Got a call from a homeowner who's roof we cleaned in April of 2013, he wants me to come out and replace a plant in front of his house that is half dead, he thinks my roof mix killed half the plant last year. This is a small flowering annual, may cost about 15.00 to replace but I am pretty sure that if we were to kill it that the whole plant would be dead, not just half of it. Another "dutch" customer. Just thinking maybe I will replace it just so the customer has good things to say about us. Thoughts?
Jesse Bracken said
May 17, 2014
it is most likely not your fault, like you said it would most likely be all dead... BUT I'd replace it and move on.
So this brings me to another question. How long is too long to be responsible for plants???
Jess
Jesse Bracken said
May 17, 2014
you could just replace the dead side... lol sorry I had to.
:) Jess
Greg Nash said
May 17, 2014
I would say if its over 2 months I am not replacing a plant. We have not really ran into plant issues more than a few weeks old.
Zach Maynard said
May 17, 2014
I would replace it without a doubt. I generally replace without any questions asked just keep people happy. Unless of course it 200 feet away from the house or something.
Micheal Pumphrey said
May 17, 2014
Greg Nash wrote:
I would say if its over 2 months I am not replacing a plant. We have not really ran into plant issues more than a few weeks old.
Yup. And with this winter we experienced a lot got killed off. We had someone call saying we killed their entire landscape last month. We cleaned the house back in August
I went by and one evergreen was dead no where near the house.
Edward Yackenovich said
May 17, 2014
Dan, tough pill to swallow after all this time. but i have had the same thing happen to me in my gutter business ..what i do is replace it and give them the sales slip and tell them if it dies there is a free 1 yr replacement thru the nursery.. and just move on... had it happen to me twice....due too i dont know THEY CLAIM MY GUYS STEPPED ON IT... and now after 6 months the plant died. go figure....fixed that problem..... they sign off when we leave that the landscape is intact .....more of a pain in the A$$ then anything else.....you HAVE to always keep coming up with ways to CYA...
Doug G said
May 17, 2014
Zach Maynard wrote:
I would replace it without a doubt. I generally replace without any questions asked just keep people happy. Unless of course it 200 feet away from the house or something.
I agree with this.....after a day or so that plant would be dead if it were your fault but in the end it is about getting people talking good and not bad about your company.
AC Lockyer said
May 17, 2014
Explain you have a 90 day claim period and they are outside of that. However in the name of customer service buy them a tray of annuals and kill them with great customer service.
AC
Brandon Vaughn said
May 17, 2014
I too would replace the plant in a heartbeat. In my opinion and experience, when you go above and beyond the customer's expectation - the benefits will ALWAYS outweigh the negatives.
Sure you will get a customer that will try to take advantage of that every once and a while, but the word of mouth referrals will far, far exceed the few "dutch".
My mantra to my employees is always do something a little extra on every job that the customer will appreciate for free and without being asked. Whether it is cleaning a bathroom mirror while doing interior windows, softwashing the patio chairs, cleaning the apartment complex sign out front - always do something other guys won't.
And like AC said - make sure the customer knows you are doing them a solid.
Chris Wegner said
May 17, 2014
i follow AC's 90 claim period on every job......you would see a dead plant within 1-2 weeks but I would still give them a tray of annuals and kill them with kindness.
Got a call from a homeowner who's roof we cleaned in April of 2013, he wants me to come out and replace a plant in front of his house that is half dead, he thinks my roof mix killed half the plant last year. This is a small flowering annual, may cost about 15.00 to replace but I am pretty sure that if we were to kill it that the whole plant would be dead, not just half of it. Another "dutch" customer. Just thinking maybe I will replace it just so the customer has good things to say about us. Thoughts?
So this brings me to another question. How long is too long to be responsible for plants???
Jess
:) Jess
Yup. And with this winter we experienced a lot got killed off. We had someone call saying we killed their entire landscape last month. We cleaned the house back in August
I went by and one evergreen was dead no where near the house.
Dan, tough pill to swallow after all this time. but i have had the same thing happen to me in my gutter business ..what i do is replace it and give them the sales slip and tell them if it dies there is a free 1 yr replacement thru the nursery.. and just move on... had it happen to me twice....due too i dont know THEY CLAIM MY GUYS STEPPED ON IT... and now after 6 months the plant died. go figure....fixed that problem..... they sign off when we leave that the landscape is intact .....more of a pain in the A$$ then anything else.....you HAVE to always keep coming up with ways to CYA...
I agree with this.....after a day or so that plant would be dead if it were your fault but in the end it is about getting people talking good and not bad about your company.
AC
I too would replace the plant in a heartbeat. In my opinion and experience, when you go above and beyond the customer's expectation - the benefits will ALWAYS outweigh the negatives.
Sure you will get a customer that will try to take advantage of that every once and a while, but the word of mouth referrals will far, far exceed the few "dutch".
My mantra to my employees is always do something a little extra on every job that the customer will appreciate for free and without being asked. Whether it is cleaning a bathroom mirror while doing interior windows, softwashing the patio chairs, cleaning the apartment complex sign out front - always do something other guys won't.
And like AC said - make sure the customer knows you are doing them a solid.
Kristofer