Window cleaning involves moving and climbing over lots of stuff. Damage does occasionally happen. Do you hope they won’t notice and blame it on the cat or fess up?
You should fess up if you know you did it. If you put a tiny knick in an unused basement window, that’s a time you can consider just keeping quiet. But anything worse than that they will probably end up finding anyway and they will be MUCH more upset if you didn’t tell them when it happened. Most people are understanding, and if you take care of the damage you can end up getting some excellent customers that trust you more so than if you had never caused the damage in the first place. That’s the practical reason; knowing you did the right thing is a good feeling too.
My company does residential cleaning, and yes, we break things occasionally. If the homeowner is home, the crew chief takes the broken item to the homeowner and apologizes immediately. Then my wife calls the homeowner to make arrangements for replacement. (It’s amazing what you can find on eBay!)
If the owner is not home, the crew chief has a standard form letter which she copies by hand to personalize the note. My wife follows up with a call that evening.
People understand that accidents happen. They don’t understand when you try to hide something. They will forgive the former - especially if you are professional about it. They will never forgive you if they find that you deceived them.
FWIW, we have NEVER lost a client over a broken or damaged item, but I can’t even begin to tell you how many clients we have picked up over the years because the service they had before us did not admit when items were broken.
Doing some pole work inside next to a baby grand piano, I was using a pulex tip with a ledger (no no) anyways knowing I should have a wooden tip on but thinking i’d be ok, my ledger came off and landed next to the piano. It didn’t make any sound on the way down but landed right next to it. I went over and looked real close and found a little paint chip then saw a where it came off. So small there’s no way the homeowner would ever see it. When she got home, I pointed it out and asked her if this was new. She said it was. I spent the next 3 days finding a piano repair guy. The little chip cost me $480 - The job was worth $460 and clocks out at $85 per man hour.
She called me up after it was fixed to thank me for taking care of it. This was 5 years ago. We have been cleaning her windows, her neighbors windows, a friend her neighbor refered, etc… a couple times a year, every year since…
Karma recognizes honesty, it’s always best to be straight up!!
Not a question I would expect from a 49-year-old.
I hear ya big Larry.
Mr Hatt,
I won’t be making a judgment on your character here because I don’t know you personally ! So I’ll only answer your question…We all make mistakes and have accidents, yes the thought does go through the mine if we should hide what we have done and some will do just that, it will only compound the issue @ hand ! One just might get away with it but I have learn that honesty is always the best policy. I mean I’m sure you would like a service provider in your home to be honest ! So honesty should be the muscle memory that enables you to respond with what is right ! Don’t throw yourself or your business or your job under the bus !!!
I’m Dangerous but calling me Dange is alright…Howdy Yawl
Dange
xxxxxx
I am glad to hear by those brave enough to comment that the answer is YES, Fess up right away and set it straight. My homeowner was real impressed when I pointed out the damage I caused to her Hot tub lid when I leaned on it to reach for a window over the tub. She couldn’t see it till she got real close. Of course its hard to admit to a mistake 49 years old or any age. The intent of my post was to survey "mature comments’ of experiences you have had and the outcomes. The positive outcomes, even if it ends up costing you some money is very beneficial. Justin’s comment about the grand piano damage and the resulting good will highlights the value people put on honesty and ethical conduct. THAT is what makes our profession truly professional.
HERE HERE Mr Hatt…
Dange
Ive broken a couple storm windows and have just replaced. Ill try not to involve the insurance companies if its something i can replace easily…but i agree…fess up- theyll have more respect for ya, i think…
I wouldn’t respect myself if I wasn’t truthful…
I personally have damaged an interior metal wall (don’t know how else to describe it) there was a wooden statue on the floor, my bags on my belt hit the statue and DING, dimpled the metal wall. That cost’ me 480 bucks (job was 750). I gouged a wooden floor- that cost’ me I believe 400 to repair (job was 250), my guys broke a window- costed 600 bucks (job was 175.00), another one of my guys scratched another wood floor and it cost 350 to repair.
My policy to every single client is- I MOVE NOTHING! Sorry, I don’t care if you can’t move it- cuz neither can I.
You always have to fess up. ALWAYS. Even if the homeowner don’t refer you, it just aint right. Where I live, every single serviceman we have EVER dealt with has absolutely zero professionalism. ZERO.
Roofers taking a leak on the side of the house, leaving trash on the roof and in the yards. Asking for soda for their lunch (yeah, can you believe it?), using the toilet and leaving their toilet paper in our bathroom trashcan (yeah- it was disgusting), plumbers smoking inside my house, one time I caught another roofer (landlord was horrible- roofers came out at least 4 times last year) going thru my tool box as I watched and grabbed 2 hammers so he could use them!
I came home one day and seen MY gorrila ladder up against my house so they could get up on the roof! Tar all over my ladder. Yup, my landlord had to buy me a new one or he was out 300 on the rent.
My point in all of that is, customer service is everything. On Curt Kemptons website, he has a phrase on there that I really like, he says “We are a customer service company that just happens to clean windows” -something along those lines.
We had a situation last year where I noticed a nick on a black Steinway piano that we were working near. Since I was the one personally doing the windows around it, I was 100 percent sure I had not touched it. I pointed it out to the customer and told her that I was showing it to her because I wanted her to know that we did not do it. She had never noticed it before and while she never pushed the issue, I think she believes we did it and we have never been called back. That really stinks.
Well the homeowner husband came and visited me about the damaged Hot tub cover. (Me nervous about the cost of repair!) He said because I was so honest and the vinyl cover is okay, it still is sealing the heat in. He and his wife said to just give them a bit of a price break next time when they get their windows done again and not to worry about it. I am very relieved. This has awaken me to always, always pay attention to your work environment and things around you. I got off okay this time.
If your gonna blame it on the cat why not stuff the broken item in the kitty litter box>?
Those lids are all of $400
Hey Bud,
You have expensive help…
I think the one thing that bugs me the most, and which tend to break alot of the time - are those plastic clips on the window screens. It’s like you touch some of them and they just crumble. I don’t mention little issues like this because if your house is falling apart, its not my problem.
Once while pw’ing one of my guys stepped on a sprinkler. He tried to reassemble it and move it elsewhere. I told him “never agin” try and hide broken items like that. I discounted the customer $25 for the sprinkler after offering to replace.
