It’s Easy To Lose Customers Keeping customers should be the primary goal of any service company, including carpet cleaning companies. 3% - Move 5% - Find other business relationship 9% - Competitive reason 14% - Dissatisfied 68% - Leave because of an employee’s or owner’s indifferent attitude Established customers do not “cost” in terms of advertising since they already know the company. Familiar and steady customers spend more because they trust the firm, cause fewer problems, and are eager to share their recommendations with friends and acquaintances. It’s easy to lose established customers. An insensitive clod who insults their intelligence by giving a haphazard explanation of a procedure, or worse, one who ignores them altogether, can lose that customer immediately. A gum-popping, put-them-on-hold telephone person can cause a customer to go somewhere else for service. The Yellow Pages and the web are full of firms just waiting to take that customer away. A lackadaisical attitude in a customer’s home by a service technician may create the desire to make a call to a competitor for service in the future. But, the surest way to lose that customer is to ignore a complaint or give that complaint a little lip service and hope it will go away. To assure customer satisfaction, it is necessary to find out just who is dissatisfied and why. Solicit comments from customers. Listen to what they have to say and act on the information. The absolutely best way to tell your customers you want to satisfy them is to offer a money-back guarantee. They must be happy or they pay nothing. A few unscrupulous people will take advantage of this policy, but on a long term basis, a customer base will be built that will, indeed, be the greatest asset owned by the company. This has been the policy of the Wm. F. Bane Co. since its founding in 1962. Related Information: ABCs of Advertising Advertising - the Essential Element Advertising the Bane-Clene Way Building Your Own Carpet Cleaning Business Customer Service in the Carpet Cleaning Industry Eleven Commandments of Good Business Four Characteristics of a Successful Carpet Cleaning Business Image in Carpet Cleaning Phone Courtesy Telephone Etiquette in the Carpet Cleaning Business The 15 Factors of Success in Carpet Cleaning Business The Customer Is (Still) Always Right There Is No Substitute for Service Tips for Increasing Your Carpet Cleaning Business Twenty Steps to Success What Makes a Company Successful in the Carpet Cleaning Business? Related Carpet Cleaning Business Products: Consumer Postcards Course to Success Video - Advertising, Marketing & Sales DVD's Just A Reminder Postcard Thank You / Reply Card Free Bane-Clene Information Package Free packet of information about Bane-Clene can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-428-9512 (U.S. ONLY!). Your information packet will include a full color catalog and price addendum. Packets will arrive in approximately 2 weeks through standard United States Mail. You can also order the packet at the Catalog Request Form. “A to Z” Alphabetical Index to the Bane-Clene Web Site Bane-Clene Home Page Copyright: Bane-Clene® Corp. Author: Wm. F. Bane - Bane-Clene’s Founder in the Cleaning Digest Date Published: November 1, 1994 Date Modified: February 20, 2019