[james44]

All of you people who are losing customers do you ever stop to think why you are loosing them?
I may get slated for this but hey am used to it

Well think about it look over previous posts and you will find  not-today can you change me to every 6/8 weeks can you come back in the summer,

Well people may think I am mad for wfp upstairs and trad downstairs but think about it?

What has changed the view of todays customers? Well I can tell you wfp that is why? And wfp is the reason you are losing them.

Don`t believe me! Well this was never  a problem trad, you never got any of this are you back already can you do it every 6/8 weeks, for years every 2 weeks was the norm, then came the squeegee and sure as hell then came slowly but surely 4 weeks
Now wfp and the norm will slowly but surely become 6/8 weekly and some 12 weekly and one of cleans!

Now I could have been a bit smug and posted and said that I am picking up customers all the time and not losing them  well I would of got slated for that,

People come on here and will say why trad bottoms when you can wfp the lot?
Well for me there is 2 reasons I do this,
(1)   I keep my customers happy and myself a compact round,
(2)   By doing the tops wfp keeps the windows clean for longer and me safe and by doing the bottoms trad means they will get dirty more quickly than the tops
And the customer will not say to me what gets said to a lot of you is can you leave it this time etc: etc

So to me doing everything wfp means you risk losing some of your work, work that you may have had for years
Yes wfp has changed window cleaning but you can limited it`s change my customers don`t have a problem with me wfp the tops and trad bottoms as they understand the risk of using ladders,

Wfp can gain you more work but it can also loose you work, you have to think what is best for you,
If I did every house totally wfp like a lot of people do then no doubt I would loose a few to and I would then have to look for new work,

I have picked up work from other cleaners who have also done them all wfp so why do they come to me? Because the other cleaner has said it`s wfp the lot or nothing,

Crazy as it may seem some customers still see trad as a personel touch,
Now I understand that not all window cleaners can trad  so is this why they are telling their customers it`s wfp or nothing is it because they can`t trad?
Or have they been so taken in buy the whole wfp thing that they have forgot about the valued customers they have!

[geefree]

Im wfp , and picking up new customers all the time, .. i am not losing any,  far from it , my customers are well impressed with the shiny new frames and doors,

they dont moan over an odd spot either... instead they say

"its a much better way of cleaning,... and there are no smears when the sun shines"

or

" i like it better , no more smears round the edges"

or,

" This way of cleaning means i dont have to come out and clean , the window cleaners dirt from the sills,"

And they love the extras , facia cleaning, cladding cleaning,.. everything in fact.

[james44]

Gazzasp8, don`t turn this into another wfp v trad it is nothing do do with sills or anything like that,

It`s about people losing customers customers it`s not about dirty sills and not all window cleaners left them like that same as not all wfp users leave spots

[geefree]

Look at the first post, its about wfp....

so is my thread, i am saying i dont agree , on the contrary, i have gained more work since using it.... lost none, ... and i was explaining how my customers preferred it over the old method,.... and i gave my reasons,

just as James gave his reasons for loosing customers.

Topical debate, not wfp v trad.

[prestige cleaners]

dont agree sorry, if they cancel you, your either rubbish, or gone with someone cheaper, if they skip, its either skint, stingy, or still clean,

best thing with wfp, start them on 6-8 weeks, if they skip after that, then they might need replacing with someone better.

btw its losing not loosing!  

[james44]

dont agree sorry, if they cancel you, your either rubbish, or gone with someone cheaper, if they skip, its either skint, stingy, or still clean,

Not exactly true there can be many reasons customers cancel!

[prestige cleaners]

yes well i would be here all day if i had to list them all!  :

death, moving, sick, dog not well, building work, do it themselves, etc

[james44]

yes well i would be here all day if i had to list them all!

Yep i know but the point i was trying to say in this post is because of wfp and the windows staying cleaner longer, more and more customers will leave it longer than normal and in the near future when wfp is developed futher it will get longer and longer! 8/12 weekly could may well be the norm!

[mattywig]

The overriding reason customers cancel is about money. If we turned up every 4 weeks without charging them a penny we wouldn't get cancelled, it's people being total minges with there money 

[G Griffin]

The overriding reason customers cancel is about money. If we turned up every 4 weeks without charging them a penny we wouldn't get cancelled, it's people being total minges with there money 

I strongly disagree; it`s got to be "dog not well".
 

[james44]

Disagree there matt!

If wfp had not been invented and all windows where done trad you would not be getting the not today customer! why? wfp has bred this new breed of customer!

[mattywig]

If you said to the not today brigade "dont worry today the cleaning is for free" trust me they would still have them done.  It's always about the money.

[Crystal-clear]

James i like your 1st post i think it makes sence

i too trad downs i dont know why but i dont have the balls to pole downs yet i do want to thou.

im only poling the downs where the water forms a sheet (you know the type) but if its self cleaning glass i trad it

Cos it might leave a bead

so ye i trad downs like you and i dont loose much at all they all seem to be happy but then again poling downs (all glass including self cleaning) is something which is my long term plan i just dont know when

[james44]

It's always about the money.

Matty it`s not all about money! would you have your windows cleaned if they were still clean?

Even gardeners feel it when we have hot summers customers don`t want their grass cut as it has not grown, same as customers don`t want there clean windows cleaned.

[G Griffin]

It's always about the money.

Matty it`s not all about money! would you have your windows cleaned if they were still clean?

He`s saying yes, if it was free. So then it`s about money.

[Crystal-clear]

matt it is about the money but dont you think they get ped of that you aint suffering anymore?

with that ladder how they may have grew up and watched their mothers window cleaner suffer "poor lad here is his £2 or whatever it was.

well now we fly round the house cleaning the ups , they then stare at the glass they cant find anything really wrong with it so then you fly round the bottems too and you just made ? depending where you are in the country say £15 average in what anything from 15 to 30 mins?

its not rocket science they will be ped off and work out you could be on £40 per hour it gets to people i think not that you are earning more then they are but the fact that they feel they can do it themselfs i think james has a point. a point which i was well aware of when i started poling about a year ago.

but if they see you trad a bit its like oh , ok well he is taking his time yes he has completted the work quickly but not stupid quickly

i too feel if you are in and out walk away with all the windows wet i feel it could be hard to keep work

dont get me wrong i would love to be 100% pole but i just cant pole self cleaning downs yet i feel the possible bead when someone is paying so much would embarrass me ;/

but if that bead on self cleaning glass happend upstairs i would say it should come out next time, but im sorry heath and safety bla bla bla. but downstairs i cant say that.

[mattywig]

Get real James, windows and grass are nothing at all alike! After 4 weeks windows are not as clean as the day after they were first cleaned regardless of weather conditions and if offered to have them cleaned for free all customers would have them done hence it is about the wretched money minges! LOL However I am interested in your system of cleaning do you not find it a chew on winding your hose in and then putting your trad gear on pouches, bucket etc and interchanging them all the time? I like the idea but would find putting my pouches on/off all the time and winding in my hose when Id spent them time walking to the job with it a bit of a ballache to say the least??? You must find it worth it though, that's what interested me. Regards Matty

[Crystal-clear]

More walking is involved it takes more time can be horrible and be like 20% on average just depends but u save water hence more hours work maybe

[james44]

Get real James, windows and grass are nothing at all alike!

The point is matty customers see it as pointless cleaning (clean) windows as i have said it is not always about the money same as customers feel it pointless cutting grass that has not grown,

[Paul Coleman]

I WFP the lot.  I do get the occasional cancellation.  I believe those cancellations would still occur if I did WFP top and trad the lower.  I do tend to trad front doors most of the time though because if they are still wet when they open them, the water can be dripping onto the hall carpet.  Also, if there is a realistic danger of freeze up I might trad ground floor windows above a pathway etc and possibly use rock salt and/or an alcohol based spray to reduce risk.
I reckon that if I tried hard to give my customers everything that I thought they wanted, I would make less money than by working the way I find most convenient.  That's why I work in rain too (unless it's really bad).  I might get the odd cancellation over it but I lose a lot less time and the business is more profitable over all.
I've no problem with pleasing my custies until it costs me time/money.