Question: Does SFS have a Commercial Comment Card I can send to my regular accounts?
Steve’s answer: Let me suggest something better than a Comment Card for your commercial accounts.
Steve,
I want to send comment cards to all our commercial customers and couldn’t find one in my SFS workbook. Our company only does commercial work- hotels and theaters for the most part. So Steve, can you point me in the right direction? Thanks,
Working to Improve in Phoenix
Hi Working,
Good to hear from you and congratulations! As I implored you during the SFS seminar, “PLEASE don’t just take this stuff home and put it on the book shelf!” So good for you!
Given that almost certainly you have the email addresses of your business contacts my guess an emailed form with the questions you want answers will work out well. BUT before you do this think carefully…
Remember the old saying, “Don’t ask the question unless you really want to hear the answer”? I think that just may apply here. Why?
Because unlike on a residential carpet cleaning job normally your commercial contact won’t have been on-site during the actual cleaning. So when you send in a comment card or emailed form for them to fill out you are actually inviting the Facility Manager to go on a “fault finding tour”! Normally this is not good for you!
So may I suggest a more labor intensive but much safer option? Make a “preemptive strike”! That’s right- on regular contract accounts schedule a company representative (or yourself) to periodically stop by and tour the work the next morning. So you will “walk the job” BEFORE you go in to see your contact.
NOTE: This Quality Check Inspection (QCI) doesn’t necessarily need to be done every time you clean the account.
Look the job over carefully and if anything is lacking if possible resolve it yourself immediately. (For example, touching up a “wick up” spot with some Matrix DSE and a hand towel, cleaning up a smudged glass door, emptying a waste basket, etc.) HINT: Take a before and after photo of the issue.
NOW go in to your contact and simply say, “Hi Mr. Jones, Steve Toburen here from Jon-Don Commercial Cleaning. I just walked through and did a Quality Check Inspection on the work we did last night. Everything looked good except it appears a drink spill had wicked up near the elevators. I already took care of it and here are the before and after photos. (Show the client the photos on your tablet.) I’ll keep an eye on it though. Is there anything else you noticed or do you have any suggestions for me?”
NOTE: By discovering (or even inventing!) some little issue AND RESOLVING IT during your QCI you (and your company!) will now have gained enormous credibility with your client.
Since you have already “taken the initiative” with this QCI “walk-through” very likely the client will say, “No, everything looks great. Thanks for checking up on the work.” And you will have created a great Moment of Truth!
Thanks,
Steve
PS I still recommend including an actual PRE-STAMPED Comment Card in each residential Job Folder. Reminder: By putting a real stamp (versus a prepaid post office permit) on the comment card you will double your response rate. Evidently people don’t want to “waste” the stamp! Go figure!