[lee_dewing]

Hi

Clean a few custy's in my mum and dads road.

Got miffed with my mum and dads next door neighbour.

Cleaned his windows for about 18 months, started out £13 all round 3 bed semi.

Then he wanted front one month then front and back following month :

Then custy started saying backs don't get dirty.

I said ok front from now on unless your in and want back done.

Did his windows last week and he mentioned to my dad i cleaned his windows twice in one month :

It had been 7 weeks since his last clean (i was late usually take 4.5 - 5weeks)

Left a very polite note stateing the last three cleans dates; i also said that i was only doing all round and not front only jobs; and it would be £13 if he still wanted me.

Bumped into parents neighbour saturday and he said he didn't agree with my last date and said he was sure i'd been twice in the same month.

I just said check with his neighbours they always say i'm late.

Basically i'm not doing his windows now as he does not want allround and would prefer bi-monthly.

Can't help but feel insulted as the suggestion was i've had him over; think you get on well with people and then it goes pear shaped.

I suppose i'm just too sensitive for this job.
Seems the politer i am the more a lot of people take the p1ss.

Do get fed up with those who see kindness as weakness

Feel a bit mugged off as had to bite my lip as parents neighbour and don't want to make waves; as said he emphasized the fact a couple of times he didn't agree and i'd been twice in same month

[Pope vader]

dont dump as will cause probs,  just do it every 4 months and if he says any thing to jsut say that is the rota,  u wanted every other visit and now i am that busy every thing is on a 8 weeks cycle

[G Griffin]

I'd egg his windows.
But also egg your parents, too, so it doesn't look too suspicious.
Crafty, that  .

[Pope vader]

then charge them £35 to get the eggs off

[lee_dewing]

maybe i should cut all ties with my parents for not warning me their neighbour was a n0b

Ps. their neighbour is a black cab driver (should have known he'd be trouble)

[H S and Son]

I'd egg his windows.
But also egg your parents, too, so it doesn't look too suspicious.
Crafty, that  .

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I'd dump it mate, waste of time people like that & not worth the hassle for that amount!

[lee_dewing]

He's gone; told him all round every month £13.

New that would jog him on   (he's mean and a messer)

[H S and Son]

I dumped our neighbours as they were fussy about frequency. People can take liberties, especially if they think they can get away with it, I felt that was the case with my neighbours.

[dazmond]

i had a guy who refused to believe i cleaned his back windows and basically said in a manner id ripped him off.he was right down the bottom of his garden cutting his hedges and even let on when i was cleaning!his wjfe rang up and said she was not happy!went round and he blantly said he didnt think id cleaned them!!

i was pretty peed off at him at the time.dumped him straight away.some people are just wrong in the head.get rid mate and dont worry about upsetting the applecart!tell him you feel sorry for him getting alzhemiers at his age!!

i always leave a note if customers are not in when i clean with the date on.i very rarely have problems just the occasional prick!

also i give them a statement of account if they refute the cleans

[Tom White]

I had a 'can you give me a miss this time' customer on Friday.  I have never messed about with this sort; I explain my terms and conditions very carefully when I take each new customer on.

I informed the guy that I can't run a business like that, and that if I didn't clean them, I'd take him off my books.  He said 'fine', so we left and started working on his two neighbours; and five minutes later he came out and asked Wor Lass if we'd clean them.  

He went onto explain that his wife has had a fall, broken her pelvis and was only just out of hospital and sleeping at the time we called; he didn't want us to disturb her, but she had been awake, heard our conversation and wanted her windows cleaned.

 

[CLEANCARE WC]

I had a 'can you give me a miss this time' customer on Friday.  I have never messed about with this sort; I explain my terms and conditions very carefully when I take each new customer on.

I informed the guy that I can't run a business like that, and that if I didn't clean them, I'd take him off my books.  He said 'fine', so we left and started working on his two neighbours; and five minutes later he came out and asked Wor Lass if we'd clean them.  

He went onto explain that his wife has had a fall, broken her pelvis and was only just out of hospital and sleeping at the time we called; he didn't want us to disturb her, but she had been awake, heard our conversation and wanted her windows cleaned.

 

you heartless git 

[G Griffin]

maybe i should cut all ties with my parents for not warning me their neighbour was a n0b

Ps. their neighbour is a black cab driver (should have known he'd be trouble)

Quite good  .

If he's a black cab driver, tell him to stick a rear view mirror on his lounge window and he can talk to you whilst your doing the back windows. He'll have them done, then..........no doubt, telling you who he had in the back of his cab last night.
"Go on, guess......off the telly...."

[dave f]

kill his cat nail it to his back door

[Steve CM]

I had a 'can you give me a miss this time' customer on Friday.  I have never messed about with this sort; I explain my terms and conditions very carefully when I take each new customer on.

I informed the guy that I can't run a business like that, and that if I didn't clean them, I'd take him off my books.  He said 'fine', so we left and started working on his two neighbours; and five minutes later he came out and asked Wor Lass if we'd clean them.  

He went onto explain that his wife has had a fall, broken her pelvis and was only just out of hospital and sleeping at the time we called; he didn't want us to disturb her, but she had been awake, heard our conversation and wanted her windows cleaned.

 

i would of at least asked for a reason before wading in with the terms etc...i bet you felt great when they said what the reason was

[Tom White]

i would of at least asked for a reason before wading in with the terms etc...i bet you felt great when they said what the reason was

Yeh!  Lesson learnt I guess.  But usually it's because they're too tight to pay, or just can't be bothered.

Assumption is the Mother of ... well you know.

[Andy Prittchard]

I'd egg his windows.
But also egg your parents, too, so it doesn't look too suspicious.
Crafty, that  .

You like egging people on, don't you?  I'm not yolking, either.

[WISEOWL]

I'm sorry but £13 seems awfully expensive for a three bed semi.

I am not begrudging you charging that amount, but also can't blame the customer for considering the arrangement.

[H2GoKent]

I wouldn't stand for it, I'd slash his tyres, put weedkiller on his lawn, tread on his flower beds, napalm his garden, cut off his cat's head and sneak in and put it in his bed. Stake him out on the lawn cover his face in jam so the ants crawl all over him.

Then my rage would be satisfied.
Sorry had an aggravating day.

Not really I'd just say every other month all round £15 or forget it

[bobby p]

push a potato up his exhaust- cab wont start and itll take days to fault find too 

[lee_dewing]

Matt  it's not just me then

Daz i do same always leave bill with date on if not in.

Wise owl where are on the map? i'm in essex this is pretty average price, other windy in the road is charging £15 for 3 bed semi.

I don't think this is a lot of money really now days.

In the last few years diesel has gone up 50% plus everyting else is going up uilititie bills etc.

I'm in the process of putting most of my fronts upto £10 this is for 3-4 bed houses so front or front and side, £10 minimum.
If i lose em so be it.
Been too cheap too long. I'l know i'l lose some

[lee_dewing]

push a potato up his exhaust- cab wont start and itll take days to fault find too   

 

Bobby P.

I could wait til november and pop a few mini rockets in the exhaust

Or if they still do sunday sport maybe i could get him some info sent on having tranvestite makeover photo shoot. (so i've heard  )

Unfortunately they have no cat

[james51174]

I'm sorry but £13 seems awfully expensive for a three bed semi.

I am not begrudging you charging that amount, but also can't blame the customer for considering the arrangement.

EH?

£13 is pretty reasonable imo

where are you based in the uk?

[WISEOWL]

I don't want to turn this into a dick measuring competition, but how many threads have been over the last few months quizzing either frequency or prices?

What used to be a straight forward profession of non-contractual trust based on non-corporate prices seems to have evolved into a factional quest for the ultimate hourly rate. I blame this on two factors - the old man with his wooden ladder choosing customers based on the quality of their tea not pushing the profession, and the aspirational businessman throwing money at what is still boring, unskilled labour.

At some point over the last ten years window cleaners seem to have gained an inferiority complex, matched only by the economic boom and the advent of WFP, that suggests a certain level of income is beneath us despite window cleaning being, in my opinion, low down on the tradesmans hierachical structure. To simply charge people as much as what they can get away with is a trade built on sandy ground.

Inflation needs to be taken into account obviously, as does the desire to aspire beyond the perceptions of what a window cleaner is. I just think the industry has gone too far, too fast without actually slipping the bonds of the afore mentioned public perception and without doing anything different than what window cleaners did with chamois leathers fifty years ago.

Window cleaning will get so expensive or frivilous for customers people will choose a different method of having their windows cleaned and choose large, cheap national companies who will plummet the prices and destroy the industry as it stands. It was a high percentage of customers that based their choice of window cleaner on trust and faith rather than money but with the price of having windows cleaned matching many of the customers direct debits this will swing in the other direction.

For the record, and please don't be lazy with this, I am based in South Yorkshire and I clean using WFP. My brother, who is also a window cleaner, had three pounds thrown on the floor in spite after a twenty minute confrontation with a customer who insisted he had been trying to con her - all this at night after a hard day working.

The trade is still simple and delicate, with unorthodox practices unseen in other professions. We need all the solidarity we can get.

[WISEOWL]

I'm sorry but £13 seems awfully expensive for a three bed semi.

I am not begrudging you charging that amount, but also can't blame the customer for considering the arrangement.

The custy has paid that much for 18 months, so it isnt the issue, is it?  Just because you undercharge doesnt mean everyone should.

It's this kind of self-congratulatary and insensitive accusation I was hoping to avoid.

My initial post made it clear there was no resentment on the price agreed but highlighted lack of surprise that customer, reknowed for never telling us what they really think, brought up the subject.

I wrote my long response before I saw that comment so I hope I answer a couple of questions without going over what I have already put.

[Steve CM]

a lot of people WILL pay for what they think is a better service. If you want to undersell yourself then thats down to you.

[bobplum]

understandable you have allowed emotion to get in the way of business.
i now take a firm stand on customers who start changing things around,such as your custy,i do 4 weekly and nothing else,once they gain control they start to mess you about,they tell you times to call for the money,they want to pay by bacs,about 4 weeks after the clean and then ask why you are cleaning as they have just paid you so on and so on.have a game plan and stick to it and move on and replace

bob

[Catherine10]

Good call Bob

[Catherine10]

Thank you Bob also for trhe fantastic pics

[james51174]

At some point over the last ten years window cleaners seem to have gained an inferiority complex, matched only by the economic boom and the advent of WFP,

not sure i agree....we do 75% traditional work..25%wfp

we charge less for wfp as its so much faster

£13= isnt alot of money for a 3 bed semi in the south of england

its about average tbh

[mac74]

we charge less for wfp as its so much faster

  im not having a go james, but thats the cream for investing a lot of money going into wfp - if all window cleaners took that view, it would drive the prices down and ONLY the customers would benefit! we would all end up doing say a £12-14 , 3 bed semi for £6!! I could prob see this happening in the next 10 years or so (hope im wrong), forget the poor guys who still work on ladders, they wouldnt able to compete. Keep prices the same if u switch from trad to wfp and stick to it, only put the bum jobs up with bad access for hoses etc   

[EandM]

I'm sorry but £13 seems awfully expensive for a three bed semi.

I am not begrudging you charging that amount, but also can't blame the customer for considering the arrangement.

That is is dreadful! We'd charge at least £15.

[lee_dewing]

understandable you have allowed emotion to get in the way of business.

How true the more you bend over, the greater the risk of breaking your back for someone.

[james51174]

we charge less for wfp as its so much faster

  im not having a go james, but thats the cream for investing a lot of money going into wfp - if all window cleaners took that view, it would drive the prices down and ONLY the customers would benefit! we would all end up doing say a £12-14 , 3 bed semi for £6!! I could prob see this happening in the next 10 years or so (hope im wrong), forget the poor guys who still work on ladders, they wouldnt able to compete. Keep prices the same if u switch from trad to wfp and stick to it, only put the bum jobs up with bad access for hoses etc   

i can see what your saying, but its slightly different for us...we dont do alot of 2 bed semi's etc...in fact its such a small percentage of our work, that its almost insignificant

most of our work is rural areas...big houses tbh....we give the customer 2 prices (IF we think the jobs suits wpf) a traditional price, and a wfp price...the later always being lower.....the customer gets a choice...and they like that...they go for the bargain

but it works like this in my mind.......

if i charge £15= for a house traditonal...but £10= wfp

i know i can do 2 wfp houses to every 1 trad...therefore im actaully earning more money for my time, whilst charging less