I hope you enjoyed "The Scope Went Through the Roof" article.

What do you think Charlie said after looking at the ceiling?

Did you think he said:

"Tall ceilings!"
"Nice light fixture!"

Yes, that's possible. Although it would be an indication that he was clueless about the impact of the leak right above the dining room.

Another possibility would be:

"I'm glad we fixed that leak - you will have to paint the ceiling now"

That shows he made the connection between the two. But leaving the client without a complete solution.

"Why didn't you tell me about the stain on the ceiling?"

Now that's really poor. So similar to "They never said they needed that" excuse. click here to read more.

"We should paint that stain on the ceiling - would you like me to do that?"

Getting there (creating a new opportunity, delivering value-added work). But a little late, don't you think?

The best would have been for him to ask, at the time he bid to fix the roof, to see if there were any related problems inside the house. As in:

"You have other leaks on the roof, let me see inside the house and I'll give you an estimate for both."

Which one did he really say? The last.

Here are some other articles you may find of interest:

Why are clients the way they are?
where we suggest that if one puts one's self in the client's shoes, we can adapt our words and actions to make

They never said they needed that
 where we discuss the common problem of ever changing requirements

"Is that your final answer? Consulting and the Millionaire show"
 where we discuss a very powerful technique we can learn from the show that will reduce our grief on the job.

Enjoy the S.I.P.s
where we discuss the Strategic Inflection Points of client projects. If you learn to understand the hows and whys of SIP's you will feel stronger and more confident.

or go to the articles index.

And of course, you're welcome to browse through our site: our workshops, discussion forums, industry news.