Dealing with Difficult Clients Oklahoma City OK

Paul Laroe

LaRoe Remodeling

Ann Arbor, Mich.

Big50 1996

We try to realize that you can't change them or fix them. You have to manage the emotional roller coaster of the situation through timely communication and up-front agreements with clients.

During the pre-construction conference, state the ground rules for the remodeling process. Discuss potential areas of conflict like change orders or additional work. Talk about “remodeling fever” — the point in the project where the client has had enough and just wants to be finished.

Typically, if clients have issues, it's not with us but with themselves, their spouses, or their own jobs. But we're going to take the hit in terms of them blowing off steam and projecting their own frustrations onto us. Talk to your staff about not taking it personally and let the client vent and blow off steam. Don't get on the defensive; you're just adding fuel to the fire.

Matt Plaskoff

Plaskoff Construction

Tarzana, Calif.

Big50 1998

Understanding their behavioral style will give you insight into how they communicate. There are many tools to help you uncover this information (such as DiSC or NLP). We don't give these tests to clients, but as you gain knowledge and skills from these tools, you are able to assess the behavioral style without testing and get pretty close.

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