This week Maria met with a prospective client who had already contracted services with another professional organizer. His experience with them was not a good one, but it highlights a major difference between Conquer the Clutter and some of our competitors.
This competitor came in for a free consultation and quoted a price to clear and organize his space. He agreed, paid and let them in to do the work. They cleared his space and rearranged things neatly and left. This includes discarding some items of sentimental value to the client without his knowledge and consent. Afterwards, the client wanted to discuss some aspects of the clean up and resolve a disagreement about exactly which areas were supposed to have been cleared. Unfortunately, the competitor didn’t return his calls. He had to contact the Better Business Bureau before the competitor called him back. They will be returning to finish the job to his satisfaction. Needless to say, we will not be getting involved at this time.
It’s very easy to clear, clean and organize a space when the client isn’t there. Unfortunately, this means that you need to make decisions without the client’s input and agreement. It also means that you’ve removed the symptoms without attempting to fix the problem. We don’t do that.
When Conquer the Clutter comes to you for an initial assessment we spend as much time as necessary touring the problem areas and discussing both the possible causes of the problems and how they are affecting you. We discuss potential solutions including how to go about clearing the area, how to organize your stuff and how to make more efficient use of your space. We’re not going to take all day to do this and we’re not going to pressure you about all the detailed decisions that you will need to make along the way, we’re just going over a general plan. Then we summarize our discussion and give it to you. Yes, we charge for an initial assessment, but sometimes all you need is an outline.
If you contract with Conquer the Clutter to assist you in the clearing and organizing then we come in on an hourly basis and work with you to determine what you need to keep and what to do with the rest. We teach you strategies for making these decisions yourself so you may not need further assistance. If you do want additional assistance then we offer a Continuing Care plan where we can come back periodically to help you maintain your situation, or if you just have questions then we will answer your phone calls and emails for free.
We certainly do work on our own, like when the client has moved or passed on, but if the client is still using the space then we want to work with them. In more intense situations we will even work in collaboration with therapists. Our goal is to help our clients to restore an order to their lives that they can maintain. A very stark difference.
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