[S.C.S]

Now i dont no if any of you lot get this put it really makes me mad but laugh at the same time.
I clean windows on this local council estate by me when yesterday i cleaned 1 of the customers windows she only pays £2.00. Now before you all go mad at £2.00 its only 2 pains of glass.
Well i had to call back to a few of the houses on the estate tonight and this certain house was the second i called at i saw her sitting there watching tv knocked the doors once no reply so i tryed again still no reply in the end i knocked 5 times no reply so i said to me mate ill go to the others then call back on the way up the street about 10 mins later called back certains was shut knocked twice no reply.

Really what you lot think what a joke i think all for £2.00 but i find it funny as well mad really.
I wont be doing that one again it aint worth the greif ill pay some local kid £2.00 to go and well you no them things you put with bacon, But then again Bacon and egg is a nice sandwich might not even waste a egg. lol.

[H h20]

Yep been there done that,dumped em all,total wasters,i had loads of domestic and hated doing them and the collecting was even worse ,in them days i was charging between £1.20 and £2.00 (along time a go),i only do a select few domestic now who pay on time with no probs,i do mostly commercial now,i still have to wate for my money but well worth the wate,Gaz.

[S.C.S]

To be honest im thinking of dropping the complte street or selling on to some other mug lol they all pay late and there only £5.00 per house ok im only there 4 hours and its earns £120.00 but when i put into the fact the amount of time i have to go back it all adds up plus when they pay all they do is moan when did you come i cant remmeber seeing a note you no all the crap they come out with thats what does my head.
When ive got customers 3 mile away who pay anything from £15 to £40 per house and they dont say a word to me pay up st8 away and big tips and xmas and also cups of tea cant be bad all i get down there is bad payers have to call back loads of times and dog muck on me shoes when i go around the back cause they aint cleaned it up for weeks.
And we all no what thats like standing in dog muck then up the ladder you go lol ummmmmm nice NOT...

[dai]

It really gets to me too. I know they'r in cause I saw them go in the door. It's the time you waste standing there waiting for an answer.
Dump them, move on. DAI

[petetaylor56]

 :)i had a lady once (no jokes) nocked for the money she said i cant pay you at moment dishing up tea can you call back in an hour dumped

[windows_chepstow]

I keep a data-base of all my customers - including their telephone numbers - on computer.  I also use this information to update who owes me what.

Prior to collecting I do a data-search of debtors and print it off (probably sounds more complicated than it is) but the end result is I have the phone numbers of everyone who owes me money when I go collecting.

Anyway, a year or so ago, I had a similar scenario where a customer I was sure was in wasn't answering.  So I walked round the corner and phoned her from my mobile.

She answered, 'Hello'.

I spoke, 'Hello it's your window cleaner.  I've just been knocking, but you won't answer the door'.

She was embarrassed and explained that she always gets bothered by people trying to sell her stuff on her door around that time.

Ever since, she's been a model customer.  Pays in advance sometimes too.

[rosskesava]

I got so fed up once about someone who owed us £6 for a 2 up 2 down house. At the time every penny mattered and any job was at least 'work'. 

Either they were out or they had no ready cash on them but still expected their windows cleaned a month later.

It became almost an issue that they owed me MONEY and I was going to get it. I'd plan revenge and think about my £6 that I was owed.

I never did get the money.

Now, if anyone argues I tell them to go do what people like them must be good at by now and that's it.

Cheers

[thewindowcleaner1]

This time of the year can be a pain collecting
first of all they don't answer ( they blame the trick or treaters)
then they arnt in (at firework displays)
my secret weapon is one of my girls she's like a rock willer if she knows they are in she hammer the door, window, she's even been known to get the line prop from the garden and tap all the upstairs windows,and when they do answer they geyt a piece of her mind,
they only do it once they either answer or cancell...

[kingfisher]

I never collect money from my customers any more it just felt like doing another job I leave them a bill and they post me a cheque. Iv just put a link on my website for paypal so my customers can pay by credit card if they want no one has used it yet though.

Kev

[AuRavelling79]

Go back four months. Big house but few windows remote controlled gates. £15. Dogs muck everywhere. Always kept chatting by owner.

Call one - press button on gate - no reply.

Call two - ditto

Call three - See Mr Owner driving in -
     Me        "Hi come to do the windows!"
     Mr O.    "Oh do you mind we've just arrived back off holiday can you come back?"
     Me        "OK, It'll have to be tomorrow now."
     Mr O.    "Can you make it late morning?"
     Me        "I've got a commercial job until 10.45 and then I've got to be at another by
                   noon, so if I can be here at exactly 11.00 am I can fit it in."
     Mr O.    "OK I'll tell the missus."
    
Next day - I arrive at exactly 11.00 - the pips are going on radio bore (4) as I pull up.

     Me        (Pressing button on intercom) "Hi I've come to do the windows"
     Missus. O    "Oh, we only got back off holiday yesterday and me and the kids are in our dressing gowns, call back this afternoon."

     Me         Can't fit that in sorry. Bye!
    
Haven't been back for four months and don't intend to!

  

[clairekuccuk39]

hi everyone

this is my first post but my wife has posted before.  just i want to say that l never money collect. what lm doining is; ring my costemer night before tell them put money back garden or in the shed and lm not have to go back again.its worked they are all happy, nothting trouble all good.

cheers

ahmet

[AuRavelling79]

Good one ahmet!

[rosskesava]

Hi ahmet

Your first posting. Welcome to the forum.

Most people are happy to do that as I think most customers want to pay. I have a long list of the odd places that money or cheques get left and some of them are odd. One lady leaves the money in a small coin bag in a tree in her neighbours garden. Another always tapes it in a freezer bag to her bathroom window on the second floor.

It's good you are organised. To start with  - I wasn't and boy oh boy, did I have problems with payment and frequently over relivately small sums of money.

I never thought to phone before untill later on.

Cheers

[S.C.S]

To ve fair that sounds like a good idea ringing them and telling them im due the next day but to be honest most of my customers are good yes i myself do look at collecting as another job but i dont mind its good 2 see the cash coming in i tend to go every night i used to leave it all till a sunday night cause i no most folk are in on sundays but now if i clean on a monday i collect whats oweing from that day and if anbody aint it i give them one more try then ill leave it until the next 3 weeks plus it dont all mount up by doing it that way.
I work the money out on average i try to do £150 a day and allow £50.00 of that to be oweing.
But yes this time of the year is anightmare no1 wants to answer the door trick or treat or just the fact its 2 dark and they aint got a clue who it is.

[Chris Cottrell]

The only trouble with ringing them the night before is that it gives some of then the chance to say"oh not this time thanks I'm.............." so it's probably better you do the work and let them owe you for day or so, like others have said if they don't pay drop them!

 

[S.C.S]

Yeah thats true ive had before when ive had to ring people infact it happened yesterday i clean a local pub but ihave to ring them b4 so that they can open the gate and about 2 times now they have said can u leave them till next time.
£25.00 out of my pocket for the day.

[simbo]

Hi allI have done the ringing thing now for 6 months, no collecting most days money always where agreed. Get the odd one who forgets or i have not rang because usually there. The onlything thats held me back ,is being very choosy about the houses i target,  doing terrace all the time etc ,too much agro and more collecting or ringing...........I just try to get as much £10 and above work and just do 10 a day, easy, and have the time to do a great job, slower building up round though.

Right from the start though have been strict with them, even a hint of "not this time" they are off the list as even if it takes a day or two, they soon get replaced so why worry
cheers all simb0

[clairekuccuk39]

If they cancel when i ring i make a note of it and they get a maximum of 2 cancellations.  If they do it again i dont call them again.  They have our phone number and they can call us at a later date but the price goes up.  It does mean that your round grows abit slower but it means you are left with good customers who appreciate being phoned the night before and it builds a relationship with them.  Instead of building a big round quickly i have concentrated on offering extra jobs to my good existing customers such as gutter cleans. pressure washing etc. That means making more money from the good customers i already have.

cheers

ahmet

[simbo]

that's it you get less but better customers, and the relationships you build make you more money in the long run.
The best and the worst thing about this job is the customers, for me anyway.Why end up with a lot of pain in the a** customers. quality takes longer, i now consider some as good friends which is great.
cheers simb0

[windows_chepstow]

When I first started window cleaning and money was tight, I bowed to every 'not this month, mate'.  I wish I hadn't though.

Now, it's on my chits what my terms and conditions are and I haven't had a 'not this month, mate' in ages!

One woman did complain about me cleaning in the pouring-rain this week mind.  She said 'what's the point?'

I explained that the point was that all the bird poo, spiders webs and dirt would be removed from her windows and that she would retain a regular window cleaner (insinuating that I wouldn't be back if she naffed me off). 

I also refused payment after I'd cleaned and said I'd collect on Friday (this evening) only if she was happy with the job.

A couple of hours ago, she coughed up the money and said her windows were looking lovely.

Don't let them mess you about.  If they insist on treating you like a mug; drop them.

A customer is easily replaced; a decent window cleaner isn't.

[AuRavelling79]

I also refused payment after I'd cleaned and said I'd collect on Friday (this evening) only if she was happy with the job.

Good angle that Tosh - I'm impressed - especially if I can adapt it to customers like mine who all send cheques if they're not in when I call.

[windows_chepstow]

I also refused payment after I'd cleaned and said I'd collect on Friday (this evening) only if she was happy with the job.

Good angle that Tosh - I'm impressed - especially if I can adapt it to customers like mine who all send cheques if they're not in when I call.

Thanks Malc,

I can't take the credit for that line though.  It belongs to Roy Harding when he was approached by a customer who wanted a window cleaner but didn't trust WFP, as they had received a shoddy job by their previous WFP window cleaner.

He just gave them an envelope and said 'post the cheque if you're happy with the job'.

Three days later the cheque arrived.

If your confident you'll do a good job versus skeptical customers; it's the best way to go.

There's no losers or loss of face.

[Trevor Knight]

This all brings back fond memories of why i hated collecting lol. 18 months ago I went around every customer 1100 of them and took their telephone numbers, asked them if the wanted to pay by cheque/DDM/Standing Order/ PAYPAL and that we would not be pestering them on thier doorstep to collect anymore. Now, the first month was a little hit and miss but as each month went by the task became easier, this is how I do my winter collecting, I make a coffee, sit in my nice warm office, open my database of debt's and spend an hour chasing my customers or leaving messages, sometimes I may have a snack if I am hungry. I can telephone more customers in 1 hour than you can visit in 2!! No waiting on a doorstep getting the hump cos they don't come to the door, no freezing my nuts off and I acheive a collecting ratio of approx 98%  Food for though I hear Millets are selling some thick coats for this winter hahahaha

[Easyclean Windows]

This all brings back fond memories of why i hated collecting lol. 18 months ago I went around every customer 1100 of them and took their telephone numbers, asked them if the wanted to pay by cheque/DDM/Standing Order/ PAYPAL and that we would not be pestering them on thier doorstep to collect anymore. Now, the first month was a little hit and miss but as each month went by the task became easier, this is how I do my winter collecting, I make a coffee, sit in my nice warm office, open my database of debt's and spend an hour chasing my customers or leaving messages, sometimes I may have a snack if I am hungry. I can telephone more customers in 1 hour than you can visit in 2!! No waiting on a doorstep getting the hump cos they don't come to the door, no freezing my nuts off and I acheive a collecting ratio of approx 98%  Food for though Huh I hear Millets are selling some thick coats for this winter hahahaha

I do hope whith all these phone numbers and paypal etc you are complying with the data protection act?

[Chris Cottrell]

I Often wondered how much info can you keep on your customers

[Sarah Sarill]

Dont know about the oters but know you cannot keep Credit Card details on a computer even with the customers permission.

Would check the rest out if you are thinking of going down that route.  Would make life so much easier though.

Sarah

[Trevor Knight]

Phone numbers yes but credit card details?? I don't have them, the customer pays direct over the internet and S/O and DDM's are also prcessed by the bank so where and why would I have their details? As for Data protection, well the phone numbers are stored for our use only, we do not sell them on and we ask the customer and if they do not wish to give us their number we spell it out that should they fall behind with their payments we will discontinue their service. So far had to do that to 2 customers, can live with that.

[AuRavelling79]

Data Protection:- the key is this:-

If they have given you the information personally (eg phone numbers) then you can certainly keep it and use it for the reason you gave them.

You cannot, without their expressed permission pass it on to any other person outside your firm or use it for other purposes aside from that which was explained at the time. You have a duty of care to maintain confidentiality too.

So if you say to your customer:-

"May I have your phone number so that I can contact you in relation to our window cleaning arrangements?" then you may use it for that and that alone.

That means anything to do with your window cleaning service - things such as reminding them about money outstanding, telling them you'll be around so can they leave their gate open, holiday arrangements, new methods of working etc.

[windows_chepstow]

This all brings back fond memories of why i hated collecting lol. 18 months ago I went around every customer 1100 of them and took their telephone numbers, asked them if the wanted to pay by cheque/DDM/Standing Order/ PAYPAL and that we would not be pestering them on thier doorstep to collect anymore. Now, the first month was a little hit and miss but as each month went by the task became easier, this is how I do my winter collecting, I make a coffee, sit in my nice warm office, open my database of debt's and spend an hour chasing my customers or leaving messages, sometimes I may have a snack if I am hungry. I can telephone more customers in 1 hour than you can visit in 2!! No waiting on a doorstep getting the hump cos they don't come to the door, no freezing my nuts off and I acheive a collecting ratio of approx 98%  Food for though I hear Millets are selling some thick coats for this winter hahahaha

Trevor, that is food for thought. 

When you phone, how do you inform your customers you want them to pay?  Obviously you do it in a tactfull but firm manner; I suspect.

But what do you say to them?