Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Ian101 on September 05, 2011, 07:35:16 pm
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Well well well unbeknownst to me I had a "summer only" customer in the midst of my round :o :o
She was fine last year and did her windows all way thru winter with no issues however last week she said to leave em from October and start again in the April.
Told her no problem to stop coming during winter but unlikely I would have space / time for her come the spring .... she said will let u know next month ... thing is prob wont go back as getting inundated with new customers last few weeks ... always been a little bit of a messer but put it down to her being p issed most of time ;D
so what do you do .. dump em or welcome them back with open arms in the spring and greet them like old friends ?
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good evening young ian
my experience is to never go back when this happens to me they all say something like"we have someone else" or "we dont want them doing any more" so on and so on so i do not ever go back,never,never
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Ive got 2 customers i took back this April ... they were good customers and straight up about not in winter. Doubt i'll take them back though next year
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good evening young ian
my experience is to never go back when this happens to me they all say something like"we have someone else" or "we dont want them doing any more" so on and so on so i do not ever go back,never,never
never ever never or was that never never ever ;D
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I remember an old wc telling me a similar tale years ago. He replied, "what do you think I am, a bloody cuckoo!"
But he was deadly serious and stern faced when he told me; which made it funny.
Anyway, he dumped, I would too.
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i have the same problem mainly with hotels which close for the winter this year i took them back but i had a big problem on the first clean with the build up of sand i said today to leave it till next march
i was thinks of either writing or going to see them and explaining that i might not be able to fit them in next year but i am prepared to put them on a 2 monthly clean during the winter
any thoughts
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good evening young ian
my experience is to never go back when this happens to me they all say something like"we have someone else" or "we dont want them doing any more" so on and so on so i do not ever go back,never,never
never ever never or was that never never ever ;D
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,,never ever ;D
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i have the same problem mainly with hotels which close for the winter this year i took them back but i had a big problem on the first clean with the build up of sand i said today to leave it till next march
i was thinks of either writing or going to see them and explaining that i might not be able to fit them in next year but i am prepared to put them on a 2 monthly clean during the winter
any thoughts
i have hotels that only open easter to october. they are a seasonal business. so thats how i treat them. one clean per month easter to october with the first clean at double the price of the others
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only leave a couple holiday homes in the winter season. Normal domestic summer only customers get dumped never to be taken back on. Cant run a seasonal business so stick to annual only customers otherwise word gets round and youll being digging your own coffin :)
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dont go back, if they ring you next year put the price up ,get some of your money back that way ;D
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luckily the ones who use the winter excuse are the ones just about to be on their 3rd strike anyway - see you later ...alligator
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D.U.M.P and tell them the're done too! >:(
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Had a customer ask me to come back in the spring only last week and I agreed. The days will be getting shorter soon, so I wouldn't have been able to get round all the work in the area anyway, so it's actually helped me.
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they got two hopes. :P
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they got two hopes. :P
bob hope and no hope? ;D
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they got two hopes. :P
bob hope and no hope? ;D
no offence to you two chaps but never undersood this expression it makes no sense :P
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Ian.
I think every w/c gets these types of customer, the thing is you have to treat every one on an individual basis.
for instance I do a large house twice a year Jan and July which is £90 per clean which over a year works out at £15 per month earnings and a really good customer.
hwever the leave it till spring brigade I just say to them yes thats fine you can call me in spring BUT I cant garauntee I can take you back on as my round is now almost full of all year round customers and when its full I wont be taking ANY MORE NEW WORK ON.
now if your doing a good job and the customer is happy with your work then it places the ball firmly in their court, if they stick to their no cleans in winter then the decision is EASY
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I don't mind it, I have six or eight customers who drop out during the winter and with the bad weather and shorter days I am glad to get shot of a few.
You can't manage as many in the winter so a few seasonal customers are very handy. I could do with a few more.
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I don't mind it, I have six or eight customers who drop out during the winter and with the bad weather and shorter days I am glad to get shot of a few.
You can't manage as many in the winter so a few seasonal customers are very handy. I could do with a few more.
Hi Vince.
I agree with you. I wish I could find a few more genuine seasonal customers as well. But I have found that the majority of those "not until spring" never phone you back after winter. I usually ask if I could do it once for them in December and then carry on in March/April. If they don't bite then the chances of you hearing back from them are slim.
If I haven't got their phone number I now ask for it so I can give them a call in Spring. If they decline, "the writing is on the wall." They don't like you, they don't like WFP (I'm WFP but the situation equally applies to trad), they have money issues or a mixture of all of them.
IMO if you start to use pressure tactics as above (my round is nearly full as there may not be room for you next year) will make the chances of them phoning you back even less. They will just go with the next leaflet/canvasser who calls in the spring if they want them cleaned again. So yes we all need a good reliable customer base, which could also include good, genuine seasonal customers.
Spruce
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I don't mind at all, I wish I had more April-Oct work and less in winter, shorter days in winter so it can be difficult to get round them anyway.
They will get a price increase letter the same as every one else in January. More gutter work in autumn winter anyway.
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i dont have any summer only customers apart from a holiday home park!if any did say leave them till spring then i could just dump em but knowing me i would take them back on in spring for a higher clean price no problem.
likes been said we all get round less often in winter if we have fairly big established rounds.
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I can only think of a handful, no more than say five, who've asked for a Summer only service.
I've just dumped them; I suspect they didn't want a window cleaner anyway and the Winter was only an excuse.
And we get some really nice Winter days; cold, bright, and sunny; so it's nice to have clean windows all the year round.
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just sign on and make your money up that way and when the dole says why you are not working tell them you dornt work through winter ;)
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I think it all depends on how busy you are. if your schedual is far from full and your living costs are just about being met, its very annoying when customers say no thanks in the winter as it effects you more.
However when your rounds are more established, and your customer base is more than meeting your living costs, you tend not to worry about the not in the winter types. As long as you know what to expect you can plan around them as not every customer is going to be like that.
If they mess me about, thats when they get struck off the list. I have terms and conditions that protect my business from locked gates and messers. have a look www.stockclean.co.uk on our contact page.
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hmmm... first instinct is to dump em.... I think usually they are looking for an excuse to save money, and as we are "only" the window cleaner the hubby can do the windows himself. Once. ;D
Depending on the job/customer I'd offer the bimonthly clean option, and if they dont bite sack 'em. They'll only mess around again at a later date.
My favourites at the moment are the "can you come as and when we need you as you're too regular"...... too regular meaning every two months for £6.50 ::)
Had that twice now and guess which list they are on now ;D
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Don't just say oK. Say I will start again in April - SEE YOU THEN. So its not just left hanging
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Cozy had a very good way of working...which was go out get 2 new customers before you dump the old one...I now try to do this for all PITA type customers regardless of the cause...
Now when I see a house up for sale...go out get 2 new customers.., if someone starts playing games go out get 2 new customers...ok it doesn't always work out that way but it's a good methodology.
Personally I would say that's not a service we offer....upto them.
Dave.