Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: lee_dewing on July 12, 2018, 02:25:30 pm
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Got a customer that I’ve cleaned for about 7 years.
Asked to reschedule clean yesterday as she was ironing and didn’t have time to unlock gate.
I dread cleaning side and back as there’s sh!t everywhere.
Mainly wheelie bins and recycling rubbish, tons of it 😬
She only has the back done 3 or 4 times a year.
I did back windows in April and they were minging, hadn’t been cleaned for 8 months, limescale all over bi fold doors, 5 big doors as well😔
She thrust the money in my hand before she shot out.
(£18, £8 front £18 all round).
10 minutes front but 35 minutes back 😡
Ended up spraying limescale remover onto brush 😤
Anyone got quick answer to lime scale and hard water 💦 marks?
What would you do with this customer?
I clean monthly and do 4 of her neighbours.
If I sack her I’m still cleaning close by.
Have done this in the past but do get on with this customer and husband well.
I can’t be bothered writing letters or trying to impose rules on the doorstep.
Gonna leave till next time I’m in the road anyway not going back as now not local.
I’ve Always been friendly and easy going but some seem to see this as weakness 🤢
Thanks Lee
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Just txt her and say due to time restraints, I can no longer clean the back of your house. I have taken on some new customers and I can only see to so many customers a day and the back of your house takes twice as long as someone who gets it done monthly.
I would be happy to carry on cleaning front only for you though, cheers
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Price increase time I think!
If she leaves the backs for so long, you want to treat it financially as a first clean every time. £18 might be fine on a 4wkly schedule but not on a whatever time frame basis. This will make it more rewarding for your time n effort and might encourage her to have it done more frequently at the cheaper price.
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I've a friend who advised me to 'just be honest with your customer', when this kind of scenario has come up.
And I am.
And I generally end up losing them because they really don't like the new price, but I'm fine with that, and it means I'm not trying to dodge them in Tescos when I'm shopping. ;D
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Dump!
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Just say that's ok. I can babysit your iron while you unlock the gate when I get there so nothing to worry about.
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She rescheduled the clean coz she was ironing ffs.then thrusts £18 quid into your hand for 45mins on the glass lee you know what you have to do mate. ;D
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They most probably do see your friendliness as a weakness- they ARE taking the P**s Lee...... dispose with immediate effect!👍
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Dump for the dog mess alone.
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if theres dog crap down the side of the house i would refuse on this alone until shes cleaned up every last one......
also be honest and say itll be £20 for the back windows if she leaves them that long again not £10.....
if she refuses then obviously its a job you could well do without anyway......happy days.... :)
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ive never removed limescale from windows before and im not gonna start 25 years in! ;D
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I would just stop doing it if she said anything I would explaine why I hadn’t returned and I would not be going back unless things alter
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I had a customer who lives in a terraced house with a shared alleyway next to the front door to get to the back.
I quoted £12 once a month front and back , they said we’ll just have front only done and then the back now and again. So I say ok £6 front only , then after 8 months they asked for the back to be done. So I do it and it’s gone green , took ages.
Got a txt from him saying Iv left a few dots on the window of the wooden back door. I’m thinking for Fck sake if you got it cleaned more regular then it would be flushed out. Another 8 months , wife comes out and asks can I do the back. I say sorry but because you leave it so long , it takes too much purified water and then I don’t have enough for my other jobs that Iv already booked in.
She never asked again :)
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I like that shrek👍
Thanks everyone.
No not dog 💩 poo
Just junk (clutter nutter).
And bags of recycling with wheelie bins.
If you don’t trip over the hoses get tangled 😡
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You're better off without customers like her. Dump and don't look back. I went to a new one, informed her when I was coming, back garden full of dog excrement everywhere, took one look and popped a note in her door saying 'No thanks' and politely explained the reason why I wouldn't do it, never have and never will even though I do clean her neighbour next door. Bang out of order, lazy sods. I feel sorry for the dog trying to find somewhere to park it's ass, lazy people don't deserve dogs
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i have a few estate work jobs that only have the backs done occasionally.its ok as long as you charge extra if they ve not been done for ages....i wouldnt remove limescale on windows though....
so you made £18 for 45 mins work lee?id be gutted too! ::)roll
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Got a customer that I’ve cleaned for about 7 years.
Asked to reschedule clean yesterday as she was ironing and didn’t have time to unlock gate.
Dump. She takes you for granted and doesn't value your service.
I dread cleaning side and back as there’s sh!t everywhere.
Dump. Obviously.
Mainly wheelie bins and recycling rubbish, tons of it 😬
See above
She only has the back done 3 or 4 times a year.
If it was this alone increase price markedly.
I did back windows in April and they were minging, hadn’t been cleaned for 8 months, limescale all over bi fold doors, 5 big doors as well😔
See above.
She thrust the money in my hand before she shot out.
(£18, £8 front £18 all round).
Thoughtless cow. Dump.
10 minutes front but 35 minutes back 😡
Dump.
Ended up spraying limescale remover onto brush 😤
Don't bother.
Anyone got quick answer to lime scale and hard water 💦 marks?
See above.
What would you do with this customer?
See if you can work out the sensible thing to do. ;D
I clean monthly and do 4 of her neighbours.
Still dump.
If I sack her I’m still cleaning close by.
See above.
Have done this in the past but do get on with this customer and husband well.
Not anymore.
I can’t be bothered writing letters or trying to impose rules on the doorstep.
So Dump.
Gonna leave till next time I’m in the road anyway not going back as now not local.
Don't ever go back.
I’ve Always been friendly and easy going but some seem to see this as weakness 🤢
You might be on to something here, Sherlock. ;D
Thanks Lee
A pleasure to be of help.
;D
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Sometimes i think we may bottle these things up when maybe the customer is just not aware of the problem they are causing.
Face to face would be best and just say that due to her not having the backs done very often its taking you twice as long so unfortunately you either need to do them everytime or charge a premium, you also could just do the front only if she prefers. Just be honest and ask her, teel her if none of that suits her then you are afraid you wont be able to clean her windows anymore as you are really busy and its taking too much time. She will either understand or she will dump you, but by the sound of it she needs to be dumped anyway so why not take a chance and ask the question.
I know, its easier said than done, most of us dont like confrontation and just dump, thats what i would probably do lol but i just think sometimes we might win a few of these situations if we simply communicate with confidence and self respect. If you allow them to walk all over you they will, there needs to be a mutual respect in this job.
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Lee, don't worry about the fact that you clean her neighbours.
They might sympathise with you rather than her. And it might be a gentle reminder not to mess you about.
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Got a customer that I’ve cleaned for about 7 years.
Asked to reschedule clean yesterday as she was ironing and didn’t have time to unlock gate.
I dread cleaning side and back as there’s sh!t everywhere.
Mainly wheelie bins and recycling rubbish, tons of it 😬
She only has the back done 3 or 4 times a year.
I did back windows in April and they were minging, hadn’t been cleaned for 8 months, limescale all over bi fold doors, 5 big doors as well😔
She thrust the money in my hand before she shot out.
(£18, £8 front £18 all round).
10 minutes front but 35 minutes back 😡
Ended up spraying limescale remover onto brush 😤
Anyone got quick answer to lime scale and hard water 💦 marks?
What would you do with this customer?
I clean monthly and do 4 of her neighbours.
If I sack her I’m still cleaning close by.
Have done this in the past but do get on with this customer and husband well.
I can’t be bothered writing letters or trying to impose rules on the doorstep.
Gonna leave till next time I’m in the road anyway not going back as now not local.
I’ve Always been friendly and easy going but some seem to see this as weakness 🤢
Thanks Lee
Do what every window cleaner on ciu does , dump and replace with two jobs that pay double the price , are supermodels and cant resist blowing you on every visit ;D
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She didn’t have time to open the gate because she was ironing! That in itself would be reason enough to dump straight away.
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I like that shrek👍
Thanks everyone.
No not dog 💩 poo
Just junk (clutter nutter).
And bags of recycling with wheelie bins.
If you don’t trip over the hoses get tangled 😡
I tripped over clutter in dec 2016.
I dislocated my shoulder.
I now never clamber over clutter.
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Lee.
Dump the customer.
For limescale removal; i charge £35 per pane of glass alone. Best stuff to remove limescale is a ton of iorn descaler tablets dissolved in a squeezy spray bottle of di water. Do not wet the glass, spray on dry. Leave for a minute or two and then scrub with with a dry bush. Repeat this till all gone and then wash.
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A couple of quid from bnq to get some good limescale remover. Then get some 0000 grade steel wool and it takes no time at all to clean up. But charge for your experience and effort appropriately.
I did one not long back. A customer had a dripping overflow pipe above kitchen window. She couldnt virtually see out the window it was that cloudy. She asked me to sort it and I refused until she sorted the cause. Several months later she got round to it and so I cleaned the window. They thought a new pane of glass would be needed. So my price was good but less than a new piece of glass to be fitted and it came up like new. Large kitchen window, took about 5-8 mins to do.
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Just txt her and say due to time restraints, I can no longer clean the back of your house. I have taken on some new customers and I can only see to so many customers a day and the back of your house takes twice as long as someone who gets it done monthly.
I would be happy to carry on cleaning front only for you though, cheers
If you do this, write constraints rather than restraints
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Customer sacked👍
Sent one of my bill/business cards, in stamped envelope.
Kept it short.
Mrs Jones.
I can no longer provide my service.
Thank you for your custom.
Best wishes Lee.
I’m also going to write a more polite letter to another 3 customers in that road telling them I don’t offer front only service now.
They will probably drop me but that’s fine.
Gonna have a kull got another few jobs I hate doing for various reasons 🤔
Thanks everyone.
Ps. Thanks for limescale tips guys.
I used ungers hard water remover yesterday.
Customer had been hosing garden, hard water marks😬
Squirted unger on Brush, scrubbed and all clean 👍
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Unger rub out
Meant to say
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I clean a fairly large house for Mrs. S. at about £70.00 a pop depending on whether the annexe is done each time. I also clean her daughter's which is a £40.00 a time. I've been doing them for a few months now and with no problems.
So when Mrs S. phones me up on Tuesday on her daughter-in-law's behalf and asks if I can do hers (d-i-l) before the weekend. I ask for a brief description of the property and I estimate in my head that we're talking about an hours work if no hidden surprises. I tell Mrs S. I can swing by early Thursday (today) afternoon give a price and do it straight away if all OK. She assures me that that will be fine.
So I get there and a pleasant young chap answers the door (Mrs. S's son) - he knows nothing about it but understands that his wife and his mother had been talking about window cleaning and I ask if I can have a quick look round and price up. I tell him it'll be £40.00 first clean and £30.00 thereafter every 8 weeks.
He says that sound ok - I'll just phone my wife as she was the one who was interested.
I wait while he talks on the mobile and he says ...
"She says you charged £40.00 in and out last time."
Me: "Not me! I've never been here in my life before."
He repeats that to his wife.
Him: "She says the last guy charged £40.00 in and out, would you match that?"
Me: (Amazed) "Sorry? You're saying that the last window cleaner charged £40.00 in and out? Why have you asked me to call then if you can get a deal like that?" (I've already decided I'm not doing the job now; but I don't want to queer the pitch for the work I do for the Mother and his Sister.)
He repeats what I've said down the phone to his wife.
Him: She says actually it was £36.00 inside and out, but as she has friends visiting she'll let you do it for £40.00.
Me: I think it best you call your previous cleaner.
He repeats that to his wife.
Him: She says he hasn't been back for nearly a year so you can do it for £40.00 if you do both inside and out.
Me: I don't think I'm getting through to your wife, let me explain ... "NO! Have a lovely day, now."
I heard some garbled communication between them but I was out of earshot very quickly.
::)roll
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Lee
I am guessing you've dumped them and fair play to you.
I don't do rudeness. Anyone who says they can't open the gate because they are ironing; that's just rude! They can go and do one!
I had a guy who was a 'lovey' I think he was an actor or something and every time I knocked he would say 'Oh it's you'
That lasted about 2 cleans.
I stopped going and his wife phoned me and apologised for his behaviour and I told her (very politely) to stuff it!
Today, I have been out cleaning and spent 30 mins with Olive. She lost her husband about 3 months ago, he was 100 years old. She's coping quite well and made me a nice cup of tea and we sat down and had a chat. When I left, she was laughing and cheerful.
Funny old job this!
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I clean a fairly large house for Mrs. S. at about £70.00 a pop depending on whether the annexe is done each time. I also clean her daughter's which is a £40.00 a time. I've been doing them for a few months now and with no problems.
So when Mrs S. phones me up on Tuesday on her daughter-in-law's behalf and asks if I can do hers (d-i-l) before the weekend. I ask for a brief description of the property and I estimate in my head that we're talking about an hours work if no hidden surprises. I tell Mrs S. I can swing by early Thursday (today) afternoon give a price and do it straight away if all OK. She assures me that that will be fine.
So I get there and a pleasant young chap answers the door (Mrs. S's son) - he knows nothing about it but understands that his wife and his mother had been talking about window cleaning and I ask if I can have a quick look round and price up. I tell him it'll be £40.00 first clean and £30.00 thereafter every 8 weeks.
He says that sound ok - I'll just phone my wife as she was the one who was interested.
I wait while he talks on the mobile and he says ...
"She says you charged £40.00 in and out last time."
Me: "Not me! I've never been here in my life before."
He repeats that to his wife.
Him: "She says the last guy charged £40.00 in and out, would you match that?"
Me: (Amazed) "Sorry? You're saying that the last window cleaner charged £40.00 in and out? Why have you asked me to call then if you can get a deal like that?" (I've already decided I'm not doing the job now; but I don't want to queer the pitch for the work I do for the Mother and his Sister.)
He repeats what I've said down the phone to his wife.
Him: She says actually it was £36.00 inside and out, but as she has friends visiting she'll let you do it for £40.00.
Me: I think it best you call your previous cleaner.
He repeats that to his wife.
Him: She says he hasn't been back for nearly a year so you can do it for £40.00 if you do both inside and out.
Me: I don't think I'm getting through to your wife, let me explain ... "NO! Have a lovely day, now."
I heard some garbled communication between them but I was out of earshot very quickly.
::)roll
some people always have to compare your price to some window cleaners price they paid years ago.....had one the other month.....£40 is too expensive,our last cleaner charged £25 in the old house(miles away)and we had lots more windows!
but you live in an upmarket part of cheshire now you stupid bint!(my price wasnt unreasonable for size of house/area).......
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AuRavelling79
I hate doing customers sons, daughters 😤 usually t!t5
Hope it didn’t muddy the waters😬
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Robbo 333
Yep I got a couple I have a tea with!
it’s nice we get to choose who we have on our rounds🤗
In a previous life I had to suffer some real planks at work 😳
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I still have a small section of work, where the prices aren't great and they are slowly climbing up.
Did a customer house today who likes to moan at the price increase which bought her house to eight pounds. She always pays, but likes to comment on the increase. Anyway she says hi to her neighbour who steps up to the hedge and so I leave them to it, thinking he wants to talk to her. It turns out he wanted a quote for cleaning his windows too. So I told him I now have a min charge which is £10 every 4 wks or £15 every 8. He opted for four weekly. My customers face was priceless and she said, she ain't gonna moan at the increase again. ;D :D
That will probably last till next year when it finally gets increased to a tenner 😂😂 (but that's why I've been building new rounds in different areas, ready for the possibility of loosing ones on the upcoming price increases. If I loose them, it doesn't matter as I'm replacing with much higher prices work but if I keep them then it's win win either way.
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I clean a fairly large house for Mrs. S. at about £70.00 a pop depending on whether the annexe is done each time. I also clean her daughter's which is a £40.00 a time. I've been doing them for a few months now and with no problems.
So when Mrs S. phones me up on Tuesday on her daughter-in-law's behalf and asks if I can do hers (d-i-l) before the weekend. I ask for a brief description of the property and I estimate in my head that we're talking about an hours work if no hidden surprises. I tell Mrs S. I can swing by early Thursday (today) afternoon give a price and do it straight away if all OK. She assures me that that will be fine.
So I get there and a pleasant young chap answers the door (Mrs. S's son) - he knows nothing about it but understands that his wife and his mother had been talking about window cleaning and I ask if I can have a quick look round and price up. I tell him it'll be £40.00 first clean and £30.00 thereafter every 8 weeks.
He says that sound ok - I'll just phone my wife as she was the one who was interested.
I wait while he talks on the mobile and he says ...
"She says you charged £40.00 in and out last time."
Me: "Not me! I've never been here in my life before."
He repeats that to his wife.
Him: "She says the last guy charged £40.00 in and out, would you match that?"
Me: (Amazed) "Sorry? You're saying that the last window cleaner charged £40.00 in and out? Why have you asked me to call then if you can get a deal like that?" (I've already decided I'm not doing the job now; but I don't want to queer the pitch for the work I do for the Mother and his Sister.)
He repeats what I've said down the phone to his wife.
Him: She says actually it was £36.00 inside and out, but as she has friends visiting she'll let you do it for £40.00.
Me: I think it best you call your previous cleaner.
He repeats that to his wife.
Him: She says he hasn't been back for nearly a year so you can do it for £40.00 if you do both inside and out.
Me: I don't think I'm getting through to your wife, let me explain ... "NO! Have a lovely day, now."
I heard some garbled communication between them but I was out of earshot very quickly.
::)roll
In those situations there's always a concern that what you say will be misrepresented to the other relative - and you end up losing that too. You have to stick to your guns though with a polite refusal.
I quoted a pub recently - in and out, ground floor only every two weeks. The job looked very fiddly and I didn't have a good feeling about it when the first sentence was about keeping my price low.
It sounds a lot but, in my view, I was giving a fair deal at £90. I had already established that there had been some kind of falling out with the previous cleaner about work quality, so I priced to ensure I could give a nice job.
It turned out the previous guy was charging £40. I'm guessing he made an error with the price and was skimping to make up for that. I simply said that at £40 she should have welcomed him and tolerated the odd glitch because that was a rock-bottom rate.
I know my price is beatable but £40 is ridiculous. Apart from that, I'm not looking to be the cheapest.
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i would say due to the backs taking 35minits its going to have to be £15 for the backs from now on unless you have them done every time ,she will either cancle or agree either way your a winner as you sound like you are fed up with being messed about
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It must be the heat getting to them ... this came from a fairly new 8 weekly (no not him ;D) customer.
Received a text late Sunday asking when I would be round next so they can leave the gate open.
I reply this morning that it will be this Wednesday.
I get a reply saying "Actually looking at them they don't need doing this month, we will have them done next time though, thanks (his name)"
My reply "I'm afraid I don't work on that basis as I work for customers who want a regular window cleaner. If that no longer fits with your requirements I'm quite happy for you to get another window cleaner that doesn't mind having his/her schedule changing."
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I'll let you know should I get a response. ::)roll
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It must be the heat getting to them ... this came from a fairly new 8 weekly (no not him ;D) customer.
Received a text late Sunday asking when I would be round next so they can leave the gate open.
I reply this morning that it will be this Wednesday.
I get a reply saying "Actually looking at them they don't need doing this month, we will have them done next time though, thanks (his name)"
My reply "I'm afraid I don't work on that basis as I work for customers who want a regular window cleaner. If that no longer fits with your requirements I'm quite happy for you to get another window cleaner that doesn't mind having his/her schedule changing."
...
I'll let you know should I get a response. ::)roll
an 8 weekly job missing a clean due to them "not needing doing" is an instant dump im afraid malc.....just like any customer who says "we dont want them doing cos its forecast rain later"........ ::)roll
this is a very rare occurrence on my round but when it does i usually never go back.....
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Quite right Dazmond. The only chance they have is to come back with "OK sorry, carry on please."
Highly unlikely they will - pride and all that sort of "I ain't being dictated to by a (...) window cleaner!" stuff that goes through peoples heads.
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It must be the heat getting to them ... this came from a fairly new 8 weekly (no not him ;D) customer.
Received a text late Sunday asking when I would be round next so they can leave the gate open.
I reply this morning that it will be this Wednesday.
I get a reply saying "Actually looking at them they don't need doing this month, we will have them done next time though, thanks (his name)"
My reply "I'm afraid I don't work on that basis as I work for customers who want a regular window cleaner. If that no longer fits with your requirements I'm quite happy for you to get another window cleaner that doesn't mind having his/her schedule changing."
...
I'll let you know should I get a response. ::)roll
What they never seem to realise it that, potentially, this is money lost to you forever.
Their £15? If it happened three times a week that's possibly £2k a year from your takings.
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It must be the heat getting to them ... this came from a fairly new 8 weekly (no not him ;D) customer.
Received a text late Sunday asking when I would be round next so they can leave the gate open.
I reply this morning that it will be this Wednesday.
I get a reply saying "Actually looking at them they don't need doing this month, we will have them done next time though, thanks (his name)"
My reply "I'm afraid I don't work on that basis as I work for customers who want a regular window cleaner. If that no longer fits with your requirements I'm quite happy for you to get another window cleaner that doesn't mind having his/her schedule changing."
...
I'll let you know should I get a response. ::)roll
What they never seem to realise it that, potentially, this is money lost to you forever.
Their £15? If it happened three times a week that's possibly £2k a year from your takings.
i lose money every week due to skipped cleans(holidays or building work being done),not being able to access the rear of properties,etc BUT i sometimes pick up new work or an add on job or two which covers the lost money so it evens itself out over the course of the year.
its part and parcel of running a window cleaning business IMO........my grandad always used to say DONT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH....... ;) ;D
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I dont mind if a customer needs to skip a clean or two for holidays etc. As long as they let me know.
If it becomes a habbit; then i put them onto a quarterly clean with a 50 percent increase in price.