When Good Customers Stray Beacause Of Price

[Vivers]

So 1 of my techs goes to a repeat we have cleaned for since 2008 and done different things for them. Carpet, upholstery, tile & grout, etc... They have always been thrilled with our workmanship and customer service however, it seems they were lured by the all mighty Groupon Crap! They told my tech that they are sorry but thought they could save some money and still get a good job. They were wrong and almost acted guilty my tech said. We found out the price that our client paid and figured the company got about $40 for what we charged $273 for. OUCH!

I love these kind of stories and it just confirms to me anyway, that you typically get what you pay for!

 

[Bob Foster]

They often stray back. Just be nice and leave the door open so its easy for them to do so.

 

[Connor]

Well, you gotta admit, it sounded like a heck of a deal.

 

[Brian R]

I just did a 3rd repeat from an original Groupon customer today.

Don't blame the advertiser for the service company.


Why would you love this story? That's horrible. You're customer got screwed. They may have felt they were getting a little screwed from you as well and decided to see what was out there.

Sounds like they've been a bit unlucky. That's too bad.

 

[Ron Werner]

what's really satisfying is when they call you back and are happy to pay your price

 

[Bee Busy]

what's really satisfying is when they call you back and are happy to pay your price

hopefully they'll go online and and comment on how awful it was, like many do on Yelp lately, and slowly end this awful form of "marketing"

 

[sam miller]

I just did a 3rd repeat from an original Groupon customer today.

Don't blame the advertiser for the service company.


Why would you love this story? That's horrible. You're customer got screwed. They may have felt they were getting a little screwed from you as well and decided to see what was out there.

Sounds like they've been a bit unlucky. That's too bad.

The Love part isnt in the screwing or the advertiser, Its customers who stray always comeback and say the same thing "I'll never do that again!"

The guy brought some little broke dick rotary machine outta the back of his honda and said he was done in 15 min and wanted to get paid! hey Marty, blow me

the carpets didnt look any different! :shock:

 

[Brian R]

The education of the customer should have been done way before they ever strayed.... But nobody's perfect.


My customers Know my value after every job. They know better than to look elsewhere because they know they're getting the best.



This is a good lesson for anyone who thinks their customer just "knows"

 

[rhyde]

Why would you love this story? That's horrible. You're customer got screwed. They may have felt they were getting a little screwed from you as well and decided to see what was out there.

Sounds like they've been a bit unlucky. That's too bad.

Why?

It's greed that's why and it plays out in many areas. Its the same mentality as 80-90% "off retail price" at GOB (going out of business) scams rug sales where a person buys a 3K that in reality was a 1K or less rug...then screams bloody murder about it! The latest scam are service men returning from Afghanistan thinking they are buying rugs pennies on the dollar from dirt poor Afghans they can sell here for a huge profit here in the states.

These people didn't get screwed as much as they blinded themselves with their own greed and screwed themselves.

 

[Brian R]

Maybe they were just trying NOT to get screwed... and got screwed.

Maybe it was greed, maybe it wasn't.... I wasn't there.

I just hate to see bad things happen to people like that.

 

[Vivers]

I just did a 3rd repeat from an original Groupon customer today.

Don't blame the advertiser for the service company.


Why would you love this story? That's horrible. You're customer got screwed. They may have felt they were getting a little screwed from you as well and decided to see what was out there.

Sounds like they've been a bit unlucky. That's too bad.

Why? Because the client was getting things done properly and decided to bite on a ridiculous deal Brian. Then they got a piss poor job and came back to our company confirming the kind of work we do. That makes a hard working perfectionist like myself and my techs happy. Our client explained the whole thing to us and apologized for straying. That wouldn't make you happy? As far as client retention Brian we are all over it. E-mails, reminders, spotter bottles, magnets & cards. Sometimes they want to test the waters but, they always come back if it's quality they are looking for.

Don't kid yourself into thinking you know me or my company I have built from the ground up and have an outstanding reputation in our area. We are mid priced and provide second to none customer service.
If your into these BS coupons that make our industry look cheap, then that's your hangup, not mine buddy! Say whatever you like but all the bait & switch advertising and Groupon stuff makes us look like groveling peasants scrounging for a dime!

 

[Bee Busy]

it's stories like this that drove me into the hard surface industry years ago..

 

[Brian R]

Bill V, I don't pretend to know your company. But you shouldn't pretend to know every company that runs a Groupon either.

Your customer got a bad deal and came back. I feel bad for them, not happy. I don't like to see anyone get screwed when they are honestly looking to better their family by possibly saving some money.

But it's not about the savings...And maybe they thought it was. It's about advertising and paying for the cost upfront. Groupon gets part of that and the new customer gets part of that in the form of a discount.


I still don't understand why this is so hard to understand.


Do you expect Groupon to NOT get paid for their service? Do you expect them to sell ANY vouchers without some kind of "deal" for the customer?

What makes them special is the same thing that makes you and others cringe.


I always go back to this.

• How much money does it cost to get any customer?

• How much time and effort does it take to get any customer?...Answering the phone, explaning, selling, booking etc.

• What's your time worth in your company?


This is nothing different from Hotwire.com or expedia.com... and I would bet dollars to donuts that the same people who complain about Groupon are the same ones who use those services as well.

I would also bet they are the same ones who want the best deal on a TM or chems or toys etc.

Foster's been going through garbage cans just to build his equipment pile.... Others utilze the Mikey's Board Auction to save some dough (then the supplier gets some great exposure).


Again, why is this so hard to understand.


You can still do awesome work with awesome customer service and STILL run a Groupon or have great rates.

Ken Snow's company is a perfect example of this. His prices are lower than most of the "quality" cleaners I've seen...And yet Hagopian does great work, great reputation and Ken I'm sure sleeps like a baby.

Will Ken do a Groupon? Maybe, but I don't think his company has a reason or need to run one. They are big enough to bring in those numbers on their own.


This has been a moment with Brian. 8)

It's good to be the king. !gotcha!

 

[lance]

Bill's custy that hired someone else didn't get screwed.....they got what the paid for. They were hoping to save some money and get a good job. Only problem is they just saved money, that is until they have to call Bill and have his guys come out to really clean like the custy wants it done.

Everybody wants a good deal. But everyone's definition of a good deal varies wide and far. So the custy took a chance and it didn't work out. Too bad. That's life. They didn't lose a limb or get their house set on fire. And Bill will make their carpets look good again.

Brian, you talk like G-on is God's gift to the carpet cleaning industry. It's not. It is not very good for service companies unless you are giving half off for an inspection (like the roofing companies do that you linked in on another post) or doing something easy in hopes of upselling and/or selling other services. Brick and mortar places, sure, because they have holes in their schedule and employees on the clock that have to get paid.

I bet I could hand out flyers a mile or two from your house with the 3 rooms for $69.00 deal and get you a ton of business. And you get to keep all the money. And when you are really busy you can control the schedule and even cancel the coupon when you like. You will be in charge and not cheap-on.

 

[Brian R]

Carpet Cleaning IS easy. It's everything that comes with it that's hard.

You know, you've got a point lance... I've got a pretty good size client base from all the deals I've ran.

Instead of getting $32 for 3 rooms... Maybe I'll undercut the Groupons and run a $49- 3 room deal and STILL make money on the upsells.


Hmmmmm.

I suppose I could do that for my other areas as well... .Hmmm Hmmm.

BUT, to gain NEW customers...... NO, you can't beat Groupon type companies.

 

[Ken Snow]

The customer could just has easily gotten a good deal and never come back, if Brian or Chris had done the work.

Equating a quality of service due to the manner the company advertised is not a valid method in my opinion. I do believe the customer was not happy and that they very likely got a poor job and now you have a customer back. That is where it ends for me~ nothing directly related to Groupon.

I have had great work done on things where I "got a deal" (heating and cooling work) and I have had shitty work done when I have "overpaid" (painting). The only common denominator in these cases are they were both companies I had not used before~ one was great and the other sub par. Had nothing to do with the amount I paid.

Ken
Ps I do not nor intend to use Groupon, though I would certainly if I was a start up or trying to really grow from small to larger~ then I would use it like crazy.

 

[Brian R]

If you can't listen to Ken, then who CAN you listen too?


Groupon has been awesome for starting areas.