If you have ever had work done on your home, you might be able to relate to this.
You chose a tradie who quotes a lower price. After all, it’s a simple job. How much can possibly go wrong?
But then as soon as he starts working, ‘unforeseen problems’ crop up. The tradie mumbles excuses. The ‘cheap’ job costs more and more. There are headaches, delays, and extra bills start piling up.
And before you know it, you are tearing your hair out… wishing you had chosen the more expensive person with great references from the start.
This is an example of ‘bait and switch’ advertising.
As you may know, Bait and Switch is the process of offering a low price to win a customer and then saying that if they want a good job, they must pay more.
It is actually illegal in Australia.
Yet, there are many carpet cleaners who still attempt it.
For example, a short while ago, flyers appeared around Sydney offering multi-room carpet cleaning for $20-$30.
The price sounded too good to be true – and it was.
These unscrupulous operators would ‘bait’ victims with a low price.
But the story would quickly change as soon as the crooked cleaners arrived at the victim’s house.
The crooks would insist that the carpet was extremely dirty. It needed a lot of extra cleaning. Or they would claim that the coupon only covered small rooms up to a certain size.
Then they would push the victim to accept several hundreds of dollars worth of ‘extra’ work on the spot.
Don’t do it!
Bait And Switch is not worth the risk.
- First, when you attempt this con, clients will feel cheated. They will rarely call you to clean their carpets again.
- Second, you might make more money initially, but in the long run, it will destroy your reputation. Clients will never refer business and you will not get valuable testimonials and endorsements.
The carpet cleaning industry can help you to make enough money to live the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of. But only if build a real business based on great service.
Now, let’s look at today’s task…
TODAY’S TASK: Banish Bait And Switch
Although it is illegal, Bait And Switch can still happen. Especially when quotes are not in writing. That’s why many clients are wary when they get prices from service providers.
Stand out from the crowd. Prove to potential clients that you are trustworthy by taking the following steps today.
- Be open and honest about your rates. Make it clear on your marketing materials that ‘you quote the price upfront and there are no hidden costs or extras’…
- Give a quote in writing. If you give clients a quote on the phone, send them a follow up email in writing to confirm the price and what services you will provide.
- Prove you are a real business. Put your business address and phone number on your marketing materials. Include your ABN or ACN too. Show people that you are a legitimate business and you’re proud to put your name on your work.
- Don’t compete on price. We will discuss this more in the next lesson.