[davids3511]

[p1w1]

in short No handled well IMO, i would have done the same and charged the same.

[steven ainger]

I think you handled it perfectly,  polite, informative and to the point.
Nothing go worry about, move on and forget

[colin bird]

I would have handled it the same as you mate,and wouldn't be surprised to get that message back,at the end of the day it's your business for you to run,I no longer let customers dictate to me .
Tomorrow a new customer will come along,don't let it get to you.

[robbo333]

You've handled it very well. Get another custy.

[Rich Wilts]

Very well handled and explained. You were polite, clear and professional. She has no regard or thought of the inconvenience for you or your business.

I can become irate with people like this but on reflection the feeling soon turns to a general feeling of a weight having been lifted.

Onwards and upwards.

[Spruce]

The trouble is that most of them haven't a clue how much it cost to just arrive on site, even if you just finished next door.

I worked out a few years ago that my running costs (expenses) equated to £3.97 per residential account. Its more than that now. That included fuel, insurances, depreciation, replacement equipment that year, water processing etc but didn't include any wages.

Why does a plumber charge an initial fixed call out fee, even if he just replaces a tap washer and it takes 10 minutes?

A customer used a painting contractor a few months back. The company charges labour by the day, so it doesn't matter if the painter is there for the full day or just 1/2 an hour. Its the same price - take it or leave it.

As others have said; forget and move on. Continue to be polite but I'm not sure what I would do if she phoned me to restart cleaning in the future. If she was generally a good payer then I would probably do it again but I would insist on a key. I have a customer who has had a carer key box fitted and the key to the side gate is in that. I know the code and it works fine. The gardener also uses it to get in if they aren't home.

[Matt.]

No mate you dealt with the matter very professionally 

[SeanK]

Personally I will never understand why a window cleaner cant get over a locked gate in a safe an easy manor, but that's your
choice/terms and I think you handled the situation very well.

[Walter Mitty]

As others have said,  you did well.
As she has decided to alter the terms of engagement, you now have the right to do so.
If she wants you to re-start eventually, you get a key and you charge more (IMO of course).

[Shane O Neill]

Im sorry but I disagree 
I think you came across a bit smart like,long winded explanation of your terms & conditions.....sorry to be blunt not having a go at you but sometimes we forget they are the customers we kind of need them   & we need to bend a little  a bit of customer service is missing

[SeanK]

Customer service  that's a bad statement to make on here Shane, they are all cash cows who should be grateful to have us.

[sunshine windows]

How many times had you cleaned for her?

[rosskesava]

Me, I would have told her to shove her money where the sun don't shine and to spend the cash saved on a couple of bottles of wine.

In terms of what living in today's society costs, she is nit picking over a few quid and I would have said that as well.

I never used to be like this but now when customers or potential customers argue over small amounts, it's goodbye.

[jonboywalton75]

Me, I would have told her to shove her money where the sun don't shine and to spend the cash saved on a couple of bottles of wine.

In terms of what living in today's society costs, she is nit picking over a few quid and I would have said that as well.

I never used to be like this but now when customers or potential customers argue over small amounts, it's goodbye.

I partially agree with this, but you don't want to damage your reputation in the area by being rude, people talk.
That last comment she made that she may want you again, well, I would not take her back once she had spoken so condescendingly.
We run a business just like sparks and plumbers.
I would be unhappy every time I cleaned for her after she spoke like that.
I once cleaned for a family for about a year and one time I was there and she apparently was employing two window cleaners with out realiseing it .
She cancelled me. She hadn't even took any notice of me when I had been cleaning.
About 18 months later after the other cleaner had done a bunk she sent her young teenage daughter over to me to ask me to start cleaning again, when she saw me over the road.
I politely declined her generous offer of work as I was full up.

I like to have some control over my business.
People need to learn we have expenses, not just buckets and scrims.
Just MHO.

[lal]

 
 Hi David, had she bothered to leave the gate open in the first place, there wouldn't be an issue now, her last text read,

 " i think we'll opt out of future cleans for now- i'll get in touch if we need them doing  again. Thanks"

 Basically her rather immature way of punishing you, for a situation she caused, but leaving it open that she will get in touch if
she needs them doing again,  Personally i would permanently Dump. You were more than Diplomatic in my view.

 Best regards
 Lal

[Dave Willis]

+ 1

[andyM]

Must be a big round if you need to take your passport with you.........

[sandy]

Take a couple of cans super lager with you and this will enable you to climb any gate and will also increase your tip on completion

[gary999]

Polite and professional.....you did the right thing