Why Quality Control is Essential For Our Business

Quality control in Carpet Cleaning Services has been a huge benefit to Commercial Steam Team. This benefit has been two ways – for our clients in ensuring they have the best possible experience with our carpet cleaning and for us as well.

Our Clean Carpet Quality Control System has proven to be both effective and pretty stress-free. Yes, most people don’t look forward to quality control calls. For us, that’s not the case. In fact, we’d much rather make quality control calls than not!

One of the most important things for us to know beyond how to clean carpet is to understand how critical our role is in giving our clients peace-of-mind. When we consistently do a fantastic job our clients are free to take care of other important issues, leading to lower stress and higher quality work life. This in turn leads to a happier healthier relationship.

CCQC has changed the entire face of our quality control and made a huge difference for Commercial Steam Team in this tough economy!

The first step in having a successful QC is to make sure that the quality control call is scheduled when the cleaning is scheduled. If for any reason the cleaning is rescheduled or canceled, it is critical to do the same for the quality control call. Schedule the call for a week after the cleaning. That way the client has a chance to see any problems that may have occurred.

The next important point is to make sure that the QC calls are made for every carpet cleaning job. If the calls are not made for every job then the results will be skewed and inaccurate. Worse yet, if one of the missed calls is an unhappy customer, then there’s no way to know about the problem, no opportunity to fix it, and that can result in one less client in the future. Even if the problem is not that serious, it still means one less cheerleader referring us to friends, associates, and neighbors.

When making the call, it’s important to have an upbeat attitude and to keep the call short. A positive attitude encourages a positive response, even if the client has bad news to deliver. A great opening line is, “Just calling to thank you for your business and make sure you are happy with our work.”

Keep in mind that people often feel bad about reporting problems with the work performed. They may feel bad or guilty, or simply feel embarrassed. You must reassure the client that they are helping your company by reporting any problems. Embarrassment or guilt is a negative feeling, and negative feelings skew the results. Worse, they can cause the client to feel resentment at being unable to express their feelings, and cause them to go elsewhere simply to avoid those feelings of guilt and resentment.

If someone has a concern, schedule a redo immediately. Don’t argue with them, just fix it, and stay cheerful! Unhappy is unhappy. Knowing about it and having a chance to fix it is golden.

Remember that the goal of this process needs to be ‘finding the truth’, not finding ways to avoid a redo. If people think they’re getting the short end of the stick you can count on them taking their money elsewhere, and telling everyone they know about it on the way.

Redo’s will happen. Even if they are not technically necessary, they’re still sometimes necessary for the client’s peace of mind. In fact, a well handled redo can be one of the best opportunities to turn an unsatisfied customer into a raving fan client.

What’s the difference between a customer and a client? A customer uses a service when it’s convenient, has no particular loyalty to the person or the company, and buys as the whim drives them. A client is a loyal customer, someone who knows the worth and quality of your company and your service, and who values your advice and knowledge. The goal should always be to have clients, not customers!

Always remember, the happiness of the client is critical to having clients, not customers.

You would think looking for redo’s and actively seeking out this information would increase the number of redo’s, but in fact it has the exact opposite effect. Case in point, last year out of 886 jobs, we had only 11 redo’s. This number is unheard of in this industry. After 13 years in the carpet cleaning industry, our method of quality control has become the highlight of my week. The response has been so overwhelmingly positive that I actually look forward to making my quality control calls. It reassures me that we are doing things right. If I’m having a down day, I can count on my clients and cheerleaders to cheer me up and spur me on. I hope the Commercial Steam Team Quality Control System can boost your spirits and business as much as it has ours.

Want to learn more? Click here to see the outline of the Clean Carpet Quality Control System.