It might be a review. It might be a social media post. You read where a technician disparages you publicly, usually about pricing. Your blood is boiling and you want to lash out. DO NOT DO IT! Recently Contracting Business Hall of Fame contractor, Ken Goodrich outlined how you should handle this situation.
Start by finding out where the technician works. This shouldn’t be too hard today. Then print what he wrote. Show up at the contractor’s office and ask for the owner.
If the receptionist or call taker plays gatekeeper and asks why, explain that an employee of the company was making negative comments online about your business and you want to know if the owner has a problem with you or your company.
When you sit down with the owner, Ken says, “Show the post to the owner and ask, 'Do we have a problem that I am unaware of?' Of course the owner will say no and offer to have the tech take it down.”
Sounds good, but Ken recommends going one step further. He suggests meeting with the owner the next morning and having the owner call the tech into the office. Ken says, “Have the owner show the post, and council the tech that defaming a competitor is defaming his own company and the industry as a whole.”
“Be nice and use this as a teaching moment,” continued Ken, “and have a meaningful discussion with the tech about pricing is based on many factors, explain a few and tell him as he becomes more experienced, he will understand.”
Ken says he’s done this multiple times. At least three times, the tech he called out eventually applied for a position with his company. “They felt respected even in the face of an error,” noted Ken.
Ken’s method is not to get mad, but to educate. Smart. Anytime anyone from the trade publicly derides a contractor, the entire trade takes a hit. Consumers lump contractors together.
Buy Matt Michel’s new book, “Contractor Stories” on Amazon. See him speak at the Service World Expo in October.