when do you ask for a testamonial?... I plan on mailing them 2 or 3 days latter some stuff including referal info... should i put the testamonial info in that or should i have that durring the end of the cleaning?
Always ask at the end of the job, when it looks good.
Lets just say you do a job and a spot or two come back(hey it does happen). Would you want a testamonial at that time or when the carpet looks nice and clean at the end of the job?
Even if you do NOTHING you'll get them occasionally. For those who find you on the internet, you can just send them a friendly email the day after and they are likely to reply. For rentals, etc. they will prob. be sending you the check in the mail 1-2 weeks after, and some of those folks send some nice words too.
All of the testimonials on my website have come this way unsolicited.
Obtaining a testimonial doesn`t have to be a formal thing. Many customers will spontaneously give you a compliment on your work, or on the results of your work, as soon as they see some of the results or the completed job. When they do this, simply ask if it would be OK for you to quote them in an upcoming marketing piece. Very few people will turn you down. One or two might say "Sure, just don`t use my name". In that case, just attribute the words to "Suzanne" of whatever town she lives in.
i looked on the ICS board which is where i'd seen it before... i used this format... (post from somone else) it doesn't feel as much like you are asking for a referal... more a quality control paper... i may tweak it a bit down the road but it's what i'll use for a while
We have always made it part of our paperwork. After each job is completed we have the store manager or the building manager (or the home owner when we did residential) sign the paperwork. Included on the paperwork is a section that asks 3 questions that get YES answers (3 times for emphasis), and then following the 3 questions is a spot for general comments.
The 3 questions are: (1) Were you satisfied with the service performed? (2) Was the technician courteous and professional? (3) Did you receive an excellent service experience with our company? These 3 questions have a YES and NO checkbox next to them.
Then we have some lines under the questions for general comments. _____________________________________
_____________________________________
After they've answered yes 3 times in a row, they're in a positive frame of mind to write a few nice words about our company. Then at the bottom of that section is where they sign and date the paperwork.
Before long you'll have a heaping stack of testimonials from your satisfied customers :-)
