[terrymaloy]

I almost did today 
Came across the rudest Indian family ever !

I actually turned up yesterday morning 9am as arranged, only to find the decorators still there 
When I asked what was going on, they said... "you come back tomorrow" ! (they didnt ask...just told me)
When I asked did it not occur to you to maybe ring me and let me know...she said you can always work round them.
I was in two minds just to forget it...but I put the job in my diary in as my last job today. Bad move !!

I took the booking over the phone...living room, stairs/landing (no hall) and bedroom. I walked into the house with the biggest carpeted hall you have seen..the living room which was average size was divided by a partition which opened up into a 30ft living area.
Hang on a minute...this is two rooms ? No its not...its one ! This went on for about ten minutes 
On top of that there was so much clutter you could hardly see the carpet. Would they budge on the price I quoted...NO

I should have walked when the family began (there was about ten of them in the house) producing rugs thinking I was going to clean them for nowt !
No chance...its £20 a rug, then the bartering started.

For the next 3 hours I had to put up with them standing over me, picking fault and asking for more freebies.
Bearing in  mind it was hot and sticky on one of the hottest days of the year, I was'nt in the best of moods.

The final straw came, when I was finishing off..the old guy pipes up " I'm not happy, last guy better than you...you need to put more powder in" 
He wasnt amused when I replied, "excuse me sir, I dont tell you how to make curries, you dont tell me how to clean carpets"  :

Next time I walk.......rant over !

[cannon]

It can certainly be a challenge, ive had someone sit 2 steps up from me whilst cleaning  my way down a staircase, as i moved down a step they moved down a step.
They then followed me round the rest of the house carrying a chair and kept sitting a few feet away, I just kept giving her the odd squirt now and again (with my cleaning equip) good fun. 

Another time I turned my back for a second and when i looked back he was furiously scrubbing away with my hand tool.

I always keep dirty water in machine and a bucket incase of payment disputes.

And this reminds me im owed a curry.

[Russ Chadd]

I simply will not work for Indian people... When i get a phone call asking for a price i just tell them im too busy.

[Billy Russell]

I simply will not work for Indian people... When i get a phone call asking for a price i just tell them im too busy.

Racist!!!
 

[Carpet Dawg]

I simply will not work for Indian people... When i get a phone call asking for a price i just tell them im too busy.

Racist!!!
 

He's right though, they are a nightmare and life is too short to carry on with thier pish!!

Its not just the fact they are penny pintchers, thats only part of thier problem! They are very arrogant rude poos!

I dont work for any asians anymore. Someone else can deal with them or they can "vash" thier own carpets!

[*Hector*]

When I was working and living in Leicester, I went to an Indian family to clean the "eating room" carpet.... Only quoted on the phone.... When I got there, there was the nastiest blacktop I have ever seen.... I was using a Craftex Grace in those days 2001 so told them no guarantees for stains etc...
Cleaned this carpet with crystal green and double clean and TFR ..... GOt the black top off and revealed a lovely axminster carpet covered in turmarik (no idea how to spell that) stains... This was 2 hours into the job a beautiful carpet with lots of little yellow stains.. I said not doing them (was not going down sod met route after all that time for £20) so the woman said you remove yellow or we not pay...

So I started packing up and all that was left out was the bottom half of the grace (full to the brim with dirty water... So I once again asked for the money...NO was the reply "you clean yellow off) so I just said "you no pay?? have your dirt back ... only fair" and tipped the lot back over the carpet..  felt really good....

[wynne jones]

3hrs?

I would have gone in 3 minutes!

If they had said come back tomorrow I would have just said OK then.

Whilst you can generalise, I only discriminate on behaviour and ability to pay.

[Mike Halliday]

I walked from a job 2 weeks ago which was  living room booked over the phone in the next village,

It was in a summer house at the bottom of the garden, and although it was not a big room it meant I had to pull down the 80ft drive which was 12inches of loose gravel,  I could see my wheels spinning and shooting peddles at every window in the house, conservatory, and greenhouses...... No chance of me going down that drive!

She went berserk calling me every name under the sun, telling me how she had taken the day of work.

Not wanting to sidetrack the topic  butv every problem job I get is booked over the phone

[Warren Aldridge]

I walk out of plenty of jobs for the sake of my mental health.

I also work for a lot of Indians being close to Hounslow, Southall and Wembley, although I don't cover Southall and a large chunk of Wembley as they are the poorer lot that cant speak English most of the time. Some are very nice, others are the pits. I simply match the attitude. They are very good referrers

You have to understand their culture guys, In India it isn't as secure and safe as the UK, the contractors being cheap labour will most likely steal you out of house and home when you arent looking. Its a trust thing.

If you drive into a wealthy Indian area they all have 6 foot walls with gates and security cameras. Generally they dont trust each other so why would they trust you.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Anyone who is as rude as that on first encounter I would have walked I just don't want the hassle even if I need the money must admit Indian families can be abrupt I have had arguments with them also so I prefer not to deal with them.

Shaun

[wynne jones]

Russ Chadd

You would think it's your prerogative to make statements like your earlier post, but I would recommend you delete your post. 

[Owen R]

Russ Chadd

You would think it's your prerogative to make statements like your earlier post, but I would recommend you delete your post. 

Why 

[wynne jones]

You cannot deny services on the grounds of race.

[andrew stone]

i have been very wary of taking on any new asian customers since an incident that happened 10 years ago.
indian bloke started going on about wanting money off from when i arrived ,during the job and on completion.
when i refused point blank to give him a discount he went beserk. threw my money in the air,shoved me in the chest with both hands and spat on me!

i grabbed him round the neck,slammed him up against the wall in the hallway and come oh so close to belting him.

i told him i am now going to pick up my money and if you assault me again i am going to give you a kicking.

wiping the spit of my shirt i left the house.

never bothered sending him an annual reminder letter!

andrew

[Mr Dvae]

I love bartering with indians, every time they argue the price down i put it up, when they say i'm being silly i ask them if they want a better price? they say yes and i say so do i it'll be £10 more every time you quibble, i remember on job i did, quoted £55 they ended up paying £80 after all time is money, bartering takes up my time.


Dave

[from edge2edge]

This subject comes up from time to time and always will .I have a simple rule that if you dont respect the way ALAN works then ALAN aint gonna work with you to get your home/office nice and fresh.I wont argue the toss for hours because as soon as anyone(black/white/green  english albanian or whatever) gives me grieve and you can tell from their tone of voice,then i just leave..................Alan

[gary hall]

I will put my thoughts down on this subject - and the answer I have found is very simple - never quote on the phone
 go see the potential client - identify their needs/expectations - ensure expectations can be met if not let them know  - give them a quote  - if happy book clean - do the clean to the best of  your ability - get paid - walk away ensuring client is happy ensuring original expectations have been met as per assessment stage.

If asked at cleaning stage to do extra work - charge extra

Never take any poop from anyone - if they give you poop - walk away - life is too short - but if you had assessed the situation prior to clean you can tell what type of people you are dealing with - ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT THIS WORKS FOR ME - Gary

[JandS]

As soon as I hear an Asian voice on the phone I ask
for their address. If it's in one of their "ghettos" I will
always go look at the job first as these tend to be the
dodgy ones, and the ones who tend to barter.
Always stick a bit extra on the starting bid, say £20,
then knock them a tenner off, keeps 'em happy.

John

[Thomas Mckee]

You cannot deny services on the grounds of race.

But you can deny it on the grounds of "customers an arsehole"

[Neil Williams]

Russ Chadd

You would think it's your prerogative to make statements like your earlier post, but I would recommend you delete your post. 

I don't and I'm with him.
Granted you'd be walking right into trouble if over the phone or face to face you said, "I don't work for you people" but there's nothing to stop you saying "I'm booked up till 2019" or price so high you know the 'customer' won't go for it.

As it is been there to with expecting brand new carpet from a trashed 12 year old one, along with the arguement over that room is called a living room not a hall and I priced up a hall. And I came within seconds of dumping the stinking dirty water back onto the carpet.

[wynne jones]

I was thinking more along the lines of a competitor sees his comment, or some git. They call up the equal opportunities mob and they see the post. They then make two calls, one in an english accent and one in a Pakistani accent. If he says he's busy and can't do it but can for everyone else he's in big trouble.

And if you think they wouldn't go to those lengths believe me they would.

 

[SteveAllan]

I also never do work for them, had to much grief off them in the past when i was plastering. Mind you its not only them that try it on, ive had it with British people too and have ripped down the odd the ceiling that i have just put up when faced with t*ssers who wont pay.

[daniel osmore]

I have plenty of South Asian clients, nine times out of ten there is not a problem. Yes it is true some people from all backgrounds can be difficult to deal with, but that is where good customer relations skills and communication come into play. If I only dealt with people who were easy, I'd lose half my business. I do not work for anybody because I want to be their friend, I work for people because I want their money. I cannot afford to turn away potentially good clients, if you do, I suspect you are losing a good income stream. It is true that South Asian clients are more likely to ask for a discount, some of them will also be difficult. On the upside however they are more likely to give you repeat business and referrals, what you lose on the swings, you can gain on the roundabouts.

[from edge2edge]

Fair point mate but i will stick to the rocking horse coz that way i get no shxt.....................Alan

[wynne jones]

I must admit my heart sinks when I hear a Pakistani or Chinese accent. Unless they say, my takeaway is ready!  

 

[andyM]

Im a window cleaner and i've only got 2 regular indian customers, but I have to say they are good as gold.
Although I did have to barter with one of them when she wanted her patio pressure washed. Best thing is to overprice first off and let them knock a bit off and they feel as if they have won.
But I did have an experience with an "anglo-indian" not so long ago who had just opened a mini market and he wanted windows cleaned including upstairs flat windows (every 3 weeks) and the shop signage (one-off clean).
I went and quoted and agreed a price for the window and signage first clean and then a price for just the regular 3 weekly window clean thereafter.
When I went to clean he was following me round all the time watching my every move.  
He then asked me to clean a window round the side of the building which I had not seen when I quoted because there was a pile of rubbish in the way, I reluctantly agreed.
Anyway got paid....................then went back 3 weeks later for the next window clean.
I started cleaning and "matey" comes out and stands there watching me again.  
Then he pipes up "You are gonna clean the sign again aren't you?".
So I said "Well I can clean your sign for you again but I will have to charge you as I am only here to do a window clean."
Cut a long story short he wanted me to do extra work for nothing and had no intention of paying more for the extra work he wanted doing, so I told him where to stick it and walked away.
That was about 2 months ago and I drive past there fairly regularly.
I have noticed his windows and precious signage are starting to get dirty....................      
 

[Doug Holloway]

Hi guys

I used to do all and sundry but now only customers who will not gve me grief.

I almost certainly wouldn't have booked the job in the first place but if I had I would have walked straight away, not worth the hassle.

Cheers

Doug

[from edge2edge]

Too right Doug its why we chose to be self employed ......................Alan

[garry22]

One of most satisfying work days involved one of these types of customers about ten years ago.

After a long layoff following a serious back injury, I needed any work I could get.

I ended up working for a group of five brothers who all lived in huge, expensive houses. Their idea of business with me was ever reducing charges each time.

This came to a head one day when they were having work done before a load of in laws flew in for a wedding. The husband asked for a quote for the upstairs bedrooms (several large ones) as extras following the arranged work that day.

I gave him a price and he said "I'll give you a fiver for each room" (he was serious).

I said "Sorry I don't need the business"

"Don't give me that, course you need the business". I refused.

Just as I was about to pack up, the baby was sick on the hall carpet. The lady of the house ( a lovely lady who I got on well with) said "Could you do it and I'll sort you out moneywise?"

I started on the "accident" and some vile kid aged about ten walked by and said "Huh. I suppose that is costing us another tenner"  !!!!!!!!

I left seething, vowing never to go back. As it happens, I went on an Alltec seminar wgere one of the lectures was called "Sack the Customer".

To cut a long story short, they phoned another six times to ask me to work for them ("We'll pay you double", "You are the only one we trust in our house" etc).

Eventually I said "Look Mrs C. Your husband insulted me. There is no way I'm coming back again". She apologised and even tried again a month or so later.

I felt absolutely brilliant after I got rid of the whole bunch. Amazingly, within a couple of weeks I had replaced them with nice people who accepted the price, paid on time and were never any trouble.

[wynne jones]

Nice one Garry.

Sack the customer or culling clients which has a ring to it seems harsh, madness even but is an excellent strategy.

Over time you get more and more of the people you want to work with and psychologically it's one of the best thing you can do every year. Cull the bottom 10% and put your prices up 10%.

Don't do this too soon in your business though.   

[garry22]

Thanks Wynne.

There's an important lesson here for some of the newer members of my profession. It's about knowing your worth and not allowing others to bully you or make you feel inferior. These people wanted more than a discount. They would happily have had me work for nothing.

Shortly before I "sacked" the lot, another member of this family allowed me to drive twenty miles to their house before telling me they had changed their mind and did not want it done on that day.

Even after I got rid of them I had a voice in my head saying "what on earth are you doing getting rid of customers you idiot?"

As I said above it took only perhaps two weeks to replace them with much better customers.

Ironically, the more I said no to this family, the more they tried to get me to return. Lesson two.... sometimes saying no is a good idea.

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

You're right Garry, it is indeed about knowing your worth but also about effective pricing structures which enable you to be able to make commercial decisions like these. Sometimes cheap prices force you to take on any job no matter what.

[Kinver_Clean]

I used to do a lot for a particular south asian family- I was always told at 12.30- stop and come and have some lunch- some of the best curies I have ever had. They always paid and didn't argue.

Takes all sorts------

[clinton]

 Am suprised that you didnt walk half way through the job terry..

Must say next time as some above posts said you can use the booked up or on a large flood job for 3 weeks card to put them off

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

I used to do a lot for a particular south asian family- I was always told at 12.30- stop and come and have some lunch- some of the best curies I have ever had. They always paid and didn't argue.

Takes all sorts------

I worked for a Russian family in London approx 5 years ago, a mixture of new carpets and cleaning of existing. They asked if I had brought lunch with me, I hadn't, so at 1pm on the dot I was invited into the kitchen and enjoyed a fantastic 3 course meal and a cigar !

Trouble was, I was so full the rest of the job took bloody ages !

[Warren Aldridge]

Ironically Indians in particular put great emphasis of education and achievement. 60% of the time the house I'm in will have the walls plastered in photo's of their children accepting their degrees. They will have nice houses and are generally pleasant.

I've just got back from a job and when I called to say I was running late I got the grandmother on the line with her "accent". Turns out the house was beautiful and they were great as customers.

Don't confuse Asian's with scumbags because you will come up short, you get sh*heads in every culture and to blatantly discriminate purely based on race without meeting them is out and out bigoted and racist.

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

only ever one in 20 years , i drunk husband came back half way though a job and started makeing coments about my body and what he would like to do , i wasnt happy and it got quite nasty with him starting swearing at me ,  his wife must of been beaten by him in the pass she said northing 

i nipped to the toilet and phoned julian and then the police , he was very lucky the police got there frist because 5 mins later four  vans pulled up full of lads (julians famliy ) they would of kicked him to death he was lucky that day

never in my live have i been fighten of being beaten or worse not good

[Russ Chadd]

Russ Chadd

You would think it's your prerogative to make statements like your earlier post, but I would recommend you delete your post. 

Its my choice who i work for and no im not going to delete my post!
Lets put political correctness aside for one second here...

You wrote "You cannot deny services on the grounds of race."
Its got naff all to do with race!... culture maybe, and if its part of someone's culture to refuse to pay once a job has been completed or to miss lead you on the phone in order to obtain a lower price then i don't have to put up with it.

Why does someone always have to play the race card? 

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I agree with Russ, you go by pain memory when you get stung by someone you bloody well remember it and yes you do categorise, I've been done by pikeys twice you'd have thought I'd have leaned but I though not twice they're not all the same, it's not racist its not personal it is about business.

Shaun

[K.O. Glanville]

It seems as much as the world changes, things still stay the same.

I have no problems cleaning for Asians.

We are a tourist town and cater for many Japanese. Koreans, Chinese and other Asians, especially the teens learning English, etc;

HOWEVER, when it comes to Indians, I draw the line.

Probably twenty years ago after a futile conversation with one family, I vowed never to accept their terms again.

I actually walked on this job also.

Now, whenever one of them is stupid enough to call me, I immediately treble my price.

They don't even bother to try and barter.

They just hang up.

Suits me.

Shorty.

[Simon Gerrard]

The problem I have with our Asian friends is that an Englishman's word is his bond, so if you agree a price for a job, you stick to it, whereas they always want, or claim that you agreed to something extra, or expect a discount when the job is done. Trebling the price when someone asks, 'How much to wash my carpet,' works fine for me.
Having said that, I've got some really good Asian customers, but they are thin on the ground.

Simon

[bobby p]

cleaning windows ,an old injun opens a window and tap taps on a frame ,snarls "frames,frames " and then closes the window sharpish .
  i mutter to my helper "fookin injuns,theres no pleasing them is there"

later as we are leaving a young injun has a word with my helper "tell your mate we are not fookin injuns,we are from Bangladesh "

  still got them as customers !

[derek west]

i have no problems with asians now. up your price a little so you can discount back to normal, when you get there do a walk through and state your price again, never smile, be totally professional and firm, almost bullyish.

its all about not making friends but being there to get the job done. if they make any hint of a bad day. tell them straight, and if they don't like it then walk.  works for me.

[Russ Chadd]

I have absolutely no problem with people wanting to haggle a little, i work for Chinese and Nepalese restaurants and they are good honest people, always pay the agreed price and never try it on.
My past experiences with Indian people however have been very different, im not saying that all Indian people are the same.
Simon has hit the nail on the head... "An Englishman's word is his bond" to me this seems pretty straightforward and a good, honest way to do business.

[Luc]

i had a job about 2 years ago in east ham, lounge hall stairs and landing i priced up at 150quid. i get there, set up the tm and start cleaning a filthy black top lounge carpet, axminster and cleaned up a treat. as soom as the lounge was finished, The customer comes out and says

"i have no money to pay you, so you pack up and go, you understand me!!

i Said "ok, i will pack up now but you owe me for the lounge, that will be 75 quid, right now" .

"no. me have no money, you go now before i call police. you racist to me charging me lot of money"

i laughed and  thought f**k this, i took the solution hose out, wand out and spotter out to the van , i rolled the 25 ft waste hose into the lounge all without saying a word and emptied out all that was in the waste tank over the carpet must to their horror. customer said ' what you doing, what you doing?
i said "I'm returning your dirt back to you, now have a good day"
rolled up the waste hose, and got back in the van with all the family shouting and screaming god knows what at me in some foreign language.

I am no racist by any means, my ex girlfriend was half indian and i have many good mates who are foreign.  Now days i dont take any attitude or rudeness by customers to me. i would rather walk off the job and lose money then put up with hassle

[from edge2edge]

Like it mate .............if in doubt roll out the big hose....................Alan

[Warren Aldridge]

Luc


Now that is the best thing I've heard all year.
I cannot wait to be in the same position

[andrew stone]

i know an indian guy who was a carpet cleaner for several years.

he said to me once "i f*****g hate working for indians!!"

i couldnt help but laugh.

he is the only indian carpet cleaner i have ever met.

i would have thought a decent indian carpet cleaner could do well working for his own community.?

andrew

[garry22]

I remember a few years ago there used to be a couple of Indian brothers doing carpet cleaning.

Their adverts always made me smile..... something like "You've tried the cowboys, now try the Indians" 

[garyhumphreys]

I do loads of work for Asians and have never had a problem. I never discount, always standing firm on price and get loads of referrals. Perhaps some of you need to look at your own attitudes first?
Sorry and all that.

[JandS]

I do the odd Asian job now but not as many as I
first did due to the attitude of some and the expectations
of others.
The ones I do do are fine though and I get referrals off them.
Unless it's a single room though I will always go and visit.
This has paid off a few times as I've declined the job after
seeing the state of some of them.
I always get the address out of them first then I know what
to expect. If they insist on a phone quote and it's in one of
their "ghettoes" the price goes up 'cos I hate working in
those areas.

John

[andrew stone]

i have got some very nice indian customers - really good people with nice homes.
never haggle on price - even get the odd tip!!
two indian brothers i have done a lot of work for treat me really well and we always have a good laugh.
BUT they have also been some of my worse customers by far!
you can never judge a book by its cover but i have had enough bad experiences to be wary.

never had a problem with chinese customers other than most seem never to have heard of a vacuum cleaner.

andrew

[wayne zabel]

Most of the posts have stated" Indians"I dont mind doing work for Indians but I find Pakistanis far worse to deal with.

[james roffey]

One of the benefits of running your own business is choosing not to do a job if you don,t want. i lost out on a £500 job recently because the guy accused me of measuring his house incorrectly ( i always under measure to avoid this) when i did the quote he had a stand up row with his elderly wife and i thought at the time what a nasty bully he was, i realised when he phoned me at ten oclock on a Sunday evening to complain that he would probably be standing over me while i did the job picking fault as he was just looking to pay less for the job, so i told him my quote stood and if he was not happy he should find someone else, i could tell by his reaction he just wanted to negotiate a cheaper price but i decided it was not worth the hassle.

[Ian Gourlay]

Yep but cannot remember why. just remembered this woman kept trying to tell me how to do the job.

No idea who she was as she was just guarding place for owner

It was years ago

[andrew stone]

got a £10 tip today from a lady indian customer "for doing a very nice job"!
as i was writing out her receipt she said "include the tip on it -the landlords paying for it"!!

andrew

[wynne jones]

Most of the posts have stated" Indians"I dont mind doing work for Indians but I find Pakistanis far worse to deal with.

This is why you shorten the name to something offensive.