Occasionally a customer will complain that a job didn’t take as long as they expected it to take. They may be happy with the work, but not the time it took us to complete it. They may make noises that we should reduce the price.

The simple solution is to point out that they agreed to the price ahead of time, and that you did the work as specified in the agreement. This is certainly true, but it can also fan the fires of the customer’s discontent. After all the customer is angry.

It is often more effective to turn the tables. “Mrs. Smith, would you have been willing to pay use more money if the job had taken longer than I expected?” It is doubtful that Mrs. Smith would agree to do so.

There can be a lot of reasons why a job takes less time than a customer expects. One reason, and perhaps the most common, is that the customer simply doesn’t know. Another reason might be that we anticipated problems that did not arise. Or, perhaps we simply work more efficiently than the customer expected.

Regardless, the last thing we should be doing is reducing our price. Doing so implies that we did in fact overcharge, and that always sends the wrong message.

Would be intellectuals often use poly-syllabic words during their pontifications. Eschewing celerity, they emit a plethora of verbiage couched in a façade of profundity. Harkening to a day when eloquent prose was esteemed, they issue forth an insidious conglomeration of words and punctuation that renders the most studious observer into a state of insipient confusion.

In other words, muddy waters appear deep.

Painting contractors often resort to a similar tactic. They overwhelm their customer with technical information regarding products—information that the customer neither understands nor cares about. The customer does not care about features. He cares about benefits.

Certainly some customers care about features, but primarily because they understand the benefits. For example, some customers understand the benefits of using a 100% acrylic latex. But the focus is on the benefits.

A cardinal rule of public speaking (and writing) is to known one’s audience. If I wrote about Immanuel Kant’s influence on John Dewey, you would likely think I am crazy. That topic is not appropriate for a blog on building a paint contracting business.

Similarly with our customers. We must understand their context—their level of knowledge and their concerns. If we don’t, our words are little more than noise—they have no meaning. We may sound impressive in doing so, but we fail to communicate anything meaningful.