Clean It Up
UK General Cleaning Forum => General Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: chosker on October 16, 2009, 03:50:11 pm
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We're always having rude / overbearing / difficult client but the one today has really got on my goat!
Contract difficult from the beginning (which was only 10 days ago) complained about being called Mrs instead of Miss (sort of understandable but to rant about it for a minute or two is a bit much), told my mum (who has been in this country for 30 years) that she didnt understand a word she was saying, was rude to another colleague of mine. has a very upper class, not wanting to work attitude if you know what i mean. All annoying, but fair enough, we still allocated her to a cleaner and although we got the feeling she might be difficult we gave her a go.
We work as an agency - the client's pay their cleaners. FYI
After first clean - client calls pretty much in tears and near-hysterical that the cleaner has only done 2 rooms in the house in three hours. At first we thought hmm... that isnt great. Client had the cleaner there next to her - insulting her to us while she was right there being extremly rude and downright crazy!
As soon as the cleaner left she called us - she is a quiet cleaner, quite shy and her feedback with other clients has always been 5 star. She said the house had a thick layer of dust like things hadn't been cleaned for years (not months - she said it looked like the dust had been building up for 10 years!) and the place was really cluttered - client gave her no guidelines so she had decided to spring clean a couple of rooms each week to get things up to scratch.
Then the cleaner told us that the client hadnt paid her. for 3 hours work she turned her away after insulting her
Client called us today, again nearly hysterical wanting someone else. After a bit of thought we refused to send her someone (we cant send in workers if we have any suspicion that they will not be paid) but very politely - we explained that the cleaner had worked hard and that she had done a thorough job and she needed paying for the time and the client took it that we were telling her her house is dirty (which it was but we didn't say this - she read between the lines rather well!)
Client is CRAZY. has sent us a long email which she has forwarded to apparently all her friends and family to say how awful we are etc etc.
It has really wound me up - we've done lots of work and put up with her awful attitude. I'm more wound up for the cleaner as well though - not to be paid and to be insulted. I believe that the cleaner did a really good job and although it wasnt what the client was expecting, if no guidelines are given then she cant complain at the cleaner using her own initiative. We are a really flexi agency - we don't enforce hours or quote per room or per house, we leave it up to the client what they want doing. We have probably about 98% of our clients who are happy with this but sometimes i wonder if this is the right way.
I understand that the client didnt get what she wanted. I get that. This is partly her fault for not giving any guidelines, however it was not what she wanted so OK. However I have found her way of dealing with all this utterly dispicable. Her treatment of us from the start, her refusing to pay for work done and then her hysterical borederline manic behaviour is just unacceptable. Poor cleaner - we have been wound up by being in a seperate office and having her down the phone but she must be awful in person.
Anyway. This email doesn't say enough about how rude she is but I wont go back and add the actual comments from the client as a) it would take all day and b) I feel better already just from having written it.
Also - I wrote her a long email saying we dont want any money from her and her cancellation was mutually beneficial. That made me feel better.
GRRRRRRR.
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Do you find that normal down to earth working class customers (like us, me i mean)) are great to work for, cups of tea and a chat. The real top end wealthy filthy rich clients also seem to be great to work for (even had a £25 tip off one this week ;D) BUT its the ones in the middle the ones who look down on cleaners and really aspire to be like the really well off that are the worst to work for?? Any thoughts
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I cleaned a house where a 40 year old was calling her Mam, "Mummy" in a really child like manner... She looked down her nose at me like I was cack on her shoe! They were all up themselves and they only lived in a 3 bed detached house, not a mansion. But I totally agree John, it's the middle ones who are the pretencious twerps..... What what what!!!!!!!
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Hi
Think I have got one today.
Was asked to (blindly) quote for EOT 3 bed house after decoraters, quote £120-160
Oh, said the LA she thinks thats quite expensive but I have had similar quotes (there you go) Is there any movement in that figure, said I would go and look.
Oh, and The landlady has asked if you can sugar soap all the walls as well!
(so let me get this straight, not only does she want a lower price, she wants dbl the work for it)
Will go and look at it but it's gonna be dbl the price, last one we did with sugar soap took 16 man hours.
Regards
Martin 8)
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Hi martin,
How is work, still busy? These LA's and Landlords make me laugh with what they expect to pay for cleaning. I stick to my guns now with regards to pricing as I don't want to be a " busy fool"! How is the extreme cleaning taking off?
Regards
Karl
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Hi karl
Was busy up until 14th of sept and then died, went from flat out to wondering what the hell happened in one night!
been ticking over, have been taken on by a company who clean, i do the carpets and they pay sharpish which is nice, have loads of direct mail going out last week and this.
The extreme stuff is taking ages actually, all seems to be tied up in our area.
I went to price that job up (near fire station) and as suspected it's flippin' huge, going to take us an easy 12-15 hours and have priced accordingly, it's for another new client so want to do it as I want more work from them as well.
How's business for you?
Regards
Martin 8)
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Hi Martin,
We are still busy with EOT Cleans - I have picked up a contract with a company and are doing quite a few 5-6 bedroom ( £1 million +) houses over in the Kent area. Also, we have managed to get in with a building company based in Coulsdon and are doing a builders clean on a big health centre this week ( and they pay within 30 days which is a surprise). What job by the fire station was that?
We must meet up sometime for a coffee and chat and see if we can help each other out?
Regards
Karl
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Hi
The EOT 3 bed house after decoraters, quote £120-160 was by brighton fire station, will find out tomorrow if we are going to do it.
It would be great to catch up.
Regards
Martin 8)
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Hi Martin,
We are still busy with EOT Cleans - I have picked up a contract with a company and are doing quite a few 5-6 bedroom ( £1 million +) houses over in the Kent area. Also, we have managed to get in with a building company based in Coulsdon and are doing a builders clean on a big health centre this week ( and they pay within 30 days which is a surprise). What job by the fire station was that?
We must meet up sometime for a coffee and chat and see if we can help each other out?
Regards
Karl
Hi Karl,
I'm working for two LA's as well as my original domestic work but i'm really looking to try and cut my teeth on builders cleans, i've tried a few different ways to get business like writing (not unsolicted) to building companies and also turning up as ground is broken on a new site looking for site foreman....not much joy yet ....what has worked best for you?