[cybersye]

I am about 3 weeks late too, because of the season and the weather, not had anyone complain as yet, you can never please all of the people all of the time can you?
I'd think most people would'nt mind you being late too much especially when you consider how lousy the weather is, my biggest problem would be people turning me away and saying "theres no point cleaning them this time, they'll be filthy again tomorrow!" I hope she appreciates your level of customer service.
Simon

[poleman]

Wake up! she put the phone down on you  in my book that is the height of rudeness and she does not deserves your services, I would have taken her of your books and if she phone back I would have said sorry love but you was very rude and you need to have a word with your self!

Andy 

[pjulk]

thats no excuse ...and put the phone down !!

Me i would have took that as a cancellation and would be glad im shot of her.
There would be NO way i would run round after my customers the minute they ring about being late.

Paul

[seanmcshane]

The customer is not king when they speak to you like a servant.
They need your services, you supply it. When they are rude, arrogant etc then dump them.
If a round is so fragile that you are dependant on every penny and every account, it is time to reconsider your round and look at pruning it.
Any business advisor or mentor will tell you that in order to succee, you need to concentrate 80% of your efforts on the top 20% of your customer base and attempt to replicate this 20% through the rest of your business.
Look at it like a Christmas tree with the top branches being the healthiest and bearing the most fruit (the 20%)  Look after these branches with care and the healthy branches will start growing richer and bearing more fruit. As the top of the tree starts becoming more bountiful, prune off the lower unhealthy branches (the late payers, the rude, the bad access, the not this time please etc etc)
Eventually, you will have a fantastically bountiful and healthy tree (business)

The good customers you now have will spread the word amongst their circle (more of the same) the dumped customers will continue telling each new window cleaner that the last one was so unreliable !

Be the boss of your business

Dump the dross.

[Moderator David@stives]

Sean

I have an excellent business and clientel i am just not as brash and hot headed as a lot of window cleaners i know.

I have a £400 job which takes 2 of us half a day and one or two of the residents really look down on us and try bossing us about.

It kind of makes me  smile inside that they dont even know i am earning a lot more money than them.

I could of walked off this job , but chose to stick it out , I now have another 5 huge jobs from the same company.

Take the money, keep your chin up and smile.

Dave

p.s I am well and truly the boss.

[Paul Coleman]

Sean

I have an excellent business and clientel i am just not as brash and hot headed as a lot of window cleaners i know.

I have a £400 job which takes 2 of us half a day and one or two of the residents really look down on us and try bossing us about.

It kind of makes me  smile inside that they dont even know i am earning a lot more money than them.

I could of walked off this job , but chose to stick it out , I now have another 5 huge jobs from the same company.

Take the money, keep your chin up and smile.

Dave

p.s I am well and truly the boss.

I hear what you are saying Dave.  It can be hard to put personal feelings aside sometimes and just think in terms of business transactions though.  Having control of feelings at that level is well and truly being the boss.  Alas, although I am much improved in that regard, I still need to do a lot more on my inner developement to get to that point.
Now giving the customers what they want is a very good policy - up to a point.  Where it can get cloudy for me is where giving the customer what they want has an effect on the financial viability of part of my business.  If I had no financial issues, I probably could give them exactly what they want and smile and be happy about it.  Unfortunately, I am fighting for my financial life out there and it looks like being that way for a few more years yet.  In the days when my life was much simpler (quite a long time ago now) and I paid a bit of council rent, had no debts, and my motor was paid for, I had no problem in giving customers exactly what they wanted.  Looking back, I realised that I let them walk all over me.  I wasn't too bothered because the rent got paid and life was pretty easy for me.  However, today is different, I have a largish mortgage, debts, and a big tax bill to pay by the end of this month.  If I were to give the customers exactly what they wanted, I would go under.  Therefore, I am having to sort out the chaff and take better paid work in order to stay afloat.  When I drop a customer, it's not through some quasi-childish need to punish them.  It is done after an assessment of how likely they would be to mess me around again in the future and the likelihood of other customers who they know starting to mess me around too.  I also assess how much that job is worth to me and how much any potential work coming through them might be worth to me as well.  It sounds cold and calculating and does not come naturally to me but it's the way I (and probably some others on here) have to do things sometimes.
However, when a customer does get dropped, I try to be courteous about it and sometimes even try to get them another window cleaner.
So, yes, give them what they want but without being a sacrificial lamb.

[KarlJones]

Surely the best revenge sometimes is to think to yourself
"Right, fair enough, I will clean em and take your money off you if you insist!"

bad payers are bad customers, customers wanting an irregular service are bad customers, customers who do not tell you they are unhappy and just drop you are bad customers.

Customers who phone you up to give you a ticking off about being 3 weeks late are giving you negative feedback,  it might not feel nice but it is essential that you know when your customers are not happy,  Good customer.

And good window cleaner for keeping your cool and reacting possetive.