So we are well on our way to completing a heavy summer schedule of meth remediations, but the most memorable recently was a job we got - and then didn't get.
It's funny, I find that the one best way for me to "sell" a caller on what we do is to just talk to them. I don't sell at all, and just try to help them understand what's happening, what the results mean that they may already have and what's in store for them.
I did that just recently and sure enough, I got the call a couple of days later that let me know we had the job. As per standard procedure, I texted my partner to let him know it was time to move forward. That was a thursday. By friday, we received word that we had lost the job because they hadn't received word that we were moving forward with the project. Actually we had - the number I had texted my partner went to voice mail three times, and an attempt at texting that number also failed. It seems that there was supposed to be a system on the other side that let the client know when they missed a call at work. Didn't happen.
So I offered to reduce my fee by a bit to cover the additional rent costs, but it was too late. They had selected someone else. I do hope they selected someone who knows what he's doing - there are a lot of sharks and pretenders out there.
But what I did learn is that referring projects to my partner isn't enough. When I get a signal to go, I need to go on it myself. I should have made that call to the homeowner.
Funny how when we go to a doctor's office, we're more concerned about his bedside manner than his technical capacity. And when we need a meth remediator? It's about timeliness of that first phone call. It's about customer service, no matter what business we're in.
I'll do better next time we get that "go ahead" notice
