Five Stars

A past client called me this week to discuss an issue with his house. To start the conversation, he referenced my 4 ½ and 5-star reviews online. “Obviously,” he says, “you do good work.” You can guess what comes next. “But…” Then, the client started in on why I hadn’t earned a 5-star review with him. My response? Anger, fear, frustration, and denial. Ok, add blame to that list. I immediately thought about Uber. If you are a user, you know that we get to rate the driver’s performance. The cool thing about Uber is that the driver also gets to rate the rider. Can you imagine if you were able to rate your clients and customers?! Take a minute and rate your current clients. The results are very telling.

Before you find too much pleasure in rating your clients and customers, consider one thing.  Your rating of them has very much to do with the systems and models you use to service them.  More importantly, your attitude affects the relationship more than any other thing.  If everyone on your client list is a 3, what is that saying about you?  Seriously, if every client is “one of those,” then the problem is with you!  What would it take to rate every client a 5?  When I look at my own world, I know that it means I need to slow down.  That means taking the time to listen and, more importantly, respond.  I’ll bet you everything I have that when I do, I will like them. It’s the action that we take that gives us the opportunity to rate them a 5.

I think Abraham Lincoln said it best.  When encountering difficulty with people, he responded by saying “I do not like that man.  I must get to know him better.”  He knew that the real problem was in his own heart. Rather than blaming the other for a poor relationship, he took responsibility. When we do the same, we get good things.