[peter holley]

IT SOUNDS LIKE SHES TRYING TO CUT BACK!   BUT ON 8 WEEKLY WITH WFP THE PRICE MUST GO UP BY AT L;EAST A FEW QUID....

[choice.clean]

my answer would be "fine but you have to realise you may not get same results, re may not get all the dirt off as wfp works on dissolving, if you only washed your car every 8 weeks wouldn't keep to same standard, then add in what i find is that sometimes storm will blow up just after i have cleaned and may be dirty for 2 months. But if it is just maintenance you want you should be ok". point is if they want to extend the clean period there is little you can do about it but they then can't complain if finish is poor.

[Window Cleaning Services]

i tell them nicely that to be fair on all the other customers that keep my business going on monthly basis i don't take on e.o.monthers. I also add that i appreciate it if they can't afford a regular service each month and understand if they wish to make alternative arrangements.worked every time so far! 8)Syd

[Ian_Giles]

Like most of the other replies I say that you have to stick by your guns, you've set out your stall now and should not let the customer dictate what happens

I think it makes hardly any difference between 4 weekly or 8 weekly, I've never charged extra personally.

Ian

[Helen]

Let her find someone else. Every other month works out £162 over the year, which equates to £13.50 per month. Don't lose sleep or get stressed for £13.50 per month

Had one last year came on on EOM terms then in October says don't want winter cleaning. (we advertise and tell all year round service) So 6 cleans came down to 3, could have got stressed with her, but why? just politely said sorry we clean all year round, because if we don't we won't be here to clean yours in the summer will we? She had no answer and off she went into dolly day dream land.

[Kentish Poleman]

been doing this house for last 8 months,£27 per month double glazed units upvc, but with georgien bars stuck on to the glass on outside,,,always knocking bits off then having to stick it back on again,this is with wfp..anyway the women comes out after my last clean and tells me that once a month is not working out and she wants to go to every other month,i informed her that this could be done but it works out more expensive as the windows are twice as dirty as monthly cleans.She sayes that if i don,t do ever other for the same price she,ll get someone who will.What would you do,,loose the £27 or tell her to find someone else

Umm, a tricky one that. To be perfectly honest, we all know that the vast majority of sites will be fine on 8 week cycles dont we? If you can get your customer to run on a 4 weeker, then you are doing well, perhaps because he or she will have been used to the old trad-man who would have left so much gunk on the glass that he had to return in 4 weeks! [Sorry if that irritates any Trad people, but its not far off the mark is it!]

So if your customer is living next to a busy road, then 4 weeks it has to be, if off a side road with little traffic, I'd go at 8. Besides, if you have that much work as it is, 8 week cycles is the only option you have to get all the work done anyway, unless you like sweating your whatsits off each and every day..LOL

[Small but perfectley formed]

In the current economic climate keep her on ,then if your circumstances change you can drop her.

[windowwashers]

been doing this house for last 8 months,£27 per month double glazed units upvc, but with georgien bars stuck on to the glass on outside,,,always knocking bits off then having to stick it back on again,this is with wfp..anyway the women comes out after my last clean and tells me that once a month is not working out and she wants to go to every other month,i informed her that this could be done but it works out more expensive as the windows are twice as dirty as monthly cleans.She sayes that if i don,t do ever other for the same price she,ll get someone who will.What would you do,,loose the £27 or tell her to find someone else

Umm, a tricky one that. To be perfectly honest, we all know that the vast majority of sites will be fine on 8 week cycles dont we? If you can get your customer to run on a 4 weeker, then you are doing well, perhaps because he or she will have been used to the old trad-man who would have left so much gunk on the glass that he had to return in 4 weeks! [Sorry if that irritates any Trad people, but its not far off the mark is it!]

So if your customer is living next to a busy road, then 4 weeks it has to be, if off a side road with little traffic, I'd go at 8. Besides, if you have that much work as it is, 8 week cycles is the only option you have to get all the work done anyway, unless you like sweating your whatsits off each and every day..LOL

Have to stick up for trad cleaners on that one, I used do to trad 4 weekly and windows where pretty much clean (meaning good thats what I am paid for to clean them clean)
switched to wfp and the same thing but a little cleaner (aprt from birds mess)

when I was trad I always charged more as there is more work to do, this is still the same with water fed pole more time = more dirt, dust , bird mess ect.

so more work even if only 1 min more it is still more work, so it you kept as the same price you would be losing time, and time in business equals money.

The answer is obvious.

Ian

[Wayne Thomas]

I had one customer I telephoned last night asked me if I could miss her windows today, to which I enquired if she had builders outside her place, she replied no. I then asked her why she would like to miss the windows today. Her reply was because the windows still look clean.
Today I left a note saying that the price she pays is for a 6weekly clean (which she had agreed to ages back) and that if she wants to go 12 weekly (which I'll happily oblige), the price will be increasing by 25% to cover the extra time spent scrubbing the glass and frames back to the same standard as a normal wash and for her to telephone me in advance if she wishes to go 12 weekly.
I've left the matter in her hands and won't back down on my decision. She's changed the duration of cleans so I've changed the price. It's only fair and accomodating. I won't be dictated my terms of work by customers willy nilly, I'd rather bin them because half of these problem customers decide to cancel  within 6 months anyway.

[Paul Coleman]

I had one customer I telephoned last night asked me if I could miss her windows today, to which I enquired if she had builders outside her place, she replied no. I then asked her why she would like to miss the windows today. Her reply was because the windows still look clean.
Today I left a note saying that the price she pays is for a 6weekly clean (which she had agreed to ages back) and that if she wants to go 12 weekly (which I'll happily oblige), the price will be increasing by 25% to cover the extra time spent scrubbing the glass and frames back to the same standard as a normal wash and for her to telephone me in advance if she wishes to go 12 weekly.
I've left the matter in her hands and won't back down on my decision. She's changed the duration of cleans so I've changed the price. It's only fair and accomodating. I won't be dictated my terms of work by customers willy nilly, I'd rather bin them because half of these problem customers decide to cancel  within 6 months anyway.

I sometimes wondering if I live on another planet because I'm pretty rigid about a six weekly cycle (or as close as I can reasonably get to it).  It makes the record keeping so much simpler.  I will go to 12 weekly for jobs of £50+ .  I also have a bi-monthly job but that's no hassle because it's barely a mile from my water source so I can fit that in just fine.  The only other jobs that I do at other intervals are a few shops that are close to where I live.  I do them variously at weekly, 2 weekly, and one at monthly.  However, I would say that 95% of my business is 6 weekly.

[steve.ternent]

It's not what you said it's how you say it!

I'm sure we have all heard that many times!

Try getting her on your side, try saying something like this...

I appreciate that money can be tight in this current climate, interest rates going higher and higher...If you don't mind me asking is that one of the reasons you are choosing the two monthly option?

The two monthly price would be £34 thats an increase of only 25% (ish!)
I appreciate that's a little more, but look on the bright side...
Your actually saving £20 over that two month period!  :

If she say's no ...no harm done! but let her go, even offer numbers of other window cleaners in the area.
This way you leave the door open for her to come back! 

[Wayne Thomas]

There is no way I'm bending over backwards for customers who want to mess me around.
I give them a choice, they choose which they prefer.  I either retain them as a regular customer at the original price and original interval or clean them less often for more profit whilst they are still saving in the long run or I lose them through their choice of changing the duration and price at which I took them on at.
IMHO most customers who start messing me about on a regular basis just aren't worth having.
I give all my customers two chances and on the third I dump them as I'd rather have fewer better valued customers.
If I give a customer an inch then it's only a matter of time before they're taking a mile.

[Wrekin C S]

Some good replys here - you could just pick another 1 or 2 custies up then drop her if you have enough work.

[cottonbud10]

thanks for all the input everyone,all taken onboard....cottonbud10

[Alistair@AWC]

Come on Cottonbud,

You asked us all 'What would we do'

Now im interested in what you WILL do? 

Al