Archive for February, 2010

People Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel

In early 2004, we had most of the interior of our house painted. We are getting ready for a move out of state and were in the process of getting the house ready to “show” to potential buyers.

We wanted it to look nice, but also didn’t want to spend a fortune.

Who To Call?

Not knowing any professional painters, we turned to our realtor, who also happened to be a good friend.

Chris is the guy who “knows everybody”. He had made quite a nice niche for himself in our neighborhood and if you need any work done around the house, Chris is your guy. He’ll know the best.

It’s a Family Business

We called his referral and found out it is a family team of brothers. Two of them came to the house, gave us an estimate right on the spot and guaranteed the price. Everything was included, labor, supplies and even the paint. Their estimate was very reasonable.

Frank & John, the painters, were first in our house for about 4 days. Let me tell you, I don’t know much about painters, but these guys were absolutely terrific! They worked so well as a team, they were fast, they cleaned up every day and their work was as professional as it gets. We liked their work so much, we asked them to paint our basement, hallway and 1st floor bathroom.

They came back the following week and were done in about 3 days. They were friendly, we all got along well and we learned quite a bit about them and their families. When they were done, they said to simply give them a call when we’re ready to put the house on the market and they will come back and do touch-ups for free.

Promises Kept

When it came time to pay the bill, they lived up to their promise. It was not one penny over their original estimate. After a couple of weeks had passed, we actually missed not having them around.

They did such a great job on the inside of the house, we asked them to come back when the weather was warmer to bid on the exterior of the house. I had mentioned their work to a friend of mine, and he had hired them to do work in his house.

My friend owns his own investment firm and knows a lot of very wealthy people. Another friend just had a house built and she said the painters their builder hired did a terrible job. I told her about Frank & John and she called them. Our neighbor needed his house painted, too, so we told him about Frank & John.

A Good Name Goes a Long Way

What do you think these types of referrals did for Frank & John’s business? They were busy for a very busy for a long time. I am sure I am not the only one giving out their good name. They even went so far to tell us they don’t advertise and rely strictly on referrals and word-of-mouth.

My husband called them back several weeks later and asked what would they charge to paint some of our ceilings on the second floor of the house. Frank said that since we’ve given them so many referrals, he’s going to come back and do it for free.

Frank & John are simply two brothers running a small business. They are prompt, professional, personable, do fantastic work and truly appreciate their customers. I have total confidence that when I gave my friends their name, that Frank & John took care of them, too.

How do Your Customers Find You?

Do you take care of and appreciate them them like Frank & John took care of us? Will your existing customers have that kind of confidence in you to give your name to their friends?

Whether your company is a multi-million dollar firm or whether you are a start-up, do you think your customers and visitors will tell their family and friends about you and your company?

That was back in 2004, and to this day, we still remember Frank & John and the wonderful work they did in our house.

When you use the power of appreciation in your business, you will stand above your competition, and you will get more referrals that you could ever imagine!