Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: djhaydn on August 14, 2007, 09:18:53 pm
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Went to a custies house today who i missed last month for 3 reasons.
1..... it was raining heavily on that day
2..... i was waiting for delivery of wfp system
3..... i was on a fire engine cutting someone out of a car.
1 & 3 have been explained to all my custies these would be the reasons i would not turn up.
so i turn up and start explaining how the wfp cleaning process works, she looks very bemussed, so Hubby comes down stairs and i explain again, he listens and then says it sounds to good to be true to clean windows with pure water, and he is not happy that i didnt turn up last month ( im gobsmacked at this comment) so i again explain that it was raining and the fact i was out with the fire brigade saving someones life, the numpty then says i want you to turn up every month on the day you say you are coming, (steam coming out of my ears by this time) so i says " i take it you think your windows are more important than saving someones life,, he said no but i want you to turn up when you say you are, sorry bud but my terms were laid down before i took the job on
i promptly told them to go them selves and get another window cleaner.
Bob if you are reading this they are in Haddiscoe down rectory road, up to you if you want it but id advise to stay away if they have that attitude.
i just cant believe some people...
on top of that i got a new one today worth more than the one i lost. went and done it and dropped my brush in the frigging mud, not a good day all round
haydn
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I dont blame them, were you cutting the guy out of his car all month?
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So let's get this clear...... you tell them that as well as a window cleaner you are a firefighter?
you then tell them to go themselves?
very pro!! not ::) ::) ::)
I'd suggest you get another job
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its not that the firemans job isn't important, goodness saving a life is amazing and you should be very proud, but a window cleaner is just as dedicated to his career.
A client is entitled to expect you on a regular basis after all part of the price includes this part of service.
I don't feel for one moment that your client would wish for you to clean his windows instead of helping to save a life,however i do feel that he wants a commited window cleaner as opposed to someone "doing it on the side".
As a full-time window cleaner i object to your type ,the type who abuse the time off given by the fire service for you to enjoy quality time with your family friends or just chilling by yourself.I also object to the people who think they can just play at window cleaning,some of us have started from nothing worked very hard very long hours to get to the point of running a small business and yet we compete against the likes of you who do it around their real job commitments yet feel they can charge the genuine prices that we have too.
When i was 22years old a house was on fire with a little girl trapped inside, while we waited on the fire brigade i went in and with help from a neighbour got the girl to safety. Turned out she set the fire to cover up money missing from her mums purse, luckily she only suffered a bit smoke inhalation and i got away with burns to my hand and neck.
Did i send the fire service a bill? No.
Do i now claim to be experienced in fire fighting No
The very brave people like the voluntary lifeboat service who do a very dangerous job while having their own jobs is a different matter. These people deserve all our thanks as they give up their working time as well as their time off for other people, not being greedy earning two salaries at the tax payers cost.And i hope you do declare your second income as i do not grudge paying for the emegency services but i'm damned if i'm going to subsidise a tax dodging professional.
So i agree with your "custie" wanting a regular professional service and i hope you decide to give 100% to one or the other of your careers as we will all benefit from a good experienced rested fire person like yourself or you can benefit in many ways,financially being the main one from giving your all to what i think is the best
job in the world
Thanks for the opportunity to air my views and they are just that , my views my opinion
regards
Gordon
p.s. to all the men and women of the emegency services , we thank you
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Went to a custies house today who i missed last month for 3 reasons.
1..... it was raining heavily on that day
2..... i was waiting for delivery of wfp system
3..... i was on a fire engine cutting someone out of a car.
1 & 3 have been explained to all my custies these would be the reasons i would not turn up.
so i turn up and start explaining how the wfp cleaning process works, she looks very bemussed, so Hubby comes down stairs and i explain again, he listens and then says it sounds to good to be true to clean windows with pure water, and he is not happy that i didnt turn up last month ( im gobsmacked at this comment) so i again explain that it was raining and the fact i was out with the fire brigade saving someones life, the numpty then says i want you to turn up every month on the day you say you are coming, (steam coming out of my ears by this time) so i says " i take it you think your windows are more important than saving someones life,, he said no but i want you to turn up when you say you are, sorry bud but my terms were laid down before i took the job on
i promptly told them to go F**k them selves and get another window cleaner.
Bob if you are reading this they are in Haddiscoe down rectory road, up to you if you want it but id advise to stay away if they have that attitude.
i just cant believe some people...
on top of that i got a new one today worth more than the one i lost. went and done it and dropped my brush in the frigging mud, not a good day all round
haydn
after reading haydn's post, people seem to have missed the bit i have qouted in bold above, he did mention that it was a 2nd job and his firefighting will take over at times, the customer agree'd to his terms when he started
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Totally agree with the points raised Gordon. Total respect for those who risk their lives for others but then they go and spoil it when they 'play' at something in their free time that others use as a full time occupation.
I've got one around around the corner from me who charges £7 for some properties that all serious window cleaners in this area would easily charge £14 for. (14 leaded windows on a property that retails at £300,000)
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belive that Haydn is a retained fireifghter (on anther thread), so guess this means he is not full time with the fire service. Even though this customer could have been more understanding.would it have hurt to give some customer service and just let the customer know what had happened and that their windows would be cleaned as soon as it was possible, not just miss them and turn up and expect to be greeted as a long lost friend? Haydn, not wishing to offend, but you do come across as very blunt and to the point, to the point of being rude, have seen some other comments on other threads, I am sure that your did not use off to these customers and that you are using poetic license on this forum, but while you are doing so, you give the impression of this industry that all us full timers are trying to get rid of :)
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its not that the firemans job isn't important, goodness saving a life is amazing and you should be very proud, but a window cleaner is just as dedicated to his career.
A client is entitled to expect you on a regular basis after all part of the price includes this part of service.
I don't feel for one moment that your client would wish for you to clean his windows instead of helping to save a life,however i do feel that he wants a commited window cleaner as opposed to someone "doing it on the side".
As a full-time window cleaner i object to your type ,the type who abuse the time off given by the fire service for you to enjoy quality time with your family friends or just chilling by yourself.I also object to the people who think they can just play at window cleaning,some of us have started from nothing worked very hard very long hours to get to the point of running a small business and yet we compete against the likes of you who do it around their real job commitments yet feel they can charge the genuine prices that we have too.
When i was 22years old a house was on fire with a little girl trapped inside, while we waited on the fire brigade i went in and with help from a neighbour got the girl to safety. Turned out she set the fire to cover up money missing from her mums purse, luckily she only suffered a bit smoke inhalation and i got away with burns to my hand and neck.
Did i send the fire service a bill? No.
Do i now claim to be experienced in fire fighting No
The very brave people like the voluntary lifeboat service who do a very dangerous job while having their own jobs is a different matter. These people deserve all our thanks as they give up their working time as well as their time off for other people, not being greedy earning two salaries at the tax payers cost.And i hope you do declare your second income as i do not grudge paying for the emegency services but i'm d**ned if i'm going to subsidise a tax dodging professional.
So i agree with your "custie" wanting a regular professional service and i hope you decide to give 100% to one or the other of your careers as we will all benefit from a good experienced rested fire person like yourself or you can benefit in many ways,financially being the main one from giving your all to what i think is the best
job in the world
Thanks for the opportunity to air my views and they are just that , my views my opinion
regards
Gordon
p.s. to all the men and women of the emegency services , we thank you
I guess that annoyed you a tad Gordon, I will remember not to upset you ;D
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jeez some of these posts are a bit harsh???
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Whilst I agree with some of the observations made in the various replies, I also take the point made by Haydn about the intractable customer.
I personally don't know how you can absolutely guarantee being there on the same day every month, just too many variables.
I tell my domestic customers that I aim to get around roughly every 4 weeks or so.
But then, even if I was a retained firefighter and I was out on a shout, any job that got missed as a result of that would be the very next job that I went to anyway, I certainly wouldn't leave them for another month, and I would certainly not - under any circumstances whatsoever - swear at a customer.
Ian
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I can't understand why all the work just didn't get pushed back a day if Haydn was busy doing his other job. I window clean nearly full time as my only income and it is easy to be a day or two out either way over my 6 weekly cycle. Of course, it may be that he has to be there on certain days because of running part of the business on an appointments system due to access problems. If so this is yet another reason why I won't work that way.
One of the posts mentioned about firemen working too cheaply at window cleaning. Around my way the firemen I know charge a lot more than me. However this is on work that I've had a long time. On recent work they are only a little bit more expensive than me. Mind you, they take twice as long to do the job.
I've no idea whether or not they pay their dues to the state.
As for swearing at a customer, I'm afraid that I did once tell one of them to go to hell. Mind you, he called me a robber first. That was some years ago. Hopefully with age and some (alleged) maturity I wouldn't do that now.
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Given that in life 'things' do crop up and get in the way....this situation would more than likely ended with all parties in good stead...if you had chosen to call them and explain....nobody likes to think they have been shunned....a quick call would have been the best policy...
But just using 'I'm a fireman and was cutting someone out of a car' just sounds like you were swinging your di&k around.
They deserve the same respect you would like from them.
My pennies worth...I don't know you but can only comment on what you have written...
Dave.
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Can't understand why the job wasn't just done at the next available opportunity.
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sounds to me that you have a bad attitude >:(
you should have gone around to do the windows asap after you fire call outs, if you can't run the 2 jobs side by side then maybe it's time for you to think about giving 1 of them up ???
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haydn, hats off to you for what you do i know i couldent do it.
but on the other side of coin not turning up. you could have rang
them. swearing at them we all do but under our breath.
no wonder this industry will never be taken seriously.
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Whoa people :o
Leave the guy alone.
I know Haydn and he is not as bad as his post seem to reflect him.
We all get those customers who are a pain in the arse and well done to the guy for dumping them. They all know he has other jobs and they also know he is a part time fireman.
Maybe he should have been a little more diplomatic about it and maybe he should have called them to explain but hey, maybe Haydn was having a bad day like the customer.
Lets all look forward to the winter when the sun is shining, its crisp and no bloody rain ;D
Ps Sorry Haydn but I need a passport to go to Haddiscoe and it ran out last year. ;D
Bob
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But just using 'I'm a fireman and was cutting someone out of a car' just sounds like you were swinging your di&k around.
;D ;D ;D interesting adage;
But, yup, thats what I though too.
Theres nothing quite like a bit of emotional manipulation.
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im a reatined firefighter as i think haydn is as well, The money people earn from being a retained firefighter is not enough to live on window cleaning is my living. we are on call and when needed have to drop everything and attend the station, this means that when called out during the week when im window cleaning i loose money because i earn less from the fire brigade than i would window cleaning. I work for the fire brigade becausee i enjoy it and think it is worth while. If i get called out when i have finished with the fire brigade i return to where i was working and carry on, i would never miss a house out as a result of being called out. My window cleaning is proffessional and regular so i take offense at gordons comments, most of the country has fire cover provided by retained firefighters as a retained station is cheeper than one manned round the clock. Many people have no idea how the fire cover is provided for their towns and would be shocked at what retained firefighters are paid.So next time you type gordons make sure you actually know what you are talking about because you seem to have a habbit of being Obnoxious towards other members of this forum without having full knowledge of the situation.
phil
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Ok , where do i start?????????
phil and bob, many thanks for being understanding, phil you have just wrote everything about us retained firefightersand what we do and get payed, i do it because i am a service to the community and enjoy the job, i couldn`t do it full time as im not fit enough to do it full time, (by the way where are you retained)
Helen i do come across to you lot on here as a rude and obnoxisious twat, but really im not, as bob says he knows me and knows what im really like, i just dont have people telling what and what not i can do, like in the smoking thread, so i bit and you all got the poo side of me,
Gordon before you get off your high horse, you do need to get all facts right before you go slagging me off, i do window cleaning full time and have a good round, i retain firefight as phil says when im called, and the disco`s as helen mentioned are at weekends every now and then, all my monies earnt are put through the books, i bet you put some in your back pocket, i dont and never will, i dont screw the system, and i object to you thinking i do it on the side,
i am on call 24/7 365 days a year if i want to be, and 9 times out of 10 i am on call, but i still get up in the morning if ive been out all night and do window cleaning as firefighting does not pay the bills, i would like to see you do it, i dont know how old you are but at 42 im still doing it,
let me explain how i work my rounds and this was explained to ALL my customers and out of 200 only one has taken objection to it,
i do 17 rounds a month, approx` between 10 and 20 houses a day, some small some very large, i have a set day each month for each round and it is worked out for the year, if i am out on a fire shout (which i DO NOT use as a excuse at all) i miss that days round out unless i get back early , if its absolutely p1ssing down i miss that round as well, yes they dont get there windows done and i dont earn any money, my loss. but my customers understand the way i work, most of you dont work like that , but at least my customers know im gonna be there that day unless one of the other two reason happen, i cant lie to my customers as they only have to go on to the Norfolk fire service website and see if im on a shout, its not rocket science.
someone posted was i cutting the bloke out of the car all month, get a life you sad person, you wouldnt of put that if it was you in the car, god hopes it wont happen to you.
at the end of the day i dont know any of you except bob from adam, so the comments are taken on board but then forgotten about after i reply, you all have your own opinions and can express as much as you want and i shall do the same, but i do object to being slagged off as being a two bit window cleaner, i would like to think i work hard to earn my honest crust each day, and will carry on the way i work,
i posted this because i had had a bad day and thought some would be sympathetic about it, how wrong i was, too many jobsworths out there, seems to be the day of the real traditional window cleaners are gone and everyone wants to be a big commercial company, maybe only us Norfolk people are still in the old ages,lol. ;D
i joined this site to get some helpful tips on the wfp system, and to you guys that gave me the imfomation when needed i am very gratefull, you have helped me alot,
i will now take a back seat and keep quite and watch and learn from here, if i need to be slagged off for the way i work or act, ill go down the pub and let my mates do it.
thanks for your kind and horrible words, i dont really take it all to heart.
Haydn
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ok i have been a window cleaner for 5 and more years and understand all points raised by gordon and the like but give the guy a break!
He is entitled to do what he likes in his spare time and if they took him on knowing his full situation then they should back off
People lighten up for gods sake!!! :o :o :o
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I hope Haydn doesn't have to rescue any of you guy's in an emergency ;D
I know loads of retained and full time fire & Rescue guy's and I have full respect for all of them, most of them have to get part-time Jobs just to make ends meet.
if you feel you have to have a pop at someone, then try the goverment, for not paying our emergency service guy's a decent wage to begin with.
we have a few retained firefighters on here so why just have a pop at Haydn??
Give the guy a break.
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god help us but mr scrim is on the life boat and is going through training to be a retained fire fighter!!If he gets a shout on the lifeboat i just give them a bell in the morning or he does it in the evenong to apologise!
No worries mate!!
Mrs scrim ;D
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Ok , where do i start?????????
phil and bob, many thanks for being understanding, phil you have just wrote everything about us retained firefightersand what we do and get payed, i do it because i am a service to the community and enjoy the job, i couldn`t do it full time as im not fit enough to do it full time, (by the way where are you retained)
Helen i do come across to you lot on here as a rude and obnoxisious thingy, but really im not, as bob says he knows me and knows what im really like, i just dont have people telling what and what not i can do, like in the smoking thread, so i bit and you all got the poo side of me,
Gordon before you get off your high horse, you do need to get all facts right before you go slagging me off, i do window cleaning full time and have a good round, i retain firefight as phil says when im called, and the disco`s as helen mentioned are at weekends every now and then, all my monies earnt are put through the books, i bet you put some in your back pocket, i dont and never will, i dont screw the system, and i object to you thinking i do it on the side,
i am on call 24/7 365 days a year if i want to be, and 9 times out of 10 i am on call, but i still get up in the morning if ive been out all night and do window cleaning as firefighting does not pay the bills, i would like to see you do it, i dont know how old you are but at 42 im still doing it,
let me explain how i work my rounds and this was explained to ALL my customers and out of 200 only one has taken objection to it,
i do 17 rounds a month, approx` between 10 and 20 houses a day, some small some very large, i have a set day each month for each round and it is worked out for the year, if i am out on a fire shout (which i DO NOT use as a excuse at all) i miss that days round out unless i get back early , if its absolutely p1ssing down i miss that round as well, yes they dont get there windows done and i dont earn any money, my loss. but my customers understand the way i work, most of you dont work like that , but at least my customers know im gonna be there that day unless one of the other two reason happen, i cant lie to my customers as they only have to go on to the Norfolk fire service website and see if im on a shout, its not rocket science.
someone posted was i cutting the bloke out of the car all month, get a life you sad person, you wouldnt of put that if it was you in the car, god hopes it wont happen to you.
at the end of the day i dont know any of you except bob from adam, so the comments are taken on board but then forgotten about after i reply, you all have your own opinions and can express as much as you want and i shall do the same, but i do object to being slagged off as being a two bit window cleaner, i would like to think i work hard to earn my honest crust each day, and will carry on the way i work,
i posted this because i had had a bad day and thought some would be sympathetic about it, how wrong i was, too many jobsworths out there, seems to be the day of the real traditional window cleaners are gone and everyone wants to be a big commercial company, maybe only us Norfolk people are still in the old ages,lol. ;D
i joined this site to get some helpful tips on the wfp system, and to you guys that gave me the imfomation when needed i am very gratefull, you have helped me alot,
i will now take a back seat and keep quite and watch and learn from here, if i need to be slagged off for the way i work or act, ill go down the pub and let my mates do it.
thanks for your kind and horrible words, i dont really take it all to heart.
Haydn
Sure thing. I understand what you do and I appreciate it as well.
What I don't understand is why you don't just shunt all the work back a day if you are called out on a fire job. I would have thought it was easier for you to do that than completely miss a days work out.
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Sounds to me like some people have a chip on their shoulders.
haydn mate, if you can earn a few extras, go for it!
If haydn has a bad attitude, then Gordons is just as bad.
I`ll shut the door on the way out ;D
Steve.
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maybe only us Norfolk people are still in the old ages,lol. ;D
YEP!!!
(from over the border in suffolk....) ;D
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cheers guys,,,, i apprieciate it,
mark......... i cant answer a yep, but hi.
jeff ,,,,,,, glad you are on the same wave length, but i would rescue anyone, im proffesional about my job and dont hold grudges.
pro....... i would shift it , but my customers leave gates open only for the day i should be there, id be wasting my time driving to them knowing i could only do half a house the next day, i have thought about it, but its not fessible as alot of gates are locked out in the sticks, buti take you comment on board... if anything i only may miss a day amonth, and yes i have gone out on the next saturday to try and do them, some i can some i cant
haydn
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sorry i ment shiner not pro,
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we should kill this thread and hopefully learn lessons from it,this forum i would expect was started to help everyone concerned and its beginning to scare me how seriously some people take their occupation,its a job,there is more to life surely? big respect to the 999ers,remember 9/11 i doubt many window cleaners lost their lives there.... show respect,this should be informative and from some posts ive read fun ;-),peace out.
p.s. we all know we are in the service industry and the customer is supposedly always right even though we know different lol, a lot of the members come here to vent,i smile cos i know how everyone feels,today washing lines were making me curse whoever invented them,cutomer service must be the worst job in the world cos someones always taking their stuff out on us and others involved in customer service industry thats why i smile that this is here for ppl to vent and hopefully understand even if we are typing in anger lol.
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well said paul, about time it did die, thanks....
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lol this is nothing to do with the thread but it is probably true,for every female customer we deal with (no disrespect intended) but i figured that roughly 1 in 4 could be having a bad week lol and make allowances accordingly lmao,maybe something to keep in mind,im hoping this be good advice.
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what dj does with his money is no concern of anyones apart from his (maybe his wife/gf)
So DJhayden, dont sit back and just watch, put in input to. I wish you all the best in all three jobs you have, just laugh and try to rise above it.
By the way, Dont die please as people need you to save there lives, clean there windows and play music to them ;)
Jokes aside, dont be put off of replying, be nice, be happy, make money
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cheers guys,,,, i apprieciate it,
mark......... i cant answer a yep, but hi.
jeff ,,,,,,, glad you are on the same wave length, but i would rescue anyone, im proffesional about my job and dont hold grudges.
pro....... i would shift it , but my customers leave gates open only for the day i should be there, id be wasting my time driving to them knowing i could only do half a house the next day, i have thought about it, but its not fessible as alot of gates are locked out in the sticks, buti take you comment on board... if anything i only may miss a day amonth, and yes i have gone out on the next saturday to try and do them, some i can some i cant
haydn
I wondered if that might be the case. I spent several years filtering out the jobs where I needed to make an appointment. I don't mind for the odd big job that pays well but I found it too much hassle for run of the mill work.