I thought a discussion about what steps are taken and how we keep our clients satisfied before, during, and after the remodeling process.
So what do you do to keep your customers raving about you?
I’ll start with a few of the things we do.
1) Find small items to fix beyond the contract, I’m not talking about giving away the farm just 5-10 min little fixes.
2) Before starting the job warning them of the high and low’s of the process, being honest and not trying to sugar coat the impact their project may have on their daily lives.
3) Should be expected, protecting their house and leaving a clean site.
4) Keeping them well informed and communicating well through out.
Those are all pretty basic IMO and not all we do, but it’s a start.
So again, what are you doing to create a larger referral base by keeping your clients more then happy??
Replies
So what do you do to keep your customers raving about you?
LOL! That's funny as heck! Well; we can dream......................
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So if they're not, why not, and how do you fix it?
I'll bite.
It starts with creating reasonable expectations.
Good listening skills.
Honest forthright promises.
Under promise/over deliver.
Honor the promises, and manage the expectations.
Hope for the best.[email protected]
I do pretty much the same things, though my DW and I have problems over the giving away the small things. I do it anyway.
One thing I've started is if I have to go back for any waranty work I will give the client a gift card for dinner for two at a nice restaurant sometimes. We try to look at a call back as another form of advertising. Why not, everybody has them, so use it to your advantage.
At the end of a job, I walk the house or office with a can of 3-in-1 oil and oil the hinges. One client said she had a loose screw in the bedroom, I was 24 and single...
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
We look at this as the area where we can really seperate ourselves from the competition.
1) Unless there is some sort of major hidden issue or the customer asks for changes we work hard to stick to the quoted price. We are not the cheapest and so we include some cushion for unexpected small items.
2) We tarp from the door to the area we are working.
3) We clean the work site at the end of every day including vacuming. On the way out the door we roll the tarps up and vacume beside them. The goal is to allow the client to walk the work area in socks without hurting themselves. We never shake out tarps at the house, only at the shop.
4) We also fix small items for free. I instruct all of our folks to be particularly picky about how the door we are using operates. If it squeaks or rubs we need to oil it and adjust it. Another one is to lube the garage door. Amazing the difference and everyone notices it. We also put the items we fix on the bill and put N/C in the cost column so we know we get credit for it.
5) Any warranty calls get a call back the same day no matter how small. If it is a leak or such we go immediately. If it is an adjustment we schedule it within the week. I try very hard to send the person back that did the job. Customer feels good that the guy cared enough to come back. The guy hates it because he has to eat crow and fix his own mistake so he works harder next time to not have any.
6)Whoever sells the job takes the guy (s) to the site the first day, introduces them and walks the job with the contract and reviews it with the crew. We really have already done this at the shop but it reassures the client that we are working to be on the same page. And often a little item or add on item that I or the sales guy might have missed gets mentions so it helps us too.
7) Clean trucks. I know some don't agree and in new contruction it might not matter but I can't tell you how many compliments we get from that.
As you can see this is a big area with me. Our biggest reason we hear about for repeat customers is what you see here. DanT
Dan,
It's also very important to me and like yourself, we use it as way to separate ourselves.
We do most all the things you do, the "No Charge" on the bill is a big one, I try to find at least 1 or 2 very small items on each job. Customers seem to love it no matter how small. Our prices, like yours, are fixed. I will not charge a customer for an obvious over-site on our behalf. I tell customers the two things that will change the cost of a project are 1) you add something 2) we discover something that was hidden inside the walls I couldn't see. Even the small hidden stuff is usually taken care of and noted to the H/O. Larger items like a termite colony that was not evident, grossly bad wiring, etc. are billed for.
If we're replacing siding and windows which are in horrible shape I will explain to the H/O that we may find some damaged framing etc. But I can not give them a price on it until it's opened up. Letting them know up front of any potential additional charges. If it's obvious there is some damage we build in an allowance for it that seems reasonable, if it goes over the allowance they pay he difference, if it's less we credit it back. No major charges are added with out them knowing about it before hand.
The drops or cardboard from the door to work site is a big one. If it's carpet that self stick carpet protection is great.
I try to take the Lead Carp to the job at least a week prior to walk through and do a meet and greet, larger jobs have a more formal Pre-Con conference with a check list we walk through.
Clean job sites are a no brainer, I tell my guys my goal at the end of the day is the H/O should not know we were there except for the progress. clean clean clean. It doesn't take that long, 30 min at most at the end of the day and it's built in.
I'd like to implement a check up system where we call the customer 30 days, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after the job to check on them, I've yet to be able to come up with a reliable system to make sure it happens. Given the amount of jobs we complete every year it's hard to find the time. I'm thinking a simple white board and calendar next to it with customer name and date to call back.....
One strategy for tasks in the future is called a "tickle file". Anytime something for the future pops up (like follow-up in 6 months) create an index card with the pertinent info, putting the date at the top of the card. File the card in chronological order of followup in the tickle file. Someone has to be responsible for the tickle file, and they check it every morning to see what has to be done that day.This only works if ONE person is responsible for making sure follow-up happens. It can't be a "whoever has time" kinda thing.
the clean and the communications is sometimes more important than the cost to some
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Cost is irrelevant for me when it comes to selling a job. Ok, that maybe an over-statement. I like to be reasonable and believe we do provide value, but I can't sell on price, there are two many smaller one man bands and cut rate contractors out there with much lower operating expenses then us.
Communication is huge though, and the more time we spend on it the less issues arise.
I had a job a few months ago, the lead flaked out, burnt out, and went no-show for a week straight, well we had 4-5 other decent size jobs going at the same time and I had no one to shake loose for 2 weeks to keep their project rolling. They were one of the happiest clients I've had at the end of the job, I credit that to our honest & constant communication during the time the guy flaked out.
One of my guys had a good idea.
At the end of the job give the customer a booklet with before/during/and after pictures in it. I'd like to include additional information, a copy of the job specs, all product information for items we installed, such as appliances, light fixtures, paint colors, etc.
They did something similar at this guys last employer and according to him, customers loved sharing the picture booklet with their friends. I'd hope we can have the same result.
Thoughts?
I like the photo album deal but we do a lot of bathrooms, toughest thing to get a decent picture of. Simply no room in most houses. We did a double bath a few years ago that was quite nice with a lot of tile, corian etc. I hired a pro photographer. Still got lousy shots lol.
We often (my basket person is gone so it doesn't happen as regular as it should) leave a basket in the clear wrap stuff with soap, bath and body works stuff, scrubber etc. in the bath tub or shower whenever we do a bathroom. Big hit.
Also do a follow up survey and thank you card. Piffin is right. With some customers communication and clean is it.
We try to visit each job in progress twice a week minimum. A lot of our clients aren't home but it also is important that the staff gets some attention time too.
I am glad you mentioned the flake out lead. I had a worker do that to me but not a lead. I have always been concerned it might. Thanks for sharing how you handled it.
We do primarily small jobs. 1-4 weeks. 3-30k. But if any of our guys have a couple of tough jobs in a row I try to swing them into something simple and straight forward or one with some windshield time in it to break it up and allow some recovery while still making some money.
I think that one thing that makes all this work too is management. If you jump on a guy for doing extra or taking time out to clean it simply won't happen. When one of my guys does something out of the ordinary I bring it up at our morning meeting. I had one of my leads Doing a porch roof and the owner sprained his ankle the evening before at the park. The guy was in pain and the lawn needed mowed. The lawn was small so my guy at the end of the day fired up the mower and cut the grass real quick. Took 20 minutes. The guy tells everyone about us.
I also laughed when you said money is secondary. I had a landscaper here tell me that he doesn't do his business for the money, but because he wants to give people a good deal. I am glad you folks can do that and survive. I on the other hand want to make money lol. Guess I am cheap and shallow. DanT
no no no, you miss understood when I said money doesn't matter..... It certainly matters to me lol, what I meant is the over cost of the job. As an example I might be at 14K for a mostly basic bathroom, my "competition" might come in it at 11,500 or 12K. So I can't compete on price, I try to differentiate us from the other guys by our service.
That said I will put customer satisfaction and happiness before a single job's profitability.
I had no idea how to handle the lead flaking out, so I went with brute honesty... Not sure what else I could have done..
I like the bathroom basket idea, could probably be adopted to a kitchen with a fruit basket etc... I'm stealing that idea.
I do the same as you with our leads, most have their definite strengths so they seem to have similar jobs in a row, but I do try to mix up, one to let them learn more and expand and second to give them a break from the daily grind. I try hard to not give the same person two shtty jobs in a row...
Edit: I can NEVER get a decent picture of any of our bathrooms, we've done some real nice ones but the pictures always suck... I'm thinking maybe a real wide angle lens? My knowledge in photography is lacking though. They seem to pull it off ok in magazines though.
Edited 7/1/2007 8:01 pm ET by CAGIV
We still take the before and after photos of the baths, they just rarely come out to be anything we can really use. Our bathroom photos spread is a mixed bag of bathrooms where one shot or another looks ok. We did 25 bath remodels last year and I bet we don't have 10 good shots.
I did understand the money thing. Just caught me funny remembering that landscaper. Like the fruit basket thing. I wonder if they sell fruit at the dollar general store. DanT
Check out your local home and garden magazine. There are usually photographers who specialize in architectural shots. They have got the lenses to get the bathroom shots. I have also used the photographer who does real estate virtual tours. Each project costs about $50 or $100. Pretty decent photography as well.
Bruce
They're called fish-eye lenses. Look for something down around 4mm (equivelent).
A fish-eye lens will give you a wacked out fish-eye looking picture.What you need for today's digital SLRs is one of the 10-22mm range zoom lenses.Canon makes a 10-22 for their cameras, Sigma, Tokina and Tamron make equivalant lenses to fit Canon and other cameras.It's not just for bathrooms - I use mine to photograph every project. The basement shown is only approx 12' x 22' yet looks much more expansive.At the very least - you need a small digicam with a 28mm (effective) focal length.To do this on a budget - you can get a started Digital SLR for $400 these days, and the wide zoom lens will run you $400-700. It's important to take many shots of each view, changing your height and angle throughout - you'll not know what looks best until you see them on the computer screen.Also, keeping low is usually better as it keeps the vertical lines from getting too weird. At all times - keep looking at all of the vertical and horizontal lines in the picture to keep the best balance between what features get visually wacked out and which ones look correct.A very slight change in camera angle or view makes a huge difference in the final look.Here's also a picture of a staircase I just finished - also using the 10mm lens couldn't have done it without it. The laundry room project was the toughest yet to photograph as it was only a (approx) 6'x8' room with a door at the end of the room; also used the 10mm lens for that.As for lighting - if you have a nicely lit finished project - it's usually best to turn off the flash and use a tripod and use the existing lighting. Here's a tip though - if you need to accent or fill with your on-camera flash - put a bit of scotch tape on the lens and then use an orange sharpie to color the "flash" orange - that will match the color balance of the fill (flash) light to the tungsten ambient lighting. Another tip - if you don't own a cable release or a remote shutter release for your camera - shoot your tripod pictures on self timer to avoid moving the camera during the exposure.The ability to show very nice before and after pictures is probably one of the main things that allows me to stand out from a lot of the other guys out there. That, and trying to follow the advice given here in this thread.JT
Edited 7/2/2007 11:53 am ET by JulianTracy
JT, those are some excellent shots. Well done on the project too!Lignum est bonum.
Thanks.JT
Trouble is, now I really want to get that DSLR I've been ogling. Damn damn damn you!Lignum est bonum.
Which one?A few tips - check Dealmac.com daily for camera deals (they have an archive you can search).Dell.com has had some truly amazing deals on Dslrs that only last for a few days - worth looking out for.If no crazy deals are present - BH Photovideo is the premeir source for photo equipment and their prices will almost always beat any local B&M or chain prices.Don't be talked into any "kit"deals, aside from the basic included 18-55 lens. Any other bundled products will generally be crap-#### quality.The bundled kit lens on most brands is a 18-55 - it usually adds about $100 to the cost of the camera body - for $100, they aren't too bad, but there's a reason that a decent 17-40 costs $699 by itself.Get a fast 2GB card and you'll have as much capacity as you'll ever need. Sandisk Ultra II or III or IV is a great card with dependable results - don't be talked into whatever they sell - get the Sandisk Ultra.Don't bother with a 2nd battery - these days, Dslr batteries last for over 300-400 shots and if not used much will hold a charge the better part of a month.Don't buy a 3rd party flash unit - get the lower priced Camera brand unit. for Canon, that'd be the 420 or 430EX. They run between $160-240, but the results will be almost perfect and you won't have to think of a thing to use it. Plus- the resale diff is tremendous. Make sure it swivels and bounces for doing accent lighting off a ceiling.But it - you'll get great pictures of your work and have a great time being creative with your photography. ( I was a photog for 20 years...)JT
Thanks, that's some excellent advice.Lignum est bonum.
Edit: I can NEVER get a decent picture of any of our bathrooms, we've done some real nice ones but the pictures always suck... I'm thinking maybe a real wide angle lens? My knowledge in photography is lacking though. They seem to pull it off ok in magazines though
Fish eye lens does it
I've always done the before-and-after pic thing. Used to be a little photo album; now a CD. Clients love it.
Forrest
As a homeowner I think the photo album is an excellent idea. You might want to look into an online photo printing service--it's easier and sometimes even cheaper than printing them yourself, and most of them offer options for printing up booklets & such. You can even make bound photo albums, I don't know prices offhand but that might be a nice touch for the bigger jobs. The one I've used is called Shutterfly, but there are lots of similar ones.
"At the end of the job give the customer a booklet with before/during/and after pictures in it. I'd like to include additional information, a copy of the job specs, all product information for items we installed, such as appliances, light fixtures, paint colors, etc."Another nice thing about the "during" photos is a visual layout of what's behind the walls. So that if they want to change something later, need to track down a repair, or simply hang something with a whomping big hanger, they at least get a chance to look and see what's there. Gives a fair chance to avoid plumbing, electrical, whatever. soj
There are some real gems in here:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-04-14-ceos-waiter-rule_x.htm