Staff Stress and Burnout. In the name of customer satisfaction, builders give beyond all reason, then feel victimized. Indeed, some customers have turned the concept of customer satisfaction into a weapon. The effect on staff enthusiasm is dramatic. “No good deed goes unpunished,” is a common remark among builder staff. After a while, talented people ask themselves, “Why am I putting up with this?” and depart for a calmer, saner work environment.
Costs. Builders and trades alike suffer the financial impact of demanding buyers and inevitably have no choice but to pass that expense along to future customers. All that extra paperwork costs money to print. Recruiting and training new personnel has to be paid for somehow. The construction and warranty budgets need to be funded—even if some of the line items never should have appeared. So next year’s home buyers pay higher prices even though they get less time and attention, harsher policies, harried employees, and more paperwork. What a deal!
Solutions. Counteracting all of this is a big assignment. Coping begins by calibrating your company’s threshold for customer dissatisfaction. Accept that you will not please every buyer all the time. Working to satisfy the buyer whose mind is made up not-to-ever-be-satisfied-no-matter-what sacrifices company resources with no hope of return. Confirm you’ve done the right things, then let it go.
Discuss issues openly with company personnel, listening for their ideas on solutions. A case study analysis of a difficult situation might only take 10 to 15 minutes to discuss at your regular staff meeting and can be a powerful training activity.
Avoid going to extremes with policies and procedures because of one negative event. Know your paperwork well enough that when an issue arises, you can quickly find the related terms to which your buyer agreed. Giving a difficult customer the same disclaimer four times is unlikely to change his difficult nature; all it does is burden the normal people.
Make as much of a fuss about the buyer who calls to say “Thanks for a job well done” as you do the one who calls with an unreasonable demand or complaint. Let satisfied buyers help your company heal. When they start talking about how much they like their homes and what a great company you run, take those words to heart.
Carol Smith offers customer service assessment, consulting, and training programs for home builders. She can be reached at csmithhomeaddress@att.net.
