I can’t believe these things need to be said. But they do.
Tip 1: If you are a guest in someone’s house and you damage, deface, or break something in or on that person’s house, tell the person.
This applies whether you are present as part of a social gathering or as someone hired to perform work. For example, if you break off pieces of the siding of someone’s house, alert the owner of the house that this has happened. Especially if the manner in which the siding has been broken will allow rain to seep behind the siding. This is particularly urgent if rain is coming soon. And if you have exterior caulk in your possession, offer to caulk the broken area to help prevent water infiltration.
Tip 2: If a customer is expressing a concern, calmly discuss the concern with the goal of understanding the concern and finding a resolution.
Do not endlessly repeat how many five-star reviews you have and how great your work is. Instead, deal with the concerns and issues that have been raised. The customer does not care how other people rated their experiences. She is only concerned with her situation.
Bonus tip: If you fail to calmly discuss the concern with the customer, when you see her the following day choose a greeting other than, “Are you feeling better today?”
Tip 3: If you have been entrusted to perform work in someone’s home while that person is not there, lock the door when you leave.
Most doorknobs of exterior doors can be locked using a turn button on the interior knob and then pulled shut. It is a good idea to check with the owner of the house whether or not she expects you to lock the house when leaving. But locking a house should be the default action, rather than surprising the homeowner with an unlocked house when she arrives home many hours later.
Tip 4: If you have been given the task of resolving a customer complaint, read the documentation submitted by the customer before contacting that customer.
Do not simply call the customer and ask what the issue is. If a customer has spent a tremendous amount of time documenting problems, she expects that the person assigned to resolve her hellish situation will have read the documentation she submitted to corporate Customer Service by their 7-day deadline. By not reading the documentation before contacting the customer, you are simply wasting more of her time.
Bonus tip: Addressing a customer who has raised a series of serious issues as “Hey Melissa…” in a voicemail is not appropriate.