[nathankaye]

Im against some of the points you mentioned Marc.

Im sorry but my customers dont need an exact date on their bill to think my service is "awesome" or to know when to expect me.
My service is efficient and effective but best of all its so simple.  They simply know I call every four weeks to the week but not the day. So my customers today know to expect me now in four weeks time, but that could be on the Monday or the Wednesday.  The ones who ask or the ones who need to know due to their gate being left open will know precisely when due to a text the night before. They also know if the gate is shut they still get charged.   
So simple and not the attitude that i work if i feel like it or not

[Smudger]

Did you shunt your whole schedule a week like you would ( I assume ) you do over Xmas/ new year ?

I still don’t see repercussions in informing customers I would have thought they would be grateful for the update and know the guys are safe

Darran

[Arnold Palmer]

Did you shunt your whole schedule a week like you would ( I assume ) you do over Xmas/ new year ?

I don't shunt. I start at the first house at the start of the month and try to get to the last house by the end of the month. No shunting, no informing, no updating.

Simple.

[Marc Stock]

Every single one of my customers think that the next clean date idea on thier bill is simply awesome.

I aim for the same date every month, my customers are happy with that and aren't expecting me.

So in effect you are already doing it then arnt you?  I just tell then what yhe expected date is.

No. There is no need for me to contact them because they're not expecting me.

The issue isn't sending out of the messages, I could do all 4000 in seconds. It's the repercussions.

So basicly you operate your business on  implied consent, as most of you do.

Implied consent is an assumption of permission to do something that is inferred from an individual's actions rather than explicitly provided.

Whereas myself & odbodd operate on express consent.

The differences are with the 1st you are assuming that they will pay you for work you completed on an implied basis that you have cleaned the windows before.

Where i have a contract with my customers with explicit consent to provide the service as with oddbod on a particular day.

Therefore those of you who work on the basis of implied consent, cannnot and should not complain if your customer turns round to you and says...not today thanks, becouse they have the right to remove implied consent at that point.

[Arnold Palmer]

So basicly you operate your business on  implied consent, as most of you do.

Absolutely not. We price according to frequency so when a customer agrees their price they've agreed how often they want them done. Consent is definitively expressed.

[Marc Stock]

Sorry soupy. You do. By legal definition as you do not arrange to set a date.

There isnt anything wrong with that by the way. Its just interesting.

[Smudger]

That’s getting heavy!

Mind you as and when some one wants to move date/miss a clean they ring up and let us know well before hand

Darran

[Slacky]

I have been working this way for a long time and i tell you this. It works.

How does it benefit you?

[NWH]

Nathan you are limiting yourself to what you can earn doing monthly only,people won’t want to be paying a lot of money for Windows every month. I do jobs that are a lot of money for Windows but they’ll pay it because I’m not on there doorstep every month of the year,I can still fly through the job it doesn’t bother them how long I’m there as they know they won’t see me for 8-12 weeks. A month flys by if they are cheap jobs that’s fine but bigger domestic jobs are happy but they don’t want it or need it doing every month mate.

[NWH]

IMO these days monthly ain’t the way to go you give yourself more time to catch up with work,I have a few that are monthly they come round before I know it. I couldn’t imagine having it all on a monthly basis I’d feel rushed all the time it would take the pleasure out of the job I like knowing I can pretty much do what I like from day to day.

[Shrek]

IMO these days monthly ain’t the way to go you give yourself more time to catch up with work,I have a few that are monthly they come round before I know it. I couldn’t imagine having it all on a monthly basis I’d feel rushed all the time it would take the pleasure out of the job I like knowing I can pretty much do what I like from day to day.

I think that’s where I F’d up at the start , only offering monthly cleans. It’s only during the past couple of years that Iv realised I can charge a hell of a lot more for longer frequencies

[Arnold Palmer]

Sorry soupy. You do. By legal definition as you do not arrange to set a date.

There isnt anything wrong with that by the way. Its just interesting.

Interesting, but utterly irrelevant and I suspect also nonsense.

[NWH]

I have enough hassle with 6-8 weeklys coming round quickly there’s not enough hours in the week,a month or 4-5 weeks is either a lot of very small jobs or very few large jobs in my experience. Most people I know who do monthly work are doing estate work joined in with small commercial work. Bad weather or time off you are chasing your tail forever.

[Smudger]

Does mark only offer 4 wky ?

4,8,12,16 is always acceptable as long as it slots into the basic 4 wky division

Interesting how the thread morphs  into a completely different subject

Darran

[Marc Stock]

Does mark only offer 4 wky ?

4,8,12,16 is always acceptable as long as it slots into the basic 4 wky division

Interesting how the thread morphs  into a completely different subject

Darran

Most of my customers are Bimonthly. I literally have 3 individual monthly customers.

I Also have quarterly customers which i do every Friday. And every friday throughout the year is booked with quarterly cleans. These are by far the most profitable.

[Stoots]

It's good we all have different ideas on frequency and round organisation.

None of them are wrong by the way, we all probably find a way that suits.

I tell all mine it's 4/5 weekly or 8/9 weekly.

If we are on schedule we will be round every 4 weeks, if we are not it'll be 5 weeks.

Takes the pressure off and gives me some slipping room.

I'd hate to have booked in say weds to Fridays work, get to Tuesday and weather means I have to re arrange the lot.

I like the fact that if I dont  want to work tomorrow I do t have to do anything I just pick up where I left off the next day.

[capn sparkle]

You lot make me laugh. 

I have been working this way for a long time and i tell you this. It works.

The comments about snow and bad weather, well of course if there is snow and bad weather the customer isnt stupid they dont hold me to account because i cancelled the agreed date.

We had that snow recently, no problems. Sent a group text out to those for the 3 days i was affected; that the clean had been rescheduled and gave a new date to all of them. Took 10 mins to text 60 odd customers easy peasy.

Now if there is a big freeze apocalypse, so what it makes no difference. I suffer just like you do, just because there are next dates on bills its irrelevant. I will if necessary just resume as and when things improve like you all.

Everyone knows in this game you allow contingency days. Just because i give the next date it doesnt mean all of a sudden i have no contingency plan.

IMO this is the only way to scale up a good profitable window cleaning business. I will eventually have employees, working 9 till 5. They will be provided with waterproofs and the correct clothing to cope with all weathers.

My schedual is set on 4 working weeks a month. So on many of the months there are always spare days when there is a part of a 5th week in the month.

Every single one of my customers think that the next clean date idea on thier bill is simply awesome. It sets me apart from the competition, the customers apprecate it more, its more organised, and it runs like a business and i get alot of respect for it.

Basicly you all are just wanting to work when you want. If you feel like it today or not. And thats ok, but for me i am building a business that is organised and efficient.

The best thing about how your company works is the the fact that "It works for you". Not everyone is gonna agree - as you  noted early on in this post - but if it works fair play to you!

I offer 2 monthly only, not 2,4,6 or 8 weekly just 2 monthly only - take it or leave it - there are plenty of other windies around here who offer a different frequency. (side pocket of my van is full of other window cleaners cards to give out).

[capn sparkle]

Rang a custurd who from the beginning said I need to ring her the day before as she locks  her gate but she can’t leave it open because the farm next door has cows and they might escape 🤦‍♂️
Anyway , the past few times I ring her she’s been quite funny asking what time I’m going to get there as she’s going out at 10am and not returning til the afternoon so I either get there before 10am or after 2pm.
... as we all know these jobs don’t work out long term.... I rang today wondering whether she’ll be in, left a voicemail.
Half hour later she rings back and says she’s out from 9:30am and not back till 2pm and I thought I can’t be arsed with this anymore.
So I said sorry but this doesn’t work for me , you will have to find someone else to do your windows from now on. She went quiet and then said fine you won’t be getting much more business (whatever that means    ) .
They are a retired couple but it just makes it so difficult when you’ve got people like that on the books. I feel so relieved now that I never have to go back there again 

I feel better FOR YOU Shrek

[dazmond]

never in a million years would i give a "next clean date".........

...it offers no benefit whatsoever to the window cleaner...just more faffing and texting and unnecessary contact with customers.....

It basically kills 2 of the best things about being self employed...........flexibility and freedom to have a day off when you want......rescheduling due to  a number of things(it could be a last min weekend away with the missus,van booked in for a service/MOT,sickness/bad weather,etc,etc).....sometimes i shift work around to have a friday or monday off.depends......other times i load a day with more work to finish early the next day due to a gig/meal out with friends/family or a number of other things....

[Walter Mitty]

I clean every 8 weeks.
I text or call every customer the night before, for access and out of politeness, all part of the service; in general it works fine and I'm happy with it.
About a year ago the leafleting company I used, mucked up, and delivered 2,000 leaflets in the wrong area (the wrong side of a dual carriageway). However, the local window cleaner had retired and I picked up about 20 new customers, on an ex-council estate (none with side access). I live on an ex-council estate so i'm fine with that. Over the year, without fail, every single house has mucked me about. What time are you coming, can you do tomorrow, the wife isn't in...blah blah blah.
I've dumped the whole lot.
Last week was the final straw, I sent about 5 texts, back and forth to a customer (who I quite liked and I was trying to help him out) but we couldn't agree on a time to clean his property.  Enough is enough!!
I was really p***ed off, and you know who at?
ME!
I knew I shouldn't have taken these jobs on but I did. I am the tw4t.
Thank god for all the good customers I've got. 

We've all done it - that gut feeling that niggles away.  One day, I will learn to trust it better.