Episode 14: Handling Special Requests From Cleaning Clients, Backup Online Services
If you own a cleaning company you've probably had clients that always want you do do some additional cleaning that will “just take a few minutes”. And those clients usually expect you to do this additional cleaning for free! This episode gives tips for handling these “special requests” from your cleanng clients.
In Part 2, learn how to back up your online services like Facebook, Flickr and Gmail using a service called Backupify.
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Episode #14 - Video Transcription
Do you ever get special requests for additional services from your customers? Maybe they decided to go through their old files and left a huge pile of papers and boxes that need to be hauled out to the trash. Or maybe they had a birthday party and have a big mess with confetti all over the floor and cake crumbs ground into the carpet.
Certainly you want to satisfy your customer by cleaning up the mess and taking care of whatever they ask, but you also can't continually provide services outside the scope of your specifications list for free. If you do, before you know it, you'll get so many requests that you'll find yourself resenting your customer and wondering why you are no longer making a profit! Here are some tips that I put together for handling special requests:
First, if it's a minor request like removing a dead plant or running the vacuum through a room you normally don't clean, go ahead and do it without charging extra. Think of it as a value-added service that will keep goodwill between you and your customer. But be sure to tell the customer that although it's outside the scope of your cleaning specifications, you are happy to do it for them. This becomes a gentle reminder that you don't work for free when it comes to special requests.
Now if the request is going to take additional time, say 15 minutes, a half-hour or longer, it's your call, but you really should charge extra for the service. In your cleaning proposal you should state that services outside the scope of the cleaning specifications list will be billed at an hourly rate in quarter hour increments. This way, when it takes you an additional half hour to haul out piles of trash, you can charge your hourly rate. For example, if you normally charge $25 an hour for extra services, you would charge $12.50 for the extra half hour of trash hauling.
If the request requires that you make a special trip to the client's home or office, not only charge them for the additional cleaning, but include your drive time as well. A good example of this would be if someone spilled coffee and they want it cleaned up right away, before it the stain sets in. You'll want to make every effort to handle the problem for them as quickly as possible, and perhaps give them an estimated price over the phone so they know they'll be charged.
Also, train your employees to call you or a supervisor if a customer comes to them with a special request. All employees should be aware of the cleaning specifications, so that if a customer asks them to do something outside the list, they know how to handle the situation. It's YOUR responsibility to make sure they know what to do. So, when it comes to special requests, keep your clients happy by being cheerful and quick to respond. Most cleaning companies have the ability to provide quality cleaning services, but the companies who provide excellent customer service by being willing and able to satisfy their special requests will have a leg up on the competition.
The key is to let your customer know how it works up front so there are no surprises later when they receive the additional charge for the service. Now I'd like to hear YOUR thoughts on this topic. How do YOU handle special requests?
Rockin' Resource: Backupify - Video Transcription
Today's Rockin' Resource is called Backupify. Most of us use some of the common online services like Facebook, Flickr, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Apps. But how the heck do you back up this online information? Well, I'm going to tell you! You can sign up for a free account with Backupify, which is the leading backup provider for cloud based data.
It's really fast to set up. Once you sign up, just enter your login information for each of the online services you want to back up, and it automatically starts archiving your information. So, if you ever need to, you can restore lost data. There are several online services that you can back up so visit the website for a complete list.
The free account allows you to backup 5 online accounts and it has 2GB of storage. The Pro version is just $4.99 a month for up to 25 accounts and 20GB of storage. There is also an unlimited version for $19.99 a month. I would suggest signing up for the free version to get started, and then you can upgrade at any time to the pro version.
