During the winter when the weather was extremely windy a lady asked me to clean her windows etc. We agreed 8 weekly at £20 - 3 bedroom semi plus smallish conservatory (in a very well to do area). All the time while talking I had that nagging feeling that's hard to explain.
Being right next to the coast and on the cliff tops, the windows were plastered in salt and chalk that was so thick you could scrap it off with your fingernails. You actually could not see anything through the glass except vague shapes and colours.
It took me ages to clean it up and with salt that thick plus the chalk, basically you have to do the whole lot twice. To my mind, I thought she'd be more than happy as the difference was startling.
When it came to paying she kept finding fault, the whites weren't as white as she expected, the years old front door which had never previously been cleaned (which I scrubed with G101) still had the odd black mark, and so on.
After walking around the house with her for about 15 minutes she said she didn't think she'll be having me back again because I did such a bad job. Then she says she's only going to pay me a tenner which, as I'd already noticed, she had in her hand when she came out the front door so it was her intention all along.
I was fuming. I told her to shove that tenner right up her .........
While I was sitting back in my van thinking breathe.... relax.... breathe.... relax...... She went out in her car. While I had been cleaning her windows she came out a few times and asked me how long I'd be as she was picking a friend up somewhere in Kent 70 odd miles away.
At a local Sainburys Express type place I bough 2 litres of olive oil and 2 bags of table salt. I mixed those in a 25ltr barrel along with a few litres of virosol to dissolve the oil. I don't know if anyone has tried shaking a nearly full 25 ltr barrel - it took all my strength.
It looked like the salt hadn't dissolved but regardless I put the spray jets on the brush and sprayed the whole lot all over the front windows and the ones at the side of the house from the pavement along with the side of her precious conservatory.
Later on after doing two other jobs, and still fuming, I drove back past this lady's house and what a mess. Suddenly, I felt a whole lot happier.
I have never, ever done anything like that before ever but this lady really took the urine and had a way of talking that was all put downs.
I keep promising myself this but never do, next time I'm going to follow that gut instinct.
It took me a good few hours that evening to clean the hose and barrel out but I have to say it, it was worth every minute.