Most time a customer who is a good customer will take the pee and it makes it a little more reasonable when you can refer to your T&C.99% its stops them and a good customer is kept on.If we just walk this good customer is lost forever.
I had a customer last year not pay and after 9 months settled with a invoiced amount 25 quid my T+C made it possible to get a further 55 pound of her without sweat.I tell you the next windy she uses, they will not try that one again.
It is short sited to see yourself as one business out there on your own, but rather as one of a group within a industry.If you want to spend your lifetime in a industry why not better that industry for all.
I don`t like to blow my own trumpet but I did spend 4years at the University of
Stellenbosch studying for A Degree in Commercial science. I am retired and enjoy window cleaning now as a way to provide stress free,easy money, extra income for my home.
I do appreciate other views but believe me this industry will grow up sooner or later and I am afraid bigger Companies will just push us aside as there is plenty of money to be made in cleaning while we squabble about T&C.If we do not rise to the level that large companies project.
If you have dough's, look at the large window cleaning business that have robbed us of a big slice of your shop/commercial cleaning. So many of us clean these shops as subbies were we were once the man making the real money.
And all you chaps to small minded to move up a notch and be more professional and business minded.Dream well while Rome burns.Let rather argue about T+C and slip into the small time game of subbing were we work for pennies not pounds. Leave T+ C for the big guys your domestic business is next on the big list to acquire. I do not for this reason sub from no monkey as I will be next on there menu for lunch.
You're trying to stop the rising tide mate. I live i Germany, and you have to have a "Meisterschein" here to be able to do any cleaning on buildings at all! Except window cleaning. So because these firms have the maintenance contracts on large commercial jobs, it's part and parcel of these contracts to include window cleaning. This part is normally subbed out to small windies. (Not me )
These firms could buy and sell any of the firms I've seen on here, including some of the nationals in UK. In a local company to me "Schulz" they employ directly over 4000 people full time and at least the same on part time basis'.
These sort of firms have no interest on domestic private window customers, as just the invoicing and organisation needed to be at Mrs Smiths at 915am on every 4th Tuesday of the month is just not practical in the bigger picture of running a large organisation.
It's crumbs from the table if you like. So that part of any argument your making about big firms taking the bread off our tables is a non starter.
Whether we like it or not, window cleaning isn't perceived as a "proper" business by a lot of customers. Shiny van and 700 quid poles go un-noticed by the majority, and good quality work and fair price are seen as important to customers.
The fact that telecom engineers, or helicopter pilots do this for a living would come as a massive surprise to most custies. These T&C's are pointless IMO. However, I respect your well put points, but I disagree.
Keep it simple, get more work.
