Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: andyjm1 on October 19, 2009, 09:23:13 pm
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I texted for the gate to be left unlocked tomorrow, it's a £9.00 job, 2nd clean.
Their reply
Hi, we have have had a quote from one of your competitors for £6.00, could you price match this or beat it.
My reply
Sorry but £9 is my best price for pure water cleaning. Please let me know what you want to do.
Their reply
Thats fine, the gate will be left unlocked for you tomorrow.
Strange or what!
I was surprised they didn't say they were cancelling.
Maybe the competitor didn't exist and they were just trying to have my pants down. I'm glad I stuck to my price though to be honest I wasn't even tempted to cut it as I have similar houses at £10 and even £11.
Anyone else ever get this sort of thing? First time I've had it
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Well done for holding your nerve.
If they had done it to me i'd be tempted to bin them ;)
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i am sure if you had dropped your prices they would of cancelled you.
Matt
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you do get al sorts of funny customers this days.i texted the other day to a customers to unlock the gate and when i got there suprise was locked.i did the front and put bill trough the door for £10 (the whole house is £13),there are a few more windows in the front then the back .she text ne back few hours later to say sorry and the that the gate will be unlocked for the rest of the day but i text her back that i can't come back.she texted back and asked if i can come monday and said sorry i won't be in the area till next time ,although the house is 5 min from me but i'm not gone spent another trip for her ignorance and for £3 .i think she got ped and text me back to clean her 2,5 months from now (she is evert5 weeks)and i said ok .she won't see me again .there is another option for this customers if they try to contact me they have to pay one-off fees .
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thats her 1st strke Andy . remember the 3 strikes-and u are -out rule. its my motto
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Well done for holding your nerve.
If they had done it to me i'd be tempted to bin them ;)
That did cross my mind. I still will if they turn out to be messers, time will tell.
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thats her 1st strke Andy . remember the 3 strikes-and u are -out rule. its my motto
I agree, when I just started out I would let customers mess me about because I needed the work, not anymore though ;)
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As i did a big house every month horrible windows little pains and i do trad there was about 19/20 windows i charged £35 because i wasn't really bothered whether i got the job but i did and was doing it for well over a year, then i rang them to just let them know when i was coming as they left out a cheque and they said the house was being painted they will phone me when it's done.Well i thought it was a bit strange as the house was painted the previous year.But i have never heard from them since and this is well over a year ago they always seemed very happy and paid no problem and i was reliable.
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the way i see the text is that if you dont ask you dont get, they are probably happy with your services but money may be tight in the house so they are trying to reduce outgoings.
If you buy a car do you haggle? of course you do.
Each year do you phone around for the best insurance? of course you do.
Do you phone around to get the best equipment for the best price? yes of course
I dont understand the way some of the people are on here, they say as soon as people start asking for money off or leave gates closed they just say drop them, i personally dont think that is a good way to do business. Unless a customer was to insult me or just built up a ridiculous amount of debt, then i would not drop them for what i see as petty things.
If someone has been told to open a gate and they dont, then if the house is usually £10 and i only do the front, just charge them £6 an go to your next job early. its simple and you dont lose much over time, if anything you will make more as you can fit in more houses over the day, the more accomodating you are for your customers then the more recommendations you will get.
People say one of the reasons they do window cleaning is because its a relatively stress free job, yet i hear a lot of negative stressful people on here. people need to relax and chill out more.
Just my opinion
ste
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I would bethinking that shes price shopping so will leave if a person undercuts you.
Or she was trying it on to get a lower price with no intention of going anywhere if she was that is quite impressive.
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the way i see the text is that if you dont ask you dont get, they are probably happy with your services but money may be tight in the house so they are trying to reduce outgoings.
If you buy a car do you haggle? of course you do.
Each year do you phone around for the best insurance? of course you do.
Do you phone around to get the best equipment for the best price? yes of course
I dont understand the way some of the people are on here, they say as soon as people start asking for money off or leave gates closed they just say drop them, i personally dont think that is a good way to do business. Unless a customer was to insult me or just built up a ridiculous amount of debt, then i would not drop them for what i see as petty things.
If someone has been told to open a gate and they dont, then if the house is usually £10 and i only do the front, just charge them £6 an go to your next job early. its simple and you dont lose much over time, if anything you will make more as you can fit in more houses over the day, the more accomodating you are for your customers then the more recommendations you will get.
People say one of the reasons they do window cleaning is because its a relatively stress free job, yet i hear a lot of negative stressful people on here. people need to relax and chill out more.
Just my opinion
ste
Ste
I agree, I am just starting out so it is easy for me to say because I've not got that many custies as yet, but if I were wanting a job done in the house I would get a few quotes before awarding the job. If a custie is trying to get a few pound off the price then so what ? You done the correct thing, you stuck to your price and you still have the customer.
Paul
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I think I would have responded the same as you but then instead of let us know what you want to do, I would have said "wish you well with your new window cleaner". Going there now is going to be horrible as you'll always be wondering if they'll drop you. If they then ask you to go back, there's a good chance they won't mess you about in future.
Simon.
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Going there will just be a usual clean, they are out during the day and pay on-line, so I never see them anyway.
If they do happen to be in I will act like nothing has happened.
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There just trying it on.
Put the price up after xmas make it an idiot tax !!
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The customer agrees a price to have 1.The work done regularly and to an acceptable standard & 2.To ensure that the window cleaner has an incentive to return. As (normally) inflation pushes prices up by about 4% per year then cleaning prices going down is not an option.
Everytime we've been told we've been undercut we've just said goodbye. Nearly everytime the customer will ring a month or so later to say that the new operative hasn't turned up and can we do them again. To us, that's three strikes in a row and the answer is no.
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maybe its because you text your customers and they think you are a cowboy, so they can try it on.
thats proper unproffesional!
proffesional companies wouldnt text customers!
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I get texts from o2 all the time. I offer it as a service to some customers as well and get good remarks on it.
Simon.
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maybe its because you text your customers and they think you are a cowboy, so they can try it on.
thats proper unproffesional!
proffesional companies wouldnt text customers!
;D ;D ;D why is that ? ? ? ? ?
just out of interest really ?? ? ??
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Yes Martin,
Please enlighten us!
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maybe its because you text your customers and they think you are a cowboy, so they can try it on.
thats proper unproffesional!
proffesional companies wouldnt text customers!
I wouldn't normally stoop to ask, but what are you talking about?
I text a number of my customers, they love it. I even email some. It's called customer service.
And by the way, that's not how you spell professional either.... ;D
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maybe its because you text your customers and they think you are a cowboy, so they can try it on.
thats proper unproffesional!
proffesional companies wouldnt text customers!
;D ;D ;D why is that ? ? ? ? ?
just out of interest really ?? ? ??
I got a text reference my 'five favorate numbers' from Tesco mobile yesturday. Now Tesco are a massive company and I don't think you could call them unprofessional!
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may you can help me spell professional and ill help you spell stop ::)
a text from tesco! thats your phone provider!
you wouldnt get a text from one of the staff - unless you know them of course!
what im trying to say is dont get too personal with customers cuz they will always try it on as they dont see you as a big/pro company.
especially if you only have a clapped out car/banger!
bet theres loads of wcs all over the uk that use a car instead of a van, just hope they realise that if you are making an income via your means of transport then you must have a different type of car insurance than just your bog standard policy. >:(
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what im trying to say is dont get too personal with customers cuz they will always try it on as they dont see you as a big/pro company.
we had better get out and buy a van and system from ironics, that will help
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I always phone or text my customers every weekend for the coming week.
they always leave the money for me and always leave the gate unlocked
- they love the fact that I am professional enough to contact them and in nearly 18 mnths in business have only lost seven customers due to loss of jobs or moved house.
Treat people how you would like to be treated and your customer retention figures and referrals will increase massively. 8)
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most of my customers don't like turning up without notice so i just text,call or leave a voice mail.i just spend 15-20 min in the evening
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Martin...How do you let your custies know you're coming by in the near future??? Do you use "The Force??????" ;D
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may you can help me spell professional and ill help you spell stop ::)
a text from tesco! thats your phone provider!
you wouldnt get a text from one of the staff - unless you know them of course!
what im trying to say is dont get too personal with customers cuz they will always try it on as they dont see you as a big/pro company.
especially if you only have a clapped out car/banger!
bet theres loads of wcs all over the uk that use a car instead of a van, just hope they realise that if you are making an income via your means of transport then you must have a different type of car insurance than just your bog standard policy. >:(
it says stoop, not stop.
Sooooo funny, I hope this Martin posts some more. Had a text from british gas today with billing information.
Simon.
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maybe its because you text your customers and they think you are a cowboy, so they can try it on.
thats proper unproffesional!
proffesional companies wouldnt text customers!
That is complete and utter tosh!
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maybe its because you text your customers and they think you are a cowboy, so they can try it on.
thats proper unproffesional!
proffesional companies wouldnt text customers!
That is complete and utter tosh!
No, that's Martin ................ this is Toshmaybe its because you text your customers and they think you are a cowboy, so they can try it on.
thats proper unproffesional!
proffesional companies wouldnt text customers!
;D ;D ;D why is that ? ? ? ? ?
just out of interest really ?? ? ??
I got a text reference my 'five favorate numbers' from Tesco mobile yesturday. Now Tesco are a massive company and I don't think you could call them unprofessional!
;D ;D
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i clean windows clean windows you know more time spent on glass mucho spondulies
i dont work in an office so for me no need for texting to time consumeing.
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may you can help me spell professional and ill help you spell stop ::)
No I meant 'stoop', as in lower myself to ask.
Perhaps you should invest in a dictionary. ;D ;)
Texting by itself could not possibly make you look unprofessional, unless you used teenage text speak in your message perhaps. ;D
I think people expect a professional to use modern methods of communication, in order to accommodate them....
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Texting unprofessional?
My customers love it.
I use it as an extra selling point on the doors and it often seals the deal.
Texting is simply a modern way of communicating, as wfp is a modern way of cleaning windows, my customers love both. :)
Spelling is important though.
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I think that texting the customer is a good idea. You could always ask if they would like a text notification the day before your due.
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i dont see a problem with texting custys if thats how u want to run ur business but i dont text any of my c
ustys but i do fone the odd bigger 2 monthly accounts for access.reasons?
1.i dont know if weather will stop me getting round the next day.
2.i might have had enough by 3 and want to sack it for the day.
3.most custys not bothered when i get round as long as its 4 or 5 wks as i state.
4.i dont let any custys down by sticking to a too tight schedule
5.no hassle or time spent texting in the evening!
6.custy rapport kept up by talking to them at work or collecting at night
7.they can fone me if they have a problem{v.rarely do!]
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CUMIN 2MOZ 2 CLN WINDAZ,MVE DOG SHAT LVE G8 OPN & $$$ OUT M8
Yup, that works ;D
Classic! ;D
Now this would be more profeshniul:-
Telegram delivered by rosy cheeked boy wearing a pillbox hat riding a 3speed sturmey archer.
Dear valued and highly esteemed customer,
May aye thank you for stooping (note krect spelin) so low as to use may humble sahvice. May aye prevail upon your most valuable time to request that you leave your gate ajar so as aye may gain entry to your back passage with my pole.
Aye thank you so much and wonder if it would be the height of cheek to ask you to leave a guinea under the flowerpot in recompense for may sahvices.
Yours obsequiously, your most humble servant,
Martin ccs
Window Cleaner and Pole extender to the Gentry
By appointment to H.M. The King George VI Rex Imp.
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PMSL ;D ;D
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CUMIN 2MOZ 2 CLN WINDAZ,MVE DOG SHAT LVE G8 OPN & $$$ OUT M8
Yup, that works ;D
Classic! ;D
Now this would be more profeshniul:-
Telegram delivered by rosy cheeked boy wearing a pillbox hat riding a 3speed sturmey archer.
Dear valued and highly esteemed customer,
May aye thank you for stooping (note krect spelin) so low as to use may humble sahvice. May aye prevail upon your most valuable time to request that you leave your gate ajar so as aye may gain entry to your back passage with my pole.
Aye thank you so much and wonder if it would be the height of cheek to ask you to leave a guinea under the flowerpot in recompense for may sahvices.
Yours obsequiously, your most humble servant,
Martin ccs
Window Cleaner and Pole extender to the Gentry
By appointment to H.M. The King George VI Rex Imp.
Just make sure the pole hasn't got a brush on ;D
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i text some regarding access if i have to.
but i wouldn't want to text all my custy's as for reasons mentioned by dazmond: too restrictive, can't guarantee times and days as weather forecasts are about 60% accurate.
soon as you start telling times and days your end up letting someone down, then you'll be just what your trying not to be......the unreliable window cleaner ;D
andyjm1, next thing is custy will want windows done every other time,
tell them you charge double for this; as windows are double dirty :D