What happened during the pandemic is that a lot of people installed pools as they couldn’t leave their homes. So, pool companies as a result have gotten very busy.
Being very shortsighted, they figure this will go on forever. But like most things, at some point their business will slow down and they will regret not having been more helpful and responsive. After all, turning away customers and clients is never a good business decision.
Now, I understand how hard it is to hire people these days. But my thought is this: rather than push away and alienate prospective customers, pay your help more as the market requires you to. One pool company told me they couldn’t even come out for two weeks and gave me a price to take care of the pool. But as the pool hadn’t been used in a couple of years, I wanted the guy to look before just charging. It didn’t really matter, as he never got back to me.
So say you were paying an employee of your pool company X dollars a week, pay them more. Maybe you won’t be making huge profits, but you will be building up your business during a very difficult economic time in history. Because you are in demand, you can certainly charge higher prices as the market warrants. But to service all these new customers, you will have to pay employees a good wage, plain and simple.
As someone who does a lot of tasks himself, I learned long ago that you can’t do everything yourself. So, when I have new business opportunities, I don’t turn them away, I hire people, many times on a project-by-project basis. By using good people, I can get more work done and my bottom line is improving all the time. Like the pool companies, sometimes I must pay more than I would like, but I always try to take a long view in business. I realize that by taking on clients who will be with me for the long-haul, in the end I am making a smart business decision.
And isn’t that what running a small business is all about, making the best decision for your company and its employees?
“To earn the respect (and eventually love) of your customers, you first have to respect those customers. That is why Golden Rule behavior is embraced by most of the winning companies.”
~ Colleen Barrett, Southwest Airlines President Emerita
Luckily, the story does have a happy ending. After weeks of trying, I found a company that came right out and gave an estimate, then came back the next day and started work. I will give them a great Google review and help their business. They will also get referrals for me, unlike these other companies were busy and wouldn’t even come out.
Treat other people the way you want to be treated, that will ensure you’re in business for a long time and successful. The fastest way to alienate people is by not responding to phone calls and emails, and refusing to come out and even estimate a job.
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