[nathankaye]

So this is a customer who I have cleaned for about 18 years, as part of a friend's round and the last three as part of my round from buying some work off the friend who now has moved.   After two years of me doing the house I put the price up from a tenner to fifteen as she n others rarely had a price increase and she hasn't liked it since doing so.
So I got this text today



The window cleaner she spoke to is a very good friend of mine who cleans her neighbours windows as he cleans their business and phoned me about the situation, that's why I was going to see her.  So I thought ild guilt her and told her the real reason as its been an hellish past month (literally saving my brother in laws live and helping him not to hit the bottle).
Wonder if she says anything when I clean her other neighbours windows 

[Chris34]

I think you have gone a bit overboard with that, it looks unprofessional.   I think you need to keep it simple.  Everybody has personal issues, it's whether you let them personal issues effect your work. 

[nathankaye]

I think you have gone a bit overboard with that, it looks unprofessional.   I think you need to keep it simple.  Everybody has personal issues, it's whether you let them personal issues effect your work.

Yep I agree with both statements. Personal circumstances however do effect work when your self employed, some things are a little more important than cleaning windows.   
If I'm running late I normally let clients know that it's circumstances outside my control and thats all that's required to be said.
However, and it is a lame excuse, for this particular customer who I know personally for many years it felt very fitting for reasons that I know.
But it also peeves me that this is the first time in all those years she has ever been late on a clean and she has my personal contact number that she should have enquired about my whereabouts or considered I may have been ill or on holiday etc etc. Yet nothing and is quick to ask another cleaner who she doesn't know and for what, because in over twenty years (my friend cleaned them since he was 17 n now 40) she's had her second increase in price.  Little did she know the cleaner she asked is a good friend and when I asked how much he was going to charge its the same price I would have picked if she was a new customer. That price is more than what she paid me, as I couldn't put her price up more than a fiver and she didn't like that. So either way it's not a great ending for her and that makes me chuckle

[robert mitchell]

Sorry about what happened to your brother in law , I have been in a similar situation and couldn’t save him .

It’s nothing to do with your customer though and you shouldn’t take things personally , it’s not going to bankrupt you , let it go by saying something like -

Thanks for your previous custom , if you need anything in the future let us know .

Window cleaners drop customers when it no longer suits them , it’s just business , no loyalty either way .

[Smudger]

So you say the customer has no loyalty even though you are supposed to provide a sevice and didn’t - surely you could have cleaned them a day or so late not 10 weeks

Remember it’s business and as posted you again have gone overboard and complicated things all that was needed was a sorry from you and wish them well in the future - I’m sure had you at the time been more customer focused and let them know there were “issues” you would still have them as a customer if not then you are correct and they are a shower of sh!£

Darran

[shammy davis jnr]

I’ve had this recently mate for if it wasn’t that ,it would have been something else ,,,,it’s as simple as next plz onward and upward ......our text and say I hope your next shi1t is a hedge hog  like we would all love to do but it’s biz mate move on head held high ,,,your next door will be a £20 quid one for sure as I say no friends in the desert

[Shrek]

I really don’t know how you can be weeks behind when you only work 3 days a week . 10 weeks late on a 4 weekly schedule is just wrong. Regardless of what’s going on in your life the customer wanted her windows cleaned regularly and you failed - you should have contacted her not the other way round . You missed her twice may & June  , how do you miss the same person twice but clean all her neighbours 
If I ever miss any of my customers, I would go back on a Saturday morning to catch up.
When you start letting your personal life interfere with your business , it’s a downward spiral. Hope this is a wake up call for you

[Soupy]

It's because you have rounds not a round.

If you had a round you'd have been a couple of days late..

[nathankaye]

So you say the customer has no loyalty even though you are supposed to provide a sevice and didn’t - surely you could have cleaned them a day or so late not 10 weeks

Remember it’s business and as posted you again have gone overboard and complicated things all that was needed was a sorry from you and wish them well in the future - I’m sure had you at the time been more customer focused and let them know there were “issues” you would still have them as a customer if not then you are correct and they are a shower of sh!£

Darran

Time n time again I let my customers know about my Facebook page, where I keep my customers upto date as to if I'm running late etc.
My customer, including this one all have my number on the cards I it wouldn't have been hard to text and enquire or even to check my page out.  On the other hand I do not have contact details of all my customers to possibly text them all to let know.

Yes I needed to skip them in May so it would have been just 8 weeks late if I was on schedule and let's face it, the windows I clean don't start to look dusty until around 7weeks so I didn't honestly feel it would be a problem. However with the recent family situation it just pushed some work on

[Cookie]

If I'm running late or I take a couple of weeks holiday I just shift all domestic work forward a week or two. I occasionally get the odd comment but mostly people are fine with this.  For shop fronts/commercials etc... I always make an effort to be on time.

[nathankaye]

Totally understand.
If I'm running overly late I'll sooner run late on one street than be late on all my work. So I would drop a street and crack onto the next section of my round. Therefore it's only a small section that is out of sync instead.

[Cookie]

Totally understand.
If I'm running overly late I,ld sooner run late o. One street than be late on all my work. So I would drop a street and crack onto the next section of my round. Therefore it's only a small section that is out of sync instead.

This is why the customer was unhappy though! If you were just one or two weeks late she'd still be your customer!

If you don't want to be late on your other work you just need to work the odd Saturday am to catch up. I sometimes go out on a Saturday with my teenage son, we make a day of it & hopefully it gets him into the work ethic...

[Richard Groves]

As above ^. Also they may have thought a 50% price increase warranted you being a little more customer focused . If the new cleaner is a good friend why didn't you ask him to cover if you were struggling ?  I've a couple of good window cleaning mates and we help each other out.

[dazmond]

nathan is the only window cleaner i know who gets behind with his round working 3 days a week......

no wonder shes sacked you....your unreliable and expensive in her eyes!

[dazmond]

i just have one big round(not little rounds here and there)and i also just move work forward a week or two when on holiday/ill or whatever.....

I NEVER SKIP A CUSTOMERS WINDOWS UNLESS THEIR HAVING BUILDING WORK/PAINTING DONE ETC....

in fact ive recently moved my whole schedule forward a week due to a stomach bug so no customers are anymore than a week overdue.......thats the way it should be IMO....not missing customers windows for months at a time.......

[KS Cleaning]

Nathan will be on here next week telling everyone he always provides a professional service😂

[Stoots]

Unfortunately it is your fault mate. You didn't make it last time as you cut the day short and then you let it slide to 10 weeks. We've all done it sometimes we get away with it an other times not.

I've been 3 weeks behind with my round since may, I went on holiday for two weeks all up to date, lost my employee and came back to a load of texts and calls asking where I was.

I lost about 5 customers so far from me not informing them with what was going on. It was my fault though.

The problem is some customers couldn't give a toss when we turn up or even if we do at all lol but others actually want them cleaning on the schedule.

I think soupy made a good point about having lots of rounds vs a round.

I also have lots of rounds, I don't call them that I just call them days but same idea.. i'll have 15-20 customers per day and they will all be a different  area or village per day. The issue is when you don't get round them all if you have no where to go as you could be in a totally different area the next day and if you don't get them all done it slides into the next and before you know it all your days are messed up and out of sync. I've done this over and over again.

I think like soupy suggest you should get your entire round and organise it all into an order from one house to the next. Start at number 1 and end at 400 (or however many) then if you get to number 38 and cut the day short the next day you start at number 39. At most you will be days behind.  I'm going to do this myself as I'm guilty of doing what you did. 

[dazmond]

if im in a different area the next day then I MAKE SURE I FINISH THAT DAYS WORK THAT DAY!! failing that i make them the first jobs of the day the next day before moving on to my next section of work NOT MISS THE LEFTOVER WORK UNTIL ITS NEXT DUE.......your asking for trouble then......

to me it sounds like basic common sense that seems to be missing here.......

i work my round from A-Z in roughly the same order(give or take a few jobs here and there).....

customers can virtually set their watch by me normally..........

[Richard Groves]

If I were the customer I'd have been less than impressed with your reply ( apart from the part about your in law - she didn't need to know that or made to feel guilty ). She isn't a mind reader nor owes you any loyalty after 10 weeks.It sounds like you couldn't be arsed and cut your day short. Then rather than going back following day(s) , just decided to skip it all together ! What is she paying you for exactly ?
My reply would have been " totally understand, thanks for letting me know, my apologies for getting behind. I've had an  unforseen family matter that's interrupted  my work. Regards Nathan."

[robbo333]

Mate you're proper late.
She's dumped you.
Suck it up, be polite, short and 'to the point'.
Try not to let it happen again.
Learn from it.
Move on...