Googling your client

[Jerry Simon]

I make this a habit now before I do inspection. Can find rapport-builder, interesting info, history of non-payment/problematic client, the like.

[ghentjr]

I make this a habit now before I do inspection. Can find rapport-builder, interesting info, history of non-payment/problematic client, the like.

Tomorrow's guy is a registered sex offender.

Wear long pants.

[Mike Lamb]

I really don't want to know anything personal about my client. I'm not a judge. I inspect properties and not people.

[Jerry Simon]

I really don't want to know anything personal about my client. I'm not a judge. I inspect properties and not people.

That's interesting. I almost always ask my client what they do for a living, where they're moving from, where they are originally from, etc. I try to build rapport.

Guy the other day grew up where I grew up; I found that on google. We knew the same families from the 'hood. Lot's of rapport there. . .

(Who said anything about judging?)

[Jim Baird]

I usually do the qpublic.org rundown on the subject property, which identifies the owner. Depending on how much time I have I might research the seller, but not always.

This reminds me of a story my wife told me about a friend who sold a canoe online. When his wife learned he sold it to an old friend from many years back and she peppered him with questions about the old friend that he could not begin to answer, she asked him, "What did you guys talk about?" Answer: "We talked about the canoe."

[kurt]

I build rapport by (hopefully) not ****ing up the job.

[Jerry Simon]

I build rapport by (hopefully) not ****ing up the job.

Since a ****-up probably won't be known until long after you've done the job, how does not ****ing up the job build rapport? Help me understand; apparently I've mistakenly been a Chatty-Cathy with my clients in an effort to do so.

(Studies show doctors who build rapport with their patients rarely ever get sued, even if they ****-up. Me, I try to build rapport before the patient gets sick or sicker.)

This wasn't meant to be about that, though. I was only curious if others google their clients. Either they don't, or they won't say here for whatever reason. I give a flying-**** if they have sex with kittens, embezzle company funds, or piss in their neighbors garbage cans; I just thought it was interesting.

[Tom Breslawski]

Never Googled a client. I agree that building rapport is important. I do that during the inspection, but don't think that researching the client is necessary. We talk, they see how thorough I am and how hard I work, then they see the report.

At that point, they're usually happy and the deal is done. No research needed.

[Jim Katen]

I don't google clients, but many of them seem to google me and golly don'tcha know it does, indeed, build rapport.

On the other hand, it can sometimes be a little bit too much information. I once arrived at an inspection where the realtor lady was waiting for me. After I introduced myself, she held her hands up over her ears. When I looked at her questioningly, she explained that she didn't intend to contradict anything that I said and would I please not grab her by the ears, smack her forehead onto the table, and leave her in a pile on the floor until the inspection was over. It seems that this was a technique that I had endorsed on this very forum a few days prior. . .

[kurt]

OK, humor's apparently out of bounds.

I don't do anything to build rapport other than feel out the situation and play the cards that present themselves. Which often means zero personal conversational involvement.

My working persona is pleasant smiling technician that doesn't care if folks follow me around asking questions and that's hell bent on doing what they paid me to do. If there's rapport, it usually happens by the end of the job after they've seen me working my ass off.

[Jerry Simon]

I don't google clients, but many of them seem to google me and golly don'tcha know it does, indeed, build rapport.

Point taken.

[Jerry Simon]

I don't do anything to build rapport other than feel out the situation and play the cards that present themselves. Which often means zero personal conversational involvement.

My working persona is pleasant smiling technician that doesn't care if folks follow me around asking questions and that's hell bent on doing what they paid me to do. If there's rapport, it usually happens by the end of the job after they've seen me working my ass off.

This is one of the main reasons I enjoy this profession; we can all do what we please (expect maybe in Texas).

[Marc]

I don't google clients, but many of them seem to google me and golly don'tcha know it does, indeed, build rapport.

On the other hand, it can sometimes be a little bit too much information. I once arrived at an inspection where the realtor lady was waiting for me. After I introduced myself, she held her hands up over her ears. When I looked at her questioningly, she explained that she didn't intend to contradict anything that I said and would I please not grab her by the ears, smack her forehead onto the table, and leave her in a pile on the floor until the inspection was over. It seems that this was a technique that I had endorsed on this very forum a few days prior. . .

I need more rapport.

Marc