# Some customers smh



## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

I'm in the middle of doing a basement in Vancouver that flooded. The customer is nuts, the insurance agent is tired of her, the restoration GC is done with her, then I get a text from my project manager, she doesn't like the stain that I put on her baseboards and window casings. I had her tell me 3 times what colour she wanted (she had 3 different types of stain going on). We went through it, she said okay, I took the sample to get matched, now I've stained, and applied a sanding sealer to approximately 300 linear feet of trim. Seriously people are you kidding me.










Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk


----------



## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

I always get them to email or text me the final colors. If they would rather give it on paper they can write it out. Never take for granted that there could be a misunderstanding.


----------



## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

Tonyg said:


> I always get them to email or text me the final colors. If they would rather give it on paper they can write it out. Never take for granted that there could be a misunderstanding.


Typically that's what I do, but it was a stain match to existing wood. Next time, initial the wood

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk


----------



## csbeepee (Jun 29, 2015)

ALWAYS get approval before you start staining... Even if you're matching, your match might be "too light" for the customer.


----------



## ridesarize (Jun 19, 2012)

Yeah that sucks. Sometimes everything is communicated but between a stain match or variations in the application, or benite timing changed or something. Unexpected stuff happens even when you've eliminated 2 or 3 other potential issues. Gotta love it.


----------



## AngieM (Apr 13, 2016)

This gets into psychology, but it's part of our job description right. I'd ask her what exactly it is she doesn't like about it. Find out the root cause of her dissatisfaction. Maybe it has nothing to do with the color. Maybe it's the lighting, maybe its her mood. Maybe it reminds her of her grandma she hated. Who knows. Then do whatever you can to reassure her she made a great choice. I always tell my clients that when it goes up, you'll never be able to differentiate a shade or two difference. 

If she adamantly wants it changed, I would tell her I'll do my best to minimize the charge to start over. But if it's that critical, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy. 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk


----------



## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Just tell her you'll need to have her sign a change of work order in which it stipulates your additional T&M costs. Betcha she'll suddenly decide she can live with the existing color.


----------



## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

RH said:


> Just tell her you'll need to have her sign a change of work order in which it stipulates your additional T&M costs. Betcha she'll suddenly decide she can live with the existing color.





AngieM said:


> This gets into psychology, but it's part of our job description right. I'd ask her what exactly it is she doesn't like about it. Find out the root cause of her dissatisfaction. Maybe it has nothing to do with the color. Maybe it's the lighting, maybe its her mood. Maybe it reminds her of her grandma she hated. Who knows. Then do whatever you can to reassure her she made a great choice. I always tell my clients that when it goes up, you'll never be able to differentiate a shade or two difference.
> 
> If she adamantly wants it changed, I would tell her I'll do my best to minimize the charge to start over. But if it's that critical, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy.
> 
> Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk


Thankfully, this rests on the shoulders of the GC. I'm just the applicator  

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk


----------



## Gymschu (Mar 11, 2011)

AngieM said:


> This gets into psychology, but it's part of our job description right. I'd ask her what exactly it is she doesn't like about it. Find out the root cause of her dissatisfaction. Maybe it has nothing to do with the color. Maybe it's the lighting, maybe its her mood. Maybe it reminds her of her grandma she hated. Who knows. Then do whatever you can to reassure her she made a great choice. I always tell my clients that when it goes up, you'll never be able to differentiate a shade or two difference.
> 
> If she adamantly wants it changed, I would tell her I'll do my best to minimize the charge to start over. But if it's that critical, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy.
> 
> Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk


Angie is so right on this. To be honest, no matter what color of stain you put on, she would be unhappy. She falls into that somewhat rare category of "under their thumb" types. She simply enjoys the power of controlling someone AND their time. She knows it's causing you major discomfort and she relishes it. I'm guessing of course, but, I've had enough of these types over the years to "call it as I see it." What a major hassle as these type of jobs wreck a schedule for months.........


----------

