Does anyone give a guarantee to their commercial clients? I do state that if they are not pleased with any aspect of our cleaning, we will return and take care of the problem...If theyre still not happy, we will refund their money (just like releasit cms program's guarantee)

well, we did a 30k job, and there were some minor complaints after we cleaned, and we fixed them, but still there was a little friction there after we recleaned some areas from the custodial supervisor (it looked fine, but the lady was REAL picky).

what im afraid of is someone like this calling back weeks later and telling me they want their money back because of our guarantee. I'm not to eager refunding 30k worth of work if that ever happened!!

I'm looking to reword it so at least it has some time limit (2 weeks??) and only the areas in question will get a refund.

any advice?

thanx

Joe

I don't believe in the money back guarantee, just because of the situation that you find yourself in. We do a demo, then if they are interested we give them a detailed estimate. We tell them that if they have any complaints we will return and make every attempt to take care of the problem. If after that they still are not pleased then they do not have to use our services anymore.
I do not ask our commercial clients to sign a contract. This may be a mistake but it has worked so far. I simply tell them that if they are not pleased with us then I do not want them bound by a contract. We have not had a problem yet.

I used the same Guarantee Joe.

One thing I be sure to do is use the proposal form and stipulate that all stains are not 100% removed as some require advanced methods. (I add this on the proposal and have them sign before doing the job). I add other things as well, based on the pre inspection of all areas.

I inspected a 5 bedroom home yesterday with major stains as well as signs of mold. I mentioned on the proposal we are not responsible for mode spores or mildew odors ect. I showed him the mold during the inspection.

Then if a stain come back you can just explain that this is one that require advanced method which you chose not to pay for. Or this is the high trafffic area that i mentioned to you that is already damaged and will never shine like the rest of the carpet.



Thanks
Your Servant Alex

Cultivate the "OCCD" you had at first for the industry!

On commercial I don't think you have to worry to much as compared to residential. If you are confident in your system and ability I would not loose sleep over it.
I offer a money back guarantee on both. You need to learn how to read people also. That will help you steer clear of the low lifes.

Just out of curiosity, what were the problems that you were able to fix on the follow up visit? What were they still not too happy about after? Also, is that person in some way jealous or offended that you are carrying on this service instead of her or her staff?

I too have wondered about the potential of refunding a huge area cleaned.

Actually, if you notice the job voucher form in Rick's CMS, it has a question asking the manager if they are satisfied with the service, and it must be signed as well. Might want to use that after cleaning. I will make sure I use that as well.

That form sounds like it could help solve or prevent problems in this area.

Is the individual giving you problems the decision maker, or just a member of the custodial staff? I can see a person acting like that if they feel like you are showing them up. I had a guy act like that on a demo I was doing. He was trying act like Mr. Know-it-all. He even was trying to tell me how to adjust the handle height of my Cimex.

Some people are very insecure.

If I was still managing 21 million sq. ft. of retail space for a major corp., I would want Rick Gelanis and Joe Desmond heading up the cleaning of those facalities.

Thanks Rambo!!
How's everything going. It's been a while since we talked.
Give me a call 770-843-0316

In my cleaning brochure and invoice, I say that "customer satisfaction is guaranteed". I believe that gives a great guarantee without the mentioning of returning any money. I prequalify problems and try to under promise and over preform. In three years no one has ever been unsatisfied. In my brochure I make the statement that "permanent damage or worn areas can not be restored". It's a great business!

I like Denny's response the best - I'm gonna redo my flyers and be a little careful on the wording - I feel the same way; I'd rather go back and do 2-3 touch-ups than refund $$ - that should be the last resort...

Joe

Twenty seven years (and counting)specializing in commercial carpet cleaning and maintenance and I have never offered a guarantee based on results. I promise my customer that I will do all that I am able to solve their problem. I don't remember a time when my customer brought up a guarantee, that I hadn't brought it up first. When I market our services, I focus on what my existing customers say about us, our attitude, and how easy we are to work with. I try to lead the conversation to them and their needs. They are usually not used to having someone take the time to listen to what they have to say. I try not to get bogged down with specifics and legalities. For me, it works best to concentrate on our quality attitude and then deliver the goods when they give us the work. Just my two cents. By the way, Joe, from what I know about you, I don't think you will have any trouble communicating a "quality attitude".

No offense but you cannot really and truly offer "Guaranteed Customer Satisfaction".  Can you have it as a goal- definately- can you guarantee it- not in 1,000,000,000,000 years- WHY?  You cannot control what may (or may not) satisfy some clients.

If you clean, reclean, apologize, beg, borrow, steal, give them your Cimex, give them a discount and jump off the roof your client still may not be satisfied.

The "money back guarantee" you can guarantee if you run your business correctly.

I would word in clauses for 1) 48 - 72 hour notice of dissatisfaction, 2) Reclean attempt at your expense, 3) Money back for unsatisfied areas only.

Chances are that one of three things happened:

1)  The client is just a picky pain in the ass.  (Possible)

2)  You are not properly cleaning the carpet (Not likely, but could happen).

3)  You failed to set proper expectations BEFORE the cleaning at the estimating phase.  (My money is here- Sorry, but it is ALMOST always the case- I know I've done it....I'll spank myself later).

Oh yeah, if it's #1 they are a pain in the ass then ask yourself this:

Is thier PITA factor greater or less then your stress level and the cash flow the generate for you.  If the stress is too great and the cashflow too low... FIRE THEM AND FIRE THEM NOW!!!!! 

With that amount of money on the line you cannot afford to be giving it back- especially if you have already utilized it.

Make you own luck,

Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care

Good stuff Del. RIGHT on the money!

I say give 'em a no strings attached, bold, no holds barred guarantee!

Why would I say that?

Because only a tremendously small minority will ever cross that line. Very very few will ever be disappointed (providing that you're doing things right). And fewer still will ever approach you to take advantage of the guarantee.

Now what do you have to gain? Let's say you have to eat one job a year because of your guarantee. But let's assume it gains you a sizable number of jobs during that same period. What have you lost? Nothing! Rather, you have gained exponentially on account of your guarantee.

My advice: Don't be afraid of offering a guarantee! And don't water it down either. Put it out there and let it help your customers feel secure when they do business with you.

In conclusion, let me give you a personal example. I started offering a 10 day trial on new Cimex purchases a few years back. Buy a new Cimex, try it for 10 days, and if you don't like it send it back. Do I have a lot to lose here? You betcha! I could wind up sitting with a warehouse of used machines. But I'm not! In a few years, I think we have had 2 people send 'em back. And that was because they were undecided about the machine in the first place. On the flip side, how many machines was I able to sell by sticking my neck out? Hundreds. A well placed satisfaction guarantee can be a powerful thing!








Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Here's what our commercial guarantee looks like...


Why Settle For Poor Service? You are always assured of complete satisfaction with our double guarantee!
1. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with any aspect of the service experience, we will promptly return to your facility and take care of the problem. 2. If we are still unable to satisfy you, we will be happy to provide a refund









Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

P.S.

I've used this guarantee for many years. And I've never once had to give a refund. We have come back out to fix a problem on occasion, but I've never had to open my checkbook.

Don't be afraid to offer a guarantee. I'd be more afraid not to!







Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

If you read the instructions to post an ad on eBay, they say that when ever you can offer a refund, it gives you a much better chance of selling something.

I think this is especially true in commercial carpet maintenance because people are used to be trapped in a contract, though receiving horrible service.

Unless you already have all the work in the world, anything to improve your chances of landing a job is great. Of course as Rick brought out, the risk/reward ratio is in your favor.

The only part is that we need to do the job right. People who spend the time to visit and post on a forum such as this one are people who can be confident in offering such a guarantee.

In addition to Rick's comment.

"All work is will be performed in accordance with the specifications summitted above".


Specifications above is: Inspection showed dye stains that require advanced method is not included in this proposal.

Option 2: Dye Stains present which requires advanced method for removal. Carpet already damaged from stain.posible discoloration may occur. However with our state of the art equippment and advanced cleaning agents we have a high percentage rate with advanced stain removal. The Servants not responsible for discoloration of the already damaged area.


Ive been using this and when the customer read this and sign it they understand what they agreed upon. And so when they get the awesome results of the cleaning they are happy. Or they may HUMBLY ask about a concern they may have. Its been only on residentials i've had to use this approach.

Thanks
Your Servant Alex

Cultivate the "OCCD" you had at first for the industry!