Customer Service TIPS! (please contribute)
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Topic: Customer Service TIPS! (please contribute)
Posted By: Atlantis
Subject: Customer Service TIPS! (please contribute)
Date Posted: 10/June/2008 at 11:50pm
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I'd like to share some of the techniques I've been successful with. Much advice I got from reading the forums so I know a lot of you guys are more experienced and know about a lot of these things already but I am counting on you guys to add to the topic and discuss ways to improve! For the new guys to this industry this is GOOD ADVICE! #1. Don't put out coupons and don't price cheap! (Got it from this website actually). I've noticed that my client base is much higher quality and my repeat and referral rate has dramatically increased doing this! Don't be the cheapest but definitely don't be the most expensive. My rule is never advertise next to the $6.95/room guys (with the fine print of heavy traffic additional charge haha). First, it's a waste of money because they will get the calls (only to get ripped off) and second you don't want to be anywhere near them (you don't even see them as competitors). I stay away from valuepack and greensheet and stuff like that. #2. Educate the customer especially when closing a call! The more knowledgeable you sound on the phone the more likely the customer will book with you. Call some of your competitors and find out how they are answering the phone. If you're listed next to people who have random girls answering the phones who don't know anything you've got it made! #3. Don't bore the customer or talk above them! This goes especially when booking a job. Talk in lamens terms, throwing in a technical word or two in but be sure to explain what you mean! #4. Never slam a competitor or tell the customer the last person didn't know what they were doing! You don't want the customer to have any negative feelings or feel like they wasted their money on the last company. Instead say something like "well, I've done it all. Bonnet cleaning, portable units and truck mounts. I can achieve great results with each but the first two take quite a bit longer than the method I use. It's the number one recommended cleaning by manufactures for a reason, not only does it deep clean the carpets with no extra effort or charge to you but the job time is usually cut in half with outstanding results!" Then maybe you can add "but you know, our machines are $30,000 compared to $1000 for the other methods so there is a reason why some people to choose use those methods" (wink). You just communicated two things to the customer without being negative. A> you are much more professional than the last guy and B> you care enough about their carpets and your work to invest heavily in doing the job right! #5. Don't apologize too much! If you are running late, make sure to call the customer, apologize once and that's it! Maybe say "sorry to keep you waiting" (when you walk in the door) and say "for being so patient I'm going to make sure you get the best service you've ever had!" Too much apologizing and some customers will think they have you by the balls. Remember, you are a professional and you have a lot of houses to clean that day. You are willing to go the extra mile for Mrs. Smith who was waiting so patiently for you just as you went the extra mile for Mrs. Jones whose house you were at just before. Don't ever come out and say this.. just show it! #6. Do a little extra! If you see bathroom rugs, run your wand over it! If you see a spot in a room that is not on the ticket, hit the spot! Then at the end of the job say "oh, by the way, I went ahead and hit the rugs in your bathrooms real quick so they'll take a bit to dry. I didn't want you to have a clean master bath and dirty rugs!" Customer LOVE this kind of stuff. Of course, be tactful, don't go hit an oriental rug and wind up shooting yourself in the foot! #7. TAKE YOUR TIME! My helper and I can zoom in and out of a job in about an hour, an hour and a half if we do the whole house but when it's necessary we go back over whatever we have to! Sometimes I've even loaded all of the hoses and during the walk through I'll notice an area that I didn't notice before that I think may come up a bit better. Even if the customer is happy I'll unload everything and hit that area! Customers are just AMAZED with this, even if it doesn't make a difference then look them in the eye and say "ma'am, I'm very meticulous with my work, I just had to be sure this was the best it would come out. Now I'm satisfied with the job!" Also, don't be afraid to take an extra 20 minutes re-unloading and loading if during the final walk through the customer isn't too thrilled about a certain area. That extra 20 minutes will save you one to two hours of having to go back and make you a life long customer! #8. FINAL WALK THROUGH! If you're not walking through with the customer after every job then you're not doing it right! Walk through, address any spots that are permanent, acknowledge that you saw them, worked on them etc. etc. make sure everything is good. I tell every customer after the walk through (before I hand them the bill) "does everything look good and smell good because I won't accept payment until you say it does!" #9. Be HONEST! Don't BS a customer because they know! And if they don't know they'll find out! And if I go behind you then I'll be completely truthful with the customer and make you look that much worse! #10. BE HAPPY! Even if you are having a bad day! Smile! Don't talk about negative things! Don't talk about negative things in the customer lives (like let's say the family pet just died and they are having their carpets cleaned because it was sick in it's old age). If the customer is talking about something negative that is going on, LISTEN! (sometimes these lonely housewives just want someone who will LISTEN!) Sympathize a bit (for instance: Oh, I know what it's like. I had a ____ growing up and I loved him so much and I went through the same experience of having to put him to sleep. It was such a tough decision to make but he was suffering so much, I understand it is the only thing to do sometimes. I'm sure he's thanking you right now. (look in the eye and smile) and say "wow, I love how you've decorated the place! The carpets are a perfect color, how old are they? Oh really? They look great for 5 years old, how often do you have them professionally cleaned?" Or "wow, I love how you've decorated the place! The carpets are a perfect color! We'll have them back to normal in no time!" Big smile! But most importantly be sincere! If you can't be sincere then you should probably just skip this piece of advice all together because of #9! Hope to see some of you guys contributing and commenting! |
Replies:
Posted By: Atlantis
Date Posted: 11/June/2008 at 12:03am
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Lemme add one more! My favorite! SWEAT! SWEAT! AND SWEAT! And when a customer asks if you'd like a glass of water say "I appreciate it but we keep a cooler in the van" (wink) "plus, if I don't sweat I don't feel like I'm doing a good job" (smile, wipe your brow and continue working). This shows two things. A> You've come prepared to sweat with a cooler full of water and B> you LOVE doing what you do! Even if you don't have water, just deal with it until you leave or sneak a drink out of the bathroom sink hehehehe if you MUST! Oh, be sure too keep deodorant and cologne in your van to freshen up between jobs! Some guys carry mints too. I carry a bottle of Listerine. Freshens your breathe but also kills germs at the same time! ;) Oh, and I'll say it because it has to be said. NEVER USE THE CUSTOMER BATHROOM! Don't ask! Ever! You should have done that before you got to the house, deal with it until you are done with the job! |
Posted By: FreshAire
Date Posted: 11/June/2008 at 5:57am
| Re Bathroom... sometimes not using it is not an option, especially if you have a job that's gonna take 4-6hrs and 2hrs into the job your call of nature is already becoming a scream!!! |
Posted By: FuzzSucker
Date Posted: 11/June/2008 at 9:12pm
Dont use the bathroom?!! I save a little bit of poop for each house!  
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Posted By: Atlantis
Date Posted: 13/June/2008 at 10:10pm
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FuzzSucker wrote:Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 14/June/2008 at 10:22am
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using the customer bathroom to take a dump shows no class...
Learn to hold that sh*t in....lol
Everything Atlantis said is right on the money!
Drop cloths, booties, clean shoes, nicely groomed, smelling good, those are a few thing I would add. clean washed truck, being right on time or 10 mins early.
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Posted By: Ken_Is_OK
Date Posted: 14/June/2008 at 2:29pm
one guy forced me to drink his Polish booze LOL I left there pissed and had to call a taxi 
LOL
Just kidding but I did take 1 shot
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Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 15/June/2008 at 7:26pm
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One of the most important " pre job" Preparation Questions when scheduling a customer is " Are their any specific concerns that we should be aware of before we arrive" . " Any specialty spotting issues that may be required , such as urine contamination, red dyes or Any OTHER specific concerns that you have " .
This question asked 100% of the time when you are scheduling the carpet will save you many many headaches. It gives you an opportunity to PRE_EDUCATE the customer....you get to explain the normal limitations that exist in each spotting situation that they have . You will never end up with a customer who says" if you can't get it out I'm not paying " because you already took the wind out of his or her sail by PRE_EDUCATING. THEY NOW HAVE REALISTIC expectations! and that is where you want all customers to be . You also will make sure you have all you chemicals and equipment aboard to take care of the special needs. Getting a customer to have realistic expectations and then exceeding them = A Success growing business! Just some food for thought ...after 26 years. |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 15/June/2008 at 7:56pm
Some ppl really dont give a $hit.....
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Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 15/June/2008 at 8:26pm
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And some do ------------- 
The STD Meter |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 15/June/2008 at 11:03pm
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Right in the customers toilet....
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Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 16/June/2008 at 12:00am
| did that once and the water was turned off ! |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 16/June/2008 at 12:09am
Bummer.. What did ya do? Suck it up with your machine? 
Try it when the lights go out..
 Good thing my cellphone has a bright screen.. |
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 16/June/2008 at 12:36am
If I was going to use the washroom in someone's house, I would make sure the toilet flushed first. Otherwise.......  -------------
The STD Meter |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 16/June/2008 at 12:34pm
Sometimes you can only hold it so long.. Rather go than go in your pants..
Maybe they will never call you back cause you used their bathroom.. Come on man thats rediculous..
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Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 16/June/2008 at 9:10pm
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I you take a crap in the customer bathroom... 1 fill the toilet bowel with some deo first
2 make sure you have a spray of deo with you for afterwards
3 as soon as the kids hit the pool flush.. flush flush
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Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 17/June/2008 at 1:27am
You do this quite regularly, don't you??? -------------
The STD Meter |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 17/June/2008 at 9:41am
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never...but if I have to I'm prepared |
Posted By: FuzzSucker
Date Posted: 17/June/2008 at 6:07pm
im a pro carpet cleaner not a pro dump holder. If i got to go I go. 
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Posted By: Atlantis
Date Posted: 17/June/2008 at 8:44pm
I agree with your philosophy 100% but with your strategy about 80%. I try to keep it as brief as possible on the phone and just book the job. No selling, no scotchguard, no odor removal, NOTHING. I wait for the initial walk through for all of that. I always play dumb on the phone too (to an extent). "You know, I'm not a certified technician but I can tell you that our guys are some of the best in the industry. If they can't get it out, no one can!" then I'll add (hahahaha) "I'll tell you what, I'm going to send out John and Jane (me and my wife- not our real names though because this is on the internet). They have been with us for 7 years and I know John has been doing this for 11. They are the best we have!" (Of course, you gotta be good for this one! If not, they'll think your company sucks! hahahahha! HOWEVER When a customer talks about pet staining I tell them "well, we pretreat the entire carpet with a live enzyme so in many cases that will take care of light odor. If the odor is excessive there are many different things we can do from a topical disinfectant to pad replacement. See, pet stains can effect not only the surface of the carpet but the backing, the padding and the sub floor as well. The guys are equipped with high powered UV lights and urine detectors to test the padding of the carpet. They will take a look at everything and if anything else is required they'll put everything in writing before doing any work, then you can decide what you would like us to do. Don't worry, they won't just go to work and stick you with a large bill at the end" If I get a customer who is looking for a guarantee of spot removal (or something of that nature) I tell them this "Ma'am, only an inexperienced technician would guarantee something like that because anyone in the business long enough knows that something that looks like it will never come out can come out in a second and vice versa. We promise you this, if we can't get it out, NOONE CAN because we use the industries top machines and pretreatments". Never had a problem with that one! And then I'll add "but you have to keep in mind, our motto is under promise and over deliver". Now, during the intitial walk through, that's when I lay everything out on the table. And I am EXTREMELY cautious about predicting things. Sometimes I'll say "Ma'am, I'm not a psychic. If I were I wouldn't be cleaning carpets! But I can promise that if I can't get it out, no one can!" (but if you use this one.. be careful how you say it because if you don't say it right it can come off as rude). |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 17/June/2008 at 11:24pm
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Atlantis, Your method seems to work for you. Keep trucking... If you tell someone the line about " If I can't get it out no one can " You better be able to back that up. I prefer to undersell and outperform also but set them up for realistic expectations or you will have problems.
addressing problems before the job is called educating the customer. Afterwards it is called making excuses ! A lesson that is best learned early......... it will save your tail many times over CYA , CYA, CYA |