[Londoner]

A £15 customer phoned me up today to tell me he has sold his house and will be moving out to rural Hampshire in three weeks. What he was really saying was don't bother coming to do the windows next week, or ever again.
He said he would leave my details for the new people but I have heard it all before. The new people won't want their windows cleaned. I knew that when he told me their surname.

At least he had the decency to tell me. But this happens a lot. He is a typical example , he retired a few years back but is now "downsizing" to somewhere cheaper to free up some of the money on the house.

It got me thinking, although I do have some younger customers the vast majority are past retirement age and many are frankly on their last legs. Quite a few could pop off at any time, thats not being cynical its just a fact.

Usually round here when a house is sold the new people are asian. No problem with that except they don't seem to understand the concept of having a window cleaner. Its not in their culture. I do have a few asian customers but they are all very british asian and not representative of the population as a whole.

So it got me thinking, am I a typical example? has everyone got an aging customer base like me? If so, what will it be like in say ten years time when most of them have gone (one way or another) and there is nobody to replace them.

[matt]

my own opinions on the " time bomb"

eastern europeans, now when they get to find out about window cleaning, they will work for MUCH less than your average guy

[Russell Macdonald]

my own opinions on the " time bomb"

eastern europeans, now when they get to find out about window cleaning, they will work for MUCH less than your average guy

Hi Matt.

I dont think Eastern Europeans will be a threat as most people dont trust them, me for one!

Macc

[marc al]

  The younger generation will become more affluent and develope more pride in their properties, so therefore they will replace the ones that pop their clogs - of which I had one last week, and he owed me a tenner.

[Mike_G]

If you are worried about eastern europeans Matt why do you start topics such as how much are you happy to earn? As you say when they find out they will all be at it.

[Alistair@AWC]

I have very few older customers - and the ones I do have are a pain in the arse, and you know at some point they'll pop it owing you money.

I'd say the majority of my customers are stay at home mums and couples in their 40's or 50's with teenage kids

[Mike_G]

Quite a few of mine are pensioners but I reckon the amount of work I have picked up from them ( daughters, nephews etc ) will cover any future loss, most are pretty nice only the odd one is a pain and they always offer a cuppa and tip well at christmas. I try to do the ones that yap a bit last in the day so I dont get held up on my way to other jobs.

[williamx]

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have decided that everyone on benefits will have to get a job.

This includes people who are already unemployed-single mothers-the disabled-new migrants to the country and any others who are claiming benefits.

The retirement age is being raised so they won't get away with not working.

The total figure of new people who will be looking for jobs could be in excess of 5 million.

The total amount of jobs that are available in the UK at any one time is about 1 million.

Where are the other 4 million jobs coming from?

How many of these people will decide to be window cleaners. (they don't have to be full time cleaners but part time and still be able to claim tax credits)  

Tick Tick Boom

[spotless2000]

I try to do the ones that yap a bit last in the day so I dont get held up on my way to other jobs.

Something that I'd not thought of.

A good tip!

Steve

[Mike_G]

Unless you are in a hurry to go somewhere when you have finished Steve!

[matt]

If you are worried about eastern europeans Matt why do you start topics such as how much are you happy to earn? As you say when they find out they will all be at it.

i was just interested in the topic after a chat with some1 today

you didnt need vote or reply

they will find the info 1 way or the other, plenty of other posts about it

[Spruce]

Unless you are in a hurry to go somewhere when you have finished Steve!

Then you do them tomorrow

[EasyClean]

I agree with Vince and have also noticed recently more of my 55+ brigade of customers are downsizing to splash their cash before popping their cloggs. It also has something to do with helping their children get on the property market and avoid paying excessive inheritance tax bills.

[Londoner]

A basic 3 bed semi in my area is £350,000 plus. There are no new young english families coming into the area because they can't afford the prices. The only places where you find young families is on the council estates.
You just don't get the family referrals because the daughters always live miles away.

I think the points about Eastern Europeans and people being forced off benefits are both valid. Down here in the "prosperous" south almost every industry is shedding jobs and the jobs that are available are offering ridiculous wages.

[dai]

I have a mixed bag of customers, including loads of youngsters. The problem with many youngsters is, they don't do cash or cheque books.
As for foreigners, I have lost a couple of jobs because they don't want them done.
There's no major influx on my patch, so no problem.
We can get a bit paranoid at times about losing work. This in spite of the fact, that work comes in faster than we lose it. Dai

[Davew]

Massive influx of eastern europeans where I live they already are filtering into the lower paid factory jobs. Even the chip shop menu's are in Polish the job centers advertise on their windows in Polish. Iv'e nothing against them untill I can't earn a decent wage or my kids can't get jobs or can't get into the Catholic schools because they are overun with them. What was that bunch of  ****ks thinking when they opened the floodgates?

[matt]

Massive influx of eastern europeans where I live they already are filtering into the lower paid factory jobs. Even the chip shop menu's are in Polish the job centers advertise on their windows in Polish. Iv'e nothing against them untill I can't earn a decent wage or my kids can't get jobs or can't get into the Catholic schools because they are overun with them. What was that bunch of  ****ks thinking when they opened the floodgates?

1 of my job agencies only have polish signs up in the window

 

even the guy who delivers my indian takeaway is polish

[dougster]

i agree its a rat race out there

[Londoner]

What areas are we talking about guys?  I think the whole thing is potentially quite serious around where I live. Someone was telling me that where he lives in Hertfordshire the Poles are driving most of the buses now.
That is no problem unless you are trying to get a job on the buses in which case you would find that you wouldn't be able to live on what they are offering as pay.

The employers are very quick to realise that there is a big pool of cheap labour that they can exploit to their advantage.

The local young people can't get a look in unless they are prepared to work for peanuts and live with their parents for ever. In the past young people would leave the old industrial areas in the North to come South looking for work but there is no well paid work here now.

Even the schools are in crisis because teachers can't afford to live in the area. So they look elsewhere.

As a window cleaner I see my customer base shrinking through natural wastage and its pretty well the same all round. Either I go commercial, which is very competitive already, or I wait for one of the other cleaners to throw in the towel and try to pick up his old work.

[AuRavelling79]

Vince - are you actually losing more than you gain,yet? Or is this something you foresee?