Test Subjects

December 30, 2009

Let me clarify one thing: We don’t go all over the map and offer free samples of restoration to every home/business owner with a stone floor. That would make us poor rather quickly.

So how do we avoid the paradox of providing a sample while still not losing money? It all begins with pricing the job; all further actions are methodical in their execution.

First, we charge for estimates. You can call them a consultant fee, diagnosis fee or whatever term you feel right, but it tells the customer upfront that our services don’t come cheap, nor can we give prices over the phone. It also infers that there’s usually more involved with the job than what the customer expects.

A point to consider, when any one objects to this: The last time you took your car to the dealer or a repair shop with a strange noise, engine-light on or such other malady, did they say, “No problem, let’s hook it up to the machine,” and then proceed to spend a few hours to figure out what was wrong before handing you a bill?

Or, did they tell you right at the start that they’d need to do diagnostic work, and you signed a work order authorizing this – with an explanation of, “Oh, by the way, just finding out what was wrong will cost you $150. Then, if it’s what we think it may be, it could be another $580. BUT, there could be more than one thing wrong – and that’s why we run a $150 diagnostic.”

I’ve been there (and so have you). You stare at the technician blankly with that “say what?” look and may even ask the service agent, “Whatever happened to the good old days when Joe Mechanic knew just by the sound exactly what was wrong?”

And, if you’re brave enough to make that statement, you’ll likely hear something like this: “Because cars are a lot more-complex and -comfortable today, and I’m sure you appreciate the smooth ride as opposed to the days of crank-down windows and ripped vinyl seats that look like the jacket of the used-car salesman you bought it from.”

Fair enough. And, yes, just as cars have become more-complex, so have floors.

No longer are we dealing with your classic, well-installed, grind-in-place polished marble floors. Now we have six degrees of honed/polish gloss levels on 30 different types of stone installed by someone who was laying carpet last week and a vinyl job next week. The craftsmen who lay perfect floors are a dying breed, and the professionals that can repair them properly (to the customers’ desired level) are in demand and short supply.

So why are our minds not worth the same as the complex automotive diagnosis machine that simply tells the technician that you need to change your fuel filter?

Second, after sizing the job up and confirming a price with the customer, we offer to do a test area to their approval before we finish the rest. If they’re satisfied, we continue. If there is no way to satisfy them, we leave as friends.

We write up the pre-test-area work order as “Subject to” customer approval. This was a little tool I learned when I started in business; yes, at one point in my life, I also sold cars.

On the lot, we always wrote deals “subject to” something. Why? Because the buyer’s spouse may not have been present, and it was always better to establish commitment instead of having them leave saying “I need to get my partner’s approval.”

Or, they may have wanted a black one and we only had blue. So we would write the deal “subject to” providing the vehicle in black. We could always get a similar car from another lot; we just didn’t want our customer going to that other lot (and a salesperson on that other lot walking home with my commission).

Writing the deal “subject to” gives the customer a safety valve – a security blanket, to use the old Peanuts expression – if they actually don’t like what they’re getting. It also allows us the opportunity to follow through and live up to our expected service level.

But more than just helping to close a deal, the test area helps us in many other ways.

• It helps us determine exactly how we’re going to solve a particular problem. We may be able to save time by choosing a different route to get to the same customer satisfaction level. In other cases, we may find that we need to spend more time on a particular stone.

• It saves us from working all of one day (or perhaps three or four) only to hear the customer say at the end, “That isn’t what I wanted” – and then having to start all over again.

• It gives customers something to look forward to. They can leave you alone to do your work in peace, knowing in full confidence how the finished product will appear … because they saw the sample on their floor without any smoke or mirrors.

This, my friends, is called “managing the customer’s expectations.” You promised them what you could deliver; you showed them a sample (which most importantly, you get paid for – the deposit counts); and then you’re able to follow through on their hopes.

Because, in the end, all they wanted was for their floors (or wall or stairs or counters) to look like new again. And, with your work, you met the test and made the grade – and some good ol’ cash, too.

Until next time, keep your stick on the ice.

Tom McNall is founder and owner of Great Northern Stone Care, a Huron Park, Ontario-based stone-cleaning and -restoration company servicing all of southern Ontario. Tom offers corporate and private consultations, serves as a trainer for the Marble Institute of America, and is also on the organization’s board of directors. McNall can be reached at stone_rx@earthlink.net.