Client Communications Guide
How to text clients a reminder
Introduce yourself “with Sparklean”, include the name of your partner and the scheduled time. It is encouraged to give clients a window of 15 minutes for arrival time (for example, if a cleaning is scheduled for 11am, let the client know that you’ll arrive between 11am and 11:15am).
When you’re texting clients make sure it is the day before their scheduled cleaning no later than 10am, here are a few examples:
“Hi _____, this is ____ with Sparklean. Just giving you a quick *heads up/reminder* that _____ and I will be out to your home around ____tomorrow. Please let me know if you have any notes or special instructions for us, otherwise we’ll plan for then! Thanks!”
“Hello _____, this is ____with Sparklean, just letting you know ____ and I plan to be there to clean at ____ tomorrow.”
“Good morning ____, this is ____ with Sparklean, just letting you know/ reminding you that ____ and I will be out to your home at about ____ tomorrow. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like us to take care of tomorrow!”
How to tell clients we can’t do a certain project
“Actually, we do not have the proper equipment to do that because it isn’t included in our scope of services.”
“So we actually can’t do that, but we do have a great list of referral partners I could have sent over to you.”
“If you have ___product/item, we could certainly do that, however we are unable to use ours for this project as it isn’t good for it.”
“Unfortunately, we will not have enough time to include ___project today. If that is something you would like to include in the future, we would be happy to add time to your next cleaning.”
What we don’t clean:
Small metal or plastic blinds (aka mini blinds)
Unfinished spaces/ basements
Fireplaces/ ashes
Chandeliers or high windows
Pet stains
Smoke remediation
Mold
Carpet shampooing
How to handle breakage/incidents
● Don't assume the client is chill about it, act like this is the first time, it never happens, and that you are very apologetic. No need to be dramatic but also don't just brush it under the rug.
● If it was your partner who broke something, you are still responsible for it and communicating it with the client.
● Talk to them directly if they are home and tell them "let us know how we can compensate you".
● Proceed to take a picture of the breakage and send to both the client and Katie right away in an email or text for record purposes. You can simply say “This was broken on *insert date and time* from *insert how it broke*.”
● Clean up the area as best as possible, report any other damage and remember to tell them we can compensate.
● Do not dispose unless it is completely unfixable.
“I am SO sorry, when I was vacuuming, my elbow hit the table and this picture fell off and broke. I feel so bad, please let me know how we can compensate for this!”
How to respond to unhappy clients in the moment
Be very apologetic, but also reasonable. The client may be correct if your team truly missed something that should have been done. If this is the case, take responsibility, be apologetic, and make it right if possible. Some client’s expectations may just be not feasible. In this case you may need to use a different approach.
“I am so sorry about that I will go back and make it better.”
“I apologize for missing that! I do see it now, thank you for bringing it to my attention, I will address it right away.”
“It looks like it actually needs more of a harsher product than we have. If you have something you’d like to provide we can certainly talk with Katie and see if we could use that at your next clean.”
“I totally understand, unfortunately we are running out of time, I could add it to your notes for the next clean.”
“We had to spend more time on this area getting it thoroughly cleaned. We will definitely make sure to add this to our notes so we can add it in on your next cleaning.”
“The time allotted did not allow us to spend as much time on that as we would have liked.”
“Perhaps we could talk to Katie about if the time allotted is enough to meet your expectations.”
How to ask a client to move while they are in the home
“Hello Cheryl, is there a space that you would like us to completely finish and then we can swap places, so we are out of your way?”
“Where would you like us to start so we are out of your way and then we can switch places?”
“What area/room will you be hanging out in, would you like us to start in there or save that room for last so we aren’t in each other’s way?”
“It was our plan today to start in the ____ and ____ today and we will go from there, just wanted to let you know our plan, so we aren’t getting in each other’s way”
“Hi! Would this be an okay time to trade rooms with you? I’m completely done cleaning in the ____ room and the ____ room, so we wouldn’t be bothering you there.”
How to reassure an overbearing-client you are a professional
Be intentional about letting the client know you have been informed of this information before hand
“I remember seeing that in the notes. Yes, I definitely will make sure the shower tile is scrubbed again”
“Would you like to do a walk-through with me the last 10 minutes to see if there is anything you would like us to touch up before the end of the cleaning”
You can comment about the last cleaning
“I recall working on that during your last cleaning and will make sure we continue to do a thorough job”
How to handle unrealistic expectations from a client
When a client leaves a note or a list without adding time, ask clarifying questions on what the client’s preferences are, make suggestions to add time, skip a space entirely to work on the listed items.
“Yes, we can work on incorporating the items from your list into today’s cleaning, but we may not have enough time to complete every item”
“If you would prefer for us to complete every item on your list moving forward, would you like to add some time on to your scheduled cleanings or rotate an entire area with listed items”
“Are the tasks on your list in order of your priority? What is most important for us to complete today?”
How to handle other service providers or strangers
Never let anyone into a client’s home unless you have permission to do so.
Request proof they are who they say they are.
Feel free to not answer the door and call the client.
“Hi, I am the house cleaner and do not have authorization to let anyone in or anything. I suggest contacting the homeowner.”
Perhaps it is someone who is already authorized to be there;
“Where will you guys be in the house so we can stay out of each other’s way?” -come up with a plan, offer to do that area first or last completely.”
How to write a client a note
You should be talking to clients in person, leaving notes, or texting them about what you accomplished during the cleaning and anything you paid extra attention to/extra tasks you complete/anything you didn’t have time to get to for every cleaning. This helps clients recognize the value they are receiving and gives you an opportunity to have some healthy pride in your hard work!
Doing this gives clients a ton of peace of mind!
(If we don’t do this, clients have a tendency to get anxious if they see something that was missed and then they question the quality of the entire cleaning. We are there to help reduce their stress, not add to it. Communicating fully every time helps avoid this issue by showing responsibility, demonstrating that we are seeing details even if we don’t have time to complete them, and helps build the client’s faith in our ability as professionals.)
“Good afternoon Clark, today during your cleaning we were able to complete a deep clean in your kitchen including cobwebs, dusting the ceiling fan, polishing the back splash and wiping all of the cupboard handles additionally to your standard priorities. Have a great weekend! -Sparklean team _____ & _____
“Hi Albert, we got so much done today! The hanging light fixture in the dining room has been dusted and polished and the light switches in all of the bathrooms have been wiped clean. As per your request today for a thorough clean of the hardwood floors we vacuumed the edges of all the large floor rugs and dry moped underneath furniture then completed our clean of your floors with mopping. Have a good day! -Sparklean team ____ &____”
“Hello Mary, during your sparkleaning today we thoroughly cleaned the vanity, scrubbed the shower tiles and dusted the baseboards in your master bathroom. We also dusted and vacuumed the basement but unfortunately we ran out of time to work on the basement bathroom. -Sparklean team ____ &____”