Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: elite mike on November 17, 2007, 10:08:21 am
-
hi guys
my son and me were cleaning a load of bungalows,a while back, and really having a good day
when we were so far round this one ,the lady came out and said .and i quote :i am to tired to have my windows cleaned today.????
nor would she pay us for work done. need less to say she is off my list now,
can any one beat that for an excuse??
mike
-
hi guys
my son and me were cleaning a load of bungalows,a while back, and really having a good day
when we were so far round this one ,the lady came out and said .and i quote :i am to tired to have my windows cleaned today.????
nor would she pay us for work done. need less to say she is off my list now,
can any one beat that for an excuse??
mike
Had one the other day that said she didnt want the frames cleaned or the door as she didnt them to get dirty ::) you do get odd people lol
-
you just couldent make it up could you,i have been window cleaning for 26+years and thought i had heard it all ??
my son said im,e glad you delt with her ,because he would of said something pretty sarky
mike
-
I once had a cancellation because she felt that the clean frames & windows made her house stand out from her neighbours therefore attract burglars. Drive past her house regularly and they haven't been cleaned since. That was back early year.
-
I had to climb iside a partially built conservatory to clean the bay window thats coming out next week- what for? Tight gits. Whilst i was there a van turned up to shampoo their three dogs and inside the house they had a cleaner working away.
-
hi guys
my son and me were cleaning a load of bungalows,a while back, and really having a good day
when we were so far round this one ,the lady came out and said .and i quote :i am to tired to have my windows cleaned today.????
nor would she pay us for work done. need less to say she is off my list now,
can any one beat that for an excuse??
mike
had one a while ago, luckily phoned them first, after initial annoyance we fell about laughing..... ahhhhh, could you miss us this time as we have a new puppy (andrex type) and we are going out and he might be frightened of the brush at the window ;D ;D ;D Next time we were due to them, they were going to be staying in so pups would be ok!....They only held the pup to each window as we cleaned so it could see it ;D ;D ;D Then it had to come out and meet us......shake paws with the nice window cleaning people............. Have my own dog, but come on there is a limit ;D ;D
-
hi guys
my son and me were cleaning a load of bungalows,a while back, and really having a good day
when we were so far round this one ,the lady came out and said .and i quote :i am to tired to have my windows cleaned today.????
nor would she pay us for work done. need less to say she is off my list now,
can any one beat that for an excuse??
mike
had one a while ago, luckily phoned them first, after initial annoyance we fell about laughing..... ahhhhh, could you miss us this time as we have a new puppy (andrex type) and we are going out and he might be frightened of the brush at the window ;D ;D ;D Next time we were due to them, they were going to be staying in so pups would be ok!....They only held the pup to each window as we cleaned so it could see it ;D ;D ;D Then it had to come out and meet us......shake paws with the nice window cleaning people............. Have my own dog, but come on there is a limit ;D ;D
I can understand with a new pup as is like a baby, would get scared I guess, I had one that said can you clean on a saturday as you might scare my dog (5 years old) I said I clean next door and your dog does not have a problem with that, in the end I said I would be cleaning the windows, I take alot but as you say there is a limit.
-
Sometimes missing out the odd door or windows at your custies request can have another unwanted effect as I found out recently. It can make you look like a poor worker to others who might see you.
I took on a customer recently I'd had many years ago and who had sacked me for no apparent reason, or so I thought.
They didn't recognise me when they took me on again and I was talking to the lady the other day when she said they used to have a window cleaner years ago who they'd sacked because they had seen him knock at a customer opposite them and then walk off when they weren't in.
They'd jumped to the conclusion that he was cheating the said custy and didn't want him cleaning their windows.
The window cleaner was me and I'd had an arrangement with the customer that I only clean the windows when they were in.
-
As for strange excuses, I had a lady refuse to pay me when I collected on a Sunday afternoon, not for religious reasons but because she worked all week with money and she had a policy of not handling money on a sunday.
-
a few years back i had a happy / contented customer cancel , because as she said
' i had been doing them for a while , and thought she should try someone else for no other reason than that ' .
a few w/cs ( and years ) later she asked me to put her back on my round
i do take some customers back , but i just couldnt !
-
I've got one customer who has A front window, 3x2 and some mottled glass on his door,thats it. He has no other windows in the house because its a terrace and the terrace at the back is about 1 ft from his.
funny little place.
£5
-
Had a custy say " I'm too busy to have my windows cleaned" ???
-
"dont do them today, the dog died a few days ago"
.... ??? ok....
-
Some odd stories there. I had one person prevent me starting purely because they were about to go out. It was not a place with gated access and they had no alarm system that might have been started by me. If I only cleaned for those who were in, I wouldn't have a business.
It's all very well letting customers mess you around but once they start doing it, they will always do it. If I'd kept all the ones who've messed me about down the years, I could have more than double my current workload - maybe triple. But I don't want that sort of business because I used to work that way before and hated it.
-
hi shiner
i totally agree.
mike
-
Some odd stories there. I had one person prevent me starting purely because they were about to go out. It was not a place with gated access and they had no alarm system that might have been started by me. If I only cleaned for those who were in, I wouldn't have a business.
It's all very well letting customers mess you around but once they start doing it, they will always do it. If I'd kept all the ones who've messed me about down the years, I could have more than double my current workload - maybe triple. But I don't want that sort of business because I used to work that way before and hated it.
Second that Shiner, if a cusry doesn't fit in they are dumped. Some say i dump too easily but then there is no way they have a quality round like mine.
Macc
-
I've had the few odd ones with new pets that they don't want scared, or new babies for that matter.
The one that cheesed me off the most though was a customer that had asked to go every 8 weeks instead of 4. So I did and put the price up accordingly, she then proceeded to only have the back open every other clean. And then one day as I was halfway through the front of the house me doing the ups and my Mrs doing the downs, she comes out and says she only cleaned them yesterday and doesn't want them done today. She wouldn't open the door again afterward either. So we didn't blade off the windows and left her.
Nowt so queer as folk.
Simon.
-
we've had loads of various storys, i have come to the conclusion there are just some very odd people out there...i just put up with it, i have a 3 strike system then there out, i give people the benifit of the doubt the first time, second time i may think there a bit of a problem third time then their off the database.
-
we've had loads of various storys, i have come to the conclusion there are just some very odd people out there...i just put up with it, i have a 3 strike system then there out, i give people the benifit of the doubt the first time, second time i may think there a bit of a problem third time then their off the database.
The problem with that is that if the customer does it once and youy say nothing, they think it's OK to do it again. Do you actually tell them about your cancellation policy when they start messing about or do you just say nothing then walk if the messing about continues?
-
I've had the few odd ones with new pets that they don't want scared, or new babies for that matter.
The one that cheesed me off the most though was a customer that had asked to go every 8 weeks instead of 4. So I did and put the price up accordingly, she then proceeded to only have the back open every other clean. And then one day as I was halfway through the front of the house me doing the ups and my Mrs doing the downs, she comes out and says she only cleaned them yesterday and doesn't want them done today. She wouldn't open the door again afterward either. So we didn't blade off the windows and left her.
Nowt so queer as folk.
Simon.
That sounds pretty unprofessional.
Well done though ;D
-
we've had loads of various storys, i have come to the conclusion there are just some very odd people out there...i just put up with it, i have a 3 strike system then there out, i give people the benifit of the doubt the first time, second time i may think there a bit of a problem third time then their off the database.
The problem with that is that if the customer does it once and youy say nothing, they think it's OK to do it again. Do you actually tell them about your cancellation policy when they start messing about or do you just say nothing then walk if the messing about continues?
I don't say nothing no i have found that not everyone is a total messer, i've had customers give excuses not to have there windows cleaned once then they've been fine after. if your that cut throught with your customers you could be trhowing some away for no real reason, everyone has a bad day every now and then so if they take it out on you the window cleaner, you throw them away for no real reason other than there having a bad day...give them a chance if they do it twice three times then throw them away you know there not worth it...you need to give them a chance otherwise the next window cleaner comes along and poaches a potentially good customer...thats how i think anyways
-
I had one customer, who has known me since i was a baby tell me to only clean her windows if her bedroom curtains are open as she does shiftwork and might be asleep. ::)
I clean in a rural area and am always cautious when dumping customers as many people know each other. But not as much as a few years ago.
I try to operate a 3 strikes policy but it is more based on instinct and feeling than a set number of runarounds.
Pingu had good advice when he said not to do anything until the next day.
I have come really close to dumping several customers in the past but thought against it the following day. Many become good customers in the end.
The thing is to keep lines of communication open with them rather than expecting them to know the score.
The ones i tend to dump the most are the ones who resent sending me a cheque and expect me to drive twice to a job for payment. I will never do that again.
I always say when i take on new work that i expect to be paid before the next clean by cheque if they are not home.
-
I had one customer, who has known me since i was a baby tell me to only clean her windows if her bedroom curtains are open as she does shiftwork and might be asleep. ::)
I clean in a rural area and am always cautious when dumping customers as many people know each other. But not as much as a few years ago.
I try to operate a 3 strikes policy but it is more based on instinct and feeling than a set number of runarounds.
Pingu had good advice when he said not to do anything until the next day.
I have come really close to dumping several customers in the past but thought against it the following day. Many become good customers in the end.
The thing is to keep lines of communication open with them rather than expecting them to know the score.
The ones i tend to dump the most are the ones who resent sending me a cheque and expect me to drive twice to a job for payment. I will never do that again.
I always say when i take on new work that i expect to be paid before the next clean by cheque if they are not home.
I have some shift workers on my round & have arranged with them i phone a couple of days before, if they arnt in i leave a message & they phone back letting me know the best times of the day due would be best. Most of the time i can work it in without much hassel.
As for payment, most send in a cheque by post within a week, some a few weeks, others ive had for years & just don't post one but i know i will get paid. Over time you get to know your customers, 1 got to 6 cleans but in my opinion are 1 of my best cutomers.
-
I've had the few odd ones with new pets that they don't want scared, or new babies for that matter.
The one that cheesed me off the most though was a customer that had asked to go every 8 weeks instead of 4. So I did and put the price up accordingly, she then proceeded to only have the back open every other clean. And then one day as I was halfway through the front of the house me doing the ups and my Mrs doing the downs, she comes out and says she only cleaned them yesterday and doesn't want them done today. She wouldn't open the door again afterward either. So we didn't blade off the windows and left her.
Nowt so queer as folk.
Simon.
That sounds pretty unprofessional.
Well done though ;D
I didn't sud her windows up deliberatly. She came out when we were halfway through and said she was not going to pay as she had done them all ready. She then didn't answer the door. We just didn't finish of the job we had all ready started. She may have had an off day but not to answer the door after was a real cheak. She's never spoken to us since and isn't having any one else do her windows even though there are plenty of us to choose from in her road. I normally operate a three strike stratergy but if its a bad first or second strike then they're off my books.
Simon