Lessons from a Service Business by David Brauner, Senior Broker at OREP.org
You may not believe this but it’s true. This story could be considered mundane, unless it concerns your livelihood—then it’s very serious. I hope it helps you and your business. I have an all-glass, frameless swinging shower door that slips and rubs at the threshold. In the 12 years we’ve lived in this house, and in an effort to get it to swing properly without dragging, I’ve tightened the screws, replaced the screws, glued the screws, stripped the screws, realigned the door and left it partially open for days/weeks at a time when it couldn’t be fixed correctly. All so that the door would clear the bottom, swing freely and close completely. It has worked smoothly for months and even years at a time after an adjustment but eventually it always slips again, making it impossible to close the door all way. Recently, I had the brilliant idea to hire a professional to fix it once and for all (duh!). I called three glass companies to get a quote. No one would fix it. They all wanted to sell me a new $1,500+ glass door. The glass is fine, I thought, why replace it? I decided to replace the hinges myself and priced them online. Finding the correct replacements is tricky in itself, by the way, unless you are prepared to drill new holes into the glass door/tile—which I was not. I priced them but did not buy them…maybe because I know my track record on DIYS home improvement (do it yourself). I called one more company. The fourth glass company I called did not answer the phone, so I left a message. They didn’t call back. I called again. This time, someone answered. Let’s call her Sandy. She told me to email a picture of the hinges and they’d get right back. I did email the picture and after about three days of not hearing anything, I called again. I got Sandy again, reminding her of my issue. She said someone would call me back. No one did. I called again, got Sandy and was transferred to who I assumed was an owner or manager. We’ll call him Bill. Bill hadn’t taken a look at the picture of the hinge yet. He asked me to hold. When he came back, he said the hinges looked fine and that it was probably just the gaskets that were worn out, causing the slippage—a seven-dollar item. If it is the hinges—they are about $150 to replace he said. So now I’m happy. Persistence pays off right? It took a few more email exchanges to get a quote (instead of just quoting me right then). Finally: it appears labor is about $250 plus the cost of the hinges, if they are needed. I emailed back immediately to accept. He replied that Sandy would call to schedule me (instead of putting her back on to schedule me right then). In any case, I’m feeling some pride in my persistence. 36 Working RE Inspector Winter/Spring 2021
After about four days, no one called to set up the appointment. So I call. Sandy answers and says she is super busy but she’ll call me soon to schedule (instead of scheduling me right then). Amazing. Even more amazing, she does call back that very afternoon. The tech shows up on time about a week later, is very nice and professional and is wearing a mask! He replaces my gaskets in about an hour and the door is fixed! It no longer drags at the bottom. The hinges do not need to be replaced and all is well—better than well. I ask the tech how he will take my payment. He says he doesn’t do that. That’s unusual I think, but I wait about a week for the invoice to be emailed—nothing. So, I think maybe they are old school and still mail bills. I wait another week or so. Nothing. Now it’s approaching three weeks after the fix, so I email Sandy for an invoice. No response. About a week later, I call and leave a voicemail asking for a bill. Again, no response. I wait probably another week or more before emailing Bill directly, who you may remember, I believe to be an owner/ manager. No response from Bill. Let me ask you dear readers and fellow businesspeople: are you shaking your head at this point? And it gets worse. About a week later, I call again…just trying to pay my bill. This time “Mary” answers. She assures me she is right person to take care of this because she is the accountant. She asks if I’d wait on hold while she goes “upstairs” to ask. I instead offer my phone number for her to call me back. She says great, she’ll call me right back. Two weeks go by and you guessed it—no one called back—not even “the accountant.” Why wasn’t my order somewhere she could look up, give me a price and take my money right then? I don’t know. Why don’t I just give up trying to pay? Well, they solved my problem when no one else would and I’m grateful. Your Business So what does this have to do with your home inspection business you may be asking—whether you have a home inspection business or are employed by one? Well, if you have your own business, you know you have to do more than perform a great page 40 8
