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This morning my neighbors had some trees trimmed in their backyard. The crew came out, set up and began climbing up the huge Ash trees with chainsaws in hand.
They did a great job. From what I can tell they were clean, respectful and did great work.
How can they raise the bar, you ask? Most people who hire a contractor would be thrilled that they were on time and did nice work. But, I’m a marketing dude who is always on the lookout to help people takes things a little higher than their competitors.
Here are a couple super easy ways they could’ve set the bar really high for any other tree trimmer that ever came near my neighborhood!
Let Us Know You’re Coming & Invite Us to the Show
It was a show…to watch these guys climb and cut and swing branches down..it was cool! But, there wasn’t much of an audience. I thought this would be a great opportunity to invite people to see a unique trade in action.
Here’s what I would do if I owned the company:
-Head to the neighborhood the day before and pass a simple card out that said we were coming to trim some really huge trees. I’d say this is really cool to watch and we’d love to have you visit. Of course, we’d have to keep them a safe distance and all that…
-I would also communicate that there would be free coffee and donuts for anyone who dropped by the show for a few minutes.
-This invitation would set the stage for the fact that they’d have big vehicles around the neighborhood and give people a heads up about the noise. It would also justify the value that these guys bring. The next time one of the spectators needed trees trimmed and got a quote…maybe he’d be less likely to think it was too high because they witnessed the work and danger involved?
Knock on My Door & Wash My Car
After the show, go to 3-5 houses immediately around the job and give them a free car wash voucher to the nearest car wash…nice car wash! Let me go out of my way to say that I was not unhappy with anything this crew did OR my neighbors. But, I got in my car and there was a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of saw dust that had blown over and landed on my car…not a big deal..not to me at least.
But, as a former contractor I know some people make a mountain out of a molehill. How about a pre-emptive strike? Knock on the door and say “Hi. I’m with Tom’s Tree Service. We know that sometimes the wind blows some dust around even though we try to contain it. In case your car gets a bit dusty, we wanted to make sure you could get it cleaned without any hassles.”
Most contractors are good people. They work hard and are honest. This crew today was lively and professional. They seemed to like each other and enjoyed their work. That stood out to me and I dug it. My goal of this post is to help you take more time to think about the experience you can offer not only your clients, but their friends and neighbors as well. A dozen donuts, some hot coffee, free wash and a show first thing on a Saturday morning is UNCOMMON.
Remember, everything you do or don’t do tells a story. The way these guys did it today said “We’re a good company with some good people.” Imagine what story gets told if they take things a little higher?
