Seeing the relief on a client's face changed how I handle touch-up work

I used to just fix small paint chips without telling the owner, thinking it saved time. Then a customer thanked me for pointing out a nearly invisible scratch I found during prep. Now I always show them all the damage first, even if it's minor. It turns out people really appreciate the honesty, and it cuts down on complaints later.

4 comments

4 Comments

jamesf293mo ago

Being honest early saves you both time and stress later on.

nancyjones3mo ago

Seen this play out so many times where people avoid the hard talk early. Ends up making everything way messier later, like @jamesf29 said. I mean, it's just harder to clean up once the small stuff piles up.

jamesf292mo ago

Sometimes honesty just makes things worse.

quinn_burns3mo ago

Totally agree that being honest early saves time and stress. I learned that the hard way when I had to tell a friend I couldn't help them move last minute. It was awkward for like five minutes, but telling the truth right away meant they could find someone else and we didn't have that weird tension. If I had made up an excuse or waited, it would have just gotten worse. What's a situation where being upfront helped you out?