Educated consumers................(hb)

corey

...who want to work with educated consumers is not as easy as the group happily riding along in this bus might expect.
Technical questions are often greeted with a "now don't worry your pretty little head about those details" kind of attitude. There is also the "I've been doing it this way for 35 years, and my grandfather did it this way too" contingent. This type has no patience for an educated consumer either, since they themselves have not kept their education current.

heatboy

Friend or Foe?

With all of the information available to consumers, do you look for clients who have tried to educate themselves on the project before they call you? Or, would you rather them know very little and bring them along yourself?

I want my clients to know what they want before ever finding me. As a matter of fact, I want them to talk to other contractors either before or after they meet me. That way, they can do the comparisons between me and my competitors. My best clients are the ones who know what they want, but are not sure how to get it. Naturally, if they hire me, they are not looking to go cheap. When it comes to competeing for projects, don't worry at all about the other guys, just the way you are being perceived by this particular client. Trust me, the budget thing will take care of itself.

Warm Regards,

heatboy

"Expert in Silent Warmth"™

610.250.9885

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[Deleted User]

Move over buddy...

I'm in the same boat as you. I prefer the educated consumer who knows what they want in the way of a final comfort system. I don't expect them to know the difference between VSI and four way valves, that's why they come to me.

I, like you, want them to check out my "competition".

Knowledge is power. A properly educated consumer wields a lot of power.

ME

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Mike Kraft

I sure hope

thats a bench seat and let me drive cuz I get car sick as a passenger:)

Sy Simms said it all.I'm with you 2!

cheese

Cosmo

Huh?

WHo is Sy Simms, and why are you in the passenger seat? Just kidding.... Yes, I am much more receptive to a customer who knows what he/she expects out of what I may be designing and installing for him/her, and is willing to learn about it before buying in to someone's salespitch. This way I can ask for more detailed info about how they use their home, etc. and the result is what my customer has been looking for- comfort, quality, and a responsible contractor who is always there to help. I LOVE these customers!
Casmo
Dependable P.H.C. Inc.

Mark Hunt

Educated


and informed customers are my favorite.

Sometimes I have had to help "uninform" them when someone has given them some wrong information like "radiant heat doesn't work under carpets or hardwood floors".

Letting them do the research and make the decision about how comfortable they want to be connects them directly to the whole project. That is important.

Mark H

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Paul Pollets

I find

that the consumer needs more education, regardless of what he's found. The goal is to define the budget with the goodies available, than sell the difference between you and the competition. If the prospect is still a suspect after your engagement, learn to qualify the time spent educating the world. Keep your "Tire-Kicker" radar handy and make use of it.

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hr

Education without

to many bad, internet "do it yourself" radiant habits! A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing The www has changed a lot of the way folks research and shop these days.

hot rod

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heatboy

Corey.........

are you a homeowner or contractor? This is interesting because if a contractor ever pulled that attitude with me, I would show him the door. It is the end user's duty, in my opinion, to ask enough questions to the point of being comfortable with the contractor. While there are some contractors that can sell ice cubes to Eskimos, they are relatively rare. Usually, the homeowner gets taken because he/she doesn't take an active enough part in qualifying his/her contractor.

Warm Regards,

heatboy

"Expert in Silent Warmth"™

610.250.9885

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heretic

Corey the consumer...

I'm the so-called 'educated consumer' in this scenario.

I am in complete agreement: Consumers often get poor results because they do not perform enough research or ask enough questions. A truth that extends beyond heating.

My point is that it can be [very] difficult to find a contractor who actually wants to work with an educated consumer (outside of your bus, of course).
Perhaps some contractors have even grown to expect that their customers are not knowledgeable, and act accordingly.
In searching for a contractor, I found it surprisingly difficult to find anyone who was interested in collecting enough information about the project to even understand what I was trying to accomplish.
After posing a couple of basic design questions, one contractor even stated "most people who call me just want heat". That's it. Binary- Heat or no heat.
"Mr Snow- I can delivery you heat for $5000". What, no fries? Now where is the art in that?

Mark J Strawcutter

other responses...

>Technical questions are often greeted with a "now don't
>worry your pretty little head about those details" kind of
>attitude. There is also the "I've been doing it this way
>for 35 years, and my grandfather did it this way too"
>contingent.

There is also "are you some sort of engineer?" - which I initially took as a complement but have since learned is anything but :-)

Mark

Mark Hunt

Mr.Snow


is a good contractors dream. He did his research and KNEW what he wanted. I wish I could tell you what this man went through to get a contractor that would perform the job, much less even quote the job he specified.

Mr.Snow's experience should be written down and passed out to every contractor. He experienced first hand the "cheese burger, no fries, chips" mentallity that is so pervasive in our industry.

Corey, I am very glad to have been able to assist you and I am even more flattered that you considered me as a source.

You know where to find me if you ever need to!!


Mark H

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corey

A certain irony

Mr. Hunt knows the whole long story...
There is a certain irony in this, since it is indicative of the fact that I got more usable help in designing my system from Mark and some other kind folks on this board simply out of the goodness of their hearts(meaning gratis, thank you, thank you), than from the bulk of the contractors who stood to actually benefit directly from helping me (one very notable exception here- and you know who you are). In the end, I did not get the design or quality of workmanship I was looking for.

Mark J Strawcutter

more ironic than you know (nm)