[DG Cleaning]

I keep relaxed about it I've got custies who can go 6 cleans but pay in the end and its nice when it comes in so long as they don't avoid me I don't mind.
As long as the cash flow across the round is fairly constant then I'm happy.
I'm quite lucky because I collect around 80% of what I clean while I'm there, sometimes if people owe I came back with more than I clean.
A lot of my custies pay for each other etc.
On the other hand if I think I've got a messer I drop pretty quickly, I really can't be doing with chasing debt.

[richard jagger]

Smudger Darren we are not Dept collectors. Being a small business all that drivel goes out the window. Remember we are  only window clearers expecting to be paid. You sound like some attorney.

[Steven White]

Isn't the problem here a matter of principle and respect. If you think your wages are peanuts and not worth chasing up then on the other hand the customer thinks it's peanuts and is happy to let the debt mount up worry about bigger bills and forget about you. If everybody was like that we'd all be out of business. So I ask you what you think of yourselves: not worth worrying about? an after thought? ... I don't blame the poster here, he's got some self respect and so has our profession. I can't stand people looking down on us windies as not worth worrying about. Yes it maybe true you spend more time chasing the debt and time is lost money. But at the end of the day it's a matter of principle and how much self worth we award ourselves.

[Perfect Windows]

Isn't the problem here a matter of principle and respect. If you think your wages are peanuts and not worth chasing up then on the other hand the customer thinks it's peanuts and is happy to let the debt mount up worry about bigger bills and forget about you. If everybody was like that we'd all be out of business. So I ask you what you think of yourselves: not worth worrying about? an after thought? ... I don't blame the poster here, he's got some self respect and so has our profession. I can't stand people looking down on us windies as not worth worrying about. Yes it maybe true you spend more time chasing the debt and time is lost money. But at the end of the day it's a matter of principle and how much self worth we award ourselves.

It's a principle that costs you time when you could be concentrating on getting more paying customers.

I have too much self-respect to care what anyone thinks about my not chasing a £15 debt.  I do care about how much money I have in the bank when I retire.

Vin

[pdale]

I agree with the chasing and hassling until they pay up, I am like a dog with a bone if anyone owes me money, but i wouldn't continue cleaning them.

Sometimes you can spend more time chasing a customer for money than doing the actual job itself ... they're a waste of valuable time to repeat the process once they've eventually paid up and time much better spent finding reliable customers.

[Smudger]

Debt collector, builder, window cleaner, you just can't hassle people it will be regarded as unreasonable - I'm not saying people who owe money shouldn't pay but its part of any biz that you will get a % of bad debts
You may think it alright to ring someone 10 times a day every day but unfortunately its not.

As regard self respect for collecting monies - no customer goes more than 2 cleans or they are on the stop. Higher priced customers gat a reminder e-mail after seven days
Most customers simply forget as windows a not high on the priority list, many now are online payers or go cardless.
How do you think your self esteem stands up continually chasing a £8 debt ? Don't you think that appears a bit desperate? Does that not give power to some twit laughing at you because you really need the money?

I'm not saying don't chase but
1. don't waste so much time it costs you more to recover than the original debt
2. Don't let cents build up unless you are prepared to lose the money
3. What comes around goes around they will get what they deserve one day

Darran

[pdale]

How do you think your self esteem stands up continually chasing a £8 debt ? Don't you think that appears a bit desperate? Does that not give power to some twit laughing at you because you really need the money?

It's nothing to do with desperation, its the principle. People have work done on their house, they should pay whether it's £8 or £80. That same twit will be laughing at you for cleaning their windows for free.

As for hassling people, it is only hassle (or harassment according to legislation)  if they expressly tell you to stop phoning, emailing, etc ... up until that express statement you are reasonably chasing a debt.

[G Griffin]

THE ONLY THING WE PRODUCE IN THE GREAT BRITAIN IN VOLUME ...................................IS EXCUSES.
THE REASON I AM IN BUSINESS TO DO A GOOD JOB AND BE PAID.NO STRESS. THE STRESS IS FOR THE BAD PAYER.
After all stress is man made.

5 months chasing a debt sounds stressful to me, man; chill.
And we produce VOLUME in volumes, don't we? Stop shouting and put on some Bob Marley.

[Smudger]

Pdale - just pointing out differing perceptions

Entirely up to each individual trader how they wish to pursue outstanding monies and can disregard advice and observations as they see fit

Darran

[Perfect Windows]

How do you think your self esteem stands up continually chasing a £8 debt ? Don't you think that appears a bit desperate? Does that not give power to some twit laughing at you because you really need the money?

It's nothing to do with desperation, its the principle. People have work done on their house, they should pay whether it's £8 or £80. That same twit will be laughing at you for cleaning their windows for free.

As for hassling people, it is only hassle (or harassment according to legislation)  if they expressly tell you to stop phoning, emailing, etc ... up until that express statement you are reasonably chasing a debt.

"Principles".

Whenever principles get mentioned on this site, someone is losing money, time and credibility.  Why chase £15 for months?  Shouldn't you be doing something better with your time?

You have to be wasting one of:

1. Time you could be cleaning (how long do you have to waste for it to become counterproductive financially? 20 minutes?)
2. Time you could be canvassing or lefaletting (one customer will make up for the non payer a hundred times over over the next few years)
3. Time you could be spending with your family (priceless)

Why do you care if someone's laughing at you?  You should be laughing at the fact that they think you're bothered about their miserable existence.

Vin

[Frankybadboy]

I just send gav around with his hairy men

[G Griffin]

It's nothing to do with desperation, its the principle. People have work done on their house, they should pay whether it's £8 or £80. That same twit will be laughing at you for cleaning their windows for free.

It sounds like you're more bothered about than that than the money.
You can't make someone change their perception of you, in that respect.
Don't waste anymore time on them, especially second guessing what they might be thinking. 

[pdale]

Whenever principles get mentioned on this site, someone is losing money, time and credibility.  Why chase £15 for months?  Shouldn't you be doing something better with your time?

It sounds like you're more bothered about than that than the money.
You can't make someone change their perception of you, in that respect.
Don't waste anymore time on them, especially second guessing what they might be thinking.

Their perception of me doesn't bother me, it's the principle of the matter.

If i spend time chasing the money I will not clean them again, but i still want that money that's owed. If you construct a round properly and compact it shouldn't take months to collect money owed as you'll always be in the area to give them a knock and personally never have money owed into the next month, unless they are on hols, in the many years I have been a window cleaner..

We are window cleaners, not debt collectors chasing a bad debt. I do work on your house, i want paying, simple. I don't understand why this is an issue for a window cleaner?

[Perfect Windows]

I don't understand why this is an issue for a window cleaner?

Because you should focus on what makes you more money: chasing a one-off debt or chasing good, new, repeat business.

"Principles" should not obviate the need for good, cold mathematical calculation of effort versus return before embarking on action.

Vin

[pdale]

Because you should focus on what makes you more money: chasing a one-off debt or chasing good, new, repeat business.

"Principles" should not obviate the need for good, cold mathematical calculation of effort versus return before embarking on action.

Vin

If you organise collections properly it should not get in the way of growing your business. I generally collect one evening a week and an hour on a Sunday, this in general covers everyone. If I can't catch someone in when i'm next in the area a simple text or phone call to leave the money under the mat/plant pot etc generally suffices. Not saying I haven't had bad payers and messers, I let those go, but it doesn't stop me collecting what's owed.

I have been window cleaning since 1986 on and off, worked in general this way and do not have one person from all those years owe me money, apart from a £14 job from 3 weeks ago due to her working away.

If you are willing to clean and not put systems in place to collect the money owed then you have your priorities wrong as we are in it for the money not the clean ... I am not talking of you personally but cleaners in general.

I really cannot understand why someone would spend half hour or so on a job and let that money go, but each to their own.

[Smudger]

I think (looks like to me) we are getting wires crossed a little bit here
No one is saying you can't collect or chase a debt but there comes a point where you are spending more time/ money chasing it than its worth.

Darran

[dazmond]

jeeeesh..........!

basically i very rarely get a non payer.most of the time they pay up eventually.the £25 job that id written off was because id been back 4 times and it was a bit out of my way to lots of other work.i also had lots of other work due and add ons coming in thick and fast.it was stressing me out so i just written it off and ive never gone back.

sometimes its just more hassle than its worth if your busy.

regards


dazmond

[roundbuilder]

I worked out a long time ago to not chase debt unless it mounts up out of control which is verey rare! A cleaver man would spend his spare time growing his business instead of trying to chase and get mr jones to pay£15 he owes for just 1 clean or face being dropped if he doesnt pay before next clean is due!.
I learn a lot from all sorts of people on this forum on how to and how not to run my business. Yes im in it for the money but quality growing brings in quality money.
As said before you need to target your customer base and understand that customers have money trouble, i have many customers owing 3/4/5/6 cleans and a debt list of always around £2500, am i worried?? No im not as i know ill get it as i always do. And as long as debt lost stays around the same figure im happy.
Look at the bigger picture i do.

[richard jagger]

Not chasing your outstanding dept is defying every principal of business. I have made a point of running a payed up book. You do not need to spend anymore than a few minutes each day. Its not a matter of been a 10 calls a day man, but more like persistent.
Letting the customer knows you are aware he/she still owes  you money as all the person wants is the dept to go away.Your job is to let him /her know it has not.

I am sure the words " out of sight out of minds " rings true. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO BE OUT OF MIND. The customer I have just chased has been a customer for  years, and I thought was good for this dept. But not this time.
I for one, will chase all dept and if the customers thinks they can get away with it, think again.
Its part my business policy.
I have been is business for 44 years in different business, and I know from experience its a sound policy to have.

[dazmond]

hi mick do you work on your own?thats a lot of "rolling debt" money to be owed?mines more like £300-£500 at anyone time!sometimes it goes up to a grand but soon goes back down again.

i have very few that owe me more than 2 cleans and then its only customers i know  will pay eventually.

lots of my customers either pay me on day of clean or send cheques/bacs payments within a few weeks.i also go collecting for an hour or so once a week on very compact estate work.

regards


dazmond