A Housecleaning Customer Service Adventure

A housecleaning company manager sets up an appointment with a customer for a walk through of their home to learn how big the space is and what the customer would like to have cleaned specifically.

Since the home is that of a friend of a friend, the initial deep cleaning is discounted from $300 for three hours to $150 for three hours.

During the walk through, the manager asks questions about the home and specific areas that they’d like the focus to be put on. She also discusses what is included in the 3 hour deep clean versus what is not. Each time they’d talk about an area, it would be notated on the agreement and the customer would initial next to it.

After a full walk through of the home, the agreement is read one more time, with the customer, to ensure that everything is agreed upon. It is done with patience, care and organization–because well, this is their home and the cleaning company wants to do it right.

For example, cabinets are not typically included in an initial deep clean and cost extra if cleaning of the inside is desired. The customer discusses this with the representative and initials to confirm they do not want them cleaned.

After all is finalized, the cleaning begins the following day.

Two cleaning representatives have a check list with their responsibilities of the house and the level of cleanliness for the desired areas.

After the three hours is up, the customer then takes their copy of the agreement and does another walk through with the representatives who just cleaned the home.

In this particular situation, the customer began stating that the cabinets were not cleaned and began raising his voice. He then claims other objects are not cleaned. When the representatives point out the copy of the signed agreement, the customer becomes very irate and says, “That doesn’t matter.”

The representatives call the manager over to the home.

When the manager arrives, the customer is even more irate and demands that he have more areas cleaned.

The manager is able to calm the customer down and assure them that everything will be taken care of. They do another walk through of the home to see what loose ends need to be tied up. After more discussion, about another 3 hours of work is set and the charges for the extra fees are brought up to $225, which is still cheaper than the normal standard deep clean. The customer continues to demand free service, but the manager stands strong stating that he is receiving these services at a discounted rate.

The manager and the two representatives clean the remainder of the home, as notated on the check list.

After the extra 3 hours of cleaning, the customer does the final walk through again and demands that the areas that are clean are done well but there are still other areas of the house are to be cleaned (this is a big house, mind you). He then demands it for no cost, stating this is horrible service. He becomes irate again and is demanding not to pay anything for the service.

The manager, after trying to hold a discussion with the customer again, put her foot down, and states, “We’ve agreed on $225 for services. Will that be cash, check or credit?”

The customer throws the cash at the manager and scoffs off. The cleaning crew gather their items and leave.

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How would YOU choose your customer service adventure for this situation? What would you have done in this scenario? At what point do you stop trying to please your customer if their requests are not what was agreed upon? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[custom_author=jenny]