Jeez guys, had a nightmare customer this morning. Instructed all the typical things. Make sure you windows are shut and locked and stay inside while I am washing please. Well she came outside after I soaped her whole front of her house. I’m sure some mix got on her clothes. WW3 insued after she smelled “bleach” and why would I use such a nasty chemical to clean the algae from her house. Job went south quick.
I need to make up a friendly disclosure/waiver form to explain what I am doing and that plants will be fine if proper care is taken. As in don’t stop me for 10 minutes in between a soap and rinse plants process. Nothing was harmed, but man, what a nightmare.
Anybody have any tips or a cheat sheet for me? I’ll beg if I have to!
I’ve been thinking about this recently too after listening to the audiobook Built To Sell.
This is how I think we’re going to set formal expectations and cover our rears.
We’re going to print some glossy sheets that say something like this:
What to expect:
The detergent we use is similar to chlorinated pool water with a surfactant which is a fancy word for a sticky soap. Be prepared for a chlorine smell, but rest assured that it’s safe for your home, plants, and environment.
We’re going to tape down any outlet covers and keyholes to prevent the detergent from getting in and corroding them over time. The tape might still be there after we’re gone if the house isn’t completely dry.
After the work is completed we will complete a walkthrough with you to ensure you’re happy.
What we need from you:
-Please remove any patio furniture, umbrellas, flags, or fabric from near the house.
-Please keep your pets indoors during the project.
-Please make sure all your windows and doors are closed.
There will be more to it, but these are a few of the things I’ve considered. Luckily, I haven’t had a nightmare customer, but I did have a customer I was certain wasn’t going to pay. They left their driveway gate closed then acted like they were waiting for me the entire time. They live in an area where I had no phone signal and had to drive 15 minutes to get service. After being 30 minutes behind from starting the work they wanted to brag about buying a corvette and their F-350 with cash and say things like “I travel all over the world for work” and “You don’t get all this by screwing people” in reference to their house.
Then they left. Disappeared and I didn’t have signal to call. The wife showed up as I loaded the last thing in the truck, did the walkthrough, got the check, and skipped town fast. Something never really felt right there…
I know how you feel. I did a big house wash and window cleaning last year, didn’t get the check in mail for over a week and no call backs to my voice mail. Thought maybe their house fell down or something, but I got payed, did the job again last week. But yeah, total weird feeling.
Also, that is a nice friendly disclosure. Other ones I have seen or wrote up are a little to blunt harsh or just sound scary for a customer to agree with. Thanks!
You’re a brave man. I won’t go back to the creepy customers I dealt with even if they paid twice as much. I worked all day with a pit in my stomach. They haven’t called back, but it’s still early. If they call back I’ll have tell them I’m booked up already or something.
Let me know what you come up with on your friendly disclaimer and I’ll trade you ours. Maybe we can borrow something from one another.
I’m planning on making a ‘How to prepare for the Cleaning’ or something, page on my website (which would also serve as a spot to leave a review or sell them on something else if i haven’t already) lately I’ve been trying to sell more than what they called me for. Working on re-doing my website, need more filler/info.
But yea waiver/disclaimer would help. Also by it being online means less paper to print and carry.
Also WCRA-PWRA has downloadable forms and sheets, free for members
Brodie, I know this is an old post but did you ever put together an “instruction sheet” for your customers? I am trying to put something like this together and any help you could throw my way would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Hey guys I paid for some of these exact same “waivers” on window cleaning resource… I’ll save them on my laptop and post them Tomorow. They are basic but they are a good draft to go off of!! I’ll post Tomorow if I don’t forget. Very cool stuff.
I couldn’t wait acctually Hahaha you guys have helped me out so much here it is. Change it to what you need it to be… But this is a good starting point I think! Let me know what you think
Thank you sir! This will definitely be helpful. But what I was looking for more was a pre arrival instruction sheet of sorts for customers. I know the old post was about waivers, but the stuff for customers was more of what I was wanting. Like make sure windows are closed, furniture moved, etc. If anyone has something I’d love some insight.
I do. I have a leave behind, but haven’t used it since I do most of my residential estimates over the phone. Haven’t even opened the box actually.
They get an email from Housecall Pro that’s a template I set up as soon as I schedule them. I don’t even see it anymore.
Burning the candle at both ends finally caught up with me and I’ve been about as sick as I’ve been in years today. I’ll copy and paste the email template tomorrow when I’m in front of the lap top. I think most of it may even be on the FAQs of our website.
Hey Brodie, I visited your website and you were correct, you had it all under the FAQ section. Wanted to ask if you would mind if I borrowed some of it? I am trying to put together something to send out with my appointment reminders before I go out.
Hello, right now I am organizing all the info related to Invoices, agreements… etc.
Do you guys use something appart from invoices like pre agreements or something like that? Its my first time doing something like this so I ve got no idea. (Btw, I am based in Europe, just in case)
Always check your local laws to see what you can and can’t put into official paperwork.
For me, I use a local CRM solution which allows me to write up a quote for a customer and attach to it a basic terms & conditions text. I then send this to a customer and have them reply back accepting the quote. This is legally binding and lets me have something in black and white to prove that the customer accepted the quote if they refuse to pay etc.
In the terms & conditions I wrote up some fairly basic items such as the customer agreeing to turn off their outdoor lights the night previous and having them off during the work, making sure the doors and windows are checked and properly shut, making sure the water source is accessible and open, moving large items out of the way, stripping down any outdoor decorations etc. Also since I have a bad back, the customer agrees that my health situation can cause the work to be postponed and also that unfavorable weather conditions such as heavy rain or high winds (as defined by me) can also put the work off until proper work conditions resume. Another important thing is to note that you will not be liable for pre-existing damages and you will photograph and go through these spots with the customer before work.
