He used to believe the lie that great service was about being all things to all people, and doing it quickly — but not anymore.
“When can you do it?”
“I’ll let you know.”
“Could you be there at 3 pm?”
“No.” (Internal voice: “I don’t do appointments. I’m not a hairdresser!”)
Now, reading this, you might think that’s not very customer‑centric, but you’d be wrong.
Here’s why:
He told me last week he was focused solely on a kitchen renovation. His phone was off.
In the past, when he believed the lie that he needed to be available to succeed in his handyman business, his phone was always on.
“Say I keep my phone on, and another customer texts me and says, ‘I have this urgent repair; can you meet me at 3 pm?’ What happens? While I’m working on the kitchen, part of my brain starts working on resolving this other job. Then what happens? Instead of being fully focused, I’m now distracted. I lose focus — and efficiency.”
When he stopped believing the lie that he needed to be available to succeed, he turned off his phone.
“I’m not a good handyman because I respond to every call; I’m a good handyman because I do one job at a time.”
His story made me think of the times I’ve waited for service — in a store, at my doctor’s office, or for a tradie to arrive. While being in a queue is never fun, I look forward to the moment it’s my turn. There’s nothing more disappointing, though, than that much‑anticipated service falling short of expectations.
On the other hand, when my turn finally comes and the service is exceptional, the inconvenience of waiting fades into the background.
When it comes to my friend’s handyman business, it seems to me that the person on the receiving end of his attention is getting the best service possible — focused entirely on them.
When will he do the job?
When he can do it well.
Photo by Taylor Flowe on Unsplash
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