Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Shane sharples on July 06, 2015, 04:33:17 pm
-
Hi all, went to a customers house today and got turned down because he was having work done inside his house, he said sorry but can you leave it today please as iv got all this going on at the minute ???
He's usually a good payer never had any problems with him (pensioner)
What's the best response when these things happen?
Do you charge xtra next month or just carry on as normal?
-
just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.
-
Best response....
''No problem, see you next month''
No point screwing over one job if you've enough work mate, you'll drive yourself nuts getting angry over every little thing that irks you...
(Although I get that sometimes it feels good to vent ;D)
-
Ok cheers guys 👍
-
At least it was a reasonable decline not like "My cat's not feeling well today" or some of the other ones I've had!
-
Depends if the request is "reasonable".
Last week a custy saw me and said are you doing ours today. Yes.
Do you mind leaving it I'm power washing the paths.
I could have said he should have phoned me or done my flounce but I thought it was "reasonable" to let it slide as this hasn't happened before.
Inside work? Hmm don't think I'd let that slide unless some chippy is on the path chopping up work tops or what-have-you or there is old plasterboard underneath the windows waiting to be chucked out.
-
Well when I got there, they were carrying a bath in through the front door so maybe he didn't want my hose in the way, I don't know ???
-
If they where changing the bath then chances are they will be retiling the bathroom as well, the guy tiling will be
cutting tiles outside and putting dust everywhere.
-
Poor old geezer is probably just stressed, nothing worse than having a squad of builders in your house. Last thing on his mind is the cleanliness of his windows.
I'll miss any customer, for any reason, but I'll keep a record of it on CleanerPlanner. If it becomes a habit then I'll consider the pricing.
-
It's all about finding the balance between good customer relations and not letting your customers walk all over you.
I turned up to a mid terrace job a few years back. Chap came out and asked for a quote to clean his pvc cladding under his windows. It didn't amount to much more as it was an easy job. I cleaned all the fronts plus the cladding and as I was finishing, up pulls a cavity wall insulation firm. The poor guy had completely forgotten they were coming. As I was in the area all morning I offered to come back before I broke off for lunch and do them again. He was very appreciative. He didn't offer to pay me double, but I didn't mind as it kept things right between me and him. Never messed me about before or since.
-
Like others have said, it really does depend why - and also on how things have been previously with the customer.
I was once stopped from cleaning by a messer who had a perfectly good reason that time. However, I counted their previous (severe) messing against them and never went back. I should have dropped him ages before.
-
just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.
You said in a previous post that if you are turned away from a job you cancel them?
-
Tell them " I will skip it this time but please give me at least 48 hours notice next time so i can arrange to do someone else's ".
-
Tell them " I will skip it this time but please give me at least 48 hours notice next time so i can arrange to do someone else's ".
Ben to be honest if it was a property on its own and you had driven out of your way just to clean it then your request would be
justified.
But if it was on a round then skipping one property over the day isn't going to matter much in the scheme of things.
Personally if I came across a property that was getting a bit of work done I would ask if they wanted me to go ahead or to
skip it this time as a matter of courtesy.
-
just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.
You said in a previous post that if you are turned away from a job you cancel them?
did i?which post is that then?i have thousands! ;D
if there was no good reasonable excuse and they had already skipped a few times that year and/or were late/bad payers then i wouldnt go back for sure.
i dont dump jobs unless there is good reason to(there no longer viable in a business sense.)
-
just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.
You said in a previous post that if you are turned away from a job you cancel them?
did i?which post is that then?i have thousands! ;D
if there was no good reasonable excuse and they had already skipped a few times that year and/or were late/bad payers then i wouldnt go back for sure.
i dont dump jobs unless there is good reason to(there no longer viable in a business sense.)
The topic about cleaning in the rain, you said you would cancel them if they turned you away, which i think is unfair.
I have cleaned my own windows in heavy rain as a test and there were marks on them the next day where water had run down the trickle vents.
-
Leave it today thanks . ANSWER. No problems, were do you want to to leave the invoice?
That should get a response.
-
My response after counting slowly to 10 is "Fine, we'll see you in 6 weeks, it can't be fitted in in between as you're in a schedule".
They're usually happy with that. As a business I personally believe requests to leave it shouldn't be taken personally and that we need to be reasonably flexible, its all part of being professional. Being too rigid and unable to allow for the odd request isn't actually professional at all, its quite silly actually. Especially if you take these requests personally, particularly if they're not meant to be.
-
My response after counting slowly to 10 is "Fine, we'll see you in 6 weeks, it can't be fitted in in between as you're in a schedule".
They're usually happy with that. As a business I personally believe requests to leave it shouldn't be taken personally and that we need to be reasonably flexible, its all part of being professional. Being too rigid and unable to allow for the odd request isn't actually professional at all, its quite silly actually. Especially if you take these requests personally, particularly if they're not meant to be.
Good post.
I think people should be given a little leeway here and there, as i said earlier i cant understand why somebody would fire off a customer because they dont want there windows cleaning in the rain.
I wouldnt want my windows cleaning in the rain exactly the same as i wouldnt take my car to a car wash in the rain!
-
I think as a newbie, when you've only got a few customers, every penny counts so when one turns you away, it gets to you abit ::)roll
-
i clean loads of my customers windows in the rain including today and yesterday.they paid up no problem and i even had a few coffees made for me. ;D posh houses as well.
thats what you called "trained" customers! ;D ;D
-
just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.
You said in a previous post that if you are turned away from a job you cancel them?
did i?which post is that then?i have thousands! ;D
if there was no good reasonable excuse and they had already skipped a few times that year and/or were late/bad payers then i wouldnt go back for sure.
i dont dump jobs unless there is good reason to(there no longer viable in a business sense.)
The topic about cleaning in the rain, you said you would cancel them if they turned you away, which i think is unfair.
I have cleaned my own windows in heavy rain as a test and there were marks on them the next day where water had run down the trickle vents.
If the rain gets into the vents and causes runs, wouldn't it do so anyway? I could clean the windows at 11, it rains at 12 and water gets into the vents. It doesn't make sense.
-
I had an unusual one recently. I was turned away because it was hot and sunny and they were laying in the garden. "Don't come when it's hot and sunny," I was told (I've paraphrased it). That leaves a dilemma. Normally good payer and a decent priced job
He said I could come the following week but I explained I was working in another area then.
Normally I would drop it without a second thought but may relent this time. Not due fdor another few weeks so will decide by then. If it's a hot, sunny day next time, may just drop it.
-
I had an unusual one recently. I was turned away because it was hot and sunny and they were laying in the garden. "Don't come when it's hot and sunny," I was told (I've paraphrased it). That leaves a dilemma. Normally good payer and a decent priced job
He said I could come the following week but I explained I was working in another area then.
Normally I would drop it without a second thought but may relent this time. Not due fdor another few weeks so will decide by then. If it's a hot, sunny day next time, may just drop it.
That one would've been dumped quicker than the lone ranger going to the dump.
-
Tell them " I will skip it this time but please give me at least 48 hours notice next time so i can arrange to do someone else's ".
Ben to be honest if it was a property on its own and you had driven out of your way just to clean it then your request would be
justified.
But if it was on a round then skipping one property over the day isn't going to matter much in the scheme of things.
Personally if I came across a property that was getting a bit of work done I would ask if they wanted me to go ahead or to
skip it this time as a matter of courtesy.
Even if it was on a round and they cancelled to my face at the door i would still say the same as i would be £20 down for the day , If one person did that each day for 5 days a week that would be £100 down for the week unless you have back up work it will not be good for my finances , This method seems to work for me .
-
I had an unusual one recently.
Me too, though I wasn't actually asked to leave the windows.
I cleaned a customers windows in late afternoon, and when I called to collect later in the evening I was asked, 'Could you please knock first in future as my son is a night worker and he'd not long been up when you called and was walking round in his underpants.' I replied that I hadn't seen him, and as I use a reach and wash system, there shouldn't be a problem anyway. And she replied, 'He was downstairs.'
I wouldn't mind but the front garden is modest with a well used public footpath within a few feet of the living room window.
Made me laugh because if I could see him, so could everyone else who walked by.
-
I had an unusual one recently.
Me too, though I wasn't actually asked to leave the windows.
I cleaned a customers windows in late afternoon, and when I called to collect later in the evening I was asked, 'Could you please knock first in future as my son is a night worker and he'd not long been up when you called and was walking round in his underpants.' I replied that I hadn't seen him, and as I use a reach and wash system, there shouldn't be a problem anyway. And she replied, 'He was downstairs.'
I wouldn't mind but the front garden is modest with a well used public footpath within a few feet of the living room window.
Made me laugh because if I could see him, so could everyone else who walked by.
Although I might well drop this job, I would make sure that I did it just one more time for the hell of it. I would get there earlier than the previous time when he would probably still be asleep in bed - and I would knock until he opened the door.
-
Although I might well drop this job, I would make sure that I did it just one more time for the hell of it. I would get there earlier than the previous time when he would probably still be asleep in bed - and I would knock until he opened the door.
That never occurred to me but it makes her request all the more ridiculous especially as if memory serves, she said he works different shifts each week. I'll be waking him up instead. Sometimes people say things without thinking.
-
I had an unusual one recently. I was turned away because it was hot and sunny and they were laying in the garden. "Don't come when it's hot and sunny," I was told (I've paraphrased it). That leaves a dilemma. Normally good payer and a decent priced job
He said I could come the following week but I explained I was working in another area then.
Normally I would drop it without a second thought but may relent this time. Not due fdor another few weeks so will decide by then. If it's a hot, sunny day next time, may just drop it.
That one would've been dumped quicker than the lone ranger going to the dump.
Just dragged this one back up for the sequel. After a few days, I had pretty much concluded that the job I mentioned had outlived its usefulness. It was fine when he lived alone and was working most of the time so not there. It started getting a little trickier when he retired and I had to be more careful due to new pets. However, then his girlfriend moved in and I think the concern is about skinny sunbathing in the garden. They're both decent enough people - no problem there. But I can't be in a situation where I'm likely to be turned away 2 or 3 times a year during the summer.
Anyway, I was saved from making the decision because a message was left on my phone the other day to cancel. I suspect he felt put out when I never returned a few days later as requested (I was working miles away by then). OK, yes, I could have put myself out but the job would no longer have been cost effective.
-
Best one so far was leave it today as we are away on holiday.
Not only was I being messed about I had to pay for an overseas phone call to boot...Bloody mobile phones ;D
-
Thank him move on and use that 15 minutes to canvas more customers so that you fill up quicker. Your role should as a newbie should be clean canvas clean canvas eat canvas think canvas pee canvas. If you look and your days work 90% MUST BE CANVASSING. Canvassing is the way to been a good window cleaning, any ass can clean glass not all can canvas. Its key. 8) 8) 8)
-
Best one so far was leave it today as we are away on holiday.
Not only was I being messed about I had to pay for an overseas phone call to boot...Bloody mobile phones ;D
theyll be a few customers like that over the next 6 weeks mate for all of us!end of july and the whole of august is the worst to get paid on time as well! ;D
-
I had one today, text him for gate, text back at 11am this morn, can you leave it this time please. they said that 2 months ago as well.
Unfortunately for now im putting up with it due to lack of custies as much as i wanted to say no problem find another windy. Still made a note of it mind and if it continues will drop.
-
I got my own back as they were charged more than double for the next clean which they paid ;D
Best one so far was leave it today as we are away on holiday.
Not only was I being messed about I had to pay for an overseas phone call to boot...Bloody mobile phones ;D
theyll be a few customers like that over the next 6 weeks mate for all of us!end of july and the whole of august is the worst to get paid on time as well! ;D
-
I had one today, text him for gate, text back at 11am this morn, can you leave it this time please. they said that 2 months ago as well.
Unfortunately for now im putting up with it due to lack of custies as much as i wanted to say no problem find another windy. Still made a note of it mind and if it continues will drop.
From day 1 I always dropped this type of "customer".
-
I had one today, text him for gate, text back at 11am this morn, can you leave it this time please. they said that 2 months ago as well.
Unfortunately for now im putting up with it due to lack of custies as much as i wanted to say no problem find another windy. Still made a note of it mind and if it continues will drop.
From day 1 I always dropped this type of "customer".
Even if you need the work take this advice, this type of customer can be soul destroying and is best avoided from
day one.
-
I did put up with some garbage from customers at first but my first few months were canvass in the evening and clean the next day. It really was hand to mouth. My income was so low the first month or so, I was still claiming dole money (legally). Once I started profiting more than about £50 a week (I think it was back then), I signed off. This was back in '91 with a borrowed ladder and a clapped out car.
If I had dropped customers straight away, I would have had aproblem. As soon as they were getting in the way of other work though - dumped.
-
I had an unusual one recently.
Me too, though I wasn't actually asked to leave the windows.
I cleaned a customers windows in late afternoon, and when I called to collect later in the evening I was asked, 'Could you please knock first in future as my son is a night worker and he'd not long been up when you called and was walking round in his underpants.' I replied that I hadn't seen him, and as I use a reach and wash system, there shouldn't be a problem anyway. And she replied, 'He was downstairs.'
I wouldn't mind but the front garden is modest with a well used public footpath within a few feet of the living room window.
Made me laugh because if I could see him, so could everyone else who walked by.
Although I might well drop this job, I would make sure that I did it just one more time for the hell of it. I would get there earlier than the previous time when he would probably still be asleep in bed - and I would knock until he opened the door.
If I was on a night shift and some fool kept banging on the door deliberately, they would receive a bop on the nose. >:(
-
I had an unusual one recently.
Me too, though I wasn't actually asked to leave the windows.
I cleaned a customers windows in late afternoon, and when I called to collect later in the evening I was asked, 'Could you please knock first in future as my son is a night worker and he'd not long been up when you called and was walking round in his underpants.' I replied that I hadn't seen him, and as I use a reach and wash system, there shouldn't be a problem anyway. And she replied, 'He was downstairs.'
I wouldn't mind but the front garden is modest with a well used public footpath within a few feet of the living room window.
Made me laugh because if I could see him, so could everyone else who walked by.
Although I might well drop this job, I would make sure that I did it just one more time for the hell of it. I would get there earlier than the previous time when he would probably still be asleep in bed - and I would knock until he opened the door.
If I was on a night shift and some fool kept banging on the door deliberately, they would receive a bop on the nose. >:(
I take your point but I wrote it to illustrate the impossible situation facing the window cleaner.
That is: Knock on the door before starting the clean but don't wake up my son.
It reminds me of one of the early jobs I did way back. The list of rules lengthened by the clean. It ended up as, "Clean mine at the very start of the day. Knock on the door first. Don't wake up my husband. Only clean if I am at home." They didn't have a letter box to put the bill through either. I'm astonished that I managed as many cleans as I did before pulling the plug.
-
I suppose all you can do Walter is grin, bear it, swear at them under your breath.......move on to the next one! :)
-
[/quote]
Rain is essentially pure so no issues cleaning in the rain unless it's hard enough to splash dirt up off the floor
I had one 2 weeks ago who said "can you leave it this time they still look clean"
Dropped straight away
2 monthly wanting me to do it after 4 months of dirt
-
I've had the opposite . 4 have been in contact asking where I am as I'm a week behind. One of them is a £75 4 weekly that I've only done twice and I was kind of girl thingy footing round them a bit to keep them sweet. Seems they are more than happy with 4 weekly at 75 nicker 8)
-
I've had the opposite . 4 have been in contact asking where I am as I'm a week behind. One of them is a £75 4 weekly that I've only done twice and I was kind of girl thingy footing round them a bit to keep them sweet. Seems they are more than happy with 4 weekly at 75 nicker 8)
Sweet.
It's funny how "they" work out. I've got 4 weekly's at £30 - 35 (tho mainly 4 weeklies tend to be at the lower end of the scale) and others who would be every six months at a tenner (instead of 8 weekly) if I let 'em.
-
I've had the opposite . 4 have been in contact asking where I am as I'm a week behind. One of them is a £75 4 weekly that I've only done twice and I was kind of girl thingy footing round them a bit to keep them sweet. Seems they are more than happy with 4 weekly at 75 nicker 8)
I lost a job recently because a customer was unable to accept me being late sometimes. For pity's sake, I'm allowed a holiday occasionally. Customers who put stress on me to get around sooner are nearly as difficult for me to cope with as not todayers. Just let me get on with it and I will be there. I may even be a couple of weeks late if there have been issues like holiday, sickness, vehicle problems or an aching body that needs a little rest - but don't keep phoning me so that you can mark your damned calendar.
-
I had a large conny roof and window clean booked in first thing this morning that I do once a year as they live abroad most of the year. It's out in a village so thought I would tie it in with other monthly window cleans I do in the same village to kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Anyway I had a call to say the weather was not ideal which I'm glad the chap cancelled as I did not fancy getting soaked.
I do tend to clean properties in light rain but draw the line when it's peeing it down like today. Therefore if I had gone out I would have spent more time sat in the van than actually doing any work today.
Not today doesn't mean never to me so depending what the job is I'm more than happy if it suites me to be flexiable.
I've one or two very good customers that don't want a regular clean in winter months which is no skin off my nose as I just miss them out on the round. I treat these customers as an extra revinue stream as I would pass by the properties anyway.
-
the rain would of helped with the conny clean mate! ;D
i would of said the rain wont affect the overall finish of the job and insisted i do them today or not at all.take it or leave it.
-
Yes I know it would have as was an awkward large glass panel conny roof but has been peeing down all day so I would have got very wet. ;D
the rain would of helped with the conny clean mate! ;D
i would of said the rain wont affect the overall finish of the job and insisted i do them today or not at all.take it or leave it.
-
Forgot to mention it's self cleaning glass so will be a bit cleaner when I get around to doing it now ;D
-
I get one woman texting me to remind me her windows are due to be cleaned this week. I kid you not! Err, love I have computer software that tells me when jobs are due ;D
-
I had one today, text him for gate, text back at 11am this morn, can you leave it this time please. they said that 2 months ago as well.
Unfortunately for now im putting up with it due to lack of custies as much as i wanted to say no problem find another windy. Still made a note of it mind and if it continues will drop.
[/quot
No offence but a typical newbie mistake - sticking with the wasters and messers and crap payers will slow your growth down no end ... I made this mistake when first starting out 5+ years ago if I had that time again I would bin immediately at sign of any messing about and prob would have got me where I wanted to be 6 months quicker at least.
Canvass
Clean
Cull
or translated for customers .... "ERE !!!! your either on the round or yer not - Im to busy to be mucked about luv/mate so whatsit to be ??"
-
I've got to the stage now with what I call irregulars premium payers I simply ask them to call me when they want them doing next then see when I can fit them in. Again save me a lot of hassle and I class that type as an extra revenue stream and I'm also not worried if they never call again. ;D
I get one woman texting me to remind me her windows are due to be cleaned this week. I kid you not! Err, love I have computer software that tells me when jobs are due ;D
-
I've got to the stage now with what I call irregulars premium payers I simply ask them to call me when they want them doing next then see when I can fit them in. Again save me a lot of hassle and I class that type as an extra revenue stream and I'm also not worried if they never call again. ;D
I get one woman texting me to remind me her windows are due to be cleaned this week. I kid you not! Err, love I have computer software that tells me when jobs are due ;D
But she's 4 weekly ;D
-
Odd one for me.
First clean and the custy specifically wanted it done on the Thursday (His father had passed away and the wake was at his bungalow on the Friday). Naturally I made sure it was spotless for all the attendees etc.
Funnily enough I'm looking at moving house and keep looking on rightmove at the moment, just to get an idea what's up for sale. All of a sudden I see his bungalow up for sale on the Saturday! Coincidence?
I shall play it very cool on the next clean, with the odd little question thrown in. ;D