I just got back from dealing with a customer who said he was unhappy with a job I did 2 weeks ago. Pictures attached. His initial complaint was that there were streaks on his roof. If you look closely at the before picture of the front of the house you can see a diagonal run of shingles that stands out from the other singles. After cleaning the roof and getting a good rain this diagonal area is still visible. He believed that I had damaged his roof. After looking at the before pictures he agreed that there was a difference in the shingles that existed before I cleaned the roof. He said that he had never noticed it before. He questioned if I had the right to take pictures and use them without his permission. I dold him there was no law against me taking pictures.
I told him that I thought the roof looked much better after being cleaned since the entire roof was covered with black algae and now showed it's original color. I asked him if he agreed and he said he was still unhappy. I asked why and he said he didn't like the color and that maybe I had changed the color with the chemicals. I assured him that I had not changed the color of his roof. He said there were other areas of the roof that didn't look right. Since it was raining and we were not able to inspect the roof I have to go back and inspect the roof with him when it's dry.
My wife told me this guy would be hard to please based on the driveway & curb cleaning we did a week before the roof. He called me a day after that job and said I had messed up his mail box and it needed cleaning. He made it sound like his mail box was an embarassment to the neighborhood. I went back and found that we had missed wiping down the mail box and post that had got splattered with some dirt while cleaning the curb. It was very minor and I took a towel and wiped the box and post while he was there. It took all of 5 seconds.
This guy is trying to wear me down so I'll agree to give him some money back. Ain't gonna happen.
This is what u call a True PITA customer...did they pay I hope? Night and day difference there. Either they just want to be azzholes or are unhappy about the money u made vs. the time it took. They for sure voted for Obama either way.
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Ada Mobile Wash
2694 Ashville Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-285-8115
kennethpaul@vzw.blackberry.net
Roof Washing Exterior House Cleaning Grand Rapids, MI
I think it looks fine. Any Roofing Contractor will back you up on that diagonal line. either a poor patch job or someone really screwed up putting the shingles on. Nothing you can do about that. You can put lipstick on a pig but it is still just a pig!
Charles if you look at the before picture you can see a difference in the shingles to begin with before you cleaned, then after they was done a dramatic difference. Also in the back you can see a patch job around the fire place area. This guy is digging, we all have them in all areas and they can be some pain in the arses. Looks good bro.
Stick to your guns Charles! I think you did an awesome job! I had the same type of situation with the first roof I did. Not the unhappy customer part, just the shingles. Fortunately, I noticed it before cleaning and pointed it out to him so there was no question about it.
If you take the make up off, and the girl is UGLY ..... You did a great job, and now he can see all the imperfections in his roof, that were hidden by the black algae.
Hi Charles I know its hard to do but I would just go and try to fix it even if there is nothing you can do atleast you showed him you tried and he will be happy. you can not win with a customer like that, I would'nt even try. The chances of you running into another customer like this one is very unlikely so just bite your tounge. Trust me on this one.
Hey Charles, In my area (Washington) there is technically no law against pictures, but I always let the customer know I am taking pictures. First, because if I do use them they had the option to say they prefer no usage. Also, they know that I have before and after pics so they are less likely to say I caused something. I went to an L&I sponsered class/seminar last week and one of the speakers recommended having a photo clause in the contract. Here in WA it is required that whenever you work on someones, regardless of the type of work, and the price goes over $1,000 that you have a contract with a Right to Lien Notice and some other documents. Less than that it is simply an option. I have not seen a thread here yet dealing with contracts, I will search after I post this, but I personally HIGHLY recommend having atleast some sort of service contract stating what work was agreed to, dispute remmedy and warranty limitations, blah, blah...
Thanks for all the support. This guy is just being a butt hole. I guess it's just natural for some people. I'm not going to let him get me down. The roof looks 100 times better than it did before. Hell, maybe a thousand times better.
Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 wrote:
If you take the make up off, and the girl is UGLY ..... You did a great job, and now he can see all the imperfections in his roof, that were hidden by the black algae.
Like my granddaddy always said, you can't polish a turd...
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Ada Mobile Wash
2694 Ashville Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-285-8115
kennethpaul@vzw.blackberry.net
Roof Washing Exterior House Cleaning Grand Rapids, MI
that line you see running diagonal is a differnet (Shingle) lot number. Who ever shingled that house yrs ago used 2 differnet lot numbers. The shingles are the same color but when they manufactored them it was 2 differnet runs.. for example monday the manfactor made that color shingle then a week later they made them again, same color but dyes were different, so color is lighter or darker
The roof looks great, awsome work , The home owner can ask any roofing contractor and he will back what i just said...
Make it a great day
Keep up the Excellent work ,
Kid
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Elite Roof Cleaners Roof Cleaning Missouri & Kansas City
Bill, that's what I'm really concerned about. The fact that he is going to bad mouth my service even though he got an excellent result. This neighborhood is ripe for the picking. I hope he doesn't have many friends or at least they know he's a butt hole.
KID, I wasn't that familiar with how shingles are made but I told him it was like carpet of the same color coming out of two different production runs. Even though the carpets are the same color if installed in the same house you would be able to tell a difference.
He moved into the house in 2003 and the house was built in 1995. I figure the roof had never been cleaned and he couldn't tell what color the roof was when he moved in.
No one should worry about him getting any money back. Like I said earlier... Ain't gonna happen.
Besides I'm too happy to let this turd spoil my day. I became a Grandfather for the third time last night.
go touch it up even though nothing wont come any cleaner. look at the agrivation your going thru already and plus you won't get the neighbors either. its like the sprint phone service your going to have to transfer him to the escalation department because it's intensifiying
if you prove to him instead of telling him he will be happy.
go touch it up even though nothing wont come any cleaner. look at the agrivation your going thru already and plus you won't get the neighbors either. its like the sprint phone service your going to have to transfer him to the escalation department because it's intensifiying
if you prove to him instead of telling him he will be happy.
Say WHAT? Sprint phone service?? Wtf? Look, this customer is just a PITA and has shown so for two weeks. He wouldn't even wipe off his own friggin mailbox. You'll get one or two of these a year, just move on.
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Ada Mobile Wash
2694 Ashville Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-285-8115
kennethpaul@vzw.blackberry.net
Roof Washing Exterior House Cleaning Grand Rapids, MI
I wouldn't go back and "try" to fix it for him. He will find something else then to blame you for. If he has paid. Leave it alone. The type of person he sounds like, he won't have many friends. If still getting a hard time from him find a roofing contractor and take him to look at the roof. He will be able to see right away that the shingles are from a different lot number. I see that a lot with certain roofers around here.