Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: NWH on January 31, 2020, 03:42:25 pm
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Priced a job up today not an old couple probably in there 50s,she said what method do you use so I told her WFP.
She said the other guy used that it did a good job but he wasn’t here very long for his money,I said it makes no difference to me how long it takes my price is my price.
She said I’m not paying anyone to clean the windows anymore like that it’s too quick lol,she said do you know a traditional WC I said I used to but he’s changed jobs now he’s breeding unicorns,got in the van and off I went still a few idiots out there though.
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If the other guy "did a good job" and she got rid, then you just can't win with someone like that.
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Good job but customer has nothing better to do than put a stopwatch on you and thinks your earning £60 p/h
And Nigel, your right there are idiots out there ....
Darran
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She said the other guy did a good job but he wasn’t there long enough I said but if he did a good job what’s the problem,I’m not paying that kind of money to go round the house like that even Superman couldn’t clean them that quick.
How long will it take you I said I don’t know yet about 45 minutes?,well I’m not prepared to pay that for 45 minutes work,I said I can see this is not going to work for me so I’ll leave it anyway thanks.
Do you know an old fashioned window cleaner I should have said yeah he’s down the lane on his bike adjusting his braces lol,that’s the first one I’ve had like that in a few years though,funny thing is when she saw me up the road doing another house she saw me using the pole and said it does do a good job doesn’t it lol,if that’s not Irish I don’t know what is.
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True story.
I had been running my window cleaning business a few years and was doing ok. Few vans on the road etc. I get a call to go and quote for a large bungalow in a nice area. I go and meet the owner and he is a retired gent with a Bentley on the drive. Quoted him £45 on a six weekly. "Yes great" he says. So one of the lads cleans the house. After the second clean I receive a hand written letter explaining that he had once had a painting and decorating company and he knows how much a non skilled worker should be paid. He then goes on about how £45 to clean his house in under an hour ( more like 25 mins) was a complete rip off and It should be no more than £10.00 The letter had a complete breakdown of my supposed business costs.
Two years later my wife's father passes away and leaves her a sizeable inheritance. So we go house hunting and my wife decides on a lovely house which happens to be two doors away from the guy with the Bentley. This house is twice the size of Mr Bentleys house.
I drive my van home every day and sometimes the lads fill up at mine and the guy sees us about three or four times a week. It makes me chuckle to myself every time I see him. It's priceless!
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Lol nice one that’s the sort of story I like hearing I did say we do have running costs with this way of cleaning it’s not like a bucket and squeegee,that’s not the point it’s still too much money for to little time,I said the price is to clean the windows costed in with getting here and to the next job etc equipment.
She was like a lot of my others down the back and beyond if you didn’t know the area you’d struggle to find it,the thing is I said where’s the other guy now then after stuttering she says oh he’s moved out of the area so all of a sudden alarm bells start ringing out,I’ll be honest they didn’t look like they’d been cleaned for at least 4/5 years.
Old rose bushes grown up all over the windows bamboo almost covering an old fashioned indoor pool,sometimes you’ve got to just laugh and jog on,if I’d had a really bad week it would have got me down it makes you realise how many good decent people we have as customers sometimes,it’s almost like it’s good to have the odd idiot like this every now and again to make you realise this.
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I once cleaned a house (2nd clean) and when I knocked on the door for payment the guy opened the door, blatantly looked at his watch and then looked at me and never said a word! I knew he was implying that I had cleaned them quickly, so I asked him to come round with me and make sure he was happy with the work. We looked at all the windows, all the frames, all the doors. Some of the glass was drying so I showed him 'how it dries clean'. He acknowledged that I had done a good job and I asked him again if he was happy with the first clean and he said yes.
I contacted him for his next clean and he cancelled!
These days, the only comments I get are customers saying 'how hard I work'.
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True story.
I had been running my window cleaning business a few years and was doing ok. Few vans on the road etc. I get a call to go and quote for a large bungalow in a nice area. I go and meet the owner and he is a retired gent with a Bentley on the drive. Quoted him £45 on a six weekly. "Yes great" he says. So one of the lads cleans the house. After the second clean I receive a hand written letter explaining that he had once had a painting and decorating company and he knows how much a non skilled worker should be paid. He then goes on about how £45 to clean his house in under an hour ( more like 25 mins) was a complete rip off and It should be no more than £10.00 The letter had a complete breakdown of my supposed business costs.
Two years later my wife's father passes away and leaves her a sizeable inheritance. So we go house hunting and my wife decides on a lovely house which happens to be two doors away from the guy with the Bentley. This house is twice the size of Mr Bentleys house.
I drive my van home every day and sometimes the lads fill up at mine and the guy sees us about three or four times a week. It makes me chuckle to myself every time I see him. It's priceless!
cheeky arrogant b******d......how on earth does he know your business costs?and to bother writing it into a letter!.....some people need punching in the face..... ;D
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I’ve increased 10 this week all have said no problem thanks for all your hard work,the thing is 1 person like this can get to you it used to me a few years ago even though I’ve more than enough work then and now.
You can be having a great week money wise weather etc and it only used to take the odd person like this to ruin your week.
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I picked up a new customer a couple of weeks ago.
Went round and started cleaning, nobody was in.
5 minutes later a car pulls into the drive, I said hello and she looked at me like I had just killed her cat.
What are you doing? She said abruptly.
I said sorry have I got the wrong house? ???
Anyway she thought I was a traditional Window cleaner and wasn't happy I was using the pole.
Apparently her last cleaner used it and always left spots.
I talked her round, explained it all and said just give it a try, if you don't like the results then just let me know.
Well she's paid me and not said anything so I'm assuming all Is good.
But I get this a lot, people wanting trad there must be lots of window cleaners out there who can't clean properly with the wfp.
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I actually have some customers that laugh when I knock because I’m very swift with the pole lol,comments like it’s better than it used to be for you isn’t it.
Some people are just horrible this woman had 4 cars on the drive all no older than 3 years upwards of 40-50k 1 of em about 80k,quibbling over a few quid in the end I wouldn’t have cleaned em for her for twice the price she just wanted to see me earn my money in her eyes,horrible individual.
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i have to earn at least £13k a year before i make any money!thats £250 a week EVERY week of the year even when im not working,on holiday etc...some customers dont realise this....
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i have to earn at least £13k a year before i make any money!thats £250 a week EVERY week of the year even when im not working,on holiday etc...some customers dont realise this....
13k in running costs?
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i have to earn at least £13k a year before i make any money!thats £250 a week EVERY week of the year even when im not working,on holiday etc...some customers dont realise this....
13k in running costs?
everything...all expenses,income tax and insurance,sometimes it can be slightly more.....expenses are running at around £7k a year(leased van and £1k a year to heat my pure water every day).....im not moaning but its customers that are paying for it! ;D
im already notifying customers of a price rise in april which should bring in an extra £2k a year(at least)......my last one was 3 years ago to pay for my monthly rental.....
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I actually have some customers that laugh when I knock because I’m very swift with the pole lol,comments like it’s better than it used to be for you isn’t it.
Some people are just horrible this woman had 4 cars on the drive all no older than 3 years upwards of 40-50k 1 of em about 80k,quibbling over a few quid in the end I wouldn’t have cleaned em for her for twice the price she just wanted to see me earn my money in her eyes,horrible individual.
This story is growing arms and legs by the minute😁 I’m popping out to the shop for some popcorn, by the time I get back I expect there to be mention of a heli-pad🤩
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Not a massive house this one the pool makes it look bigger than it is I’m not bragging about anything I have quiet a few jobs that take all day inside and out,I was just eluding to the fact that they have money but don’t think they should have to pay a fair amount to get anything done.
I have some popcorn on my lap if you want some there’s a big soft piece close to the top of the box if you fancy,you better hurry though coz there’s a big hole right through the bottom of the box.
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I picked up a new customer a couple of weeks ago.
Went round and started cleaning, nobody was in.
5 minutes later a car pulls into the drive, I said hello and she looked at me like I had just killed her cat.
What are you doing? She said abruptly.
I said sorry have I got the wrong house? ???
Anyway she thought I was a traditional Window cleaner and wasn't happy I was using the pole.
Apparently her last cleaner used it and always left spots.
I talked her round, explained it all and said just give it a try, if you don't like the results then just let me know.
Well she's paid me and not said anything so I'm assuming all Is good.
But I get this a lot, people wanting trad there must be lots of window cleaners out there who can't clean properly with the wfp.
I have had this more times than I can remember , pretty much all the ones i have cleaned after some other poler has had a go have been happy , there are some right muppets about with terrible wfp technique and inexperience.
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Her gripe was the time it took him she said she wanted a traditional cleaner the results were good no complaints but wanted someone who took there time,I said to her jokingly did you want to see them earn there money then and she then said well actually yes lol.
This is a nightmare customer you would never be able to just get it done and go.
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Her gripe was the time it took him she said she wanted a traditional cleaner the results were good no complaints but wanted someone who took there time,I said to her jokingly did you want to see them earn there money then and she then said well actually yes lol.
This is a nightmare customer you would never be able to just get it done and go.
Some of the wfp guys I've seen working over the years wont be getting consistent good cleans with the "splash and dash" technique ::)roll
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Not to start another hot- cold debate but your right especially when using cold with next to no rinsing,I’ve seen so many just a quick scrub and run with cold literally 1 scrub up and down.
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Her gripe was the time it took him she said she wanted a traditional cleaner the results were good no complaints but wanted someone who took there time,I said to her jokingly did you want to see them earn there money then and she then said well actually yes lol.
This is a nightmare customer you would never be able to just get it done and go.
Some of the wfp guys I've seen working over the years wont be getting consistent good cleans with the "splash and dash" technique ::)roll
However, the simple fact of the matter is that wfp will always be faster. Especially on maintenance cleans every 4 wks (obviously pending location). This customer may not be happy with any explanation given but I would have mentioned that in the quicker time it has taken, shes had her windows n frames cleaned and they would virtually still be clean 4 wks later, regardless of rainfall we've had. This equates to a better service which is reflected in the price. Oh and the price to clean the traditional way would be double the price youve just paid bacause it takes longer 👍
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I had one, £45 every 4 weeks, she had a MASSIVE extension so now £75.
She always paid late and never without text reminder.
Her and her hubby both moaned that my magic water was leaving permanent stains on her wood fascias, so they asked for 12 weekly cleaning
I dumped her by text saying I'd got fed up with late payments and would not be returning
Wish I could have seen her face when reading the text ;D
I suspect they really wanted a ladder monkey
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i have to earn at least £13k a year before i make any money!thats £250 a week EVERY week of the year even when im not working,on holiday etc...some customers dont realise this....
Its only 13k cos if your stupid heater Daz ;D
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Another thing she said was I’m not paying anymore for someone to squirt cold water over my windows and go,I said well would have to be cold because if I used my hot water I’d crack most of em lol.
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i have to earn at least £13k a year before i make any money!thats £250 a week EVERY week of the year even when im not working,on holiday etc...some customers dont realise this....
13k in running costs?
everything...all expenses,income tax and insurance,sometimes it can be slightly more.....expenses are running at around £7k a year(leased van and £1k a year to heat my pure water every day).....im not moaning but its customers that are paying for it! ;D
im already notifying customers of a price rise in april which should bring in an extra £2k a year(at least)......my last one was 3 years ago to pay for my monthly rental.....
3 years already, that's gone quick it doesn't seem 2 minutes since you were doing that when getting your new van.
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yep...time flies......van 3 years old now.... ;D
on topic ive had the odd customer in the past that have preferred me to climb ladders rather than use the pole but that was many years ago.......never had it for years now....what makes me laugh is the customers that sacked me off because of WFP and got a trad cleaner are now seeing these guys moving over to WFP anyway!
on the other hand ive picked up lots of work over the last 10 years BECAUSE I USE WFP........
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This wasn’t an existing customer it was someone who wanted me to quote Daz.
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Had customer today, saying it was quick; under 10 minutes??? She checked all windows, couldnt believe all perfectly cleaned but handed over £10 (front only). Used to be her husband who i usually see.
Another one today; first clean, cleaned few windows, she said I dont like that (WFP), so i explained how it works and cleaned all windows perfectly to make sure all spotless. She paid and said i make pudles in her garden, dont came back... we will call you. Oh well, hope it doesnt rain soon or she gets more pudles in the garden :)
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I get asked often: "How will you clean them?"
I usually say: "All our work is guaranteed. If you are not delighted with the results, then we will be round the next day to put it right."
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I don’t let any customer dictate how I clean you wouldn’t ask a carpenter how he hammers in a nail,do you use a hammer or a nail gun.
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You can be having a great week money wise weather etc and it only used to take the odd person like this to ruin your week.
What? A whole week ruined because someone's a bit stupid?
Don't let other people control the level of your happiness, especially a customer you've just dumped.
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I don’t let any customer dictate how I clean you wouldn’t ask a carpenter how he hammers in a nail,do you use a hammer or a nail gun.
Some auld lass was telling me - during a quote - that they go on holidays to Spain regularly and while stood on her property I could see their two cars on their drive.
She then starts umming and arring about the amount of water I'd use on her windows and how it was a waste and not good for the environment. I kid you not!
I gave her a quick no-nonsense education, expecting to just end up walking away, and finished with a "Look, do you want me to clean them or not?"
She did and she's been no trouble since. Sometimes you've just got to be a bit firm with them.
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I don’t let any customer dictate how I clean you wouldn’t ask a carpenter how he hammers in a nail,do you use a hammer or a nail gun.
Some auld lass was telling me - during a quote - that they go on holidays to Spain regularly and while stood on her property I could see their two cars on their drive.
She then starts umming and arring about the amount of water I'd use on her windows and how it was a waste and not good for the environment. I kid you not!
I gave her a quick no-nonsense education, expecting to just end up walking away, and finished with a "Look, do you want me to clean them or not?"
She did and she's been no trouble since. Sometimes you've just got to be a bit firm with them.
She probably thought you would infect her with the Corona virus.
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I do a lot of jobs in very little time and usually the only ones you have to be careful about are the housekeepers and gardeners,they are the ones that will go back to the homeowner and say your window cleaner was only here 20 minutes.
I’ve had this before too some of em are poison if you are earning there 2 days money within the hour lol,I do a small lodge house as you come into the property now for 1 she used to be like this I include it in the big house I don’t charge her for her 6-7 windows,I get as much coffee as I want now and she can’t thank me enough some may say why but imo it pays to keep in with some of them.
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The more money they have, the less they want to part with it. A friend is a gardener and wanted to increase his prices , this customer he goes to is a millionaire, huge house and grounds in desirable area, worth in excess of £2m. He wanted to increase his prices per hour and the customer knocked him down ,so Dave said no I’m not working for less than the price I quoted.
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I’ve had a gardener in my ear about the hourly rate he gets and the fact he’s not gone up in about 10 years,I said mines going up in January a fiver again large property plenty of cash about,I put mine up with no problem paid as usual I said to him they won’t put it up for you in most cases if you don’t ask you don’t get.
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I’ve had a gardener in my ear about the hourly rate he gets and the fact he’s not gone up in about 10 years,I said mines going up in January a fiver again large property plenty of cash about,I put mine up with no problem paid as usual I said to him they won’t put it up for you in most cases if you don’t ask you don’t get.
Exactly!! Shy bairns get mae sweeties.