[rycalshaw]

on a recent thread,bluefrog said he went to do a gutter cleaning job and told the custy it wasn,t worth having it done, this got me thinking coz i,m an honest sort, should i do as bluefrog did and tell the custy or is it just a case of taking the rough with the smooth with the easy ones making up for the s****y ones.. cleaning an empty gutter does seem a bit underhand...whats your thoughts

[Andy Prittchard]

Buyer beware, innit?

[Pope vader]

in that case when you go to clean windows, u should only clean the ones that are dirty and charge accordingly

[Blue Frog Systems]

My point was that there was no need for it to be done - why send a guy up a ladder when there was no need to at all. The previous window cleaner used to do it every 6 months on that job and he packed in 18months ago.

I always check first - but that might just be me.

Turn it round and think how you would feel in that situation if you would out the gutters were empty, but you were charged for it .... i wouldnt be happy.

You could always offer a gutter survey - £5/£10, that way you would get something out of it just for checking and could knock the survey charge off if hey had it done.

[bobby p]

i  find theres Always something up there,never empty 100% if you look properly ,  so  spend your time sweeping carefully  to be sure to get every bit .  

 I also keep a bucket of gutter dirt in my van, 1/3 full   , just in case somebody wants to see where i put the dirt  from gutter cleanings

 

[Johnny B]

I remember being asked to do a gutter clean once. When I put up the ladders and had a look, the gutters were clean as a whistle.

I told the customer so, and didn't charge her for checking.

She was grateful that I was honest with her. Indeed, I wondered if she had had the gutters cleaned out beforehand and was checking to see if I would say they needed doing.

John

[Bushboy]

I do a lot of gutter cleans , some easy some hard , you've still got all the hassle of getting your ladders out etc , it's all time & effort ? , I get some one to foot my ladder most of th time as well , if there fairly clean it's a bonus , as other jobs turn from a 2 hour job into
A nightmare ? .

Same as the windows some are harder , some easy ,

I look upon it as maintenance , we maintain them in good nic for them , they would soon ring up if they were blocked ! & challenge us as to why we didn't clean them out etc .
The are paying us to risk our necks to get up there , we deserve what we get .

Compared to most on rogue traders we are angels , you never here of windys on there
Because we offer a good competitive service .

Compared to some of those so called tradesmen that do people out of 300 to 500
a job like dodgy plumbers & sparkys & the dreaded pikeys . We are angels .
 

[G Griffin]

I also keep a bucket of gutter dirt in my van, 1/3 full   , just in case somebody wants to see where i put the dirt  from gutter cleanings

Do you get much interest, Bobby?

[Wc Solutions]

on a recent thread,bluefrog said he went to do a gutter cleaning job and told the custy it wasn,t worth having it done, this got me thinking coz i,m an honest sort, should i do as bluefrog did and tell the custy or is it just a case of taking the rough with the smooth with the easy ones making up for the s****y ones.. cleaning an empty gutter does seem a bit underhand...whats your thoughts

id say fair play to bluefrog for good customer service and im sure in the long run he will make more money from that customer for being honest.

this happens alot and we found we are we spending 10 - 20 mins - depending on size of house checking gutter for no money as didnt need doing so we now charge £10 - £20 for a "gutter health check" which is refunded if the whole house needs doing

[wpclean]

Trouble with gutter cleaning is you just cannot tell how long it is going to take !

Some are a breeze and just need a sweep for loose leaves, but some are packed full with just a narrow gap between the gutter and roof tiles.

Price for the worst case scenario and you will be ok.

[Wc Solutions]

Trouble with gutter cleaning is you just cannot tell how long it is going to take !

Some are a breeze and just need a sweep for loose leaves, but some are packed full with just a narrow gap between the gutter and roof tiles.

Price for the worst case scenario and you will be ok.

thats why we do a gutter health check first, really helps.

im finding since we bought some vacs we are flying through the  jobs in around half the time, still use a ladder just to check the ned result properly

[Scoop]

At the end of the day you've booked a slot. Travel time, time to discover that the gutters are empty, marketing costs, other overheads.

I'm always honest. If the gutters are clear I tell the custy that there is 'very little waste in them' but I would still go round them and check all the downpipes and expect to be paid. It's not like I've got another job next door if this one doesn't happen.

To put it another way, go to a solicitor, tell him you're getting divorced. Spend two hours going through the details then go back and tell him you've patched it up and the divorce is off.

Will he charge you nothing .... or £300?

[Ste M]

i always adjust my price accordingly if they are mainly empty, if its a regualr wc customer then i will not charge them, if its not then i make a small charge, i find that by being honest then it brings me more work than someone who goes up and pretends to empty the gutters. the way i look at it is if someone did that to my dads house then i wouldnt be happy, i hate rogue traders with a passion

[bobby p]

I also keep a bucket of gutter dirt in my van, 1/3 full   , just in case somebody wants to see where i put the dirt  from gutter cleanings

Do you get much interest, Bobby?

nobody has yet but a few have asked wheres the dirt been put.  i say its all  been put into my van for disposal into my bin .  usually they say "was there much? "   to which i reply " its all out now " " which covers any amount doesnt it.

 i also tell customers to stay inside while im cleaning due to risks , best that way

i might add , i never pretend to clean the gutters, theres always something in them  somewhere  

[james51174]

im always truthful tbh

a guy near us (plumber) got caught pi%%ing into someones water tank on tv's rogue traders

i would be too scared they were doing an episode on rip of wc's or something lol

sounds far fetched but you never know

[Andy Prittchard]

Most people have cameras secretly hidden these days, so you have to act as if you are the model citezen.

[james51174]

puts a stop on taking a sneaky wee behind someones tree!!