Who is the Ideal Service Person?
Part of the reason this website exists is to help people take care of their own pool. And, part of the reason for the need is that it can be difficult to find good service people that we can trust to do things right for a fair price. Many people here have had a bad experience where they hired someone to do some work only to be disappointed with the results. So, they decided to do it themselves.
Ultimately, we can’t do everything ourselves. For services in general, we will all need to rely on service providers throughout our lives. We all rely on service people every day. Specifically, I’m talking about skilled trades that do things for us. This includes plumbers, painters, electricians, HVAC, doctors, nurses, dentists, carpenters, cable and internet installers, accountants, roofers, lawn services, pool services, handyman, auto mechanics, cleaning, eldercare, childcare, roofing, siding, concrete etc.
We all need to rely on experts for many things throughout our lives. But, there can be a big difference from one expert or professional to another. When we get someone good, it’s a big relief when we like them and trust them. When we get someone that does not meet our expectations, it can be very disappointing and frustrating. Having a few bad experiences can make us cynical and distrustful of all service people.
Statistically speaking, there’s a bell curve that represents the distribution of the quality of individuals. Assuming a normally distributed bell curve, there is a mean that represents the middle and everyone to the left of the mean is below average and everyone to the right of the mean is above average. This example assumes that below average means that the service will be unacceptable.
Now, is it fair to say that 50% of service professionals in any industry could be classified as unacceptable? Maybe, maybe not. But, the ranking is based on your criteria. And, why would you choose from the below average group when the ratings were based on your own criteria?
Assuming that we want to eliminate everyone below average, that immediately cuts the population in half. 34% of service people are within 1 standard deviation of the mean. 14% are 2 standard deviations from the mean and only 2% are 3 standard deviations from the mean.
So, if we can eliminate the bottom half, the remaining set of potential service people fall in to 3 categories, Good, Better, and Best. About 34% of people fall into the good category, 14% are better and only 2% are the Best.
Depending on the task and cost, you might want good, better or best. When getting someone to cut your lawn, you might be OK with good and less expensive. When getting someone to remove a brain tumor, you probably want the best. You’re probably not going to use the BOGO coupon for brain tumor removal from the local coupon mailer.
What criteria do I think make an IDEAL service person?
Integrity: They are not going to lie, cheat or steal from you. They are honest about what they can and can’t do and make every effort to do what’s right. They act as a fiduciary, which means that they put your best interest ahead of their own personal gain. They work hard to earn and keep your trust. They invest in the relationship for the long term versus trying to maximize profit on every transaction. They treat you with respect and appreciation. They are patient when you ask questions and they are careful to explain things so that you can make the best decision. If you ever have an issue with anything they have done, they make it right and give you the benefit of the doubt.
Dedication: They follow through with what they say they will do when they say they will do it. Of course things happen that are valid reasons where you can’t do something that you said would get done, but too often people cancel for lesser reasons without appreciating the impact it might have on you. Someone who’s dedicated is someone you can trust will get it done when they say it will get done regardless if they are tired, hungry, stuck in traffic or whatever.
Excellence: The best service people always do their best to do excellent work in anything they do. They really care about getting things right because they know that it matters to you and they take pride in their work. They take the time necessary to do it right and they don’t rush through a job just to get it done. They don’t take short cuts that compromise the quality of the job. They make sure that the work is safe and will last a long time.
Ability: The best service people are doing something that they are good at doing and like to do. They learn on the job and they continue to learn off the job by taking classes, reading manuals, doing research, getting certifications through training etc. They make sure that they have the proper knowledge, tools and equipment for any job they do.
Love: The best love what they do. They love the customers they work for. They love their coworkers and company. We have all encountered service people who are miserable, they don’t like their job, they don’t like dealing with customers and they don’t like the work. If you don’t like the work, customers or coworkers, you’re not going to do a good job. Only when you love the work, customers and coworkers can you really do your best work. When you care about the customer, you’re going to do the right thing for them.
So, those are just some of my ideas. I would be interested to know what anyone thinks on the subject.
How do you search for and evaluate services?
Do you use online search?
What reviews do you find helpful? Yelp, Google, Angie’s List, Home Advisor etc.?
Do you ask your friends, family or neighbors for recommendations?
What criteria do you use look for in a service person or company?
What kinds of things really annoy you and make you not want to deal with a service person or company?
Do you prefer a small independent local company or a big franchise chain?
What do you do to ensure that the service person does things right?
Do you trust people to work in your home without supervision?
I know that home services are growing exponentially and we are all relying more and more on service people to be in our homes and we can’t stand on top of them the whole time. What things can be done to verify that everything went ok?
Certain jobs like housekeeping or maid service, childcare or eldercare etc. can have people in our homes for extended periods. How much will technology play a part in helping us to keep an eye on things?
Will we have cameras everywhere or just key places or nowhere?
What services do you use or plan to use?
What services would you not use or probably not use?
How much difference does pricing make?
What services are you not using because of the cost?
What services would you use if the cost was lower?
What’s the going rate for a service you would want and what would it need to be to be an easy choice?
Thanks for any thoughts anyone wants to share.
Part of the reason this website exists is to help people take care of their own pool. And, part of the reason for the need is that it can be difficult to find good service people that we can trust to do things right for a fair price. Many people here have had a bad experience where they hired someone to do some work only to be disappointed with the results. So, they decided to do it themselves.
Ultimately, we can’t do everything ourselves. For services in general, we will all need to rely on service providers throughout our lives. We all rely on service people every day. Specifically, I’m talking about skilled trades that do things for us. This includes plumbers, painters, electricians, HVAC, doctors, nurses, dentists, carpenters, cable and internet installers, accountants, roofers, lawn services, pool services, handyman, auto mechanics, cleaning, eldercare, childcare, roofing, siding, concrete etc.
We all need to rely on experts for many things throughout our lives. But, there can be a big difference from one expert or professional to another. When we get someone good, it’s a big relief when we like them and trust them. When we get someone that does not meet our expectations, it can be very disappointing and frustrating. Having a few bad experiences can make us cynical and distrustful of all service people.
Statistically speaking, there’s a bell curve that represents the distribution of the quality of individuals. Assuming a normally distributed bell curve, there is a mean that represents the middle and everyone to the left of the mean is below average and everyone to the right of the mean is above average. This example assumes that below average means that the service will be unacceptable.
Now, is it fair to say that 50% of service professionals in any industry could be classified as unacceptable? Maybe, maybe not. But, the ranking is based on your criteria. And, why would you choose from the below average group when the ratings were based on your own criteria?
Assuming that we want to eliminate everyone below average, that immediately cuts the population in half. 34% of service people are within 1 standard deviation of the mean. 14% are 2 standard deviations from the mean and only 2% are 3 standard deviations from the mean.
So, if we can eliminate the bottom half, the remaining set of potential service people fall in to 3 categories, Good, Better, and Best. About 34% of people fall into the good category, 14% are better and only 2% are the Best.
Depending on the task and cost, you might want good, better or best. When getting someone to cut your lawn, you might be OK with good and less expensive. When getting someone to remove a brain tumor, you probably want the best. You’re probably not going to use the BOGO coupon for brain tumor removal from the local coupon mailer.
What criteria do I think make an IDEAL service person?
Integrity: They are not going to lie, cheat or steal from you. They are honest about what they can and can’t do and make every effort to do what’s right. They act as a fiduciary, which means that they put your best interest ahead of their own personal gain. They work hard to earn and keep your trust. They invest in the relationship for the long term versus trying to maximize profit on every transaction. They treat you with respect and appreciation. They are patient when you ask questions and they are careful to explain things so that you can make the best decision. If you ever have an issue with anything they have done, they make it right and give you the benefit of the doubt.
Dedication: They follow through with what they say they will do when they say they will do it. Of course things happen that are valid reasons where you can’t do something that you said would get done, but too often people cancel for lesser reasons without appreciating the impact it might have on you. Someone who’s dedicated is someone you can trust will get it done when they say it will get done regardless if they are tired, hungry, stuck in traffic or whatever.
Excellence: The best service people always do their best to do excellent work in anything they do. They really care about getting things right because they know that it matters to you and they take pride in their work. They take the time necessary to do it right and they don’t rush through a job just to get it done. They don’t take short cuts that compromise the quality of the job. They make sure that the work is safe and will last a long time.
Ability: The best service people are doing something that they are good at doing and like to do. They learn on the job and they continue to learn off the job by taking classes, reading manuals, doing research, getting certifications through training etc. They make sure that they have the proper knowledge, tools and equipment for any job they do.
Love: The best love what they do. They love the customers they work for. They love their coworkers and company. We have all encountered service people who are miserable, they don’t like their job, they don’t like dealing with customers and they don’t like the work. If you don’t like the work, customers or coworkers, you’re not going to do a good job. Only when you love the work, customers and coworkers can you really do your best work. When you care about the customer, you’re going to do the right thing for them.
So, those are just some of my ideas. I would be interested to know what anyone thinks on the subject.
How do you search for and evaluate services?
Do you use online search?
What reviews do you find helpful? Yelp, Google, Angie’s List, Home Advisor etc.?
Do you ask your friends, family or neighbors for recommendations?
What criteria do you use look for in a service person or company?
What kinds of things really annoy you and make you not want to deal with a service person or company?
Do you prefer a small independent local company or a big franchise chain?
What do you do to ensure that the service person does things right?
Do you trust people to work in your home without supervision?
I know that home services are growing exponentially and we are all relying more and more on service people to be in our homes and we can’t stand on top of them the whole time. What things can be done to verify that everything went ok?
Certain jobs like housekeeping or maid service, childcare or eldercare etc. can have people in our homes for extended periods. How much will technology play a part in helping us to keep an eye on things?
Will we have cameras everywhere or just key places or nowhere?
What services do you use or plan to use?
What services would you not use or probably not use?
How much difference does pricing make?
What services are you not using because of the cost?
What services would you use if the cost was lower?
What’s the going rate for a service you would want and what would it need to be to be an easy choice?
Thanks for any thoughts anyone wants to share.
