[STEVE-UK]

was doing a flat today on the 4th floor and 2 of the lower flat owners come out moaning ' are you gonna do my windows now youve got them wet' their windows were hanging i could see they hadnt been done for months , i just said no .

ive had this a few times now but having been doing all commercial blocks as a sub, i havent come accross this b4,

so what do you guys reply??

[EVER CLEAN]

you should have said..... they get wet when it rains, do you ask god to finish them off

[Wayne Thomas]

Just tell them you won't charge them (the ones below who moan) for a free wash as you're generous like that, laugh and ignore them.

[STEVE-UK]

i did say, what do you do when it rains then, then said to her your window are filthy it looks like you havent had them done for months, probably after a free window clean !!

[AJ]

Yes, of course I can do yours. I'll pop the quote in before I leave.
Had this a lot, everyone wants something for nothing.
Only do complete blocks with the pole now, will do a single flat if I can do them from inside.

[Neil Williams]

Only do upper flats with the following conditions.
1: We get the lower flats on too or
2: One complaint from lower flats and the job gets dropped

I can do without the hassle

[AuRavelling79]

Funny old world - had this today. A small three storey block and a lady comes across and sees me doing a house opposite.

"Can you do mine please ? etc ...."

"Yes but you may get problems with your neighbours below" (explain why etc)

"Oh they're out at work all day and their windows are a right state (they were too) just carry on ..."

So I did. But  I did say that if I got any aggro off them I might have to stop coming.

Anyway, we shall see ...

[steve.ternent]

  Dog's Bark!   Birds Cheep!    People moan!

  Pat the dog, Listen to the sweet music of our feathered friends, and ignore the moaning...

[NWH]

how about the customer is always right

Who was the first person to say that,there way off the customer is not always right and in the past i`ve told a few aswell.

[WCE]

how about the customer is always right

Yeah ok but their not! Sometimes the customer is wrong very wrong!

[AJ]

If the customer is always right, and they can tell me how to do my job, why don't they clean their own windows?

 

[STEVE-UK]

cant clean trad as its 4 th floor town house, cant do from inside as they are sash and dont want to drop the job as its 1 of 80 jobs i do for 1 guy and dont want to loose the lot

what got my back up is the way they say it,

[alanwilson]

perhaps you should show the downstairs people a bit of respect and clean the tops trad.

how about the customer is always right

firstly if wfp is an available option then the legal requirement is to use wfp over ladders.

secondly they aren't the flipping customer if they don't pay.

rant over

[AuRavelling79]

Round half empty = customer is always right!

Round full and don't want any more custy's = customer is rarely ever right!

[cybersye]

I know what you mean Steve, has happened to me a few times, I hate being talked down to or shouted at, when I've been asked nicely I've often bladed the odd pane for them (basement ones). I try to apologise in the main, tell them that its the safest way to clean at height and that their neighbour has every right to have a window cleaner, I am only doing my job and trying to earn a living and usually advise them to discuss it with their neighbour. Usually the buck stops there. sometimes i win them over and gain a customer  All you can do is keep your cool and conduct yourself in a professional manner.

[windowwashers]

perhaps you should show the downstairs people a bit of respect and clean the tops trad.

Thats not a very good idea at all, have respect for yourself and go wfp

I would offer them a quote for downstairs with a discount/min charge they choose to live in a block of flats and people above them have a right to have there windows cleaned.

The rain answer is a simple one that i use. Free clean is not going to happen.

Ian

[Darren O]

On one of the streets i clean ive had a lot of bother with customers complaining about there windows getting wet when i do the flat upstairs and to be honest if it was me i would be the same.When the water dries in on the flats below they are a mess one OAP said to me i just want my windows left the way they were before you came cant realy argue with him so just get the ladder out.

[tartan cleaning]

how about the customer is always right

Ha! if i listen to that i would not get anything done!

[steve.ternent]

Don't take it personally, smile.  There is an old saying...
 
I wrote this on the "customers dictating price?"

Customers that mess you around should be told...

The customer is always right!  This is as true now as it was when it was first penned/spoken!

When you enter into an agreement  BOTH parties have to be pleased with the arrangement!

Let people have their points of view, maybe they don't make a cup of tea...BIG DEAL!

If your not HAPPT move on, BE HAPPY! 

Remember people have the right to be... Miserable, hateful and damn right obnoxious if they wish! 

[Helen]

cant clean trad as its 4 th floor town house, cant do from inside as they are sash and dont want to drop the job as its 1 of 80 jobs i do for 1 guy and dont want to loose the lot

what got my back up is the way they say it,

If you are working on behalf of someone else then the onus is on him to get the situation sorted. He should have dealt with all this before passing the work on.... Let him know that there is a potential problem, then it is up to him to work round it and let you know. Next time, if these people come out, just explain that you are working on behalf of MR XXX and if they should want to contact him then please do so.

[steve.ternent]

“The customer is always right”

Is an old business saying and not used so much today by upto date businesses.

Main reasons being, some customers are bad for business and you end up with the worse customers. Can make you or your staff unhappy and sometimes the customer is wrong.


Ewan 

  I agree with your point that some customers are bad for business!

But we choose are customers... if we are not happy with them we drop/lose them...
My point is they are no longer customers! 

only customers (people we are happy to deal with!)
are “The customer that is always right” 

After all, the customers we choose are good customers are they not? 

[Neil271052]

On one of the streets i clean ive had a lot of bother with customers complaining about there windows getting wet when i do the flat upstairs and to be honest if it was me i would be the same.When the water dries in on the flats below they are a mess one OAP said to me i just want my windows left the way they were before you came cant realy argue with him so just get the ladder out.

That's quite right and sensible.

I can't believe all these smart alec replies.  :

If I lived in a flat and somebody came and threw water all over the windows I'd be mad as well.

The person above is entitled to have their windows cleaned as some of you have pointed out but it doesn't entitle you make a mess of other peoples windows any more than if a builder is in next door and his mess goes over onto your property.

All that crap about God and rain is just so much rubbish, you'd be on a very sticky wicket if it came to legal action and I think you all know it.

[WCE]

On one of the streets i clean ive had a lot of bother with customers complaining about there windows getting wet when i do the flat upstairs and to be honest if it was me i would be the same.When the water dries in on the flats below they are a mess one OAP said to me i just want my windows left the way they were before you came cant realy argue with him so just get the ladder out.

That's quite right and sensible.

I can't believe all these smart alec replies.  :

If I lived in a flat and somebody came and threw water all over the windows I'd be mad as well.

The person above is entitled to have their windows cleaned as some of you have pointed out but it doesn't entitle you make a mess of other peoples windows any more than if a builder is in next door and his mess goes over onto your property.

All that crap about God and rain is just so much rubbish, you'd be on a very sticky wicket if it came to legal action and I think you all know it.

Legal action? What rubbish! You must be joking! I was threatened with legal action to stop me cleaning my own flat windows. The person who complained to my landlord wouldn't even let me clean their windows for free. Next thing I know I get a letter telling me that if i clean my windows again then they will take legal action. Did it worry me - NO! Because I know that apart from giving the court a good laugh there was no way any court would act on such a matter it's water and no different to rain. If you think that someone would waste time and money over such a trivial thing then your mad.   

[Sanity]

Its not a mess...its water.

Rain gets their windows wet.  Do they then moan to their upstairs neighbor that they have not sheltered their windows from the rain? 
The customer on the top floor has the right to have their windows cleaned.  WHD means that the safest way to clean them is WFP. WFP uses water to rinse windows.  Gravity means that this water falls in a downward direction.

Rain falls in a downward direction.  Rain is water.  What does the downstairs neighbor do when it rains?



Some of you talk utter crap (legal action my eye...).

Some of you are suggesting that the cleaner should also clean the windows that he got wet for free.  Don't talk rubish.  Rain is wet.  WFP water is wet.  Whats the difference?

[Neil271052]

On one of the streets i clean ive had a lot of bother with customers complaining about there windows getting wet when i do the flat upstairs and to be honest if it was me i would be the same.When the water dries in on the flats below they are a mess one OAP said to me i just want my windows left the way they were before you came cant realy argue with him so just get the ladder out.

That's quite right and sensible.

I can't believe all these smart alec replies.  :

If I lived in a flat and somebody came and threw water all over the windows I'd be mad as well.

The person above is entitled to have their windows cleaned as some of you have pointed out but it doesn't entitle you make a mess of other peoples windows any more than if a builder is in next door and his mess goes over onto your property.

All that crap about God and rain is just so much rubbish, you'd be on a very sticky wicket if it came to legal action and I think you all know it.

Legal action? What rubbish! You must be joking! I was threatened with legal action to stop me cleaning my own flat windows. The person who complained to my landlord wouldn't even let me clean their windows for free. Next thing I know I get a letter telling me that if i clean my windows again then they will take legal action. Did it worry me - NO! Because I know that apart from giving the court a good laugh there was no way any court would act on such a matter it's water and no different to rain. If you think that someone would waste time and money over such a trivial thing then your mad.   

Believe me some people would as you have found out.

All that would happen in court is that you could get an injunction against you forbidding you to throw water on the complainants window which if you carry on would be contempt of court which is of course  a serious offence regardless of the original misdemeanour.

BTW rain is an act of God, you are not God. 

[Neil271052]

Its not a mess...its water.

Rain gets their windows wet.  Do they then moan to their upstairs neighbor that they have not sheltered their windows from the rain? 
The customer on the top floor has the right to have their windows cleaned.  WHD means that the safest way to clean them is WFP. WFP uses water to rinse windows.  Gravity means that this water falls in a downward direction.

Rain falls in a downward direction.  Rain is water.  What does the downstairs neighbor do when it rains?
 minor


Some of you talk utter crap (legal action my eye...).

Some of you are suggesting that the cleaner should also clean the windows that he got wet for free.  Don't talk rubish.  Rain is wet.  WFP water is wet.  Whats the difference?

The difference as I pointed out previously is that  rain is an act of God that nobody can prevent.

You are not God and can be prevented from pouring water onto someone elses property.

Semantics maybe but that is how it would be seen in a court of law followed of course by an injunction.

You can shout around as much as you like but throwing water onto someones private property is not lawful and people are up in court every day for other similar minor stuff.

[davids3511]

how about the customer is always right

They are not a customer if they are not paying you.

[pjulk]

I had this problem on some flats i did and to be honest for the money i was earning there it was not worth the hassle so i just dumped them and it made me a lot happier.

[Wayne Thomas]

It all boils down to wether you have a thick skin and are prepared to put up with any complaints from moaning non-customers below so you might as well price high right from the start and either clean them when non customers are out or offer a reduced rate, perhaps even a freebie to the non custie if the price you are charging above is profitable enough to do this.Better off seeing the caretaker and cleaning the whole lot as it saves a whole lot of hassle.

[mark dew]

legal action sounds like a laugh to me. Bring it on!! By the time it reached court the elements would have made any 'evidence(?)' disappear.
If someone threatens that, you could offer a cheaper option. By cleaning their windows at a price.

[windowwashers]

perhaps you should show the downstairs people a bit of respect and clean the tops trad.

how about the customer is always right

how would you feel if you just had your windows cleaned and some herbert cleaned the flat above and left your windows a mess
firstly if wfp is an available option then the legal requirement is to use wfp over ladders.

secondly they aren't the flipping customer if they don't pay.

rant over

I agree with you, I only clean paying customers windows, I would always offer to clean theres this is there choice. As I said before they choose to live in a flat.

[WCE]

perhaps you should show the downstairs people a bit of respect and clean the tops trad.

how about the customer is always right

how would you feel if you just had your windows cleaned and some herbert cleaned the flat above and left your windows a mess
firstly if wfp is an available option then the legal requirement is to use wfp over ladders.

secondly they aren't the flipping customer if they don't pay.

rant over

So you are now contradicting yourself? U've lost me!....

[tonyoliver]

one of the deep joys of modern britain is that not all of us speaks english

i just say polska niet englisssssssssssssssssss


thay say something racist and walk away try its its fun free andshows em up for what they are moaning miserable pleasent pluckers