Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jo5hm4n on April 09, 2021, 04:24:42 pm

Title: New Customer PITA
Post by: jo5hm4n on April 09, 2021, 04:24:42 pm
Taking on new customers again to boost our vans roads a little bit.  Taken on about 40 customers last month or so, no issues so far.

Took on one customer though nice old lady, or so she seemed.  Signed up to GoCardless before the clean.  Then she text me to tell me oh can you leave it a few weeks, my sister turned up to clean my windows for me.  Can you call back in 4 weeks?

As she was signed up to GoCardless, i thought hmm ok sure.  So turned up this week.  My worker told me the windows were really clean and almost spotless when he got there.

He did the windows treated it like a first clean.

Next day i get a message, not happy with the window cleaning, your cleaner left spots on several windows and i think he skipped living room windows on purpose.


Now im all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but i just have a bad gut feeling with this custie.  I cant be arsed.  Like at all.  Think im just going to dump the job and move on.  She sounds like a massive fussy customer.  The fact that we were turning up to clean already spotless windows kind of raises alarm bells for me.  Tells me she is already a clean freak or a perfectionist, if we are turning up to a first clean on perfect looking windows.

What would you do?

Im really busy behind and stacked out with work, so genuinely cant be arsed with the hassle off this job.  Normally offer a free reclean as standard, but not this time.

Do you ever get a bad gut feeling after a first clean, then realise maybe just dump straight away and move on?
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: Tom-01 on April 09, 2021, 04:46:53 pm
Taking on new customers again to boost our vans roads a little bit.  Taken on about 40 customers last month or so, no issues so far.

Took on one customer though nice old lady, or so she seemed.  Signed up to GoCardless before the clean.  Then she text me to tell me oh can you leave it a few weeks, my sister turned up to clean my windows for me.  Can you call back in 4 weeks?

As she was signed up to GoCardless, i thought hmm ok sure.  So turned up this week.  My worker told me the windows were really clean and almost spotless when he got there.

He did the windows treated it like a first clean.

Next day i get a message, not happy with the window cleaning, your cleaner left spots on several windows and i think he skipped living room windows on purpose.


Now im all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but i just have a bad gut feeling with this custie.  I cant be arsed.  Like at all.  Think im just going to dump the job and move on.  She sounds like a massive fussy customer.  The fact that we were turning up to clean already spotless windows kind of raises alarm bells for me.  Tells me she is already a clean freak or a perfectionist, if we are turning up to a first clean on perfect looking windows.

What would you do?

Im really busy behind and stacked out with work, so genuinely cant be arsed with the hassle off this job.  Normally offer a free reclean as standard, but not this time.

Do you ever get a bad gut feeling after a first clean, then realise maybe just dump straight away and move on?

The fact she signed up to GoCardless is a good sign..

Also if I had a customer complain about spotting I would at least go to have a look, as they shouldn't be left like that. If after that she's still a PITA then yeah dumperoo.

Tom
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: Splash & dash on April 09, 2021, 05:00:10 pm
We would go and have a look and re clean if there was  a problem we have lots of fussy customers I don’t have a  problem with that we charge a premium price and the customer gets perfect. Window clean every time on the very rare occasion we get a complaint we always try and sort it out , if they become an unreasonable customer complaining 3 weeks after a clean then that’s another matter .
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: Richard iSparkle on April 09, 2021, 07:45:31 pm
Just sounds like you’re very busy and feeling the stress

Also Sounds like shes probably a funny one, with her sister cleaning the windows and whatever

We’d go back and re clean. If she’s not happy id refund her and say we can’t offer her the service she’s looking for

If you’re  signing up customers at the rate you say, and I’m sure you are, you’re going to dig up some PITA customers amongst them. You just have to sieve them out
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: robbo333 on April 09, 2021, 09:07:51 pm
I'd employ her sister, sounds like she's done a good job  ;D

Seriously though, i'd have dumped her at the point she said her sister has turned up and cleaned them!
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: jo5hm4n on April 10, 2021, 01:24:44 pm
Thanks for the advice guys.  In future will always go back to doing the free reclean, but on this instance im going with my gut feeling.  Just going to dump the job, and give her a refund if need be.  Dont want to waste more time with her, too busy and got a backlog of quotes and customers to get through as is.

Good to see how you guys would approach it though.
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: jay moley on April 10, 2021, 08:36:51 pm
I had one the other day.

Windows hadn't been cleaned for a few years.

Before the clean she said she would pay cash on the day. On the day she didn't have the cash.

I followed up about paying another way and she said she would get her son to pay by bank transfer. Then she told me he didn't want to do it!

I suggested a cheque or PayPal and she said: "Who uses cheque anymore?".

She then said she wasn't happy with the clean. She said she expected the sills and front door to be better. The dirt was ingrained, there was nothing more I could do. She paid by PayPal in the end. I still offered her a refund but she didn't reply.
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: Greta on April 10, 2021, 08:42:24 pm
Can’t please all the people all the time.
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: james peters on April 11, 2021, 04:04:23 pm
my first thought when I read this is that her sister may have used some window cleaning detergent, like window  lean or the like .......and used lots of the stuff......perhaps it may have been used for years.
if this is the case it can take several cleans  to stop spotting on those windows.
Title: Re: New Customer PITA
Post by: dazmond on April 12, 2021, 08:07:41 am
I had one the other day.

Windows hadn't been cleaned for a few years.

Before the clean she said she would pay cash on the day. On the day she didn't have the cash.

I followed up about paying another way and she said she would get her son to pay by bank transfer. Then she told me he didn't want to do it!

I suggested a cheque or PayPal and she said: "Who uses cheque anymore?".

She then said she wasn't happy with the clean. She said she expected the sills and front door to be better. The dirt was ingrained, there was nothing more I could do. She paid by PayPal in the end. I still offered her a refund but she didn't reply.

This is why having a SumUp card reader comes in handy....it doesn't happen often but I occasionally get a bad payer and a firm knock on their door armed with a card reader does the trick every time....