Carlton's Corner: Customers Who Need Handling

As a young man I would watch my grandfather close each deal with a handshake. He would build large projects during the week but would do concrete “side jobs” on Saturday. These weekend homeowner projects created an opportunity for my family to work together. Looking back I can see what a great deal this was for me, because he paid us well, yet took care of the hassles that come with business. I can’t remember any written contracts, just a friendly handshake between the decision makers. Actually I recall two handshakes, with the second handshake being the deal sealer, and it was usually followed with something like, “Thanks for the work.”

Now that I run my own decorative business I know the last handshake was so much more than a deal sealer. It was about two people that agreed to be respectful and reasonable enough to work through any and all differences. Man, how times have changed. Each year that I add a new article to my contract I realize more and more how we cannot litigate integrity. We must realize that contracts are a necessity to the decorative concrete industry whether we like it or not. Having said that, I will tell you something that a $400-per-hour lawyer won’t: You cannot write a foolproof contract in the decorative industry. It is up to each of us to shake out the buyers to avoid.

We all need new business, but distinguishing between reasonable and unreasonable buyers is important. The difference between a deal breaker and an issue that is merely an obstacle can be a loss or profit of thousands of dollars. Sometimes it may come down to a personality compatibility issue. Most forms of decorative concrete are best suited for open-minded buyers.