“You don’t have the plywood I like.”
At that point, Nick, punch-drunk from the complaints, was ready to promise anything just to finally get an order. He agreed to bring in a few units of whatever plywood Mike wanted.
Finally, Mike gave us an order. And no one was surprised when things didn’t go well. The delivery was made “too early” (that’s right—too early), the lumber was stacked “too high,” and the plywood “looked funny” (we don’t know what that last one means, either).
The only thing he didn’t complain about was the price, which was at a razor-thin margin. By the time we handled all the complaints, I couldn’t imagine it was a profitable job.
A little research confirmed the suspicion. We made twice as much money in a month selling Mike a few boards and a little hardware every morning than we did selling him the large framing load.
So Nick stopped calling on Mike in the field, and we let go of our desire to win more of his business. Mike still visits us nearly every morning, we endure his grumbles, and the day continues from there.
The answer: “Let It Be.”
Tad Troilo is a manager for Cranmer’s Kitchens by Design in Yardley, Pa. 215.493.8600. E-mail: TadNT@aol.com
