Dealing with an upset client

Construction is a tough sport.  You need to have lots of thick skin to make it in this game, BUT when it comes to dealing with an upset client here are some guidelines to keep in mind to represent the culture of this company in every situation. 

Keep in mind that most clients have no idea what it really takes to put together a successful project. They have no clue about the countless late night hours and early morning fires that we put out on a daily basis.  

They have hired us as their construction manager and rightly so.  We are good at what we do.  

But, all of that aside, when a client is upset, the worst thing we could do would be to shove things in their face about how much we do for them or about any of their shortfalls or mistakes they have made along the way. 

We've had foreign clients that did not understand a single thing about common curtesy in the American culture.  The client would consistently show up 2.5 hours late to every meeting (if at all) and failed to provide us ANY information about how he wanted his project built.  How can we paint if we don't know what color he wants??  etc. etc.

He would repeatedly threaten to "terminate the contract" because his last contractor left him hanging and he was afraid we would do the same.  I assured him over and over that we will not leave him hanging and that we will address every concern he had if he would just tell us what his concerns were.  His concerns of course were absurd, but I calmly explained the situation and offered him his best options and did everything I could possibly do to communicate to him that he can trust us.

Although some clients can start acting like little infants, we don't ever treat them as such!

Respect and PATIENCE are the keys to a successful client relationship. 

As a part of the team, you are expected to uphold these values with every communication, even when you want to explode with frustration, take a breath, swallow your pride and handle it with integrity.