Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: supernova77 on May 03, 2008, 11:29:06 am
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Some people really do take us for mugs don't they!
I got a call on Thursday night:
Customer: "Can you come and clean my windows in location x. We are moving out of our rented house (4 bedroom detached) on Monday and the windows really need doing".
Me: "Well, I haven't really got any other houses in your area, but I could get to you tomorrow (Friday) morning and then go on to my regular work".
Customer: "OK, great - How much will it cost?"
Me: "I will provide you with a quote when I get there".
Customer: "OK".
Friday morning comes around... It takes me 30 minutes to get to the customers house. She is not in (I knew she wouldn't be, although would be there later), so I look around the house and call her mobile.
Me: "For all windows including frames and sills as a one off job the cost will be £55".
Customer: "How much??? Thats expensive! I was expecting more like £20!".
Me: "£20??? It's taken me 30 minutes to get to you, it will take me another 15 minutes to get to my next house, the windows are filthy, and it's a one off job!".
Customer: "Well OK, I suppose they have to be done".
Anyway... I did the work, which only took about an hour... She was very pleased with the results and paid me in the end no problem.
I just couldn't beleive that she thought I would do it for £20 though!
Anyone else with similar experiences?
Andy
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when asked for a quote thats the first thing i ask. do you want it doing regular or just the once. then the quote is given
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when asked for a quote thats the first thing i ask. do you want it doing regular or just the once. then the quote is given
I knew this was going to be a one off clean, because she told me they were moving out on Monday.
Andy
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sorry miss read.
some people just dont appritiate that your trying to run a business
i know my spelling is awful
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hi Andy,
had a phone enquiry on friday a 3 bedroomed semi wanted a one off and a price over the phone. (the one off was due to them being so bad and not done for 5 years, once they had been done they would then do them themselves) I don't normally do over the phone quotes but asked her how many windows she had.
6 or 7 was the reply. Yeah right.
So as a one off I quoted £25.00 and explained that they would all be done twice to ensure a good finish.
Anyone would have thought I had run over her cat by her reaction.
She never rang back!
Tony
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hi Andy,
had a phone enquiry on friday a 3 bedroomed semi wanted a one off and a price over the phone. (the one off was due to them being so bad and not done for 5 years, once they had been done they would then do them themselves) I don't normally do over the phone quotes but asked her how many windows she had.
6 or 7 was the reply. Yeah right.
So as a one off I quoted £25.00 and explained that they would all be done twice to ensure a good finish.
Anyone would have thought I had run over her cat by her reaction.
She never rang back!
Tony
Some guy who has a restaurant asked me for a quotation today. He saw me working across the road and came over. I couldn't provide the service he wanted because I always clean around there very early (shops) and they can't be done later for logistical reasons. Anyway, he wanted me to make a special trip to his restaurant after 11.30 AM and he baulked at my quote of £7 in and out (there wasn't much to it). Apparently the last W/C has now retired (I've met him before) and he only charged £4.50. The guy started a haggle. Started at £5. Then £6. Then agreed to £7 (this was for a one off). By the time he agreed to £7, I was already walking away. I just told him that I had a business for window cleaning - not for car boot sales. In all honesty, I have done haggling occasionally, but not for jobs of that size. I have several jobs (shops and houses) for one family that net me over a grand a year and there looks like more to follow that could be another £400 - £500 just on one job. They do haggle a bit and I do give a little if I'm already happy with the price. I find it a bit irritating but on the plus side, they are always on the dot with the money so no problems there. Of course, the temptation now is to quote a bit higher to allow for the haggle. I would rather not work that way though. I have explained that W/C is a different business model from their businesses as the only time you can really start talking about economy of scale is when the job is one large job in one place.
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I clean a few houses in a cul de sac. One of the neighbours asked if I could do their windows as well. No problem, did them and a few days later a for sale board goes up.
I can't even count the number of times this has happened.
Years ago I tried branching out into gardening, it didn't really work out but while I was trying to get it started a bloke phoned me about a garden he wanted cleared. It was really bad and well outside my ability to do it. I would have to have hired skips and some heavy duty tools to do it. Plus I would have needed help.
So I told him I couldn't do it but he asked me if I knew anyone else and how much I thought it would be. I said it would be in the region of a thousand pounds probably.
He nearly fell over. "A thousand pounds? I thought it would be about fifty quid" And he was serious.
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I clean a few houses in a cul de sac. One of the neighbours asked if I could do their windows as well. No problem, did them and a few days later a for sale board goes up.
I can't even count the number of times this has happened.
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Always always always charge much more for the first clean. Did I say always? Treat it and charge it as a one off and you wont be disappointed.
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I clean a few houses in a cul de sac. One of the neighbours asked if I could do their windows as well. No problem, did them and a few days later a for sale board goes up.
I can't even count the number of times this has happened.
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Always always always charge much more for the first clean. Did I say always? Treat it and charge it as a one off and you wont be disappointed.
I usually do that myself Malc. However, sometimes, if I really want a job and it seems to be genuine that there will be a regular service to follow, I actually don't bump up the first clean. It has to be a job that will genuinely enhance my business though. I did a commercial job today. By doing the first clean properly, it meant that it wasn't such a great earner. Even if they did cancel, I would still have earnt OKish from it. But I know that the subsequent cleans will take me half the time and will be good earners. Also, everything I earn from it is extra money as it can be done out of hours - indeed it is better to do it out of hours.
So, although I would agree with you on most jobs, I feel that sometimes the first clean can be done flat rate. Not actually a loss leader but more a flat earner to get better things to follow.
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when asked for a quote thats the first thing i ask. do you want it doing regular or just the once. then the quote is given
We always ask that but if they don't want you to know the truth they won't tell you. My wife usually takes most of the initial phone calls and I think that by saying we don't have time to do one offs at the moment she is pushing them towards lying.
I have said to my wife a couple of times now that we have to think about how we say it in future.
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when asked for a quote thats the first thing i ask. do you want it doing regular or just the once. then the quote is given
We always ask that but if they don't want you to know the truth they won't tell you. My wife usually takes most of the initial phone calls and I think that by saying we don't have time to do one offs at the moment she is pushing them towards lying.
I have said to my wife a couple of times now that we have to think about how we say it in future.
How about..... "we are fully scheduled until (whatever date) but can fit you in (day after the date you have just given)"
If you give dates 2 weeks in advance hopefully you will be past the "deadline" they want and they will say so, therefore they will either go elsewhere or you have the opportunity of saying "I can shuffle the scheduling and fit you in, but it will be at a greater cost than I normally charge"
In Andy's situation, personally I would have said I would do it on the Monday for them If I could (the day of moving out) and I certainly would not have travelled for 30 minutes etc without a confimred price....but all in all you got your money Andy.
Another question to ask with rentals moving out, "is it part of your tenancy agreement and when is the inventory being done?" If it is they stand to lose deposit if they don't meet the requirements of the agreement ;)
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I don't do 1 off cleans and always charge more for 1st cleans, have enough work to keep on top of anyway so most work I turn down.Once i'm fully accustomed to wfp and find myself with spare time then I'll take on some more work.
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You should always charge more for first cleans,after the first clean the real hard work should be done from then on it will be easier.
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As I've not long been up and going and am still building a round I do not charge more for first cleans (domestic) this is because my prices are higher that all the window cleaners in my area, so if I put them any higher I might not get the work. I have now been caught out about 3 times with people telling me or leading me to believe they are going to book regular and then saying "I'll call you" etc. At the moment as Ive not got a full round all money in is good, but I can tell you that once my round is full or even monthly income ok I will be charging more for all first cleans and all one offs. I will also be telling people I have a waiting list. The one today really made me angry, she had been recomended me by another client I went over the whole regular client issue and she led me to believe she was a reguar booking and then said "thanks terrific job, I'll call you when the frames need doing again" I said "are you not going regular" she said "no, cause ive got a window cleaner who ive had years, but he doesent do my frames" I was gobsmaked as far as I'm concerned she better ask him cuase I wont be going back! Rant over - seriously though its frustrating.
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That is seriously taking the p >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
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I know - I just had to walk away in the end. Still these people are not worth having as clients. i just console myself with that thought
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Word will soon spread with folk like that and they wil become blacklisted by all the w/cs in the area.
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I had a phone call this morning from an 'ex' customer wanting me to clean her windows. When I took her on I had to twist her arm to get her to agree to a regular clean, since she wanted an 'on demand' service, but I won't do that so we agreed £100 charge for a clean every-three-months inside and out (it's part of a large manor house and a bugger to do; a tough two-hour job for two of us; and she did think we were expensive) and some time last year when I phoned her the night prior to her clean and left a message, I received a message back saying 'no thank you, they don't need doing!'
I was a bit cross about this, since she broke the terms and conditions we originally agreed; but I just let it lie.
Anyway, this morning she phoned me wanting to clean her windows and she tried to 'butter me up' saying we did such a good job last time they didn't need doing for ages! She also said she hadn't had another window cleaner. ;)
I reminded her of our original terms and conditions, and politely told her 'no'.
The thing is, it's a bugger of a job. You wouldn't want to do all those extremely high Georgian windows from a ladder and you can't use a van mount without running the hose through the manor house; not all over that cream carpet she's got (it's a proper 17th Century manor house; it's massive and has immaculate lawns and gardens either side that you couldn't drive a van on; you'd need a 500 meter hose), but perfect for a back pack where you can carry your water through the house.
I think she should've stuck with the devil she knew, since she's going to struggle to get a reliable window cleaner without paying over-the-odds. I suspect she found a cheaper window cleaner whose since disapeared, and I was also given this job from another window cleaner who didn't want it; she must realise that even though it's a big job, it's not a 'wanted job' for any window cleaner!
Some customers, no matter what their income levels, suffer from a lack of common sense. Don't let them take the mick.
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Well done for turning her down I cant wait till I can do that. I hope she never manages to find anyone that would teach her!
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sounds just like one we cleaned about 2 years ago, 3hrs for 2 of us, we priced it at £180 on a 4 monthly clean. First 2 cleans go by and all is well, 3rd clean - arrive, get out, about to start when he opens the window and says "they'll be ok today, call back again" to which I reply "they will be fine after we have cleaned them" - needless to say he wasnay impressed, so we packed up and left.
I would normally ignore this but felt annoyed by his attitude so I took sweet revenge.
This 'customer' has a business supplying home heating oil, red diesel etc. I telephoned their office and made an arrangement for 1000ltrs of red diesel to be delivered (it was about 25p a litre then) - the delivery tanker showed up, driver got out and came to the door, I spoke to him saying there had been a change of plan - I was cancelling the order, he then phoned the office and handed me the phone - guess who was on the other end? Yep, it was him. He wanted to know why I was cancelling and I told him - I dont need the diesel, needless to say he wasn't please AT ALL so I politely reminded him that we had made an agreement with him, which he broke - and this is another agreement we had made, which I was now breaking.
I'm not a vindictive person but boy oh boy was that good!
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sounds just like one we cleaned about 2 years ago, 3hrs for 2 of us, we priced it at £180 on a 4 monthly clean. First 2 cleans go by and all is well, 3rd clean - arrive, get out, about to start when he opens the window and says "they'll be ok today, call back again" to which I reply "they will be fine after we have cleaned them" - needless to say he wasnay impressed, so we packed up and left.
I would normally ignore this but felt annoyed by his attitude so I took sweet revenge.
This 'customer' has a business supplying home heating oil, red diesel etc. I telephoned their office and made an arrangement for 1000ltrs of red diesel to be delivered (it was about 25p a litre then) - the delivery tanker showed up, driver got out and came to the door, I spoke to him saying there had been a change of plan - I was cancelling the order, he then phoned the office and handed me the phone - guess who was on the other end? Yep, it was him. He wanted to know why I was cancelling and I told him - I dont need the diesel, needless to say he wasn't please AT ALL so I politely reminded him that we had made an agreement with him, which he broke - and this is another agreement we had made, which I was now breaking.
I'm not a vindictive person but boy oh boy was that good!
lol
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sounds just like one we cleaned about 2 years ago, 3hrs for 2 of us, we priced it at £180 on a 4 monthly clean. First 2 cleans go by and all is well, 3rd clean - arrive, get out, about to start when he opens the window and says "they'll be ok today, call back again" to which I reply "they will be fine after we have cleaned them" - needless to say he wasnay impressed, so we packed up and left.
I would normally ignore this but felt annoyed by his attitude so I took sweet revenge.
This 'customer' has a business supplying home heating oil, red diesel etc. I telephoned their office and made an arrangement for 1000ltrs of red diesel to be delivered (it was about 25p a litre then) - the delivery tanker showed up, driver got out and came to the door, I spoke to him saying there had been a change of plan - I was cancelling the order, he then phoned the office and handed me the phone - guess who was on the other end? Yep, it was him. He wanted to know why I was cancelling and I told him - I dont need the diesel, needless to say he wasn't please AT ALL so I politely reminded him that we had made an agreement with him, which he broke - and this is another agreement we had made, which I was now breaking.
I'm not a vindictive person but boy oh boy was that good!
Class!
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sounds just like one we cleaned about 2 years ago, 3hrs for 2 of us, we priced it at £180 on a 4 monthly clean. First 2 cleans go by and all is well, 3rd clean - arrive, get out, about to start when he opens the window and says "they'll be ok today, call back again" to which I reply "they will be fine after we have cleaned them" - needless to say he wasnay impressed, so we packed up and left.
I would normally ignore this but felt annoyed by his attitude so I took sweet revenge.
This 'customer' has a business supplying home heating oil, red diesel etc. I telephoned their office and made an arrangement for 1000ltrs of red diesel to be delivered (it was about 25p a litre then) - the delivery tanker showed up, driver got out and came to the door, I spoke to him saying there had been a change of plan - I was cancelling the order, he then phoned the office and handed me the phone - guess who was on the other end? Yep, it was him. He wanted to know why I was cancelling and I told him - I dont need the diesel, needless to say he wasn't please AT ALL so I politely reminded him that we had made an agreement with him, which he broke - and this is another agreement we had made, which I was now breaking.
I'm not a vindictive person but boy oh boy was that good!
I reckon he deserved it.
I just hope that the driver's bonus wasn't affected though as it was no fault of his.
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Brilliant stuff!!! ;D Your my hero! lol
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If I have a potential customer who I think is trying to pull the wool over my eyes with a one off clean before moving out I will tell them that I am rushed off my feet and can't fit them in for a minimum of 6 weeks and will give them a call the evening before.
That gives me time to see if the for sale sign goes up in the garden or find their advert on the internet or in a newspaper before the clean is due. I try my hardest to weed out the wasters,lol. I'm only interested in regular work, not one offs.
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sounds just like one we cleaned about 2 years ago, 3hrs for 2 of us, we priced it at £180 on a 4 monthly clean. First 2 cleans go by and all is well, 3rd clean - arrive, get out, about to start when he opens the window and says "they'll be ok today, call back again" to which I reply "they will be fine after we have cleaned them" - needless to say he wasnay impressed, so we packed up and left.
I would normally ignore this but felt annoyed by his attitude so I took sweet revenge.
This 'customer' has a business supplying home heating oil, red diesel etc. I telephoned their office and made an arrangement for 1000ltrs of red diesel to be delivered (it was about 25p a litre then) - the delivery tanker showed up, driver got out and came to the door, I spoke to him saying there had been a change of plan - I was cancelling the order, he then phoned the office and handed me the phone - guess who was on the other end? Yep, it was him. He wanted to know why I was cancelling and I told him - I dont need the diesel, needless to say he wasn't please AT ALL so I politely reminded him that we had made an agreement with him, which he broke - and this is another agreement we had made, which I was now breaking.
I'm not a vindictive person but boy oh boy was that good!
now that's what I call revenge nice 1 bet you wish you could have seen his face ;D ;D ;D ;D
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If I have a potential customer who I think is trying to pull the wool over my eyes with a one off clean before moving out I will tell them that I am rushed off my feet and can't fit them in for a minimum of 6 weeks and will give them a call the evening before.
That gives me time to see if the for sale sign goes up in the garden or find their advert on the internet or in a newspaper before the clean is due. I try my hardest to weed out the wasters,lol. I'm only interested in regular work, not one offs.
I had this happen to me. I was asked last month to do a job, I asked if it was going to be a regular clean,
"Oh yes". I went there yesterday and a sold sign had appeared. Bitch. Dai
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If I have a potential customer who I think is trying to pull the wool over my eyes with a one off clean before moving out I will tell them that I am rushed off my feet and can't fit them in for a minimum of 6 weeks and will give them a call the evening before.
That gives me time to see if the for sale sign goes up in the garden or find their advert on the internet or in a newspaper before the clean is due. I try my hardest to weed out the wasters,lol. I'm only interested in regular work, not one offs.
I had this happen to me. I was asked last month to do a job, I asked if it was going to be a regular clean,
"Oh yes". I went there yesterday and a sold sign had appeared. Bitch. Dai
My point exactly, you ask all the right questions and they just lie. You have to take them at face value otherwise you would be giving every new customer a grilling before you took them on.
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I'm not being too fussy at the moment....just taking the work as and when I can.
If they want a one off...fine by me...I'll still earn my £25ph!
If the country is going into recession then the 1st thing that goes is the luxuries...and w/c is right up there on the "luxury" list.
I reckon that for the time being pick and choose and dictate the terms are over!
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One offs are no problem, best to know the score beforehand though.
You never know where one offs might lead, one of mine lead to over £20ks worth of work a year.
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One offs are no problem, best to know the score beforehand though.
You never know where one offs might lead, one of mine lead to over £20ks worth of work a year.
Exactly....to be honest if you have taken the job on and got paid for it ok, then what is the real problem. You must have had time to fit it in or you wouldn't have taken it on in the first place!
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As a general rule we don't do one-offs. We have the time, but I'd rather fill that time with regular work than have an empty spot again the next time round.
We have a standard form we fill in every time we get an enquiry, it lists Name, Address, Post code (helpful with country addresses), Tel no., - the next question is: Do you need a regular service or a one off clean?
By giving them what sounds like a standard choice, you take them off guard - they're much less likely to lie if they think a one-off is an option. If they say "yes", then the next bit is easy - "I'm sorry, one offs start at £50 as they're very awkward for us to fit into our regular schedule."
It's too late then for them to change their minds, they've shown their hand.
Even the ones who say they want a regular job are reminded when I give the quotation that the price is based on them agreeing to every 4 weeks (or whatever)
We still get the odd one who misleads us, but in the great scheme of things we ignore it and move on - our business grows at the rate of about £100/week, so why worry?
Incidentally, we never charge extra for first cleans. I use it as a sales reinforcing tactic: "This price is based on our regular monthly service, we don't charge you any more for the first clean, but only because we expect an ongoing regular arrangement."
It helps to create a "loyalty" situation, and if a client is going to contribute £300 a year to our turnover, for several years to come, then I'm quite prepared to invest the extra time involved in a first clean to achieve this.
Cheers,
Ian
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I had this happen to me. I was asked last month to do a job, I asked if it was going to be a regular clean,
"Oh yes". I went there yesterday and a sold sign had appeared. Bitch. Dai
Given the slow down of the housing market, I reckon she could be on your books for at least 6 months; maybe longer.
I've had a customer on my books with a for sale sign outside her lovely four-bedroomed detached 1920s house for well over two years!
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I never do one off cleans.
If someone rings me and say they want a one off i say sorry we are fully booked.
I very rarely get caught by people pretending they want a regular service but really want a one off.
I say to everyone that we are full at the moment but if they are interested i will fit them into my schedual somehow the next time im round which will be about 4 weeks.
The one's who want a regular service are fine with this so i end up usually with good customers this way.
Paul
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I dont mind one-off cleans, alot of the time you can get them as a customer, and alot of the time they are moving so you know to go back, saying no to business is something I have never done unless I knew it would be bad for business.
One-off cleans are a good earner, I get loads of uni guys/girls calling and have done this for years, also get quite a few from website have always charged per hour even if 10 min job works for me and not many take an hour and if they do money is money in the bank.
Ian
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:) I offer Monthly, Bi-monthly, and one-off cleans.
The first thing I do is give them a written quote with the relevant price!
Let's say it's a £20 house
Monthly £20
Bi-monthly £25
One off's £40
and of course alway's the 25% (£5 min) first clean charge! 8)
I haven't been stung yet...but there's always tomorrow!
Be happy!
Remember... "you cant polish a turd!" ;D ;D ;D
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Come on IDeal, you know you only work on wednesdays :P :P
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;D what do you mean, I will have you know I have been known to work Monday's
and the occasional Thursday afternoon too! :o
How's the wife and kids, Ruby must be two and a bit now!
Samuel about 9 months? so you've got your hands full...like me! ;D ;D ;D
Jackie's just informed me Valentine's day so 2 1/4 :)
TTFN
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Aye, lifes different now, but Its good.
Yes Sam's just turned 7 months, and Roo is 2 and a bit, they're both well. Lou is good too ta.
Yeah I bet your busy too!
Check out your booster pump topic...