Customer satisfaction is crucial in the restoration industry. While achieving customer satisfaction is often easier said than done, there are a few things our team at One Claim Solutions recommends you do to increase customer satisfaction and protect yourself from unhappy customers. One of these things is asking your customers to sign a Certificate of Satisfaction. In this blog, we’ll go through: what a Certificate of Satisfaction is, benefits of using it, and best practices around using it.
Certificates of Satisfaction are documents that customers sign that say they are satisfied with their contractor’s work. The document typically contains a prewritten statement saying that the contractor performed everything under the work authorization to the customer’s satisfaction. If the customer agrees with this statement, they can sign the certificate. If the job isn’t completed to their satisfaction, they can bring up any issues that need to be addressed to their contractor.
Certificates of Satisfaction also typically include clauses instructing customers to notify their restoration contractor within a given time period if they find any problems with the work in the future.
Restorers receive many benefits from implementing Certificates of Satisfaction into their standard operating procedures.
Certificates of Satisfaction help facilitate positive contractor-customer relationships. When restoration contractors ask customers to sign a Certificate of Satisfaction, it gives customers the opportunity to raise any concerns with the work and get them resolved.
If contractors are struggling to get either the customer or their insurance carrier to pay for their work, having proof that the job was completed to the customer’s satisfaction can help speed up the process.
Having a signed Certificate of Satisfaction holds contractors and customers accountable to each other and promotes good-faith interactions. Certificates of Satisfaction encourage customers to reach out to contractors directly for help if they find issues with the work. This can help resolve customer frustrations before they escalate to bad reviews, complaints to official boards, or lawsuits.
Certificates of Satisfaction provide protection for restoration contractors during many worst-case scenarios, like a customer lodging a complaint to the state board or filing a lawsuit against the contractor. Having a signed Certificate of Satisfaction acts as proof that the customer was satisfied with the work at one point and that they were encouraged to communicate with the contractor if they became dissatisfied. Having a signed certificate can drastically improve the chances of a favorable outcome for contractors during legal proceedings.
One Claim Solutions cofounder and restoration industry expert Josh Ehmke suggests two best Certificate of Satisfaction practices for restoration contractors:
For restoration contractors who are looking for more insight and coaching on how to best use Certificates of Satisfaction as a part of their restoration business, contact One Claim Solution. Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more about how you can use documentation like Certificates of Satisfaction to protect your business.