I would like some help with the dos and don'ts of a roof cleaning contract. I know each state has different rules but, some guidelines would help. Thanks
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Dan Shay(304) 233-6288 Ohio Valley Roof Cleaning Roof Cleaning Wheeling WV 26003  Weirton West Virginia Roof Cleaning  StClairsville Ohio Cleaning Roof  Steubinville Ohio Roof Cleaning
CYA! Try to cover as many potential issues as possible. I have a section where the homeowner can consent to letting me use before and after photos of their home in advertising such as websites, flyers, etc. You will want to make sure you run it by a lawyer no matter what. Its pretty cheap for a review.
There is also a section stating that THEY are responsible for having functional gutters and if we need to clean them in order to clean the roof it will be an additional charge. Its one of the first things I mention on the phone with a customer but just in case I forget then I know it will be covered and in writing before we start the job.
Good point Matt, never assume anything. I'm sure you have run into more than one homeowner that thought they were going to get a free gutter cleaning out of the deal.
-- Edited by wheelingwdc at 23:08, 2009-03-02
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Dan Shay(304) 233-6288 Ohio Valley Roof Cleaning Roof Cleaning Wheeling WV 26003  Weirton West Virginia Roof Cleaning  StClairsville Ohio Cleaning Roof  Steubinville Ohio Roof Cleaning
Besides selling, contracts are the most important part. What good is being able to sell someone if they can just quit on you when they want. Any one can clean a roof but not everyone can sell them! once you have worked to landing that deal. you have to lock it up tight. in NC theres a 3 business day grace period. After that they are contractually binded. put your states clause in there but don't talk about it when your selling. you never want someone to think they can cancel. after that 3 days if someone cancels on us they are liable for paying for damages. ie. drums we bought for their house or time involved in mixing the day before. no one wants to be in that position of paying you for nothing so they won't cancel. our contracts were done by an attorney and cover everything from cancled credit card transactions to plants and leaks and so on. so make sure your contracts are great. Also use 3 ply carbonless so every one has a copy including the cleaning crew. Hope this helps some of you.
How much did your attorney charge to draw up your contract? I live in Texas, your contract wouldn't be bidding for me and I would need an attorney to draw one up for me, would you be willing to share exactly what your contract covers ( the wording).
my attorney is on a hook up basis cause my sister works for him. But the charge is usually about 2-250 an hour for decent an attorny and it shouldn't take more than 3 hours to draw one up.so your only talking a thousand bucks possibally under for a good contract. i have no problem helping you out with clauses and verbage but cannot just let you take ours and run with it. we are in the process of copyrighting and tradmarking all of our content. ie. sales books contracts slogan etc. intellectual property rights i think its called. we will also be franchising soon and our offering agreement and materials have to be locked down to this company only before we file with the state.
-- Edited by mescalera on Tuesday 17th of March 2009 12:40:42 PM
I can appreciate that, I'm in the beginning stages of starting a business and have gotten a lot of good ideas and suggestions from the members of this forum. I'm an old dog trying to learn some new tricks. I worked for the same company for 28 years and came to work one day and my job was eliminated. I'm learning to put my faith in God and pray that he has directed me to this forum to pursue a new career. I also feel that if I can make a suggestion or offer something to someone I'm going to do it. Thats just who I am. It feels a lot better to give than to receive.
Good luck with your franchising, who knows I may be interested.
No problem, Hey and also i saw were you were viewing our web page. i even now what pages you looked at how long and everything about your internet system. we have a neat tracking service on our site. when your up and running let me know and i 'll show you how get it. very useful when finding your customers and tracking. those counters online are useless. the ones that showed how many people visited.
-- Edited by mescalera on Tuesday 17th of March 2009 01:38:05 PM
Mike, what do your contracts say ver batum? I understand your confidentiality in a document you paid for, but generally speaking, what is a good vocabulary to cover all areas?
Thanks, I'll take you up on that offer. I enjoy looking at everyones web site to see how creative they are. I'm looking at everything for ideas that I can put into my site. Again, there are a lot of helpful people here and I certainly am greatful for everyones help and support.