Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: ryanst1982 on November 10, 2009, 08:38:07 pm

Title: Working on your own doorstep
Post by: ryanst1982 on November 10, 2009, 08:38:07 pm
 Just wondering, how many people have customers where they live. Got a call from someone asking for a quote that lives in same village as me. I never canvass around here but they got my number off Yell.

Im going to do the quote tomorrow but im a bit apprehensive about having a customer where I live. Our children probably go same school as only one around here and wondered if it could be akward.

Anyone else work where they live, and if so how many customers do you have and also, for those who dont accept work from locals, how far out from there home will they start accepting customers

cheers
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: pingu on November 10, 2009, 08:45:20 pm
I have no customers in my home town...but I have work 5km's from home...that is ok for me.

Cheers
Dave.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: DaveG on November 10, 2009, 08:49:15 pm
I have loads of work very close to where i live..why would it be a problem/awkward??

All youre doing is providing a service that they want....

When Im quoting new jobs, very often i get.."youre Joes Dad arent you"? etc etc
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: martinsadie on November 10, 2009, 08:50:29 pm
i have a few on my street,i dont collect, just wait till they pay which they do some faster than others  ;D
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: fergus77 on November 10, 2009, 08:52:33 pm
i don't canvass my village due to being mates with the local window cleaner, but i have picked up customers because they've asked me.

I've 5 customers in my village and no problems what so ever. i just make sure i do the same quality of work as i do with all my custies.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: pingu on November 10, 2009, 08:55:35 pm
I suppose it is that to some small extent I am ashamed to be a window cleaner and just would prefer not to be seen in my home town cleaning.

Be it right, be it wrong it's just how I feel.

Cheers
Dave.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: ftp on November 10, 2009, 08:56:11 pm
I make £100+ from my culdesac alone - furthest house is about fifty metres away.
I do several parents houses from my daughters school, her brownie teacher and her mothers house too. It's more awkward for them in my opinion than it is for me.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: kenaltobelli on November 10, 2009, 08:58:31 pm
i find its best working away from my town cos they are all backward when doing wfp
also can charge more out of town
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: ryanst1982 on November 10, 2009, 08:59:02 pm
I just mean akwardness in terms of collecting payments, if they are an akward customer in terms of demands or complaining when there is noreason to complain. Would it not be more akward if you saw them everyday or your children were friends
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: jouk45 on November 10, 2009, 09:02:59 pm
i have 26 custys in my  street, we are only cleaning there windows, what can go wrong  ::)
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: jodan63 on November 10, 2009, 09:03:24 pm
i clean  next door on both sides and across the road from my house.i would say 50% of my customers are in my village. dont see anything wrong with it myself
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: G Griffin on November 10, 2009, 09:07:15 pm
They should feel awkward for late/non payment or being unreasonable. Not you.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Nathanael Jones on November 10, 2009, 09:10:20 pm
Most of my work is within 5 minutes of my house. :)
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: ccmids on November 10, 2009, 09:11:36 pm
i got loads in my village but i don't do my lane ,
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: wizard on November 10, 2009, 09:19:23 pm
Got cusatys in my street Also have two other window cleaners.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: zodiac on November 10, 2009, 09:33:07 pm
I clean all houses on my street .Don't collect money.They bring around to my house .no worrys at all
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Slash on November 10, 2009, 09:38:34 pm
Yeah,I do all my neighbours,whats the problem ???
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: ccmids on November 10, 2009, 09:57:43 pm
i know a window cleaner whos got a window cleaner. ;D
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: britishwill on November 10, 2009, 09:59:38 pm
My nearest client is 20 minutes away. I have a good mate who works where I live. I could get work but prefer to keep the friendship and pass on clients to him as when I need an extra pair of hands he will drop everything to help me out in my area. Also I do not feel comfortable working where I live, weird eh!
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Window Washers on November 10, 2009, 10:07:47 pm
i know a window cleaner whos got a window cleaner. ;D
I have a window cleaner  ;D, and I clean next doors windows and the next one after that. (I dont clean them myself but all are done by us  ;)
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: ccmids on November 10, 2009, 10:10:08 pm
 ;D
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Andy Foster on November 10, 2009, 10:17:37 pm
I suppose it is that to some small extent I am ashamed to be a window cleaner and just would prefer not to be seen in my home town cleaning.

Be it right, be it wrong it's just how I feel.

Cheers
Dave.

Don't be ashamed of getting off your ass and working said ass off!
A lot of my friends who are employed (some in extremely well paying jobs) wish they had the courage to do something for themselves instead of working for 'the man'.

It took me until I was 35 to realise that the only true freedom is working for yourself... after all, you are in charge of your own future, not relying on someone else to provide it.
I saw colleagues getting laid off left right and centre and I wasn't going to be next!

Be proud to have the balls to stand out from the crowd.

If your neighbours knew you were self emplyed, they would most likely WANT to give you the work instead of someone they don't know.

Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: simon smith50 on November 10, 2009, 10:44:30 pm
same as that andy
started late 36 (5yearsago)
never had so much freedom . never at the moment been so poor . however just realised that losing a £15 grand contract 21/2 -3 years ago was not the end . tommorrow is the best day to start doing things differently .
been trying too hard to be someone else for far too long . tommorrow i become me again going back to my roots in the sticks . being myself will be fun again .
been kicking myself for the loss of that contract for far too long . time to pick myself up and go again .
roll on tommorrow
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: jodan63 on November 10, 2009, 11:38:23 pm
very funny  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Niall McAllister on November 10, 2009, 11:41:28 pm
The only problem I find are the stares the mrs gives me when the rest of the block is clean and ours aren't.
 ;D

I just point out I don't get paid to clean our windows, and I don't work for free. then when she's in earshot i say, just off to do ours dear ;D ::) ;D
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Ste M on November 10, 2009, 11:52:27 pm
i originally started out by buying the round on my old estate, i now clean 80% of them. i have no issues collecting and they all love the fact that i used to live there. they know i will look after them and they do the same to me. i dont have problems with collecting and if i do i dont give them a hard time i just tell them to double up next time and they love this a its a trust thing. the vast majority of my customers tell me when they go away and ask me to keep an eye out. i also get recommendations off them so its like there my own little canvassers ;D

i also do comercial work which started by me cleaning one of my residential customers workplace. another estate i do i got off a friend, she actually went round knocking on doors for me before i came round to do hers the first time, i havent charged her for her windows yet as a thankyou for this. going to have to tart charging soon though cos i am a business at the end of the day ;D
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: AuRavelling79 on November 11, 2009, 07:52:26 am
Well if your going to (be) sh*t what do you expect

Oh I thought with all the poor spelling around here that the O.P. meant shinning or shining on your own doorstep. Thanks for putting me right Ewan! ;D


I don't look for work near me but a custy moved to within 300 yards in the next cul-de-sac along from me and I have got 4 custies in there. Other than that I've a couple of dozen within a mile but most are between 2 and 5 miles away plus a lot in a village about ten miles away.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Murdie window cleaning on November 11, 2009, 08:13:20 am
I don't see any problem with this. The town I live in has a population of 14500, so it's inevatable I'm going to have customers very close bye. There is deffinetly no shame in doing this job, we are providing a service that many folk are very thankfull for and potentialy earning a decent living from.
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: JS_Cleaning on November 11, 2009, 02:58:37 pm
i dont see the problem, i have now 77houses in the estate that i live in (picked up 2 more today) getting paid is handy, as other have said people like the fact that your from the area and have a little more trust in you. 
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: JRDEasiReach on November 11, 2009, 03:10:21 pm
I dont have any in my estate as yet but 99% of my custom so far is in my town and i aint ashamed who sees me, im making a mint well i will be :)
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: stfc on November 11, 2009, 04:38:35 pm
i clean my next doors,there not a single reason why it would be a problem inless you dont do a good job
Title: Re: Sh***ing on your own doorstep
Post by: Llaaww on November 11, 2009, 05:01:11 pm
no problems with working on the doorstep, sitting on it is another matter.