When a job goes wrong
Two situations, and they need opposite instincts.
You broke something. Tell them immediately, before they find it. Photograph it. Discovering it yourself and saying so is a completely different conversation from being told a week later, and the difference is almost entirely about trust rather than about the damage.
"Before you look at it, I need to tell you something. I've caught the trim on the near-side door and there's a mark. It's my fault. Here's what I'd like to do about it."
They are unhappy with the work. Ask what specifically is wrong. Look at it with them. Say what you will do.
Most dissatisfaction is about one specific thing and it is fixable. The argument only starts when the operator defends the whole job instead of looking at the part being complained about.
Offer the redo before the refund. A redo costs you time; a refund costs the whole invoice, and the redo usually leaves the customer better disposed than they were before the problem. Refund when a redo will not fix it, when they do not want you back, or when the relationship has already gone.
And write the policy before you need it, because a decision made once calmly beats eleven made under pressure.
The first ten minutes
Say it first. Whatever it is. The cost of a customer discovering damage themselves is much higher than the damage.
Photograph it, and photograph the surrounding area. If you have before photos, this is where they earn their keep, because they establish what was already there. Before-and-after photos that protect you.
Do not guess at a cause or a cost on the spot. "I'll find out what it takes to put right and come back to you today" is a complete answer and it commits you to a timescale rather than to a number.
Do not blame the customer, the product, or the previous detailer. Even when true. It reads as evasion and it changes the conversation from a fix into a dispute.
Then actually come back when you said. The follow-through matters more than the offer.
Redo or refund
Redo when: the work can be put right, they are willing to have you back, and the problem is quality rather than damage.
Refund, fully or partly, when: a redo will not fix it, they do not want you back, you damaged something you cannot restore, or you have already used your one redo on this job.
A partial refund plus a redo is usually the wrong answer, because it reads as buying your way out of doing it properly. Pick one.
One redo, then a refund. Two attempts at the same job on a customer who is not going to be satisfied costs you a day and ends in the refund anyway.
The written policy
Short. Yours. Written once:
If you are not happy, tell me within 48 hours and I will come back and put it right at no charge. If a return visit will not fix it, I will refund the affected part of the job. If something of yours is damaged while I am working, I will tell you the same day and cover the repair.
That paragraph does four things: it sets a timeframe, it makes the redo the default, it names the refund case, and it commits you on damage. It also converts most complaints into a process rather than a negotiation, which is worth more than the individual outcomes.
Put it on the booking page and on the invoice. A policy nobody has seen is not a policy.
When you think the customer is wrong
Sometimes they are. Ask the question anyway: is this cheaper to fix than to win?
For a $150 job, almost always yes. The time you spend arguing is unbillable, the emotional cost runs for days, and the review is written by someone who felt dismissed.
The exception is a claim about damage you did not cause. That is what the before photos are for, and there the right answer is to show the photo, calmly, once.
"Here's the wheel when I arrived on the 12th, and here it is when I left. Happy to look at anything else."
That usually ends it, and usually amicably, because most of these are honest mistakes. People genuinely do not remember when a mark appeared. When a customer does not pay.
Insurance, or not
Small damage is often cheaper to settle directly than to claim, once the excess and the effect on your premium are counted.
Anything involving a vehicle, an injury, or a large amount is a call to make early, before you promise anything, because what you say in the first conversation can matter.
Know your cover before you need it, particularly whether damage to the property you are working on is covered at all, which is the exclusion that catches this trade. Insurance for a one-van operation.
Afterwards
Write down what happened and why, briefly, on the job. Three of these in a year with the same cause is a process problem rather than three accidents.
Do not ask that customer for a review, obviously, and do not stop asking everyone else.
And do not carry it for a week. Every operator in this trade damages something eventually. What separates the ones people recommend is entirely what happened in the ten minutes afterwards.
Getting reviews without being annoying. · What each plan includes.
What Rigsheet does about it: the job holds the customer, the date, the service, the notes and the before-and-after photos, so the reconstruction that makes these conversations short is a tap rather than an evening. Photos start at the Lite tier ($9/mo) because image storage is a real recurring cost; the job record itself is on every plan.
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About Rigsheet
Rigsheet is a job app from Baker Ventures LLC for one-to-three-person mobile service businesses: mobile auto detailers and residential cleaners first. Scheduling with drive-time gaps, quotes with vehicle and home-size pricing, deposits, "on my way" texts, before and after photos, invoices, and automated review requests. Plans start at $4 a month, with unlimited jobs, customers, quotes and invoices on every tier and no per-user fees.
It exists because the alternatives charge a solo operator team prices. A one-van business is not a small version of a ten-truck business, and pricing built around seats and add-ons makes that mistake expensive. The pricing calculators and operator guides on this site are free and need no account.
Questions and answers
What should you do if you damage a customer's property?
Tell them immediately, before they find it, and photograph it. Discovering it yourself and saying so is a completely different conversation from being told about it a week later, and the difference is almost entirely about trust rather than about the damage.
Should you redo a job or refund it?
Offer the redo first where the work can be put right, because it costs you time rather than the whole invoice and it usually leaves the customer better disposed. Refund when a redo will not fix it, when they do not want you back, or when the relationship is already gone.
How do you handle a customer who is not happy?
Ask what specifically is wrong, look at it with them, and say what you will do. Most dissatisfaction is about one specific thing that is fixable, and the argument only starts when the operator defends the whole job instead of looking at the part.
What if you think the customer is wrong?
Sometimes they are, and it is usually still cheaper to fix it than to win. Reserve the argument for claims about damage you did not cause, which is exactly what the before photos are for.
Do you need a written redo policy?
A short written policy makes the decision once rather than eleven times under pressure. It also gives you something to point at, which is easier than negotiating each case on the spot.
When should you involve insurance?
When the amount is significant relative to the excess and to your appetite for risk. Small damage is often cheaper to settle directly, and anything involving a vehicle, an injury or a large claim is a call to make early rather than after promising something.
Rigsheet. “When a job goes wrong.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 7, 2026. https://rigsheet.bakerventuresstudio.com/guides/when-a-job-goes-wrong/