[paul alan]

its raining,again! i cant afford to let it stop me but in my 10 months cleaning ive heard a few customers slagging off previous cleaners for cleaning in the rain! i cant be losing precious customers as im only half way to having a round but im sat here on the couch instead of being out earning cos of the rain. can anyone tell me how i can condition my customers for me cleaning windows whatever the weather? is it wrong to clean in the rain? what would be a legitimate justification? when im in the position to i will bin off any customers that dont fit in with me but for now i need to be tactical,can anyone please arm me with some info?

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

Not all customers mind. If it's light rain or showers just carry on. If you do get the odd one that says 'not today' say no problem and move onto the next one, we know there are one or two who really don't like it so we just avoid them until its a dry day.
Whatever you do don't sit on that couch worrying - get out there! You might have a pleasant surprise.
We've had 3 'not todays' over the last week or so, one even praised us for keeping on working.

[king marko]

I offer a rain 'guarantee' - I always say if they ever get a problem when the rains cleared and the windows have dried give me a ring
Calls so far .. Zero  
Ditto above - you will always get folk that aren't happy and will skip a clean - just move on
In future, lay out the fact you clean in light rain with all your other terms and conditions with any new customers mate

[A & J Owen Window Cleaning]

I offer a rain 'guarantee' - I always say if they ever get a problem when the rains cleared and the windows have dried give me a ring
Calls so far .. Zero 

We always say the same, any problems just give us a bell. Like you, no phone calls!

[Ian101]

If u have 12 jobs sheduled and get 2 not todays its raing u still earnt ... When quoting new customers tell em u work in rain as it don't effect quality and u need to keep to schedule as u have a massive round

[DeLuce]

Same as above. Plus, marks are only left when ppm above 50, so says science men on you tube. And what is the ppm of rainwater? 12ish round here.

[dave park]

I find the best way to work is keep to the same day each time you clean.
Mondays work always gets done on monday and so on for the rest of the week and if it
doesn't get done on that day it is missed till next time its due
Sitting at home when it rains will just do your head in-get out and get earning

[jay kingston]

I train my customers right from the outset.I explain to them that I clean in the rain unless it's coming in sideways then they will not see me.You have to be firm with the not today brigade and explain that it is a business you are running and if everyone was to turn you away because of the rain then your business would fold.It is the wind that creates more problems than the rain itself as rainwater is pretty much pure.If customers cannot accept this then they do not go on the round


Regards

Jay

[Richard iSparkle]

i can honestly say we've never had a problem off customers not wanting us to clean in the rain.

we just confidently tell them we always clean in the rain, and the results will be the same as when its dry.  we do a rain guarantee also.  nobody's ever asked us to come back after rain.

we just say we clean whatever the weather and use it as a positive point of how reliable and professional we are.

like most things, its probably a problem in your mind.  if you can be confident when it s raining, and just clean as normal the customers will just go along with it

[Tom White]

Just get out there.  Mostly this week it's just been showery anyway; just work between the showers.  Any customer who complains (which they very rarely do), just explain how rain water is soft water - it's almost pure - and it won't make a blind bit of difference to their windows; all the dirt, insect mess, bird poo and cobwebs will have been removed.

Bore them with a full explanation; they won't say anything again! 

[supernova77]

Today we were half way through cleaning a house and it started tipping down... We just carried on. I knocked on the door to collect the money and it was still tipping down... The customer handed the money over and said nothing about the rain, just asked how I was, much planned for the weekend etc... They weren't bothered about the rain at all.

Andy

[dazmond]

the rain got very heavy here in manchester this afternoon.i carried on in it for another hour or so til 3pm.the last 3 customers were all 2 monthly jobs and all 3 tipped up as soon as id finished cleaning plus got a coffee at one house.

all my customers know that rain doesnt affect the finished clean when using the wfp method and know i need to make my living.

i will be working my first saturday in a while tomorrow and ill have got a good full weeks work in despite the wet weather this week.

according to weather forecasts this rain is due to last at least a couple of weeks!!

get out there and work mate or your gonna be well behind with your work and youll be skint too!!

[Mike #1]

same as above it is a case of mind over matter , i used to feel really awkward when i first started cleaning in the rain and the snow , now i just get out their the odd custy makes a comment about cleaning in rain but still pays up , i just tell them thats why waterproofs were invented .  MIKE

[brianbarber]

I always tell custys from day one I will clean in all weathers, rain snow etc, as I need to earn money, and if I can't clean, I can't earn.
Occasional complainer usually is a messer, had one this week already re scheduled due to apparently last week was inconvenient....so pitched up this week....'oh, it's not worth it in this weather'    I said, no problem,you call me when you're ready !

Joking aside,if I hadn't worked this week I would be financially in a bad place...

Mr B

[rah]

I just explain I don' get rain relief on the Mortgage, but depends how bad it is & IF I've got the water proofs

Rob.

[Londoner]

I'm not as convinced as you lot that the customers are OK with it.

[bobby p]

dont sit inside while its raining,get out leafletting or doorknocking  -the sooner you rake in new customers of decent calibre , the sooner you can offload any whiners

[dazmond]

im off out in a bit.its showery here.i just know at least one customer that will tell me "not today" today!!

my reply? "see you next month love as if i dont clean them today then i cant fit you in any other time until next month"

ive explained that wfp doesnt affect the quality of the clean but she really doesnt want them doing on rainy days.fair enough her call.if it was a stand alone i would of dumped her by now but its on my very compact estate work so keep her on.

if 3 out of 100+ accounts dont have them cleaned ive still got 97% of work cleaned.happy days.

monday is forecast a total washout for most of the country.ill be ready to go in the morning but if its as bad as it says its gonna be i will sack it until tuesday.

[lee_dewing]

I'm not as convinced as you lot that the customers are OK with it.

I agree with Vince.

It is a delicate balance between earning a living and not upsetting the people that you earn your living from.

As Tosh said this week showery for me
Mon full day.
Tue half day (went like bat out of hell, good day)
Wed nearlt half day
Thurs (didn't bother, rained almost all day)
Fri   (half day)
Sat (not working, but might be a few workable hours)

Not the best week i've had but not the worst.

March was my best month ever.

Sorry i can't remember name of windy who posted, but build your round over a 4 day working week and price accordingly. (if you expect to work 5 days a week you'l rarely do it and be frustrated)

Divide the sum you want to earn a week (be realistic) by 4 and then your day rate by 6 (hours)

Your hourly rate will be between £20 and £30. (SHOULD BE, may take time to get up to speed if newbie)

Set a min charge say £7.50 - £10

We all want to earn as much as possible but there are weeks you won't but as long as these are exceptable, to me that's all you can do.

I am just not happy working in the rain.
Ok drizzle/showers.

I'm not gonna buy gortex waterproofs, because you'l spend £200 on that and get turned away by custies, get in a row and lose custies

[lee_dewing]

Daz, i agree with what you say and you are braver than me working in the wet.

As said do work in showers and drizzle.

The main point i forgot and you mention is if customer refuses clean in the rain then be polite and say see you next time.

I wouldn't push the issue with explanations.

The only thing you could do is say can i clean one of your windows for free, and tell me next time if they were spoiled by the rain?

I am guilty in the my early days of ditching custies over rain issues maybe i have a fear of rejection
I just haven't got the energy to argue anymore.

Three strikes and your out now for me and keep records in notes on george and will write and tell custy why (as yet not done)
So avoid the why aren't you doing mine row in street.