Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: barry mallett on September 10, 2011, 07:04:51 pm
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need some advice . got a custy who hasnt paid yet . really nice bloke , always a nice word , sometimes makes me a cuppa . but every time i ask for payment he says can i pay you next month , im a bit strapped .or the wife will pay . when i see the wife she says see the hubby . dont want to lose this job as its an easy £20 . he even insisted on putting it up from £15 to £20 when i went from trad to wfp cos of the superior clean . been doing the house now 28 years so dont want to lose it . any advice off any guys whos had the same problems . cheers barry
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That's terrible Barry; why not double the price, do it a few more years until it's a really good chunk of money owed and make it worth sueing for?
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?????????????????
You have been doing it for 28 years and now they have started to not pay you??????????
??? ??? ??? ???
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That's terrible Barry; why not double the price, do it a few more years until it's a really good chunk of money owed and make it worth sueing for?
great advice gold , think i will give him 2 more years the sting him
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next time you clean if they dont pay then just give him a chinese burn and start from there, they soon give in and pay up.
well they did back in my school days when I used to take other kids dinner money :D
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how much does he owe
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how much does he owe
£4.00 from 1988
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Don't matter how long they've serviced with you... No money!!! No clean!!! You wouldn't do it to people so don't let them do it to you... 3 strikes and there out for me I've got bills to pay not cleaning them for fun for any body.
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;D barry stop it ;D you are an erse as they say round here ;D
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Big joey ;D
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Switch back to trad but don`t drop the price.
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He might seem like a nick bloke but he's obviously winding you up. The next time he says can I pay you next month say, no I really would appreciate it today as I have some outstanding bills to pay. (puts the boot on the other foot) I have some customers that sometimes don't have the money & I leave it till next time. What I do is phone my custy's the day before I go & if there is any outstanding monies I always make a point to remind them. i.e if there is £20 outstanding + £20 for the clean you are going to do then just say that there will be £40 to pay.
Good luck
Rickster
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You guys crack me up with your hilarious replies ;D Brilliant humour
Now to the main problem. "I'm a bit strapped." which is one of the many reasons we tradesmen hear for not getting paid.
But it's funny how you never hear anyone say that in Sainburys, or in the BP garage or in town on a Saturday night.
In short they have got money. They are just choosing not to include you in their expenditure. A good way to check is to have a look in the wheelie bin. If there's a pile of supermarket packaging rubbish in it then there is disposable income - but not for you. Is that fair?
I can understand how hard it must be to fall into a situation of debt with such a long-standing customer. So do what you can to save them. Ask them when they will have some money and if it's Thursday night for instance then make a special trip back on Thursday night.
If the problem persists then you've got to be tough. Avo is dead right. My motto is "No Doshie, no Washie" (taken from the TV show as you can probably guess). Two cleans past due + Two friendly requests for payment = Find someone more stupid than me. Supermarkets don't wait two seconds for payment. Why should we wait two plus months?
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I dont even give them three strikes.
If payment isnt recived within 7 days the database automaticly puts the customer on hold and generates me a list of letters to print as reminders.
No more cleans are done till payment is recived. If its more than 30 days late, interest is added and the account goes into deliquency. We either persue the debt till its paid, or file small claims when enough fees are built up.
I dont get any problems with late payers as a result.
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what system r u using
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hmm.you never fail to not amuse me mr mallet............... :P
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I dont even give them three strikes.
If payment isnt recived within 7 days the database automaticly puts the customer on hold and generates me a list of letters to print as reminders.
No more cleans are done till payment is recived. If its more than 30 days late, interest is added and the account goes into deliquency. We either persue the debt till its paid, or file small claims when enough fees are built up.
I dont get any problems with late payers as a result.
What ru on mate i have been cleaning windows for over 14 yrs now and i dont always get paid straight away , but i know the next time i see the custy they will pay no problem . And for the odd custy who is skint or has no money. I ask when they would like me to call back and get paid then . No Probs at all
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old his kids to ransome ;D or miss the bog windows
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What does his Mrs look like? There is always Vince's other methods of payment scheme.
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You say you don't want to lose the work as it's easy money but that's only if you're getting the actual money. He probably says the same about you; I don't want to lose this window cleaner as he's a plonker who's doing it for nowt lol!!!!!
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Barry, what I find amazing is at least six posters above have taken your post seriously!
Got any more trad. top tips?
;D
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I dont even give them three strikes.
If payment isnt recived within 7 days the database automaticly puts the customer on hold and generates me a list of letters to print as reminders.
No more cleans are done till payment is recived. If its more than 30 days late, interest is added and the account goes into deliquency. We either persue the debt till its paid, or file small claims when enough fees are built up.
I dont get any problems with late payers as a result.
What ru on mate i have been cleaning windows for over 14 yrs now and i dont always get paid straight away , but i know the next time i see the custy they will pay no problem . And for the odd custy who is skint or has no money. I ask when they would like me to call back and get paid then . No Probs at all
Good for you, i can sleep at night knowing that now. The difference with me though is all my customers actually do have money, so the payment terms are quite ok with them thanks very much.
Oh and i have been window cleaning for 10 years nearly, so of course i dont know what im talking about do i?
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Barry, what I find amazing is at least six posters above have taken your post seriously!
Got any more trad. top tips?
;D
;D
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:o :o :o :P
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the point i am making is it seems a bit over the top . to go to all the trouble of printing letters and chasing debt in such a way as you describe , you need to chill out out a little mate .
I get on really well with a lot of my custys so dont mind waiting a day or two for payment , its part of good customer relations . i find it works better to have a good rapport with custys instead of taking them to court for a few quid just because they dont happen to have any money on them when i happen to call for my money . Mike
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just say i need the cash for shopping and mr tesco charges me the same prices as u
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well chuffed . i got it sorted today . cleaned the house , then told him i was not pleased about the non paying . so he apologised and told me to call tuedsay and the wife is gonna sort it . ;D ;D he also told me his sister needs a windy , hers has stopped calling . so i shot round , lovely house told her £25 . so cleaned em up , but she had just filled the car up with her last money . so shes gonna double up next month a straight £50. so all in all a very good day ;D ;D
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well chuffed . i got it sorted today . cleaned the house , then told him i was not pleased about the non paying . so he apologised and told me to call tuedsay and the wife is gonna sort it . ;D ;D he also told me his sister needs a windy , hers has stopped calling . so i shot round , lovely house told her £25 . so cleaned em up , but she had just filled the car up with her last money . so shes gonna double up next month a straight £50. so all in all a very good day ;D ;D
i hate to put a spanner in the works but if they can not afford to pay you £25 what thinks your get paid the £50. i hope you do but will have to wait and see
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Barry soap up the windows then leave then or throw eggs on the windows never fails for me
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Barry soap up the windows then leave then or throw eggs on the windows never fails for me
... Fails to what? Get you more customers and a good reputation, or is your goal to commit professional suicide?
John
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barry i realy think they are both having u over mate tuesday will tell no money tuesday then cout your loses and dump lesson learned i think
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well chuffed . i got it sorted today . cleaned the house , then told him i was not pleased about the non paying . so he apologised and told me to call tuedsay and the wife is gonna sort it . ;D ;D he also told me his sister needs a windy , hers has stopped calling . so i shot round , lovely house told her £25 . so cleaned em up , but she had just filled the car up with her last money . so shes gonna double up next month a straight £50. so all in all a very good day ;D ;D
Fantastic news! ;D That's the beauty of doing quality work and being reliable; you can charge a good price and now you've been referred to the family it'll roll from here on in.
All those on here who say dump 'em wouldn't have such good custies like you and me Barry!
Sounds like they're a bit disorganised on having the money ready so why don't you make it easy for any referrals they give you and say to the new referral custy "look, I'll call monthly and clean your windows, you save the money up for a year and put it in a Cash ISA and draw it out just before Xmas 2012 and pay me then?"
They save it up and pay you in 14 months time! It's like a savings plan where they save for you! Fill yer boots, Barry!
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;Dstop encouraging him Gold ;D
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;D ;D ;D good thinking gold . ok stu i will give it a rest . after all theres plenty tradders out there that need cheering up ;)
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;D ;D ;D good thinking gold . ok stu i will give it a rest . after all theres plenty tradders out there that need cheering up ;)
I wish i had more custys like yours Barry ;)
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;D ;D ;D good thinking gold . ok stu i will give it a rest . after all theres plenty tradders out there that need cheering up ;)
;D ;D yes your right ;D
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You say you don't want to lose the work as it's easy money but that's only if you're getting the actual money. He probably says the same about you; I don't want to lose this window cleaner as he's a plonker who's doing it for nowt lol!!!!!
I wondered when someone would comment on the "easy" money comment. Makes me laugh when people say "it's good job" it's an easy job" it's a good earner".......not if you don't get paid it's not ;)
You are running a business, not a charity :)
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You say you don't want to lose the work as it's easy money but that's only if you're getting the actual money. He probably says the same about you; I don't want to lose this window cleaner as he's a plonker who's doing it for nowt lol!!!!!
I wondered when someone would comment on the "easy" money comment. Makes me laugh when people say "it's good job" it's an easy job" it's a good earner".......not if you don't get paid it's not ;)
You are running a business, not a charity :)
Why is it that the sucessful business women don't understand silly humour? IT'S A JOKE! ;D
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You say you don't want to lose the work as it's easy money but that's only if you're getting the actual money. He probably says the same about you; I don't want to lose this window cleaner as he's a plonker who's doing it for nowt lol!!!!!
I wondered when someone would comment on the "easy" money comment. Makes me laugh when people say "it's good job" it's an easy job" it's a good earner".......not if you don't get paid it's not ;)
You are running a business, not a charity :)
Why is it that the sucessful business women don't understand silly humour? IT'S A JOKE! ;D
you talking about KateCatherine ?? ;D
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the point i am making is it seems a bit over the top . to go to all the trouble of printing letters and chasing debt in such a way as you describe , you need to chill out out a little mate .
I get on really well with a lot of my custys so dont mind waiting a day or two for payment , its part of good customer relations . i find it works better to have a good rapport with custys instead of taking them to court for a few quid just because they dont happen to have any money on them when i happen to call for my money . Mike
Fair enough if it works for you, congratulations!
However down here in the south customers are not your freinds, alot of my customers are millionaires, they dont have friends in business trust me i know.
Good customer relations is key to a succesful business, however it goes two ways and just becouse they are nice people, failing to pay you when the bills fall due in itself shows you havent got the right kind of rapport with your customers, and they dont take you seriously.
All my custies know me well, I do a good job, I am regular, I stick to my word and I expect them in return to pay ontime. I dont have any issues normally with payments, becouse each customer is told when they sign up that we expect payment to be recived on time.
Remember you are running a business, a customer not paying you ontime isnt worth having and I have no quarms about dropping customers who dont respect my business terms, and filing small claims for moneys due. Its all part of running a business, and those who think their customers are thier mates, or feel honoured to clean their windows for a cuppa and a chat; thats great but it wont get your bills paid. or make you rich will it?
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Barry, what I find amazing is at least six posters above have taken your post seriously!
Got any more trad. top tips?
;D
yeah i miss barrys top tips! that was good! ;D
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I think I will just give my custies my bills to pay, them they need not pay me.
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the point i am making is it seems a bit over the top . to go to all the trouble of printing letters and chasing debt in such a way as you describe , you need to chill out out a little mate .
I get on really well with a lot of my custys so dont mind waiting a day or two for payment , its part of good customer relations . i find it works better to have a good rapport with custys instead of taking them to court for a few quid just because they dont happen to have any money on them when i happen to call for my money . Mike
fair enough i wish you well in your business , mike
Fair enough if it works for you, congratulations!
However down here in the south customers are not your freinds, alot of my customers are millionaires, they dont have friends in business trust me i know.
Good customer relations is key to a succesful business, however it goes two ways and just becouse they are nice people, failing to pay you when the bills fall due in itself shows you havent got the right kind of rapport with your customers, and they dont take you seriously.
All my custies know me well, I do a good job, I am regular, I stick to my word and I expect them in return to pay ontime. I dont have any issues normally with payments, becouse each customer is told when they sign up that we expect payment to be recived on time.
Remember you are running a business, a customer not paying you ontime isnt worth having and I have no quarms about dropping customers who dont respect my business terms, and filing small claims for moneys due. Its all part of running a business, and those who think their customers are thier mates, or feel honoured to clean their windows for a cuppa and a chat; thats great but it wont get your bills paid. or make you rich will it?