Dealing with persistent, unwanted customers

[jeff48356]

Have any of you ever had customers that insisted that YOU do the work and they refused to call anyone else, despite you having told them (or hinted) that you aren't interested in the job? If so, how did you handle it? Were you successful in avoiding the job?

One recent example was someone who wanted a generator inlet hookup, and I became disinterested upon looking at the job, for several reasons.. Panel was already overfilled (including tandems in a panel not listed for them), wiring inside panel was a rat's nest, unfamiliar with area of house's location, and a couple other issues I didn't want to deal with. This was in the fall of last year, so I gave him a BS story that I will be gone for the winter. I gave him the numbers of two of my competitors, expecting him to hire one of them. But I'll be damned if he didn't wait all winter, then call me again last spring asking me to come over and do the job.

 

[LarryFine]

Have any of you ever had customers that insisted that YOU do the work and they refused to call anyone else, despite you having told them (or hinted) that you aren't interested in the job? If so, how did you handle it? Were you successful in avoiding the job?

If I really don't want the job, I would say no, and give an honest answer as to why.

If I kinda don't want to do it, I would give a price high enough to cover the issues.

I suggest you give a price that includes addressing all of the issues that you listed.

 

[DrSparks]

Have any of you ever had customers that insisted that YOU do the work and they refused to call anyone else, despite you having told them (or hinted) that you aren't interested in the job? If so, how did you handle it? Were you successful in avoiding the job?

One recent example was someone who wanted a generator inlet hookup, and I became disinterested upon looking at the job, for several reasons.. Panel was already overfilled (including tandems in a panel not listed for them), wiring inside panel was a rat's nest, unfamiliar with area of house's location, and a couple other issues I didn't want to deal with. This was in the fall of last year, so I gave him a BS story that I will be gone for the winter. I gave him the numbers of two of my competitors, expecting him to hire one of them. But I'll be damned if he didn't wait all winter, then call me again last spring asking me to come over and do the job.

Do the work. Sell him on the bigger job of a panel / service upgrade. Going out of your way to make happy clients is money in the bank my friend. Even if it's not apparently lucrative at the time.

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[Hv&Lv]

Have any of you ever had customers that insisted that YOU do the work and they refused to call anyone else, despite you having told them (or hinted) that you aren't interested in the job? If so, how did you handle it? Were you successful in avoiding the job?

One recent example was someone who wanted a generator inlet hookup, and I became disinterested upon looking at the job, for several reasons.. Panel was already overfilled (including tandems in a panel not listed for them), wiring inside panel was a rat's nest, unfamiliar with area of house's location, and a couple other issues I didn't want to deal with. This was in the fall of last year, so I gave him a BS story that I will be gone for the winter. I gave him the numbers of two of my competitors, expecting him to hire one of them. But I'll be damned if he didn't wait all winter, then call me again last spring asking me to come over and do the job.

I had something similar happen to me one time. Guy wanted a generator plug on the side of the house opposite the outdoor panel. I told him I didn’t want to crawl under the entire length of the house, especially in summer to wire it up, trying to be honest. Gave him three or four names and their numbers. He called back a year and a half later and said it’s cooler now. I found out he called two of the guys I gave him. Their price was way too high apparently.
I still don’t understand why he thought I would be cheaper…I was doing it as side work. I have a job with a utility. I’m NOT going to undercut the electricians (friends) that do this for a living, especially when they call me as a POC for the utility and sit beside me at the monthly CE class.
Most of my side work used to come from them as overruns or jobs they couldn’t get to.
I finally told him I didn’t want to do it and was trying to quit (retire).
He has never spoken to me since, and I’ve seen this guy a few times around town. I’m old enough now I don’t really care…

 

[infinity]

If you don't mind burning a bridge just say that you're not interested in the job if you really don't want to do it. Otherwise an astronomical price usually does the trick especially in the case of someone who waited a year because they didn't like the other guys price.

 

[DrSparks]

If you don't mind burning a bridge just say that you're not interested in the job if you really don't want to do it. Otherwise an astronomical price usually does the trick especially in the case of someone who waited a year because they didn't like the other guys price.

Exactly my point. Don't burn bridges. Build them, reinforce them. Happy customers are the best advertisement capital. If you can do the work and it's not too severe a burden, I would do it. Tell him he needs to upgrade his panel or you can't do the work. Obviously you've made it clear that you don't need his money and would be unreasonable to think you're trying to sell him something he doesn't need.

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[electrofelon]

I have no problem telling people I don't want to do the job because it's miserable/dirty/messy/ demoralizing/frustrating/tedious/etc.

Funny story from a few years ago: I went to start a small job. Turned out I would have to go in the attic to run a wire. I took one look in the attic and told the client, " sorry I can't do this job for you, I am not a rat."

 

[__dan]

"It's a higher class [of] problem"

That phrase was in a recent (WH) press briefing, was misunderstood, then challenged with a bit of anger. They thought it referred to a class of people, it's only a problem for the lower class people, but it could be understood as something classed as a problem. And then among things in the class of problems, this was one of the better ones to have.

(Residential) generators I always avoided, and the first thing I would do is run them through the thought process. How often does the power go out (never), when the power does go out how long is it out (20 minutes), then if the genny doesn't start for 20 minutes because of no maintenance, am I going to get blamed for that. And of course they wanted it cheap and usually had already bought the Generac from big Orange. I always told them to call the guy that specialized in it with the maintenance.

If you were talking about someone you knew who routinely threw you work, I'm pretty sure you would throw a bid on it. The panel could be cleaned up enough by adding a subpanel, could even be a remote subpanel on the way to the genny close to some of the other loads, or an EM only load subpanel, if he does not need the whole service change.

If it's someone who you don't know or routinely work for, and the (residential) generators are a specialty usually avoided, throwing a high price on something concerning the house they live in can cause predictable upset, anger. There's no upside in PO'ing strangers. If a dfferent EC would be a better choice for the job, just tell them that.

Usually most people who think they want a generator would be fine with a Gentran panel and a 2 or 3 kW inverter type portable. If they have a reasonable request, those I do (fridge furnace well pump microwave, not all at the same time). The people who just go out and buy a HD Generac and then want it to run the central air (most of them), I would never get to the point of throwing a number on that.