Quote from: Scottish Cleaning Service on January 25, 2026, 11:05:16 am

Why are they called karens? Anyhow, this game is one of the strangest jobs I have every had. It's nothing like using the ladder and the squeegee because of the reach and speed of getting the job done. When I began using the pole I got nothing but hassle but only had 20 odd customers and every day would be a headache trying to change my customer's opinion on the method. Anyway, 6 years later the pendulum has swung totally from left to right and everyone is happy with the system because windows, pvc and conny's can be cleaned.

But the change in me came when I went over 100 monthly customers, I became the leader instead of the customer. I now have the confidence to walk away and not get involved with time vampires who like this month a new customer told me to skip because its going to rain later on in the day. She won't see me again and will need to find someone else. I also put half of my prices up a £1 and no one has cancelled yet but makes no difference with the amount of work coming in.

The best piece of advice I can give anyone having a Karen as a customer is don't get involved, just don't go back, if they contact you then just say you have a full book. Only wish I knew this years ago because it would have saved me alot of time.

Most of your jobs are £10 or £12 right? How on earth are you getting by if you’ve just hit 100 monthly customers?

No, I have one at £30 a month after their extension. I count care homes as one clean but they have plenty of houses (customers) in them, I could count every individual customer that pays me. One care home takes 45 min but I get a ton another pays £30 but takes less that 15mins. This month I picked up many different jobs like move a gutter down (£100) maybe need 7 new brackets. 3 jobs my customers want is too trim trees which I enjoy undertaking. A rich church wants me to fit a fire door and frame. I help my mate in his garage but he wanted me to fit a cooker and cut worktops for his nephew for free. Only took me an hour but he fitted a new hand brake cable on my van yesterday.

When one has many skills and plenty of mates who work for themselves then we all help each other, I have to fit a new lock for one who owns by to lets. Its a bit like swap shop up here, we all know someone who can undertake a task and I usually fit in all the time because I have bought all the equipment from cement mixer to stump grinder. That's the reason I don't want many more windy customers.

A grand a month fire brigade pension, mortgage paid off in March, single, no dependents means I'm quite reliable, throw in my skills and equipment I have means I'm always in demand. Best thing a windy cleaner should do part time is add another skill, i,e (building fences). After a storm you can pick up some fences to build or fix. Its not that hard to build a fence or add a new post or two. There are hundreds of small jobs that our customers will need doing like replacing a hip tile that got blown off (have one to do and will use my scaffold, safer and charge more), fix a gutter, replace a drainpipe, fix a slab, lay some slabs or monoblocks. What I have found is after one job, my customer will contact me first to see if I can do it before going elsewhere, means I'm busy.

Today is a charity day, had to bump out a bumper for old pal when a bollard jumped behind him and he hit it. I took round trolly jack and hairdryer and took wheel off and pressed it out. Good as new, no charge. He is over the moon and he will tell others, means more work comes my way. Its called the law of reciprocation, work has no choice but to appear when he goes to the Thursday club (200 members) and discusses what his week involved. 😉

Not sure if this is any use to anyone............



More info :

https://www.sage.com/en-gb/size/self-employed/

https://www.sage.com/en-gb/making-tax-digital/#getstarted

My accountant is suggesting Sage as their prefered choice of software would be good to hear from anyone who has already started using this and what was involved in setting it up and synchronizing your  business bank account to it.

Mine always has been the ones with the attitude of superiority - you're the flunky who should be grateful for the opportunity to work that they have provided for you. The middle aged ladies who don't work and have no concept of what it costs to run a business and provide a decent incom,  but apparently know what you should be charging. Usually happy to throw in "while you're there could you just...." too.
One last year asked me to clean their conservatory roof, I gave my price - which was low considering it was a glass one covered in algae. First words out were "well you saw me coming, didn't you?"
No I didn't, but that reply said all I needed to know. Quietly dumped and blocked.

My version of the story was at the age of 45.
I had a heart attack whilst I was in hospital. A customer ring the wife where is he? My windows need cleaning urgently can he come round to clean my windows?
No, he’s in hospital. Oh,
he’s had a serious  heart attack and is in intensive care
Not even a decency of wishing me well or get well soon as most decent folk who would
She said  who’s gonna clean my windows?
Outrageous ..
Swore and slammed  the phone down on the wife
Shocked she told me after I came back from the hospital
Compared to the twenty or so cards and flowers and many phone calls urging me to get well and come back to work when your ready 

I have a theory about the episode
The week before I cleaned a shop sign that was covered in pidgins poop
And breathed some in never going to prove it but there you are you never know what’s round the corner

Yeow - 45 is nothing, and I'm glad you're still here to tell the story - ideal place for a thumbs up emoji here!
 I'm honestly not surprised at the customers attitude though, it seems for every 10 decent well-wishers there is a nutjob lurking out there. The few I've had the misfortune of dealing with have tended to be people (usually but not always ladies) of a certain age and 'position'. Invariably middle class and never really having needed to work, and their life revolves around the minions turning up on demand to clean the windows/mow the lawn/perm the hamster/iron the front drive. The fact you had the temerity to laze around in hospital without checking with them first eh? 

So what's your Karens been up to lately.

I hate those who take to social media slating these 'pole thingies' and is looking for traditional cleans'.  Probably has no idea or no experience in the system, or has a cheap charlie with poor equipment and method.

What's your Karen hate?

Mine have been pretty much weeded out and as I am also pretty much not taking on new customers I hope not to encounter any more Karens.

But I am also aware of the old adage that occasionally a good customer can turn bad (but that a bad customer never turns good).