[Londoner]

The leaves have started turning colour and now we come to the time of year when the excuses start to be heard.
I have already had one customer, new this year, who has decided she wants to miss this time and another who has "building work" being done and wants to be put on hold.
I drove past the house where the building work is being done (allegedly) but could see no signs. So now I am wondering.
If people just said they were a bit skint or whatever I would respect them a lot more.
After all I have been there myself enough times and will be again no doubt.

But what do you do? If I just dump them I am probably over reacting but I have found from bitter experience in the past that once a messer always a messer.

It puts me in a difficult dilema. How do you know? I wish they would just be straight about it.

[Sir Squeaky]

I've started to notice the odd "not this time thanks" too.

Just in the last week or so.
Like you said, must be the time of the year.

[macmac]

The one that wants to miss this time, did she give a valid reason?
As for the other, if she does indeed have building work going on then fair doos. I know you didn't see any but it may be about to start.

My advise is to not over-react on the first account, give them another chance. This will give you enough time to decide wether they are genuine or just time wasters. by this time, with your experience you'll know which type they are, then, it's up to you, either give them an explanation of your expectations of them as "regular customers" giving them the choice to be regular or not at all, or just dump them!

tony

[windowwashers]

The leaves have started turning colour and now we come to the time of year when the excuses start to be heard.
I have already had one customer, new this year, who has decided she wants to miss this time and another who has "building work" being done and wants to be put on hold.
I drove past the house where the building work is being done (allegedly) but could see no signs. So now I am wondering.
If people just said they were a bit skint or whatever I would respect them a lot more.
After all I have been there myself enough times and will be again no doubt.

But what do you do? If I just dump them I am probably over reacting but I have found from bitter experience in the past that once a messer always a messer.

It puts me in a difficult dilema. How do you know? I wish they would just be straight about it.

Give them one chance Vince, cant build a business of dodgy customers, when they ask you back charge them double fore the first clean and if they was a low low on price before put it up, I have found this stops it happening again.

[Majestic]

I think some people cancel because when they get home from work its usually dark and they cant see out of there windows . So they dont notice that they are dirty.
Plus they could be  saving up for Xmas, well it is only 107 days

[Feen]

It's difficult. I don't have many who do this. One seems to have an excuse often, so I put them on a two monthly clean rather than a monthly, without telling them. They are one excuse from being dropped. Another (2 monthly) asked me to miss this time as they were going on holiday. It turned out they were going away for 3 days!! Duely noted and they are on their last life. This is a common thread throughout this forum in different guises, but the advice is always the same. Get rid of awkward customers. They are not worth the hassle.

[NWH]

Dump them,i don`t have any not today thankyou`s,they know that if they say that they won`t be seeing me again.It`s a business an all year business,i`m not an ice cream seller on blackpool seafront.

[rugby]

Dump them,i don`t have any not today thankyou`s,they know that if they say that they won`t be seeing me again.It`s a business an all year business,i`m not an ice cream seller on blackpool seafront.

same here,i got so pe* off over the years of customers giving me the not this time bull that unless i can see a genuine reason i just drop them,dont bother with second chances any more

[Paul Coleman]

"Not today thanks" is a pain.  So there are genuine reasons sometimes but most of the time not.  If someone just does it without a good reason and if the job is one I'm not bothered about anyway then it's goodbye.  Sometimes I can be very unprofessional about it and not even tell them.  Being a confirmed hypocrite, if the job is a decent sized, well paid one, then I might be more lenient - but just the once.

[Londoner]

Thanks for the replies. Actually, its not so much the straight forward "not this time" that gets me so much as the endless silly excuses. Let me think of a few I've been thrown.
(1) My daughter is sick in bed upstairs
(2) working nights
(3)Next door is having their house painted
(4) On jury service and its a very upsetting case
(5) Death in the family- but not at that house
(6) Car broke down and its going to be expensive

any more anyone?

[neil100]

I will let any customer do it once as a good will gesture, I say Ok I will leave it this time, But I dont keep customers who dont want their windows cleaned on a regualer Basis. Having regualer customers is The Bed rock of my buisness, I need to know that when I go out to work how much I am going to earn. Customers who say not this time will play havoc with my wage.

A one off yes.

Nel.

[matt]

i had 1 last time around, they were having a ridge tile  replaced on the roof ( just the 1 ridge tile )

well it turned out the guy brought a "caravan cleaning brush " and connected it to the hosepipe and did his own windows ( with tap water of 470 TDS  : : : )

anyways, i arrive today and knock on the door to open the side gate

" oh great your here, our windows are really bad, they then explain that after the tile was replaced, the hbby decided to do them with this new caravan brush on a pole "

i expalin i use pure water blah blah blah and then explain it'll take a few cleans to get them as good as they were before

so i turn down the flow really low, quickly brush over them and leave then with water marks still on, its a big house and by the time i get it down the front is dry, it looks slightly better but not much, i explain again that it will take a while to bring back up to standard and chuckle to myself as they write a cheque that'll teach them  , sorry to the folks who will cry " unporfessional of you " but hey, it made me laugh a great deal 

[macmac]

i had 1 last time around, they were having a ridge tile  replaced on the roof ( just the 1 ridge tile )

well it turned out the guy brought a "caravan cleaning brush " and connected it to the hosepipe and did his own windows ( with tap water of 470 TDS  : : : )

anyways, i arrive today and knock on the door to open the side gate

" oh great your here, our windows are really bad, they then explain that after the tile was replaced, the hbby decided to do them with this new caravan brush on a pole "

i expalin i use pure water blah blah blah and then explain it'll take a few cleans to get them as good as they were before

so i turn down the flow really low, quickly brush over them and leave then with water marks still on, its a big house and by the time i get it down the front is dry, it looks slightly better but not much, i explain again that it will take a while to bring back up to standard and chuckle to myself as they write a cheque that'll teach them  , sorry to the folks who will cry " unporfessional of you " but hey, it made me laugh a great deal 

Slick thinking dude

tony

[Pole2pole]

Matt, that's despicable behaviour from a fellow professional..........truly despicable...........Good on ya mate 

[matt]

i still chuckle about even a few hours on