How to talk to the customer

Hey everyone just curious if anyone has any tips on talking to your customers? A lot of times I find myself in the house cleaning windows with the home owner at the table or doing something close by. I do my best to connect with them and learn about them. I feel talking to them helps them to feel more safe with me in their home and gives me more of a chance of getting re hired to do the job again. Plus it makes the job more interesting. All of that being said, I am not the best at coming up with things to talk to them about. What do you do?

Say “Hey did you see that murderer in the news that they’re looking for?” and then dont say another word for the rest of the job.

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I usually look for a feature of the house that I like, something that stands out from other houses that you’ve been too, compliment a painting or a oriental rug.

They’ll like you best if you get them talking about themselves. Be careful getting THAT ball rolling though, cause sometimes it’s hard to stop!

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Yo wat up B. Hit me up if ya want to get these windows banged out.
Price is sweet … I’m taking care of you this time your my boy so no worrries
Aight!!!

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Not a good way to start a conversation…

I know a good house cleaner that you might be interested in hiring…

Positive way to start a conversation…

So how long have you owned this beautiful home…

I like to make a personal connection when I’m in there home…

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Since most Florida residents weren’t born here, I’ll usually ask if they’ve lived in Florida for a long time. That often gets them talking. Up north, since I pretty much just worked in the summer, I’d ask how their summer is going. On a Monday you could ask how their weekend was, or on a Friday ask if they have anything fun planned for the weekend. It all depends on the customer though. Sometimes they seem like they want to talk, but other times it seems they would prefer you do your job quietly. Yesterday I was surprised when an old lady started to talk to me about football, so that led to a conversation about super bowl plans.

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How NOT to start a conversation:

“So… Did you vote for Hillary?”

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I think it helps to feel them out as far as conversation goes.
Kind of like playing catch. Throw the ball to them. As long as they keep throwing it back, you’re good. When the ball isn’t thrown back, time to keep quiet.

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Other than introducing yourself your staff and what you’re going to do you shouldn’t be saying much. You are there to do a job not to make conversation obviously respond politely if spoken to but you should not be driving the conversation

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Just be yourself…unless you’re weird.

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Yeah, that plan won’t work for me
:upside_down:
:cactus:27

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Ya I’m with you be polite keep it short An sweet.
I engage then disengage if they try to conversate with me as quickly as possible. I got work to do there usually is another job to get to An money to make.
Never talk about yourself to much. They will have you back based on your professionalism not your conversation. Yes be friendly An polite but keep the talk to a minimum … JMO

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I have some customers I engage conversation with, some just don’t seem talkative so I just concentrate on Sparkling up their windows. It all depends and I just take cues from the customer if we chat or not.

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+one!

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And if you’re weird be someone else.

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Clients vary…some will talk to me others wont utter a word until it comes to payment"How much is it again?"There are clients that i would get offered to have a tea/coffee/drink and usually have a chat eith them others would nt even let you use the toilet if you asked.Like i said clients vary and i never hold it against them.

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Just as an aside to the whole “client”/“customer” thing…

Client:
A client is someone who engages the services of a professional. For example, lawyers, plumbers, freelance writers, accountants, and web designers often work for clients.

Customer:
A customer buys goods or services from a business (rather than an individual or group of professionals).

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trades such as plumbers (manual) jobs have not been considered professions in the past.
nowadays everyone likes to call themselves a professional.
and yes client refers to those dealing with a professional…
so considering that pretty much everyone likes to call themselves a professional they might just as well use the term client.
window cleaning has not been traditionally recognized as a profession or a trade.

No matter how you paint it, customer is what we seek. We don’t guide a client through the window cleaning process.