Three Tips For Improving Your Customer Service

When you run a business your customers can make or break you, so it’s crucial for entrepreneurs to try to keep their clients as happy as possible.  There are some people that are just natural people pleasers, and having the urge to make others happy can be a valuable skill for every businessman.  Custom Smart Homes builds homes, but our customer service advice can be applied to any industry.   Wanting to make others happy is an admirable trait, but sometimes it can be easier said than done.  There’s nothing more difficult than trying to stay calm when you’re dealing with an angry and agitated customer, but if you remember to keep a few things in mind you won’t have a problem keeping your cool.

Find common ground

Have you ever heard of the concept of implicit egotism?  In layman’s terms, it’s a psychological concept that states that people generally like other people more if they have something in common.  If you can find a way to relate to your unhappy customer, your empathy can common traits can help you keep a customer.  If you have an unhappy customer that has a family, mention that you understand as a parent and family member how important it is for them to have exemplary products and services.  

Use positive language

“It’s not what you said, it’s the way that you said it.”

How many times have you heard that phrase during a disagreement?  The tone of our voice and our choice of words can profoundly affect how people react to us, so make sure that you keep things positive when you’re dealing with angry customers.  Avoid using words like “don’t”, “can’t”, “won’t”, and other words that have negative connotations.  Instead of saying that you can’t ship a certain product until the end of month, explain to the customer that the soonest that you’ll have the product will be by the end of the month, and that you’d be happy to place an order for them. 

Don’t rush

You obviously want to resolve the customer’s probably as quickly as possible, but if you rush to find a solution your customer may feel like you’re just trying to get them out of your hair.  Never assume that you know exactly what the problem is, even if they mentioned it to you before.  Always let them say whatever they need to say, and respond to their words accordingly.  Also don’t make the mistake of dealing with an upset customer when you’re busy with other tasks.  Even simply taking a call when you’re talking to them can seem disrespectful.

Tips On Communicating With Your Home Builder

At Custom Smart Homes we know what you need to have in order to build the home of your dreams: a good plan, a good group of home builders, and a good sense of communication and cooperation.  Custom Smart Homes ratings are high because we keep the lines of communication open with our clients.  Like with most projects in life, building a home is much easier when home builders and clients are on the same page.  Sometimes people have trouble accurately expressing their needs to their home builders and they end up with a home that doesn't look like what they pictured in their mind.  If you're going to be building your dream home soon, make sure you follow these tips so you can ensure that you get the home you've always pictured.

Have your ideas ready

This may sound like its obvious, but a lot of people contact home builders with half formed ideas in mind.  A good home builder can help you bring your ideas into reality, but they're going to need direction from you so that they can do it.  If you see examples of certain room designs and floor plans bring them when you meet with your potential home builder.  Pictures will give them a much better understanding of what you're looking for.

 Find a builder to match your style

You're going to want to hire a home builder that you know can give you the home that you want, that's why you should try to find someone that has a portfolio full of houses that match your style.  Don't be afraid to ask for references from past customers and examples of their past work.  A professional home builder shouldn't have any trouble showing you what you need to see. 

Carefully consider your budget

It's surprisingly easy to under estimate your home building budget.  Material prices can rise, property prices can soar, and your home building group may need more money than you thought to finish the project.  Make sure that you have a rough estimate of a budget planned out before you visit your home builder, and make sure to bring up the price when you meet with them.  If you do, the home builder will have an easier time estimating if your plans can match your budget.

How To Deal With Common Construction Dilemmas

We've built hundreds of homes across the great state of Tennessee, and Custom Smart Homes reviews will show you that we have plenty of happy customers.  We have the experience needed to build any home our customer desire, and throughout our decades of experience we've had to deal with our fair share of headaches.  A lot of different people and companies need to work together in order to complete a job, land surveyors, material suppliers, construction workers, and managers all need to cooperate.  If one person fails to do their job, than an entire project can be set back.  There are some problems that always seem to pop up in the industry, but there are things you can do to help fix them.

Problem #1: You were sent the wrong materials

The moment you discover that you were sent the wrong material, you need to do some backtracking to see how it happened.  Situations like this are why you should always make copies of order forms so that you can check them in case you receive the wrong materials.  If you happened to fill out the form incorrectly, take special precautions in the future to avoid it from happening again.  Right now, ship the material back and make another order for the material you need.

Problem #2: Unforeseen conditions are causing problems

Maybe the soil you're building on top of isn't as stable as you hoped it would be, or maybe you're renovating a home that has a terrible case of dry rot.  If you drew up a good contract, there will hopefully be a section that mentions what will happen in case unforeseen circumstances occur.  Unfortunately in this circumstance you don't have too many options, you can choose to either stop the project to avoid emergency spending or ask your client for extra money to cover the cost of your new work.  If you can, get a third party member to evaluate the situation to get an objective view on what the next course of action should be.

Problem #3: Your workers and clients keep coming up with changes and improvements

Your main builder insists that they know a better way to build even though it deviates from your current plan, and your client keeps changing their mind about what features they want in their home.  In situations like this, you'll need to use your best judgment.  If the suggested changes don't do anything to change the overall design, than you can feel free to okay them.  If your client insists on making more changes, politely explain that their suggestions will take longer to construct and that it'll add extra time and money to your building schedule and their budget.  As long as they understand that they'll have to pay extra money and that the project will take longer to finish, feel free to follow their new instructions.