[elfords]

contracts with domestics WILL NOT work,dont waste your time,if they dont want u they wont have u.Sorry to be blunt but its true

I agree 100%  Just be nice to them it works much better. What are you going to do if they don't stick to the contract? Sue them? The customer will have just two words for you and the second word will be "OFF"

I cant disagree more Vince, maybe your getting hung up on the word contract. Your simply setting out your working terms so that there is no confusion for all concerned which leads to a smooth working relationship thereafter, for the most part

[LSB]

i agree with vince , if you provide a regular , reliable quality service then you wont get too many not todays , but when you do , no problem just move on to the next customer !
if however you have travelled some distance just to their property to be told not today , then i may say something ! 

[elfords]

Of course your not going to sue them unless its a high value commercial contract. But when you do come across an issue and you have not previously set out your simple straight forward terms of doing business from the outset, how can you possibly expect the customer to understand why your not happy.

From the start you do a quote, explaining any relevant points about your terms of business on the quotes rear and thereafter its rarely mentioned again as they will read it themselves and understand exactly what you expect of them, no ambiguety(spelling!) what so ever. Then on the rare occassion that you may have an issue, you have this as a back up if you need to remind them why your not happy about something. Without it you leave yourself open to a customers own version of what they expect which as we all know can vary greatly. So why make your life more difficult by leaving whats expected from them to to much mis-interpretation for the sake of a simple statement of your terms of business.

In my 18 years in this business this has been a very useful tool for getting my customers trained to my way of working from the outset and has never caused any kind of negativities what so ever, quite the contrary it has helped sell my services by showing that I am very professional in my approach.

[wfp master]

contracts with domestics WILL NOT work,dont waste your time,if they dont want u they wont have u.Sorry to be blunt but its true

I agree 100%  Just be nice to them it works much better. What are you going to do if they don't stick to the contract? Sue them? The customer will have just two words for you and the second word will be "OFF"

very true remember you dont own them they can cancel whenever they want.

[elfords]

contracts with domestics WILL NOT work,dont waste your time,if they dont want u they wont have u.Sorry to be blunt but its true

I agree 100%  Just be nice to them it works much better. What are you going to do if they don't stick to the contract? Sue them? The customer will have just two words for you and the second word will be "OFF"

very true remember you dont own them they can cancel whenever they want.

where does anyone say because you state your terms of business you own them, quite a rediculous comment, this is a service business, and you need to state whats expected from them & what you will provide in simple terms. Whats the matter with some of you, you seem to think that your in a business that does not warrant taking a professional approach to such things, well I do think my business deserves such an approach and thats why all my customers are of a high caliber that apppreciate such an approach. Some of you that don`t think this approach is warranted  clearly don`t mind what type of customers you take on, which is fair enough, and thats why there are all different types of window cleaning companies to suit the customers you are aiming at. So I guess you need to decide who is your target customers before deciding the approach you take to terms etc. I still believe it works for more customers than it does`nt

[wizard]

Just use some grey stuff. Dont have address tag on the keys only a code EG, 32 h.with a key book and keep them locked in a safe place at home not in van,Same as estate agents do .

[Walter Pole]

I have been toying with the idea of this service contract for my domestic customers as I believe it will strengthen the relationship between customer an myself.


Service Agreement


Dated      /      /2010 between AMR Window Cleaners and:


Name                              

Address                           

         _______________________________________________
                                 
Postcode      ______________________


Window Clean    6-8 weekly price outside      £____________

          12 weekly price outside      £____________

          Inside windows cleaned      £____________   

          Conservatory roof         £____________         


Terms and conditions

•   By signing this service agreement you are accepting our terms and conditions
•   You agree to give 6 weeks notice of termination of our services.
•   We require 3 days notice for a cancellation of a clean.
•   If we have arrived to work then we are unable to accept a cancellation of service, unless work is being carried out at the property. 50% will be payable if we have not had 3 days notice.
•   We will endeavor to clean all windows, but if we deem windows to be inaccessible, these will not be cleaned.
•   Safety is of paramount importance. So we request that small children and pets be enclosed in the safety of the house for the duration of the clean.
•   Price we strive to be competitive but our prices may increase from time to time.  6 Weeks notice will be given before a price increase.
•   Insurance we are covered for public liability and personal injury.
•   Payment is due upon completion or up to maximum of 10 days after completion.



      Customers Signature      __________________________________________



AMR Representative Signature        __________________________________________                      AMR Window Cleaners
Moorcroft
18 Victoria Road
Exmouth  EX8 1DL

www.amrwindows.co.uk

[tom2009]

used a slightly amended version of Elfords terms tonight with a now new customer. Not a contract more that we have a mutual understanding of how things will happen. He was very happy. Seemed to give the whole process a more professional edge. Thanks again Elfords. Good stuff. 

[wizard]

Endevor is spelt vour other wise it looks good I woulld not call is a service agreement.just put your terms on the back of your quote saying if you accenpt our qoute them our terms apply.Does not put your client off.People do not like to sign, its more to tell them how you work and what you expect from them I dont think you would go to court , or would you.

[elfords]

I agree its not necessary for small value work to have a signed agreement, its a bit to serious and could cause a barrier to them agreeing. Different if were talking about a high value contract etc.

[elfords]

Just use some grey stuff. Dont have address tag on the keys only a code EG, 32 h.with a key book and keep them locked in a safe place at home not in van,Same as estate agents do .

My approach to this is to keep them in a locked key cabinet in the van, with an identity tag showing the data base number. That way there always to hand, and in the unlikely event they get lost, the number means nothing to anyone else. Its only ever happened once, and that was ironically enough to an insurance company head quarters!! However they new my procedures and had no problem providing me with a duplicate as the risk was negligable to them.