[Ian_Giles]

A link in a post by David@St-Ives prompted me to start this little thread off.

How long have you had your longest standing account?

I'm in my 22 year as a window cleaner now, and I still have 2 domestic accounts I picked up within the first few weeks of becoming a window cleaner.
I still have a couple of shops too, one is what is now a 'Peter Briggs' shoe shop, formerly 'Stead & Simpson' (Still the same company, but this particular branch has been re-branded as a 'Peter Briggs' shop)
But I think I only have 1 shop that is still owned and ran by the same person, a local seamstress shop.
I do many of the same buildings, but they have mostly been taken over by someone else, or been bought out by another company.
The seamstress shop in question has only had one price increase in 22 years Her Christmas tip has increased from a fiver & keep the change, to a tenner and keep the change
But it is still very good money for the time it takes to clean the windows and I have no intentions of putting up the price either.

The one domestic account has gone from £12 inside & out, to; £50 inside & out....but I was making better money on it when it was at £12

To begin with it had no conservatory, when that was fitted the price jumped to £18 for inside and out, but that bloody conservatory made a big difference
The price jumped a little over the next few years, but it never quite caught up.
Then they decided to stick another floor on top, this made a couple of the windows on the front of the house a rather high 3 storey climb
The price went up, but it didn't really take into account inflation.

I've seen her kids grow up and move out, her husband has died (I stood outside the conservatory with him and watched the last eclipse with him)

Over 2 decades and I still call her Mrs *****

So what is your longest standing account?

And just to clarify; to qualify it has to be the same customer and the same property.
None of this following them around through half a dozen house changes!!

How has it changed?

Are you on first name terms?

And so on

Ian

[Paul Coleman]

A link in a post by David@St-Ives prompted me to start this little thread off.

How long have you had your longest standing account?

I'm in my 22 year as a window cleaner now, and I still have 2 domestic accounts I picked up within the first few weeks of becoming a window cleaner.
I still have a couple of shops too, one is what is now a 'Peter Briggs' shoe shop, formerly 'Stead & Simpson' (Still the same company, but this particular branch has been re-branded as a 'Peter Briggs' shop)
But I think I only have 1 shop that is still owned and ran by the same person, a local seamstress shop.
I do many of the same buildings, but they have mostly been taken over by someone else, or been bought out by another company.
The seamstress shop in question has only had one price increase in 22 years Her Christmas tip has increased from a fiver & keep the change, to a tenner and keep the change
But it is still very good money for the time it takes to clean the windows and I have no intentions of putting up the price either.

The one domestic account has gone from £12 inside & out, to; £50 inside & out....but I was making better money on it when it was at £12

To begin with it had no conservatory, when that was fitted the price jumped to £18 for inside and out, but that bloody conservatory made a big difference
The price jumped a little over the next few years, but it never quite caught up.
Then they decided to stick another floor on top, this made a couple of the windows on the front of the house a rather high 3 storey climb
The price went up, but it didn't really take into account inflation.

I've seen her kids grow up and move out, her husband has died (I stood outside the conservatory with him and watched the last eclipse with him)

Over 2 decades and I still call her Mrs *****

So what is your longest standing account?

And just to clarify; to qualify it has to be the same customer and the same property.
None of this following them around through half a dozen house changes!!

How has it changed?

Are you on first name terms?

And so on

Ian

All my original accounts went about 5 or 6 years ago when I gave the work away in a particular area en bloc.  However, I do have a few accounts still from around 1993 (I started in 1991).

[timdiv]

I have a commercial customer - my biggest contract aswell - since 1992. Not bad for commercial work.

[brett walker]

Ive still got customers from when i first started 15 yrs ago

It can be quite sad sometimes when one of them dies as they become friends as well as customers.

I think more about my customers and get on with them better than parts of my family

Heres to another 15 yrs but i think it will be mostly wfp as im not getting any younger    but better looking

Brett

[Roy Harding]

Ian

The house I meet you at in Itton I have been cleaning for her over 21yrs, like you I have seen there children grow up and now have children of there own.

Also my millionair lady I have been doing over 21yrs every month, in that time I have cleaned her she has paid me £34,807.50 as I have just worked it out.

Its suprising how it builds up.

Roy

[brett walker]

I can remeber when i first started and you'd quote a house at 1.50p, some customers think that the price should never go up. :

Brett

[Sir Squeaky]

I've only been going 8 years, and only 5 of those on my own.

As such, most of my customers are the same ones I started with.

Most of them were bought from Ian, who had been doing them for 10+ years previously, so they've been loyal.

Rog.

[Morph]

I am in my 19th year w/c.  Although I still see some of my original costomers, as I work the same areas, I dropped, sold, gave away most, due to illness 3 years ago.
Didn't work for almost a year, and certainly didn't think I'd be back windowcleaning again.  In fact the consultant said you shouldn't be cleaning any more windows. You never know!
a few asked me to do theirs again when they saw me back, that's loyalty, but no unbroken accounts for the 19 years.
So, due to illness I don't qualify to enter

[Pole2pole]

I'm too young to even make the qualyfying rounds. Sorry. Ask again in twenty years . I've been goin about ten years and i reckon 50% are probably the "originals". Must have done something right.

[Londoner]

Am I allowed to include my Mum and a couple of old aunts?
or don't "love jobs " count?

[daniel b]

local council contract 26 yrs,aroud 15 or so factorys for around 20yrs.

Daniel

[danny mckim]

WHEN I WAS 14 I STARTED HELPING MY DAD ON HIS COMMERCIAL AT WEEKENDS. I PICKED UP A COUPLE OF SHOPS BELOW OUR HOUSE AND NOW AT 35 I STILL DO THEM. ONLY ONE HASNT CHANGED AND ITS A HAIRDRESSERS. AT FIRST IT WAS 70P NOW ITS £4 .

[jon adams]

Im the saddest muppet of all, got about 10 original customers left from 21 years ago. One regards me as her son and makes me toast, also tells me not to wee round the side of her house. Plus another 20 or so in retirement properties but there dropping like flies. suppose in afew years their grandchildren will be changing my incontinence pad in my old fogeys home.        

[rosskesava]

Blimey.

I'm not going to post anything about customers because reading the above I feel like a real newbie at w/c'ing with a titchy nearly 5 years experience.

 

[Pole2pole]

One of my customers thinks soo much of me she called up crimewatch to tell them i resembled to photofit of the guy who commited a high profile murder in South London. PS I've been DNA'd and eliminated(well i think i have since it's been over 3 weeks since the swab) Still nice to know they think so much of me  I just wish to god i knew which one of them it was. I have a few names in my head,but haven't said anything. Anyone else got any similar stories like this??? I do hope not, by the way. 

[KJG]

The company I started with, London & Midland Ltd, was established in 1897, yes "eighteen" ninety seven, and had they some 80+ year old contracts such as HP Sauce in Birmingham. I just caught the last of the old boys. Shirt and tie, pressed blue beanies, slop coats and ammo swab leather and scrim. Great old names too like Stan, Norman and Reg.

[Paul Coleman]

One of my customers thinks soo much of me she called up crimewatch to tell them i resembled to photofit of the guy who commited a high profile murder in South London. PS I've been DNA'd and eliminated(well i think i have since it's been over 3 weeks since the swab) Still nice to know they think so much of me  I just wish to god i knew which one of them it was. I have a few names in my head,but haven't said anything. Anyone else got any similar stories like this??? I do hope not, by the way. 

I'm assuming that you're not joking Dino.  Did you know that your DNA will be on the police database forever even though you've done nothing wrong?  There are no clawback rights these days - though they only ever existed in theory anyway rather than in practice.

[Pole2pole]

Not jokin bud. They asked me if i would like them to destroy my DNA when they are done with it. I had a choice,said yes i rather they would,but something tells me they'll retain it anyways. I think about 1800 names were given so there's lots of poor buggers around here goin thru it too.

[Paul Coleman]

Not jokin bud. They asked me if i would like them to destroy my DNA when they are done with it. I had a choice,said yes i rather they would,but something tells me they'll retain it anyways. I think about 1800 names were given so there's lots of poor buggers around here goin thru it too.

I think the law changed about four years ago allowing the police to keep DNA samples from the innocent.
Have a look at this

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=680402005

Please read a few paragraphs down where it states that this change was introduced in England four years ago.
I hope the Scots give them a good ars* kicking over this.

[Pole2pole]

I haven't looked at that yet.gotta go and do some windows in a min. Will do later tho. The guy actually said that are not allowed to use my DNA once they have it to use against ANY other unsolved crimes. Now THAT i do find bloody daft.