[windowwashers]

im gonna do what my mums w/c'er does ..he walks upto the living room window covers it with suds then starts the rest of the windows if he gets a not today he would just walk away leaving a window drying full of suds  

I do not knock on doors, I start cleaning if they do come our they are charged for the front only if they say not today all I say is I have already started.

[TVCS]

I have been discussing the rain guarantee thing with some custies todayand to my surprise they all thought it was a good idea.   

As for the not today brigade.  If they have a good reason (other than the weather) I am usually flexible.  Other than that I say see you next month.  If in a month the same thing happens I say bye bye then and drop them. 

Quite amazingly not too many people have complained so far.  Apart from the manager at a golf club we do.  He booked us before xmas to go last friday as they had a wedding on the saturday.  when we arrived he asked if we could leave it due to the rain.  I said no, you booked us for this day and if you were worried about the weather you had a long time to cancel us.  Anyway he moaned abit and said that if they dried badly could we pop back REALLY early on the saturday morning to make sure they looked good for the wedding.  S
Some idiots live in a different reality to others I swear.         

[Blackbushe Windows]

Funny, I knock on some but never others. Had a custy ask me to leave the other day, gave her a talking too), very pleasantly, think she understands the need to be regular now.


Peter

[steve m]

sorry to go against you lads, but I thought we were out there to clean their windows because they want them clean. We are in a service industry and if the customer doesnt want that sevice till next time, so be it. You dont get slung out of tesco's cos you didnt buy any dog food this week, or banned from the shell garage for not buying fAgs today so why get rid of someone who just doesnt want a clean this time round. Surely they dont make up that much of your income.

[xxmattyxx]

For me its their attitude.

If they come out saying 'Oi, no no no, not today pal!!' I take it worse than if they come out saying 'Oh, really sorry, but would you mind not doing them today'. Ive had that because the incontinent/senile/half-dead relative has come to convalese for a week and theyve only just got them to drop off in the guest room.
It would also depend on their reason, as Id ask; if they said 'Well, were going on holiday today' my response would be 'Im glad all my customers dont ask me not to do them when they go on holiday, otherwise Id have no income in the summer' they usually come round. Not always though.

Its as dissapointing as customers that sneak off without paying when youre halfway through doing their place that angers me.

[LWC]

yeh i wouldnt drop them, but as said the attitude, theyre like "as if" when you say you can clean in the rain, and the "no point today is there" boils my blood

[windowwashers]

sorry to go against you lads, but I thought we were out there to clean their windows because they want them clean. We are in a service industry and if the customer doesnt want that sevice till next time, so be it. You dont get slung out of tesco's cos you didnt buy any dog food this week, or banned from the shell garage for not buying f*gs today so why get rid of someone who just doesnt want a clean this time round. Surely they dont make up that much of your income.

Steve, I understand your point, but if you let a few do it when you get to a scale where you have alot of customers doing it and you have to pay wages it is not on (not saying you dont have as I dont know your busijness), if they are having building work done or similar then thats no problem if they let you know before hand again no problem. if my customers say not today when i get to the door they are charged a 2 monthly price on the next clean, i dont just cancel them as that would not make good business sence, but sometimes and most people that have been cleaning a while will know when people are just wasting your time and that is what it is. they would be price increased first to cover time loss then canceled if they carry on doing this, may to say not many do thing at all, just saying what i do, would be interested to know what others do when this happens to them.


Ian

Ian

[steve m]

so what do you do, drop them and then go find punters to replace them or replace then dump??. Or look at it another way, dump enough of them and they'll all go and find another w/cer to do their windows, he'll undercut you, they'll tell their neighbours and then they'll dump you

[Londoner]

Its annoying and I have had a few myself. What was refreshing was the lady who came out and said she's got no money. Post Christmas cash crisis and bills droppiing on the mat.
I can understand that, been there myself, so we made a joke about it.  Thats OK with me, I respected her honesty.
There is no point dumping a customer if its going to leave you short. If they do it all the time then sure but if all you have lost is the time it takes to knock on the door its no big deal.

[LWC]

had a great one yesterday as well,

she hasnt sent me a cheque because of the christmas post...ermmmm ok 

lol

[windowwashers]

so what do you do, drop them and then go find punters to replace them or replace then dump??. Or look at it another way, dump enough of them and they'll all go and find another w/cer to do their windows, he'll undercut you, they'll tell their neighbours and then they'll dump you

if it got to a point where I had tried hard to bring a customer inline to my terms of service I would cancel them yes, I am not worried about people undercutting me many have tried and guess many will continue to try, thing is a we are reliable and trusted by my customers and that counts for alot  now if they want to change that for say a £1 saving thats their choice and what ever I do that could happen anyway. I have been running the same way for years, it seems to work for me yes you get the odd few that do cancel to get it cheaper, to be honest the cheap window cleaner that undercuts does me a favour of cutting down on un loyal customers (customers that I cant expand my business on)

Ian

p.s steve I hope you didnt take my first reply the wrong way just saying what works for me 

[supernova77]

sorry to go against you lads, but I thought we were out there to clean their windows because they want them clean. We are in a service industry and if the customer doesnt want that sevice till next time, so be it. You dont get slung out of tesco's cos you didnt buy any dog food this week, or banned from the shell garage for not buying f*gs today so why get rid of someone who just doesnt want a clean this time round. Surely they dont make up that much of your income.

But, we are not supermarkets or petrol stations!!!

My business offers a REGULAR service to its customers... If a customer no longer requires a regular service (by missing cleans habitually) then they are binned.

Andy

[steve m]

no I didnt take it the wrong way sorry if I made it sound thet I did. And no, were not supermarkets or petrol stations, but like them we provide a service and its up to them whether they want the service or not, they are the ones who pay. Sometime when I'm on here and read it sound like some w/cers seem to think that the customer is there to please us rather than the other way round.

[matt]

sorry to go against you lads, but I thought we were out there to clean their windows because they want them clean. We are in a service industry and if the customer doesnt want that sevice till next time, so be it. You dont get slung out of tesco's cos you didnt buy any dog food this week, or banned from the shell garage for not buying f*gs today so why get rid of someone who just doesnt want a clean this time round. Surely they dont make up that much of your income.

indeed

the customer will allways dictate what we do, sure, its great if you can cancel everyone who is a slight problem ( not today, access issue, just dont like them ), but work is work

[bluez]

Normally the only reason I would drop a customer is non payment, I agree with the sentiment about being in  a service industry. Because most of my customers are not regular, I find it a bit easier to accept a no.

[steve m]

EXACTLY!!! it pays the bills. If I dumped all the ones with the " Not this time" or " It looks like it'll rain" , over time I probably wouldnt vae a window cleaning round. Out of the five hundred or so customers I have I probably get ten or so say it so I politely explain that they pay for my time and cos they will be dirtier next time it will cost slightly more

[Blackbushe Windows]

Don't get it too often - thankfully!


Peter

[alanwilson]

We use a terms and conditions sheet for all new customers, it plainly states that if a customer wishes to cancel a clean or postpone a clean they must give us 3 working days notice, if not they will be subject to a 25% charge.  We have found that the number of not todays has fallen dramatically.

[NWH]

You make an agreement with the customer to come every 6-8 weeks etc not to call and be told not today thanks,these people are called awkward customers and i don`t have any on my books these days.