I feel very lucky to have such a great group of clients. I often tell people that all of my clients are really nice people, and it’s true. Generosity is a common trait among most of my clients, whether it is taking time to talk to a fellow business owner or sharing their time and expertise in leadership positions in their trade associations.

John makes friends where ever he goes - Here on a recent trip to India in 2011

I have been able to witness the generosity of our April Client of the Month, John Peek first hand this month, when a close family member had a critical situation involving lead paint exposure (in a home with small children!) due to another painter’s negligence. This is one of those horror stories that all painting contractors should be able to use to put fear into your potential client’s minds when they hire or consider hiring one of those unlicensed “pickup truck painters”. You might well wonder why any family member of mine would be using one of those guys for their project, but it is a rental situation where the landlord hired the painter – on the cheap. One wonders if they would have used the same lack of care in choosing a painter for their own home?

I reached out to my local client, John Peek of Peek Brothers Painting Contractors in San Diego for advice, and he has been incredibly helpful in sharing his knowledge and advice with the landlord, and with our family. At his recommendation, the landlord has hired lead inspectors and an abatement company to do the cleanup. I can only hope that the landlord will be wise enough to hire Peek Brothers Painting Contractors for any future projects. This story proves that hiring the right contractor the first time is much more cost effective in the long run, and I hope that at least one consumer has learned a valuable lesson!

One of the initiatives I am helping clients with this year is creating a customer communications plan. As part of my own Client Communication Plan for 2011, I have decided to showcase a client of the month that I especially appreciate working with or who is simply put, “On Target”.