I’ve noticed several of you offer a “Satisfaction guaranteed or you don’t pay a dime” type of policy.
How often have you done free window cleaning?
Do you have small print that clarifies the guarantee?
What are the terms of the guarantee…do you insist on the chance to make it right before you offer the no payment option?
I have no small print and I have not ever given or been asked for a refund (in 7 years)
Ditto.
At worst, I’ve only had to touch up here and there. Never have I had to re-do an entire house because the customer was unhappy. I’ve also never had a customer refuse to pay for service.
When I tell a potential customer that they don’t have to pay utill they are completely satisfied, they seem to feel completely at ease with our company; that no matter what, they will have clean windows when we’re done.
I too have never had to give a refund. I have had to touch up a window or two here and there but never had a client that would not pay or not want to pay.
Excellent timing on this question.
I know that it will make a huge difference if you offer that kind of guarantee, but I’m not scared about the fact that I can do a job and not get paid … I’m really afraid of my own reaction, since you’ll definitely know when a customer is unhappy with your service for some reason and when an as**ole is trying to play you.
It will also make me a little paranoid when it comes to get new customers that doesn’t fit my ideal profile.
Probably trying is the best way to find out … get burned once and go back to normal I guess.
i was thinking of giving that type of guarantee, but to be honest with you i know there will be people out there that will take advantage of it.
That’s is my only worry, but from the replies here it really make me think twice of not offering that type of guarantee;)
Nope, never, nada. Same here, no fine print.
I have NEVER heard of any window cleaning companies getting “taken”, have you?
It simply does not happen.
I have heard of MANY homeowners getting taken though…
I find that if a potential client looks for and finds your website they are already looking to pay for window cleaning, So they’re not out looking for a free clean. But the guarantee looks good and is reassuring. They feel you will do top quality work because you want to get paid. And keep in mind you can fix any problems before they can claim a free clean.
A guarantee does not need to be a money back guarantee.
yep
At least not in w/c, now books are another matter!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
:mad:
My Cards and Advertising say “Satisfaction Guaranteed”. I explain to my customers that they don’t have to pay a dime UNTIL they are 100% satisfied.
That puts them at ease, but at no time do I give the idea that if they complain loud enough they can have my work for free.
Letting them know that you’ll stay there till THEY think it’s clean has gotten me quite a few jobs. And aside from the odd touch-up here and there this has never been a problem.
We offer a satisfaction guarantee, but it does not include not paying for service. If someone is unhappy at the time or later we will return and make it right. In those rare occasions this has always worked. Even more afraid of people not paying I am afraid of bad reviews online (those things are becoming more and more important in competitive markets). My customers know we will go the extra mile to make them happy.
The 2 last approaches are more in my line of thinking … do you guys mind if I take a look at your website to review your warranty to get some guidelines to do mine ?
Or just simply steal it and modify it will be a more honest way to put it 
One other thing that concerns me is hard water stains and other stains. This is not included in the standard price or service, of course. I seldom talk about this with the customer before the job, as I usually don’t discover staining until I’ve cleaned the glass.
For those of you who have “satisfaction guaranteed” policies (I now count myself among that number) have you ever had to do free water spot or other type of stain removal because of your policy?
I just did a house yesterday with pretty bad water spots where the automatic pool cleaner was spitting water on a couple windows. I informed the owner of the problem and that it would be a additional price for removing it and he was cool about it. Nothing ever came up about a guarantee and I scheduled the job for every 4 months. Granted that is only one customer, I have had simular situations and had no problems from the customer.
Monday I did a house where the windows and storms hadn’t been cleaned in about 20 years, she said. Cobwebs between the glass, so dirty they looked like they were tinted. I told her up front don’t expect a miracle, there will be some spots and streaks. And there were plenty. But she was so happy that they looked 99% better she didn’t even care about any spots or streaks. She was on the phone with a couple people while we were there telling them about how great they looked. She gave a $40 tip. And I now have her scheduled for every 6 months.
I have never, ever had a client even mention the guarantee. I have had clients point out a little something here and there on the glass before we left the job. We would take care of it and they were happy.
Before I start a job i walk the property and look for things like water stains and leaky seals. I do this the first time and every time weather i have been there once or 20 times. I then let the client know the situation before I start work. If you tell them before hand this won’t come clean do to the water stains or broken seal they don’t expect it to be perfect. A little info up front goes a long way. Plus I think it gives them the sense that you really know what you are doing right from the start.
I’ve implemented a satisfaction guaranteed policy, simply by stating so on the home page of my website. View it here: www.metropoliswindowcleaning.com
I don’t detail the policy anywhere. Do you think that’s sufficient to boost sales?
