Mind Your Business: Cut Out Cancellations

"You’re fired.”

These two words can kill morale and feed frustration, at the very least. Truth is, contractors need to care for customer relationships just like they cut, prune and primp their properties.

But just because clients exercise their freedom of choice in another company’s favor doesn’t mean they aren’t prospects for future work or can’t be persuaded to stay on board, noted Jeff Mariola, president, Rentokil Tropical Plant Services, Riverwoods, Ill.

“Customers who cancel your service are six times as likely to buy from you in the future,” Mariola estimated, based on statistics he read. “You have to get out there and address it.”

Cancellations are inevitable, no matter the company, no matter the client, pointed out Janice Thomas, vice president, grounds maintenance, Doerler Landscapes, Crosswicks, N.J. You can’t keep them all.

“No. 1, [cancellations] do happen – you don’t retain everyone for 10 years,” she said. “When it does happen, find out why so you can either correct the problem internally or you know how to re-approach that person and say, ‘We’ve adjusted this internally to handle the problem, could you give us another shot?’”

In the meantime, try these basic cancellation-savers.

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The price isn’t right. Companies can’t avoid cancellations just as clients can’t resist those low, low prices. Most of the time, however, cost adjustments aren’t realistic solutions for landscape companies, Thomas said. When a client cancels because of price, Thomas measures services with competitors’ to make sure it’s an “apples to apples” comparison.

“If I want to hang on to that contract, I will try to see if we can reduce some services to stay in the price range they are looking for,” she said. “If they say, ‘We can get this service for 10 percent cheaper,’ rarely do I say, ‘I’ll match that price.’ That’s a dangerous snowballing effect – there will always be someone cheaper.”

Price is a factor in many cancellations – especially now that consumers are more price conscious, added Larry Ott, operations manager, Chapel Valley Landscape Co., Woodbine, Md. “Clients are increasingly cost-sensitive and, in some cases, they’ve turned to lower cost providers  – they are shopping for price rather than quality,” he noticed.

Why ask why? Because this simple question can preserve your future relationship with the client, that’s why. “The first thing I want to do is go to them and find out why they cancelled,” Mariola said. “The first answer is usually, ‘We felt like making a change.’ People don’t really like to tell you why they quit.”

More reason to continue the conversation. Never assume causes for cancellation – always ask. “It could have been poor service, or it could even be the office manager bugging them about a bill, or maybe they saw one of the technicians smoking in the driveway,” Mariola listed.

Eventually, most customers are fairly straightforward about why they made the switch, and quite frankly, they don’t always mind venting about it. At this point, companies might win back their business. “Say, ‘Is there any way we can get a second chance to prove ourselves to you,’ or ‘Is there any way we can move on from this?’” he suggested. “But, you can’t ask that until you apologize and get to the heart of the matter. It has to be face to face.”

Hit it off from the start. Nip potential problems in the bud by establishing a strong relationship with clients from the beginning. “A good rapport will save you through some minor skirmishes,” Thomas said. “If you don’t have that, you are not going to be in good shape if the customer gets really upset.”

Thomas frequently checks up on new accounts and will either call or stop by properties to make sure they are satisfied with the service and to address any concerns. Also, the company issues questionnaires to its clients on a regular basis. Most people return them, and concerns are confronted immediately, she said.

This two-way conversation is imperative for customer retention, Ott added. “Customers are usually not experts in grounds maintenance, so information must be provided to them about the services and conditions in their landscapes,” he said. – Kristen Hampshire

The author is Managing Editor – Special Projects for Lawn & Landscape magazine.