Client calling you a liar

I won't put up with it. There can be a civil discussion when the client questions my methodology, but when he calls me a liar, the civility is over. At that point the Scotch-Irish in me comes out.

Once a clients knows that I am willing to fire them they have a better understanding of our relationship.

I had one that didn't get up the nerve to actually call me a liar, but it was very apparent the wife did not trust me at all.

Given an old plat with a number of math deficiencies, there was a legitimate claim, from either direction of the property, for the corner to be where my client wanted it or where the neighbor wanted it.

My guys had measured the entire neighborhood, so it was pretty clear that the math just didn't resolve the location. They had talked with the neighbors while working and had specifically talked with the neighbor that could have claimed a different line than my clients claimed.

From the tone and directions of the questions as I explained what the issues were, it was apparent that my client thought we were in cahoots with the neighbor - because we had talked with him. I explained that per the Kentucky standards of practice I am required to talk with the neighbors and it is just common sense to find out what he knew or thought about the line. After putting up with it for a little while, I decided it was not worth it. She already did not trust me, so nothing I said would change that. I told her as much and said that there was no charge for me explaining the situation and she should find a surveyor she trusted.

A few months later (after finding from others that there was a discrepancy that needed resolution from the property owners and the costs of taking it to court), she had her realtor call wanting me to do the work necessary to help resolve the matter between the neighbors. I was too busy to attend to it and just provided them a couple of other surveyor's names.

I have never regretted firing her as a client.

I hate when that happens.
Actually I just hate when I get tagged with any moniker that doesn't fit - liar, thief, snitch, drug dealer.
Really? I mean really? Where does that crap come from?
Anyone who knows me knows I'm the farthest thing from any of that.
Drug dealer? Well maybe, technically, since I was licensed for pharmacy work for about 8 years. 🙂 I do still have that license but it is long expired - probably 30 years ago.

Personally I won't have anything to do with people like those accusatory types. If I'm wrong about something, fine, I'm wrong. No problem. Don't go off accusing me of something I'm not.
I do take those personal and it does hurt my feelings.

Sorry, had to do it.....

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Although, I've never been directly called one, I've gotten the impression that it was being implied. Does rub one the wrong way, and like others, wouldn't think twice of telling them to find someone else.

It's happened to me in the somewhat distant past. I just very gently said "m'am I stand by everything I've said or done on this project, but I'm not going to be talked to like this and I'm going to go now [click]." I do not stoop to their level and start getting nasty."

I think that attitude is wonderful. I plan on using that line if you don't mind.

Normally, it isn't the product, it's the price of the product. Most clients have absolutely no understanding of what it is we do. They may not like the results, but, I have told them all up front that we must be impartial and arrive at the same solution as we would if we were working for the neighbor or someone else very close by. The venom is usally saved for the invoice.......But, you told me it wouldn't be more than $200!!!!!! Yeah, right, in what lifetime would I have ever said that to any client?

Them's fightin' words..

> Would you suck it up and take it or ..
Some things men don't say to other men unless they want a punch in the mouth. Instant termination of any business relationship would be the least they should expect.

With a possible exception. If the perp is of recent eastern European / middle eastern descent. Guys from those places tend to come on really strong in a effort to bully you. If that is what is being tried they will back down pretty fast if you stand up to it. So I might give such a person about 10 seconds to change his tune.

Them's fightin' words..

Totally agree Norman.. End of relationship.

Them's fightin' words..

Amen!

We do a lot of construction layout. You develop a thick skin pretty quickly.

I will put up with an awful lot from a client - but not ever personal insults.

One of the advantages of owning your own company is being able to tell an out-of-control client to stick it in the orifice of his choice. Have only done it once or twice, but we don't get paid nearly enough to put up with those sorts of attitudes.

In most cases I think it boils down to two major kinds of 'assaults':

1. If the client is under the impression you lied in some way, shape or form and, even though the client possibly thinks you did lie, he gives you a chance to present some facts and defend yourself.

In this case, the relationship is salvageable if you really didn't lie.

2. The client is angry and attacks with a verbal onslaught and there is no reasoning with him. His mind's made up without allowing you to defend yourself.

In this case there is usually no hope. A person that will accuse you without allowing a defense has a closed mind. I'd rather try to talk some sense into a pit bulldog that just caught you pulling a manhole lid in his back yard. Walk away.

Time wounds all heels.

Please do.

I had an old client come in with a property needing a sewer connection as-built plan in order to get an additional bedroom. We had done the same task for all of his abutters, so it would be very easy for me to complete his. I explained that we typically charged $2,000 for one of these plans. He balked. I replied that since he was a longstanding client (we had subdivided over 100 lots for him in the 80's) I would see if I could do it for straight time; it should be under $500. The next day, I had a plan and an invoice for $497. He saw it and said "I thought you said it would be under $500."

We did not speak until his granddaughter and my daughter became BFFs.

When I worked for a large firm we did a survey of a commercial site downtown with a building that had a huge number of jigs and jogs and strange angles. One of the requirements was building dimensions. Now mind, nobody could ever use those dimensions for any purpose except checking off a list, but they would not be dissuaded, so sheet 1 was the usual ALTA information and sheet 2 was a grossly exaggerated drawing of the building only, showing the dimensions. It was ugly, but it was the only way to squeeze in all of the little dimensions.

Client calls and starts off by telling me his wife's kindergarten class could do a better crayon drawing than this one, it was a disgrace, a miserable cartoon done by an amateur, and on, and on, until I slammed the phone down, walked down the hallway, and handed him over to my boss. He called the client and asked the key question: If you are looking at sheet 2 didn't it ever occur to you that there is probably a sheet 1? He then explained the purpose of sheet 2 and got an apology after the client found sheet 1. I never talked to that client again. Life is way too short for that nonsense.

#2

The client didn't allow me to get in more than a few words at a time before continuing the onslaught. After the third attempt, I stopped and basically just got silent until she was done, aside from an "OK" or two. I let her hang up the phone.

Thanks, everyone! This isn't a surveying client, but a client nonetheless. I appreciate the discussion and did of course expect the responses to be in regards to surveying (hence my category selection). I appreciate the insights. I feel much better now about my stance.

🙂

I didn't tolerate it

A few years back, a couple hired me to survey their parcel after the neighbor had a survey and built a fence according to it. They didn't like that line and so hired me to verify it.

Actually, I was of the understanding that I was hired to verify whether or not the other surveyor established the line properly. It was the wife half of my client's understanding that I was hired to impeach the other surveyors work.

I found that aside from some minor differences in measurements, I agreed with the other surveyor's line location. There was a very old fence that did not follow the aliquot, but appeared that it might have been placed to mark the boundary. I had some good physical evidence that tended to support the fence, but not quite enough to accept it over a surveyed breakdown. The granddaughter of the original homesteader lived in the area and had grown up on the property, and was well into her 90s at the time of my survey. My client had purchased their parcel from the granddaughter several years earlier. I had tried to contact the family to interview her as to the history of the fence, but never got a reply. With a statement from the granddaughter that the fence had been placed to mark the boundary, together with the physical evidence, I could have accepted it.

When I explained this to the client couple, and suggested that they try to contact the grandaughter's family so that I could ask her about the fence, the client wife outright accused me of being paid off by their rich neighbor to falsify my findings in his favor.

Without a word, I gathered my papers, rolled up my maps and stood up from their table. "Your deposit should just about cover the effort I've already put in. I won't tolerate slander, so find someone else to finish the job."

The husband jumped up and practically begged me to stay and continue the job. After a half apology from the wife, I decided I couldn't listen to the husband grovel anymore and the best way to stop him was to sit down and continue. The wife kept her mouth shut from that point.

I'll walk away from a job and threaten legal action if necessary rather than put up with the BS of being accused of lying or graft.