[Shane sharples]

Hi all, went to a customers house today and got turned down because he was having work done inside his house, he said sorry but can you leave it today please as iv got all this going on at the minute 

He's usually a good payer never had any problems with him (pensioner)
What's the best response when these things happen?
Do you charge xtra next month or just carry on as normal?

[dazmond]

just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.

[Don Kee]

Best response....

''No problem, see you next month''

No point screwing over one job if you've enough work mate, you'll drive yourself nuts getting angry over every little thing that irks you...


(Although I get that sometimes it feels good to vent  )

[Shane sharples]

Ok cheers guys 👍

[Positivity]

At least it was a reasonable decline not like "My cat's not feeling well today" or some of the other ones I've had!

[AuRavelling79]

Depends if the request is "reasonable".

Last week a custy saw me  and said are you doing ours today. Yes.
Do you mind leaving it I'm power washing the paths.

I could have said he should have phoned me or done my flounce but I thought it was "reasonable" to let it slide as this hasn't happened before.

Inside work?  Hmm don't think I'd let that slide unless some chippy is on the path chopping up work tops or what-have-you or there is old plasterboard underneath the windows waiting to be chucked out.

[Shane sharples]

Well when I got there, they were carrying a bath in through the front door so maybe he didn't want my hose in the way, I don't know 

[SeanK]

If they where changing the bath then chances are they will be retiling the bathroom as well, the guy tiling will be
cutting tiles outside and putting dust everywhere.

[Soupy]

Poor old geezer is probably just stressed, nothing worse than having a squad of builders in your house. Last thing on his mind is the cleanliness of his windows.

I'll miss any customer, for any reason, but I'll keep a record of it on CleanerPlanner. If it becomes a habit then I'll consider the pricing.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

It's all about finding the balance between good customer relations and not letting your customers walk all over you.

I turned up to a mid terrace job a few years back. Chap came out and asked for a quote to clean his pvc cladding under his windows. It didn't amount to much more as it was an easy job. I cleaned all the fronts plus the cladding and as I was finishing, up pulls a cavity wall insulation firm. The poor guy had completely forgotten they were coming. As I was in the area all morning I offered to come back before I broke off for lunch and do them again. He was very appreciative. He didn't offer to pay me double, but I didn't mind as it kept things right between me and him. Never messed me about before or since.

[Walter Mitty]

Like others have said, it really does depend why - and also on how things have been previously with the customer.
I was once stopped from cleaning by a messer who had a perfectly good reason that time.  However, I counted their previous (severe) messing against them and never went back.  I should have dropped him ages before.

[martin hulstone]

just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.

You said in a previous  post that if you are turned away from a job you cancel them?

[Bens windows]

Tell them " I will skip it this time but please give me at least 48 hours notice next time so i can arrange to do someone else's ".

[SeanK]

Tell them " I will skip it this time but please give me at least 48 hours notice next time so i can arrange to do someone else's ".

Ben to be honest if it was a property on its own and you had driven out of your way just to clean it then your request would be
justified.
But if it was on a round then skipping one property over the day isn't going to matter much in the scheme of things.
Personally if I came across a property that was getting a bit of work done I would ask if they wanted me to go ahead or to
skip it this time as a matter of courtesy.

[dazmond]

just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.

You said in a previous  post that if you are turned away from a job you cancel them?

did i?which post is that then?i have thousands!

if there was no good reasonable excuse and they had already skipped a few times that year and/or were late/bad payers then i wouldnt go back for sure.

i dont dump jobs unless there is good reason to(there no longer viable in a business sense.)

[martin hulstone]

just skip the job until next month and move on to your next account.

You said in a previous  post that if you are turned away from a job you cancel them?

did i?which post is that then?i have thousands!

if there was no good reasonable excuse and they had already skipped a few times that year and/or were late/bad payers then i wouldnt go back for sure.

i dont dump jobs unless there is good reason to(there no longer viable in a business sense.)
The topic about cleaning in the rain, you said you would cancel them if they turned you away, which i think is unfair.
I have cleaned my own windows in heavy rain as a test and there were marks on them the next day where water had run down the trickle vents.

[slap bash]

Leave it today thanks . ANSWER. No problems, were do you want to to leave the invoice?
 That should get a response.

[Rich Wilts]

My response after counting slowly to 10 is "Fine, we'll see you in 6 weeks, it can't be fitted in in between as you're in a schedule".

They're usually happy with that. As a business I personally believe requests to leave it shouldn't be taken personally and that we need to be reasonably flexible, its all part of being professional. Being too rigid and unable to allow for the odd request isn't actually professional at all, its quite silly actually. Especially if you take these requests personally, particularly if they're not meant to be.

[martin hulstone]

My response after counting slowly to 10 is "Fine, we'll see you in 6 weeks, it can't be fitted in in between as you're in a schedule".

They're usually happy with that. As a business I personally believe requests to leave it shouldn't be taken personally and that we need to be reasonably flexible, its all part of being professional. Being too rigid and unable to allow for the odd request isn't actually professional at all, its quite silly actually. Especially if you take these requests personally, particularly if they're not meant to be.

Good post.
I think people should be given a little leeway here and there, as i said earlier i cant understand why somebody would fire off a customer because they dont want there windows cleaning in the rain.
I wouldnt want my windows cleaning in the rain exactly the same as i wouldnt take my car to a car wash in the rain!

[Shane sharples]

I think as a newbie, when you've only got a few customers, every penny counts so when one turns you away, it gets to you abit