Among the many questions a young technician might ask a residential customer, first might be, "Where is the thermostat?" or something else related to the equipment. In the customer’s mind, there exists a congruity between the question and the purpose of the service call. When the customer’s expectation and the service delivery are congruous the relationship is stable so that rapport can develop.

The title of this article, however, features a question that caused some grief for Tony, a young technician in one of my recent customer service training sessions. He admitted that during a service call his relationship with the customer was stable and their attractive teenage daughter aroused his curiosity so he asked, “How old is your daughter?” The customer’s subsequent behavior made it apparent that their relationship had spiraled downward to instability.

We were all able to laugh about it during the training, but Tony made it abundantly clear there was nothing to laugh about when he returned to the shop. Customers will make assumptions based on our behavior and since the customer is always right, we don’t stand a chance.

In terms of verbal communication, the errant “daughter” question was an example of editorializing, in which too much information made things worse. When a service professional editorializes they are usually conveying information that contributes nothing to customer satisfaction.

The “Less is More” paradigm applies in most business communication. Especially when you consider that customers hear what they want to hear. The filters through which customers hear others are based on their biases and assumptions. We all hear things differently because we all have different filters. And since our biases run deep, it doesn’t take much for emotions to escalate when someone crosses the line into socially unacceptable behavior.

Tony was very inexperienced, and this event was a valuable business lesson. The lesson learned was that whenever you’re not sure whether you should say the words on the tip of your tongue, then keep quiet. Tony also learned that in business, words can be weapons and the wrong message can result in a business disaster.

Socially acceptable behavior training, especially in residential service, is a worthwhile investment to avert unintentional blunders. Especially since this is such a vital customer touch point.

A customer touch point is an event during which a customer comes into contact with your business. Touch points include your website, the logo on the side of your trucks, your front-line phone reps, your promotional materials and your service technicians in the field just to name a few. Tony, whether he knew it or not, was a touch point. Congruity across these events is a powerful force in business. Customers will gauge and compare the similarity across each touch point.

Smart contractors can harness the power of congruity and customer touch points to their advantage as another way to differentiate their service company from the competition.