Why Did I Send a Customer to My Competitor

[WarlinePainting]

Yup, the title is right. I gave a customer the contact information for another painter. I'll explain. We are running a pretty big online advertising campaign since the launch of our shiny new website and that means I get lots of calls for all sorts of painting jobs. This particular lady saw our ad and called because she couldn't get a hold of a painter she had used in the past. She said he offered a "special" for the painting of three rooms for...you guessed it - $300. She saw our website and thought we looked like a good company and wanted to know if we offer the same special. Okay, so she obviously didn't read my blog called "Not So Special, Specials". No I politely told her, we didn't offer specials like that because we couldn't paint three rooms for $100 each. She was quite surprised by my answer and asked why.

I tried to explain to her that we focused on providing quality painting and it wasn't feasible for us to get the amount of work we did in prep, along with doing a proper paint job, for that low of a cost. But the other guy did a good job, she said. Uh huh. Oh, so many things ran through my head in that moment, such as did she consider the reason why she couldn't find this painter anymore was maybe that undercharging for his work had put him out of business. But I have said it before and I stick by it – I can't be everybody's painter. There was no point trying to convince this lady that there was a difference between our work and his. I told her I was sorry we couldn't help her but I also knew of a local Surrey painter that regularly offered a special to paint three rooms for $300 and I passed on his name and website address to her. Sounding a bit taken aback, she thanked me and hung up.

When I got off the phone, I thought about the call for a while and wondered if there was a better way for me to handle it. I don't think there was. I was polite and helpful but also stuck to my guns about being who we are and not compromising our brand. A few years ago, I might have tried harder to get her business, even if it cost me money. Oh, how far I have come.

The truth is the title of this article is misleading because the painter's name I passed on is not a competitor. We are in the same industry but we have vastly different clientele and I am not interested in tapping into his customer base.

I hope the lady is happy with the paint job she gets. My guess is she will be and I if she happens to tell the guy I referred her to that it was me that gave her his name, well who knows, maybe he'll call and thank me.

[Cal]

(05-23-2011 03:52 PM)WarlinePainting Wrote:  Yup, the title is right. I gave a customer the contact information for another painter. I'll explain. We are running a pretty big online advertising campaign since the launch of our shiny new website and that means I get lots of calls for all sorts of painting jobs. This particular lady saw our ad and called because she couldn't get a hold of a painter she had used in the past. She said he offered a "special" for the painting of three rooms for...you guessed it - $300. She saw our website and thought we looked like a good company and wanted to know if we offer the same special. Okay, so she obviously didn't read my blog called "Not So Special, Specials". No I politely told her, we didn't offer specials like that because we couldn't paint three rooms for $100 each. She was quite surprised by my answer and asked why.

I tried to explain to her that we focused on providing quality painting and it wasn't feasible for us to get the amount of work we did in prep, along with doing a proper paint job, for that low of a cost. But the other guy did a good job, she said. Uh huh. Oh, so many things ran through my head in that moment, such as did she consider the reason why she couldn't find this painter anymore was maybe that undercharging for his work had put him out of business. But I have said it before and I stick by it – I can't be everybody's painter. There was no point trying to convince this lady that there was a difference between our work and his. I told her I was sorry we couldn't help her but I also knew of a local Surrey painter that regularly offered a special to paint three rooms for $300 and I passed on his name and website address to her. Sounding a bit taken aback, she thanked me and hung up.

When I got off the phone, I thought about the call for a while and wondered if there was a better way for me to handle it. I don't think there was. I was polite and helpful but also stuck to my guns about being who we are and not compromising our brand. A few years ago, I might have tried harder to get her business, even if it cost me money. Oh, how far I have come.

The truth is the title of this article is misleading because the painter's name I passed on is not a competitor. We are in the same industry but we have vastly different clientele and I am not interested in tapping into his customer base.

I hope the lady is happy with the paint job she gets. My guess is she will be and I if she happens to tell the guy I referred her to that it was me that gave her his name, well who knows, maybe he'll call and thank me.

First off, Welcome to The Painting Forum Heidi. Understand exactly, there's always someone willing to do something cheaper. You did the right and honorable thing, giving her another number. Hoping she'll remember you, and so will the other painter, who seems to be working for dirt cheap.

Checked out your site, looks Great! Following you now on Twitter, FB, look forward to your participation here.

Have a Great Week ! Cal

[WarlinePainting]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I have been questioned a bit on why I would possibly "help" the competition but I look at it as I helped a customer and that in my opinion, is the right thing to do.

[Jason@API]

Heidi,

Thanks for that testimony. I just recently received a lead on an interior job that required only painting common rooms, no baths or closets. The guy said he is closing on the house the 6th of Nov, so I couldn't go look at it. I can assume it was in good condition being that it was a row home/townhouse and in a decent neigbhorhood and I asked about damage and prepwork (the list of questions when you can't go see the project). He sent me to a website that was selling the house and they had plenty of pictures to look at and I was able to get a good idea of what I was up against. But here is the tire kicker... He said he had two other bids of one he did not disclose but the other was an hourly rate that he said he will not entertain. So, now it's down to me and anther painter for the job, he then goes on to say if I can do it for $1000 then we have a deal otherwise he will paint it himself. I paused (not having been to the website to see pictures yet) and thought about that, he chuckled because I didn't respond right away... I then told him "that seems like a reasonable offer but until I look at the house I cannot determine an adequate cost of the project" and we had a few other words in respect of each other and hung up.

The house is 1416 sqft of living space. HE wanted 4 colors. We would paint before he moved in. Unless he bought the paint, there was no way I could do it for $1000. I emailed him his quote that exceeded his offer. That was yesterday. Sure, I could do it for $1000 if I drop my wage down to $25 an hr..... HO's really don't know what it takes to run a painting business and in general let alone any kind of business... The general populous works for Corp America and has no clue... Part of our job is to educate our perspective customers and or clients when the need arises.

I totally understand your phone call. Great post!

[Cal]

(10-22-2011 02:26 AM)Jason@API Wrote:  Heidi,

Thanks for that testimony. I just recently received a lead on an interior job that required only painting common rooms, no baths or closets. The guy said he is closing on the house the 6th of Nov, so I couldn't go look at it. I can assume it was in good condition being that it was a row home/townhouse and in a decent neigbhorhood and I asked about damage and prepwork (the list of questions when you can't go see the project). He sent me to a website that was selling the house and they had plenty of pictures to look at and I was able to get a good idea of what I was up against. But here is the tire kicker... He said he had two other bids of one he did not disclose but the other was an hourly rate that he said he will not entertain. So, now it's down to me and anther painter for the job, he then goes on to say if I can do it for $1000 then we have a deal otherwise he will paint it himself. I paused (not having been to the website to see pictures yet) and thought about that, he chuckled because I didn't respond right away... I then told him "that seems like a reasonable offer but until I look at the house I cannot determine an adequate cost of the project" and we had a few other words in respect of each other and hung up.

The house is 1416 sqft of living space. HE wanted 4 colors. We would paint before he moved in. Unless he bought the paint, there was no way I could do it for $1000. I emailed him his quote that exceeded his offer. That was yesterday. Sure, I could do it for $1000 if I drop my wage down to $25 an hr..... HO's really don't know what it takes to run a painting business and in general let alone any kind of business... The general populous works for Corp America and has no clue... Part of our job is to educate our perspective customers and or clients when the need arises.

I totally understand your phone call. Great post!

Done right!

I get the same type of calls from time to time J. Thanks for sharing, knowing a HO can try pulling the wool over someone's eyes, but not a Professional House Painting Contractor, so don't know why they even try. Treating each call as it were our last, with respect and friendliness. Have been getting several calls lately as potential customers say they have already bought the paint! Informing them, we are just like auto mechanics, buying paint at wholesale, marking up to retail, is one of the ways we make our money. Taking this form of income away, our hourly price for professional painters is $47.00 an hour, working very diligently every minute. Cannot remember working by the hour this past year.