how do you deal with call backs????

day or two is not bad things do pop up now and then and are an easy fix it's the ones that call back months or latter
where you pretty much know your going for a reclean because they messed it up again.

then you have the ones that use feedback or review blackmail. they are always trouble and it was planned in advance to rip you off

At the end of each job I ask all customers to please call me right away if something comes up or simple question or they spill something on the carpet and need some advice on how to remove it.

Then you have that little voice in the back of your head you know some of these stains or what ever might be a future problem those customers I put a red circle in my book and they get a call a few days latter to see if everything is alright.  

Sounds like you are dealing with them well to me. The only thing different for me is that my invoice includes a signature block that states they are fully satisfied with the results. I don't leave without that signature.

If they raise a concern weeks or month later, that is on them. I will gladly return within 3 days if there is a problem, but never longer than that.

We have a 7 day satisfaction at the bottom of the invoice just below the signature line. I do have a big problem when calls are made month later. That's a new job. Maybe I'll start getting initials on the 7 day line. For the most part we don't have much of this.

My invoice have a combo of Ryan's and Rob's policy, I have 2 signature blocks, one is for work order which they sign before the work begins and above that block is empty space where I write special conditions to cover my a$$, e.g. bleach stains, color loss area rugs, etc, above that is fine prints which includes a 7 days guarantee, if the customer is normal customer I tell them if they call a day or two after the 7 days period, I'll be happy to return, then after the job is done, the second signature block constitutes the job is satisfactory completed, I won't leave until they sign it, unless it's a repeat clientèle and they're not home when I'm done and I trust them.
It happened where they called a couple of weeks later, I usually tell them sorry sherlock, you're out of luck, one time the guy said ok I'll pay you, just come back and clean it again, I went back and the carpet was browning, I re-clean and didn't charged him, he became a very regular customer now, I learned a lot from that situation that you can't judge someone, after that if I get call backs a couple weeks out, I always tell them I'm willing to come back ONLY to inspect and if it's something fresh, I will have to charge, but if it's something wicking up, I'll gladly take care of it no charge.
It doesn't happen often, once in a while, thank God.

Our policy is to return and look and possibly treat the stains on all call backs. I will usually even rectify a problem even if it's new or not our fault. I will return a month or two later if a spot resurfaces. In the long run the goodwill and referrals gained outweigh the small expense and inconvenience of returning. This is what separates me from most other cleaners in my area. Of course if we have 2% callbacks it's a lot. If your getting a lot of callbacks you are not qualifying or processing the jobs well enough. JMO

most people around here are pretty laid back yuppies and have a lot more to worry about then a stain returning. Ive gotten 3 call backs in the last 4yrs. One was funny streaks on a white couch a long time ago way before we ever used a sapphire.

Then one was 2 months after the cleaning this lady said some spots just returned, It was an obvious recent spill of food or grease. I dropped off a spotter and told her how to remove it.

The other one was a lady who was very mentally unstable and it was apparent when we first did the cleaning, hoarding house and she didnt like the fact that after the cleaning her stairs were instantly covered in dog hair. She had 3 long haired dogs and it was just flying around the house and all over the place. We went back and recleaned, then told her we are only there to clean the carpets and if there is hair around the house it will end up back on the stairs again.


Its possible that we have stains reappear without us hearing about it, but im just used to slow dry passes and leaving the carpet pretty much dry when we are done so us and the customer get to see the final result.

we Dont have a signed agreement for jobs, I see the purpose some areas have very sue happy people, but I never bill anyone for later payment that is always a problem. Every job is paid for right at the end, with or without a signed agreement they can still leave a bad review. And with or without it you can still agree to return to re clean if its only been a few days and they call back.