We Wouldn’t Compromise Our Standards,
So We Lost This Customer’s Business
But We’ve Never Regretted The Decision
Before we take you on as a new client for our painting service, we will consult with you to understand what you want done. We ask about your cabinets, trim, walls, vanities, etc.
Then we work with you to establish a budget, one that must align with the scope of the job.
Normally, budget/scope alignment is not a troublesome issue. However, we lost a client not long ago because we wouldn’t compromise our work standards, and the customer disagreed with our earnest recommendations.
Our customer owned a custom-built, 1900s-era house that had been remodeled 30 years before. It was a nice home, but it featured outdated, 1990s-style wallpaper, and they wanted to bring its look into the 21st century.
Unfortunately, their proposed budget was only 1/4 of what it would take to do the job properly.
We explained what was needed, but they simply requested we take shortcuts and eliminate several of the necessary steps.
They Wouldn’t Make The Necessary Investment,
And We Refuse To Offer Half-Measures
Although we wanted to win the job, the suggestion that we submit sub-par work didn’t sit well with us. We take enormous pride in our work and the exquisite results we’re able to deliver.
We are professionals who know the business and enjoy exceeding our customers’ expectations when delivering outcomes.
We are a resource for home and business owners who want exceptional prefinishing, painting, refinishing, refacing, or wallpapering results. We can advise you on colors, patterns, textures, and more – no matter what part of the structure.
We’re experts at finishing every area of your home or business, whether it is walls, cabinets, ceilings, trim, interior design, or commercial painting services.
We offer thorough management of your project from painstaking prep work to sparkling clean-up.
But our client didn’t care about any of that. They wanted us to skip important steps, which we could not, in good conscience, do.
Service Is WHAT We Do, And Painting Is HOW We Do It
Our core values all relate to the customer experience. Painting is just our reason to provide that experience. And the experience you get from us is as follows:
- No finger pointing
- Consistent reliability
- Proactive problem solving
- Responsive communication
- Exceptional skill and knowledge
In other words, service is what we DO, but painting is what happens as we deliver that service.
The Problem With Shortcuts
What we recommended to the client was a process that looked like this:
- Strip the wallpaper.
- Seal-prime all surfaces.
- Remedy the nail and screw holes.
- Fix all cracks in the plaster, then mud and tape the seams.
- Match the texture of the newly painted wall to other areas of the home.
- Cover drywall repairs and texturing with paint primer so the paint adheres better.
- Only after each of these other steps do we actually begin to paint the surface of the wall.
The client wanted us to perform only the first and last steps of the process, which would have looked disastrous.
Step #2 is essential because the seal primer highlights every imperfection in the wall. This lets us locate and smooth out problems with the surface.
Steps #3 and #4 repair visible holes and cracks in the wall.
#5 lets us match the new texture to the rest of the house, and priming helps paint stick to the wall better and keeps colors beneath from bleeding through.
Our Staff Would Have Blown A Fuse
We simply could not fulfill the customer’s request. It went against our core values of providing exceptional work and a seamless customer experience. Moreover, our painting and wallpaper removal crews would have blown a fuse if we had tried.
Our pros can provide successful results under almost any circumstances.
They are expert painting and design professionals with years of experience. Several of them have art degrees, and they all take immense pride in their work. But they never would have put up with us instructing them to submit substandard work simply for a paycheck.
It would have broken their hearts โ and ours โ to compromise our values and lower our standards like that. So, we never regretted the decision to pass on that project.
If you’re in the market for a painting service, consider working with a company you know has non-negotiable standards. Contact Colorwheel Painting in Greater Milwaukee to schedule your free consultation.
