[Ian101]

Fortunately I dont have too many slow payers (only a small round at moment)  but definately starting to creep up a wee bit.

Have in past let them go to 3 cleans before putting them on stop.

With all the doom and gloom at the moment thinking of changing policy to 1 clean non payment = no more cleans till paid up.

Also helps the customer who have a higher charge e.g. 3 cleans of £15 = £45 .... its a lot of money to find for them and perhaps gets them realising that 12 months of £15 is a lot of money.

Like I say I only got a smallish round but thinking of you lads with a bigger round.

[martinsadie]

i clean is a bit harsh,2 is probley better

[Sean Dyer]

depends what kind of customer they are, some of mine id stop after 1, others i would happily leave a few times, if your not sure then 1-2 is best if its small amounts maybe 3

[Ian101]

could come across as harsh if not done proper thinking more along the lines of if the cheque not sent rather than leave it for a month  perhaps go knocking for payment a few days before next clean is due ... all nice and smiles etc ... perhaps even collect next payment too .... too time consuming perhaps ?

[Matthew JN]

I too have this problem with some 8 weekly customers.   On that schedule 2 cleans MAX, and double bill on 2nd clean. Teaches them a lesson somewhat.

I have also added £5 once for 2 x failed collection attempts, and the customer paid up and apologised. But i wouldn't do that again.

[darren clarke]

every custy is different, i have walked away from one cutys after 1 clean as get a bad feeling about them, but others, i have let go to 3 cleans,  but now i am 2 cleans then stopped till payed,  but am dumping more than usual and knocking more to replace them,  i have also dropped my 8 weekers that didnt want to move to 6 weekers  which is all i am doing now, 

[prestige cleaners]

1 clean for me, being ripped off once is bad enough, but to bend over and leave them do it twice? i dont think so!

[weetot]

I chuck them after 3 cleans, and don't go back til' they pay up.

[lee09]

Ian,
I cant believe you let them go 3 cleans. Do you think that your customers value you? Or do you any service that you do not or cant be bothered to pay for until your chased.
If your business was established you may choose to carry these debts but you are new and too nice!
Shape up a bit and get them to pay on the in cash or cheque or within the week via credit transfer.
Just keep building and state your payment terms. You are not asking for anything but what your owed.
Lee

[weetot]

Appreciate the comments, but thats just the way I run my business, I used to care, but I don't care as much now as I used to.

When you,ve cleaned windows 27 years you'll sharp get sick of them, they know they only want you, so they do eventually get back in touch!

[weetot]

Oh just re-read, the post, that was meant for Ian. Apologies.

[weetot]

 

[barry mallett]

christ i dont know how some of you guys keep your custys . some of mine go a year without paying  6 months is nothing. if i dropped everyone after 2 missed payments . i would now have no customers .

[weetot]

Are the non payers, monthly clean, or 2 weekly clean custys Barry?

[bobby p]

when i finish a clean on my slip i write the day when im returning,(usually 1 or 2 days max ahead)so ask them to leave the money under doormat/pot.     if they keep forgetting to do that then they are rubbish and best dropped .  i find the act of lifting up a scabby doormat to find no money underneath makes the decision to drop easier 


 letting 3 or 4 cleans go unpaid leaves a very sour taste in my mouth and then you get the customer saying, "im sure its only 2 times " and theyre  trying to see if i am dense . 

[weetot]

when i finish a clean on my slip i write the day when im returning,(usually 1 or 2 days max ahead)so ask them to leave the money under doormat/pot.     if they keep forgetting to do that then they are rubbish and best dropped .  i find the act of lifting up a scabby doormat to find no money underneath makes the decision to drop easier 

Very wise my friend, plenty more fish in the soapy sea.   

[bobplum]

your running a business     not a charity
ive never gone thru the checkout at tescos and said"ill pay next week"
luv yer man

[prestige cleaners]

christ i dont know how some of you guys keep your custys . some of mine go a year without paying  6 months is nothing. if i dropped everyone after 2 missed payments . i would now have no customers .

barry are you for real? do you take out a loan to cover your cash flow or what?

[dazmond]

2 cleans then no more until payment.simple!that way your custy hasnt got too much of a big bill and if they dont pay up you ve not lost much!i very rarely get badpayers these days but thats cos im cheap compared to some of you guys  on here!

all sae i leave are usually paid within 2 weeks unless they go on holiday.


dazmond

[geefree]

I text them if they are more than a week late, ..... but its very rare.

and i dont drop them, cos they all pay , mostly within a week. 

[Ian101]

Ian,
I cant believe you let them go 3 cleans. Do you think that your customers value you? Or do you any service that you do not or cant be bothered to pay for until your chased.
If your business was established you may choose to carry these debts but you are new and too nice!
Shape up a bit and get them to pay on the in cash or cheque or within the week via credit transfer.
Just keep building and state your payment terms. You are not asking for anything but what your owed.
Lee

no dont go to 3 cleans .. like i say dont really have any bad payers ... some a little slow perhaps .. odd 1 has been to 3 but thats another story ... mainly thinking of the bigger guys and how they manage it cos 1 day soon hopefully i will have a bigger round  ... but yes a little too nice to some of them but thats 25 years of selling new Toyota's ... learning though as I go and can generally spot the wrong'uns within seconds nowadays .. thanks for the input though 

[Ian_Giles]

If it is a new residential customer they are told my payment terms.

If they are out when I clean the windows, I leave them an invoice with my payment details on: 7 days to pay, either by cheque or bank payment online.
If they haven't paid by the time they are next due I leave them a reminder reiterating my payment terms and explaining payment must be made as per the terms set out as no work can be carried out until each clean is paid for.
If it's only a tenner I won't even bother chasing it, bigger money then once collected its dumped.
New work, regardless of value, if they don't play ball I let them go.

Existing and well known customers are given leeway that varies enormously from customer to customer....its only with new customers I take a very hard line with.


Ian

[Dave Anderson]

I too have had enough of late payments....

This week I am finalising the new 'your windows have been cleaned today' cards...and on the back will have a our t&c's/guidelines call them what you will.

Here is a pre-translated version that still requires smoothing out: forgive some of the Dutch words...it's Dutchlish..


On the day of the clean please ensure that all windows, vents are securely closed (sun scherm, rollouiken, horren are up/open) and that the agreed, safe access is provided. Failure to do so will result in these items not being cleaned and the agreed charge for the complete property will be levied.

Whilst we strive to clean your property on the 'scheduled' day it may from time to time be neccesary to change that day. We do clean in the rain, however, if we find it unsafe to continue or start work particulary during storms, thunder, lighting  heavy snow/ice/rain we reserve the right to provide an alternative date for the clean. Our preffered method to contact you is via email. Please ensure that we have your correct and current contact details such a telephone, email address.

All outstanding balances must reach us within the agreed period, failure to do so will result in us contacting you for the outstanding payment. Each late payment request will incure an additional 5 euro administration cost which will be added to your outstanding balance.

Should your bill continue to be un-paid we may suspend your service. Upon resumption of our cleaning service we may charge you an additional fee to take into consideration the extra time and work required to get the windows and frames clean after the extended uncleaned period this can vary between 25% - 100% of the normal clean price. We reserve the right to pass an outstanding balance to a 3rd party collection agency for resolution without notice.

We are no longer able to accomodate 'skip' requests because of holidays however we will work with you to arrange an alternative date for your clean.

Should you have building, maintanance works, painting etc performed on your property which causes in our opinion additional soiling we may charge an additional fee to remove this soiling to account for the addtional time and work required. This is particulry relevent to painting as our past experiance shows that after painting heavy soiling of greasy finger marks, afwashmiddle is very evident and time consuming to remove. Please note we do not use scrapers/blades or chemicals on your property. Concrete, cement, paint spots/strips will not be removed by us without prior agreement of additional work & costs.

All cancellations or changes to the scheduled date by yourself should be made at least 3 full working days in advance, this is to allow us to plan alternative work, failure to do so will result in the agreed cleaning charge being applied for that date.

Whilst we do not like to have these terms and conditions past experiances have caused us to provide clarity about the services we do & do not provide.

Yours sincerly,
Dave Anderson.

Whilst we all know that contracts, t&c's are not legally enforceable these are really to keep the customer aware of their obligation to us after we have provided the agreed service...

All customers are given a set of terms and condition when we take them on but these are just a 'reminder' to keep things fresh in their minds....

I do not want to add fee's to customers bills and hope it never comes to that but I offer a scheduled dated service and if I turn up as someones house and windows are open, shutters are down, gates locked...I am the one who loses out twice..i.e on that day and when I go back in 16 weeks and have to spend more time on the property to clean it again.

More and more customers seem to think it's ok to pay when it suits them and the period between clean and payments is getting silly for lots of customers.

I am hoping this just serves as a reminder to them and nothing more.

Just like Ian...yes I have customer who I know pay late and are generally that way but I believe 14 days for domestic and 30 days for commercial is more than enough time, given that most people by via internet banking and the whole process for a customer takes a couple of minutes at the most.

I have been guilty of becoming too attached to customers and making it all too personal be it that I like them and it's then 'ok' to pay a little late or that I have been too lazy to chase some payments as I know they will pay later...but enough is enough....this is a business not a community service.

I clean, they pay then I will clean again...failure will result in admin costs for chasing payment, possible suspension and or releasing back into the wild.

But right now my new 2010/2011 customer drive has started...am looking for 125 customers to replace a complete area, fill gaps and replace the pa losses.

[barry mallett]

all 4 week or 8 week cleans 90% of custys had 10 years plus,some 20 plus . every week i get paid at least 3 or4 custys that pay for 4 or 5  cleans . its no hassle they always get a slip letting em know how much they owe . some get sae a lot pay on day some i collect . but i would never put on slip when i am due to collect .collecting is a pain so i collect when i feel like it . sometimes miss for a couple of weeks . very rare i get ripped the odd one who moves house , but not much .you get a feel for your custys . i have some were i dont even bother unless yhey owe at least 4 cleans .maybe its because my work is compact so when i do collect i blitz an area in an hour . so i am not driving round wasting time with houses dotted about .cannot remember the last time i had to canvass to replace custys i dropped , it dosent happen . you must give some custys more of a chance 

[dazmond]

all 4 week or 8 week cleans 90% of custys had 10 years plus,some 20 plus . every week i get paid at least 3 or4 custys that pay for 4 or 5 cleans . its no hassle they always get a slip letting em know how much they owe . some get sae a lot pay on day some i collect . but i would never put on slip when i am due to collect .collecting is a pain so i collect when i feel like it . sometimes miss for a couple of weeks . very rare i get ripped the odd one who moves house , but not much .you get a feel for your custys . i have some were i dont even bother unless yhey owe at least 4 cleans .maybe its because my work is compact so when i do collect i blitz an area in an hour . so i am not driving round wasting time with houses dotted about .cannot remember the last time i had to canvass to replace custys i dropped , it dosent happen . you must give some custys more of a chance

ditto barry!its great when you ve been cleaning your custies for years and they trust you and you trust them to pay.....eventually!

it balances out.remember guys you will always have some outstanding.its part and parcel of running a business.the ones who pay 2 wks make up for the ones who dont on that working week.


dazmond

[barry mallett]

exactly dazmond if one cant pay that week next door is usually paying double . it levels out . dave anderson are you a window cleaner or a solicitor . if i left that kind of rubbish on my slips half my custys would be offended and the other half would think i was joking . unless it is for your commercial then fair enough , but never houses .you have to be fair but firm , never knock , ring or text before you clean . agree the clean frequency , discuss the payment method , works for me 

[barry mallett]

forgot to mention , by far and away the worst payers are the new estates 3 story townhouses crammed in like shoe boxes . young couple buys the overpriced brand new house , sets you on thinks its great, within 6 months there struggling , no steak in  the fridge so defo no cash for the windy . avoid like the plague . best areas are were houses have been up 20 plus years usually settled in families who have there finances in order

[chopsie]

I clean 2 times then no more until I receive payment, I have made the exception to this yesterday and cleaned one for a third clean, Its a house thats turned into a upstairs and downstairs flat, Its the upstairs one and its only a fiver a time, Will see if he pays this time and if not will postpone and leave a reminder every time I clean downstairs. These are the only houses I collect so will be knocking next week too.

[Dave Anderson]

Barry so what I choose to do for my business is rubbish as it is not what you do?

Its a case of horses for course...

I'm running a business for me and mine and I am just hacked off extending credit i.e my money to wait for people to pay when they feel it's ok. Ok I get my money in the end but that is not the point is it.

I work and expect to be paid in a timely manner it's not unfair it is just plain simple business and if a customer wants to extend it ok but it will involve me adding a admin fee to chase the outstanding bill...so the ball is with the customer.

Lets face it...to those it affects ..it affects and those who pay on time, provide agreed access it does'nt. I do have a slush fund that does cover these late payers but I just want the money.

Of course there will be exceptions to the 'rule' but to be honest I really do not like working and having to beg for the money...it's an honest business that we provide and I just want to be paid for the work I do...nothing more.

[LSB]

christ i dont know how some of you guys keep your custys . some of mine go a year without paying  6 months is nothing. if i dropped everyone after 2 missed payments . i would now have no customers .

same here !
most pay within a few weeks , some on 2nd or 3rd clean .some longer but always pay . commercial ( large and small ) can also take up to 3 months.
also some customers pay in advance .

[barry mallett]

Barry so what I choose to do for my business is rubbish as it is not what you do?

Its a case of horses for course...

I'm running a business for me and mine and I am just hacked off extending credit i.e my money to wait for people to pay when they feel it's ok. Ok I get my money in the end but that is not the point is it.

I work and expect to be paid in a timely manner it's not unfair it is just plain simple business and if a customer wants to extend it ok but it will involve me adding a admin fee to chase the outstanding bill...so the ball is with the customer.

Lets face it...to those it affects ..it affects and those who pay on time, provide agreed access it does'nt. I do have a slush fund that does cover these late payers but I just want the money.

Of course there will be exceptions to the 'rule' but to be honest I really do not like working and having to beg for the money...it's an honest business that we provide and I just want to be paid for the work I do...nothing more.
no didnt mean that dave , you obviously run a tight ship and it works for you. just the letter seems a bit intimidating .                  peace man

[Dave Anderson]

 

The trouble Barry is that I have allowed this to get out of hand and that by letting things slide...I am now having to rein it all in...

Final draft:

On the day of the clean please ensure that all windows, vents are securely closed (sun scherm, rollouiken, horren are up/open) and that the agreed, safe access is provided. Failure to do so will result in these items not being cleaned and the agreed charge for the complete property will be levied.
*Zorg ervoor dat op de wasdag alle ramen en ventilatieroosters gesloten zijn, eventuele rolluiken/zonnenschermen/horren omhoog en dat de afgesproken toegangsweg tot uw pand vrij toegankelijk is. Mocht hier op de wasdag niet aan voldaan zijn dan kunnen deze ramen niet gewassen worden, maar zijn wij wel genoodzaakt u het volledig afgesproken wasbedrag in rekening te brengen.

Whilst we strive to clean your property on the 'scheduled' day it may from time to time be neccesary to change that day. We do clean in the rain, however, if we find it unsafe to continue or start work particulary during storms, thunder, lighting  heavy snow/ice/rain we reserve the right to provide an alternative date for the clean. Our preffered method to contact you is via email. Please ensure that we have your correct and current contact details such a telephone, email address.
*Wij streven ernaar uw pand op de afgesproken dag te wassen, bij onvoorziene situaties behouden wij het recht om de wasdag te verzetten. Wij blijven werkzaam tijdens de regen, mochten wij het onveilig vinden om te werken ( storm, onweer, hevige sneeuwval/ijzel/regen) dan zullen wij u een alternatieve wasdatum opgeven. Dit gebeurt zoveel mogelijk in overleg met u. Onze voorkeur gaat uit naar emailcontact. Zorg er aub voor dat wij uw actuele gegevens hebben (telefoon/email).

 All outstanding balances must reach us within the agreed period, failure to do so will result in us contacting you for the outstanding payment. Each late payment request will incure an additional 5 euro administration cost which will be added to your outstanding balance.
*Openstaande facturen dienen binnen de afgesproken termijn betaald te zijn. Wanneer dit niet gebeurt  zullen wij contact met u opnemen. Iedere keer dat wij u een verzoek tot betaling moeten doen, brengen wij u een extra €5,- administratiekosten in rekening, bovenop het uitstaande bedrag.

Should your bill continue to be un-paid we may suspend your service. Upon resumption of our cleaning service we may charge you an additional fee to take into consideration the extra time and work required to get the windows and frames clean after the extended uncleaned period this can vary between 25% - 100% of the normal clean price. We reserve the right to pass an outstanding balance to a 3rd party collection agency for resolution without notice.
*Wanneer u na herhaaldelijke verzoeken niet betaalt, dan behouden wij het recht onze service aan u te bevriezen. Wanneer wij eventueel in een later stadium onze dienstverlening aan u weer starten, houdt er dan rekening mee dat wij u extra kosten in rekening kunnen brengen voor het extra werk en de extra tijd die wij kwijt zijn aan het reinigen van uw glas en kozijnen. Deze extra kosten variëren tussen 25% tot 100% van de normale wasprijs.

We are no longer able to accomodate 'skip' requests because of holidays however we will work with you to arrange an alternative date for your clean.
*Het is niet langer mogelijk om wasbeurten over te slaan, wanneer u voor langere tijd weggaat (bijv. vakantie). Wij overleggen graag met u voor een alternatieve wasdatum.

Should you have building, maintanance works, painting etc performed on your property which causes in our opinion additional soiling we may charge an additional fee to remove this soiling to account for the addtional time and work required. This is particulry relevent to painting as our past experiance shows that after painting heavy soiling of greasy finger marks, afwashmiddle is very evident and time consuming to remove. Please note we do not use scrapers/blades or chemicals on your property. Concrete, cement, paint spots/strips will not be removed by us without prior agreement of additional work & costs.
*Wanneer u verbouwings/onderhouds/verf-werkzaamheden aan uw pand laat uitvoeren kan dit leiden tot extra werk om eventuele bevuiling van uw ramen te verwijderen. Wij kunnen u hier extra kosten voor in rekening brengen. Dit is vooral relevant wanneer er sprake is van verfwerkzaamheden; de ramen blijven vaak erg bevuild door oa. vettige vingers achter. Ook het gebruik van afwasmiddel op ramen is erg tijdrovend om te verwijderen. Houdt er rekening mee dat wij geen gebruik maken van schrapers/mesjes of chemicaliën. Beton, cement of verfspatters of strepen zullen niet door ons verwijderd worden zonder vooraf de kosten voor het extra werk hiervoor met u overlegd te hebben.

All cancellations or changes to the scheduled date by yourself should be made at least 3 full working days in advance, this is to allow us to plan alternative work, failure to do so will result in the agreed cleaning charge being applied for that date.
*Wanneer u de afgesproken wasdatum éénmalig wilt verzetten, laat ons dit dan in ieder geval 3 werkdagen voor de betreffende wasdatum weten. Dit geeft ons de tijd om de planning aan te passen. Wanneer dit niet gebeurt zijn wij genoodzaakt u het volledige afgesproken wasbedrag in rekening te brengen.


Whilst we do not like to have these terms and conditions past experiances have caused us to provide clarity about the services we do & do not prov
ide.
*Helaas zijn wij genoodzaakt om met algemene voorwaarden te werken.
De ervaring leert ons dat het belangrijk is om duidelijkheid te verschaffen in wat wij wel en niet bieden in onze service naar u toe.
 
Yours sincerly,
Dave Anderson.

[clearlyclean]

I have a few custies that owe two and i chase them up late evening to collect different days Sunday night is a good one,I usually say "hi its the window cleaner just a follow up call to see if your happy with the windows?" This will go either way you lose the custie,you now know where you stand or you they pay up cash,cheque or signed up to Ban transfer and the cycle starts again.

[dai]

My observations are that ther longer a debt goes unpaid, the less inclind the debter is to pay it.
I have people in my village that owe me money, after a couple of months I become invisable, or some mysterious force drags their faces in another direction as I approach.
After a couple of years they start to see me again, a quick glance and a wry smile.
Another year they are talking as if nothing had ever come between us,
But the debts  have still not been paid, and I still don't clean their windows.

[andyM]

Im noticing some of the previous good paying customers ive got are getting slower with their payments
 
For new customers I expect to be paid before I clean again for the second time.
For regular customers I always say maximum of 2 cleans and then I stop cleaning til I receive payment.
Can't be dealing with messers.
 

[Ryan @ Transparent, Carlisle]

2 cleans or twenty quid, whichever come first 

[tom2009]

I don't do more than 1 clean - if someone cleaned for me I wouldn't leave it a couple of months to pay!

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

ian every custy is different in my book
if i get on wiv em or know em il give em
more than enuf lee way new custy is directed towards
online payment or cash i invoice every custy  every clean
get sum sob storys but being an extremly nice guy
i no whos taking the pee

[AuRavelling79]

Up until now it's generally been two cleans and "on hold". If like the custy it might be 3 with a cheeky note like "my kids need shoes" or "I've run out of beer tokens".

Having read barry mallett's answer I think it's time to review my plan and I will do the following.

If they go one year without paying I'll give a little certificate saying:-

"Mr. _________ has have achieved the distinction of one year without paying the window cleaner; a big well done for hiding behind the sofa more than a nervous kid watching Dr. Who!"

After 5 years it will be for five years but picked out in silver embroidery.

After 10 years - similarly but gold embroidery.

25 years earns a seal in half-relief depicting genuine golden oak leaves, diamonds and crossed swords; made by faberge.

>Dave Anderson

I hope you provide a magnifying glass with that; or a big letter box for your payment slip! 

[Dave Anderson]

I imagine a A3 sheet with size 10 font should cover the important bits ...