Why oh why do the majority of carpet cleaning business owners accept such cr*p customers onto their books?
More importantly, when they know that a particular customer is awful, why do they let them stay on their list of customers and carry on doing work for them? Why do some carpet cleaners even keep sending them newsletters?
How Totally BONKERS Is That?
When the phone rings and you see on caller ID that it is, for example, Mrs Miggins from the Pie Shop, do your palms start to sweat? Do you look at caller ID again and start to shake? Your sweat glands start to over-produce and all of a sudden you’ve got a paddling pool by your feet. Do you think to yourself … This is the last time I do work for you?
There are any number of reasons why you may not want to do work for someone:
- Late in paying
- Rude
- Always cancels at the last minute
- Always knocks you down on price and still pays late
- The customer constantly shops around for the best deal
- Nothing is ever moved and the floor is cluttered with debris
etc
You really don’t have to put up with it! These people will suck the life and spirit out of you and your business and will pull you down to their level if you are not careful.
Don’t put up with it!! Either say to them face to face you don’t want their business any more, or write them a letter explaining your concerns, and then tell them how you will proceed in future if they continue to deal with you. Not might proceed. HOW YOU WILL PROCEED FROM THAT POINT ONWARDS.
Not ask them, but tell them in a polite but firm way that is how you will proceed. If the customer doesn’t like it, they are welcome to look elsewhere for a carpet cleaner.
One particular chap I dealt with for several years was a total nightmare … a really nice bloke and he had lots of properties and paid me £1000’s every year, but he wanted everything for nothing! All his properties were filthy, usually cr*p everywhere and generally not a high quality customer. I said to him I was not happy to continue with small payments for his properties which were always a lot of work, so he got someone else. That’s totally fine by me!
Now someone else breaks their backs for little money. Not me. Never again.
Quite often people only take the p**s out of our business because we let them! Remember in business we can choose our customers in the same way they can choose you.