Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: P®oPole™ on March 23, 2007, 08:20:05 am

Title: POACHING!!
Post by: P®oPole™ on March 23, 2007, 08:20:05 am
Hi Fellas,

I have a new guy on one of my rounds slagging off wfp to all my customers and trying to undercutt me. Apparntly "its aerosoled water and doesnt clean them but actually damages them and makes them look worse"
"He does a better job with his son the old way and cheaper" ;D

Im all for a bit of compeition but who the hell does this guy think he is! At the end of the day everyone can play dirty and if he wants to chat rubbish and work for less than he should then thats up to him. Bad conduct in my book!

I have his phone number here, I think a little phone call and a few choice words are in order. Nothing threatning I will just basically tell him hes bang out of order and to stick to the code!
Maybe a few oddball potential customer phone calls (late at night) and err other stuff ;D

Anyone else want the number?

ProPole



Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: RO-Sheen on March 23, 2007, 08:42:48 am
Yep gimme his number and a street in the next town please? Can you give me a house number as well please that doesnt exist on the street  ;D ;D
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: trevor perry on March 23, 2007, 03:42:07 pm
dont sink to his level just do a good job and let your work speak for itself then people will make their own choice.
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Helen on March 23, 2007, 03:43:00 pm
Personally, I would rise above it and ignore it, he will soon get tired of it, espescailly if your customers don't swap to him. But yes I agree can be B***** annoying. If it continues, why not send an official letter saying that you will take further action if this continues.
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: nat on March 23, 2007, 04:28:53 pm
why not send an official letter saying that you will take further action if this continues.
Like busting his face open!  ;) ;D ;D
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Sir Squeaky on March 23, 2007, 04:29:42 pm
You're pleasant.
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: TERRY AB on March 23, 2007, 05:26:38 pm
Dont waste you time with this prat.
Your existing customers will know that hes talking
out of his ar**, because their windows are sparkling
after your finished.
If he gets a few, dont worry youll get them back and if not
youll get new ones in the future.
Why dont you pass his details onto the Inland Revenue; maybe
you are lucky and he is not registered!.
Quality work always prevails in the long run, cheap scates eventually
dissappear because they dont earn enough.
Terry
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: groundhog on March 23, 2007, 07:12:37 pm
I would imagine that your customers will be delighted to find someone who will not only clean their windows cheaper, but will also not leave them soaking wet and dripping everwhere! ;D
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Sir Squeaky on March 23, 2007, 07:59:41 pm
 ;D

Keep up the crusade for me Groundhog!
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Neil Williams on March 23, 2007, 08:35:19 pm
Or then of course you could go down the route of producing lots of leaflets stating that the householder is technically EMPLOYING that window cleaner at the time of clean. SHOULD there be an accident the householder COULD be prosecuted. Therefore EMPLOY a window cleaner who uses safe methods as stipulated by the Government WaHD.

don't get nasty just even ;)
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Adam Boss on March 23, 2007, 08:46:54 pm
Ladders are safe if used in the correct manner!!!!
I use WFP and prefer trad as you can see the end results.
This topic dosent need to be highjacked by the trad verses the WFP
debate so keep to topic everyone.

Regards   :-X :-X
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: stuart@skypole on March 23, 2007, 08:53:05 pm
simply inform the H&S cause i bet hes using lots of safety devices and paying for quality insurance

HHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!


Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: nat on March 23, 2007, 08:53:25 pm
You're pleasant.
pleasant i am tolerant i'm not! get mad and get VERY even!!
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Adam Boss on March 23, 2007, 09:00:07 pm
Skypole, untill you know for sure you should not make sweeping statements !!
You should only go by the facts, if you don't have all the facts then you should not comment !!! :o
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: stuart@skypole on March 23, 2007, 09:19:09 pm
anyone running a legal legit business follows the laws as this person is speaking c**p to steal customers what does that say

my opinion is my opinion

 :-X
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: groundhog on March 23, 2007, 11:33:37 pm
You only have Propoles side of the story, you have no right to say that this man is speaking crap! he is just offering a service to the public that many people would prefer to wfp, a good honest trad window cleaner! ;)
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Mr. S on March 23, 2007, 11:41:40 pm
Hi everybody! Ive been too busy working to be on here lately then enjoying my freetime!

And my friends so should you be!

Dont worry about that idiot, me thinks if he does get any of your customers, then theyre customers not worth having. REPLACE them with better priced and good customers!!!!!
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: groundhog on March 23, 2007, 11:49:36 pm
What gives you the right to call this man an idiot?  >:( he is only trying to earn a living!
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Mr. S on March 24, 2007, 12:06:26 am


 Apparntly "its aerosoled water and doesnt clean them but actually damages them and makes them look worse"
"He does a better job with his son the old way and cheaper" ;D


Hope i quoted right!

For one i love trad, for two im upstairs wfp, :

to make my life easier
to clean quicker
to earn more money
to provide a better service to my customers
to clean frames, sills etc every clean
plus many other positives

This guy with his son must be an idiot if as in the quote he calls wfp aerosoled water, MAYBE HE SHOULD GET HIS FACTS RIGHT B4 HE SLAGS OFF OTHER PEOPLES WORKING PRACTISE!!

It reminds me of a story my father in law told me when he first taught me in the painting and decorating trade, several years ago...... Many old painters SLAGGED OFF PAINT ROLLERS,(those who said it would never catch on, and preferred paint brushes!!!!! HOW SILLY!!!!! -  now an age old revolution in painting decorating!!!!

Its true with this he needs to get his facts right!

POACHING, well I could tell you another story!!!

Its wrong especially when you slate another professionals work, WHICH WE ALL ARE ON HERE! ( I HOPE)

Anyway respect to you all but ive never used underhanded tactics, i think if i did it would show true un=professionalism, and cover up the fact that i really would be either scratching round for whatever work i could get. ............

TRUST ME that isnt the case

As i said propole replace them with better work !
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Russell Macdonald on March 24, 2007, 04:55:29 pm
What gives you the right to call this man an idiot?  >:( he is only trying to earn a living!

Hedgehog.

If he is slatting Wfp & under cutting Pro's prices he is a idiot.

ProPole, i would phone him, a little word to put him straight.

Macc
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: scrimit2 on March 24, 2007, 06:01:46 pm
Surely the customers will know how your system leaves there windows! they dont need some guy knocking on the door with obivous incentive to criticise your work to tell them! if he is that good himself why should he have to poach!

if any of your customers sack you for him, then they arent worth having.

It would wind me up, but it shouldnt.

scrimit
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: groundhog on March 25, 2007, 09:44:42 am
You should hear the other window cleaners side of the story before you start to slag him off! >:( Many customers hate wfp, and he is probably just repeating what he has been told by some of them!
It seems to me that it is considered ok for a wfp cleaner to slag off a trad cleaner, but not the other way round!! >:(
The traditional window cleaner is here to stay!!! ;D
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: slendersunfish on March 25, 2007, 11:18:38 am
Confront him.
Simply walk up to him
Introduce your self  and explain what you have herd and ask him to explain himself.
It will give him the oportunity to resolve it or if hes agresive, rude etc then its time to walk away and get nasty.
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Sir Squeaky on March 25, 2007, 11:51:31 am
You should hear the other window cleaners side of the story before you start to slag him off! >:( Many customers hate wfp, and he is probably just repeating what he has been told by some of them!
It seems to me that it is considered ok for a wfp cleaner to slag off a trad cleaner, but not the other way round!! >:(
The traditional window cleaner is here to stay!!! ;D
I'm afraid you're right Bushpig.

I'm going to do a lot of wfp work from now on, but it's purely financial and making things physically easier.

I'll never look down on trad, as it'll always be the most consistant reliable result.
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: scrimit2 on March 25, 2007, 12:04:07 pm
You should hear the other window cleaners side of the story before you start to slag him off! >:( Many customers hate wfp, and he is probably just repeating what he has been told by some of them!
It seems to me that it is considered ok for a wfp cleaner to slag off a trad cleaner, but not the other way round!! >:(
The traditional window cleaner is here to stay!!! ;D

Im trad, and I hear a lot of negative reports about WFP from customers (whether true or not I dont know), BUT I dont go around using it to take other peoples work, If a time came when I was short of work and  had to canvass, I would knock and ask if they wanted a window cleaner, if the answer was yes or no, that would be fair enough, I wouldnt try to sway them either way.

Scrimit
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: dai on March 25, 2007, 08:47:28 pm
If you haven't done so already, Why not post some WFP information flyers to your customers? Reassure them that pure water will not cause any damage, and remind them that frames are cleaned as standard.
You can also mention that you are posting these flyers, in response to an unscrupulous window cleaner, who is attempting to frighten people in order to poach your clients. Dai
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: rosskesava on March 27, 2007, 11:45:35 pm
I have never ever bothered about the competition. All I have ever worried about is how good the job is that we are doing.

Someone getting work by slatting off the person who is doing the existing work won't get far anyway. And if the customer listens to them, what can you do?

It is true that a some customers don't like wfp for a variety of reasons. Some of those customers just need a little excuse to cancel but the chances are that at some point, they would have canceled anyway.

It's not worth getting your nickers in a twist over. Just get new customers to replace the ones lost and have a piecefull life.
Title: Re: POACHING!!
Post by: Trevor Knight on March 28, 2007, 08:15:54 am
Post ammended - please refrain from personal remarks or non related comments (sheep!)

Thanks you

Trevor