[davids3511]

made some very basic mistakes with customer care....

Would be interested to hear what you did wrong if you are willing to share? I am just 3 months into it and would like to avoid as many problems as possible.

[johnny_h]

dumped one before i even started his windows! no access to the rear of his house except through the garage he said call me and i will pop back from work and let you in , i fitted him into the round called him to arrange access he says nah call me tommorow and do them then a messer from the start

[davids3511]

I had one like that too. Quoted him £14.00 including his front door. He wanted the lot for a tenner. I said no, then he wanted the door dropping off the job. I said £13.00 without the door. Rang him to arrange access for his first clean and got the 'miss me off this time'. Said sure but deleted him off as soon as I got home.

[Londoner]

You can sometimes see the signs before you start. If you canvass a road and find they all have a window cleaner then right in the middle up pops one who hasn't had one for ages.
There is always the suspicion that she's been dumped by the previous/existing window cleaner for whatever reason.
This unfortunately is the nature of canvassing and building a round. When you get a new customer you don't know their history so you are going to get a higher percentage of time wasters. In time you can drop them but when you are starting out you may decide to put up with it.

[pingu]

davids3511...You asked what some of my very basic mistakes were...

I give all my new clients terms & conditions....Which I started to think of as a concrete contract...but in truth terms and condition are really only good as leverage in the event of an issue...they are not law....

I became very grumpy at one stage and started to think that they needed me more than I need them...

I had a complaint from one person and the g/f took the call when I arrived home I was tired and cranky...once the g/f told me she had aranged for me to return the following friday and rectify the issue (if there was one)...I got on the phone and told them I would not return and they could find another cleaner...

Now this all seems very obvious now...but I now will not return a call of this nature today...I now leave it until tomorrow...lets me cool down and think.

I started to take it all a little too personally and I have said this before...I still have an issue being a window cleaner(I know...please don't flame me) and I think I let my ego get the better of me from time to time....I am now seeing window cleaning in a much more positive light now that I am not using savings to live and now that the business is doing much better.

I liken this game to farming....finding good ground, planting seeds, nuturing, feeding, watering (no pun), weeding, more weeding....rotating crops, times, dates.....and of course harvesting...some yields, area's, crops produce better than others and you get the occassional whopper!!

Above all I now see that I am a small business that is growing and not the image in my head which was that of an elderly guy struggling by to get beer money and  enough for a few bets and smokes.

But in the end the thing that has pulled me through the most is this forum and the many great and not so great members...there is a lot of nonesense and alot of good info too...just a case of weeding through it !!!..

Oh yes one other piece of advice if you are going to buy anything from another forum member....check them out first and get all their details and I mean all...!!

Cheers
Dave.

[davids3511]

Hi Pingu

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I already recognize myself falling into some of these traps. It is getting a little better for me now that I have finished nearly all my first cleans, had about 100 to do in the last 5 weeks I was totally sick of them and getting very demotivated.

Spent some time doing second cleans of Thursday and Friday and I flew through them. I am actually looking forward to work on Monday.

David

[dai]

I think there are times when we need to be firm. I bet 50% of my customers would be happy if I only came round every 3 months. Many monthly customers wouldn't know their windows had been cleaned, if you didn't leave a slip.
An agreement is an agreement, and both parties should honour it.
If I am told to leave them this month, I ask them if they would prefer to go on my  bi-monthly list at +50%.
If they break our agreement, it will be at extra cost to them, that is if they want to remain a customer.
I am much more tolerant if it's a well priced job, and they are good payers.
If you were doing a street of shop fronts, and one of them starts messing you about, you would have to decide if you really want another cleaner to do them, and compete with you. Dai

[supernova77]

Andy, you should have said yes but it would be £50/£55 every other time. Money is money at the end of the day and that is the point of having a business and thats to make money.

The problem with my customer wanting to go to every other time is that when it comes to every other time I won't have time to do it as she will  be an extra on that day, and it's not worth travelling 10 miles there and 10 miles home again just to do her windows on a different day.

Money is money that is true... And obviously I am in it to make money... But a good succuessful profitable window cleaning business should be founded on a solid reliable customer base.

Andy

[windowwashers]

Andy, you should have said yes but it would be £50/£55 every other time. Money is money at the end of the day and that is the point of having a business and thats to make money.

The problem with my customer wanting to go to every other time is that when it comes to every other time I won't have time to do it as she will  be an extra on that day, and it's not worth travelling 10 miles there and 10 miles home again just to do her windows on a different day.

Money is money that is true... And obviously I am in it to make money... But a good succuessful profitable window cleaning business should be founded on a solid reliable customer base.

Andy

I agree with the last bit, but what says these customers are not going to be reliable. We all run our business' in different ways that work for us, I myself always leave room for cleans that are one-off because I offer this services and get quite a few of them, that part is not a solid foundation but is extra that helps my business grow as my name is being talked about more.

[Londoner]

Thats the difference between an ideal world and real life. We would all like to have reliable customers but most of us have to make do with what we have. Most of mine are pretty good but others I just put up with because I want their money.

[pingu]

Hi Vince that has got to be the best and most concise answer on this subject...I tend to ramble...but that was class...

Dave.

[Helen]

Lets be honest we all get awkward situations from time to time and we all get the "oh not this time "please merchants from time to time. How we handle these situations is down to how we all run our own businesses. Flexibilty goes a long way, but it has to be from both sides, the custies and the people running the business.
IMO alot of this can be sorted out at point of quote First Question "what regularity are you looking for?" 99% of the time I am then asked, how often do you come to this area? You can then take it from there and come to an agreement. Written quote with terms which you give to custie and keep a copy yourself.
Sometimes custies don't keep to the agreement, but you have to take into account why they have dipped out of their scheduled clean? a) Have a funeral wake here when you are due.......  ok you can live with that one and then carry on as normal from the next time of their schedule.....b) Oh i don't want them done this time as you arrive to clean... ok for one time, but keep an eye on these, get their phone number (saves a vehicle journey) and when you are next due phone the day before, if you get a yes all is ok, if you get a no.......send letter with copy of the original quote. words to the effect, I have enclosed the original agreement between us, which says that you are on a 6 weekly schedule. You windows have not been cleaned since....... at your request. We have to take this that you wish to come away from the agreed 6 weekly schedule and we will now adjust our records. We do offer an appointment only service, which starts from £xxxx, but will be quoted at each request. Please allow at least 5 working days notice for this service. Please note that during busy periods of the year, this service may not be available. Has worked with some and they are now back on their original terms, and others have not contacted us, but driving past their properties it is clear they have not found someone else.  Be fair but be firm, don't be taken for a mug, but don't cut your nose off to spite your face

[Paul Coleman]

I think it's quite ironic that one of the most frequent complaints that I hear from customers is that their previous window cleaner(s) have been unreliable - such as only showing up a few times before disappearing into the sunset.  However, the the most frequent complaint about customers seems to be that THEY are unreliable too.   

[FUN]

If a customer is difficult, I either drop them or do a very quick job on their windows each time I go after that. I get paid the same for less work. Their loss! If I turn up to do a job and for no good reason they say leave it I charge them for turning up. £3 if it's a small house or £5 for a larger one. They don't like it but why should I lose out? I don't mind customers who want it done, as and when. I point out to them that I will nedd a couple of weeks notice so that I can fit them in when it is convenient for me and that they will have to pay extra depending on how dirty the windows are. Seems to work fine.

[Londoner]

This job gets you down at times. Most of us are a little cranky from spending too much time on our own and having too much time to think about things ( twitch twitch).

Little things get all out of proportion. To the customer you are just the window cleaner and its no big deal.

To you its "Look lady I've got bills to pay, mouths to feed, my kids need new shoes and in case you hadn't noticed its only a few weeks to Christmas. I lost two days last week with the rain and half a day when my pump packed up. WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT THIS TIME??"

[simon knight]

This job gets you down at times. Most of us are a little cranky from spending too much time on our own and having too much time to think about things ( twitch twitch).

Little things get all out of proportion. To the customer you are just the window cleaner and its no big deal.

To you its "Look lady I've got bills to pay, mouths to feed, my kids need new shoes and in case you hadn't noticed its only a few weeks to Christmas. I lost two days last week with the rain and half a day when my pump packed up. WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT THIS TIME??"

Back of the net Vince.

[Helen]

I think it's quite ironic that one of the most frequent complaints that I hear from customers is that their previous window cleaner(s) have been unreliable - such as only showing up a few times before disappearing into the sunset.  However, the the most frequent complaint about customers seems to be that THEY are unreliable too.   

As soon as we hear that one, warning bells begin to ring We joke with people that they will probably get fed up with us being so regular!!!!

[elite mike]

[
i.ve had a couple of customers said come back in the sping , i have decided that i will not go back it,s much better to give a service to your loyal punters , just knock a few doors and find someone that appreciates you , oh and one of them was a £50.00 job , forget them its their loss

i agree,i just tell them i,me to busy and pass them on to another wc
mike]

[simon knight]

i agree,i just tell them i,me to busy and pass them on to another wc
mike]

If it's a rubbish customer why give another poor unsuspecting w/c the aggro?

[elite mike]

initiation ceremiony