Difficult people and situations

Identifying the troublemakers

Let’s face it, not everyone you work for will be amenable. Some will be downright rude. Others will complain regardless of what you do for them. They will constantly berate you for overcharging, and waste your time and energy with their incessant whingeing. This latter group, the troublemakers, pose a serious threat to your business and you must do everything you possibly can to avoid them. Not only if allowed will they destroy your confidence, but also make you unnecessarily wary of everyone else. Pretty soon you’ll find that you’ll be adopting a ‘trust no one’ philosophy, which is not helpful when you’re trying to build a business.

I’m unable to give you a sure-fire way of recognising potential troublemakers, but in my opinion potential clients who demonstrate the following characteristics should either be treated with caution or avoided at all costs.

• Argumentative to the point of being offensive about how much you’re proposing to charge them.
• Start listing all the gardeners they’ve had over the past few months, years etc, telling you how useless they all were and expressing doubt that you’ll be any better.
• Promises of lots of future work provided you do today’s job for next to nothing.
• Are downright unpleasant and nasty when you visit them.

The good news is that these people are very much in a minority. Most people who hire a gardener or landscaper do so with the very best intentions, and will be most agreeable provided of course your work is up to standard and you treat them with respect. But they do exist. You may attract more of these people when you start because they have such bad reputations amongst other tradespersons they cannot find anyone else willing to work for them, which means being constantly on the lookout for newcomers.

My strategy for dealing with these people is as follows:

• If you find yourself in a potential client’s garden haggling over the price, or being accused of ‘daylight robbery’, then politely walk away.
• Under no circumstances argue with them, or anyone for that matter. You’re a professional. People like these love nothing better than an argument.
• There’s nothing wrong with deciding that you don’t want to work for someone. Usually it’s only when you get to meet the person for the first time that you can make any sort of informed decision. If you don’t like what you see, or your gut instinct tells you this will be more trouble than it’s worth, then walk way. Either tell them that you cannot do what they’re asking or that you’re too busy. But whatever you do, don’t leave them under the impression that you’ll get back to them with a price. Not only is this unprofessional, but it will lead to all sorts of problems with never-ending telephone correspondence.

Handling complaints

At some point you will receive a complaint from someone. I say someone, because often the person who will make a complaint is not actually your client, but a third party.

• This could be a neighbour annoyed because your van is parked on the road outside his property and not the property you’re working at.
• A complaint because someone felt that you’ve either taken too much or too little off a boundary hedge.
• A passer-by irate that you haven’t yet swept up the hedge trimmings, despite the fact that you have only just begun cutting.
• Someone complaining about the noise of your equipment. This is not as uncommon as you’d think. Lots of people work night duty, and as someone who has done so in the past, there is nothing worse than being woken up in the middle of a much-needed sleep by the buzzing of a strimmer, hedge trimmer or chainsaw.

Positive action

The way you handle all complainers is vital to your overall success. If you manage to annoy everyone in the neighbourhood, it’s a fair bet that you won’t be invited to return to do anyone else’s garden. There’s also the stress factor. Nothing is worse than having to work in an unhappy environment.

If you find that you are the subject of a number of complaints from the clients you are working at, you must listen to what they’re telling you:

• Are they all complaining about the same thing?
• You must find ways of resolving things. This can only be achieved by actively listening to what they’re telling you.

One afternoon I was sitting on the top of a tall conifer hedge, clipping the tops, when a voice from below bellowed: ‘Oi, you son, what do you think you’re doing?’

I looked down to find an elderly man standing in the middle of the pavement waving his stick up at me.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he roared again.

Resisting the temptation to be unpleasant, I pointed out the obvious and told him that I was cutting the tops of the conifer hedging as I’d been instructed to do by the owner.

‘And what are you going to do about these?’ He shouted, scattering a bunch of clippings with his walking stick. When I told him that I’d be sweeping them up in due course, he wasn’t satisfied.

’That’s not much good to me now,’ he shouted back. ‘I could have fallen and injured myself on these while you’re up there in the clouds not caring. I’d be suing you y‘know.’

Anxious to avoid any unnecessary confrontation and spontaneous litigation action, I climbed down from the trees, and in an effort to pacify him, began sweeping up the clippings, even though I knew more would fall on exactly the same area once I resumed cutting. However, it did the trick. He was appeased, told me what a lovely job I was doing to the trees and how happy he’d be for me to come and do his, which wasn’t exactly the invite I was hoping for.

Lessons learnt

While this man’s initial approach had done little for my temper, I managed not to lose my cool. Rather than concentrate on him and his attitude, I concentrated on what he was telling me. His message was clear:

• The pavement was in a dangerous state as a result of my clippings and branches lying everywhere.
• Were someone to have injured themselves, either by being hit by a falling branch or tripping on the foliage, I was responsible.
• We’re living in an increasingly litigious society where law firms actively encourage anyone who has so much has snubbed a toe on the pavement to sue for compensation. Unwittingly, I was leaving myself open to being sued.

I thanked him for his input. Now whenever I’m cutting a hedge that is likely to fall onto the pavement, I put up warning signs and sweep up regularly as I go. This is what being professional is all about.

One of the most common causes of complaint is that you have either misinterpreted your client’s instructions or they have misunderstood what it is you said you would do.

It is therefore vital that prior to starting a job you:

• Discuss fully and be as specific as you can about what you are going to do.
• When cutting hedges make sure you agree the exact height you will cut them down to. Nothing is more frustrating than, having spent a morning trimming a hedge you’re then told that you didn’t cut it down enough.
• Don’t cut down or remove any trees until you check first that you are legally allowed to. In many situations you will need to apply for planning permission first. If you’re the one who has cut something down, you’re the one who will be held liable. I’ve mentioned before that tree work is best left to suitably qualified tree surgeons. There are good reasons for this.
• Discuss with your client the impact the work might have on neighbours. Often you will need the co-operation of the neighbouring property if you are to trim a boundary hedge successfully, or complete some job that entails you visiting their property. Putting up fencing is one such job where it’s highly likely that you will have to stand in someone else’s garden. Make sure you have their permission before starting.

Some guidelines for handling complaints:

• Listen to what the person is telling you.
• Don’t interrupt them until they have finished.
• Try to resolve the complaint immediately, even if this means interrupting what you’re doing.
• The word sorry can go a long way. Don’t be afraid to use it as often as you need to.
• No matter how frivolous or even mischievous the complaint appears, losing your cool and entering into an argument won’t solve anything. Simply put whatever it is right if you can and, if you can’t, explain this to the complainant and then get on with whatever you were doing.
• When faced with a seemingly impossible complaint to resolve, tell the complainant that you will need their complaint in writing before responding further.
• If someone says that they intend taking legal action against you, request they put their complaint in writing. When you receive it, seek legal advice.

Complaints involving threats of legal action

No matter how frivolous and ridiculous the complaint may appear, if it is written by a solicitor on behalf of their client there are a number of things you should do straight away:

• Inform your insurance company and ask for their advice.
• You may find that within your business-banking package that you have access to free legal advice, if so this should be your first port of call.
• If you don’t have a solicitor, and your insurance company recommends that you contact one, find a law firm that handles business matters.

Motivation – keeping going

There is nothing more satisfying than breaking free from the past and leaving unhappiness behind. When you’ve reached this point and your business is up and running, you will need further goals and objectives to keep yourself going.

Good days and bad days

When your diary is full of work and you are working outdoors in brilliant sunshine with light cooling winds, energy levels are high, you are overflowing with enthusiasm and nothing will stop you from succeeding. But when there is more rain than sun, expenditure exceeds income and you feel you can no longer cope, this is the time when you owe it to yourself to continue with your venture at all costs.

When you can’t see the future

When I’m not gardening or working in the business, I like nothing more than to sail. Sailing is one of those pastimes where from the moment you arrive at your boat, to the time you disembark you are consumed with what you are doing.

There are tides to plan for, charts to navigate, seas to negotiate, instruments to check, bearings to take, sails to raise, trim, lower, adjust and often all this during abysmal weather and terrible seas. Non-sailors cannot imagine why anyone would want to spend their leisure time engaged in such wet and cold activities. But for those bitten by the sailing bug, no explanation is needed.

Rough seas are usually accompanied by bad weather, which makes everything difficult. Navigation can become a stomach-churning affair as you struggle to read a chart whilst being knocked about unmercifully. It is during these times that fair-weather sailors decide it’s not for them, when they can no longer enjoy calm waters and the reassuring sight of land they give up, return to shore and sell their boat. Dream over.

And so it is with many businesses that are run by their fair-weather proprietors who crave certainty.

Ten steps towards keeping your business on track:

• 1.Make sure you have a good business plan in place prior to starting.
• 2.If this is not the case, either revise the one you have, or write another.
• 3.Have a clear set of business and personal objectives.
• 4.Avoid negative people at all costs. Lots of people will enjoy nothing more than encouraging you to give up what you’re doing. Consciously make efforts to avoid them.
• 5.Be your own best friend.
• 6.You are what you think – negative thinking is a destructive habit. Work every day on building a positive frame of mind.
• 7.If you can’t work during periods of particularly bad weather, then make sure you enjoy your time off.
• 8.Always keep control of your business.
• 9.When things are most difficult, you must keep going. In the words of that famous song – don’t give up until it’s over.
• 10.Nothing is impossible – only difficult.

Your business plan

Use your business plan to pull you through any difficult times. Make sure that your plan includes your vision of a successful business and a successful self. If things are getting you down, reading positive images will pick you up.

• Work to achievable goals and targets.
• Nothing will frustrate you more than working to unachievable goals and deadlines.

Success means different things to different people. Your business plan must include a clear vision of what you’re hoping to achieve. This could mean working less hours so that you can spend more time with your family or a hobby, or perhaps another business. Or it could mean working as many hours as you possibly can to earn enough to repay a debt, save for the holiday of a lifetime, or whatever.

Case study

Gill works as a customer services agent for a mobile telephone company in a large call centre. She works five days a week, from 4pm to midnight, Sunday to Thursday. The unsocial hours mean that she has can only spend two evenings a week with her two young children. She often has difficulty sleeping, as there is no time for her to relax between finishing work and going to bed. When and if she does finally does get any sleep she is woken by the children, excited their mother is now home. The whole experience has left her tired and irritable. She realises that she cannot keep going as she is.

Gill discusses setting up her own gardening business with her husband Matt, who shares her enthusiasm. They both work out a business plan. Gill writes her ‘vision’ for her business. In it she highlights that her main reason for starting the business is that she can spend more quality time with her children without suffering any loss of earnings.

Gill has two motivating factors for starting her own business:

• Spend more time with her children.
• Earn sufficient to cover the loss of earnings caused by giving up her regular job.

These are two powerful objectives, which Gill has written into her plan. If she visits her business plan regularly, and particularly during any time she finds difficulty in continuing, she will be given some powerful reminders of why she started her business.

Self-motivation is crucial to your success. You cannot rely on either your clients, or even those closest for you, to do it for you. This is something that only you can do. Identify clearly why it is you’re starting your business. Be specific with your needs:

• I need to have more freedom
• I need to earn more
• I want a better way of life.

The 40-hour a week myth

I’ve never understood why we’re conditioned to work 40 hours a week. I believe that if company bosses told their work force that they could have every Monday off provided their work didn’t suffer, in the vast majority of cases work output would remain the same, if not enhanced. Obviously it wouldn’t work for every business or service, but I believe the majority of us could complete what we’re doing in four days as opposed to the mandatory five.

There is no rule that says you must garden 40 hours a week if you are to be successful. What your financial expectations are will determine how much time you will spend working. So don’t be afraid to work a four-day week if you can afford to do so. Just think what you can do with the rest of your time. The very nature of gardening as a business makes it ideal for both part-time or full-time operation. Choose whatever suits you.