Callback (Return Visit)
A callback is a second visit to a finished job, usually because something the client reported doesn’t seem right. Whether it’s free or chargeable depends on whose fault it turns out to be.
What it means
Not every callback means something went wrong with your work. A client might be reporting wear, misuse, or a part someone else touched — the visit still happens, but what it costs depends on what you find once you’re there. Go and look before you decide anything. Booking the visit isn’t the same as admitting fault.
A callback that turns out to be your work costs you the visit and the fix, inside your guarantee. One that turns out not to be your fault is a chargeable visit, or a job for someone else to sort — the supplier, if a part failed, or a fresh quote, if the client wants something changed rather than fixed.
A client calls three weeks after a repaint, saying a patch is peeling. You go back and find it’s from a leak behind the wall, not your paint job. You explain what you found and quote the leak as separate work — the callback itself doesn’t cost the client anything, since the visit answered the question either way.
Treating every callback as an admission that something’s wrong, and rushing to fix it free before you’ve actually looked — the real cause often turns out to be something else, and now you’ve done a free repair you never owed.
See also
Where this shows up
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- guide What to do after the job — the follow-up that wins the next one One fixed routine covers the thank-you, the review ask, and the referral ask below.
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