Boss Optima
Our Forum Mission:
To Level The Playing Field Between The National Chains And The Owner Operators.
Today’s Topic: Eliminating Redo's
We hope you use these Boss Optima techniques that we are sharing freely on the forum. If you master these 5 elements you can significantly reduce redo's forever. And accelerate your business to better compete with the National Chains.
Whether you realize it or not you are in a fierce competition with the national chains. The big guys are gobbling up market share every day. Never has quality been more critical to your success.
I am Mike Ochoa the president of Boss Optima and I want to help you compete on a more level playing field. Our company partners with owner operators all of the country to be licensed 1 man service departments for our company. We take great techs and make them master techs. We are now sharing some of our best training material freely here on this forum.
Here Is All You Need To Know To Greatly Reduce Redo's From Your Business.
By Mike Ochoa
President Of Boss Optima President.
This one of my favorite subjects. How do you stop Redo's from occurring?
I have coached hundreds of technicians over the years on this topic. And on this page, I want to define it to a whole new level for our forum members. And I want to stress to you, that a lot of what you will learn here is :
"How a customer thinks".
I really believe one of the biggest mistakes carpet cleaners make is that they
"Think like a tech".
Or they "Think like a business owner".
The reason the national chains like Stanley Steamer and Zero Rez are so successful is because their entire business model is based on how "a customer thinks".
That is why here at Boss Optima on all of our technician uniforms there is a special code on the sleeve of our Nike Uniforms . It reads: TLAC. This stands for
THINK LIKE A CUSTOMER.
If you understand how a customer thinks and you perform your work through the eyes of a customer. I believe you can make dramatic changing to radically reduce your redo percentage . And also significantly increase your business.
What I am going to share with you on this forum page is what the best techs in this industry already know and utilize.... And its powerful stuff.
First I want to emphasize 4 very major points for you.....
1.) Customers mostly only complain when they feel they did not completely get what they paid for. This is not always a reality. Sometimes it’s just a perception. But it’s a perception THAT WE COMPLETELY CONTROL.
2.) A redo is also a very uncomfortable inconvenience to the customer. Just as you hate redo’s so does your client. (I know it’s easy to buy into the : "this customer is just trying to take advantage of us" mindset........But ask yourself ....How happy would you be, if you had to drive all the way back to the carwash after driving all the way home and realizing you were not happy with the car wash results. ... Would you feel happy that you are getting another wash or frustrated that you had to go back. The truth is, customers hate dealing with redo’s just as much as you do!!
3.) Believe it or not, most customers are actually reluctant to complain. Because of something I call the “Chef Analogy”, I believe that In our industry customers are actually more reluctant then you think to complain. I’ll explain more about that later. I think thousands of customers are lost every year because the client was unhappy and did not have the courage to say something to the tech.
4.) It is possible to reduce your redo percentage to 3% . That’s 3 redo's for every 100 jobs completed. Now before you tell me that you are already at that level, ask yourself this question honestly: Is somebody (other then you) calling your customers to make sure they are happy after the cleaning? And asking if they need a redo.
Because I feel if your quality assurance is not done by another person the “Chef analogy” that I will describe later will really blur your true redo percentage. Because I feel some redo’s are actually unhappy customers that don’t want you back for a redo. You just don’t know how they REALLY FEEL.
At Boss Optima We Believe That quality is controlled by a simple protocol. And it involves controlling the experience that the client is having with us.
I know that all carpet cleaners hate Redo's , its a fact that will never change. In my 28 plus year , career at Boss Optima have worked with and trained hundreds of Service Techs.
And I feel we have had some of the most talented technicians in the country on our rosters over the years. Our company actually seeks out the best of the best, owner operators and offers them licensed partnerships to be a 1 man service department for our company. So it’s like an all star team over here.
We take guys that are great and make them exceptional. A lot of my personal beliefs and ideals about quality were developed by "profiling" what the best techs at Boss Optima did on a day to day basis. What I'm going to teach you here on this forum page is over 20 years in the making....
In our companies history, I have witnessed 5 Boss techs go over a year without a single Redo. And these are not guys doing a couple of jobs a day. These are guys running 4 jobs a day and sometimes 5. They all had the same things in common. They did everything I am going to outline on this page...and they did it instinctively.
If you really are serious about competing in this industry, you can master and teach yourself to do what they do naturally. It just takes a commitment on your part to try what I am going to teach you here...
First of all I want stress that there are 5 elements that create (or prevent) redo's. Each is very critical.
I’m already going to assume you are using high quality products and your equipment is solid.
If you fail at one of these elements, redo's will absolutely continue...And customers will be lost forever.
The Big 5 Elements
I believe that above products and application there are 5 specific elements that determine the quality in your cleaning.
Lets define each of these elements:
Workmanship
I call your workmanship "The invisible assistant".
When you really wow a customer with your cleaning results , you create an aura about you. I am not talking about doing a "good job" . I'm talking about really wowing the customer on an area. Making them get that I can't believe it look on their face.
When you do this the customer almost automatically puts you on a pedestal in their minds. Your workmanship becomes this invisible assistant that is whispering in the customers ear about how "elite" you are. "How special and different" you are. When you are able to achieve the wow factor , (even on 1 bad area) the customer now trusts you to an entirely different level.
And this “Positive perception” now influences the way they see the entire job.
Now I know every tech says he’s trying to do a great job. But that doesn’t create the wow factor. In a future post I will be discussing specific “wow techniques” that you can incorporate to elevate the perception of your cleaning.
When you really wow a client :
YOUR WORD BECOMES GOSPEL JUST BECAUSE OF THE CLEANING RESULTS YOU HAVE ACHIEVED..
Your workmanship has 3 elements:
Your thoroughness.
At what point are you happy with the results? Remember: if the carpet is lighter than the regular color of the carpet that's wear. We can't put color back into the carpet to correct that. But, if the color of the traffic area is darker than the regular color of the carpet that's buildup. And we should always be able to get that out. You must develop a keen eye for what looks good and what doesn't. Remember with carpet upholstery and area rugs...if it looks dark when wet , it will look even darker when dry. Everything should look great when it is wet. Never think "it will look better when it dries".The only thing that ever looks better when it dries is grout.
The quality of your products.
And your product knowledge. Do you know how to boost your cleaner when need be? Are you stocking the right spot removers?
The quality and effectiveness of your equipment.
Is your temperature right? Is your vacuum strong? Are your wand jets spraying correctly? Maintenance and equipment checks are essential to ensure our quality.
The 70/30 rule is very key....
At Boss Optima we preach this religiously.
This rule states that you should spend about 70% of your time on the 30% of the carpet /tile/upholstery that is very dirty.
Let's use carpet as the example: On most jobs its about 30% of the carpet that is really visibly dirty. Usually walkways, entries and traffic areas. These are the areas that the customer is ultimately going to judge our results on.
This 30% will determine if our customer is extremely happy and loyal to us. Or never calls us again. I believe you should spend 70% of our time on these areas. Everything else, we are going to give a good thorough once over and blend it in. This does not mean shortcuting anything. It means realize that some areas need a through once over and other areas need more attention.
When you go into a home, get clear on identifying the 30%. I have even known some master techs who would use there hydrasprayer to "mark" or "outline" the carpet as they are spraying to remind them of the 30% they need to really focus on.
Your customer is not going to brag to their neighbor how well you cleaned under the couch..(They just want to know you did clean under the couch).
They will brag about how well you cleaned the entry into their family room!!
Customers judge us on the 30% that was obviously, undoubtedly, visibly dirty!
Get great at nailing these areas.. Because from a pure cleaning stand point, that is what you will be judged on.
Care And Concern
Please never lose sight of this....
The most attractive thing a customer can experience from you is a sincere care and concern for their results that actually exceeds their own personal care and concern…
I think the best technicians in this industry have a natural caregiver mentality. Their care and concern is very sincere and genuine. Its not a “what’s in it for me” care and concern. It’s a real I want to help you care and concern.
You must be conscientious of this every day. Show your customers that you care (even more then they do) about the job that you are performing for them. Treat them as you would a family member and customers will always feel this.
And its powerful. Its memorable.. And they will assess your service with completely different eyes when you demonstrate this. I call care and concern the great mistake erasor.
Sometimes redo's are created not because we did not follow procedure or clean correctly. But because the customer did not feel they received your best effort....In other words , they did not feel you cared enough. So their mind creates doubts and questions as to whether they got what they paid for.
Remember: they don't know the professional techniques and strategies of professional cleaning. They are trusting that you know all of this. And they are trusting you to apply this knowledge. This requires trust and faith on their part...
Ask yourself....how much would you trust someone you felt didn't show real care and concern for you?
Showing care and concern is as important as any cleaning product or cleaning technique. The reality is there are going to be times where we cannot clean a spot or stain. At that point the customers satisfaction is based on the faith they have that you did all you could.....That faith is tied to the care and concern you showed for them.
This cannot be faked , either you sincerely care....or you don't.
Assessment Permission
One of the real secrets of our industry (That some carpet cleaners go their entire career without fully realizing) is the fact that a lot of customers are extremely reluctant to tell you what they really think of you and your workmanship.. (Especially if they are not happy with their service). The fact is , your work is a reflection of YOU . And some customers think they are insulting you personally if they complain about your work. This can make a lot of customers very reluctant to speak up. Especially if they know you are the owner.
When you also factor in that customers on a certain level view you as a "guest" in their home , this can be even more uncomfortable for them. They will simply be polite, gracious and maybe make a comment about something they are not happy with. But I always tell our technicians take every client concern as if its being “down played” by the client . Assume they are 3 times more bothered then they are actually expressing. And then you are much closer to the truth.
CLIENTS WILL RARELY SHOW YOU THE FULL DEGREE THAT THEY ARE DISPLEASED.
O Of course there is always the wild card client who will absolutely badger you to do a good job for them but they are not by any means the norm. Most clients are reluctant to tell you what they really, really are thinking.
This creates a real challenge to you because the customer is not typically going to give you accurate information about what they really think.. There is a wall keeping the truth from you.
I cannot tell you how many times a redo could have been avoided if the customer would have simply had the courage to tell the tech what they really thought of the cleaning result. Unfortunately this simply does not occur. And a lot of times the customer justifies this to themselves by thinking: “Maybe it will look better when it dries”.
At Boss Optima we believe it is our job to create the comfort level for the customer to be honest. And it is in our best interest to do it. It is our job to break that wall down for every client at every job so that we can get good intel about what they are really thinking.
Assessment Permission is a Boss Optima technique which encourages the customer to feel comfortable telling us what they truly think of the results you are achieving. This is critical to our success. If you view your business as a business of "creating fanatical customers" then you can see how important it is that we get good honest feedback while we are performing the service..
THE ASSESSMENT PERMISSION TECHNIQUE HELPS YOU ACHIEVE THIS.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WE CAN GREATLY HELP ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A REDO.
The Assessment Permission concept is simply: We ask for feedback twice per area cleaned . Once at the half way point and once at the completion of the area. We do this knowing that it’s not until we ask the 4th or 5th time, that the client will actually start to feel “safe” being honest with us.
This may seem excessive until you actually witness what happens. You will actually see the client go from being reluctant to “opening up” the more often we ask for feedback. It’s really interesting to see this play out. The more we ask for feedback, the more comfortable the client starts to feels opening up to us. We are giving them permission to feel safe assessing us to our face. And that is when the highest levels of quality are achieved.
At Boss Optima we use a 2 step approach to Assessment permission..........
When doing your walkthrough tell the customer that you are going to ask them to please evaluate each room or item when you are finished with that area/item. Tell the customer that everybody has a different idea of what a "great job" is. And that you ALWAYS ASK YOUR CUSTOMERS TO EVALUATE EACH AREA WE CLEAN to make sure their happy before you continue to the next area/item. Encourage the customer to give you a "stamp of approval" as you finish each area..
Be sincere and let the customer feel how important this is to you.
Again, we like to do this twice per area. Once at the half way point and once at the completion of the area. Through assessment permission, we are breaking down the wall to create real true honesty….
And you will see this as you go through this assessment permission procedure. The customer will at first be reluctant and then after a few assessments they start to feel safe and comfortable opening up and telling you what they really think.
If the customer voices a concern, be very careful not to be defensive. Instead, show concern and care and try to demonstrate that you will touch up an area with no resistance. Customers love this . And more importantly, they will now feel comfortable telling you when something concerns them. BECAUSE YOU HAVE ENCOURAGED IT.
Giving the customer permission to assess your work is crucial to eliminate redo's..
The best techs do this religiously. There is also a nice side effect of doing this over and over...you start to really understand what pleases customers because you are getting so much great accurate feedback , job after job.
Do not fear Assessment Permission. It is a profit generating technique.
I am your customer and I have a secret.
Every time you come into my home, I am afraid to tell you what I really am thinking. I am afraid it will insult you. I am afraid you will "take it personally”, if I tell you that I am not really satisfied with something. So, I tend to downplay issues that concern me. I am much more comfortable waiting for you to leave and then just calling the office and talking to them. The only way you can ever truly "wow" me or really impress me is to first make me feel comfortable telling you what I really think of your results.
I would love to do that , but you must first reassure me that it won’t be awkward or uncomfortable. Believe me it would be far more convenient for both of us if I could just tell you now, while you are already in my home.
I don't want a redo any more then you do. But you have to help me with my fear by encouraging me to give you feedback often. The more you ask....the more comfortable I will feel...
The Chef Analogy…
I’ve used this story many times in the last two decades to give insight to how customers actually feel about being honest with you , while you are in the home. And why I feel so many customers are lost without any awareness from the technician.
Imagine this scenario…
You invite a chef to your house and you are paying him to cook a dinner for you. The chef comes all by himself to your home. He is very confident and begins preparing the meal. Just you and the chef are in the home. And he is cooking this meal exclusively for you…
As he works away, you see he is very focused on what he is doing. You also see he is an obvious hard worker. He seems to take a lot of pride while he works diligently to prepare his special dinner for you.
Another obvious thing that you notice, is that while he is cooking, he is very friendly and engaging Asking you about your origins and family… He is pleasant to have in your home. And you feel very comfortable with him. He’s obviously a nice guy.
The chef finishes the meal and gleams with pride as he puts the plate in front of you…
He begins cleaning up as you start to take the first bite of this special meal he has worked so hard on..
You take your first bite and too your dismay it is extremely salty… The taste is not at all what you expected. You look to the chef and he is smiling ear to ear waiting for your feedback.
Now my question is this:
How easy would it be for you in that moment, to tell him that his meal is way too salty and not really to your taste?
How easy would it be to tell this guy that you just saw working so hard..
Taking so much pride
Working so intently and hard to please you..
That is exactly how your customer feels, when they to tell you they have an issue with your cleaning.
They may love you and your effort…
They may love your personality…
And they may behave with great kindness and appreciation for your work…
But it doesn’t mean they liked your food.
Here at Boss Optima we believe it is the Chefs job to have the client taste the food while it is being cooked so the client is encouraged to tell us what taste good to them and what doesn’t.
Now what if that same chef was proactive and told you before the meal:
While I prepare your meal, I’m going to have you taste some small samples so I can make sure that what I’m preparing for you is to your taste, so I really need your assistance to make sure I give something that you will really love…
Now ask yourself....which chef would you rather have cook for you?
The first one who blindly assumed you would love his food?
Or the one who got your assurance while he prepared the food?
This is a huge factor in eliminating Redo’s and mastering this industrey…
Your Resolution Technique
This is huge..... Resolution is the act of convincing the customer (during the service) of the following 4 things.
O-You really care more then even they do. And you have blatantly demonstrated this.
O-You are much more professional and skilled then a regular tech. You are elite.
Can you see why your shirt untucked would work against you in this area? Or dirty equipment? or sloppy procedures?. I can't tell you how many redo's I have seen created simply because the customer felt "she got an inadequate tech" because he didn't look or act as professional as the guy she was expecting. And he doesn't seem as professional as what the salesperson said he would be.
You have to look and act the part of a master tech. If you give an indication of being not elite, this will lead to what I call "Perception Redo's".
The customer will simply think "I think another tech could do better for me then this guy".
The best technicians constantly reinforce the idea that : " If I can’t do it nobody can." And when that resonates with a client , they will have the peace of mind, that whatever result does get achieved, its probably the best that was possible. And they do not call for a redo.
The best technicians still fail sometimes. But the difference is they fail amazingly. They fail in a way that still impresses the client. They show care, concern, and a dominant can do attitude. The client just wants to know that :
Your the best.
You care even more then they do.
You used all of your bullets.
There is nothing left to try.
Other Key points to Eliminate Redo’s
The customer wants to know that you tried everything humanly possible.
And she was right there on the journey with you to witness it. if the customer is not on the journey with you, you leave room for doubt. Again this refers to you keeping the customer involved and witnessing when you try different strategies to clean an area.
The Client Wants To Know There Is Nothing Left to try.
And the customers believes you because she views you as a Master Tech who has shown more care and concern then anybody she has ever had in her house! And she was on the journey with you. Always make your customer a witness as you are cleaning. Call them over each time you make a different attempt.
All has been discussed . At the end of the job we completely discussed what we were not able to remove and the customer has peace of mind that all that could be attempted was done. When you do all of these things we get resolution. The customer believes they had a master tech in their home who was more skilled then a typical tech....he did everything he could....and their was nothing left to try...
Why would you call for a redo?
Eliminating Most Redo's is as simple as perfecting the above 5 elements.
Mike Ochoa
President
Our Forum Mission:
To Level The Playing Field Between The National Chains And The Owner Operators.
Today’s Topic: Eliminating Redo's
We hope you use these Boss Optima techniques that we are sharing freely on the forum. If you master these 5 elements you can significantly reduce redo's forever. And accelerate your business to better compete with the National Chains.
Whether you realize it or not you are in a fierce competition with the national chains. The big guys are gobbling up market share every day. Never has quality been more critical to your success.
I am Mike Ochoa the president of Boss Optima and I want to help you compete on a more level playing field. Our company partners with owner operators all of the country to be licensed 1 man service departments for our company. We take great techs and make them master techs. We are now sharing some of our best training material freely here on this forum.
Here Is All You Need To Know To Greatly Reduce Redo's From Your Business.
By Mike Ochoa
President Of Boss Optima President.
This one of my favorite subjects. How do you stop Redo's from occurring?
I have coached hundreds of technicians over the years on this topic. And on this page, I want to define it to a whole new level for our forum members. And I want to stress to you, that a lot of what you will learn here is :
"How a customer thinks".
I really believe one of the biggest mistakes carpet cleaners make is that they
"Think like a tech".
Or they "Think like a business owner".
The reason the national chains like Stanley Steamer and Zero Rez are so successful is because their entire business model is based on how "a customer thinks".
That is why here at Boss Optima on all of our technician uniforms there is a special code on the sleeve of our Nike Uniforms . It reads: TLAC. This stands for
THINK LIKE A CUSTOMER.
If you understand how a customer thinks and you perform your work through the eyes of a customer. I believe you can make dramatic changing to radically reduce your redo percentage . And also significantly increase your business.
What I am going to share with you on this forum page is what the best techs in this industry already know and utilize.... And its powerful stuff.
1.) Customers mostly only complain when they feel they did not completely get what they paid for. This is not always a reality. Sometimes it’s just a perception. But it’s a perception THAT WE COMPLETELY CONTROL.
2.) A redo is also a very uncomfortable inconvenience to the customer. Just as you hate redo’s so does your client. (I know it’s easy to buy into the : "this customer is just trying to take advantage of us" mindset........But ask yourself ....How happy would you be, if you had to drive all the way back to the carwash after driving all the way home and realizing you were not happy with the car wash results. ... Would you feel happy that you are getting another wash or frustrated that you had to go back. The truth is, customers hate dealing with redo’s just as much as you do!!
3.) Believe it or not, most customers are actually reluctant to complain. Because of something I call the “Chef Analogy”, I believe that In our industry customers are actually more reluctant then you think to complain. I’ll explain more about that later. I think thousands of customers are lost every year because the client was unhappy and did not have the courage to say something to the tech.
4.) It is possible to reduce your redo percentage to 3% . That’s 3 redo's for every 100 jobs completed. Now before you tell me that you are already at that level, ask yourself this question honestly: Is somebody (other then you) calling your customers to make sure they are happy after the cleaning? And asking if they need a redo.
Because I feel if your quality assurance is not done by another person the “Chef analogy” that I will describe later will really blur your true redo percentage. Because I feel some redo’s are actually unhappy customers that don’t want you back for a redo. You just don’t know how they REALLY FEEL.
At Boss Optima We Believe That quality is controlled by a simple protocol. And it involves controlling the experience that the client is having with us.
I know that all carpet cleaners hate Redo's , its a fact that will never change. In my 28 plus year , career at Boss Optima have worked with and trained hundreds of Service Techs.
And I feel we have had some of the most talented technicians in the country on our rosters over the years. Our company actually seeks out the best of the best, owner operators and offers them licensed partnerships to be a 1 man service department for our company. So it’s like an all star team over here.
We take guys that are great and make them exceptional. A lot of my personal beliefs and ideals about quality were developed by "profiling" what the best techs at Boss Optima did on a day to day basis. What I'm going to teach you here on this forum page is over 20 years in the making....
In our companies history, I have witnessed 5 Boss techs go over a year without a single Redo. And these are not guys doing a couple of jobs a day. These are guys running 4 jobs a day and sometimes 5. They all had the same things in common. They did everything I am going to outline on this page...and they did it instinctively.
If you really are serious about competing in this industry, you can master and teach yourself to do what they do naturally. It just takes a commitment on your part to try what I am going to teach you here...
First of all I want stress that there are 5 elements that create (or prevent) redo's. Each is very critical.
I’m already going to assume you are using high quality products and your equipment is solid.
If you fail at one of these elements, redo's will absolutely continue...And customers will be lost forever.
I believe that above products and application there are 5 specific elements that determine the quality in your cleaning.
- Your workmanship.
- The 70/30 rule.
- The care and concern you demonstrate to the customer. I call this "conscientiousness."
- The involvement and "Assessment permission" you create for the customer during the job
- Your Resolution Technique.
Lets define each of these elements:
I call your workmanship "The invisible assistant".
When you really wow a customer with your cleaning results , you create an aura about you. I am not talking about doing a "good job" . I'm talking about really wowing the customer on an area. Making them get that I can't believe it look on their face.
When you do this the customer almost automatically puts you on a pedestal in their minds. Your workmanship becomes this invisible assistant that is whispering in the customers ear about how "elite" you are. "How special and different" you are. When you are able to achieve the wow factor , (even on 1 bad area) the customer now trusts you to an entirely different level.
And this “Positive perception” now influences the way they see the entire job.
Now I know every tech says he’s trying to do a great job. But that doesn’t create the wow factor. In a future post I will be discussing specific “wow techniques” that you can incorporate to elevate the perception of your cleaning.
When you really wow a client :
YOUR WORD BECOMES GOSPEL JUST BECAUSE OF THE CLEANING RESULTS YOU HAVE ACHIEVED..
Your workmanship has 3 elements:
Your thoroughness.
At what point are you happy with the results? Remember: if the carpet is lighter than the regular color of the carpet that's wear. We can't put color back into the carpet to correct that. But, if the color of the traffic area is darker than the regular color of the carpet that's buildup. And we should always be able to get that out. You must develop a keen eye for what looks good and what doesn't. Remember with carpet upholstery and area rugs...if it looks dark when wet , it will look even darker when dry. Everything should look great when it is wet. Never think "it will look better when it dries".The only thing that ever looks better when it dries is grout.
The quality of your products.
And your product knowledge. Do you know how to boost your cleaner when need be? Are you stocking the right spot removers?
The quality and effectiveness of your equipment.
Is your temperature right? Is your vacuum strong? Are your wand jets spraying correctly? Maintenance and equipment checks are essential to ensure our quality.
At Boss Optima we preach this religiously.
This rule states that you should spend about 70% of your time on the 30% of the carpet /tile/upholstery that is very dirty.
Let's use carpet as the example: On most jobs its about 30% of the carpet that is really visibly dirty. Usually walkways, entries and traffic areas. These are the areas that the customer is ultimately going to judge our results on.
This 30% will determine if our customer is extremely happy and loyal to us. Or never calls us again. I believe you should spend 70% of our time on these areas. Everything else, we are going to give a good thorough once over and blend it in. This does not mean shortcuting anything. It means realize that some areas need a through once over and other areas need more attention.
When you go into a home, get clear on identifying the 30%. I have even known some master techs who would use there hydrasprayer to "mark" or "outline" the carpet as they are spraying to remind them of the 30% they need to really focus on.
Your customer is not going to brag to their neighbor how well you cleaned under the couch..(They just want to know you did clean under the couch).
They will brag about how well you cleaned the entry into their family room!!
Customers judge us on the 30% that was obviously, undoubtedly, visibly dirty!
Get great at nailing these areas.. Because from a pure cleaning stand point, that is what you will be judged on.
Care And Concern
Please never lose sight of this....
The most attractive thing a customer can experience from you is a sincere care and concern for their results that actually exceeds their own personal care and concern…
I think the best technicians in this industry have a natural caregiver mentality. Their care and concern is very sincere and genuine. Its not a “what’s in it for me” care and concern. It’s a real I want to help you care and concern.
You must be conscientious of this every day. Show your customers that you care (even more then they do) about the job that you are performing for them. Treat them as you would a family member and customers will always feel this.
And its powerful. Its memorable.. And they will assess your service with completely different eyes when you demonstrate this. I call care and concern the great mistake erasor.
Sometimes redo's are created not because we did not follow procedure or clean correctly. But because the customer did not feel they received your best effort....In other words , they did not feel you cared enough. So their mind creates doubts and questions as to whether they got what they paid for.
Remember: they don't know the professional techniques and strategies of professional cleaning. They are trusting that you know all of this. And they are trusting you to apply this knowledge. This requires trust and faith on their part...
Ask yourself....how much would you trust someone you felt didn't show real care and concern for you?
Showing care and concern is as important as any cleaning product or cleaning technique. The reality is there are going to be times where we cannot clean a spot or stain. At that point the customers satisfaction is based on the faith they have that you did all you could.....That faith is tied to the care and concern you showed for them.
This cannot be faked , either you sincerely care....or you don't.
Assessment Permission
One of the real secrets of our industry (That some carpet cleaners go their entire career without fully realizing) is the fact that a lot of customers are extremely reluctant to tell you what they really think of you and your workmanship.. (Especially if they are not happy with their service). The fact is , your work is a reflection of YOU . And some customers think they are insulting you personally if they complain about your work. This can make a lot of customers very reluctant to speak up. Especially if they know you are the owner.
When you also factor in that customers on a certain level view you as a "guest" in their home , this can be even more uncomfortable for them. They will simply be polite, gracious and maybe make a comment about something they are not happy with. But I always tell our technicians take every client concern as if its being “down played” by the client . Assume they are 3 times more bothered then they are actually expressing. And then you are much closer to the truth.
CLIENTS WILL RARELY SHOW YOU THE FULL DEGREE THAT THEY ARE DISPLEASED.
O Of course there is always the wild card client who will absolutely badger you to do a good job for them but they are not by any means the norm. Most clients are reluctant to tell you what they really, really are thinking.
This creates a real challenge to you because the customer is not typically going to give you accurate information about what they really think.. There is a wall keeping the truth from you.
I cannot tell you how many times a redo could have been avoided if the customer would have simply had the courage to tell the tech what they really thought of the cleaning result. Unfortunately this simply does not occur. And a lot of times the customer justifies this to themselves by thinking: “Maybe it will look better when it dries”.
At Boss Optima we believe it is our job to create the comfort level for the customer to be honest. And it is in our best interest to do it. It is our job to break that wall down for every client at every job so that we can get good intel about what they are really thinking.
Assessment Permission is a Boss Optima technique which encourages the customer to feel comfortable telling us what they truly think of the results you are achieving. This is critical to our success. If you view your business as a business of "creating fanatical customers" then you can see how important it is that we get good honest feedback while we are performing the service..
THE ASSESSMENT PERMISSION TECHNIQUE HELPS YOU ACHIEVE THIS.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY WE CAN GREATLY HELP ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A REDO.
The Assessment Permission concept is simply: We ask for feedback twice per area cleaned . Once at the half way point and once at the completion of the area. We do this knowing that it’s not until we ask the 4th or 5th time, that the client will actually start to feel “safe” being honest with us.
This may seem excessive until you actually witness what happens. You will actually see the client go from being reluctant to “opening up” the more often we ask for feedback. It’s really interesting to see this play out. The more we ask for feedback, the more comfortable the client starts to feels opening up to us. We are giving them permission to feel safe assessing us to our face. And that is when the highest levels of quality are achieved.
At Boss Optima we use a 2 step approach to Assessment permission..........
When doing your walkthrough tell the customer that you are going to ask them to please evaluate each room or item when you are finished with that area/item. Tell the customer that everybody has a different idea of what a "great job" is. And that you ALWAYS ASK YOUR CUSTOMERS TO EVALUATE EACH AREA WE CLEAN to make sure their happy before you continue to the next area/item. Encourage the customer to give you a "stamp of approval" as you finish each area..
Be sincere and let the customer feel how important this is to you.
Again, we like to do this twice per area. Once at the half way point and once at the completion of the area. Through assessment permission, we are breaking down the wall to create real true honesty….
And you will see this as you go through this assessment permission procedure. The customer will at first be reluctant and then after a few assessments they start to feel safe and comfortable opening up and telling you what they really think.
If the customer voices a concern, be very careful not to be defensive. Instead, show concern and care and try to demonstrate that you will touch up an area with no resistance. Customers love this . And more importantly, they will now feel comfortable telling you when something concerns them. BECAUSE YOU HAVE ENCOURAGED IT.
Giving the customer permission to assess your work is crucial to eliminate redo's..
The best techs do this religiously. There is also a nice side effect of doing this over and over...you start to really understand what pleases customers because you are getting so much great accurate feedback , job after job.
Do not fear Assessment Permission. It is a profit generating technique.
I am your customer and I have a secret.
Every time you come into my home, I am afraid to tell you what I really am thinking. I am afraid it will insult you. I am afraid you will "take it personally”, if I tell you that I am not really satisfied with something. So, I tend to downplay issues that concern me. I am much more comfortable waiting for you to leave and then just calling the office and talking to them. The only way you can ever truly "wow" me or really impress me is to first make me feel comfortable telling you what I really think of your results.
I would love to do that , but you must first reassure me that it won’t be awkward or uncomfortable. Believe me it would be far more convenient for both of us if I could just tell you now, while you are already in my home.
I don't want a redo any more then you do. But you have to help me with my fear by encouraging me to give you feedback often. The more you ask....the more comfortable I will feel...
The Chef Analogy…
I’ve used this story many times in the last two decades to give insight to how customers actually feel about being honest with you , while you are in the home. And why I feel so many customers are lost without any awareness from the technician.
Imagine this scenario…
You invite a chef to your house and you are paying him to cook a dinner for you. The chef comes all by himself to your home. He is very confident and begins preparing the meal. Just you and the chef are in the home. And he is cooking this meal exclusively for you…
As he works away, you see he is very focused on what he is doing. You also see he is an obvious hard worker. He seems to take a lot of pride while he works diligently to prepare his special dinner for you.
Another obvious thing that you notice, is that while he is cooking, he is very friendly and engaging Asking you about your origins and family… He is pleasant to have in your home. And you feel very comfortable with him. He’s obviously a nice guy.
The chef finishes the meal and gleams with pride as he puts the plate in front of you…
He begins cleaning up as you start to take the first bite of this special meal he has worked so hard on..
You take your first bite and too your dismay it is extremely salty… The taste is not at all what you expected. You look to the chef and he is smiling ear to ear waiting for your feedback.
Now my question is this:
How easy would it be for you in that moment, to tell him that his meal is way too salty and not really to your taste?
How easy would it be to tell this guy that you just saw working so hard..
Taking so much pride
Working so intently and hard to please you..
That is exactly how your customer feels, when they to tell you they have an issue with your cleaning.
They may love you and your effort…
They may love your personality…
And they may behave with great kindness and appreciation for your work…
But it doesn’t mean they liked your food.
Here at Boss Optima we believe it is the Chefs job to have the client taste the food while it is being cooked so the client is encouraged to tell us what taste good to them and what doesn’t.
Now what if that same chef was proactive and told you before the meal:
While I prepare your meal, I’m going to have you taste some small samples so I can make sure that what I’m preparing for you is to your taste, so I really need your assistance to make sure I give something that you will really love…
Now ask yourself....which chef would you rather have cook for you?
The first one who blindly assumed you would love his food?
Or the one who got your assurance while he prepared the food?
This is a huge factor in eliminating Redo’s and mastering this industrey…
Your Resolution Technique
This is huge..... Resolution is the act of convincing the customer (during the service) of the following 4 things.
O-You really care more then even they do. And you have blatantly demonstrated this.
O-You are much more professional and skilled then a regular tech. You are elite.
Can you see why your shirt untucked would work against you in this area? Or dirty equipment? or sloppy procedures?. I can't tell you how many redo's I have seen created simply because the customer felt "she got an inadequate tech" because he didn't look or act as professional as the guy she was expecting. And he doesn't seem as professional as what the salesperson said he would be.
You have to look and act the part of a master tech. If you give an indication of being not elite, this will lead to what I call "Perception Redo's".
The customer will simply think "I think another tech could do better for me then this guy".
The best technicians constantly reinforce the idea that : " If I can’t do it nobody can." And when that resonates with a client , they will have the peace of mind, that whatever result does get achieved, its probably the best that was possible. And they do not call for a redo.
The best technicians still fail sometimes. But the difference is they fail amazingly. They fail in a way that still impresses the client. They show care, concern, and a dominant can do attitude. The client just wants to know that :
Your the best.
You care even more then they do.
You used all of your bullets.
There is nothing left to try.
Other Key points to Eliminate Redo’s
The customer wants to know that you tried everything humanly possible.
And she was right there on the journey with you to witness it. if the customer is not on the journey with you, you leave room for doubt. Again this refers to you keeping the customer involved and witnessing when you try different strategies to clean an area.
The Client Wants To Know There Is Nothing Left to try.
And the customers believes you because she views you as a Master Tech who has shown more care and concern then anybody she has ever had in her house! And she was on the journey with you. Always make your customer a witness as you are cleaning. Call them over each time you make a different attempt.
All has been discussed . At the end of the job we completely discussed what we were not able to remove and the customer has peace of mind that all that could be attempted was done. When you do all of these things we get resolution. The customer believes they had a master tech in their home who was more skilled then a typical tech....he did everything he could....and their was nothing left to try...
Why would you call for a redo?
Eliminating Most Redo's is as simple as perfecting the above 5 elements.
Mike Ochoa
President
