Provide the Whole Picture for Your Customers

RCS Influencer Mandy McIntyre says offering complementary inspections is an excellent way to build customer trust.  

Editor’s note: RCS podcast producer, Megan Ellsworth sits down with Mandy McIntyre to discuss the importance of roofing inspections. You can read their conversation below or listen to the podcast. 

Megan Ellsworth: Hi, everybody. This is Megan Ellsworth here at RoofersCoffeeShop, back again for an influencer response for September. And September's topic is, what is your strategy for including inspections in your roofing contracts? And here today, I'm with Mandy McIntyre. Hey, Mandy. 

Mandy McIntyre: Hey, Megan. 

Megan Ellsworth: So what is your guys' strategy for including inspections in your roofing contracts over there? 

Mandy McIntyre: So what we do here for our full flat roof replacement is, we include in the contract, the first three years of inspection, and minor maintenance are free of charge. So we get them used to having us come once a year to walk the roof, check if there's any legitimate warranty issues or maybe some non-warranty issues, maybe another trade was up there, HPAC or something, and they caused some damage, or if there's storm damage, or debris or anything like that. And then after starting on year four, we present them with the proposal to get on a maintenance agreement. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, nice. 

Mandy McIntyre: Yeah, it works well for everybody because they're getting three years of free maintenance and then they get used to that proactive mentality, not realizing that you have to maintain your roof in order to keep, A, the warranty intact, because a lot of the manufacturer warranties, you have to have a yearly maintenance program to keep that warranty valid. And then just to keep them thinking about the roof, because a lot of times, no one thinks about it until it leaks, so oftentimes- 

Megan Ellsworth: Precisely, that's so true. 

Mandy McIntyre: Yeah, until it leaks, no one's really thinking about it, so this way, it's always in their mind. And yeah, it's worked out really well for us. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's great. And then do you guys do any pre-inspections for people? 

Mandy McIntyre: So regarding before a contract is executed? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Mandy McIntyre: Yeah, yeah. So when we meet with the property manager or building owner, we'll walk the roof and the estimate will have the current condition. And sometimes we think, hey, you might get a few more years out of this, and here's your option to do some repair and then some maintenance, and then here's an option for a full roof replacement. Communication is key, so if you know they're working with a limited budget or they have to budget years in advance, which a lot of HOAs and different companies, they don't have all the money upfront, but they'll budget yearly for it, so this way, it gets them... They get their report of the condition of the roof. We can maintain it to a certain degree until they're able to afford a full roof replacement, so that's another option that we offer. 

Megan Ellsworth: I see. That's fabulous. It sounds to me that you guys are really looking at the whole picture for the homeowner, the building owner, and you guys, trying to do the best for everybody, and that's great. 

Mandy McIntyre: Yeah. I mean, because ultimately, you don't want to hear from a customer five years down the line that something's failing and we never went out to go look at it, so it's just as much a... It's a joint responsibility for us as the contractor and whoever the property owner is to be proactive in their roofing needs. 

Megan Ellsworth: Fabulous, fabulous. 

Mandy McIntyre: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Wonderful world of roofing. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, exactly. Any last thoughts on inspections and contracts? 

Mandy McIntyre: It just goes into communication and customer service because if you reach out to them once a year and are like, "Hey, I know it's been a year, but it's that time again and we're going to come do your free maintenance," I mean, that goes a long way with customer service. And if they own other properties or word of mouth, usually, pretty much, I'd say a good percentage every year when we do any type of maintenance, they're always like, "Oh yeah, you know what? I also have another property I want you to look at." So it's another touch, so to speak, in the sales aspect. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Yes, that is so right, with having repeat customers or bringing people back to your business. That's great. Well, thank you so much, Mandy, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the next month's topic. 

Mandy McIntyre: Yes, thank you, Megan. It's a pleasure, as always. 

Megan Ellsworth: Thanks, and I'll see you next time. 

See Mandy's full bio here.