Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: formb on April 15, 2013, 12:16:19 pm

Title: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: formb on April 15, 2013, 12:16:19 pm
Just got a cracker, sent in with payment:

This house has now been knocked down, it will be rebuilt but will take around a year.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: deeege on April 15, 2013, 12:53:29 pm
I'd say its likely to be true, they'd look silly if you turn up there next month :)
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: TLC on April 15, 2013, 12:54:54 pm
That's the worst excuse I've ever heard!

The best one I've had is "your water is soaking into our brickwork and might damage it"

Good job it never rains in England !!!
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: EandM on April 15, 2013, 01:27:22 pm
At a posh country place near me:

' We're having all the windows replaced with handmade double glazed wooden units. We'll give you a call in about a year '

A year later.... phone call;

' Hello. Can you clean the windows on Tuesday ? '
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Pete Thompson on April 15, 2013, 01:32:58 pm
Here's one of mine:

"We're moving to Canada, sorry we have to cancel"

then FIVE YEARS later

"We didn't like Canada, we're back in the same house, can you start again"
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: richard jagger on April 15, 2013, 01:38:12 pm
"My dog gets to upset, could we leave it this time."
I could not believe it so never went back.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Ian101 on April 15, 2013, 01:46:22 pm
The plumber is here.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: SB Cleaning on April 15, 2013, 02:07:49 pm
Just got a cracker, sent in with payment:

This house has now been knocked down, it will be rebuilt but will take around a year.
It does happen
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: rg1 on April 15, 2013, 02:44:43 pm
One of my customers last week:

Our roof is leaking, can you leave it this month  ???
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: tlwcs on April 15, 2013, 02:48:44 pm
I have icicles on the windows cills please leave it this month. Jog on fella
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: brynley on April 15, 2013, 03:08:50 pm
 i had one say, it's forcast rain at the end of the week
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: [GQC] Tim on April 15, 2013, 05:08:52 pm
Just got a cracker, sent in with payment:

This house has now been knocked down, it will be rebuilt but will take around a year.

No joke, I've had two of them!
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: elite mike on April 15, 2013, 06:57:59 pm
ime to tired to have the windows cleaned  ::)roll  really
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: bobplum on April 15, 2013, 07:12:28 pm
the one that really annoys me is the come to the door and say they dont feel well? and can you leave it.......of course i can.............permanently

Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: G Griffin on April 15, 2013, 07:28:17 pm
Just got a cracker, sent in with payment:

This house has now been knocked down, it will be rebuilt but will take around a year.

Did you use a Brodex pole to clean it?
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 15, 2013, 07:29:19 pm
I turned up on the Docks to clean a set of portakabin/offices for a shipping company to find them gone. I phoned the manager and he laughed and told me to take the next left and drive two hundred metres and I'd find them there behind one of the storage silos where they had been relocated nearer the wharfs!

Still clean them today.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: KS Cleaning on April 15, 2013, 07:36:24 pm
Just got a cracker, sent in with payment:

This house has now been knocked down, it will be rebuilt but will take around a year.

Did you use a Brodex pole to clean it?
  ;D ;D

When are you gonna audition for Britains Got Talent
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: MATT BATEMAN (OWC) on April 15, 2013, 07:52:20 pm
Had one about 4 years ago, 'Oh God, you always come when the dog groomer is here'
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Dave Willis on April 15, 2013, 08:08:00 pm
Leave it today I haven't got time  ???

Not today I'm decorating inside.

Lave them I've got flu.

Not today we've just come back from Italy  ???

Not today - the owners have moved to America. (they owed me for three cleans too)  >:(
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: H2GoKent on April 15, 2013, 08:19:42 pm
I had a guy ask me not to clean one specific window.
He came out of the house all serious said 'I need to show you something' I thought oh dear here we go.

Round the back of the house he points out one particular window pane it has a spiders web which has spent the morning watching the spider build.

He had been on the 'aromatic' cigarettes again. He lives in a large well looked after house, but everything he owns smells of weed. Last month he paid me and the next day when I did my banking I could still tell which note was his by the smell
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: TomCrowther on April 15, 2013, 08:50:30 pm
I had one about this time last year. It was a lovely, very warm day and it was one of those customers you have to check if they are in {retired, but in and out with serious security}. "Oh can we leave it today, it's such a lovely day" ? Never went back.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Dave Garrett on April 15, 2013, 09:02:06 pm
gonna cut the grass today so think we will give it a miss
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Johnny B on April 15, 2013, 09:33:47 pm
'Can you leave them, my neighbour did them the other day' (Front porch was minging!)
Same customer (after a rainy spell) 'Can you leave them today,it's too dry!'
Same (now ex) customer - 'Can you leave them today, I'm having my gutters washed and he will clean the windows at the same time.'

'Can you leave them and come back in a few weeks when the weather improves?'

'Can you leave them if I am not in? My dog gets upset if I am not here'.

'Can you leave them because they are not dirty enough?'

John

 
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 15, 2013, 09:34:58 pm
My Parrott goes mental.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: jk999 on April 16, 2013, 12:05:05 am
It always annoy s me when the older ones think that you only cleaned the windows the week before and even though you show them proof in your book they always say your not due  ???
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: rosskesava on April 16, 2013, 01:12:10 am
The stupidest reason I've had for cancellation - 'My mother reckons that the more you clean windows, the quicker they get dirty'.

I am never ever rude to people normally and will smile and walk away and forget the whole thing but when that well bred lady said that to me last year I did actually call her a 'f*cking idiot' with a capital 'F'.

(sorry for swearing)
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Richard iSparkle on April 16, 2013, 08:09:05 am
we left the windows wet.

we'd been cleaning there for 2 years, always WFP  ???
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Pro-Poler on April 16, 2013, 08:16:45 am
Customer from another culture..............It's not that I don't trust you or anything but can you only do ours when someone is in?

Translated into English..............We don't believe you will do the job properly unless we are here to watch you or time you. Told them what I thought and walked off ....ards :-X
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: gavinb on April 16, 2013, 08:18:02 am
I had one .

Leave it today we're shooting a porn video .
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: MATT BATEMAN (OWC) on April 16, 2013, 08:25:20 am
Hope they didnt ask you to do the insides afterwards.

Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: andyM on April 16, 2013, 08:35:28 am
"No point cleaning the windows because they just get dirty again."

"Not today please, my little boy has the flu bug."

"We won't be needing you now as my niece is going to clean them during the school holidays for some extra cash."
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: formb on April 16, 2013, 08:37:37 am
Quote from: gavinb
I had one .

Leave it today we're shooting a porn video .

Surely the window cleaner arriving with his massive extend-able pole is a plus for any porn film.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: gavinb on April 16, 2013, 10:00:35 am
Search for the chav van lol he lives at the back of me .
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: fctilidie on April 16, 2013, 03:45:32 pm
I work for a company and my boss won't cancel anyone no matter how bad they mess me around. I have quite a few customers that won't have them done if it's even forecast rain never mind actually raining, and a few who only want them done if someone is in. I often get accussed of coming back early too. I've had to refuse to go to 2 houses as one kept sending the wrong amount due on purpose and my boss would just mark it down as our mistake, and the other one had dogs that they let sh*t were I had to walk and never cleaned it up. If it was my company I'd of got rid of at least 10 of the customers by now.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Carey Ward on April 16, 2013, 06:04:49 pm
Turned up to do a house and the kids were playing outside on their bikes - went round the back first and when I came back round the front the kids had gone - knocked on the door for payment and the wife opened the window and shouted in a croaky voice 'we are all in bed with the flu can we pay next time'   ???

'Don't do mine today as I've got the gate locked to keep the cat in' - when we did next doors her cat is sat on the wall    ???

We have a rule of 3 refusals and we don't go back (unless it's an awkward customer then it's less)

Had one who complained about the wfp leaving marks so could we do by hand  which we did - there were no pole marks - she had me step into kitchen while she wrote a cheque as she did so she glanced up and said 'ooo that's much better' - I had to really bite my lip - you could not see out of the window for the dirt inside - we never went back
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: H20cleaning on April 16, 2013, 07:24:13 pm
hahaha reading through all of these has made my day!!!!
my best one so far was probley '' can we cancel please we have had new double glazing fitted and no longer need a window cleaner''
what so your windows can rot again for 5 year and will need replacing again.....
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Ronnie Bryce on April 16, 2013, 07:55:44 pm
hahaha reading through all of these has made my day!!!!
my best one so far was probley '' can we cancel please we have had new double glazing fitted and no longer need a window cleaner''
what so your windows can rot again for 5 year and will need replacing again.....


That excuse does make sense though. Manufactures of double glazing know it's more likely to sell if glass open's inward to allow access for cleaning. My next door neighbor had them fitted, partly for that reason. I end up doing them though, he did lay all my monoblock for nowt.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: 8weekly on April 16, 2013, 09:14:30 pm
I had one today. "I'm dying. I've got lung cancer". No idea if she has r not, but I said ok and legged it.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: JamesAJF on April 16, 2013, 11:46:03 pm
so funny lol my one was about a month ago and she said ooo  sorry my son is not here today wtf im not here to spk to your son im here to clean windows but what ped me off is i started cleaning and finished the front of the house and the she came out and said this i didn't go back there again.
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Mike #1 on April 17, 2013, 05:37:34 am
Could you leave the windows today as the birds have been eating the silicone from around the window frames and someone is coming out to renew the silicone  ??? ??? ??? ??? . Mike
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: gavinb on April 17, 2013, 06:10:56 am
Could you leave the windows today as the birds have been eating the silicone from around the window frames and someone is coming out to renew the silicone  ??? ??? ??? ??? . Mike

Damn ive had this exact same excuse myself !!!
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Alex Wingrove on April 17, 2013, 06:21:01 am
Could you leave the windows today as the birds have been eating the silicone from around the window frames and someone is coming out to renew the silicone  ??? ??? ??? ??? . Mike

She meant putty
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Mike #1 on April 17, 2013, 06:34:37 am
No i do know the difference  defo no putty in white plastic double glazed windows . Mike
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 17, 2013, 07:59:04 am
Had one yesterday afternoon that didn't cancel but who insisted I'd only been three weeks since the last clean. She was in the garden when she said this.

"No," I said "it's four weeks to the day - I was here on March 19th ..."

"Oh, well I'll go and get my cheque book."

She comes back out and says "here you are, but it is only three weeks ..." and she's written April 9th on the cheque!

A bit exasperated I said "look Mrs _________ it's the 16th today not the 9th!"

 ::)roll
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: Ian101 on April 17, 2013, 05:00:07 pm
Had some bloke get uppity with me this morning and told me not today .. summit about a funeral ? said thats strange cant see a hearse anywhere ?

Last time I do the local conservative club !!
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: pdale on April 21, 2013, 12:56:09 pm
'You have just woken me up so can you leave them today?'

'I fell down and broke my shoulder last week so can you leave them until next month'

'It's going to rain tomorrow, so it ain't worth it'

'It's too cloudy'

'It's too sunny'

'I'm not feeling well, the doctor has changed my medication so can we leave it today'

'My son needs to unbolt the gate and he's not back until later ... but i can reach over and unlatch it ... but what about closing it? ... i can reach over and close it too ... can we leave it today, my son needs to unbolt the gate'

'My wife's not well'

'Can we leave it, I've just sat down for the afternoon'
Title: Re: Best reasons for cancellations
Post by: sunshine windows on April 21, 2013, 01:23:40 pm
Had one in the post yesterday, thanking me for an excellent service over the last few years, but he's going to cancel because his neighbour is going to clean them for him, in exchange for a round of golf.

This job is only £18 every 2 months. He must get free or very highly discounted rounds of golf.