by Dean Dean

LISTENING TO CUSTOMERS

LISTENTING TO CUSTOMERS

Listening to Customers is one of the most important skills a small business owner must master, and continually build upon.  This is something that I am very passionate about have worked very hard at throughout my life.  And whether its in your personal relationships or professional relationships, the greatest way to add values to others is through good listening skills.  Being a good listener very simply and bluntly means there are times when you just need to shut up and listen.  I heard an old saying a long time again that has stuck with me through the years.  “The person who listens the most wins!”  Conversely, the person who talks the most loses.

 

CUSTOMER LISTENING SKILLS

Listening to customers means making sure you establish consistent eye contact.  While we have a tendency to look down or off in different directions when customers are speaking, this is a turn off to them.  It’s important to train your eyes to remain locked with theirs as they communicate their needs and express their concerns and issues.  It’s always great to briefly repeat back and summarize what they have shared with you.  Show them that you understand whatever it is or was that frustrates them, and then understand precisely what they expect in terms of desired outcomes.

THE BIBLE AND LISTENING

I’m not a Bible scholar or anything, but I do read it and practice it as best as I can.  And the Bible is filled with many verses about the importance of being a good listener.  One of those verses is Philippians 2:4 which says this.  “Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  Listening to customers effectively and successfully means you are literally looking our for their interests, not just yours.  Remember that we are in the service business which means we are here to “serve” our customers.  Always strive to listen more, speak less, ask questions and avoid assumptions.  As you continue to build and grow your pressure washing business, let us know if you need website services.

by Doug Rucker Doug Rucker

POWER WASHER HOSE REEL

POWER WASHER HOSE REEL

At the Doug Rucker Store, POWER WASHER HOSE REEL sales have been skyrocketing lately.  This is because we have several to choose from and always provide product details through videos.  The brands we carry include Hannay, Kings, Valley Industries, Steel Eagle, General Pump and Titan.  There are slight variations among them with things like the swivel, the manifold, and a few other minor elements.  But for the most part, they are all very similar.

SWIVEL AND MANIFOLD

The swivel is that part that hooks up to your whip hose and leads to your pressure washer or dedicated pump.  The water or mix flows into the reel through this swivel hose connection.  Usually, the swivel is always stainless steel.  Sometimes you’ll see a grease fitting on the swivel.  After the swivel, the fluid then flows into the manifold.  The manifold is on the inside of the reel.  Then it flows into the hose connected to the reel.  On the Hannay reel in this video, the manifold is not stainless steel.  When using 30%-50% mixes, it is better to have a stainless steel manifold because it increases longevity.  However, with such high concentrations of bleach, the manifold will always fail regardless of its composition.  Leaks will begin to appear from inside the hub of the reel.

CONVERT REEL TO STORAGE

A great use for reels once they fail is to simply store extra or spare hose on them.  To do so, make sure you order hex bushings from the Doug Rucker Store website.  You install this reducing bushing with thread lock and lock sealer.  At approximately 6:30 in the video, I demonstrate a couple of different ways to set up the reel for storage purposes.  I also explain why I use quick connect fittings and how they make things much easier on the job.  Another hose reel I talk about at 15:20 is the hard core or Valley Industries hose reel.  This reel is great for soft washing with high mix concentrations because there is not manifold inside the reel.

by Doug Rucker Doug Rucker

Power Wash Business QnA

Power Wash Business QnA

This is the SECOND Power Wash Business QnA.  We are always grateful for our Pressure Washing School students as well as our loyal YouTube channel viewers.  As they submit their questions, we know many others in the power wash business are asking the same questions.  So keep those questions coming!  We hope this Power Wash Business QnA post and video helps everyone in the business, but especially those who are just starting out.

HOT WATER POWER WASH QnA

The first question relates to the importance and priority of having a hot water pressure washer to remove oil and grease stains from parking areas.  My answer to him is that for residential oil and grease driveway stains, I rarely use heat.  Instead, we use our Dougout Degreaser which does wonders when using just cold water.  But in this video at the 2:24 time stamp, I also lay out the importance of setting customer expectations.  I explain to the customer that there will still be a “shadow stain” left over, and this will be the case regardless of whether or not you are using hot water.  Setting customer expectations is critical for every job, not just for grease and oil stains.  A main mantra of mine when it comes to customer relations is “UNDER PROMISE and OVER DELIVER!”  In addition, it’s important to remember that stain removal is a separate upsell service from general cleaning.  But this is a great POWER WASH Business QnA subject and I appreciate our student who is asking this important question.  At the end of this question, I provide the precise language we use in our estimates which clearly set customer expectations.

ROOF CLEANING QnA

The second question is this POWER WASH BUSINES QnA video covers roof cleaning services.  A YouTube channel viewer states his machine specifications.  Then he wants to know if he could could downstream with an x jet using a certain gun.  This will most likely not be effective as you need a higher mix than what this combination will deliver.  You’ll need a 30%-50% mix and an x jet can get close to that.  But if the roof is more than lightly stained, you will need a stronger mix.  Here is another great post you might that might interest you on Five Roof Cleaning Tips.