[Stoots]

i try to  prolong the initial conver, to find out what it is they really want.   oh course they want the windows cleaned thats a given, but what of the future.   
  another thing i now do is when going to do the 1st clean i say  "im coming monday,have a look at your windows ,give price SEE IF ITS A GO-ER "
     when i get there  any sign of bother ,dog plop garden,a connie "wed like that cleaning every 3 or 4 cleans instead of upstairs windows " "spiders eggs need removing from in by the hinges " or other nonsense

 i say im sorry its not suitable for my ladders  you need one of the water pole guys .  asap i block them on my phone and on facebook  hopefully before they leave a sh/tty review

A man after my own heart.

I love how unprofessional this is 

[windowswashed]

If a new customer asks me to clean their windows I weigh up if they are just wanting a one off for end of tenancy clean and bye bye. If they have lived there for years, house is in a right state and they plan on selling. Do not want to take on extremely hard, new, first and last cleans  which will take at least twice as long for twice the price, twice the time and twice the effort. If it's a genuine ideal customer who has just bought the property that's a different story, don't mind doing them.

[Shrek]

I always ALWAYS look on rightmove to see if they have lived there a while or just bought it. If they’ve just bought it , it also tells me what kind of value the house is worth. Not only that , if they either email or txt giving they’re full name , I usually have a quick google of them to see what comes up on them , also by googling their address , it also comes up with if they run a business from the address and then have a look at their accounts. By the time I’m ready to give them a quote, I already feel like I know them lol 

[windowswashed]

i keep an eye on Devon life, country living magazines for some of my customers as the houses go for around a million a piece and rarely see a for sale board outside these properties.

[Tom-01]

Who cares how much it is it’s a 1 off surely you would only do it if you didn’t have the work

Not at all.

I have plenty of work, just not all of it is priced at £650 a day. This is.

Thing about this job is that as a result of it Im now selling a wedge of my regular work to be able to accommodate it, so not only will there be a cheque for £6,500 there'll also be a payment for the work Im selling, which'll be somewhere between 3-5K. Win win

I take it that you have carried out your due dill on this job being such a high value one off clean. 50 percent deposit upfront.

If its a company, i would do a credit check on them too, or at least check them out on companies house. Anyone can promise a cheque, doesnt mean it will get paid. You can write a cheque, and wind a company up in the time it takes to clear.

Seems a bit risky to me. Id want £3000 BACS upfront. And selling off custom to accommodate a one off is also risky, but i guess you know what you want to achieve.

I wouldn't sell regular work to accommodate one-off big jobs. I'd try to work things differently.

We've got a very nice job next week which will take 3 days, two of us on it for two days and then one day just my guy as I'm away. It can be hassle with scheduling, but why turn that sort of work down if you can make it happen? It's a customer we visit every 6 months for a good day's work, this time doing the extra which we did 3 years ago.

It helps with cash flow and pays for the holidays etc.

It can snowball though which is when it can get stressful as you need to rely on others more and more.

[Stoots]

I always ALWAYS look on rightmove to see if they have lived there a while or just bought it. If they’ve just bought it , it also tells me what kind of value the house is worth. Not only that , if they either email or txt giving they’re full name , I usually have a quick google of them to see what comes up on them , also by googling their address , it also comes up with if they run a business from the address and then have a look at their accounts. By the time I’m ready to give them a quote, I already feel like I know them lol 

Jesus Sherlock thats a bit thorough !

haha the lengths we have to go to find decent customers.

[AuRavelling79]

I always ALWAYS look on rightmove to see if they have lived there a while or just bought it. If they’ve just bought it , it also tells me what kind of value the house is worth. Not only that , if they either email or txt giving they’re full name , I usually have a quick google of them to see what comes up on them , also by googling their address , it also comes up with if they run a business from the address and then have a look at their accounts. By the time I’m ready to give them a quote, I already feel like I know them lol 

You should be in MI5 not CIU! 

[Shrek]

I always ALWAYS look on rightmove to see if they have lived there a while or just bought it. If they’ve just bought it , it also tells me what kind of value the house is worth. Not only that , if they either email or txt giving they’re full name , I usually have a quick google of them to see what comes up on them , also by googling their address , it also comes up with if they run a business from the address and then have a look at their accounts. By the time I’m ready to give them a quote, I already feel like I know them lol 

You should be in MI5 not CIU! 

Lmao , it’s just the vetting process 

[chopsie]

Regards the original post. Perhaps these potential customers are first time buyers or renters. Perhaps they have never had a window cleaner before. All I’m saying is don’t write them off as they may just be asking questions to find out what’s what.

[robbo333]

My vetting process:
Robbo’s Cute score
1-5 “sorry too busy”
5-10 “I can do them now for you”