Customer relations for builders
Complaints registered with the Trading
Standards Office about cowboy builders increased to 106,000 in 2002. This
figure is increasing at 5% a year. Correcting botched work costs £1.5
billion a year.
Couple those figures with the resulting bad publicity from TV programs
such as "Builders from hell" and "Rogue Traders" and
its easy to see why people are worried about having any home
improvement work done. The D.T.I. say these worries are now so bad that its
costing the industry £4 billion a year in lost business.
Clients no longer regard the price as the be all and end all. Although
obviously still a major factor, you are much more likely to get the job if
the client has full confidence in you even if your not the cheapest quote.
So what can you do to ease a potential customers fears? We've listed a
few ideas below that can swing the balance in your favour when handing in
your quote.
Insurance certificates. Adding the policy number of your
public liability insurance plus any other cover you have to your headed
paper gets you off to a good start.
References. If you don't already, start to build a
portfolio of your finished jobs. Photographs of before and after work can
be quite dramatic. Ask all your customers if you can use them for future
references. Producing a folder full of photo's, architects drawings, names
and phone numbers of happy clients at the first meeting is another sure
fire way of helping relieve any worries from the potential client.
Contracts. This is by far the best method of gaining
confidence from potential clients. A legally binding document completely
puts to rest any fears they have. It does of course protect you as well as
the client. By listing stages at which payments are due, exactly what work
you are doing etc. ensuring any future upsets or disagreements are settled
quickly and amicably.
Click here for a
free
building contract.
Federations. If your an established firm, joining a
federation such as the Federation of Master Builders or the governments
Quality Mark Scheme is a way of stepping up to the next level. Can be
expensive but sets you apart from the rest. You can read our review of the
Governments new Quality Mark Scheme in the news section.
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