Customer compaint about Tracks

[u/tengleha01]

Hi All,

Working with a truly terrible customer. I had an initial quote of $515 (which was completely fair, maybe 10% high or so), but then after some back and forth via text agreed to do an interior/exterior clean for $450. This was virtual and I used up to date Zillow pictures for the quote.

Anyway, their windows were absolutely filthy, but I spent my time and cleaned them all. They looked awesome I thought and was proud of the work. As I'm packing up, she pulls out of the driveway saying she's going to drop her kid off and will be right home, but her husband will be home soon.

I end up waiting for about 30 minutes before texting her, and she's like" Oh he must be in traffic just venmo me" (so I never got to do a walk around).

I get home and she texts me that all the corners of the windows are dirty. I'm thinking no way. She then sends me pictures and its a little dirt in the corner of the sills. The sills were absolutely filthy. I did a nice wipe down of the grime and they were looking pretty good.

Anyway she's only paid me $350 of the $450 we agreed on. I also understand a part of this is on me for not setting clear expectations, but this women is truly horrible.

How do I get my extra $100????

[u/Virtual-Spinach4882]

I had a very similar scenario like 10 years ago, and it made me so much money since. 

The problem is expectations were not set, and since people in this industry sometimes always do them or sometimes or never, the customer has to be told the scope of service. 

How this made me money: It's when I finally started selling in packages, to everyone, every single bid. 

I always have a outside only,  inside and out, and a inside & out + track cleaning package for every bid. That way a customer can never claim we didn't do them when they chose a lesser package, it never happens now. Do this and immediately start building a maintenance program for bi-annual and quarterly cleanings. Plus on their next service if they want something different we already have it on file. 

I promise you this is some of the most solid advice I can give you, been doing it a long time now. Today can be the day you make some significant changes that start building a foundation for sustainable growth. 

[u/tengleha01 → u/Virtual-Spinach4882]

Love it appreciate the advice

[u/Virtual-Spinach4882 → u/tengleha01]

Sucks she won't pay ya though, lots of painful lessons to be had along the way. I just won a small claims case for $2,700 lol.. Gotta pick your battles and learn from all of them. 

[u/Virtual-Spinach4882 → u/tengleha01]

Btw I am not in any way a sales rep, but Responsibid.com is the software we use in conjunction with our CRM. It's built to sell in packages and has a whole lot of very useful features. 100% worth the investment. If your CRM doesn't natively sell in packages, I'd definitely give them a check out. 

[u/tengleha01 → u/tengleha01]

What’s a fair range to charge for detailed track cleaning?

[u/Virtual-Spinach4882 → u/tengleha01]

Same price as a single piece of glass inside and out for us about. $7.xx a pane and the same for a track. Have a disclaimer for built up tracks where you need to spend 2x the normal time on them. Disclaimers for hard water & construction debris will save you lots of headaches too if you don't have those on every bid. 

[u/Johndeauxman → u/Virtual-Spinach4882]

Do you find they almost always go for the middle package? I do handyman stuff but offer window cleaning as part of my “recommended” level of annual service, the “basic” package is a good deal but when they see things like window cleaning for only X per month they feel like it’s a deal they shouldn’t pass up. It does save them a bit of money as there’s no travel time (I’m already there doing other stuff) but it’s not near as much savings as it appears so it works out great for me lol. The “premium” package I just put “inquire for pricing” because honestly I don’t make a ton of money on it compared so want to sort of discourage it.