[dazmond]

im finding some customers frustrating at the moment.......catching them in and getting a contact number off them for BACS payments....quite a few are paying me online but not letting me know.....i can identify their payment but i dont have a contact number for them......others that are in when i clean(that dont do online) im getting them to pay me there and then via cash,card or cheque.....

this is only a problem on the older very compact estate work that ive been cleaning for years like ive already said.....virtually all new work picked up over the last 5 or 6 years have gone straight to BACS payments.......

i just need to keep plugging away and getting as many contact numbers as possible,even asking neighbours if they have their numbers!

ill also need to keep collecting every monday for the next few weeks and gather as many numbers as i can....i find if i give them a card they virtually NEVER SEND ME THEIR NUMBER! .....i have to get them to write their number on the back of my business cards to get a number off them...

this is never a problem with new customers as i always get their name and number from the off.....

[Jonny 87]

I take it people aren’t putting a reference down?

Most of my customers put their address as reference.  Just keep plugging away and you’ll get there.

[JandS]

I do about 40 minutes a week but no travelling involved....collect all the work that is literally on my doorstep which amounts to about 30% off my work....the rest are all bank transfer.

[Missing Link]

im finding some customers frustrating at the moment.......catching them in and getting a contact number off them for BACS payments....quite a few are paying me online but not letting me know.....i can identify their payment but i dont have a contact number for them......others that are in when i clean(that dont do online) im getting them to pay me there and then via cash,card or cheque.....

this is only a problem on the older very compact estate work that ive been cleaning for years like ive already said.....virtually all new work picked up over the last 5 or 6 years have gone straight to BACS payments.......

i just need to keep plugging away and getting as many contact numbers as possible,even asking neighbours if they have their numbers!

ill also need to keep collecting every monday for the next few weeks and gather as many numbers as i can....i find if i give them a card they virtually NEVER SEND ME THEIR NUMBER! .....i have to get them to write their number on the back of my business cards to get a number off them...

this is never a problem with new customers as i always get their name and number from the off.....

I just put my bank details on my slip with payment instructions (like put the first line of your address as a reference) and didn't worry too much if they didn't pay me that clean.

I'd I'd just let it build up.

Eventually, after it built up enough - they'd usually pay on-line - hopefully motivated by guilt and fear of bumping into me in Tescos.

I've got a few elderly types that don't use a computer; that's fine, I just roll the payments over if they're not in.

And for all new customers I ask "Will you pay by bank transfer?"

[dazmond]

I take it people aren’t putting a reference down?

Most of my customers put their address as reference.  Just keep plugging away and you’ll get there.

of course their putting a reference down(its stipulated on my windows cleaned today tickets)so i know whos paid but i want a contact number as some of them WILL forget on future cleans so i can send them a text reminder after a few cleans if theyve not paid....

[dazmond]

ive decided to stop collecting in the evening altogether from today,NOT after xmas....i really cant be bothered anymore esp with the dark nights.....so ill just let my debt list mount up and hope most pay online and catch some of them in next month who owe 2 or 3 cleans,i might have to do a bit of collecting in the daytime but itll only be for 10 mins or so when ive finished a block of estate work....my debt list is currently at a very manageable £685.........

i just need more contact numbers but i think this will take at least a few months to get them all...(i need at least another 80-90 more!)

[zesty]

Haven’t done collecting in about 6 years Daz.

Why bother? Everyone pays online, eventually....

Just take a contact number and remind them if it adds up to two or three cleans.

[dazmond]

Haven’t done collecting in about 6 years Daz.

Why bother? Everyone pays online, eventually....

Just take a contact number and remind them if it adds up to two or three cleans.

this is the problem at the moment......customer not in when i clean,no contact number for them,slip through the door with bank details on,they either pay online and dont notify me so ive still not got a contact number, just think ill collect on a monday evening so dont bother paying me at all,some phone up saying they dont do online banking!


dont forget ive been collecting for 26 years! .....itll take time for some of them to adjust!

[zesty]

Haven’t done collecting in about 6 years Daz.

Why bother? Everyone pays online, eventually....

Just take a contact number and remind them if it adds up to two or three cleans.

this is the problem at the moment......customer not in when i clean,no contact number for them,slip through the door with bank details on,they either pay online and dont notify me so ive still not got a contact number, just think ill collect on a monday evening so dont bother paying me at all,some phone up saying they dont do online banking!


dont forget ive been collecting for 26 years! .....itll take time for some of them to adjust!

Do one last collect and tell these people that from now on you need a phone number and BACS payment only.

If they say no, then tell them to leave the cash out in a safe place, that seems to work for me 👍🏼

[james peters]

like yourself daz ... I am 27 years in this business .
I still collect about 1 hour a month ... only on local work on my doorstep . I just do it when im passing , doesn't bother me tbh .
if I were to move I woukld change it though .
I do quite like cash 

[dazmond]

it actually feels liberating to be free of collecting after all these years,im finding now most customers who ve been with me years are happy for me NOT to disturb them of an evening,its just the odd one or 2 stuck in their ways.......i could always phone them up and take a card payment over the phone if need be for some of them if i miss them a few times(providing ive got a contact number of course!).....

happy days indeed.....

[ok cleaning]

yes still do and always will do

[ok cleaning]

yes i still do and always will do

[Shrek]

yes i still do and always will do

yes still do and always will do

Can you repeat that please? 

[dazmond]

yes i still do and always will do

Why?

[mjm]

Well I have transferred   all but 15 customers onto transfer or go careless    the 15 dont have internet or online banking so I will let them run for 3 cleans then go collect iam not taking them off the rounds

[dazmond]

yes i still do and always will do

ill collect off customers there and then on a run of work in the day or even call back if im passing(again in the daytime)but its the evening collecting that im stopping(going out after 6pm)this is a pain and also i dont like knocking on some customers doors on these dark evenings....

[Stoots]

I don't collect at all and never have apart from first couple of months when starting out and quickly though feck that for a game.

Mine are all online , infact it's probably why I've had so many non payer. If they don't pay online then I dump them.

It's going to be hard if not impossible to get them all on side so what are you going to do ?

It's a bit like mine, I want them all on go cardless but a lot refuse to budge from Bacs or PayPal so either dump them all or just accept it

If I were you I would just start a campaign to bring in more work and slowly get rid of cash payers. Will take a while.

[dazmond]

I don't collect at all and never have apart from first couple of months when starting out and quickly though feck that for a game.

Mine are all online , infact it's probably why I've had so many non payer. If they don't pay online then I dump them.

It's going to be hard if not impossible to get them all on side so what are you going to do ?

It's a bit like mine, I want them all on go cardless but a lot refuse to budge from Bacs or PayPal so either dump them all or just accept it

If I were you I would just start a campaign to bring in more work and slowly get rid of cash payers. Will take a while.

why would i go on a campaign for more work?ive been established 26 years....theres no way im dumping good, solid customers that ive had for years  just because they dont use/trust online banking,lots are moving over to BACS anyway.....the ones that dont ill just catch them in next time or phone them up if they owe a few cleans as i take card payments over the phone too....

the ones that are virtually always in when i clean and pay cash thats fine too,i dont want to phase out cash payments altogether.......its just the evening collecting im stopping......

any new work go straight to BACS payments usually (unless its an elderly customer whos always in on compact estate work)and most new customers are fine with this......👍

[dazmond]

Its going well......lots more customers are just paying straight into my bank account.some have shocked me as they said they don't do online banking then send me a BACS payment a week later.... 

It must be my carefully worded windows cleaned today slips.....