Is it ethical to....

[plainpainter 217]

....offer warranties on services that you don't have any real control over after you leave?

I like to think my services are superior - but even this trex deck that I ridded of every last bit of mildew last summer - had plenty of regrowth a year later. And some of my housewashes look great 2 years later - and some look awful and need to rewashed. I cannot exert any control of what happens after I leave anymore than a carwash can exert any control on how long your car will stay clean after you leave.

So why do guys give warranties on house washing? To me it seems gimicky - I can guarantee a house will be clean when I am done. Imagine giving some warranty to a ignorant homeowner that gets a bout of artillery fungus a year later - try explaining how that isn't covered.

To me ethically - you wash a house, rid it of any molds, algae, and pollution. And the second you leave - the whole process starts all over again. If guys are truly honoring their warranties - then they are giving up half of their business. It's that simple.

[Adrian 155]

I don't compete with Mother Nature.

I know that my projects look good when I leave the jobsite.

I know they will look good a week, month after the fact.

Being located in the moist armpit of the nation it would just be foolish to offer warranty on a wash.

Hurricane IKE ruined every single project I did last year inside of Houston proper.

However, it could be used as a selling point to a customer.

It could even be honored if the house ( for example) chalks up or something due to inadequate rinsing etc. immediatly after the wash.

.....of course.... that is just my opinion and others may warrant a warranty. lol.

Unless the resi can be hermetically sealed after the wash ( which is impossible )

no warranties on a HW 4 me.

[PressurePros 249]

To me ethically - you wash a house, rid it of any molds, algae, and pollution. And the second you leave - the whole process starts all over again. If guys are truly honoring their warranties - then they are giving up half of their business. It's that simple.

Your making assumptions again, Dan. My Gold plan comes with a two year warranty against mold regrowth occurring 10'+ from the ground. My warranty callbacks to date.. zero.

Change your perspective. If a customer calls me and says, "yeah Ken, we have a little mold growing by the second story window", I am ecstatic. That gives us an opportunity to be in front of the customer again and create an absolute indelible impression of superior customer service. It doesn't stop there. I have records of everything that is on a customer's property. I pull their file, notice they are do for a flagstone sealing and when I call back to tell them we'll be out, I offer a 10% discount on the sealing since we'll be out there anyway.

******************************************

I needed to be reminded but taking care of problems right away insures customers for life as well as referrals. Excerpt from a customer's email that had some issues after my guys left a house wash.

To: Pressure Pros <pressurepros@****.com>

CC:

Subject: RE: Dzu--- pics

Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 16:12:21 -0400

Show Full Headers Back To [iNBOX] Thanks for taking care of it, I really appreciate it. That’s what I call GREAT customer service. If you ever need a reference, feel free to provide my e-mail address. I will certainly keep you in mind and mention you to any home owning friends if I learn they are looking (or if I notice their house is dirty!).

Take care,

Mike

From:Pressure Pros [mailto:pressurepros@----.com]

Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2009 3:58 PM

To: Mike Dzu---

Subject: RE: Dzu--- pics

I have no idea what that was, Mike. 7 years and probably 600 house washes, that was a first. I know it wasn't there when we left. I'm guessing there was a gap somewhere that wet the building paper and the colorant came from that. I applied a cleaner via brush and rinsed with the garden hose. It came off almost everywhere but one spot where it was real blue under a siding edge. I spent ten minutes on it and it is much lighter. You can't see it looking directly at the house. You have to stand right under it and look up. The house and concrete dried up beautiful.

Thank you very much for the opportunity. I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Keep us in mind for referrals. Wood work and decks are our specialty. Talk soon and enjoy the rest of the summer and your holidays!

Ken

----- Original Message -----

From: "Mike Dzu---"

To: "Pressure Pros"

Subject: RE: Dzu--- pics

Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 20:27:43 -0400

Thanks Ken, if you need to call me during the day feel free to use my office 610 -------- or cell ------------

Mike

From:Pressure Pros [pressurepros@----.com]

Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 7:43 PM

To: Mike Dzubow

Subject: Re: Dzubow pics

Mike my first instinct was that it was something from the shutters.. often they have cheap paint that is oxidized. But the picture showing the blue around the weep holes makes me question that. I'll have to look at it in person. I'll swing by and look at it tomorrow afternoon.

Ken

----- Original Message -----

From: "Mike Dzu---"

To: "Pressure Pros"

Subject: Dzu--- pics

Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 08:37:16 -0400

Hi Ken,

Please see attached. There are also some "lighter" stains in the

same area that unfortunately I had a tough time capturing on my

camera because I couldn't get my flash to go off since there was

"enough light" although not enough to see them. But these should

give you an idea.

Thanks!

Mike

[plainpainter 217]

Ken - if you got a warranty going that's one thing - you've figured out an angle. The majority of guys I am being told second hand by homeowners are telling me that everything is covered.

And if I were to do something like this - it would be a 'gold' plan as well - as in at least the north side of the roof gets washed, gutters get cleaned out - and have to be maintained by me twice a year for the duration - and a couple of other things. Then I would consider a warranty - but I ain't giving a warranty for a $375 'basic' house wash - that's what some guys are doing.

As well - I'd have to take notes of other potential work on property - if there wasn't any upside like no pavers, flagstone, concrete pool apron - or anything else - then to me a house like that wouldn't be a good investment.

But I totally see where are going with this - using warranties as an oppurtunity for upselling. It's just these other guys are truly giving dumb warranties, just giving them out for the sake of closing a job.

[PressurePros 249]

A tail light warranty is a whole 'nother story.

People like warranties. You have to look at the real reason people ask for them. They don't plan on cashing in on it. They are saying to you "I want assurance that you stand behind your work, that you are confident in your work, and that you are not a fly-by-nighter." For some reason warranties parlay that to some people.

[bigchaz 157]

What kind of warranty can you offer on a deck? Some decks turn moldy in 6 months other decks fade in the first year. Other decks with the same stain look brand new going on 3 years? Some wood leaks sap, some wood gets covered in leaves and tannin stains it everywhere.

How would you word something that doesnt cover those things without sounding like you are excusing yourself from every possibility?

[TNRoofCleaner 16]

My deck warranty consists of what the manufacturer gives for their stain. I am out of the loop. I give 3 years on a roof cleaning algae only. Nothing on the siding but I do offer plexmaster on every cleaning.

[814jeffw 71]

I offer no warranty work on any cleaning.

No offense Ken,...but the house washes you give warranties on for two years for everything above 10 feet are maybe customers who just don't want to be a pain and they know that it's tough to guarantee this type of work. I am in Pa as well and in two years th houses I do still look good, but I bet there's some mildew growth,...even if it isn't visisble from the ground. Not knocking your warranty, if you're selling with it that's what counts.

I agree with Dan, seems hard to give a guarantee where elements that are out of your control can be the determining factor. Things like; What's under the siding, landscape and the obvious,...mother nature itself.

I prefer to give customers an honest evaluation on what to expect where longevity is concerned,...with the above elements being taken into account for each job.

Just wondering for those who offer warranties,...do you bring up the fact or do the customers inquire? I only ever get asked about 3 times a year if warranty the jobs cleanliness,....and that's on roof jobs. And again I tell them what they can expect.

If I do a house surrounded by other infested houses, they get about a 2 year expectancy before any reoccurence,...where the house in the country setting gets about a 3-4 year expectancy.

Jeff

Jeff

[PressurePros 249]

I understand everything is not for everybody. I'm not offended. This is good dialogue. Warranties are part of an overall package. I look at the objectively from a business standpoint. My only moral obligation is to honor them, and I do.

I am numbers guy and statistically, warranties work. They are similar to rebates. A manufacturer can offer much greater savings with a rebate than it could just lowering the price at retail. A manufacturer hedges its bets and uses statistics to know that most people will not mail it in. I hedge my bets against an expected callback ratio (Dan, I hate to tell you, so do the hacks)

My mold growth warranty on house washes is at the right number for me at two years. That's what my climate dictates. The reason for the ten foot clause is because many people have trees and shrubs that will accelerate growth. I tell customers this and they know how to remedy it. I don't give people a Sham-Wow or Billy Mays presentation when it comes to warranty. It doesn't need to be hyped that much.