Residential service companies provide more than skilled labor. A plumbing and heating technician is given a sacred trust when he or she enters the home of a valued customer. The customer’s home is their castle and they’re only concern is satisfaction. When a plumber conveys too much information to a customer, this is called editorializing. Editorializing occurs when a technician shares too much information. This extra information adds no value, and it detracts from customer satisfaction. What does this have to do with sex? Keep reading.

A quick example of editorializing is what happens when a plumber arrives late due to confusion among office personnel about the residential customer’s address. Telling the customer that he is late because “the girls at the office gave him the wrong address” is more than the customer needs to know. In addition, it tarnishes the company’s reputation.

While it’s true that the office made a mistake, customers don’t need to hear this. Likewise, when replacing a faucet a well-meaning plumber would be editorializing by complimenting the customer for replacing their old and inferior faucet. Bravado and pretension can easily backfire, especially if one of the plumber’s counterparts installed the older faucet a few years back. The customer, latches on to the word “inferior” and wonders why they paid top dollar for sub-par equipment and this can easily result in a phone call to the plumbing company owner.

“Your employee just told me you guys installed an inferior faucet the last time. I demand a refund.” Says the customer as the company owner winces and struggles to explain that his company only installs quality equipment.

Editorializing occurs when a technician shares too much information.

Customers hear what they want to hear. Every word and nuance conveyed by a plumber can be twisted around and misinterpreted. Bravado will not always yield the desired result.

Upon entering a customer’s home, a technician might ask a residential customer, “Where is the hot water heater?” or other related questions regarding the equipment. In the customer’s mind, there exists a congruity between the question and the purpose of the service call.

The students in my seminar were privy to a real-time customer service lesson; namely that sex, arousal and service don’t mix. Customers will make assumptions based on behavior and since the customer is always right – technicians don’t stand a chance.

Customer hear what they want to hear!

“How Old is Your Daughter?” is a question that caused some grief for Tony, a young technician in a customer service training seminar. He admitted that during a service call, his stable relationship with a customer was broken when the customer’s attractive teenage daughter aroused his curiosity and he asked, “How old is your daughter?” The customer’s subsequent behavior made it apparent to Tony that this was a big mistake.

Fortunately for Tony, he wasn’t fired. His boss used this event to train and mentor Tony about his role in someone else’s home. Did Tony learn his lesson? You bet.