[windowwashers]

I lost about 6 customers when I went wfp, these were the ones where wfp was a NO NO.

I have lost a lot more since, but I know that its mostly natural fallout.

W/cleaning is like the ebb and flow of the tide. You lose customers and you gain new customers.

You have to be sure you get more then you lose. I lost a customer on tuesday night, Nothing to do with wfp, Its a customer I have had for 15 years, I still do it trad as wfp is no good on his wooden frames. The reason He cancelled is Another w/c will clean them for £10 and I charge £20.

Says he probably will regret it as hes only doing it to save money. He had no complaints, He praised and thanked me for cleaning them and he hopes the new guy can clean them as well.

Ebb and Flow, Ebb and flow.

Nel

that guy was honest, thats a great feeling when they say that to you and you dont mind them going (or i dont) you will still get recomendation from him aswell, thats what i class as a half desent customer even though he went for cheaper

[david68]

If they sent you a cheque in the post that must mean they wern`t in,therefore didn`t see how you cleaned.So was there a problem with the results.

Most are  customers who have had 6 cleans and some said how great it was.
I do ask why, few said just didnt like what the water fed system was, They want dry and gleaming windows straight away. But most just say other excuses eg husband lost job.
But new customers seem to take this system

Dave

[Sir Squeaky]

Is there much competition in your area Squeaky? It could be just some cowboy undercutting you, and custies just using WFP as an excuse.

Yep, massive competition.
Possibly as much as anywhere.

The town has around 12,000 population and within 10 miles probably only another 2,000 people.

Something like 15-20 window cleaners around. :

[windowwashers]

Is there much competition in your area Squeaky? It could be just some cowboy undercutting you, and custies just using WFP as an excuse.

Yep, massive competition.
Possibly as much as anywhere.

The town has around 12,000 population and within 10 miles probably only another 2,000 people.

Something like 15-20 window cleaners around. :

same as most places, can you answer the questions I asked last post?

[macmac]

Why not try further away squeeks, i sometimes travel 20+ miles away for a good days wage, my brother-in-law even further. he travels 30 to 45 mins up the A1 into a wealthier area, he's a trad cleaner & earns a cracking wage, he's steady away too.
IMO, for the majority of w/c'ers, you're better off using both methods, trad & wfp. this way you can please anybody & do any job, can't lose.
I'm glad of your honesty though, i think there are a few who over-hype wfp & just can't accept that it has downsides ( you know, the ones that told you you'd be a millionaire by now when you first went into this ) at the end of the day the custy is boss, if they want a trad cleaner they'll get one.

tony

[NWH]

Quiet right Mac,WFP and trad when needed.I travel 20 miles each day minimum,use your loaf on certain jobs,if it`s a top earner and not dangerous trad it Squeaks you don`t have to pole everything at the moment wait until you`ve got more work.

[macmac]

Quiet right Mac,WFP and trad when needed.I travel 20 miles each day minimum,use your loaf on certain jobs,if it`s a top earner and not dangerous trad it Squeaks you don`t have to pole everything at the moment wait until you`ve got more work.

I know there are some who won't trad anything, some of my best paying jobs are trad as they're not suited to wfp. i still charge what i want to earn wether it be trad or wfp.
As you say NWH, i wouldn't do anything dangerous but i'm constantly earning good money with both methods, at the end of the day that's why we do it, to earn money, not to lose it.

tony

[Moderator David@stives]

Squeeks

take Matts advice , just wfp the upstairs for now until you have won the customers trust.

[Trevor Knight]

Rog,

Your saying you have lost 25% of your customers since your changeover. Being honest, I have to think this is due to your cleaning results and perhaps the way you discussed WFP to your customers before you changed over?

We have not lost more than 15/20 houses from a client base of over 2000. This is not because we are anything special but i would like to think its down to the amount of work we put in prior to the changeover.

We sent a letter along with a brochure of the WAH directive to each customer explaining the change that would be happening in the near future regarding how we clean their windows.

We then gave each customer a letter on the first WFP clean explaining what method we used. It also explained what results are possible, spotting etc..., we also stipulated the customer MUST check their window cleaning within 24 hours and let us know if spotting has occurred so we can return straight away to re-clean.

We also telephoned EVERY customer after their clean to ensure they were happy and to make sure we had little or no problems

When we changed all our customers over we had about 5% that we needed to reclean, we had about 1 % make comments on their next clean regarding the previous clean.

All in all the transition went smoothly, the ones we lost we tried to manage as best we could but sometimes you just can't please people.

All in all we invested about £600 in literature and spent about 1-2 days re-cleaning jobs, however, the up-side was we lost a minimal amount of customers and kept our client bank.

I am no guru why your losing customers, I wish you wasn't, but maybe there are several factors influencing peoples reason to stop your services?

[Paul Coleman]

Rog,

Your saying you have lost 25% of your customers since your changeover. Being honest, I have to think this is due to your cleaning results and perhaps the way you discussed WFP to your customers before you changed over?

We have not lost more than 15/20 houses from a client base of over 2000. This is not because we are anything special but i would like to think its down to the amount of work we put in prior to the changeover.

You did well there Trevor.  I probably lost about 8 - 10 which, weren't by my choice, from a customer base in the low two hundreds.  Like you I did invest some time and money in keeping the customers informed but, as you say, you can't please everyone.  Because I invested that time, I believe that I kept customers that I would have lost had I said nothing.  There were customers who had negative comments to make about the first clean who were asking me to stick with WFP a few months later.  However, I did pre-warn them it can take 2 - 3 cleans to become a quality job.  There werre customers who were delighted with the first clean results too.

[Dean Aspects]

I lost 4 customers from a base of at the time 500 customers i have got rid of alot of my round now due to going back to being a sole trader and have picked up some large jobs as a result of wfp as i would not be able to do them from ladders and am now turning over as much with less work
I did explain to some customers about the changeover but to be honest they didnt seem to care as long as it was me and not them cleaning the windows so i stopped telling them
After nearly 2 years of wfp some of my customers have only just noticed that i use wfp and when they do as i now have much more confidence in the system i can explain to them the benifits and that keeps them happy

Dean

[Sir Squeaky]

Possibly another 4 gone today.

All old biddies as usual.
Didn't like it as much as the old way. :

I did the bottoms by hand to keep her happy, but she "doesn't think it's as good"
I looked at them from all angles and they were spotless.
More than I could say for the ones I hurriedly squeegeed in the sun...

Trouble is, she's one of four friends which have always been done together and pay for each other.
The others aren't as chatty as they used to be before wfp.

I can see what's going to happen here next time... :

[Sir Squeaky]

I'd pack this in, but I've got a van to pay for.

[Moderator David@stives]

Rog

hang on in there , you will look back one day and laugh about it.

It will get better believe me

Dave

[aztec]

know the feeling mate, its not down to doing them properly or even informing the customer, THEY DONT LIKE CHANGE FULL STOP!!!

[Dean Aspects]

I cant see how you lose so much work on results or explainations
Most of my old dears are happy to get the windows done one told me after about 6 months that when i was explaining wfp that she didnt believe me but after looking closely when the windows were dry that i was telling the truth and wfp is better than her last w/cer(trad) and now is a good customer
Me thinks it has a lot to do with your attitude towards wfp you will probably be offended by this but sometimes the truth hurts you need to take a look at yourself and stop blaming your tools

Dean

[Art]

Is there much competition in your area Squeaky? It could be just some cowboy undercutting you, and custies just using WFP as an excuse.

Yep, massive competition.
Possibly as much as anywhere.

The town has around 12,000 population and within 10 miles probably only another 2,000 people.

Something like 15-20 window cleaners around. :

Rog, do you advertise, send out mail shots etc..? Couldn't you try sales letters to all the commercial sites in your area or send letters to all the contract cleaning firms that cover your area offering to sub contract.

I know that had nothing to do with the thread, but things sound grim mate and the only way your going to turn it around is getting new customers.

I'm sure it'll all work out in the end

Arthur

[Nathanael Jones]

Come on lads,.. it sounds like Rog is having it hard enough without you lot telling him he must be doing something wrong!!
No point kicking the man when he's down,.. how about a few practical ideas for getting over this problem?

I'd second Art's idea,.. try and pull in some new work,.. commercial if at all possible and leave those grumpy old women behind you.

[Sir Squeaky]

Cheers mate.

New work has been fine, as they are done wfp from the start.
Need to get some leaflets printed...

[pingu]

Get some leaflets printed .....

I have the normal style...'do you want a w/c' and also have 'we cleaned your neigbours today' and I just try to get out 100 per week....which takes the 'drudge' factor out of delivering leaflets...

Why not try a 'referal scheme'....with your existing customers...you never know what could come of it.

What about using the back of the leaflets to promote other activities....guttering, dorma's, conservatories, get ready for crimbo cleans...etc

How's about a package scheme....windows and the guttering 1xpa for a 'existing customer price'.

Look at every single street you already have customers and create a target of getting just 1 single new customer in each...no point travelling if you can just get more where you are already known.

Treat it all a bit like...'The Apprentice' and invest say 200 quid in leaflets/business cards and get out there and see what you can do with lets say 10 working days....you say you have space in your round.

We all know WFP can be a bit like alchemy but you have said you have a good sales style...why not put on a suit and get yourself into the facilities managers of shopping centers, hospitals...large business units and see what you can do.

I know it is all too easy to fall into 'dark days' but a little thinking in a positive direction will only help..

We all get kicked in the teeth every now and then....coming on here is great but with all the best will in the world...unless you choose to do something about it and try to be a little bit creative....you'll be a beer and smokes man and not a succesfull business owner....

You and you alone will the deciding factor in your own success...lets face it window cleaning is great...no office politics, clocking in and out....and lets face it..after the first couple of cleans it is money for old rope.

There are so many things that make this type of business great but as we continue...these aspects get forgotten and it is all to easy to focus on the negative aspects when in reality...we have one of the best jobs around.

Would love to hear other forum members suggestions of their methods to 'spice' up their business promotions.