The $30 phone call that saved my flooring business from a bad review

Last month a customer in Phoenix threatened to leave a bad review because I didn't clean up sawdust from her driveway. I called her to talk it through and she admitted she was stressed about a family thing. I went back and swept the whole area for free and she ended up tipping me $30. Has anyone else had a problem customer turn into your best referral after a simple phone conversation?

2 comments

2 Comments

rodriguez.diana13d ago

Agreed with everything you said, @laura_black31. Most of the time people just want to know you respect them enough to pick up the phone. I've been in business for 15 years and I've learned that a bad review is rarely about the sawdust or the mistake itself. It's always about feeling ignored or dismissed by the person you paid. That customer would have posted that review if you'd just sent a text or an email instead of calling her directly. You handled it perfectly, and I bet she remembers that phone call more than she remembers the mess in the driveway.

laura_black3113d ago

Love that story. It's wild how a quick five minute chat can flip everything around when someone's already mad. All she needed was to feel heard, and you got a tip and probably a lifelong customer out of it. Most people just want to know you give a damn, not some grand gesture.