[dai]

I guess it happens to most of us every day. Do the fronts, go to the back gate and it's locked. Now it won't make much difference to trad guys that have their ladder with them, but if your WFP it's a pain in the backside.
I timed a job today. Going back 30 yards to the van, take off ladder, go to gate, split ladder to make a style, get over do the job and repeat the process coming back.
It took longer getting the ladder sorted that it did to clean the glass.
There were only 2 upstairs, one down and the patio door.
Who pays for this waste of time? We do. I could have cleaned another 4 windows while I was messing about with a ladder. If a house has an extension added with 4 extra windows, they expect to pay more for the job, so, why not charge extra for locked gates?
If it's a new job you can look for locked gates and build it into the price.
What do you do with old customers that do this?
I am going to tell my customers that
[A] THEY CAN PAY EXTRA
  I DO THE FRONT'S ONLY
[C] THEY CAN GET SOMEONE ELSE.
With the clocks going back this weekend, every minute of daylight is important. It's taking me 5 weeks to get round now.
What do you guys think? Dai

[steveaqua]

If  i got a little whippet with me then they jump the gate otherwise if on me own i just do the fronts

[pylofm]

Dai, even though I am very much a newbie here I have placed the responsibilty on the customer to ensure that I have access (not climbing), should I not be able to obtain access the windows do not get done...

I do not know if I work differently from others here but I give my customers a date for each and every clean....this at least makes it easier for the customer to make arrangements for access to be available...

Cheers
Dave.

[windows_chepstow]

I generally on do the fronts, but if it's, for example an 8 quid job, I'd charge 5 pounds for just the front.

[AuRavelling79]

They might give you a key.
They could buy (or you could if it's a good account) a combination padlock that you have the number for.

I carry a cut down ladder (2m) and have made a bolt shifter from a bit of metal tube and a cuphook so I can reach over and unbolt unpadlocked but bolted lower bolts.

I use a combination of the above - but I do not set a certain time or day to meet them (although I might stretch to eg late afternoons on an unspecified day for terraced houses which I need to take my backpack thru')

I wouldn't specifically tell them I was adding to the price for the gate but would include the extra in the price.

[matt]

I generally on do the fronts, but if it's, for example an 8 quid job, I'd charge 5 pounds for just the front.

ditto

[EasyClean]

I generally on do the fronts, but if it's, for example an 8 quid job, I'd charge 5 pounds for just the front.

ditto

ditto too!!

[Filllllll]

If the gate is usually padlocked I get their phone number and phone them the evening before to unlock for me.This is now routine for many customers.

If just bolted at the bottom of the gate I might get my 6 foot A ladder and jump over and open if I can be bothered but I'm getting too old for that so I'll just do the front.

No way do I get the big ladder out now.

Fillllll

[Filllllll]

And I forgot to say that I don't charge for the phone call because my phone tarrif includes calls - mind you I should charge for my time spent on calling people shouldn't I?

Filllllll

[macc]

I think a phone call is all part of the service. Also the phone call gets the gate left unlocked, so the it goes both ways.

Macc

[geefree]

I started giving them dates for the next clean, but alreadt with the weather i am falling behind on those dates... not a prob as i have plenty time to catch up as i have not a full round yet....

anyway... to your topic.... i climb all gates and give a quick wipe on the way out. 

[S_RICHARDSON]

I find this such a nusinance  too but im a trad boy so not such a problem for me. personally i think that we shud charge extra but i wouldn't tell them to their face because we don't want to sound stingy?

[dai]

The bolted ones are not so bad, if the bolts near the top no problem.
It's the bloddy padlocks that do my head in.
some people have their back yards like Fort Knox. how the hell do they expect an aging window cleaner to get in when they are trying to deter teenage tearaways.
Doing the front's only, and charging more than half is proberbly the best solution. Dai

[neil100]

I must have been over about 10 gates this week.

I used to do a lot of rock climbing so I just go straight over. I dont even knock to see if their in. I will not wate time when working.

I am wfp so ipush pole over gate and if their is room under the gate I just push hose under.

Nel.

[rugby]

if a customer has a padlock on their gate then i also phone a few days before to let them know what day to leave gate unlocked, but it still keeps happening, i get all the gear out only to find they have forgot or couldnt be botherd to open the gate. now if a customer does this to me a few times then i just dont bother going back again.

i also have quite a few customers who have to be home to let me through their garage etc, and this is getting to be a real pain, they keep tying me to a time  ( can you be here between 10am and 11am etc) how many of you lads put up with this ?  or do you not do customers like this

[Paul Coleman]

if a customer has a padlock on their gate then i also phone a few days before to let them know what day to leave gate unlocked, but it still keeps happening, i get all the gear out only to find they have forgot or couldnt be botherd to open the gate. now if a customer does this to me a few times then i just dont bother going back again.

i also have quite a few customers who have to be home to let me through their garage etc, and this is getting to be a real pain, they keep tying me to a time  ( can you be here between 10am and 11am etc) how many of you lads put up with this ?  or do you not do customers like this

Maybe I'm too strict about this but if there is no ready access available, I won't even quote.  If they give a gate/padlock key or tell me a combination for access then that's fine.