Message from the Group Technical Manager

Why clients don’t understand you

Consider this scenario: the plans indicated the level of paint finish, the specifications noted the level of finish, the builder’s scope clearly outlined the finish, however, your client informs you it’s not what they expected. Why is your client the only one on the planet who did not know it was a Level 4 finish, when that’s what they paid for?

We all perceive information in different ways. The builder can talk to designers and sub-contractors using technical terms, and they will have similar expectations. Even unspoken aspects of construction are clear, you could say “it’s just what we do.” Introduce someone unfamiliar with this environment and things become very complicated very quickly for them. There is so much to consider, unbundle, and decipher.

That ‘someone’ is your client. A recent BRANZ study1 shows first-time home-builders are on the rise, meaning more people are new to the build process. Faced with lots of decision-making, they will rely on those around them to guide them through a flood of information in a language that might not have been written with them in mind, e.g. plans and specifications. The challenge for the builder is to work out how their clients take on information so they can best present a contract offer, levels of finish, their service offering, variations, and invoicing, etc. At New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB), we talk to a lot of homeowners who are out of sync with their builder and therefore lose trust quickly. This loss of trust often becomes damaging as they feel the builder is now out to deceive them. This is unfortunate because the builder’s intent is usually honest, however, there is a mismatch in how the builder has delivered the information and how the client has interpreted the information. To get clarity, the client will often seek reassurance from an uninformed source that supports their biased position. This drives the two parties further apart and creates more conflict. There are a couple of tricks the builder can use to prevent this from happening. Firstly, take the technical hat off and bring things back to a very basic level of explanation. Secondly, seek reassurance from the client that they understand what you’ve said.

Here’s an example: imagine your client wants to know the difference between two products. The build team instinctively knows the good, the bad, and the ugly of these products and so it is easy to glaze over the detail. However, remember that your client has never seen these products before. Describe the differences in looks, performance, size, shape, and cost. Outline which of the products is easier or harder to install (cost factor), where the product is coming from (to explain possible supply delays), and then give them a link so they can visualise the product and how it might look within their project.

Decision-making puts pressure on your clients. Help ease their stress by putting all the information they need in front of them in order to make an informed decision. To understand how this feels for your client, I liken it to a builder having to search warranty and maintenance information for all the products used in a project. We know it should happen, but it doesn’t. Why not? Because it’s challenging. Some of our members have nailed the art of communication and use it to extract more profit out of a project. They get decisions made early, which avoids disruption to the builder and project construction programme, as well as provides an opportunity to sell more profitable products and more efficient ways to build and design. Ironically, they are very transparent about it, showing where costs within the job sit, which many builders would see as counter-intuitive. However, what these switched-on builders are finding is that their clients understand them.

If you find communication has broken down between you and your client and need some advice or how to get things back on track, email me jason@nzcb.nz, I’m here to support you.

1 SR49 New House Owners Satisfaction Survey 2019