Communication is the key to satisfied customers

Good communication takes many forms. A clear contract with detailed specs get a project off on the right foot. Our agreements detail every facet of material and labor that goes into the project; where there is a product included (such as a sink, faucet or window), there is a color image of that product next to the written description. We want everyone to know what was purchased so there can be no confusion during installation. To be even clearer, we have a paragraph at the beginning of the specifications (initialed by the clients) that says “everything you are getting and paying for is written below. If it is not written here, you have not paid for it and it is not included.” While this may seem redundant, good communication often means stating and then re-stating the obvious.

Once the project is underway, there is no such thing as over-communication — you cannot take things for granted. We recently re-learned this lesson with a new project manager. He presented an everything-is-under-control impression. In meetings and in discussions things generally seemed to be smooth and trouble-free. In reality, this person was overwhelmed, but was reticent to tell anyone. He was falling behind in his daily duties, yet because he was very likable, everyone assumed the best. It was not until we began seeing poor scores from clients on our final satisfaction surveys — we have historically received high scores — that we knew there was a problem.

We were able to track back each poorly scored survey to this one project manager and realized, through subsequent investigation, that a majority of the problems stemmed from insufficient communication. He was not responding to lead carpenters, subcontractors or clients in a timely manner (or at all), which resulted in poorly run projects and, ultimately, disgruntled clients.

Keep in mind, our prior systems had always led to very high client satisfaction rates. But our system was not well-designed for an aberrant employee. In the past, we have worked on a basis of trust with our employees, and going forward this will not change. However, especially with new employees, we will trust AND verify. Systemically, we are planning to add an interim client check-in survey.

Where are the chinks in your armor? Every company in business has ways in which the communication process can break down. Take a break from the day-to-day and look over your systems and processes. Where can the ball be dropped? Fixing systemic problems and setting clear expectations with your people will make employees happy and clients elated.