Joining Portsmouth Square Deal
What will it cost?
£75 for a years membership
Why Portsmouth Square Deal?
Portsmouth Square Deal is not simply an advertising tool. It is a means of establishing your reputation through word of mouth - through Portsmouth Square Deal continual marketing on this web site and in printed guides.
Portsmouth Square Deal is a partnership between the trades and their customers. Portsmouth Square Deal bring together the public, who are looking for tradesmen they can trust, with trades and service providers who uphold and operate to the Portsmouth Square Deal standard. Customers supply feedback cards about the tradesmen to Portsmouth Square Deal - proving their credibility to other potential customers.
Why should I join?
If most of your work comes from recommendations then you are exactly the type of business we are looking for. We want people who are proud of their reputation and who know it works for them as the best form of advertising. If you were not getting work by recommendation, we would be asking why.
Portsmouth Square Deal membership means word of mouth - Recommendations are not just passed among friends. They are shared with the general public, time after time after time. You will build up a record of customer opinions that will cover all areas of your work, in all of your locations, and stretch back for as long as you have been a member. So you will be as good as all of your jobs, not just your last one.
What's more, you don't have to maintain files of references or example sites. Your Portsmouth Square Deal membership and customer feedback cards will do this for you, with the credibility and trust of the Square Deal brand.
I'm fully booked up for months - why should I join?
You have obviously built up a successful business by valuing the customer, doing good work, and marketing yourself well. The majority of our members join primarily for the credibility, and we can maximise this for your continued success. We can help you stay ahead of your competitors by providing another reason for customers to choose you first. Through Portsmouth Square Deal you can take more of the jobs that are most profitable or enjoyable, and we can help you get them more efficiently and effectively - it is likely that your advertising spend will be cut as you focus on word of mouth recommendation.
I'm just starting out - is Portsmouth Square Deal right for me?
Square Deal is suitable for start up businesses as you don't require a trading history for any period of time, only that you embrace the ideals of fair trading, comply with the law and agree for to monitor the feedback of your work. Portsmouth Square Deal will help give you the kick-start you are looking for. We can advise you on how best to utilise your membership, give you marketing options, and help you build your brand by publishing your customers' feedback.
What area does Portsmouth Square Deal Cover
If you found Portsmouth Square Deal on the Internet, then so can your customers, Portsmouth Square Deal is for who conduct significant trade in Portsmouth
How does it work?
Does the vetting process mean a lot of hassle for me?
Our vetting process has to be comprehensive to ensure that we only allow businesses who cover quality customer care to become members. We have to uphold the publics trust in us. However.
All applicants are pre-screened, vetted and monitored -. This alone deters a lot of trades who know that they have a substandard service. We ensure that the trades and services know we are a consumer information service and that we have to remain unbiased. Our procedures for handling negative comments and complaints are clearly explained.
How will you monitor me?
We believe the best people to monitor our members are the customers. This means our members supply each one of their customers with a Square Deal "Customer Feedback card".
This card allows the customer the opportunity to give comments and scores out of ten across five different areas of workmanship and service. The customer completes the card and posts it back to Portsmouth Square Deal. This unbiased information stream reveals the truth about how our members perform. Feedback can be submitted on line to www.portsmouthsquaredeal.co.uk
Customers' names and addresses are never published, but we do not accept anonymous feedback. We protect our members against rogue consumers or deliberate anti-competitive behaviour. For this reason we spot-check every tenth Customer Feedback Card, and personally verify any complaint made against a Square Deal member.
How important are the Customer Feedback Cards?
The customer feedback cards are very important for the Square Deal process and provide vital benefits for you:
- If you hand a customer feedback card to your customer before you have even won the job, you will give the customer immense confidence in you. It tells the customer that you are willing to be held accountable for the work you do. The customer knows that they would have someone to complain to should any issues arise, and is immediately less fearful about committing the work to you. The customer feedback cards will help you win business.
- The more cards you give out, the more scores you get. Consumers will choose you from our web site based on the number of recommendations you have, so the more comments you collect, the more enquiries you generate.
- The scores and comments are a real encouragement to you and your team. You can feel proud when customers give you unbiased compliments and praise. You can also use the feedback to see what is important to your customers - often by making just small improvements in the right area you can make a difference to your bottom line.
What happens if a customer complains about me?
If we receive a complaint from a consumer about the work of one our members, we first ensure that they have completed a customer feedback card. Completing a customer feedback card ensures we get their full picture of the situation, along with the customer's contact details and permission to pursue the issue.
When we receive a reporting card with a negative comment, we start our complaints procedure, which is overseen, by one of our experienced customer services staff in consultation with trading Standards.
What about awkward customers who complain with no valid reason?
Fortunately this is quite rare, but it can happen. Our complaints procedure helps to protect you from unreasonable claims or malicious comments. Rest assured we will listen to your side of the story and use our experience and judgement to help you resolve issues with customer.
What makes Portsmouth Square Deal Different from other membership schemes.
Here at Portsmouth Square Deal we understand that for a service like ours to work it has to be focused first on the consumer. We believe that if you give the consumer what they want and do it well this will lead to increased business.
Most trade memberships scheme involve a one-off or perhaps an annual check on their members. We monitor our members continually through Customer Feedback Cards. We give the consumer confidence to employ a tradesman, and that generates work.
