Right before Christmas we had a leak in our top floor bathroom that trickled down into the main floor. Even just the small amount of water (a couple gallons that collected over a few days time) caused unreal damage.
Since then, a remediation team has come out and tore up floors, walls, and ceilings to dry everything out.
If you’ve ever dealt with something like this before, you know that besides the inconvenience of being down a few bathrooms, dealing with insurance and contractors is much worse.
For weeks we were told “You’ll get this tomorrow” or “We’ll call you back this afternoon”, and we’d hear nothing.
I went along with it and played nice for as long as I could.
Frustrated and cold (from the open wall in my basement and the freezing temperatures outside), I finally snapped and started hounding everyone involved.
Like magic, the insurance claim was approved, the contractors were on site, and things were finally moving forward.
But, the thing is… no one came out of this happy.
The contractors aren’t getting a glowing review, we’re shopping for a new insurance company, and I’m sure both parties will be relieved to get rid of a client who turned into a total pain in the ass.
This whole thing has been a humbling reminder of how easy it is to take the good clients for granted.
The agreeable, patient clients trust us to do the right thing and give us the space to do it. But if they feel ignored or undervalued, eventually they’ll snap (like I did). By the time that happens, the damage is done and it’s too late to fix.
Then you’re left with only the jerks, who are never going to appreciate you no matter how many hoops you jump through.
Everytime we prioritize the squeaky wheels at the expense of our best clients, we risk losing the only ones that make this work worth doing.
— Kyle
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