Every business is about customer service, not just businesses that are sales oriented. The minute your customers (those you serve) become dissatisfied with your service, is when you need to re-evaluate your practices.
I have become irritated with yet another gardener. Really, how hard is it to show up on your scheduled day, perform lawn and garden maintenance, and pick up your pay check? Here's the deal, I hired a gardener to maintain my lawn and landscape every two weeks for the price of $50 a month. A fair price for the area in which I live and the minimal duties that are required of him. For that price his duties begin and end with mowing the lawn, keeping weeds down, and trimming the bushes and trees a couple of times a year. I enjoy gardening so I maintain my rose bushes, fertilize and amend my soil, tend my fruit and vegetable bed, and plant my annual flowers. I think what I pay him for his services is more than fair considering the amount of work that I do on my own.
So he was supposed to arrive to perform landscaping services May 4th. He didn't show. When he didn't show the week following, I considered that to be his resignation. Well, three weeks later he shows up when I am not home and "weeds the rose bed in the front" destroying four of the new annual seedlings that I planted just last week that I grew from seeds. He left a card on the door stating what work he had performed and asked that I call him if I was still in need of his services.
When I discovered the card and saw the destruction he had caused I was livid! This is the conversation that took place:
Me - I need to discuss the work that you did today.
Him - Yes. I did some weeding in the front. I couldn't get to the back because of the dogs.
Me - You haven't been here in over four weeks and you just show up today out of the blue.
Him - It's sometimes difficult to get out that way for the agreed upon price.
Me - That's what communication is for. If it wasn't working out for you, I get it. All you had to do was say so. But how do you show up after not working on my landscaping for over four weeks and just go to work?
Him - I understand what you are saying. I apologize. Can we discuss a pass due invoice?
Me - Excuse me. What pass due invoice? I paid you for April and you haven't been here at all in May?
Him - Yes. You're right. We'll just consider today a freebee.
Me - That's fine. Can we discuss you replacing my flowers that you killed?
Him - Would you like me to bring you more seeds?
Me - I can't plant seeds when it's 100 degrees outside. It's too late in the season. You can bring me a six pack of Zinnias to replace what was killed.
Him - OK. I can do that.
Me - Fine. Call me when you're on your way.
I run two businesses. I know that consistency, quality, and reliability are the keys to building a strong and solid business reputation. Word of mouth can make or break any business. Your customers have a choice when they choose to spend their money and you need to inspire confidence in them so that they will feel like you are worth the hard earned money that they are paying you.
My choice after this scenario, I will take two months of his gardening service fees and purchase a lawn mower. Since I do a lot of my own yard work anyway, I can just enlist the help of my two teenage sons to help me occasionally and save my family some money.
Now, if he doesn't bring me my flowers, I will put his name and his business on blast.
You have every right to be livid. Consistency is key and communication is essential in any practice.
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