He Said, She Said

It is not unusual for a customer to tell me that another painting contractor said something that conflicts with my statements. This can put the customer in a difficult position—which contractor should he believe?

The situation can be made more difficult when the other contractor is offering a much lower price. That low price can have a subtle, but significant impact on the customer’s thinking. He might view you as attempting to take advantage of him by proposing unnecessary work.

The most effective method for addressing such situations is third-party literature. Documentation from a disinterested party provides an effective argument and can eliminate the “he said, she said” dilemma.

For example, last year we were staining some new cabinets. One section did not take the stain well. The customer called me and said that the cabinet maker insisted that we use sanding sealer prior to applying the stain. My counter-argument did not convince her other wise.

I did some quick research on the Internet, printed out the material, and headed to the job. I showed the documentation to the customer, and she was convinced.

In that situation, the customer viewed the cabinet maker and the painter as having conflicting interests. To the customer, each wanted to point the finger at the other (this wasn’t actually the case, but it could easily appear that way). But the product manufacturer had no interest in the issue. In that case, what he—the manufacturer—said was far more powerful than anything I could say.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008