Pool service people meet all kinds of personalities in their line of work. Some are easy to work with; others not so much. Average customers are pleasant to deal with, but unfortunately very rare in the pool business.
Continuing on from a previous post, here are a few more of the other types of customers encountered by pool workers on a regular basis.
The Retiree
Retirees are the bane of pool technicians’ lives. Within minutes of your arrival on their property, they will find you and not leave your side throughout the entire service call. The difficulty is that, while they are exceptionally nice in most cases and as friendly as can be, they are as slow as frozen molasses and very frail.
These customers seem to spend most of their days hoping for some component of their pool to break so that they can schedule a service call and spend the day entertaining the service technician with stories of their youth.
The Widow
The widow wants the pool worker to know how overwhelmed she is with the pool and will require constant hand-holding through even the most simple pool care and maintenance task. She is likely to closely scrutinize any work estimates provided and monitor the technician’s work from an upstairs window with the blinds closed.
Patience and gentleness is required when working with the widow, as she will likely improve with time to develop into either a perfectionist or an average customer.
The New Guy
The new guy is completely lost and will complain about problems such as the filter tripping the electrical breaker or the pump pressure being too high or too low. He will ask the same questions every time he talks to a pool technician but won’t listen to the answers given.
Writing down information may help to deal with the new guy. He is likely to call and complain even when he can’t remember which of the 30 pool companies actually came out and did the work.
The Ghost
No one has ever seen a ghost customer because they are never at home, day or night, weekend or weekday. They schedule all service calls via email and like to pay their bills online or by cheque. Ghost customers are wonderful because service technicians never have any distractions or voicemails to return.
The Hard-Ass
This type of pool owner is always yelling at the service technician. The hard-ass may have had a bad experience with another pool company or possibly a difficult childhood and they feel justified in yelling at people because of it.
The service technician will still be expected to perform the work, even while this customer is still yelling and nearly purple with fury. A service technician must resist the urge to beat this customer to death at all costs, as this will reflect poorly on his company.
The Handyman
Pool technicians are advised to wear safety glasses at all times when working on or around a pool belonging to a handyman. Long hair should be kept tied back and long pants and sleeves are recommended because a handyman will attempt to repair his pool with whatever materials he has on hand.
Extreme caution is the key to avoid being injured while trying to interact with “modified” pool equipment. Handymen are very likely to complain about ridiculous prices.
The Unicorn
This rare and majestic customer is inclined to offer various foods and refreshments. Some will even prepare fresh baked goods in anticipation of a service call. If a service technician encounters a unicorn, he would be well-advised to over prompt and friendly service and say, “yes please, that would be great!”
A unicorn rarely complains about the service, which may be due in part to the fact that a pool owner that bakes fresh cookies has never, ever received poor service.