Be Nice

I had a chimney inspection, performed by 2 young guys. The lead guy said he will send me the report in the afternoon as well as checking if he could make the price works for the cap style I want. Later I received the good news: yes. Great, I followed up with 2 questions we had discussed. One is how the price deduction shall work, inspection fee toward the cap cost, as per the proposal, there are 3 payments points: purchase material, when work start and complete. Two is that if the crew can seal the flashing to ensure no water damage. He responded that he would ask and update the report. 2 days went by, I reminded him. He said he will make sure to get back to me on Monday, again, nothing. With material lead-time, he said 3 weeks, I hope the work can be done before my travel. I emailed again and called the office, left a voicemail inquiring about work scheduling.

The next day I got a call. The guy, let’s call him Joe*. Whether it’s his style or he has a rough day, Joe was yelling in the phone ‘you can’t schedule without paying for the material, the lead-time is 4-6 weeks out, and there are 50 jobs ahead of you.’ I explained I was waiting for the report to be updated and I asked about the deduction. He blessed again, there is no such deduction. It’s only available when you sign the contract and pay for the material right at inspection. I told him that I was provided the deduction info by the office manager and I wasn’t provided such requirement during inspection service. I said I understand they’re and it’s great that they have lots of works. I asked if he could help with the deduction. He said no. I held my own breath and repeated I was told the deduction without restriction and I’m interested in scheduling the work, I’ve been waiting for the updated proposal to sign. He said he will talk with somebody and let me know.

I took lunch and I thought of what happened during my after lunch walk. It’s not fair, wrong info and not keeping promise. The chimney cap is expensive, plus inspection, gets worse. The good news is that chimney has no damage. Do I really need a cap? Or with this company? I thought of checking other companies and I recalled seeing ads online for free inspection. With plan b, I felt calmer and decided to give ‘nice’ another try before placing hard ball.

Joe did call me back. First he asked about the flashing. Clearly he talked with the inspection guy. He said based on the photos, it looks like detergent mark, no leaking concern. If the flashing needs repair, crew will do it without additional charge. I asked about the inspection reimbursement. He paused and said the best he can do is to split half/ half. I considered but didn’t say anything. After a few second of pause, I responded, thank him and said I talked to the crew who worked at my neighbor’s house, got the card, and called the office, both confirmed the inspection fee waiver if I choose to do cap. I also said other companies offer free inspection. I chose the company because of its long-history and good reputation. I gave the two people’s name who told me about the reimbursement and said I’m interested in doing the cap and willing to work with him on the schedule. Can he help? He seemed like balloon out of air and said he will check with the general manager. A few seconds later, he came back and said they will observe it. I thank him greatly to make it happen. The rest of conversation he seemed a different person. He said he will send the updated proposal and let me know when the material is in to schedule the work. He patiently answered my questions and explained the whole process.

Looking back, was it a good customer experience? No. Yet what made a turn-around is perhaps a combination of setting a ‘high’ reputation for the other to live up to, putting pressure ‘strategically’, and being ‘nice’ to the people we interact with. We don’t know the other person’s situation yet building empathy and alliance goes a long way.

* name change to protect person’s privacy