[Paul Coleman]

For several years I've had a customer (older married couple) where it has turned into an "only clean if I'm in" job.  It didn't start out like that; I wouldn't have accepted it that way.  But I've let it go because I do the other semi that's attached to it.  The situation is that their son leaves his dog with them and it stays in the garden.  It's a dog that I don't trust because I've had bad dealings with other dogs of that breed.  The job has become more and more irritating as I'm lucky to get access every other time now and I have given serious consideration to just contacting them to cancel it.  If it was one on its own, it would be ancient history.
So last time, they asked me to clean up the guttering and facias this time and, to ensure the garden was dogless, I was to phone the previous day.  Not ideal but acceptable.  So I phoned.  It turned out they are away and the son answered the phone.  I explained to him the situation and he made it clear that the  dog would be in the garden.  So I replied that I wouldn't be able to do the job for another six weeks when I'm around next.
His response?  "If you can't do the job I will get someone else."  I hastily agreed to cancel the job before he changed his mind .
There is a bit more to all this but it's long-winded.
There have been several customers down the years who have tried to place their pets before the viability of my business.  I'm afraid that even though I'm a bit light on work right now, I'm not prepared to build my business on sand this time around.

[Mike #1]

Sack them mate it can be tough at times but surely you are worth more than that you normally find that you will pick up a better job within a few days . Mike

[Bungle]

Lost a £40 8 weekly that I've been doing for 10+ years this week. Been sent on my way more than once by them but bit my tongue. I pulled up on Tuesday, reeled out hose and the door opened. Sorry, I have bad news he says, the wife has booked another window cleaner, she doesn't like the brush. Good luck with that I say, oh and thanks for letting me know. Anyway, as the saying goes, as one door shuts another opens. And so it has, picked up a £35 4 weekly, £13 4 weekly, £16 8 weekly, £15 4 weekly, £12 4 weekly, £15 4 weekly plus 2 more to quote that are probably £20 jobs next week. If they show no respect, damn them. Plenty of work out there. Don't be sentimental, it's a business!

[Johnny B]

I lost one today for the second time.

I picked this one up a year or so ago, as their regular guy hadn't been for a while. 20 quid monthly, she was well pleased with the price and quality of work, and that I would be regular. I stroll up exactly on time the following month. 'Sorry, the other guy's back. Thanks for filling in for him.'

A couple of weeks ago, she approached me again. Her windy had packed up and gone back to England. I knew him, and know this is true. I happily took her back on, and was confident that this time this was a keeper.

Today the old dear saw me in town, full of apologies and quite upset. 'I am really sorry, but the man who took on Lee's (previous window cleaner) work insists that the job is his. I am not happy, because when my daughter saw the windows, she said they were brilliant after you did them, and I would rather you did them, but he was not nice and I don't want to upset him'.

I said it was up to her who she wanted, but tried to add that I wouldn't have anyone do any work on my house if I weren't happy with them. She told me that if he stopped coming, she would use me again. I would probably take her back (I'm still too soft sometimes) but, although I didn't show it to her, I was not a happy rabbit!

How dare these numpties intimidate vulnerable old ladies into forcing their services upon them?

What would you guys do?

John

[SeanK]

Nothing you can do Johnny unless the old lady is prepared to stand up to him.
I honestly think a lot of people hang on to a window cleaner that they aren't happy
with because they are afraid to confront them.

[Johnny B]

Nothing you can do Johnny unless the old lady is prepared to stand up to him.
I honestly think a lot of people hang on to a window cleaner that they aren't happy
with because they are afraid to confront them.

I totally agree with you Sean. I believe in free trade, so wouldn't confront the guy over this. It bothers me though that some people allow themselves to be bullied on their own doorstep by traders with a sense of entitlement. I know the company who took Lee's work over, and I have reliable information that they are unreliable and expensive, with a shiny new van (cuts no ice with many folk here). I am going to bide my time, and feel confident that I will regain this one before long. When I do, although I am not confrontational, I will be willing to defend my corner, and would look forward to meeting this numpty and telling him how it is.

John   

[H20cleaning]

Would you take a girlfriend back if she tried another man out? NOPE- so i certainly wouldnt take a customer back who tried another window

[Johnny B]

Would you take a girlfriend back if she tried another man out? NOPE- so i certainly wouldnt take a customer back who tried another window

Good point.

John

[Paul Coleman]

I lost one today for the second time.

I picked this one up a year or so ago, as their regular guy hadn't been for a while. 20 quid monthly, she was well pleased with the price and quality of work, and that I would be regular. I stroll up exactly on time the following month. 'Sorry, the other guy's back. Thanks for filling in for him.'

<SNIP>

What would you guys do?

John

I've snipped the rest of the ost to highlight something.  IMO it's not so mch the act of cancelling.  Both parties always have that right.  The issue for me is the cancelling WITH NO NOTICE.  I often set my work out for the day on a mental list.  A short notice cancellation can be a direct hit on my income.  OK, so it may be possible to tack another job on the end of the day to replace it.  However, if my next work is a town a few miles away or if the only jobs due have to be pre-notified, this practice costs me money.  This is one reason why I keep pre-notifying to a bare minimum.

[8weekly]

Whether you are short of work or not, in my opinion it is best to drop customers like these. That way you are under no illusions as to the value of your work and on a daily basis you don't have "not today thank you"s. Unless you are very thick skinned, they sap your spirit and confidence as a new starter. To me they have virtually from day one been an immediate dump. The only difference now is that I don't feel the need to put up a post about it although I do get annoyed at times for 5 minutes. That's not meant as a criticism, just giving DM a note of optimism for the future.

In terms of getting to that point, you need to be confident that work will continue to flood in. That won't just happen. You need to be marketing.

[Ian101]

Whether you are short of work or not, in my opinion it is best to drop customers like these. That way you are under no illusions as to the value of your work and on a daily basis you don't have "not today thank you"s. Unless you are very thick skinned, they sap your spirit and confidence as a new starter. To me they have virtually from day one been an immediate dump. The only difference now is that I don't feel the need to put up a post about it although I do get annoyed at times for 5 minutes. That's not meant as a criticism, just giving DM a note of optimism for the future.

In terms of getting to that point, you need to be confident that work will continue to flood in. That won't just happen. You need to be marketing.

very good post 

[Paul Coleman]

Whether you are short of work or not, in my opinion it is best to drop customers like these. That way you are under no illusions as to the value of your work and on a daily basis you don't have "not today thank you"s. Unless you are very thick skinned, they sap your spirit and confidence as a new starter. To me they have virtually from day one been an immediate dump. The only difference now is that I don't feel the need to put up a post about it although I do get annoyed at times for 5 minutes. That's not meant as a criticism, just giving DM a note of optimism for the future.

In terms of getting to that point, you need to be confident that work will continue to flood in. That won't just happen. You need to be marketing.

Just to clarify 8weekly - I have been around a long time.  For most years after the first two, my round has been oversubscribed.  It's weird how it all evolved.  My slightly over subscribed traditional round became a round with quite large gaps after switching to WFP - due to the increased speed of working.  I never really got around to closing those gaps because I ended up doing loads of regular, subcontracted commercial work down the years - meaning that the gaps in my own work didn't seem so important.  As the subcontracted work was from four separate sources, my eggs appeared to be spread around the baskets - i.e. if one source dried up it wouldn't be an issue.  Unfortunately, after a few years, three of the sources stopped in quick succession - a situation that would not have been easy to predict.  So I'm left with a bit of subcontract work, maybe 60% of a residential round and some commercial work of my own.  Because I haven't been chasing work for many years, fresh enquiries are thin on the ground.  Also, referrals from most of my existing customers already happened many years ago.  I feel a bit foolish being in this situation after being around so long but it could have happened to anyone I suppose.  Leafletting brings in the usual quota of maybe 4 or 5 enquiries per thousand - with 2 or 3 turned into regular jobs.  So I'm faced with the prospect of canvassing - something I've hardly done since the mid 90s.  Although canvassed customers don't stick as easily as leafletted ones, at least they are in greater quantity and assist the more immediate cashflow.
I believe the way forward for me in the next three months is to finish work a bit earlier, go home and freshen up, then go out canvassing from maybe 5.30 till 7.30 maybe three nights a week.  Even if I manage one new customer per hour that would be 6 per week x 13 weeks = 78 new customers.  Obviously there will be a drop-off rate and I will need to dump a few - but that may be balanced by picking up new customers who see me working.
I do have confidence in the system and the numbers game - I've done it all before.  I once had nearly 500 customers in the mid 90s - over half of them were messers; so even being a bit light on work right now, I do appreciate quality over quantity.  78 new domestic customers would be a full round for me and I might even struggle to keep up to date in winter.

[LT carpet cleaning]

Would you take a girlfriend back if she tried another man out? NOPE- so i certainly wouldnt take a customer back who tried another window

Good point.

John

No it's not, it's complete nonsense. You equate window cleaning faithfulness the same as your wife/ girlfriends/ boyfriends faithfulness? Madness. 

[Paul Coleman]

Would you take a girlfriend back if she tried another man out? NOPE- so i certainly wouldnt take a customer back who tried another window

Good point.

John

No it's not, it's complete nonsense. You equate window cleaning faithfulness the same as your wife/ girlfriends/ boyfriends faithfulness? Madness. 

I suppose it might be possible to find one that's cheaper

[Window Lickers]

Would you take a girlfriend back if she tried another man out? NOPE- so i certainly wouldnt take a customer back who tried another window

FFS

[H20cleaning]

Why would anyone possibly take back a customer who has left
Your service to go elsewere and back again?

I pride myself on my standards of work, on time and professional attitude. If
The customer chooses to use a cheaper window cleaner they obviously dont appreciate the job we do:)

[Bungle]

Whether you are short of work or not, in my opinion it is best to drop customers like these. That way you are under no illusions as to the value of your work and on a daily basis you don't have "not today thank you"s. Unless you are very thick skinned, they sap your spirit and confidence as a new starter. To me they have virtually from day one been an immediate dump. The only difference now is that I don't feel the need to put up a post about it although I do get annoyed at times for 5 minutes. That's not meant as a criticism, just giving DM a note of optimism for the future.

In terms of getting to that point, you need to be confident that work will continue to flood in. That won't just happen. You need to be marketing.

Just to clarify 8weekly - I have been around a long time.  For most years after the first two, my round has been oversubscribed.  It's weird how it all evolved.  My slightly over subscribed traditional round became a round with quite large gaps after switching to WFP - due to the increased speed of working.  I never really got around to closing those gaps because I ended up doing loads of regular, subcontracted commercial work down the years - meaning that the gaps in my own work didn't seem so important.  As the subcontracted work was from four separate sources, my eggs appeared to be spread around the baskets - i.e. if one source dried up it wouldn't be an issue.  Unfortunately, after a few years, three of the sources stopped in quick succession - a situation that would not have been easy to predict.  So I'm left with a bit of subcontract work, maybe 60% of a residential round and some commercial work of my own.  Because I haven't been chasing work for many years, fresh enquiries are thin on the ground.  Also, referrals from most of my existing customers already happened many years ago.  I feel a bit foolish being in this situation after being around so long but it could have happened to anyone I suppose.  Leafletting brings in the usual quota of maybe 4 or 5 enquiries per thousand - with 2 or 3 turned into regular jobs.  So I'm faced with the prospect of canvassing - something I've hardly done since the mid 90s.  Although canvassed customers don't stick as easily as leafletted ones, at least they are in greater quantity and assist the more immediate cashflow.
I believe the way forward for me in the next three months is to finish work a bit earlier, go home and freshen up, then go out canvassing from maybe 5.30 till 7.30 maybe three nights a week.  Even if I manage one new customer per hour that would be 6 per week x 13 weeks = 78 new customers.  Obviously there will be a drop-off rate and I will need to dump a few - but that may be balanced by picking up new customers who see me working.
I do have confidence in the system and the numbers game - I've done it all before.  I once had nearly 500 customers in the mid 90s - over half of them were messers; so even being a bit light on work right now, I do appreciate quality over quantity.  78 new domestic customers would be a full round for me and I might even struggle to keep up to date in winter.

Get a website, it saves on the leg work 

[PoleKing]

Why would anyone possibly take back a customer who has left
Your service to go elsewere and back again?

I pride myself on my standards of work, on time and professional attitude. If
The customer chooses to use a cheaper window cleaner they obviously dont appreciate the job we do:)

I'll take back a customer. Once.
You can't always blame people-they think they can get the same job for less. Sometimes they can.
They don't know till they try.
When they realise they were better off with you than someone else, let 'em back on.
If they leave again though, that's a different matter.

[richard groves]

ever changed energy suppliers ? gone to a different supermarket because they had a deal on your favourite cereal ? shopped around for cheapest petrol staion ? window shopped just to get an idea of prices and then found cheaper on line ? asked on ciu as to who supplied a similar quality product than xxxxxxxxx's but cheaper ? 
Is there really any difference ? business is business, we are all the same and no different to our customers.

[lal]

ever changed energy suppliers ? gone to a different supermarket because they had a deal on your favourite cereal ? shopped around for cheapest petrol staion ? window shopped just to get an idea of prices and then found cheaper on line ? asked on ciu as to who supplied a similar quality product than xxxxxxxxx's but cheaper ? 
Is there really any difference ? business is business, we are all the same and no different to our customers.


Good post Gordon.