I rarely have had the need to drop customers but one in particular stands out. Very nice person but was always owing me money & (this was about ten years ago) it was for such a small amount. I could have understood a bit if it was a big outgoing from the household budget.
Back then I used to give SAE (stamped!).
After a while I got fed up & stopped leaving SAE & referred them to first outstanding bill that included it. She would always let it go three months before paying.
As it was on an estate that I didn't want someone else getting a foothold in I used to put up with it. Whenever I passed I used to knock or leave a reminder to pay. Eventually, though, my round grew, especially about 7 years ago when I went wfp & my books became full & I had much better paid work elsewhere.
So the next time she decided to pay I said that the situation wasn't acceptable for me as I spent more time trying to get what was owed than actually it took to clean the windows. As a compromise I suggested that at the very least she could pay me one in advance everytime she paid up to soften the blow. Having clean her windows for many years coupled with the fact that she was in a highly paid job I was taken aback by the look on her face & the 'Oh No - I'm not doing that' she blurted out.
So much for loyalty then & all the extra unpaid things I used to help with. Cleaning the internal glazed doors, helping her husband carry a huge wardrobe from the garage to an upstairs bedroom etc etc etc.
Needless to say I didn't go back, & yes, I still see her every now & then when I do the neighbours. Good luck to whoever does them now.
Lesson to be learned - beware the friendly custie who, every time you call, has a 'justa' job. Can you just do this or can you just do that. Eventually they have you doing extras every time.
Now ALL my customers pay on time. I allow for the occasional mistake but if a pattern emerges they get retrained or dumped.