[Jan K]

Hi guys!

I hope you are all well and thriving! I had the greatest of pleasure id dropping my first over-reactive, fussy, complaining Client today, and it made me feel rather good! Perhaps I shouldn't be saying this and no doubt some of you will give me grief over this, but there ya go. My best cleaner, and good friend, cleaned for a new Client for the first time today. Later I get a phone call from the Client complaining that my pal didn't do this, and didn't do that and didn't do the other and left an hour early (Clients younger brother at home apparently sick with sore trhroat, but well enough to be sat at the computer for the 3 hours my pal was cleaning). She wasn't impressed with the clean at all etc etc etc. Soooo I called my pal and asked her to give me a blow by blow account of what she did at the Clients, which she did. Now bear in mind my pal has been with my for over 5 months, has never once had a complaint against he, has never left a job early, and ALL her Clients have nothing but praise for her, I guess this new Client is trying to wangle a free clean as she says she is not going to pay for it). Anyway, I speak to the Client and say that my pal is very upset that Client is not happy with clean, and quite shocked that the brother says she left early. I say I am not accusing her brother of lying about when pal left, that maybe he was mistaken about time (my pal could never have done all she did in less than 3 hours). Also my pal had cleaned everything the Client had said she hadn't. Anyway (I'm getting there now) I explained that me pal wasn't very keen on returning to clean for her under the circumstances and as I don't have another cleaner to relce her I suggested we cancel the contract her and now to give her the freedom to look for someone else to clean for her (which she won't find cos half the dom cleaning services have shut up shop!!) So Client gets a free clean, and we get a free slot, which incidentally half an hour later gets filled by someone else looking for a cleaner (only twice as many hours). There is justice in the world after all.....anyway I am relieved that I am finally in the position of being able to cancel Client contracts as I do not wish my girls to be working in an atmosphere they are not happy with.
 

[Tim Downer]

Well done Jan

Like I have said before, its your business and you should run it....not the client.
Ok, the client can sack you and your business or whatever if you are doing a crap job.....but when you have faith and trust in your staff and the client still complains....well like you say, its good to be in that position to get rid of any grief you get.

Regards

Tim

[Sarah2005]

Well done from me too 

Funny you mention this as my Dad was speaking to an Accountant friend yesterday, telling him all about me setting up in cleaning and he recommended I go into office cleaning, rather than Domestic for this very reason.  He said his offices aren't cleaned as wonderfully as he would like but it's good enough, however when cleaning domestic properties you will always get the lady who has certain standards that you can never meet but then like you have proved Jan, we just have to deal with these issues and move on!    It hasn't put me off, I still want to work in the domestic market and offices may come in long term but not where I wish to start, however I am interested in trying to get into the letting side of cleaning in the future, once I have more experience and have built up my reputation.

Anyway, I am still busy attending courses through Business Link at present, another attendee has asked me to clean for him, he can't afford a cleaner just yet as in the early days of his own business as an IT Consultant, however had 3 previous bad experiences with cleaners and wants someone he can trust to start in the Summer so I have his business card to call him then    It's positive stuff as I haven't even started my business yet and it is nice to know that I appear to be getting myself across to people without even trying as I don't intend to start selling my business until I am properly set up 

Jan glad things are going really well for you 

[Unique]

Hi Jan

Something my dad told me, 'not all business is good business'.  When i started i was so grateful to get the jobs i took most things. 

I soon discovered that some jobs required a lot of imput, the client is horrible and because we are new to the game our pricing was not spot on to begin with.  This might not matter in the begininng but when new better jobs arrive that might need that time slot  that is when it is very telling.

Good luck

Sharon

p.s i have sent you a pm

[Fox]

Are you going to do this with every client who complains?  It's great that others on here have posted saying well done and Timbob has a point when he says it is you who runs the business not the client but from what you have posted I think you have acted on impulse.

You say you recieved the complaints later the same day that the clean was done, yet you didn't go to the clients house to assess the situation but relied on your pal to tell you what went on.  With the greatest of respect your pal may be the best cleaner since sliced bread and never had any complaints before but she could also have had an 'off' day and be feeding you a bit of a line.

I have managed people for years and no matter how good we feel they are there will always be a certain amount of 'slipping' (for want of a better word).  The fact that this person is your friend makes your judgement of the situation cloudy, ofcourse you want to believe that the client is a whinging old bag and is wrong and your friend is the best and would not 'accidently' miss certain details out of her account to you.

Don't you think it was a bit harsh to judge the situation after only one clean, especially where it seems the son was stirring the situation.  This ex client is now going to bad mouth you and as it seems to me (my opinion only don't forget) she feels she has every right too as no attempt was really made to rectify the situation, not even a visit made to look.

I'm glad you feel good about it now and that you have picked up another account so quickly to fill the gap.  You are going to have to deal with complaints everyday as you grow, even if you think you are the best someone is going to find something to moan about.  Think about how you are going to deal with complaints what procedures have you in place, customer communication and staff liasion.  

You do get the odd client who is going to moan constantly and be difficult and you are probably better off without them, who knows this may have been one of them but after only one clean you are now never going to know if she was or whether it was 'teething problems'.

Well someone had to give you the grief you were expecting!

Fox

[DP]

It seems after reading many of your every day dilemma’s to which this seems like another, that you really haven’t quite got the hang of this yet. I have watched you on previous posts, completely ignore very sound advice and instead defend all those things that are causing you the problems.

Isn’t this like consistently shooting yourself in the foot and then stating I don’t care if it hurts I know what I’m doing.

However if you are simply a domestic cleaner trying to find a bit of your own work with your mates then all is understandable. If on the other hand you are trying to actually run a business and excel to being professional, then you have a bit to do yet.

The so called client you described is common and normal in every day business, however how you handled it isn’t. Any idiot off the street can tell another person to sling their hook, the clever part would have been not to and made the job work for you. That way with this new work you would of had two more clients not one! 

The process that Fox has explained about getting off your bum and looking for yourself, would be the minimum expected and should have been automatic. Is this friend of yours, one of those that has earned the promotion by understanding your plight and why she doesn’t get the bare minimum benefits that she could get anywhere else. Or is this the one that you were complaining about being unreliable on here the other day.

The statement "The client doesn’t run your business" is very true but neither do your friends, or do they? Hardly leading from the front is it.

[maggie67]

Oooh Jan you devil.....  

I understand your initial reaction but I would have to be 'seen to be doing the right thing' i.e. a re-visit  from the proprietor to assess the facts. From a professional perspective it is your business and not your friends'. Unfortunately complaints spread much faster than compliments.

However as the saying goes every cloud has a silver lining and I am glad you have gained the new business!

By the way thank you for your pm

All the best

Maggie

[Jan K]

Hi Guys!

Thanks for your reactions, both positive and negative!

Please don't get me wrong here, I am NOT just employing friends, indeed I have just employed my 3rd lady, only 1 is a friend. However I have over 20 years customer service/administrative experience and am quite capable of handling complaints in whatever size, shape or form.

I was aware when I took on this Client that she would not be an easy one to satisfy, and in my conversations with her she constantly made a point of letting me know that her friend ran her own cleaning business. I also deduced, from things she would say in our conversations, that this would be a test, but even before I started my business I made the decision to look after my girls first and my Clients second if it came to the crunch. Some of you may not agree with this, as it is the Clients that are bringing in the money, BUT good cleaners are really hard to come by, and I am prepared to sacrifice the odd Client for the peace of mind and loyalty of my girls.

This is not the first time I have run a business, I did so 15 years ago, but folded when my kids came along as I wanted to be an at home mum, not a working mum.

And whether or not some of you think I am ignoring advice and defending all things that are causing me problems, it hasn't stopped me being in the position of employing 3 ladies in as many months, consistently signing up at least a couple of new Clients each week (I now have 23 Clients, most of which have come from my YP ad or recommendations).

I have high standards and I expect my girls to have the same. I have a strict company policy, but I am fair and loyal if I am shown hardwork and loyalty too.

At the end of the day, whether or not I wish to accept and use advice on this board, whether asked for or not,  is neither here nor there. I make my own mistakes and my own successes. However, this board is invaluable and it has helped me immensely.

Whether we are all running dom cleaning businesses or commercial, industrial, office cleaning businesses. Every company is different and every Client is different, and what may work in one part of the country won't necessarily work somewhere else. We are after the same end, to make a comfortable living.

By the way, I thrive on both positive and negative criticism, so fire away!

[DP]

There we go and I thought the problem was that you weren’t looking after your cleaners, just making them understand that they should be grateful for a job.

I also thought you didn’t understand why you need to manage the works, not referee them, and a good manager doesn’t need to sacrifice either staff or clients.

I also thought you weren’t interested in making money from your actual statement from a previous post, so your last line here confuses me, and that you didn’t understand why people charge realistic prices, so that they can build and safeguard their business, instead of confusing it as simple greed.

Finally I thought that you were choosing to ignore perfectly good advice and experience from others (as requested by you), because it appeared to be underlining humble mistakes.

I also forgot for a moment peoples absolute right to choose to learn the hard way and our choice to listen/read the after math.

I therefore apologise for misunderstanding especially in light of your previous experience.

I really hope you finally work it out and it all goes well for you.

[Tim Downer]

Picking up from the thought from Maggie....about clients complaining....
If you do the best ever clean - they will tell on average 5 people.
If you do something to make them complain - they will tell on average 20 people.

A couple of thoughts that come from a seminar at the cleaning show. One was the above statement, which is true, because if you have a really good holiday, how many people do you tell? If your holiday was ruined or really bad, how many people will you tell now?

Also, on average you will have 4% of your clients complain.
Most, if they have a complaint, will switch to another company instead of complaining to you.
54 - 70% will do business again with you, IF the complaint is resolved.
95% will do business again if the complaint is resolved STRAIGHT AWAY!

Little thought a gleamed from the seminar.......

Regards

Tim

[maggie67]

Hi Tim

That is very interesting I had previously been given statistics re this subject in the past but never appreciated quite how high they are!

It really is food for thought and certainly worth remembering for future. Reputation really is everything in business and try as we might to convince customers that we are right it is our actions which speak louder than words!

Anyway we're never right the customer is! (RIGHT??? :

Kind Regards

Maggie

[Jan K]

Nice figures, worth keeping in mind. My ex-Client had already decided she didn't want us to clean for her after the first, and I guess that's why I jumped to the conclusion she had never intended on paying for that clean in the first place.....never mind we live and learn

[Fox]

I had the greatest of pleasure id dropping my first over-reactive, fussy, complaining Client today,

or

My ex-Client had already decided she didn't want us to clean for her

Contradiction?!?  So Which is it Jan?

[CMS]

good cleaners are really hard to come by, and I am prepared to sacrifice the odd Client for the peace of mind and loyalty of my girls

Wow! You really haven't got it have you?

Why are you in business?

I've always gone about it the other way.................win the business and find good staff to fill the posts. You seem to be in it to build up a 'pot' of good staff and then try and find the Clients for them.

I'm perhaps a little more blunt than the others but......................

If you don't start listening to the advice of those who have already done it...................I will give you six months! Tops!

And that isn't 'opinion' by the way - it's fact. Why on earth can you not have the good grace to say to yourself........."I've only been in this industry since September. Maybe I should listen to these successful guys who have dealt with these problems for over 20 years."

I am finally in the position of being able to cancel Client contracts

Since September?

I have run a contract portfolio of over £9 million in my time and I wasn't in the position to cancel Client contracts.

A better Manager would have saved it AND renegotiated extra time to do a better job!

[CMS]

Timbob.....your statistics were interesting..................

One of the very first things I was ever taught about dealing with Clients is this............

"Never tell your Clients your problems. 70% of them don't care and the other 30% are GLAD!".........

[Jan K]

ok fox perhaps i should have worded it a little better for you to understand. I let my Client know that we wouldn't be cleaning for her again, and she then told me she had decided not to proceed with any further cleans with us anyway.

cms whether a business has been operating 20 years, 20 months or 20 days, us newbies (and oldies for that matter) all have the option of asking for and looking at everyone's advice and then the option of whether to take it or take another path.  At the end of the day it is our choice but if we decide not to take heed from well intentioned advice and then we still go ahead and make the mistakes we were warned against making, well we will learn from that.

Life is like that, for instance you can advise someone against doing something till you are blue in the face but that person will still go ahead and make the very mistake you are advising them against making because they NEED to learn from themselves.

Please don't get me wrong, I really do value all of your advice, and maybe sometimes I don't explain myself very well, but I am using this MB not only as a source of advice and information but also as a sounding board. As said previously I am perfectly happy to take both positive and negative criticism, BUT sarcasm is the lowest form of wit and I won't entertain any remarks made by any of you who wish to criticise me in a sarcastic manner. I certainly wouldn't take business advice form anyone who is sarcastic or derogatory. Some of you may well have been in business for years but that doesn't mean you are experts in my particular field based in my part of the country.

If you were down here trying to run a business you would certainly find that Clients are very unwilling to part with their money for whatever reason.....cost of living is high and unemployment is low. Finding the right staff is nigh on impossible and that part of running the business takes up more of my time than marketing and advertising my business. Salaries are on the increase and more and more people are working longer hours. I am not trying to be nonchalant here, but the Clients are easy to come by, the staff aren't. I am offering £6.00 per hour in a line of business where the average wage is £5.00 per hour, and I still have to work hard to find the staff. As previously mentioned I am only advertising in the Yellow Pages and that is bringing in more than enough Clients to keep me and my, now, 3 girls going

I am quite prepared to admit I have a lot to learn and will undoubtedly make more mistakes, but I need to learn from MY own mistakes not from other peoples.

[Tim Downer]

Hi CMS
That is so true.
If you add up the figures we have come out with, if we don't sort out the compliant or tell our customers our problems with excuses.....well, there are plenty of our competitors out there who will take our business!!

Just looking at your link.....I must have a look at it tomorrow, as we have retired our canvass frame tent for a new 8 berth tunnel type tent with what appears to be only four carbon rods?!
Its packed to a quarter of the size of the old one.....Will try and put it up over the next week or so and see if i can get it back in its bag...But hey, as long as I can get the electic hook up in it for me kettle and heater....and TV! The family will be ok.

All the best

Tim

[Tim Downer]

Sorry Jan, I wrote that comment to CMS as you posted your comment.....so mine looks weird where it is compared to being under CMS's post.

Hope you carry on using the message board for advise and as a sounding board.....like you say, we all have things to learn and we are all made up differently.....sometimes people forget that.

Regards

Tim

[Jan K]

no worries Tim 

[Fox]

Hi Jan

My area is also low unemployment with a fairly high cost of living (much like the rest of the country) so I do understand your dilemma.  I admire you for your resilience against some of the posts your thread has materialised but hey for a second time you say -

I am perfectly happy to take both positive and negative criticism,

sarcasm or not you will get it! 

As for understanding some of your posts - just look back through everything you have ever posted, there are alot of contradictions (we all do it because we get right into a subject, but you more than most). 

It is difficult for a person to write their exact meaning, when reading text we all use our own thought process and with no tone of voice or expression of face things can be taken wrongly.

No doubt you have alot of people supporting everything you say on this board - maybe they read your threads differently to me - I just find alot of your posts either a) confusing because of conflicting information or b) seems like you are shouting 'hey guys I'm here and I'm going to be a success, no matter what you say' then the next thing I seem to see, you are conveying the opposite, by saying you are not in it to make shed loads of money!

I do try to give advice to others on subjects I know about but sometimes a person just 'rubs you up the wrong way'.

Hmmmm - hope you understand what I am trying to say.

Fox