There are a lot of people and services that you use everyday that are dependent on trusting the expert. How do you gain that trust? Trust is built on getting to know the person before the business. Your friends will refer people they TRUST and know as a person. Someone that has made a positive influence in their life.
Do your homework before doing business with a realtor, attorney, dentist, doctor, and an insurance professional. Can you get a personal reference from your friends? Social media is a great place to start. Post a question on your personal Facebook page asking for referrals. Most businesses have a Facebook presence and there is a section for Reviews. You may know someone that posted one of these reviews. The more reviews on their page, the more impact they are making in the community.
There are other customer review sites worth checking into also. Google Reviews, Angie’s List, Yahoo, and Bing all have customer reviews both good and bad. The service provider should review these sites continually and offer a feedback response if they are genuinely in tune with customer satisfaction.
Any reputable service provider will have a webpage. Do you really want to do business with someone that doesn’t invest money in their own business to have an updated webpage?
Is the business local and do they belong to the Chamber of Commerce in your area? The Chambers can give you a list of recommended service providers in your area. If the member is highly thought of by their organization, they will freely share this with you. Many chamber members routinely use the same people for their own in home cleaning, air conditioning, and plumbing needs. You can generally get a lot of information through using the Chambers.
Getting to know YOU is the most important part of providing any service that affects your family.
Trust is so very important.