[Paula]

One of my cleaners recently did a spring clean at a local flat. The customer complained that the wooden floors where scratched as the cleaner moved her sofa to clean the skirting boards behind them, she also complained that bleach stains where left on her leather sofa although bleach was not used in the lounge at all! I am going to have a look at this myself tomorrow but I am not sure how to handle this. I asked the customer if she has the protective covers on the feet of the sofa so they would not scratch the floor and she said yes as the sofa is 6 weeks old, so I do not understand how pushing the sofa forward would leave the scratch marks she had described to me.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Paula

[dustdees]

Hi,

What a nightmare you have. I had one like that recently.

Trouble is how do you prove that is was one of your cleaners who suppose to have done this damage.

I would check the base of the protective covers to see if the are rough and would cause a scratch.

As so when did this person have the clean, have they used any bleach products since you have been in.

I don't know about anyone else but personally I think that they just maybe wanting their money back.

Some people you just can't please.

I won't give them and immediate answer on how to put it right,assess it then tell her that you need to chat with the cleaner and you will get back to them.

Then have a good think over the weekend and tske further advice.

Put it this way if you made a compliant to other services providers you wouldn't alwas get an immediate soloution. In my experiance some companies can take up to 10 days for an answer etc...

But remember to check any terms and conditions that you may have set out to thr client.

Thats my view, but others may have a better one!!

Good Luck,

Let me know how you get on


Denise xxx

[Spiceman]

oh dear,
we all hate complaints,
be sure to show your client some empathy, otherwise it could be a pitched battle, but if i asked someone into my home and they needed to move the settee then if there was any liklyhood of it scratching the floor i would be sure to advise them. If on the other hand it was obvious that moving the settee would likly damage the floor ... well then, ...
as for a bleach stain ... we never use bleach on our conrtacts .... for rxactly the reason your client is complaining ... if you didn't do it then it can't be your fault ... but if your cleaner brought a cloth saoaked in bleach from another room then .....
as Denise says inspect it and then take the weekend to consider your response, why not let us know your findings on here.... a problem shared etc
John

[Jan K]

Hi Paula!

I have to agree with Spiceman as regards showing the customer empathy and I wouldn't leave it too long to get back to her. She is already annoyed and obviously going to get awkward about this, so you don't want to give her any time, or excuses to suddenly come up with 'other things' she has found that aren't right or have bee ruined.

My insurance doesn't cover items damaged by use of bleach, so I don't use it, unless the customer gives permission, and then I say the onus is on them if anything gets ruined!

As far as the scratch is concerned, that's a chance a customer takes when one person is put into a property to clean and furniture needs moving! Personally I always put 2 people in to do 'big' cleans!!


Also did you inspect the property before you took on the clean, getting customer to point out what can and can't be moved, anything that was unstable etc etc?

In the meantime, I would suggest you find out if you are covered by your or her insurance for these damages (if more than your or her excess then claim), if less than your or her excess, find out how much it will cost and offer to arrange for the repair.

If you decide that it definately wasn't your cleaner, i would still offer a discount as a goodwill gesture!

I have only ever had one complaint which was after the first of a regular clean, and it was decided (by me) that the customer was pulling a fast one to get a free clean. In the end I didn't charge her for the clean, but I also eneded the contract there and then as I knew she would cause me more problems!

I have given a couple of my customers 10% discount on their regular cleans whenh I have tried new products and they haven't worked out as well as I was hoping, but that wasn't a problem, and they really appreciated it!!

Good luck Paula, I hope i works in your favour

Jan

[Prestige1]

Hi Paula
I have had this before with floors, some cheap floors scratch really easy, not any help to you on this occasion. I would ask your cleaner how far you moved it. Did she see any scratches? Is the floor scratched any where else? And depending on the cleaner’s suggestion on movement check the scratching pattern? Some people may look at people like us to pick up the tab through insurance for there accidents on floors and the like. May be the same thing with the sofa. The reason I ask if the floor is scratched any where else then if you do need to re-sand then as it has been previously damaged the customer could pay half? It’s not a nice situation but it will pass that is till the next time! Kind regards Phil

[dustdees]

Paula,

Any news on the customer complaint yet?

Denisexx