There are certain platitudes about life that someone always seems to mention when we least want to hear them. What’s worse, is they often have a way of being true.

You try to get a cheaper price on products and your distributor tosses in the phrase “nothing in life is free” right before he says no. Or, you were sure that you’d get a new customer’s business only to find out someone outbid you; inevitably someone will remind you that”the only sure things in life are death and taxes.”

At the risk of making you grimace, we have revised an oft-told phrase to make it more applicable to the contract cleaning industry. You’ve heard the phrase “you only miss something after it’s gone”? Well, what is more fitting for many BSC-customer relationships is “you only notice the little things when something big goes wrong.”

Come on, admit it, even if you have a great customer-service track record, there usually will be an account where something catches you off guard. Sometimes the little things are tenant complaints which easily could be addressed, but you don’t hear about them until the client calls to say he or she is sick of dealing with the same issues repeatedly. Or you never realize how much of a difference certain cleaning products make until you switch to cheaper, less effective ones and get calls about how dirty everything looks.

It’s natural to get caught up in running a business and forget to pay attention to the details. But your job as an owner or manager is to ensure the little things add up to the big picture you are trying to achieve.

Customers tend to notice those little things and when they start going wrong, it can mean a rocky relationship that you could have avoided. That’s why this month’s cover story comes straight from the mouths of your customers. All of those we interviewed said they just want to remind you of a few things they feel are important before they turn into bigger problems.

Oh, and since “all good things come in threes” we thought we’d refer back to those other phrases mentioned above with a tax law round-up and advice for getting a fair price for your business.




POSTED ON: 11/1/2001