Hi Steve,
I attended SFS last year and hope everything is well for you. I had a quick question. I am wrapping up a water damage, and everything went really, really “well”. (Translated this means I made an obscene amount of money!) I partnered with a contractor that did a top notch job and works well with the homeowner, and they seem to like him. I landed the water damage after some “selling”, the photo album idea you suggested in SFS worked great, and so did having my drying tools in the van to show the homeowner what they are, and what I will do to restore the home.
Anyways, I was just wondering about a thank you type thing to the client for letting us restore their home. I was thinking about a thank you card of course, but I think there are some other ideas out there. I thought I read somewhere in all our Strategies for Success seminar material about a gift or something for the home owner after a loss but I couldn’t remember.
Thanks for your time and have a great new year!!
Doing Great in California
Good to hear from you, Doing Great! And it is fantastic that you are building “Strategic Partnerships” with structural contractors. (Which we also recommend in SFS.)
I think the very best “thank you” that you could give has already been delivered to the home owner- the superb Value Added Service techniques you learned about in Strategies for Success. (And of course a good technical job too.)
However, if you do want to thank the home owner for being such a great client (and for paying their bill on time!) flowers as a house-warming gift are always good. Food works well too as in a gift basket of fruit or cheeses, etc. And of course a hand written thank you note should always be sent. (You should also send a note and possibly a gift basket to your contractor buddy!)
Keep us posted on your progress and please keep contributing here on the SFS website. Remember, we are all in this together!
Steve
P.S. You well know what Big Billy Yeadon would recommend- a gift certificate to Starbucks! And that would work too! BTW, congratulations on implementing even the little ideas from SFS, such as using a photo album to build credibility and win the trust of the home owner.
Well as the Island Boy says Starbucks is always a great idea. As Hallmark says “when you care enough to send the very best.”
Besides the normal cards and flowers, which are always appreciated, take it another step down the emotional path. These people have been through a wrenching experience. They empathize much easier when they see flooded houses on the Weather Channel.
My thought would be to make a donation in their name to the Red Cross. Nothing makes a person feel better than to provide help to another person.
Thanks for asking.