So then, just how far do you go to please your customers? For instance today, Had a call saying a laminate floor had raised in the middle. Been installed 3 weeks. I think to myself, my lad has not left enough expansion. So i go out to inspect for myself. I take a spare pack of laminate with me. I get to the job and its clear it has water damage to the surface. The 'raised in the middle' is the joints, not the floor itself 'peaking' So i ask all the questions of have you spilt something etc and the answer is no. I then uplift the area and it is wet underneath on the dpm underlay but only in this patch, quick sniff and it smells like urine to me. O and the dog is sat looking at me! So i replace the damaged are with new. Should i charge? It took a whole box of laminate to replace the damaged area. O and maybe 1 hour of my time. Well i decided not to, maybe im to soft? I did explane that i wont be charging this time but if this happens again i will. What do you lot think, to soft? should i of charged? or keeping the customer happy is what matters?
It's a tough one really matt,as I think more and more customer's are take the .... and want more for less without having to pay for it. I think if I was in your position I would have charged them as they were blatantly lying to you, and to not even tell you it was pisz!!! :roll: I also think that some customer's think,that because you are in business/have a business you have plenty of money! and can afford to do thing's for free!!.
I would have charged Fido..........It would depend if I liked the customer or if I thought they were trying it on. If it were a good customer and the laminate may have just sat on a shelf anyway I would probably done the same.
if it was a good returning customer then maybe let them off once but if not i would charge them. best to keep that kind of customer at bay, give a mouse a cookie and hes gonna want a glass of milk.
I would normally be like you Matt and do it for nothing. However I recently had to go back to a large kitchen vinyl job i did before xmas because their dog had maged to rip up approx 2 sq mtrs at the doorway. I had to order a piece 100x200 and patch it in (diagonal tile effect & 2 hrs work inc travel). Under normal circumstances I would have given them the vinyl at trade and took a few cans of beer as payment but it just so happened that I had to buy a new van that week - tins of beer wouldnt have helped with the payments ! This was a good customer but after all we are in business to make our living
Sometimes its not worth the argument, no1 can afford to lose customers at the moment( although some of them you probly be better off with out) I would probly of done the repair free of charge just to keep them sweet like you say, but if I had to order more flooring I would at least want them to pay for that. If you had a pack left over from the job then its not so bad. I guess it is the wrong thing to do but I would hope doing little things like that improves your reputation.
On all our installation work our clients receive our "4 seasons" guarantee on labour. If they think there's something wrong or worried about something (or something happened, like a little wee accident) they can call us, we come out without a charge and look at the situation there and then. Small repairs, stain removal or whatever small we do immediately and free of charge. Larger issues are discussed with the client. If it is obvious there floor has been damaged by whatever cause we discuss work and materials - normally at a discount price, but that really depends on what actually happened and what is needed to solve it. In our experience all clients are happy with this way of working - we always respond to a call or email asap and try to visit the same week or at least within a few days. That's IMHO the most important part of it - letting them know you take the call/email seriously.
Agree with most comments here, on both sides of the fence lol If its not a big job, and the customer obviously isnt taking the mick then fair enuff do it gratis to keep em sweet. But if theres materials involved (i know this time there wasnt) or it takes serious time out of the day to do then imo it needs to be paid for somehow. As much as customer satisfaction has to be right up there we also need to be satisfied too, ie getting paid lol So op, im with you, good job. Did you kick the dog on the way out? hehe :lol:
lol fair point lol My staffy is a big softy, only thing dangerous is his tongue... And his rear end when i change his diet too :roll: :lol:
Mine also, but i have not tried kicking her yet. Guess mine will just sit there and stare at you. However, kicking a dog you dont know may end up in issues LOL.
