Long ago during my Feng Shui Classes and through all the years after, I have NEVER promised a client we can create exactly what they want to come about from a Feng Shui Consultation. We CAN promise to change the Energy but nothing more. Clients without a thorough understanding of what Feng Shui entails should investigate more prior to booking a consultation and I always recommend they look for someone who is Certified (many people aren't aware anyone can read a book on Feng Shui and call themselves a Feng Shui Consultant). I have also seen lately that people "stretch" the number of years they have been practicing....
Unfair. To the clients and this is NOT ethical behavior. Unfortunately, clients do not think to check the information and sometimes book a consultation when they are coming from a place of desperation, the worst time to get the BEST results. I am NOT saying it won't help, it very well may, but promises should NEVER be made. If you ever decide to get a consultation and are promised the results you want, RUN, don't walk. It's just not possible.
Today was disturbing for me as I received three calls from the same potential client. I spent quite a bit of time talking to her and could clearly see this woman was desperate for a "quick fix" to a distressing situation she was going through. While I was explaining to her how I practiced, what I incorporate and that we never promise "cures" for problems, she said that's not what another consultant had told her. According to this woman, she had been promised that things would change for her and what she wanted to happen would if she booked a consultation. I was very upset to hear this.
People don't always book under the best of circumstances, in fact quite often that is exactly why they will call and they should. But coming from a desperate place and looking for an overnight miracle is not likely to happen. I don't know who she spoke to and I don't want to. I DO know that for the most part, Feng Shui Consultants that are Certified have achieved a level of learning in much more depth than anyone can learn from a book and they truly do want to help their clients but this is, unfortunately, not the first time I have heard some outrageous claims. Promising a particular outcome to a client is wrong by any standards.
It saddens me that to many, Feng Shui has become a BUSINESS, plain and simple. And it's become, for a few, all about the money. They don't take follow ups from clients or only a limited amount is permitted for follow ups. Which means if your terrific client gets that wonderful new job just a little late, the consultant will never hear about it. Because their "follow-up" time has run out.....I hope my clients keep in contact with me for years to come and call me with further questions no matter how much time has elapsed. I want to hear EVERYTHING and more often then not, it's some WONDERFUL news. I can't help but wonder if much of what Feng Shui started out to be is lost....
The woman? She called back the consultant who PROMISED HER THE RESULTS SHE WANTS. I sure hope she gets them, but somehow I doubt she will. And more damage will be done. Book carefully, check schools and don't be afraid to grill someone you are inviting into your home or business AND your personal life.
Carole, sometimes being honest doesn't work the way we are hoping it would (at the time) when trying for a listing or in your situation, a consultation.
The same thing happened to me a week or so ago. I was called on a listing appointment, and the people had an inflated view of the value of their home (which still needed a lot of work) . They told me they were interviewing three people for the listing. I told them I had to be honest with regards to the value ( honesty is very big with me and I am always honest) and the value I gave them was less than the perceived value that they had placed on their home. They called me the next day and said they were listing with someone who had given them a much higher value than what I had. I'm just as glad because I do not want an overpriced listing......they are a lot of work and I would rather be putting energy into other clients.
I do feel that honesty is the best policy and in the end it saves us everytime......usually from a lot of wasted energy working with someone we were never meant to work with. Like they say 'the truth will set you free..'
Jo
Hello Carole,
I thought your key word was "promise"! How can a real professional promise our clients anything? It is hard to tell our prospective clients that we cannot promise them the results they want, You "peace: we, "sold".
I would rather lose a listing by telling the truth than fool them with false promises. Usually, I get them back anyway, after the "charlatan" has failed them. Resist temptation, as Carole says folks, if you can't deliver what they they think they want, leave them!
David
Hi Carole,
People in desperate situations do not usually want to hear the truth when it is not the answer they are looking for.
Promises are dangerous in most situations because most things are out of our control.
Good post. Thank you.
Nicole, You are absolutely right, no one in almost ANY business can absolutely guarantee results to come out to a client's exact expectations. Particularly in Feng Shui. By doing so this consultant may not realize she may be causing damage to this client. Thank you for your comment.
Sally, Thank you. I have been fortunate as well to have many life long friends that began as clients. And they all started with a phone call and my being HONEST with them. I think most people appreciate the truth, not a deception. In this particular case when the client does not get what she was "promised" she is likely to sink even lower; these practices make me very unhappy.
Laurie, Thank you for your lovely comment. It is sad to think that money is the dominating factor in why some people may be going into this "business." Some consultants charge exorbitant rates and I have to wonder who that helps? The average person can't afford it so it only benefits the rich :(
Jo, I used to think clients came our way for a reason and I still do for the most part. But you're absolutely right, I was not meant to work with this particular one as she needs to be coming from a better place to get the best results. I don't think that she liked hearing that, I spent over the course of the day much more then an hour speaking with her but she (sadly) apparently did not hear me. Nor did those people that did not accept your honest evaluation of their home.
Lizette, great analogy and unfortunately I think you are right. This is not the time for her to be seeking a "magical cure" and someone certainly shouldn't have promised her one. I know that people often get "stuck" and I can help with that but not when they are desperate for a solution and will believe what someone tells them because that is what they want to hear.
Brad, Thank you for your comment. This woman is too "down" right now to look at the bright things or the possible silver lining. And sometimes it's difficult.....always a good time to turn things over to the Universe which we should be doing anyway.
David, I couldn't agree with you more. But the potential for harm to this already discouraged person is what has me most concerned. She will get her hopes up and then if she doesn't get exactly what she wanted she may fall into a depression....Conducting ourselves in any business with some heart and honesty is the best way we can truly help our clients. Thank you for your kind comment.
Cynthia, Thank you so much, you put it better then I did. We don't have control over what happens after a Consultation, we can do the best possible job to open up the Energy in a positive direction but that direction is not always what the client wants or expects....and to promise someone something that is out of their control is potentially harmful. I am glad I don't know who the consultant is!