Constantly enquiring about something or other yet never spending money on actual advice or doing anything about the situation, the Tyre Kicker is on a nearly endless loop of skirting around taking action and not ever getting there.
Catch cry: ‘Yes, I suppose you should send a quote…’
Red Flags: you may have a Tyre Kicker on your hands if you encounter anything like the following:
- ‘Thank you for what you told me two months ago, I now have a totally different issue I need help with…’
- ’I’ve just got a lot on at the moment, can I come back to you about that matter soon?’
The Good: at least the Tyre Kicker isn’t afraid to ask! And if you don’t ask, you don’t receive, so chances are the Tyre Kicker will, cumulatively perhaps, get the answers they seek in the end – or at least some of them.
The Bad: we think the better chances are that the Tyre Kicker will rarely, if ever, push their dispute along. At worst, the Tyre Kicker will operate on the belief they are owed assistance and until they get it, they will just keep asking. In our experience, that means the issue remains unresolved and probably worsens.
Making the Tyre Kicker Work For the Scheme: given the Tyre Kicker’s reluctance to take action, the scheme can be reasonably confident in making their own decisions and being able to implement them without a lot of fear of challenge. Perhaps the Tyre Kicker can be tasked with obtaining quotes for all manner of things – it’s something they are usually pretty comfortable doing.
What Can We Do When It Becomes a Problem? the Tyre Kicker is a problem for service providers – including strata managers, caretakers, legal and other practitioners – most of all. Their constant search for assistance ties up time and resources. When it becomes problematic, don’t be afraid to refer to previous quotes, advices or communications, rather than reinventing the wheel. Moreover, know your boundaries: draw the line on getting involved when you need to.
Fun Fact: is someone (including a committee) a tyre kicker maybe because they have been burnt before, either by poor assistance, or someone saying they would do something, but then not doing so? Perhaps a lack of specificity is really what’s driving the Tyre Kicker.
Think You May Be a Tyre Kicker? Remember our old strata mantra: “nothing changes until you decide to take action”. In other words – kick away, but be prepared to go nowhere in doing so.
Can Strata Solve Assist? Sure can! Drop us a line to see how we can assist with this and related strata issues.