Customer says moving recliners our fault.

[WillS]

What would you say to a customer that calls you a week after cleaning to say, because you moved the recliners back while cleaning, when THEY sat down, reclined and put a hole in the wall.

Here is the thing, I did the master bedroom cleaning myself and didn't move the recliners. Lol There was a huge stain infront of them that I was able to get out from wine. My guess is their house assistant moved the recliner back to see if we just put it over the stain or got rid of it.

I told the customer this (older couple, rich home, very stingy w money, cleaned for them about 5 times previously). He still was suggesting we needed to pay to have the hole fixed. His wife yelling some crap in the background. Just lose the customer? Avg job ticket $160.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Fuk it. Just fix and bite your tongue. You know you didn't do it, but they truly might believe you did it. Explain but tell them they have such a good client you don't want to lose them

Why lose a regular client when you might salvage the situation with a repair.

 

[ruff]

Refer them to Boris:

Boris Johnson (mayor of London): "Some people are too stupid to get on in life."

Please keep us informed if Boris helped in any way.

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

How about customer that phones 11 MONTHS LATER, and says the couch is giving them a rash....(cleaned September 19, 2016).... originally referred from high end furniture store.....

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

How about customer that phones 11 MONTHS LATER, and says the couch is giving them a rash....(cleaned September 19, 2016).... originally referred from high end furniture store.....

AND, I cleaned it with Procyon liquid.....

 

[bob vawter]

believe me....if the wife was screamin in the background.......

you lost them already!

 

[Desk Jockey]

That's a tough one. People can be allergic to almost anything. Tide with deodorant bothers me as do some under arm deodorants.

Explain how you've cleaned hundreds of pieces with that product with no other negative effects. However you would be willing to use a neutralizing rinse at no charge but there would be no guarantee that it would fix the issue.

That is if you want to save the client.

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

That's a tough one. People can be allergic to almost anything. Tide with deodorant bothers me as do some under arm deodorant.

Explain how you've cleaned hundreds of pieces with that product with no other negative effects but you would be willing to use a neutralizing rinse at no charge.

That is if you want to save the client.

Well..... she claims her AND her husband are getting a rash..... I think they just want it recleaned for free......

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

Well..... she claims her AND her husband are getting a rash..... I think they just want it recleaned for free......

I'm going to reclean it with just plain H20......

 

[Desk Jockey]

Could be true or you could be right.

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

Could be true or you could be right.

The chances of BOTH of them having a reaction to said product are less than a million to one...... sometimes, I hate being in the service industry.....

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL

Just fix it and forget it. The vast majority of jobs come off without a hitch. Don't overly focus on the very few that are problems.

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

LOL

Just fix it and forget it. The vast majority of jobs come off without a hitch. Don't focus unrealistically on the very few that are problems.

That's EXACTLY what my wife said...... oooooossssssaaaaahhhhhh........ calm blue ocean........

 

[jcooper]

He still was suggesting we needed to pay to have the hole fixed.

Sir, I didn't sit in the flooking chair, you did.

 

[hogjowl]

That's EXACTLY what my wife said...... oooooossssssaaaaahhhhhh........ calm blue ocean........

He washes his own clothes
Could explain the feminism in his approach

 

[Ron K]

...... sometimes, I hate being in the service industry.....

Sometimes it's not the job that sucks it's the people!

Had a customer say we didn't rinse the rug enough. We cleaned two rugs for her exactly the same way. We had a check ready to go when we went back for her complaint. She had worked on a spot she had spilled something on and reversed the nap so she thought she cleaned it better then we did. When in fact she had just distorted the pile and it reflected the nap differently. I knew we weren't going to win any discussion and it wasn't even the "winning" we weren't going to get anywhere unless we admitted we did a shitty job,which we definitely didn't, she got her money back and she lost the best cleaner in the area. $329.82 well spent. Now she'll have to hump her rug to the big city and they can have her.
We are just glorified janitors so keep the good clients and get rid of the ones that don't respect your hard work,if you do your best you should sleep well at night knowing you did your best..... and raise your prices it gets rid of some of the leaches !

 

[Sierra Clean Care]

Sometimes it's not the job that sucks it's the people!

Had a customer say we didn't rinse the rug enough. We cleaned two rugs for her exactly the same way. We had a check ready to go when we went back for her complaint. She had worked on a spot she had spilled something on and reversed the nap so she thought she cleaned it better then we did. When in fact she had just distorted the pile and it reflected the nap differently. I knew we weren't going to win any discussion and it wasn't even the "winning" we weren't going to get anywhere unless we admitted we did a shitty job,which we definitely didn't, she got her money back and she lost the best cleaner in the area. $329.82 well spent. Now she'll have to hump her rug to the big city and they can have her.
We are just glorified janitors so keep the good clients and get rid of the ones that don't respect your hard work,if you do your best you should sleep well at night knowing you did your best..... and raise your prices it gets rid of some of the leaches !

My list of D.N.R(do NOT reservice) just keeps getting bigger every year......

 

[Desk Jockey]

He washes his own clothes
Could explain the feminism in his approach

Nope. We service a small market, we can't afford to toss away clients.

 

[SamIam]

Fix it!

 

[hogjowl]

Nope. We service a small market, we can't afford to toss away clients.

I've got 2500 people in mine, so my personality is quite important to my success

 

[Desk Jockey]

It's the South. They love piss and vinegar...evidently.

 

[WillS]

I can understand if we put a wet couch against the wall, or a machine hit the wall causing damage. Even when one of our guys moved a table w a lamp on it the other day, while the customer watched, some part of the lamp bottom was loose and cracked. We paid for it. But to say we moved a recliner while cleaning causing them a week later to recline in it causing them to put a hole in their wall. I just can't justify paying for that. He still thinks I moved the recliner. I would have only moved it forward to cover up the stain if it didn't come out, not backward.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Times have changed to the point nobody wants to take responsibility for anything.

They all look for someone to take the fall/hit. Being an in home service provider it comes with job. Responsible or not this is not the last time you will be accused.

One way to cover yourself is count up your losses for the year, then divide that total by the number of jobs you service. Whatever that number is, raise your price per job that amount.

You now have built-in insurance against this kind of thing. Have a light year for claims? You can pay back each of your clients...or pocket the windfall.

 

[Cleanworks]

Well..... she claims her AND her husband are getting a rash..... I think they just want it recleaned for free......

Send them to a std clinic

 

[Old Coastie]

...or just say "yeah, yall kinda chap my butt, too."

As for the wall, go there and fix it if you can. However, make no pretense of accepting blame. Seriously, show them where it used to sit and be firm that after cleaning, you put it exactly back. Recommed that they pull it out even a bit farther, lest "somebody accidentally shove it back into the wall AGAIN."

Give them some spotter and smile when you leave.

 

[bob vawter]

jus matching the paint is the hard part...
tell 'em to piss up a rope an die

cuz they're gone anyway!

has the whole world gone crazy...geeeez!

 

[DAT]

Never take blame for something that you didnt do.

 

[bob vawter]

yep...cuz once you try to repair that
you've opened a whole new can of worms.....

deny deny deny!!!

 

[Dolly Llama]

jus matching the paint is the hard part...

you slice a piece off the wall and have it color matched
do that by scoring a 2" square with razor knife and slice the paper layer off the drywall
(you already have to mud out, so no biggie to skim coat the scored area)
Take it to Sherwin Williams, HD or Lowes and have it color matched

depending how long ago the wall was painted and sheen, a touch up "might" fly
In particular if they used flat paint sheen on the walls and was recently painted


given the circumstance though...., Will may very likely have to paint the whole wall to make 'em happy

Will, at minimum, I suggest you go look at their concerns .
See if just a divot gouge or the drywall actually broke

if just a gouge, 5 minute Durabond, a blow drier or heat gun and some color matched paint, a pro will be in and out in 30 minutes .
Might cost you $150 + materials (a gal of paint) to sub a pro to do the whole wall right


If broken board, that might be another matter .
But suspect it's not broken board, or they'd be asking for a cleaned or re-upholstered recliner too


..L.T.A.

 

[BIG WOOD]

Tell them you hope they've learned their lesson on Plopping their fat ass down in the chair when they go to sit.



Nah, I'd probably just go fix it and tell them to paint the wall any color they want. Fixing a wall is better than burning an expensive wool rug with a high ph prespray, or breaking a china cabinet with some clumsy wand action. Just go fix it. People gossip all the time. It's a shame