Help Your Clients Prepare For and Deal With Remodeling Fatigue
Even if everything has been going well so far on the project, after about 6 weeks your clients are likely to experience what I call remodeling fatigue. They’re just sick and tired of the disruption to their home, their normal family schedule and their lives. And, if they’re not aware of remodeling fatigue, it could happen to them and affect your team well before the typical six week mark.
Living through the experience of remodeling your home is not easy. As creatures of habit its only human nature that remodeling customers get worn out and worn down by the normal remodeling process. If you have ever remodeled your own home you and your family have probably already experienced this condition. However there are several ways you can help customers get prepared for, delay and deal with the onset of remodeling fatigue. A page on your website and or a blog about this topic can help you advice prospects and clients about this condition.
Help them get mentally prepared: Let them know what to expect they will live through while the construction is under way. Tell them about things that might affect them like the noise, the dust, shutting off their water, change orders and the decisions that come with final selections and unanticipated challenges. Just as a doctor would do with patients regarding medications, a good remodeler will warn clients that it is likely there might be side effects experienced during the remodeling process. By doing so clients can recognize the warning signs so they will be able to mentally and physically adjust. Also, my experience was that by discussing these realities in advance, the fatigue might not set in as early, or at least would not be as significant, as early, as it might be if my team had not warned them.
Help them get physically prepared: Living through the remodeling process can be much easier with some preparation. For example, remind customers they will not be able to cook while you remodel their kitchen. Suggest they consider cooking and freezing easy to microwave meals and or collect take out menus before you start their kitchen renovation. Some remodelers have told me they actually provide their clients recipe books and or a collection of local restaurant menus to help with this. If you are renovating their only bathroom as part of a project, ask how they plan to deal without a toilet for a few days or more. They may not have even thought about such realities. Maybe you or they can even set up temporary spaces to tide them over until they get their homes and their lives back.
Earning good online customer reviews and referrals for new projects has more to do with the experience your team provides customers than the work they perform. If you manage their expectations you’re more likely to exceed them and delay the onset of remodeling fatigue.
