“I had a difficult customer who maintained I’d got the wrong paint. But I hadn’t. I wish I’d had it down in writing. They tried to blame me when it was their fault. If I’d had it down in writing, the argument would have been avoided.

I never carried on with the job. It just became so toxic.” Nick Holmes, Decorator, East London “I always give a broken-down quote. You get burnt otherwise. You have to cover yourself. Suddenly the number of doors you are painting goes from 15 to 17. If you have it all in writing, there are no awkward conversations when you get to the end of the job.” Carl Saxby, Saxby Decorating Clear and simple communication prevents toxic situations ever arising. However, you’re busy, and you think your client is going to be okay – until they are not.

Problems can be pre-empted when you have a simple system of quoting and mapping out the job before you begin. It’s also good to have a smart way of dealing with late-payers; one that doesn’t involve a frustrated email or text, or arguments with your partner about how to deal with them. In times of stress, you are liable to say the wrong thing in the wrong way. So it’s best to get someone neutral to say it for you.

This takes the heat out of the situation and stops any trouble before it even starts. The job is about more than just producing an excellent paint finish; it’s about excellent client relations. And that’s when having the right words at your fingertips will help. Rather than stress about what to say when things go wrong, AppyQuote includes standard messages correctly set up which cover almost any eventuality – all professionally written to enable you to choose the one that fits your situation.

Download the app now for from either the App Store or for Android devices Google Play. Then simply sign up through the App and start winning work the professional way.