Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Tom-01 on March 12, 2021, 01:41:20 pm
-
Thought I’d share my reply to a complainer!
————
Hi Amanda*
Thank you for your email.
I’m sorry you’re not happy with the window clean.
From your previous email I was of the understanding you didn’t want to have regular cleaning, this even after I explained to you in person it’s every 8 weeks and confirming that in the email, I also explained the direct debit payments in person and in the confirmation email - something else you weren’t happy with.
With regards the finish of the windows it’s difficult for me to accept given the situation described above, coupled with the fact it is nearly three weeks since we cleaned them that you have raised an issue. Had we been made aware shortly after the clean, we would have come back and cleaned them all again if they were indeed as bad as you have claimed.
We clean for 100’s of customers and our level of service is kept very high.
As we can see there’s numerous aspects you’re not happy with, and as it stands I had already removed you from our schedule due to the previous complaints about the direct debit and frequency of cleans, as we clearly can’t meet you’re standards.
Thanks for your custom, and I hope you find a window cleaner that suits your needs.
Many thanks
Tom
*Names have NOT been changed ;D
-
How long did that take ?
Darran
-
I had two from a new customer like that.
" Have you cleaned the windows ? " - three days and several lots of torrential rain later.
"There are marks on some of them which I didn't expect " - should have asked what sort of marks she was expecting.
No reply to my email suggesting that I come down and have a look and rectify where necessary.
Payment arrived via BACS.
Ok then...
-
How long did that take ?
Darran
To send that email?
About 6 minutes. Whilst eating a Copenhagen Danish, bought from these guys: https://www.mycloudcoffee.co.uk/
Their coffee is excellent too 👍
Tom
-
I had two from a new customer like that.
" Have you cleaned the windows ? " - three days and several lots of torrential rain later.
"There are marks on some of them which I didn't expect " - should have asked what sort of marks she was expecting.
No reply to my email suggesting that I come down and have a look and rectify where necessary.
Payment arrived via BACS.
Ok then...
Very odd
I’m always suspicious of new cleans where the windows are absolutely filthy.
-
:D
While I'm sure it was a soothing exercise and you felt better for it I wouldn't have wasted the effort - bad customers are just that bad - forget and move on
Don't eat too many danish otherwise you'll end up like me 😂
Darran
-
:D
While I'm sure it was a soothing exercise and you felt better for it I wouldn't have wasted the effort - bad customers are just that bad - forget and move on
Don't eat too many danish otherwise you'll end up like me 😂
Darran
I totally agree mate, and normally just shrug it off if it happens.
This particular woman just irked me though, it did feel therapeutic.
Heh heh. I do limit them these days for that very reason! I don’t mean looking like you ;) It was a Friday treat :)
Tom
-
I had one who rang me up 4 or 5 weeks ago asking me if I was brain-dead. Mistakenly I’d not moved her wellie boots from under one of the downstairs windows, so they got some water in them. Not a lot, but a bit...😅
So, I cut her off mid-sentence suggesting an error of that nature doesn’t deserve an insult like that and she could pay the outstanding bill and she’ll never have to have her wellies filled by me again. Silly bint.
I still occasionally plan to scatter grass seed in her shrub beds or bomb her lawn with herbicide. 😅😅
-
It would have been a lot quicker for her to just say sorry I’ve been thinking about it and we just can’t afford to have the windows cleaned,I said the other day the new generation that’s on the way aren’t like the oldies that most of us have now and they will get fewer.
I had one this week it was inside and out but I later found out from the guy he’d had before that he was a nightmare to work for,as soon as I got out the van he was telling me how I was going to clean them etc etc. His previous cleaner told me once he’d done them and text to say he was coming again 2 months later he was continually put off,loads of work about the trouble is a hell of a lot of it is crap I had my concerns about GoCardless I think they will come true I can’t see things staying as they are at the present time,direct debits for window cleaning will be going out with the rubbish.
-
I had one the other week. New build, previous owners moved and the new people kept me on, young couple. We agreed an 8 weekly clean. First clean all good. I text her the night before her second clean and she replied that she didn't realise it was a regular service. WTF was she expecting!? ;D Got another who hasn't paid for her first clean yet. Two texts have been sent to remind her to pay. What did that bloke do to undo his work? ;D
-
Anyone doing this job years should be able to smell a messer I followed up my suspicions and confirmed it to myself,it went wrong from getting out the van I shouldn’t have let him waste another 10 minutes of my life.
My windows are dirty can you come and clean them please I’ll contact you when I need them doing again,this used to be so few and far between this situation but always cropped up from time to time this new generation of home owners won’t want a monthly service lol,I’d get more work people if it’s all monthly coz imo that’s soon going to change in the next few years.
-
I agree ... I would say that 90% of all my new work is now 8 weekly.
my best customers , and in fact nearly all my customers are near retirement or retired.
I do have some younger customers , but they are in the higher earning bracket.
I can see things gradually changing to lesser frequency , which is ok if we can charge accordingly.
-
I had an enquiry today.
Last cleaner wasn’t much good and has disappeared, they want a 9 month service no winter cleans, will need to text ahead and can only clean tues/weds/thurs due to shift patterns.
She really sold herself as a great customer. ::)roll
-
I have loads of London city workers most working
from home at the moment but not all they are fantastic customers they haven’t got time to mess about with price etc I message them and they pay me end of straight away or within a couple of days,if they forget to pay it’s genuine a quick reminder and it goes in.
The worst ones are 35-45 somethings in a 1.5m house a sports car for him and a Range Rover for her to take the kids to school,back and forth over a few quid with people ie builders etc they look well heeled when in fact they ain’t, I’ve got a fair few like this but they are ok as I do most of their parents who have money they can fall back on and will do in the long run but they aren’t all like that.
-
I had an enquiry today.
Last cleaner wasn’t much good and has disappeared, they want a 9 month service no winter cleans, will need to text ahead and can only clean tues/weds/thurs due to shift patterns.
She really sold herself as a great customer. ::)roll
This is what this bloke would have been like a complete nightmare what are they thinking asking for a service like that 🤣🤣🤣
-
I had an enquiry today.
Last cleaner wasn’t much good and has disappeared, they want a 9 month service no winter cleans, will need to text ahead and can only clean tues/weds/thurs due to shift patterns.
She really sold herself as a great customer. ::)roll
;D ;D ;D
-
About a year ago I was cleaning one of my regulars when a guy across the road ask if I could take him on my round
I walked over to quote and the windows were absolutely manky, it looked liked they have never been cleaned before
So I give him a quote adding a surcharge for the first clean and then a price for a regular 8 weekly service, he then says
"no problem but can you come and collect the money on Thursday as I don't get my dole money until then"
I replied with "I don't do collecting but I do carry a card machine so you could pay now"
He declined to do this, so I politely declined him as a customer, I could see nothing but problems with this one.
I have seen him a few times since as he is often at his front door having a fAg when I turn up to do his neighbors, suffice to say his windows are still filthy and he has not asked me again.
-
Did you not see that the bloke standing outside his door smoking would not be the kind of potential customer you are looking for lol,you can’t try and run a sensible business if your not dealing with sensible people no wonder I get laughed out of town with some of my prices on here 🤣🤣🤣.
The first line of enquiry should set the tone like err m8 my windows want doin lol.
-
:D
While I'm sure it was a soothing exercise and you felt better for it I wouldn't have wasted the effort - bad customers are just that bad - forget and move on
Don't eat too many danish otherwise you'll end up like me 😂
Darran
I totally agree mate, and normally just shrug it off if it happens.
This particular woman just irked me though, it did feel therapeutic.
Heh heh. I do limit them these days for that very reason! I don’t mean looking like you ;) It was a Friday treat :)
Tom
Yup. Well worth the time spent.
-
I had one who rang me up 4 or 5 weeks ago asking me if I was brain-dead. Mistakenly I’d not moved her wellie boots from under one of the downstairs windows, so they got some water in them. Not a lot, but a bit...😅
So, I cut her off mid-sentence suggesting an error of that nature doesn’t deserve an insult like that and she could pay the outstanding bill and she’ll never have to have her wellies filled by me again. Silly bint.
I still occasionally plan to scatter grass seed in her shrub beds or bomb her lawn with herbicide. 😅😅
You might have said - "Sorry, I have a medical problem and I desperately needed to urinate."
-
Sometimes you get a really nice customer.
I had an enquiry from a lady who had bought a council house in a village near Bristol and because it is in a run of only eight houses it backs on to fields and woods and overlooks the Severn bridge in the distance at the front.
She and her husband and two kids have just extended it and turned the garage into a utility room and the builders were still there when I went to price it.
I said when it's finished it would be £22 every 8 weeks with more for a first clean and that she might ensure the builders left it free of labels, mastic and plaster as I would only be able to get off what I can with a brush system. She agreed.
A week later she said "Could you clean my new patio doors inside and out as they are very dusty and dirty?" I said I can but it would be £20 as they were very mucky. I went and did them and got paid on line.
A month later she said I'm ready for the first clean, can you do inside and out and how much will it be? I popped by when I was in the area had a look and said £100.00 and she agreed.
It was quite pleasant as the weather the morning I went was heavy showers and I did the outsides in a gap between the rain and carried on with the insides.
So although I went initially thinking someone wants a one off clean - price high and be prepared for a cancellation - I have a regular nicely paid £22.00 for 20 minutes job.
They are a young family and it looks like they want to keep the place up together as a family home and so don't always judge a book by it's cover - just leaf through a few pages to check! ;D
-
Thought I’d share my reply to a complainer!
————
Hi Amanda*
Thank you for your email.
I’m sorry you’re not happy with the window clean.
From your previous email I was of the understanding you didn’t want to have regular cleaning, this even after I explained to you in person it’s every 8 weeks and confirming that in the email, I also explained the direct debit payments in person and in the confirmation email - something else you weren’t happy with.
With regards the finish of the windows it’s difficult for me to accept given the situation described above, coupled with the fact it is nearly three weeks since we cleaned them that you have raised an issue. Had we been made aware shortly after the clean, we would have come back and cleaned them all again if they were indeed as bad as you have claimed.
We clean for 100’s of customers and our level of service is kept very high.
As we can see there’s numerous aspects you’re not happy with, and as it stands I had already removed you from our schedule due to the previous complaints about the direct debit and frequency of cleans, as we clearly can’t meet you’re standards.
Thanks for your custom, and I hope you find a window cleaner that suits your needs.
Many thanks
Tom
*Names have NOT been changed ;D
I feel like I'm an expert on this. Even more than Lee Pryor because he doesn't deal with them. We added about 900 customers last year & I signed up the bulk of them over the phone. It's absolutely horrendous dealing with those with expectations way beyond realism. On 1st October I handed over the day to day customer dealings to someone else. I was counting down the days in the end to be honest.
-
People are always keen at first and I can see initially the direct debit not maybe being an issue until they are cleaned to frequently for them then
noticing the debit coming out.
-
Most customers are good as gold.
Funny enough I sometimes find the ones that you think will be great turn out not to be so and others you have suspicions of surprise you.
-
Problems with people signing up and signing off will come in the next 6-12 months imo,the backlash from all this won’t start until deep into this year people have been at home and they want clean windows in some cases they are pleased to see someone lol.
-
I had one who rang me up 4 or 5 weeks ago asking me if I was brain-dead. Mistakenly I’d not moved her wellie boots from under one of the downstairs windows, so they got some water in them. Not a lot, but a bit...😅
So, I cut her off mid-sentence suggesting an error of that nature doesn’t deserve an insult like that and she could pay the outstanding bill and she’ll never have to have her wellies filled by me again. Silly bint.
I still occasionally plan to scatter grass seed in her shrub beds or bomb her lawn with herbicide. 😅😅
No bamboo in her lock?
-
I've been putting out about 3.5k leaflets a month, for the last 8 months, so i've had to deal with 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!
I think my favourite call was from a young lady:
Her - "Aaaa much clean my windows?
Me - Would you like them cleaned just the once?
I heard a male voice in the background say "don't say once, tell 'im you wan reglar
Her - yeah wan 'em done reglar."
Unfortunately I was too busy to help her.
A little thing I like to do if i'm NOT SURE about the custy is, at the end of a first clean, when the custy is happy and i've got my money, I say this: "Glad you're happy with your first clean. I can do two things, I can either text you in 8 weeks when your clean is due again, or if you like, you can just contact me when you want them done again, no problem".
I don't need to use this very often but it does help separate the wheat from the chaff.
-
That’s the thing these days you drop 100 leaflets you get 10 people showing interest I would wager most of them have seen the leaflet and thought we need our windows cleaned at this present time,out of that 10 I would also wager that 2-3 may want it regular.
It used to be few and far between the one off brigade,it’s getting more common these days from what I’ve heard.
-
Sometimes you get a really nice customer.
I had an enquiry from a lady who had bought a council house in a village near Bristol and because it is in a run of only eight houses it backs on to fields and woods and overlooks the Severn bridge in the distance at the front.
She and her husband and two kids have just extended it and turned the garage into a utility room and the builders were still there when I went to price it.
I said when it's finished it would be £22 every 8 weeks with more for a first clean and that she might ensure the builders left it free of labels, mastic and plaster as I would only be able to get off what I can with a brush system. She agreed.
A week later she said "Could you clean my new patio doors inside and out as they are very dusty and dirty?" I said I can but it would be £20 as they were very mucky. I went and did them and got paid on line.
A month later she said I'm ready for the first clean, can you do inside and out and how much will it be? I popped by when I was in the area had a look and said £100.00 and she agreed.
It was quite pleasant as the weather the morning I went was heavy showers and I did the outsides in a gap between the rain and carried on with the insides.
So although I went initially thinking someone wants a one off clean - price high and be prepared for a cancellation - I have a regular nicely paid £22.00 for 20 minutes job.
They are a young family and it looks like they want to keep the place up together as a family home and so don't always judge a book by it's cover - just leaf through a few pages to check! ;D
£20 for new patio doors inside and out?! What the hell where are these people that’s 5mins work I’d be turned down 80% of the time even at £10
-
If i give the option of 4 and 8 weekly, i would say its 60/70% in favour of 8 weekly.
Not that i care, i dont find they take much longer and it doesnt seem like i am there every 5 minutes.
In an ideal world 6 is best imo
-
Mostly 6weekly, some monthly and some 2 monthly so room to juggle work around.
-
If i give the option of 4 and 8 weekly, i would say its 60/70% in favour of 8 weekly.
Not that i care, i dont find they take much longer and it doesnt seem like i am there every 5 minutes.
In an ideal world 6 is best imo
Bang on m8 the longer the gap the more they’ll love you when you turn up,you leave it a sensible time between cleans they’ll be happy to pay more.
If you’ve been doing this job long enough imo you don’t want to be doing loads of 4 weekly stuff it literally feels like a couple of weeks and it get embarrassing turning up at that frequency,if you like flexibility and being able to charge more per clean stretch it out if you need time off it’s far easier.
Those 15-25 quid jobs can only be put up to so much over the years,get some better bigger jobs that don’t take a lot longer to do that are far more per clean at longer intervals 💪