# Losing work due to a previous customer...need help!



## jedimark01978 (Dec 19, 2014)

I started working on an interior overlay for a customer but things went bad from the get go, the customer had painters in the same time I was hammer drilling the tiles out and sanding the floors ready for the overlay system. I had to start working late evenings and right through the nights to do my part of the work to accommodate the painters as the customer wanted to move in quicker. I came across unforeseen circumstances with the prep work, Tile glue was real thick like and inch deep, the vinyl was harder than usual to remove... then once I had done all of this work although it took 2 days longer than I anticipated, the painters only went and spray painted all the closets and rooms floors with latex paints, which would have meant me doing my prep work again.... turned up one day with a sub contractor with the floor grinder and sander to do this for me in a few hours but all the doors were locked on me with all the materials and my tools inside the garage. The customers mother came there and said "take all your stuff and get from here" " we are not having this with you" I told her son I had lost 2 jobs due to this one but they thought I was working on 2 others during the day, there was obviously no communication between the mother who was paying for this work and her son. now I have filed suit against him... all the communication we have proves he is in the wrong. However now when I advertise on my local FB business pages he has popped up on there and is bad mouthing me to customers I had booked in for quote/visits.... I have the messages he is sending customers and they are full of lies.... now I am too afraid to advertise as it will just cause drama although I have blocked him he still will have ways of contacting potential customers just to lose me work. He is telling them that I hired his painters to do my work for me? that I quit the job. and that I never turned up for work and not to use my company..... should I now sue for slander? This all happened the day after he got served by the sheriff, he is also telling customers he is taking me to court which is not true its the other way around. Also he cancelled the check on me which is a DA offence according to my attorney.


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## BamBamm5144 (Jul 12, 2008)

You're attorney needs to send him a letter.


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## SectorSecurity (Nov 26, 2013)

Only on CT can we get stories like this.

the only advise I can give you is try and separate your post into paragraphs it makes it easier to read, and to qualify your customers better.


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## jedimark01978 (Dec 19, 2014)

Sorry for the long story Security, I am in a little bit of a rush right now, it was a fellow member on here in the same trade that had the same issues with a customer and he advised me to join and post on here as it may help to find out if other contractors have had the same issues with slander. I am happy going to court alone, done it before and won with employment back in the UK... just things are a little more complex over here in the states.


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## jaydee (Mar 20, 2014)

check this out

http://wtop.com/news/2014/01/fairfax-county-resident-sued-over-a-yelp-review/


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## pcplumber (Oct 12, 2008)

I'm breaking my vow of silence to give you some constructive advice.

"You get more bees with honey that with vinegar"

I don't know who said that, but I use it every day.

Kissing some serious butt is your first choice.

Make a personal visit to your customer's home and plead with them to remove the review. Apologize even if you are 100% right. Come up with some really good excuse why you was not performing up to snuff.

WHEN THE HONEY DOESN'T WORK:

Do what I do that everyone thinks is the nuttiest thing in the world, but I get people to remove their bad reviews within minutes when I know who really wrote the review. Spend a few hours digging up all the dirt you can find about the person who wrote the review. That is very easy to do on the internet. Then, create a very simple website that takes 30 minutes to make, post your customer's dirt with their name and address, call your customer and tell him (or her) the url for the review and tell them that when people search their name or address your review will appear.

Wah Lah! They will threaten you with a lawsuit then in a few minutes they will remove your review.

I don't care what people think about my post. The only thing that is important is that this is a very effective way to get reviews removed. You can get a website created with one page in less that 30 minutes when you know how and maybe 1 to 2 hours if your are slow.


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## carzie (May 21, 2013)

Personally I would skip the butt kissing and go straight to creating that web site you described pc, I will would never confess to being wrong when I'm not. If he's not returning calls then he's past the point of being reasonable. Welcome back pc.:thumbsup:


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Iwouldn't hurt my legal position by sayi.g I did not perform.


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## Lugnut1968 (Dec 11, 2014)

Well.. in my State (Ga.) pattern of making and publishing false and libelous statements in print opens a person up to libel/slander. Also, in my state online posts, including social media, ARE considered "in print". I would check your local law and if it is the same there... if so... I would tack on slander/libel to the existing suit and recoup some of the money he is costing you.


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## Lugnut1968 (Dec 11, 2014)

... oh... and just my .02...

once it gets to the point it is already at in your specific case, the butt kiSSing time is over.. it's butt kiCKing time.. of course via legal avenues.. ahhh.. what a difference 2 little letters can make


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## pcplumber (Oct 12, 2008)

Lugnut1968 said:


> Well.. in my State (Ga.) pattern of making and publishing false and libelous statements in print opens a person up to libel/slander. Also, in my state online posts, including social media, ARE considered "in print". I would check your local law and if it is the same there... if so... I would tack on slander/libel to the existing suit and recoup some of the money he is costing you.


Never write something that is not true and post only information that is already public.

I told this story before and will tell it again. I signed a contract with the homeowner (not really a man), but he was a male. The contract was for $6,000 and his girlfriend posted a bad review on Yelp stating that we ripped her off and took advantage of her because her fat butt was pregnant. The truth is we spoke with her half-man and she had absolutely nothing to do with the negotiations nor the sale. 

I called her, spoke to her nicely and asked her to remove the review. She refused. So, I went to the internet and printed all the reviews she wrote about other businesses. She was also writing about this gorgeous guy she would meet at a grocery store. So much for being pregnant and living with her boyfriend. I made a web page, mocked all her reviews and I called her on the phone and left a message with the url address. 

When her husband called me back I have to say that that was the most rewarding conversation I ever had. They were both swearing and threatening to sue me. I loved it! Guess I really am sick. Regardless, about ten minutes later the winch called and told me that she removed her review.

While you can call me sick, I will bet a million dollars that I taught that ignorant person a lesson and you can bet that she is more cautious and maybe even a little more compassionate when writing reviews.

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I had another customer write a bad review and less than one hour later my sick method had that review removed and she called and apologized.

Use a website name like badcustomer.com or something similar. Like all websites, when you use the customer's name or address in the title or the body of the letter the search engines will retrieve that web page and many people and businesses search for the people through Google, Yahoo and other websites.

If you are wrong then man-up, apologize and move on. When you are right then I think you make this a better world and you really teach people a lesson when you fight back.


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## NYgutterguy (Mar 3, 2014)

pcplumber said:


> Never write something that is not true and post only information that is already public.
> 
> I told this story before and will tell it again. I signed a contract with the homeowner (not really a man), but he was a male. The contract was for $6,000 and his girlfriend posted a bad review on Yelp stating that we ripped her off and took advantage of her because her fat butt was pregnant. The truth is we spoke with her half-man and she had absolutely nothing to do with the negotiations nor the sale.
> 
> ...


Im just a lil ol bs 3 man operation and go outa my way not to get bad reviews....If that much stress and aggravation comes with having a huge company and making chit loads of money ill pass.....i wouldnt want the rep of the review mafia 
This idiot i know got cut off and had a road rage incident and beat the crap outa the guy and was arrested and the first thing he said to me was " i bet that guy will never do that again?" Kinda backwards thinking IMO


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## pcplumber (Oct 12, 2008)

It appears that the subject regarding how to get rid of bad reviews is a serious concern for many contractors. Otherwise, the question would not be asked so many times.

The only way you can avoid getting bad reviews is by closing your business. You can kiss your customer's butt, do their job for free and one of their relatives whom you never met will write a bad review about your company. 

The question is regarding how to get rid of bad reviews. I do tons of business and reviews are inevitable. At the same time, I afford to lose much more money than you by getting only one bad review. Suppose, I earn $1 million per year and you earn $100,000. One bad review could cost my company to lose more than you earn in an entire year. I am not going to terminate my employees to avoid getting bad reviews.

I am not going to cut my profits by 99%, change my lifestyle and lower myself to below the poverty level to avoid getting bad reviews. I can whine like everyone else, or I can do whatever it takes to get the reviews removed and to teach people that I will not roll over, play dead and I will either make you remove the review or your will regret being the scumbag who wrote it.

Laugh. Tell me how I am ignorant and should run my business better. You will have entirely different feelings and thoughts when some scumbag writes a bad review about you. Especially, when the review was written by a competitor and you can't identify who it was.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

jedimark01978 said:


> I started working on an interior overlay for a customer. Things went bad from the get go. The customer had painters in the same time I was hammer drilling the tiles out and sanding the floors ready for the overlay system.
> 
> I had to start working late evenings and right through the nights to do my part of the work to accommodate the painters as the customer wanted to move in quicker.
> 
> ...


Okay, that's a bit easier to read.

My first impression is that there is a bit more to the story than you are letting on. But with what you have told us, my first question is....drum roll please...what does your contract say?

Also, why didn't you stop when the painters started interfering with your production and work it out with the owner or money bags?

Stopping payment on a check isn't necessarily a chargeable offense. It all depends on the circumstances and most will tell you it's a civil matter at best. For it to be a criminal offense you have to prove fraud. He will just claim that you were the one to commit fraud.

Here is were your contract is super important. So how good is your contract?


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

pcplumber said:


> I'm breaking my vow of silence to give you some constructive advice.
> 
> "You get more bees with honey that with vinegar"
> 
> ...


You have got to be the biggest wuss I have ever met.

While I would say that sometimes it's a good thing to humble yourself and eat a bit of crow, I will never bend over and admit to wrong doing when I did nothing wrong. No customer or bad review is worth that.

I would never ask what I could do to remove a bad review. They are going to happen. Get over it and move on. If the 50 good reviews can't indicate who you really are, then you don't need that customer.

What I find even more bizarre is that when being a coward and wuss doesn't work you turn to extortion. It may be an effective way to get your review removed, but it's also an effective way to get shot. You give some of the worst advice I have ever seen. My suggestion is stop. Stop giving advice and close your account.


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## NYgutterguy (Mar 3, 2014)

pcplumber said:


> It appears that the subject regarding how to get rid of bad reviews is a serious concern for many contractors. Otherwise, the question would not be asked so many times.
> 
> The only way you can avoid getting bad reviews is by closing your business. You can kiss your customer's butt, do their job for free and one of their relatives whom you never met will write a bad review about your company.
> 
> ...




Not telling anyone how to run their business...Nothing but respect for hard working guys who have built huge business's and make chit loads of money employing tons of guys...My point was that the level of anger thats coming with the success isnt personally my cup of tea.. No disrespect intended youre obviously not ignorant...Not so bad down here by the poverty line  Cheers


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

pcplumber said:


> The question is regarding how to get rid of bad reviews. I do tons of business and reviews are inevitable. At the same time, I afford to lose much more money than you by getting only one bad review. Suppose, I earn $1 million per year and you earn $100,000. One bad review could cost my company to lose more than you earn in an entire year. I am not going to terminate my employees to avoid getting bad reviews.


This is a classic strawman. It's ridiculous numbers to prove a stupid point. You are never going to lose $100,000 in business off of one bad review. You clearly do not understand internet marketing and reviews. stooping to someone's level is a lack of integrity. I bet you would lose a lot more business if you told every customer that this is the way you operate.

"Helllo Mr. Smith. I would love your business, but FYI, if you write a bad online review I am going to dig up as much dirt on you as I can, start a website just for that dirt and extort you until you remove that review."

I mean, are you seriously trying to tell us that 1 bad review out of dozens, if not hundreds, is going to shred your business by 10%? It's a shame that someone has taught you such BS. Or was it the Internet Marketing for Dummies that has you all in a tizzy?

So I ask you this, would you be willing to tell your customers your M.O.? If not, why not?


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## pcplumber (Oct 12, 2008)

NYGUTTERGUY said:


> Not telling anyone how to run their business...Nothing but respect for hard working guys who have built huge business's and make chit loads of money employing tons of guys...My point was that the level of anger thats coming with the success isnt personally my cup of tea.. No disrespect intended youre obviously not ignorant...Not so bad down here by the poverty line  Cheers


Relax and don't worry. You have the right to express your opinion and I apologize for causing any concerns. I agree 100% about the anger part and you have the same response as most people, but I am not angry even one iota. I am frustrated! I have to weigh the consequences and benefits regarding the decisions I make.

I made a promise to myself many years ago that I would not allow my customers to make me angry and the reason is because the reason I get paid is because I am paid to deal with day-to-day problems and to make decisions. That is why I am the owner of my company and that is why I earn the highest percent of the booty.

I thought really, seriously and sincerely thought about fighting back with bad reviews for several years. This was not a whim nor spur-of-the-moment decision because someone ticked me off. I though about whether or not this could backfire and make me infamous. 

One thing I do when I have to write something to a customer is I want to make sure that I am perceived as being classy, professional and I won't want to sling mud. I don't write that my customer is a scumbag. I don't write so that I appear to be angry. I don't try to get even. I simply write the truth regarding what happened on a job. I mock their reviews and post dirt that I can find. No anger!


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

pcplumber said:


> ...and I won't want to sling mud
> 
> ...I mock their reviews and post dirt that I can find.


Sure you want to, if they post a bad review, or what you think is an unearned bad review.

How many bad reviews do you have that you earned? My question is, do you nuke all bad reviews? If so, then you are dishonest and have zero integrity.


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

Here's another question. If someone started a website on you, would that get you to change your ways? Could someone extort you?


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