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johnny_h

  • Posts: 689
not this month thanks!!
« on: July 06, 2008, 01:55:45 pm »
customer " hi dont do our windows this month thanks "
me "and why is that sir?"
customer "my wife is unwell and i really cant be bothered to go upstairs and close the windows for you"
and this from someone who couldnt find a window cleaner for 3 years !
i really cant be bothered with people like that now. rant over!!!
AUDI VIDE TACE

LWC

  • Posts: 6824
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2008, 02:06:40 pm »
now its gonna be a further 3 years

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2008, 02:10:01 pm »
I would not dump them either but would charge 50% more on the next clean, seems to stop them doing it to often

Elginn

  • Posts: 235
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2008, 02:11:50 pm »
If ever a custy says that to me, my first relpy is:-
 
''OK I'll take you off my books then'' that quite often gets there attention, I don't mind if its a genuine reason, but for those that say I can't be bothered to to close the windows, then I can't be bothered to come back next time.

Those that tried it once have never tried it again.

craig jwc

  • Posts: 1076
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #4 on: July 06, 2008, 02:56:20 pm »
I tell them i can give them a price for an 8 weekly clean or take them off the books.
You usually find it's the ones who haven't had a W/C for a while or tell you there old W/C never came back.
If you have enough work then drop them. What's the point of keeping customers that aren't reliable when there's plenty out there that are.
It won't do your business any harm. If anything it will do it some good.
Don't be messed about.

johnny_h

  • Posts: 689
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #5 on: July 06, 2008, 03:05:19 pm »
I tell them i can give them a price for an 8 weekly clean or take them off the books.
You usually find it's the ones who haven't had a W/C for a while or tell you there old W/C never came back.
If you have enough work then drop them. What's the point of keeping customers that aren't reliable when there's plenty out there that are.
It won't do your business any harm. If anything it will do it some good.
Don't be messed about.

i went down the road and picked 2 new customers up so im really not bothered i will re quote them for an 8 weekly clean if they ask me again
AUDI VIDE TACE

LWC

  • Posts: 6824
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2008, 03:11:27 pm »
now its gonna be a further 3 years
why throw work away

why go to be messed about

LWC

  • Posts: 6824
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2008, 03:37:20 pm »
never happened to me

mark311069

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #8 on: July 06, 2008, 03:46:14 pm »
when this happens to me i just say ok! walk away and never go back.

Paul Coleman

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2008, 03:49:04 pm »
If ever a custy says that to me, my first relpy is:-
 
''OK I'll take you off my books then'' that quite often gets there attention, I don't mind if its a genuine reason, but for those that say I can't be bothered to to close the windows, then I can't be bothered to come back next time.

Those that tried it once have never tried it again.

I've got a lot stricter about this isue too.  I take the view that we have a verbal contract.  If the customer wishes to break that contract then I have the right to break it as well.  I dropped one last week too.  The more lucrative the job, the more I will put up with but even that is not a guarantee.  Although this might be seen as losing work, it is always possible to replace them with a customer who DOES want their windows cleaned every time.  A year or two back, these customers cost me about £150 on one six weekly circuit.  That's £150 that I somehow had to replace without being given any warning.  Finances were tight that month so I ended up having to withdraw expensive cash on a credit card to top up my bank account to pay the mortgage - all because a few people couldn't be bothered to honour the deal that we struck.  These kind of customers are worse than not having a customer.

Paul Coleman

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2008, 03:50:36 pm »
when this happens to me i just say ok! walk away and never go back.


i've done that too but I prefer to tell them these days as it is a bit more pro to do so.  Mind you, occasionally I say nothing.

mark311069

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2008, 05:11:32 pm »
when this happens to me i just say ok! walk away and never go back.


i've done that too but I prefer to tell them these days as it is a bit more pro to do so.  Mind you, occasionally I say nothing.

for me its about building a customer base who want you there every month.  when i take on a new custie i stress to them that i call every month. times money as we know and i dont want to waste time going to a job if they then come out and say not this month.

davids3511

  • Posts: 2506
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2008, 05:22:25 pm »
I have  decent paying round built up from houses here and there. An old guy retired and simple didn't return to his customers. If I was to subscribe to the 'buy a round' mentality who would have cleaned those let down customers?

jaykie

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #13 on: July 06, 2008, 06:11:22 pm »
Local window cleaner near me is in process of selling all his work, took new guy round to customers only to be told that they will choose who cleans there windows.

mark311069

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #14 on: July 06, 2008, 07:19:42 pm »
when this happens to me i just say ok! walk away and never go back.


i've done that too but I prefer to tell them these days as it is a bit more pro to do so.  Mind you, occasionally I say nothing.

for me its about building a customer base who want you there every month.  when i take on a new custie i stress to them that i call every month. times money as we know and i dont want to waste time going to a job if they then come out and say not this month.
if you buy a proper round you dont wasre time having gone to a house you just move on to next door,cant understand traveling just to do 1 job unless its for half a day

i have a PROPER round thank you all in one town. ive built my round from nothing in 12 months. iam now turning work away as iam so busy. so i think i have a PROPER round!!! >:( >:(

NWH

  • Posts: 16952
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #15 on: July 06, 2008, 07:45:42 pm »
Local window cleaner near me is in process of selling all his work, took new guy round to customers only to be told that they will choose who cleans there windows.
I`ve always said that this is not the way to do it,you`ve got to have someone with you working the round before you sell it for the customer to get used to them.After a few cleans they won`t batter an eyelid but if you just sold up and gave them a list of names and addresses you would get come backs.

davids3511

  • Posts: 2506
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #16 on: July 06, 2008, 11:29:26 pm »
I have  decent paying round built up from houses here and there. An old guy retired and simple didn't return to his customers. If I was to subscribe to the 'buy a round' mentality who would have cleaned those let down customers?
in this case no need to buy a round just pick up his work for free get it all and you have a round

I have and I do but my point is that if I hadn't been out leafletting on 'someone elses patch' I would never have known he was gone.

Wayne Thomas

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #17 on: July 07, 2008, 02:44:47 am »
If someone tells me not this month and it becomes a habit I tell them I'm going to increase the price 25-50% as the clean is less frequent. They either revert back to being a regular customer, accept the new price or I drop them. Can't be doing with being messed around with these type of customers.

Londoner

Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #18 on: July 07, 2008, 06:17:31 am »
I've got a couple of customers who I know can't always afford it and I'm OK with that because they have told me the truth. What I hate is a stupid excuse.

On the subject of buying/selling a round. That just doesn't seem to happen round here anymore, it used to but you don't hear of it these days on domestics. I have heard numerous stories of people trying to sell their rounds but not getting any takers so the round just gets abandoned in the end.

I doubt it will last much longer in other parts of the country. Why buy something you can get for free?

 

Dave Turley

  • Posts: 896
Re: not this month thanks!!
« Reply #19 on: July 07, 2008, 08:31:30 am »
for me, if it's not a valid, proper reason, they're in the bin.

I spent too much time in the past pandering to pain in the a**e custies

if it's a particularly well priced job I might put up with a couple of times

also, if you don't take on new custies and drop crap ones, how do you move your business forwards?

a once a year price increase? each to their own, if I was still working like that i'd still be stuck working on the council estate I first built my round on before I knew any better

that sounded less controversial  in my head!

 :o :o