[Pete Thompson]

Is it just me, or is parking starting to become a major problem in some areas?

I have a set of jobs that I commit to doing on 1 Sunday every month (purely because there's no chance of getting parked any other day). Now I hate working on a Sunday, but I hate not being able to park even more, so I only do 1 Sunday per month. (Commercial jobs of course)

But, it's getting to the point that parking is just as bad on a Sunday.

I've been wracking my brian for solutions to not being able to park close to jobs, and so far I've only come up with

A) Drop the jobs with no parking
B) Get a trolley, and drop it off full at the building, find somewhere to park, then walk along with the pole. What a faff, and sometimes there is just nowhere nearby to park even.

What do you guys do when there is simply nowhere to park?

[Walter Mitty]

I have dropped the odd (small) job where the parking issues were severe. With a larger job, I might make more effort to be creative.
There is a £12 in one area that I have now decided to drop.  On my last two visits to the area I went out of my way to pass by the house three times without finding a space within about 80 metres. Even when I have cleaned in the past, it's usually not at the first attempt. I know when I'm beaten. I try to clean there 6-weekly, but it's not been done in nearly four months.
I will write to the customer to inform him as it's not a result of him messing me about. I've never actually met the guy, but he has been reliable in sending the cheque within a week of the clean, so I think it's only fair to let him know.

[AuRavelling79]

IF you go the trolley route and the job is big enough, might you not leave a 25L barrel or two of pure on the customers' premises/garden for future use. Turn up with a backpack on a sacktruck/trolley and you'd have plenty of water.

In its favour is that if you find it a faff then so will any other w/c, so charge accordingly.

I must admit - I avoid these jobs like the plague.

[EandM]

It's a problem even in East Devon and some jobs have occasionally had to be abandoned as it's simply not possible to park anywhere.

And be kinder to Brian, it's not his fault 

[Walter Mitty]

I must admit - I avoid these jobs like the plague.

Likewise. I would never canvass such work.
It came in a job lot with other work that I inherited (for a price). I've dropped about one-third of them over the past couple of years. This one hung on the longest (apart from those I'm keeping, of course).

[Missing Link]

What do you guys do when there is simply nowhere to park?

We do a bunch of factory units where the parking is directly outside of the factory unit offices.

We get there early - before the workers turn up - and splash water everywhere.

A couple of these units we do the insides too, so by the time we've finished the outsides, and they've turned up, we then do the insides.

I could do all these units in a day, but because of parking issues, I spread them over three early mornings.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Just get a Gardeners back pack for those odd jobs you have access issues with.

[G Griffin]

It's a problem even in East Devon and some jobs have occasionally had to be abandoned as it's simply not possible to park anywhere.

And be kinder to Brian, it's not his fault 

He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy! Now , p............

[Johnny B]

I have one, an appartment above a shop in the town centre. It's on a  bend on a narrow one way street. I park my van on double yellow lines with 2 wheels on the kerb to protect me from any passing traffic.

I do it every 4 weeks. and due to it's precarious location and by agreement with the customer, I do it at 7am.

John.

[nathankaye]

Just sort out a trolley system like so many do for this type of situation. It may be a faff, but it beats telling the customer how you skipped him/her due to parking issues!!  It allows you to continue working/earning and being punctual/reliable.
I recently modified/made a trolley to work how I want it to, for such occasions.

[KS Cleaning]

Just sort out a trolley system like so many do for this type of situation. It may be a faff, but it beats telling the customer how you skipped him/her due to parking issues!!  It allows you to continue working/earning and being punctual/reliable.
I recently modified/made a trolley to work how I want it to, for such occasions.

Any pics ? 

[nathankaye]

Just sort out a trolley system like so many do for this type of situation. It may be a faff, but it beats telling the customer how you skipped him/her due to parking issues!!  It allows you to continue working/earning and being punctual/reliable.
I recently modified/made a trolley to work how I want it to, for such occasions.

Any pics ? 

Wow, ive been waiting for an excuse to post more!! 

[paul alan]

Go early! while everyone else is in bed is the perfect opportunity to get some stuff done.

[Stoots]

I don't do commercial but with residential I simply don't take them on if there's no parking.

[Pete Thompson]

I would be tempted to drop those with awkward parking, but one set of 4 properties together amounts to £68 per month, plus it's part of a bigger contract worth about £359 per month. Also, aside the parking problem this is easy, well priced work (£50 per hour, per person)

I'm worried that if I stopped the awkward ones I'd lose the whole contract. Going early doesn't help, still no parking. No chance of just parking illegally since doing so would block a main road.

I think I'm going to have to get a trolley, much as I hate to admit it. I'll have to drop it off, go and park the van in a pay-and-display, and walk back. What a pain, but at least I might be able to stop working on a Sunday, so that's something.

[dazmond]

no way would i be working on a sunday.its either a backpack on a trolley or sack the job off.luckily for me i only have a couple of jobs a month where i cant park near a job.