Who Communicates With the Customer?
We do, from first enquiry to final payment. You speak to the customer on site and at the survey. The calls, updates, follow-ups and payment conversations are ours.
The short answer
We handle the customer so you can stay on the tools.
Mortaro handles communication with the customer from the first enquiry to the final payment: qualifying them, booking the visit, issuing and following up the quotation, organising the start date, keeping them updated while you work and administering the payments. You speak to the customer face to face at the survey and on site, under your own company name.
In practice that means the calls you would normally take in a van at lunchtime, or at nine at night, come to us instead. Here is how that splits.
What we handle
Every stage of customer contact
The first conversation
We speak to the customer when they enquire, understand the job and qualify it before anything reaches you.
Booking the visit
We agree a time with the customer, confirm it and tell them who is coming, so you arrive expected.
The quotation
We issue the quotation built from your price and follow it up, answering the customer's questions about the process as they decide.
Start dates
Once the customer accepts, we organise the start date with them around your schedule.
Updates during the job
While you're working and can't pick up, we keep the customer informed and deal with their questions.
Payments
We collect the deposit and the balance, so you never have the awkward conversation about money on someone's doorstep.
What stays with you
The site, the scope and the work
You are the appointed main contractor, and the customer knows it. You are named in the quotation, and the construction contract is between you and the customer. Coordinating the process doesn't make us the builder. We don't supervise, inspect or sign off your work, and the technical scope is yours to set.
So when the customer asks a technical question on site, you answer it. When they ask about timings, payments or what happens next, you can point them to us. Treating the customer professionally in person is one of the site visit expectations and it counts towards your record.
If a customer tells you something on site that affects the job, such as a change in what they want or a problem with access on the start date, pass it to us as well. We will make sure it is reflected in what happens next.
The full list of what we take on is in what Mortaro handles for contractors.
While you're working
The phone gets answered, even when you can't
Most customer frustration in construction isn't about workmanship. It's about not being able to get hold of anyone. Contractors are up ladders and under floors, and the phone rings out.
We cover that gap. If the customer raises an issue, we pass it to you with the detail you need and follow it through until it's resolved. It works in both directions: if something on your side needs raising with the customer, tell us and we'll handle the conversation.
At the survey itself, the customer will already know your name, when you are due and what the visit is for. You arrive to a prepared conversation rather than a cold one.
We can only keep the customer informed if you keep us informed. Reply to new opportunities the same day, tell us when a quote or a visit needs more time, and let us know about changes on site. See contractor response time standards.
Who answers what
The customer's questions, and who takes them
A simple way to split it: anything about the process comes to us, anything about the work itself goes to you.
We answer
- When will the quotation arrive?
- What does the quotation include?
- When can the work start?
- Is the contractor still coming today?
- How and when do I pay?
- Who do I contact with a problem?
You answer
- What does the job actually need?
- Which materials and method will you use?
- How long will the work take on site?
- What does your warranty cover?
Why we took it on
Communication is where most jobs go wrong
Contractors are rarely short of skill. What they are short of is time to answer the phone, return messages and keep a customer informed while they are working. Customers read silence as a warning sign, even when the work is going perfectly well.
Taking that on is the core of what we do. It keeps your customers calm, it keeps your diary clear, and it means the conversation you have on site can be about the work.
Straight answers
Customer contact questions
Will the customer know who I am?
Yes. You are named in the quotation as the appointed main contractor before the customer commits. See who writes the quotation?
Do I have to chase customers for payment?
No. We collect deposits and balances; see how do payments work? and the contractor network hub.
What if the customer raises a problem with the work?
We pass it to you with the details and follow it through with both sides. Putting defective work right is the contractor's responsibility, and contractors who fail to do so are removed from the network.
For contractors
Tell us about your business
Your trade, the areas you cover and the size of work you take on. A person reads every enquiry, and if it looks like a fit we will send you the full application.