Hi, how would I handle a customer who seems to be trying to pull one over on me. I have a hosue cleaning svc and someone who does the cleaning for me. I've had several rave reviews and repeat customers with this cleaner. This past customer waited 41.5 hours AFTER the cleaning was completed and after the cleaner was paid, to call me and state that the place did not look like it had been cleaned.
I informed her ahead of time that someone would need to go over things with the cleaner before the cleaner was paid and left the house. She said her mother would be there to do it and pay my cleaner.
The customer's excuse is that she expected the cleaner to do what she had asked.
My expectation was for the customer to do as I asked and go over things before the cleaner was paid and left.
The customer admitted fault in not asking her mother to check the apartment with the cleaner before leaving. She stated that her mother did not know what to look for and that the place was already pretty clean since it was vacant.
I offered to have the cleaner come back for one hour. But denied a refund since the complaint came 41.5 hours after the cleaning was completed. A lot can happen in that amount of time.
The woman started to accuse me of just leaving her hanging with no solution.
I informed her that I did offer a solution of one hour. She then said 'fine do whatever you want' and hung up on me.
Then this morning sends me an email all of a sudden saying that her mom said the cleaning was so so and that she will have to take things to the next level if I do not do something for her.
What are my rights? What do I have to do and not have to do for her?
If this crybaby wants a refund or wants free services tell her she is fired and she can take her business elsewhere.
The bottom line here is this kind of customer will bleed you like a vampire and will drive your bottom line into the ground.
And guess what.She will not care and will run to the next company after you are out of business.
Do yourself a favor and FIRE HER as a customer and focus your energy on helping customers that will appreciate you. Not those that will nickel and dime you to within an inch of your life.
Listen to your customer first
You should know the law and the policy in business
Try to stay calm and do not argue with the customer as much as possible.
Customers are always right
be professional at all times.
Hello, All business owners receive complaints, so do not take it personally. You will want to be professional here and ask what specifics she objected to in terms of your service (what was NOT cleaned in her opinion). If your client is not satisfied with your solution, thank her politely for her patronage and wish her well and cut your losses. If your other clients are happy with your service, their referrals will lead you to more clients.
You made a generous offer and she was not satisfied. In the future, you might consult with a small business lawyer to draw-up a service policy contract of how you deliver your services; payment terms; and how your customers can file a complaint for them to sign. Talk, too, to other non-competitors but in the same industry how they have handled similiar complaints. Also, periodically, survey your regular customers to get their feedback to ensure they are satisfied; and if not, ask why and how you can improve your services; and possibly add some other ones they might need. Best wishes for continued success!
If this particular person is a repeat customer then you want to do all that you can to insure that you get their business again. I would just swallow this one and treat is as any business would to keep them around.
Ask the customer to put her complaint in writing and be as specific as possible as to what needed to be done better. This will be valuable feedback for you if the customer actually goes to the trouble to do this. You may not be able to satisfy this customer but getting something in writing will make them think about what was Okay and what was subpar and they may come to a different conclusion after struggling to write it out.
All businesses get complaints, however the main issue is the customer 'thought' you'd do something that you haven't. Before you started did you detail or give the customer of what service you would do, meaning cleaning etc and the rates for the job?
If you did, this is perfect as you have explained what you would do and it is the customers misinterpretation of it not yours.
You also have offered an hours additional clean, that is more than enough, if they will not pay, you have 2 options. To move on or......(This happened to me when I was 18, when I started a car valeting business).
You could go round do the hour clean, and if they will not pay empty a full vacuum on to their carpet so they have to clean it up!
Hello this is an interesting situation. How long have you been in business and how many clients do you have? If you are more or less new, (less then a year) and want to avoid this sort of thing in the future, prehapes you want to revise your payment methodolagies. Prehapes repeat customers should have their credit card details on your computer system and you can automatically charge them once service has been rendered. That way you avoid dealing directly with your regular clients and make it a seemless transaction for all parties concerned.
The way that I look at it, is that I am a business man, I run a business, I am not a bill collector. Once i start to spread myself too thin by doing too many deverse tasks at once, I am not able to focas on the core business and then everything, including my spirit starts to suffer.
The more things you can automate in your business pipeline the easier it is to focas on getting more clients, more business and so on, then try and collect money from people.
Long story short, I would write her off as a client, the last thing you need to deal with is an irate customer that is affecting you both in the business world and your own spirtual world. Also, automate your payment system, or deal with online credit card processing for your clients. Trust me, your life will be allot more easier.
BusPlanMaster | Window Shopper |
3/31/2009 - 2:11 am
Your offer of having your cleaner go back for an hour or so is more than generous under the circumstances.
People like this are really annoying. A tough economy seems to bring out the penny pinching in otherwise almost nice people. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. The worst she can do is take you to small claims. Do make the offer of the hour extra in writing if possible. And have your list of satisfied clients handy. Otherwise, there really isn't anything you can do. Let it go and get on with genuine business.
MaryAnnwww.BusinessPlanMaster.comBusiness Plans for Financing Your Business
I ran a cleaning business in past and have had this type of complaint from time to time. It is not an easy fix sometimes especially if your customer is well known in the community. It maybe to your advantage to choose your battle. I have had to offer a free cleaning as compensation for what the customer feels is 'not-so-good' service. Your kind gesture may go a long way in future business. Note... future dealings with this customer should have specific parameters.
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Message Edited by ChristineL on 01-06-2010 10:46 AM
Thanks for chiming in with these helpful replies. Hope you found these helpful vlvale3.
For more tips, check out this article on Four Ways to Effectively Anticipate and Handle Customer Complaints.
Message Edited by NicoleD on 12-29-2009 09:39 AM
mturner | Window Shopper | 6/25/2010 - 8:53 am
fleur9586 | Creator | 6/24/2010 - 6:06 pm
SmHBizWrtr | Performer | 3/31/2009 - 12:23 pm
menexis | Performer | 4/1/2009 - 2:17 pm
localyocal | Creator | 4/8/2009 - 7:16 pm
GrahamG | Window Shopper | 4/21/2009 - 9:14 am
GoodFTA | Contributor | 5/12/2009 - 4:18 am
BusPlanMaster | Window Shopper | 3/31/2009 - 2:11 am
genehiggins | Creator | 12/29/2009 - 12:33 am
NicoleD | Former Moderator | 12/29/2009 - 9:34 am
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