Shoe Covers

As I was driving away from a customer’s home recently, a neighbor waved to me from his front porch. I pulled into his driveway and was invited into the house. He said that he had been planning on calling us for new service when he noticed me next door.

As we were talking in his entrance way, he stopped and pointed to the floor. I had mud on my shoes and had made a mark on the white throw rug. I was sick. I would not have done that in my own home. What was I thinking? He said that he would clean it (before his wife came home) and that it was “OK”, but his tone was as sincere as a mother-in-law’s kiss.

What a rookie mistake to make. He did become a customer and still is to this day, but I decided that I would never let that happen again. We purchased shoe covers from http://www.shubee.com/ and asked our service techs to start wearing them. Easier said than done. They pushed back on the idea and said that they usually removed their shoes (exposing worn socks with holes) when they entered homes anyway, implying that the shoe covers were unnecessary. I then started to require that they record that shoe covers were used on all their service work orders to be able to receive their monthly sales commission. They have been using them ever since.

What does it say to a customer when you enter their home with shoe covers? It shows that you respect their property and it implies that you will work on their equipment with the same level of professionalism. It’s the little things that differentiate you from your competition.