BAD MANNERS IN BUSINESS

This is a bit of a rant so forgive me!

Over the past several months, I have been asked by various people to give them a consultation on my services and charges. Generally I spend 2 -3 hours with an individual and in that time they advise me on what they require, take me around to the various properties that they wish to have managed. At the end of the consult, they commit to letting me know within a week if they would like to hire my service.

I have never in 28 years ever charged for this. Call me insane but I have always taken the perspective that if they do hire me all things work out.

Well, living where I do, I must say that I have never have had the displeasure of meeting so many sneaky, dishonest, irresponsible people such as I have had in the past several months.

The last situation involved a person who on the face of things appeared reputable. Ah yes DG, the ever optimistic person that you are - was fooled again! After spending upwards of 3 hours with this gentlement in various phone conversations, emails and an on site consultation, with the committment that he would ring me within the week at the end of this meeting I was unpleasantly "rewarded" -

Imagine my surprise when I received my weekly newsletter from our local Chamber, introducing the new management team that this man hired!

To clarify, I am not upset that he chose another - one must choose appropriately and I had advised this gentleman that I didn't think I was the person for him, yet he asked to meet me specifically to hire my service.

I had heard nothing back from him, but wasn't concerned as he had sent me an email stating that he had had a family emergency and would get back to me as soon as possible.

I abhore liars, and thieves. Because that is how I see it when someone calls you, distinctly leaves you with the sense that they are interested in hiring you, and then you find out that they have either hired someone else or they were simply trying to get information from you to rip you off from future business by undercutting your prices etc.

A woman in the town not far from me, who had been running her cleaning business for about 7 years when I met her, made this statement to me when I asked her if she was still enjoying what she did - " I am not going to continue next year. I am tired of being treated as a personal maid or cleaning slut!.

At the time I thought her response to be rather harsh, as I do enjoy what I do, and naturally assumed others did as well. Now, I think I understand how she feels.

The lack of respect accorded to me by these various dishonest individuals rankles me to the core. It is just amazing to me that these individuals demand services yet do not return the respect deserved.

Over that past couple of years, I have wavered about giving up this business that up until I moved to this area, loved deeply. There is no better reward for me that to know that I've made a client's day by having their home clean, organised and welcoming for them after a long hard day at work, or having guests walk into a welcoming accomodation, with them slipping in between lovely fresh crisp clean sheets at the end of a long drive.

Lately, I have been challenged to stay positive about this business. Perhaps it's because I live in a tourist based economic area, and people here are accustomed to hiring young people at $8/hr and working them hard. Traditionally that is the lot of a housekeeper who works within the hotel industry. Many of the resorts treat their staff shabbily and then wonder why they can't find new staff. This is happening everywhere, as more and more companys want IT workers or professionals, the money is better and the demands on one's body is nil.

I started my business at 19, riding my bicycle all over Vancouver with my backpack full of supplies and my vacuum cleaner. I showed up on time, I did my job properly, and within a week of starting my business, I had a full slate of clients!

Caring for a person's home, office, or revenue property is an honour to me. It involves trust and integrity. I have always been fortunate in establishing often long term relationships with my clients, that carry on long after they no longer require the service or I have moved away as I did 4 years ago. To this day, they will ring me to find out if I'm coming to visit and could I possibly fit them into my schedule.

There is a saying: Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me.

The last individual whom I mentioned above - I sent him an email with my invoice for my regular charges. He may never pay it, but it gave me satisfaction to make my point. My time is valuable. I expect respect because I give respect. Nothing complicated there.

The ones previous to him, know they did wrong. When they see me in public, they lower their eyes and look away. They lied to me, and they know I know they lied to me. Karma will look after them.

When I hear that people are having a hard time finding a good home care professional, I don't wonder why anymore. I know from my own experience that if a home care professional is treated with respect and regard, the chances of a long term relationship are very high. If however, those essential values are missing, you will only get what you deserve, and eventually, word gets around and no one will want to provide their services to you for any amount of money.

It really boils down to good manners. When I was a recruitment manager for a large company in the UK, we responded to every single application we received. It was only respect for the time taken by an applicant to choose our company to work with, and it was only respect that that should be acknowledged. More and more, I hear of people who have waited weeks to hear back when they've been promised a callback either way and never hear a thing. It's just plain out RUDE!

28 years of experience and a good reputation is priceless in this industry/profession. In future, I won't be as generous and I will state my charges for a consultation. If they decline, fair enough. I'm better off.

Electricians, plumbers, mechanics ... where would we be without them. And where would the industry be without those of us who strive to care for your property, staying abreast of the latest trends in flooring, carpeting, furniture fabrics so as to maintain your investment properly.

Thanks for listening!