I get asked on almost every job I bid or do how long soft washing will last. Everyone of our customers either only ever had their roofs pressure washed or never cleaned at all. Most cases they hire us because they have tile roofs and don't want it walked on in any way. But the ones who don't mind it being walked on are looking for some time frame I can give them to try to justify the cost of soft washing cause it is significantly more than the chuck in a truck quote they got. The first roof I did was last August and I see it all the time and after almost a years there is zero sign of bacteria returning. That's my only hard evidence that it lasts Does anyone else give a time frame or guarantee? What's a good response to this question?
I'm giving a two year guarantee if pushed or think I need it to make the sale. So I kind of keep the guarantee in my back pocket. I've just moved down to Florida so any guarantee makes me a little nervous the way GM grows down here. Interestingly enough I lost a job because of, and I quote the customer....."to expensive and more importantly a dubious guarantee".
We give 5 year warranty on roofs and 3 years on walls. One thing I tell all our customers is the closer to the ground, the less warranty. We get very few call backs.
Jeff, (and to all) I'd be cautious about establishing a warranty program as a back pocket kind of deal... it can get you into trouble if customers ever get the chance to compare notes. Your customer you lost the job to who said dubious guarantee is right to be concerned. If it is a back pocket warranty - you will have a very difficult time tracking who you told it to and who you didn't.
My advice would be to establish a warranty you are comfortable with, and put it on everything. Print out a bunch of certificates with your verbiage and tell all your customers up front about it. You will close more deals.
Plus, yes you will go back and do a touch up here and there, partly because perhaps you didn't get a 100% kill ratio, or because it just happened to grow back faster - however it's another opportunity to get back in front of the customer, show off your customer service, get more high-loyalty referrals, and upsell on other areas you notice need attention while you are there!!!
Don't view warranty call-backs as all bad. They aren't. :)
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Brandon Vaughn
All-Clean! SoftWash Gresham, OR brandon@allcleansoftwash.com www.allcleansoftwash.com 503.887.6404
I offer a 1 year unconditional warranty against anything on the roof except loose debris. Three years against regrowth. I operate in the Pacific NorthWest and our climate is a little more conducive to growth of all the things softwashing is good at removing.
Jeff, (and to all) I'd be cautious about establishing a warranty program as a back pocket kind of deal... it can get you into trouble if customers ever get the chance to compare notes. Your customer you lost the job to who said dubious guarantee is right to be concerned. If it is a back pocket warranty - you will have a very difficult time tracking who you told it to and who you didn't.
My advice would be to establish a warranty you are comfortable with, and put it on everything. Print out a bunch of certificates with your verbiage and tell all your customers up front about it. You will close more deals.
Plus, yes you will go back and do a touch up here and there, partly because perhaps you didn't get a 100% kill ratio, or because it just happened to grow back faster - however it's another opportunity to get back in front of the customer, show off your customer service, get more high-loyalty referrals, and upsell on other areas you notice need attention while you are there!!!
Don't view warranty call-backs as all bad. They aren't. :)
Thank you Brandon for that information. You make great points. And Bob, I agree with having pride in what you do and the services you offer. I think for our company down in SW Florida we need to separate ourselves from the chuck in a truck and give our potential customers piece of mind that we back what we do. Thanks everyone for your replies.