The General Contractor Business’s Guide To Professional Customer Service
One of the basic skills you need to perfect in order to have a truly successful general contractor business is professional customer service. There are some general best practice approaches you can take that will set you apart from the competition and make your business stand out from the rest. Let’s take a look at the general contractor business’s guide to professional customer service.
Professional Customer Service Expectations
One of the most important aspects of professional customer service is managing the expectation of your clients. So many times, clients end up being unhappy or dissatisfied simply because their expectation of what would happen is different from the reality of many building situations.
As a general contractor, you know that building is wildly unpredictable from day to day. Just because that last kitchen remodel only took six weeks, that doesn’t mean the next one won’t take six months. There are so many variables in the general contractor business that the average person just has no clue about. That’s why it’s important to manage customer expectations and keep them happy.
Master the art of under promising and over delivering. If you think a project might take you, realistically, four weeks to finish, estimate six or more. That way, your client will be pleasantly surprised. Consider the alternative. If you estimate four weeks and it takes you six weeks, your client will be reasonably dissatisfied. Basic communications and managing expectations go a long way to keeping customer service issues at a minimum. But there will be times that you’ll need to deal with issues.
Professional Customer Service Solutions
When you inevitably have a client who is dissatisfied with your services, you need to address those issues. The interactions don’t need to be hard, necessarily. Early on in your business, develop a protocol to handle every complaint resolution in a similar way. That could look something like acknowledging the complaint, contacting the client, and offering a solution of some kind. Be sure you aren’t giving in to unreasonable complaints. And make sure your contract is solid. It might also be a good idea to have some go-to solutions.
Sometimes clients just want to know you hear what they’re saying, so having a conversation is a good first step. Then offer some reasonable solutions. If the complaint has to do with the quality of some work you’ve done, see if you can fix the issues. When the complaint has to do with physical materials, offer replacement options. If the complaint is unreasonable, politely remind your client of your contract (which is why it’s important to have a good one in place).
Overall, professional customer service doesn’t have to complicated or difficult. And your general contractor business will be better if you maintain professionalism, so it’s a worthy endeavor. Be sure to communicate clearly and often and manage your client expectations.
While you’re building an excellent reputation for professional customer service, make sure you’re also offering excellent contractor financing. Partner with HFS Financial. We’ve got the experience in the home improvement financing business you need. It’s a simple process, and your clients can be well on their way to full financing in about a minute. With HFS Financial, “You Dream It, We Finance It.”