consequences for the company. A refresher course was in order with some transgressors, and if retraining was unsuccessful, the team member was terminated.

This training was particularly critical with a night crew that had one chance to get the job right before moving on to a different area. They were performing vertical-lift installation, removing old carpet under systems furniture and replacing it with carpet tile. The job was sold with the idea of little disruption to the workplace, flawless performance, no mess and great customer service. Any potential crew addition had to undergo a shortened version of charm school training as well as a written exam. We had our share of glitches, but a crew chief named Jeff minimized any issues. “Talk to Jeff” became the mantra for all.

During the classroom training with sales and other administration personnel, one fun exercise was the “good guy/bad guy” routine. If the bad guy was a good actor, the target might forget this was roleplay and erupt, to the amusement-and the instruction-of the others.

“The anger just displayed by Shelia was exactly the wrong thing to do. Can anyone tell me why?”

Guided by training workbooks, we had a lively discussion. Likewise, when an inventive answer was given to a problem client, accolades followed.

“I’m sorry we overlooked that last room, Ms. Stilson. Would you rather we stay late and fix it today, or would tomorrow be better?” No putting off the problem, no delays; rather, asking what she preferred.

Other attendees often relayed stories about upset clients just having a bad day, so we talked about that, too. I don’t fondly remember one call from a regular client. She started screaming at me as soon as I picked up the phone: “How in the hell are you going to get the job done if you keep sending out idiots to do it, huh?! You’ll never get another job from me.”

When I could get in a word during her tirade, I found out the HVAC had gone out, and our crew had walked out, leaving a mess in the area. New furniture was to be delivered in two weeks. Jerrie was beside herself.

“I’ll be back to you this afternoon, Jerrie. How long until you’ve restored the HVAC?”

With the full cooperation of the service manager, the crew was replaced with two crews to make up for lost time. Jerrie got the HVAC fixed, our best field supervisor was stationed onsite and directed traffic among the crews, and we finished on time and got a good review.

TOP OF MIND
A periodic refresher course keeps the spirit alive so that no one forgets the importance of taking care of complaints the right way. You may find that monthly meetings are about right. Quarterly meetings may not be soon enough to maintain continuity and correct lapses. It is up to company management to set aside time for these meetings and be an active participant to underline their importance.

Perhaps one assignment for each attendee could be to bring an example of how a client problem was created and how it was solved. Examples of frustrating lapses should also be covered.

“Ellen called and said there are ripples in the condo hallway on the second floor and people are tripping; could we fix it?”

The person who took the call heard “waves and ripples” but not “people are tripping,” so they didn’t assign this a high priority. Ellen had to call back and explain-this time with some shouting-what was happening. A field supervisor was sent to correct the problem. Carpet had pulled loose from tack strips, and a reducer had to be replaced. It was a big deal to Ellen, made larger through our delay.

Another time, a new condo’s carpet had a crocking issue in which red dye was being released from the carpet when it rained and then tracked into units that had white carpet. What a mess! We did a lot of handholding while we uncovered the issue, discussed solutions with the mill, got an independent inspector’s report and proposed a solution. The only reason we avoided legal problems was because the client saw we were doing our best to remedy the now-obvious defect. Corrective action and a financial settlement completed that ugly situation, and ultimately, the client was happy.

The road to excellence is a journey; likewise, so is proper handling of client complaints. Constant training and reminders of the company’s core values from the top down establishes a theme and cements the culture within. Everyone knows what is expected. Promotions follow for those who exhibit winning credentials. Rewards could consist of mill trips, points that may be used for prizes or cash awards for exemplary work. The aim is to reinforce the transformation of a company into an award-winning, unbeatable force within its market area.

CROSS-TRAINING
We experimented with having a cross-section of employees attend the same training to uncover frustrations, like, “I cut the carpet according to the workorder. I didn’t know it was wrong.” Or, “How was I supposed to know there were two production lots on that tile? No one said to keep them separate.” Or, “You should have caught that mill defect. It was easily seen during our inspection.”

This type of meeting, unless allowed to get out of hand, helped us reinforce the “we are in this together” to please the client and not create problems for others down the line. When asked about a well-known incident in which the border tile was missing from a job and a warehouseman spent over an hour locating it, the warehouseman answered, “Well, I just handled it the way I thought was best for the customer.” A great answer and instructive for the entire team.