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Thought about putting together a list of FAQs for my customers. Some examples would be: “At the end of the project, who owns the left over materials?” OR “Do you offer me a credit if the project takes less time than you estimated?”. There are a bunch of recurring questions that could be listed.
What would you include in your list of FAQs? (BTW I might plagiarize YOURS. Be warned, I am feeling awful lazy)
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Replies
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Do you work on weekends?
How many other people work with you (i.e. How many other strangers will be in my house?)
Are you insured?
How long is this going to take?
Can I pay you six months from now for work you finish today?
(I know that last one sounds like a joke, but I've heard it...really!)
I have a list one mile long Peter.
(You know, if I cut out the word "list" in the above sentence, it sure does boost my confidence)
Mike
*Why did you charge me an extra $100 when I changed from a composite tub to a cast iron? The difference in price was ONLY $3.
*Peter,you have a good idea. I think I am gonna steal it.I give prospects a large information packet with a letter that discusses some of these things,an insurance cert.,a workers comp. cert., and a lot of product lit. supplied by the brands I prefer to use.I think I will ad your faq list to the packet.Eventually a lot of this is gonna be handled by a 4-6 page 8x11 color brochure
*Peter...great idea...near the stream,aj
*Sonny Lykos covers some of these kinds of questions in his "The Process". I can't remember at what point he gives this document to the client. Better to take care of all of the hidden/overlooked/contentious issues up-front. I like your idea of a flyer (or could be on a web page), because it allows you to tweak and modify, and saves you time having to explain and re-explain. I believe the more educated the client, the better the overall process.
*I think the most important factor in whether a customer is satisfied at the end of a job is how well we have communicated throughout the job. Seems to me a list of FAQs sends the message to them that "this is the way I do business, that's the way it is". I do have a few clauses that I include in contracts that cover left over materials, payment schedules, clearly stated mark-ups for t+m and extras, warrenty periods...but beyond that I try to encourage questions and discussion with customers, carefully considering their questions and needs. I try to stay flexible and tailor each contract to their specific job. These questions that come up over and over are a great opportunity to demonstrate that you see that customer as an individual, with needs that may differ from others. At least, that approach has worked well for me. "Good listeners" are hard to find, I find the better I pay attention to their needs, the more they appreciate it.I guess another way to think about it is, are you a "production" builder, who has a system down so as to maximize mental energy and profits, or are you a "custom" builder, who tries to help give each customer exactly what they want, even if it means deviating from your established norms? Are you flexible, or rigid and set in your ways? Do you have an open mind? Do you respect other's opinions and questions? These are character traits that emerge as we deal with others, even if we aren't aware of it.
*I've written a lot of that into a form called "Terms and Conditions of Work" that I keep on a seperate sheet of paper That I have the customer sign in addition to the contract. And every other job or so I end up adding another line. The latest one was: Do not attempt to complete any of the work specified in the contract yourself. (That's why you hired me in the first place numbnuts) It helps resolve problems before the work even begins.
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Thought about putting together a list of FAQs for my customers. Some examples would be: "At the end of the project, who owns the left over materials?" OR "Do you offer me a credit if the project takes less time than you estimated?". There are a bunch of recurring questions that could be listed.
What would you include in your list of FAQs? (BTW I might plagiarize YOURS. Be warned, I am feeling awful lazy)