As I sat down to write this column, I received an email from one of my readers. It’s always good to get feedback about what I preach. And I am grateful for the comments I receive; more than 99% are always positive. Occasionally, I get negativity from some misanthropic and know-it-all contractor who doesn’t understand the proper and profitable way to run a successful PHC business.  

In life, each of us needs to know that we are doing the right thing. I believe that we humans are destined, by God, to do what we do. The timing of this email reaching me as I was just about to pen my words for this column makes me think that someone above wanted me to consider sharing this email. So here it is.

“I was looking at your article in the June 2025 edition of PHC News (http://bit.ly/4lVXhVC) and it struck a chord with me.

“We have been sending our surveys to our customers for years; I have attached an exact copy of what we send. It mirrors your recommendations, almost to a tee. We take all the comments seriously because I think there is always room for improvement.

“The bad ones go on our ‘bad wall’ and the issues are discussed amongst all the crews. The good ones go out in our front lobby, pasted on the wall for all to see; techs get a reward for these. There is even a small reward for the customer who returns one; it doesn’t cost that much.

“As far as timing, we have found that if our techs try to leave a copy on site, they don’t get filled out (or returned), so we send them out about one week later. This also gets our name in front of the customer once again.

“I read your articles all the time and get a lot of benefit from them. Thank you for your insights, interesting articles and recommendations each month.”

‘Bad ones’

Wow! That was very nice and greatly appreciated. On the next page is the information that my surveys ask consumers to complete. The reason it doesn’t show business information such as company name, address, etc., is because it is excerpted from my book “Solutions Management Theories and Methods for the Contracting Business.” It is an example that contractors can use in setting up their own surveys; they can supply their own business info.

I perused the sample that the writer of the email sent and his was similar.

Regarding what the writer calls “bad ones” in describing consumer feelings, I feel that since everyone has their own opinions, and I was asking for their input, it is wise to consider the source from which those opinions originated in order to determine whether my business was doing something that should be adjusted, or if I was just reading the comments of one of those people who could never be pleased by any caliber of service.

Fortunately for my business, the accolades we received from consumers filling out the surveys overwhelmingly surpassed the less than 1% of our bad ones. That brings to mind the words of Abraham Lincoln regarding not being able to please everyone all the time.

People’s opinions in the surveys as to whether they regarded our service as good or bad was not as important to me since more than 99% of our clientele perceived our services to be outstanding or excellent.

Dealing with CFH

However, avoiding the Consumers From Hell (CFH) – was extremely important to me. They consume more of a business’s resources than the other 99% of consumers. They do nothing but cause aggravation, stress and frustration.

CFH give others a false perception of the fantastic service a business actually provides because they are misanthropic and selfish people who dislike anyone – especially those who are taking their money for the services they requested.

CFH members write disparaging letters full of falsehoods to licensing agencies, better business bureaus and whomever they think, in their warped little false and convoluted minds, would be able to harm the businesses they are complaining about.

Some CFH members actually try to sue businesses in small claims court. 

My business was sued in small claims court four times in more than four decades of conducting business. My intent was to deliver excellence to consumers while recovering our true cost of those services and earning a reward for that excellence. 

In each case, the amount we charged for excellent services was less than $800; one was for $325. In addition, the consumers found a price – lower than what we charged – from a contractor who was not available when the consumer wanted the services performed. That was the premise of their lawsuits.

Those surveys played a part in my successful defense of those absurd charges.

And, in each case, the CFH member lost his suit. You might be thinking that I lost some customers, but that’s OK. I was willing to let them go and make the lives of one of my competitors hellish while I could expend my resources dealing with good consumers who appreciated how we took care of them.  

Each of those CFH consumers was given the prices of the tasks they requested before we performed the service. Each authorized us to perform those services at the agreed price before we commenced service. And each of those CFH consumers filled out sur-veys giving my firm outstanding praise for our excellence, as well as claiming that the services provided were comfortable their satisfaction.

It seems to me that the only people guilty of wrongdoing were those CFH members who had difficulty fulfilling their obligations under the contract that both they and we agreed to before commencement of service.

As a matter of fact, one judge laughed when he perused the survey that one of those CFH plaintiffs filled out. They gave us all excellent ratings and claimed they would use our firm again. They even claimed our charges were “about right.”

After the judge laughed, he looked at me and jokingly said that he didn’t think they would be using us again.

Consumer codes

Properly documented paperwork and honest, legal and moral business procedures help deliver excellence to consumers and deal with the ludicrous actions of the CFH.

To differentiate great consumers from bad consumers, while understanding that many consumers fall in the middle of those two extremes, I suggest implementing a code based on the colors of a traffic light – always giving consumers the benefit of the doubt.

Great consumers and those who are on their way to being great consumers can be color-coded green. Green designates full speed ahead. As long as you deliver excellence, these consumers will always be satisfied.

Those who are in between the extremes can be color-coded yellow. They may be new consumers or consumers you do not have a read on yet. A yellow light indicates cau-tion. If you deliver excellence, most of this category will become green-coded consumers.

The CFH who have caused you problems – the ones you want to avoid – should be color-coded red.

In closing, my thanks to the contractor who wrote that beautiful email that prompted this column.