Warranty?

[Dakotawash]

Hey Everyone,
I am curious what kind, if any,of warranty do you give your customers? And where do you draw the line as far as weathering or customer abuse, neglect? Thanks for your responses!
Jerry

 

[JR Wood]

I give a standard 1 year guarantee,which basically states that contractor certifies that job was perfomed according to manufacturers directions.Proper surface prep. and application etc...etc... contractor is NOT responsible for coating failure due to heavy traffic and anything that the customer does that causes the coating to fail(DOG PEE,GRAPE JUICE, grease from grill,etc...).It is worded a lot better and basically says you did the job right and you are not responsible for external causes of coating failure that occured after the job was done.Then give them the name address and phone # of the product you are using to take up any issues of product failure that you are not responsible for.This pretty much absolves you of responibility except if the coating fails in weird ways,splotchy etc...
Also a customer will often ask you to honor a guarantee that a manufacturer might give.I do not, I give the customer the the choice of products and let them decide.I tell them that through my experience with certain products they will last 2 years .If they have a problem with the claims of a certain product they must take that up with the company,Not me.I will assist them in contacting the company and verify that the product in question was used and that the job was done according to their directions.That is as far as I go.

 

[Greg Rentschler]

For us it depends on the product..... this year we started using Menwood 200 on SOME decks to see what the results would be. The way this product works is one coat is applied this year... another next year and a written 4 year warranty is given from the manufacturer at that point. Therefore getting 6 years out of the two initial applications. What we started offering was a pro-rated warranty so should the product fail the homeowner gets the product replacement from the manufacturer and a pro rated ammount for the labor from us. The whole idea is to KEEP as many customers as possible for the long haul. I believe assisting them in correcting a failure (your fault or otherwise) will pretty much lock them into using you for their projects. If you tell them to go bug the manufacturer about it you probably will not service them again (hence the guy doesn't back up his work attitude).

Alot of residential work is based on trust and the better you are in with the customers the more profitable your business will be. We have become a distributer for the Menco products this year as well and have even sold product through our own customers to thier freinds who are DIY's. To date we are extremely happy with the Menwood but we also use Ready Seal and Wolman quite regularly.

 

[JR Wood]

In my area I am forced to use cabots quite a bit,because of the hype of other contractors and consumer reports etc...when I know damn well that the deck is going to start to turn gray in less than a year.It says it right in their brochure...Made to weather natuarally(we all know what that means!)
If I was to guarantee that product and go back redo the deck every 6 months for free after I explained the nature of the product and the customer didn't want hear it,I would go out of business.As for repeat customers, I have learned that in my area that pretty much doesn't happen.I do a great job and I often get referrals.It used to bother me that I would get compliments up the wazoo and people would refer me to their friends and relatives then two years later I would go by their house and the deck is done.I often have customers ask me if I can do as good a job as the last guy...well if the last guy did such a good job why aren't they doing the job? I'd love to have 200 repeat customers then I wouldn't have to spend $500 per month in phone book ads.In the past 6 years I think I have had 2 people call me about a problem and I went right over and corrected it.I tried the postcards reminding people that they should have their deck done again.Didn't work! a few came back but not enough to make it worth saving their name and sending useless reminders.In my area people move very often,thats why I decided not to use ready seal,I can't see applying three coats with the thought in mind that it will be easier next time when there is a good chance that those people won't even live there anymore.
Greg I understand the concept of KEEPING CUSTOMERS!I was a landscaper for 10 years before I started as a cleaning contractor.I worked my balls off, did tons of extra stuff to impress customers worked on sundays for free, edging sidewalks and so on.Bottom line the next year they get a flyer offering to maintain their lawn for $1 less and their goes the loyalty.In northern Jersey just stop at a stop sign and count the vehicles every third vehical is a contractor of some sort.I have come to realize that my best bet is a numbers game and to forget about customer loyalty.I know this flies in the face of the concept of wood restoration and customer loyalty but I know my area and it is far less of a hassle to just answer the phone and forget about the past.
I have a customer that keeps recommending me all over the place...I even did their fathers house last fall and the sisters house this spring,I did their house 5 years ago!!!