Privacy | About Us | Contact

Good Customer Service is Your Best Marketing Tool

Customer retention studies have shown it costs seven times more money to find a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. As a handyman, that means putting in even a little extra effort to keep an existing customer happy will earn you way more dollars than just moving on to find the next new customer.

The other key factor to pay attention to is that excellent customer service and excellent work gets referrals, but mediocre customer service and work gets nothing. Because referrals will be the primary source of any new business, that means putting in a little bit of extra effort to do an extra nice job may deliver more returns than all the other work you put into the job. Its the extra last ten percent that gets the best results.

Here are a few basic rules to set yourself apart from your competitors, and some guidelines for how to keep customers happy and to know that you did the extra ten percent of work that may earn you that referral.

1) Return phone calls promptly

What "promptly" means to one person is different than another. If you are working in a city, "promptly" may mean in two hours. If you are in a rural area, "promptly" may mean 24 hours. You have to strike the right balance between being responsive to your customers and not having so many distractions you can't get a job done. One way to resolve that is to have a good message on your voice mail, so if you can not answer the call, then at least a prospective customer can get some good information. Get to know how to record a message on your voicemail well enough that you can change it once a week. If a customer calls up and your message says you are booked all this week and will be returning phonecalls Saturday between 9am and noon to schedule next week's work, then they know what they are dealing with. It will save you and them a lot of time.

2) Handle mistakes well

You are going to make mistakes. They may not even be your fault, but it is your responsibility to do your best to make things right. That means you tell a customer that something has gone wrong before they find it out for themselves, and you tell them even if they might never have noticed it. It means that if it was your fault, you apologize and offer a reasonable way to fix the problem, possibly with no extra cost to the customer.

A well-handled mistake can actually turn into a really good opportunity. If you can become known as the kind of business person who can make things right even when they go wrong, you will be in the upper 5% of businesses, and customers will come back to you over and over again. They will tell their friends about you, and they will be willing to pay more for your services because they do not have to worry about you doing anything but the right thing.

3) Act professional

Again, this means different things to different people, but you'll know when you've hit your stride. For example, you probably do not need to wear a uniform, but you do need to show up looking neat and like you've showered and are ready for work. You need to clean up all your materials and leave a finished job tidy enough that even a cleaning lady would consider the area done. You must show up when you say you will, and in the rare cases you can not do that, you need to call and let people know why.

4) Listen

If they are unhappy about something, listen to them in detail. Especially when people are angry, they need to have their say and get it all out. Do not interrupt them, and definitely do not correct them until they have had their full say.

Obey the old adage that "the customer is always right" and stay humble and let them feel like they've come out ahead. Being right will cost you customers, but being patient and letting the small stuff go will win you customers for life.

More articles about starting a handyman business:

How to Start a Handyman Business

Are You Cut Out to Be a Handyman?

Tools for a Handyman Business

Payment Options for Handymen

How To Advertise a Handyman Business

Customer Service Tips for Handymen

Choosing a Name for a Handyman Business

Record Keeping Basics for Handymen

Being a Handyman Versus Having a Handyman Business or a Franchise

Getting a Website for Your Handyman Business

Getting Paid Upfront: Deposit Policies for Handymen

How Much To Charge Per Hour

Should You Charge by the Hour, or by the Job?

Insurance for Handymen

The Handyman Guide: How to Fix and Build 1000s of Things Around the House

How to Do Handyman Jobs