Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Cleaner Windows on June 18, 2008, 06:44:30 pm
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I had a customer call me today on my mobile, explaining that some other wc'er had posted a leaflet through her door saying he would clean her house for £10. She says to me that she wouldn't just want to give me the push without first giving me the chance to meet the same price (so asking me to drop my price by £7) so obviously I said politely, no, sorry, I cant clean it for that price, its just too low.
So I've lost that customer, the only one I've lost since I started this business though so wont cry myself to sleep just yet! £17 was a good, fair price for a house like that one and I cant believe someone has offered to do it for £10, up north maybe, or wales or somewhere but not in west sussex.
Do you think its a bit wrong of him to post prices through their doors like that though? Its not something I would do (unless desperate?).
Personally I think its a bit cheeky, whats wrong with knocking the door armed with a flyer and ask the person if they have/need a wc'er and giving them a flyer anyways, just in case they need you in the future ???
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If only we all did this with petrol stations/accountants/dentists, we'd all be better off.
'Tis the market... as long as theres an idiot willing to undercut by 7 squids, there will always be muppets to take them up on it.
Be glad you got rid of her now, and don't be tempted to take her back because if she dumped excrement on you this time she will do it again.
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dont worry about her if hes a new boy chances are he wont stick at it or will soon realise hes underpriced and dump her then she will be on the phone to you know who
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dont worry about her if hes a new boy chances are he wont stick at it or will soon realise hes underpriced and dump her then she will be on the phone to you know who
thats what I'm thinking 8)
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Theres a all womans window cleaning company (not that its matters what sex they are) but there putting leaflets around the whole of my area saying we estimate that it would be so much to clean your house, i believe this is a wrong way of doing it as its a bit like undercutting as they know they will get customers out of from being cheaper.
Chris
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At least she had the decency to ask you to match the competitors price. You did the right thing not lowering your price and losing the customer.
I lost a customer yesterday, gained a new one (at double the price of the trad w/c because he's not very good) and gained a large rowing club to do, so quids up. I'm on a running streak at the moment and just can't lose. I've got the Midas touch at the moment.
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thats probably why I'm not too bothered by it, I am on a good streak aswell, the phone is ringing a fair bit at the moment, in fact, after I spoke to that woman and lost the job I gained another new one from a phonecall half hour later ;)
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I had a customer call me today on my mobile, explaining that some other wc'er had posted a leaflet through her door saying he would clean her house for £10. She says to me that she wouldn't just want to give me the push without first giving me the chance to meet the same price (so asking me to drop my price by £7) so obviously I said politely, no, sorry, I cant clean it for that price, its just too low.
does she live in a mansion? :o
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I'm not leaving streaks at all. ;D I don't see the problem in leaving a price with potential customers not that I do it. If they had asked how much you were charging and then undercut by say 10% then that would be undercutting and out of order. It' not my policy but it's common practice in business to take customers off of other companies, look at advertising they do it all the time Asda Tesco, Apple Mac Microsoft. The aim is to keep your customer as happy as possible so they won't want to change, but then again a £7 price drop is a fair amount.
How long did the job take, as £7 less is a massive cut.
Simon.
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i will be doing it from now on......
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Putting prices on leaflets is tacky if you ask me.
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i do it myself but only when posting in houses next door to ones i,m already cleaning regards alan
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i do the same as you, not dropping the price but the customer. If they come back the price goes up, if they dont there will always be another new customer to replace it eventually. i tell them that i appreciate they have a choice as does the window cleaner who undercuts me., some work for a living i work for a profit. thats what being in business for yourself is all about.well done for keeping youyr standard up! 8) Syd
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how do you know your undercutting the person whos allready there doing the cleaning ? ive done quotes and been a bit cheaper but ive not set out to undercut i gave what i thought was a fair price , i allso ask the potential customer if they have a window cleaner if they say yes i wont even bother with the quote i just say no thanks im not intrested .
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how do you know your undercutting the person whos allready there doing the cleaning ? ive done quotes and been a bit cheaper but ive not set out to undercut i gave what i thought was a fair price , i allso ask the potential customer if they have a window cleaner if they say yes i wont even bother with the quote i just say no thanks im not intrested .
We are a dying breed Dave :'(
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thats what i do, i wont clean or quote a customer if they already have a wc, i tell them if they want to finish him its down to them and then i wont clean the house for a month after they finish the old wc..
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i do the same as you, not dropping the price but the customer. If they come back the price goes up, if they dont there will always be another new customer to replace it eventually. i tell them that i appreciate they have a choice as does the window cleaner who undercuts me., some work for a living i work for a profit. thats what being in business for yourself is all about.well done for keeping youyr standard up! 8) Syd
Couldnt agree more. ::)
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How do you know if your stepping on anyone elses patch?if you already clean a few in that area whats wrong with leaflet dropping the others?
I wouldnt put down a price on paper for what I charge without seeing the house/place first as thats where you could go wrong.I always tell a customer I have a minimum charge then look,if there happy then thats fine if not then they dont get them done.
If your customers are happy with what you do then they should stay true to you, but if they go then let them they will be back come the winter when the other window cleaner cant be bothered! or its too cold,then they come crawling back to you.
Then you decide 1 if you want them back and 2 how much extra your gonna charge them.Personally I know if I was to loose a customer (which I have due to being under cut)then I could pick up another soon enough to replace that one, and no one on your books whos likely to muck you about as if they have done it once they will do it again 3 strikes and your out wit me. ::)
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in our area we dont canvass or go on to other w/c patches,if you get asked to do a job you pass it on to the w/c whos patch it is,any one doing otherwise is a cowboy from out of town
no such things as patches, pass work on to another wc? whatever mate your stuck in the dark ages
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i dont believe in patches but i will pass work on to another wc if it dosnt fit in with my work..
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in our area we dont canvass or go on to other w/c patches,if you get asked to do a job you pass it on to the w/c whos patch it is,any one doing otherwise is a cowboy from out of town
no such things as patches, pass work on to another wc? whatever mate your stuck in the dark ages
Thought you were having a go at me then? ::)
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There's no patches round here, its a free for all.
People only canvass because they are looking for work. That tells you something about the other window cleaner straight away. If you have very little work you are more than happy to do a house for £10 when the alternative is nothing.
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I'm not leaving streaks at all. ;D I don't see the problem in leaving a price with potential customers not that I do it. If they had asked how much you were charging and then undercut by say 10% then that would be undercutting and out of order. It' not my policy but it's common practice in business to take customers off of other companies, look at advertising they do it all the time Asda Tesco, Apple Mac Microsoft. The aim is to keep your customer as happy as possible so they won't want to change, but then again a £7 price drop is a fair amount.
How long did the job take, as £7 less is a massive cut.
Simon.
about 40 mins
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how do you know your undercutting the person whos allready there doing the cleaning ? ive done quotes and been a bit cheaper but ive not set out to undercut i gave what i thought was a fair price , i allso ask the potential customer if they have a window cleaner if they say yes i wont even bother with the quote i just say no thanks im not intrested .
well thats fair enough though but posting a thing with prices on it that are way cheaper than any other wc'ers in the area can drop too is a tad below the belt. :(
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thats what i do, i wont clean or quote a customer if they already have a wc, i tell them if they want to finish him its down to them and then i wont clean the house for a month after they finish the old wc..
exactly the same as what I do too ;)
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Many times I have been asked to give a quote without being told there is already a window cleaner doing them. Then when you give them the price they say "Oh thats more than I'm paying already" or something similar.
We call that fishing
I could easily see an increase in fishing as this price / inflation thing starts to bite. After all its only what we are doing ourselves with fuel, food and the like.
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Cleaner Windows
Well I can see this customer come crawling back in a few months time, if this person takes the same time as you he's looking at £15/h tops which is only a wage, not a profit. If he's a newbie he'll likely be slower than you and be earning even less.
Yea All
I generally walk away from quoting a job if I find out they all ready have a wc, but what would you all do if you turned up at an oap's house a £10 job to find out that there current wc is charging £70 and they are paying it. Would you be happy just walking away?
Simon
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in our estate (100) houses there at at least 5 different window cleaners. so when we started we did not canvass it because of all the reasons above . but a year later we now do 10 houses in it because one old lady said she wanted us because we was local and had bad experiences in past . she told her next door neighbour etc . and up to yet we all get on together.
so who' s patch is it ???
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in our estate (100) houses there at at least 5 different window cleaners. so when we started we did not canvass it because of all the reasons above . but a year later we now do 10 houses in it because one old lady said she wanted us because we was local and had bad experiences in past . she told her next door neighbour etc . and up to yet we all get on together.
so who' s patch is it ???
It belongs to me :P
Get off my patch ;D
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well you do spend more time up here than i do and i live up here ;D ;D 8)
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this "patch" business is a load of tosh,the good old british house wife chooses where to buy her bread where to buy her house hold goods who delivers her milk etc etc etc so why not who cleans her windows.
recently one of my old custies phoned me up (she moved about 2 years ago) she now lives on an estate of about 200 houses and i'd say the cheapest house in the area would be about 250k (thats alot for sheffield) the dearest a hell of alot more,she asked if i'd come and clean her windows because the local bloke had told her to clean her own effin windows.
her crime? askin him to stop leaving her gate open because her dog kept getting out.
for that reason he deserves someone on "his patch" and that someone is me..i now have four and the other 3 had simlar tales of his rudeness and bad manners..his loss my gain.
the blokes sounds like a complete muppet.
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I had a situation on a "better" estate on my patch where I was accused of leaving the gate open and letting the dog out!
I told the woman to "_____ off!"
Then her three mates moaned because:-
1. I trampled her prize roses! Yep! On purpose cuz I caught my hose on a thorn!
2. I peeed in the fishpond. Yeah ... and?
3. I put a bill in for £20 when I supposedly told her £15 - well, who doeasn't try it on from time to time? Eh?
Anyway some guy called Kirky (AKA beam me up Scotty) does 'em now!
I don't care - this is Sheffield and I can always go back to the steel industry!
Muppet!
;D ;D ;D
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I had a situation on a "better" estate on my patch where I was accused of leaving the gate open and letting the dog out!
I told the woman to "_____ off!"
Then her three mates moaned because:-
1. I trampled her prize roses! Yep! On purpose cuz I caught my hose on a thorn!
2. I peeed in the fishpond. Yeah ... and?
3. I put a bill in for £20 when I supposedly told her £15 - well, who doeasn't try it on from time to time? Eh?
Anyway some guy called Kirky (AKA beam me up Scotty) does 'em now!
I don't care - this is Sheffield and I can always go back to the steel industry!
Muppet!
;D ;D ;D
cock end
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calm down girls ;)
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well if someone told me to stay off there patch i'd tell them to jog on no one tells me where i can and cant work
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this "patch" business is a load of tosh,the good old british house wife chooses where to buy her bread where to buy her house hold goods who delivers her milk etc etc etc so why not who cleans her windows.
wise words kirky lad
regards
taffy
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Oh, Kirky ... it was just a joke - did you not see the irony? (Sheffield, steel industry) That's what the three grinning faces were about!
I agree with you completely.
Sorry if I offended...
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did you not see the irony? (Sheffield, steel industry)
You don't know when to stop.
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i have i do and i will continue to leaflet
you so called w/c who bought a round dont know what business is about and should go and move to some communist creche
Business is about being the one who goes home with the money
why should i let other w/c go home with my money, there is no such things as a "patch".
if you all want to control your patch and price fix between friends i am happy to undercut your prices and go home with the loot.
£17 for a house because you were the only one to visit doesnt make your price right or fair
if i wanted your round i will go as low as i need to to get it.
You dont see Asda sharing prices and customers with Tesco, you dont see football club team mates giving each other a chance while playing for opposing countries
come on be a grown up life is a competition and the winner takes all.
£17? £17? you are just like the other lazy self-centred " everybody owes me a living" whiners.
You want to keep your customers either offer a service that nobody else does or get your prices back into the real world
hey hey we clean windows, we dont cure cancer or drought.So what if the windows are high big or just a lot of them everybody and i mean everybody is fair game
The lowest i have gone to win a house you would not believe
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looooooooser
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yeah right Kris (who cant even spell his own name yet)
im losing allllllllll the way to the bank
wow that cap does fit
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i have i do and i will continue to leaflet
you so called w/c who bought a round dont know what business is about and should go and move to some communist creche
Business is about being the one who goes home with the money
why should i let other w/c go home with my money, there is no such things as a "patch".
if you all want to control your patch and price fix between friends i am happy to undercut your prices and go home with the loot.
£17 for a house because you were the only one to visit doesnt make your price right or fair
if i wanted your round i will go as low as i need to to get it.
You dont see Asda sharing prices and customers with Tesco, you dont see football club team mates giving each other a chance while playing for opposing countries
come on be a grown up life is a competition and the winner takes all.
£17? £17? you are just like the other lazy self-centred " everybody owes me a living" whiners.
You want to keep your customers either offer a service that nobody else does or get your prices back into the real world
hey hey we clean windows, we dont cure cancer or drought.So what if the windows are high big or just a lot of them everybody and i mean everybody is fair game
The lowest i have gone to win a house you would not believe
ahem....excuse me mate, my prices are the same or below the norm for around here and my services include cleaning the frames and sills with no extra charge, my customers are very happy and normally tell new wc'ers to bugger off when it comes to them toting for business, they know I'm professional and reliable and do a bloody good job, £17 is a fair price for that house with those sort of windows so dont call me a whiner, no one else round here would offer the same price and include frames and sills nor would most around the south, these people will realise this when the new wc'er gets fed up with it!
I dont care what part of the country your from tbh, if your prices are £5 ish then thats because of your area, don't get jealous and start having a go at everyone else because the prices round here are better. Ive worked with bad prices too same as everone else, so what?
All I was saying is that its a bit of an underhand tactic postimg prices through peoples doors when they have'nt even asked for a quote yet! I mean, where does it stop? you might get some absolute idiot offering to do peoples houses for £2 each regardless of size and where would that sort of strategie get us lot eh? f-ing no where thats where!
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yeah right Kris (who cant even spell his own name yet)
im losing allllllllll the way to the bank
wow that cap does fit
first and foremost ya loooooooooser that is how you spell my name, also i dont know you but i would bet you a lot of money that i have a lot more work than you and a more established business, also the other wc'ers in my area i get on with very well they have give me customers and i give them customers, one company actually told me too my face they were going to undercut my prices and take all the work, they dont clean windows any more because i have it all... in my 11 year experience you get a lot further being nice than back stabbing because a lot of my work has come from other wc'ers for free.... so i think i am the one laughing to the bank
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Now Now Chris oops sorry Kras
calm down it seems i have hit a nerve
wonder how hard your "friendly" w/c pals laugh when they dump the bad payers/moaning customers on you
c'mon who would give away a "good" customer
"mine is bigger than yours" are you trying just a bit hard to prove yourself
and i dont know you but anyone with a chip the size you are carrying in my experience is either short or bald
no offence to short people or bald people as some of my bets friends etc etc lol
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bets friends whats that, i just dont like back stabbers... sometimes it can be hard enough for wc'ers to not have to put up with people like you going around trying to steal their livelyhood, im not fat im quite slim, im far from bald and im also far from old if you want to know my attributes im 6ft exact 13 and half stone with not an ounce of fat on me oh and im 31..... i have far too much work that earns me a good living and im sure most winder cleaneras on here dont need people like you... so the chip on my shoulder is only directed at you.
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there is more than enough work for everybody and if you want to lowwer your prices that much to steal sombodys work then your a MUG >:(
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all the way to the bang.... Yeah with your piggy bank..
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all the way to the bang.... Yeah with your piggy bank..
sorry BANK
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its okay Kris its hard to concentrate when your riled
go and count your money under the mattress so the taxman cant get it nor the big bad vat
see if your profits are good enough you don't need to hide from the officials all you do is pay your taxes and you can spend your money on anything you like..
but you will already know that with your bigger than mine empire
cheers
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thats even if the other cleaner EVEN exsisted
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what are you going there for you loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooser, you dont no me or my accounts. KISS IT
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last word undercut me and you'll get your butt kicked
ohhhhh im scared...
i said that before you did..
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quite right enoughs enough
lets behave like grown ups i am sorry for suggesting you are fat or bald
however at 6' tall and 13 and a half stone the NHS calculator suggests you might be obese or just too short for your height
and thank you for admitting you do have a chip on your shoulder quote" so the chip on my shoulder is only directed at you".
No really I am sorry i must stop this
it is not right to take the mickey out of the afflicted because it is just tooooooooo easy
NO NO thats it I REALLY AM SORRY i apologise
best wishes and please accept my apologies
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gordon i apologise my empire (by looking at your website) is not as big as yours but i dont think you should undercut a FELLOW window cleaner out of his livelyhood..
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Id have to say i think undercutting is wrong, when i knock on a door the 1st thing i say is "sorry to bother you
but i was just wondering if you had a window cleaner" then move on from there, ive picked up so much work
from custys that there window cleaner was so cheap but doing a really bad job, reason, because the w/c just
wanted as much work as poss and now realises he is doing too cheap, i got these custys at double what he
was charging and that was still cheap, theres enough window to clean out there, i leaflet drop and i canvass
but i would never give a price to someone who has a window cleaner, if they have a problem i get them to
voice there complaints to there w/c and they will probs contact me at a later date. I know many w/c in my area
and i too have had jobs passed onto me and have also passed work on, i had a w/c give me 5 x 4 storey town
houses £20 each 4weekly as he is trad and the custys needed to be in when he called but ive also passed
work onto him when ive canvassed and the custy wants a trad cleaner i then pass these details on to him and
he then visits them. There is no such thing as a patch, canvass to find that few that dont have cleaners but
respect others too as what goes around comes around.
Chris
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did you not see the irony? (Sheffield, steel industry)
You don't know when to stop.
You Kirky's wingman, Discount? ;)
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Id have to say i think undercutting is wrong, when i knock on a door the 1st thing i say is "sorry to bother you
but i was just wondering if you had a window cleaner" then move on from there, ive picked up so much work
from custys that there window cleaner was so cheap but doing a really bad job, reason, because the w/c just
wanted as much work as poss and now realises he is doing too cheap, i got these custys at double what he
was charging and that was still cheap, theres enough window to clean out there, i leaflet drop and i canvass
but i would never give a price to someone who has a window cleaner, if they have a problem i get them to
voice there complaints to there w/c and they will probs contact me at a later date. I know many w/c in my area
and i too have had jobs passed onto me and have also passed work on, i had a w/c give me 5 x 4 storey town
houses £20 each 4weekly as he is trad and the custys needed to be in when he called but ive also passed
work onto him when ive canvassed and the custy wants a trad cleaner i then pass these details on to him and
he then visits them. There is no such thing as a patch, canvass to find that few that dont have cleaners but
respect others too as what goes around comes around.
Chris
my sentiments.. i got £450 a month off a fellow wc because he couldnt handle it, he come to us because were fair and genuin and ive got to say it but when work does come up it normally comes to us, either free or for a good price.. i have never flyered but if i did at the top would be IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A WINDOW CLEANER IGNORE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
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I think if someone already has a cleaner they would put the flyer straight in the bin and youd only get calls from people without a w/c, but id never put a price on the flyer as the main reasons for that are because you know roughly what other cleaners charging to do that house so the the chances are your going to get that custy as your a few quid cheaper.
Chris
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bets friends whats that, i just dont like back stabbers... sometimes it can be hard enough for wc'ers to not have to put up with people like you going around trying to steal their livelyhood, im not fat im quite slim, im far from bald and im also far from old if you want to know my attributes im 6ft exact 13 and half stone with not an ounce of fat on me oh and im 31..... i have far too much work that earns me a good living and im sure most winder cleaneras on here dont need people like you... so the chip on my shoulder is only directed at you.
agreed!
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lol I lost another custy today because their mortgage repayments have hit the roof and they need to cutback on certain things! she took a flyer and said would I mind if she uses me again when her finances are a bit more sorted?
again, I picked up another new house when I came home, it was the result of a quote I gave someone a couple of days ago 8)
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He's the one who will be wasting 15 minutes every month of his life for a bad price. As long as you think about that you'll be laughing!
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He's the one who will be wasting 15 minutes every month of his life for a bad price. As long as you think about that you'll be laughing!
;D that'll teach him