When Should You Fire a Cleaning Customer?
by: Steve Hanson
Years ago the phrase was coined, "The customer is always right." But this is not always a true statement, and keeping extremely demanding or troublesome customers may be biting into your profits. When you first started your cleaning business you were no doubt eager to get any paying customer you could get to sign on. But do you have customers whose phone calls you don't want to answer? Or are there cleaning clients on your list that are low profit, yet demanding and take up a lot of your time? Trimming these customers off your list will allow you to spend more time on building up relationships with higher profit margin accounts.
Just running a business is tough and stressful. If you have cleaning customers who are never happy, are always complaining, expect you or your employees to do something illegal or unethical, or are just more trouble than they are worth; then it may be time to tell these clients to look for a new cleaning service.
It often tends to be smaller accounts that absorb most your time. Keep in mind however, you probably don't want to fire a customer that accounts for 25% or more of your sales or profits unless you have a good lead to fill that vacant spot.
So how do you go about "firing" a customer? First take a look at the contract you originally signed with your client. Did you include a termination statement in your agreement? Your contract should include a clause that either party can terminate with a 30-day written notice. You do not need to tell your client that they are "not worth it", but give them a written notice that because of circumstances you will no longer be able to clean their building. The termination statement should also include the wording that you (the contractor) can terminate at any time for nonpayment of services. So if you need to fire a customer for nonpayment of services, you have it stated in your agreement.
If you do not have a contract or your contract doesn't have a termination statement, give your client a 30-day written notice that you can no longer provide them with cleaning services. Again, don't feel compelled to tell the client that they are more trouble than the profit that they bring to your cleaning company. After all, you want to leave on good terms if possible.
It might seem counterproductive to fire a paying customer. But there are always going to be certain customers that will never be happy. If you have a customer that is constantly giving you headaches, calling nonstop, or burning up time that you could be spending in more productive ways, then it is time to consider firing that customer. Getting rid of the "deadbeats" and building up a customer base of loyal, appreciative cleaning customers will not only make you happier, but make your cleaning business more profitable.
Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store
About The Author:
Steve Hanson is co-founder of TheJanitorialStore.com, an online community for owners of cleaning companies. Sign up for Trash Talk:Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com. Read success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com.
August 2006
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