Renovations, Relationships & Women

My CFO is building a house.

Well, technically ... it's built. He and his wife are moved in. But they are far from settled.

You see, like every other story I've ever heard about dealings with contractors, my colleague is TORKED OFF in a major way at his builder. From what I gather, the contractor won't finish the house, he refuses to honor promises and just generally frustrates the ever-loving daylights out of him. The conflict has ranged from minor frustration to outright shouting matches. I have to give my CFO a huge deal of credit for being tolerant, patient, forgiving and willing to bend.

Long story short: they were supposed to be IN the house before Christmas 2003. That's over four months ago. Today, lawyers are involved and actions are pending. All of which is to say that the topic of contractor services has enjoyed an elvated state of awareness in my noggin of late. And that's what led me to this item on PRWeb. It is written as advice for contractors in dealing with women clients. I think this information is applicable for ALL service businesses and for BOTH genders.

In reading the piece, I was reminded of a few impossible-to-ignore statistics about the percentage of purchasing power embodied in the female portion of the marketplace. The story cites research from Tom Peters:

“Women make 94% of home furnishings decisions…91% of housing decisions…80% of major ‘home projects’ decisions…67% of all household investment decisions…and 83% of all consumer purchases.”

“Women ROAR."

"And when they roar happily they tend to be much more loyal than male customers. When they’re unhappy, they talk to their friends – not to do a business wrong, but to process what’s happened, and to gather different viewpoints of the situation."

PRESS RELEASE: Renovations, Relationships & Women - Tips for Contractors to Keep Everyone Happy