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What matters most to your customers? Quality work for a great price, knowledgeable and approachable technicians, and responsive scheduling likely top the list.
But if your technicians or crews leave behind a mess for the homeowner, everything else suddenly goes out the window. Site clean-up represents a crucial aspect of customer service, one you can't afford to ignore. If your technicians leave muddy footprints throughout the home, fail to remove roofing nails from the yard, or even cause damage to the home or landscape, you can bet you'll hear about it one way or another.
Unfortunately, you don't always have the luxury of handling such complaints in private. Usually irate customers go straight to the internet to post unhappy reviews. And just one ugly review can cause potential customers to turn to your competitors.
You must remain diligent and pay attention to the details in every aspect of your home services business. Do this, and eventually site clean-up will feel like second nature. In the meantime, read through this list of common complaints. Use this article as a guide to help evaluate your technicians' performance in site clean-up.
Footprints in the Home
During inclement weather, water, mud, and other debris can track into a customer's home on technicians' shoes. Customers shouldn't feel like they have to vacuum or mop after a tech has tromped through their home. Prevention is key. Technicians can wear disposable booties over their work boots. They can also roll out bits of plastic or a highly absorbent material to create a walking path from the door to the service area. (This helps in instances necessitating frequent entries/exits from a home.)
Grease Marks on Floor or Walls
If any of your tools or equipment have grease on them, soon everything you touch will have a streak of grease too. Yes, sometimes you just can't avoid using some WD-40 when nuts and bolts refuse to turn. But if you commonly come into contact with grease throughout your day, you need to remain aware of the need for diligent clean up before you call it a day.
Nails or Other Dangerous Debris
General contractors, roofers, and anyone else who uses nails during their work must also carry an essential clean-up tool: a powerful rolling magnet to scoop up nails, staples, and other metals that can easily fall out of sight. Leaving behind nails not only creates a nuisance for the homeowner, who must continuously pick them up (growing more and more frustrated with your lack of site clean up with each nail they find), but also poses a huge safety hazard.
Imagine a homeowner's distress if they or their child or pet got a puncture wound from stepping on a nail left behind by your team. The word "negligence" would spring to mind, and then you may have something worse than a poor review to worry about.
Avoid lawsuits by thoroughly sweeping over the entire work area (go out further than you think you need to, actually) with a powerful magnet. It's such a simple and easy way to clean-up and can prevent serious harm. Remember that your work crew wears boots with heavy-duty soles for a reason. Homeowners don't go around wearing safety gear, and they shouldn't have to.
Property Damage From Tossing Old Roofing Materials
Although all contractors and service technicians have a responsibility to ensure they leave a site in a safe and clean condition, roofers have to take more care than most. The traditional method of removing old roofing material and throwing it to the ground below can cause significant property damage.
Gutters can come loose or other parts of the home's exterior can get nicked and chipped. The heavy roofing materials can also flatten or completely destroy flowers or shrubs. In short, roofing jobs carry a high likelihood of property damage without some planning and care.
Catchment and protection systems exist, but each roofing company should develop a process that reduces the likelihood of damage. This could include choosing an area free of shrubs or flowers in which to place a large tarp or dumpster to catch the debris rather than letting it slide off all sides of the roof.
Vehicle Damage to Lawns and Driveways
Contractors and technicians don't always have a choice about where they can park their vehicles. However, whenever possible, avoid parking on soggy grass, which creates unsightly ruts. Similarly, heavy vehicles can damage driveways designed only for personal vehicle use. Train your technicians to evaluate the parking situations available to them. Street parking represents an ideal option when available, as it prevents all property damage.
A Simple Action With a Great Payout
You might feel great relief when finishing a challenging project, but the work isn't over yet: site clean-up represents the finishing touch that can help you maintain a stellar reputation. Take time to develop site clean-up procedures that ensure an unending streak of happy customers.
