People Skills Very Important For Business
It was very tough getting contractors to work on some required renovations I needed done on one of my rental properties this summer. In one property, I needed new flooring and doors for an apartment which already had a new lease signed for September 1.
The contractors I used before were unable to do this work because they already got loaded up with other projects and since I was on a timeline, they had to turn down my work. So I had to scramble to find other trades people to get these renovations done before the new tenants moved in.
One Contractor I Would Never Use Again
I found one contractor whom we’ll just call D and he was more than willing to come to the site to work on the doors. When he got there, I showed him which doors needed to be replaced and/or relocated. He said the job would not be a problem as he had all the tools as well as the time needed. He quoted $150 for the labour for the few hours it would take. So far so good.
I was told that three new doors would be needed including one that would be a fire rated door as the main entrance door to the apartment. Since he didn’t have the funds for the new doors and materials, I would have to go get them in advance of the job. Because he had a truck, I proposed that we drive to his favourite supplier where I would pay for the materials and he agreed.
As we were driving to Lowe’s, he said that he will charge me $20 for the time and gas for picking up the new doors and I said fine. When we got to Lowe’s, they did not have any 30 inch fire rated doors left in stock so we had to go over to Home Depot.
He was grumbling about his dislike of having to run around since it was a time waster. I did not disagree with this at all.
After we loaded up the new doors and material at Home Depot, he said that he would charge me $25 for the pickup and I agreed if he was willing to remove the three old doors from the site. The deal was made. I even told D that there would be potential for more renovations work at both the same site as well as at other properties I own in town. He was quite interested as he mentioned that he lives quite close to most of my rental properties.
After he started the work at the site under the supervision of my superintendent (I just left), he texted me and said that one of the new doors was the wrong size. So I had to go back and actually return one of the doors back and get another from Home Depot. With his experience, he should have checked all the doors to make sure they were of the proper sizes needed. This was a big time waster for me for which was his fault to which he never admitted or apologized for.
At the end of the day, my superintendent emailed me and told me the contractor forgot to install the deadbolt lock on the main door. He also did not remove the old doors. By this time, the contractor was already paid for his work – my mistake as I should never have paid the guy until all of the required work was completed.
Unfinished Work On Site Plus Failing His Part Of Deal
Both I and the superintendent contacted him to inquire when he would be returning to complete the job. D did finally come back on the day the new tenants moved in to install the deadbolt lock but grumbled about the hassles of getting stuck with three old doors that would be hard to dump. But he said he would remove the old doors anyway.
After D left the site, the superintendent noticed that the old doors were still on site. It looks like D not only failed to keep his end of the deal but his grumbling about the hassles he would have to put up with was not the best demonstration of people skills required when dealing with clients.
Lack Of People Skills Equals No Future Business
I asked my superintendent for his opinion on whether we should use D again for future work and he said no. This was my feeling as well.
If D has been in business for as long as he says he’s been, it’s incredible how he never learned adequate people skills when dealing with customers. He’s the type of person who treats all of his dealings with customers as debates and confrontations.
This is not the way to secure long term loyalty and work from paying clients. I was hoping to add another useful contractor contact to my trades list since it was not easy getting them when you need them.
If you are in any business dealing with customers, good people skills are required for long term success. In fact, such skills are required for pretty well all careers if you want to progress within your organization.
But because of D’s extreme lack of people skills, I would give him any business again nor refer him to any of my fellow real estate investor landlords.
