[harleyman]

Did  a bit of canvassing to day  put a price to a potential customer a young guy  you know when  you think  they seem  a bit  cagey he agreed the price then he says  do it this time and I will see how you get on I think he is at it  I think he will have them done once and  then  say  your fired  just a gut feeling

[zesty]

I nearly made it, but i did have to take a breath in the end.

 

[John Mart]

Did  a bit of canvassing to day  put a price to a potential customer a young guy  you know when  you think  they seem  a bit  cagey he agreed the price then he says  do it this time and I will see how you get on I think he is at it  I think he will have them done once and  then  say  your fired  just a gut feeling

So charge double or don’t do it.

[Stoots]

just do it

thats the way it goes with building work, 75% of what you come across will be one offs, messers and poopebags

plough through em and pick up more

[capn sparkle]

Go with your gut feeling if anyone says "we'll see how it goes after the 1st clean" offer them a one off price, then walk away if it doesn't feel right. The customer has no idea if you're any good so they're completely within their rights.

Others will say that it's unprofessional to walk away but always remember it's your business.

[nathankaye]

Thats why a first price or even signing upto gocardless will weed out the potential messers.

[P @ F]

The minute they tell me we will see how it goes I go , can’t even be bothered with the gamble any more.
Total time wasters , they couldn’t give you more of a heads up !

[G Griffin]

Did  a bit of canvassing to day  put a price to a potential customer a young guy  you know when  you think  they seem  a bit  cagey he agreed the price then he says  do it this time and I will see how you get on I think he is at it  I think he will have them done once and  then  say  your fired  just a gut feeling

That's not a maybe; that's a one-off.
Payments upfront and see how you get on. If he isn't agreeable then see how he gets on with finding a window cleaner.
Trust needs to be earned.

[dazmond]

happens to us all even after 26 years of window cleaning..........i picked up a job 3 months ago,£60 first clean and £50 12 weekly going forward,i set my stall out...... she agreed the price and frequency,nice as pie,made me a coffee and chatted to me for a while as i was cleaning etc....texted her last night for side gate to be left unlocked......."the windows dont look too bad yet darren can you text me at the end of april and we ll see then" ...dumped....

the windows were filthy.....i took my time and made sure they were gleaming.took around 90 mins as its a large 5 bed house(valued at £864,000 at present)....ive already replaced her with a few monthly jobs i picked up last week so not too bothered...just annoyed....

how the hell do they expect us to make a living messing us about like that?they both run a business themselves......

mind you i bet the mortgage and bills add up to over £3k a month on that property......

[NWH]

So you lost money then Daz at 60 for an hour and a half’s work,if they don’t want me to fit them in regularly or when I’m in the area I don’t bother I get this sorted before the first clean.
You get a gut feeling for this I had 1 a couple of weeks ago he said every couple of months she comes out and says twice a year,I was walking off before he had chance to say anything as she was so rude. As soon as they look at me as if they ase just about to take out a poop bag I’m offski.

[NWH]

The situation you want to be in is that you dictact the terms of cleaning within reason,you can’t see it as a good thing if you charge double etc,why would you if you’ve no end of work down the road that is hassle free.

[Johnny B]

I always look at first cleans as though they are going to be one-offs.

If they turn into regulars then great. If they prove to be one-offs I am not bothered as long as I have earned enough from them.

John

[Stoots]

I cleaned one last month. £12 every 4 weeks yep no problem

Did the first clean, 2 weeks later no payment so sent a text. "sorry lost the slip during moving paid it now".

You've moved ?

"Yes we won't be needing you again thanks"

I find it quite funny these days the amount of crap you have to go through to get a decent round...

[nathankaye]

I went to quote one today which is en route to a nice area i work in. As soon as i drove down the street, looking at the state of the houses and gardens, I know ive made a mistake. But im a man of my word and went to price the job.
So i told her £14 every 4 or £18 every 8wks. She said she needed to talk to her partner but it was very evident that there was no partner. She then said could i do it whilst there however 😂😂😂
Now i did think of charging double as a one off clean but I aint time for that. So i simply explained that I do not clean one offs as im busy with my regular work to break off from.  I always give a reason and always polite about it, dispite how they may be. They can never call me for being rude or worse.

But this is why if the quote is in my areas where i work, i prefer to speak to them or see the house before i quote.  I ask them first if the price is right are they looking for a regular window cleaner?  I base my response to the gutt feeling to the answer to that question and take it from there

[dazmond]

I always look at first cleans as though they are going to be one-offs.

If they turn into regulars then great. If they prove to be one-offs I am not bothered as long as I have earned enough from them.

John

most jobs i clean turn into regular jobs though....this very rarely happens esp with it being a large house,these sorts of customers are usually good as gold.....

on a side note ive just found out that kleeneze and betterware went bust last year...no wonder she doesnt want her windows cleaned regularly....(she and her husband were overseeing 200 distributors for this company)

[Dry Clean]

I always look at first cleans as though they are going to be one-offs.

If they turn into regulars then great. If they prove to be one-offs I am not bothered as long as I have earned enough from them.

John

Same here John, as long as I get paid what I asked for that first clean then Iv nothing to complain about,

[KS Cleaning]

I always look at first cleans as though they are going to be one-offs.

If they turn into regulars then great. If they prove to be one-offs I am not bothered as long as I have earned enough from them.

John

most jobs i clean turn into regular jobs though....this very rarely happens esp with it being a large house,these sorts of customers are usually good as gold.....

on a side note ive just found out that kleeneze and betterware went bust last year...no wonder she doesnt want her windows cleaned regularly....(she and her husband were overseeing 200 distributors for this company)

She certainly shared a lot of information on her background for being a new customer.

[dazmond]

I always look at first cleans as though they are going to be one-offs.

If they turn into regulars then great. If they prove to be one-offs I am not bothered as long as I have earned enough from them.

John

most jobs i clean turn into regular jobs though....this very rarely happens esp with it being a large house,these sorts of customers are usually good as gold.....

on a side note ive just found out that kleeneze and betterware went bust last year...no wonder she doesnt want her windows cleaned regularly....(she and her husband were overseeing 200 distributors for this company)

She certainly shared a lot of information on her background for being a new customer.

i found out online mate.... ....plus another customer who knows her.....

[KS Cleaning]

I always look at first cleans as though they are going to be one-offs.

If they turn into regulars then great. If they prove to be one-offs I am not bothered as long as I have earned enough from them.

John

most jobs i clean turn into regular jobs though....this very rarely happens esp with it being a large house,these sorts of customers are usually good as gold.....

on a side note ive just found out that kleeneze and betterware went bust last year...no wonder she doesnt want her windows cleaned regularly....(she and her husband were overseeing 200 distributors for this company)

She certainly shared a lot of information on her background for being a new customer.

i found out online mate.... ....plus another customer who knows her.....

Stalker😜

[Johnny B]

I always look at first cleans as though they are going to be one-offs.

If they turn into regulars then great. If they prove to be one-offs I am not bothered as long as I have earned enough from them.

John

Same here John, as long as I get paid what I asked for that first clean then Iv nothing to complain about,

Just to add to my comment Sean,  most of those that don't ask for a regular clean will ring me as and when they need a clean, say every 3-6 months. Again, I have no problem with this at all as I fit them in when I am in their area to do my regulars. Very, very few are actual one-offs.

John