[S Ball]

wot would u do if 1 of your customers came out saying not this month for 3 months on the trot then wot would u do just stop doing them all together or wot???

[master cleaner]

3 month they have wasted your time , i would get another customer who valued my service , unless there was a good reason ie redundancy where i would try and help out by doing them less until they got back on there feet

gary

[gaza]

reply not this life time[my life time] will Iclean your windows darling,so you will have to wait till a nother w/c starts in the street cus everyone else says they wont do them and make sure other w/cs know what youve said.

  gaza

[jouk45]

may be the wfp is cleaning windows to good, staying clean longer,

[Paul Coleman]

wot would u do if 1 of your customers came out saying not this month for 3 months on the trot then wot would u do just stop doing them all together or wot???

It wouldn't happen.  Unless there's a very good reason, once is enough.  If it's a great job and a nice earner I might let it go to twice.

[paul mather]

I would assume that they were either too chicken to tell you to stop calling, so i would stop, OR they are just messing you around in which case I would also stop calling.
Bet if you did the windows after 4 months & took longer to do them they wouldn't even think about offering you anymore money. So my attitude would be find yourself another wcer I'm afraid.

[P @ F]

Its a tuff one , i have a customer who has just started this , the husband has just gone self employed and i have been put off 3 times already , today they were due again so i missed them out , what im gonna do is wait for them to ask me , when they do i will tell them "As its an as and when clean its going to cost double your old price " , he will have to understand as i am self employed also , if he doesnt, then hes gonna be doing his own windows in his quiet times !

 Rich   P @ F

[Cleaner Windows]

i would be polite and say to them "for now i will take you of my list and you can just give me a ring when you need me next" who knows..they may phone when they can have you regular again, or if they ARE trying to get rid of you then its easier for them, and less embarrasing for you this way. and there is always another customer round the corner to get

[chris@c.m.s]

After 3 times its what customer.

[Sir Squeaky]

may be the wfp is cleaning windows to good, staying clean longer,

I do hope that's a "jouk" :

3 months? Forget it.

My customers get 2 chances....ever!

[rosskesava]

Personally I think what matters is how much work you have. If you don't need the customers money then be polite but dump them.

If you need the money then keep calling back until such time as you are more finacially secure.

I can remember a few years ago having a day where every customer said ' not today'. Me and my mate earnt nothing that day and it changed our attitude.

The best resindential customers to have are those who say just turn up every month and just do the windows and I'll send a cheque. Simple, hassle free, and usually 'never a a problem'.

Cheers

[AuRavelling79]

I never let my customers go 3 months with "not this month".

The first time they say it I always ask if there is a particular reason.

If it's not blisteringly good (like "oh, my hubbie died and they're coming for his still-warm body in ten minutes ) like the builders are putting in new windows as I drive up, I say "I hope you don't mind me saying but I don't work on that basis - we agreed a regular service at the outset."

If they get funny it's the substance of "You need to find another window cleaner!"

 

[Morph]

I dunno

They walk all over me..........



sometimes

[rosskesava]

I dunno

They walk all over me..........



sometimes

It's a balance between being money orientated and being human.

I sometimes still have the same dilema. 

[pjulk]

If a customer says not this time to me i get rid of them unless they are having some work done or another good reason then i don't mind.

But you get some people that are just a pain and are trying to save a few quid they are not the customers i want.

You can normally tell the customer as they usually start doing it by the third clean and then they will just keep doing it.

I don't have none of that and i let the customers know from the outset but in a nice way.

I don't really get any problems from anyone as i filter the bad customers out all the time.

Paul

[Fast 1 *]

what i normally do is wait until the customer is drowning,then when he asks for help,calmly say "not this time"

[KJG]

i would be polite and say to them "for now i will take you of my list and you can just give me a ring when you need me next" who knows..they may phone when they can have you regular again, or if they ARE trying to get rid of you then its easier for them, and less embarrasing for you this way. and there is always another customer round the corner to get

Yep, good one.

[Malcal]

I always charge extra when they do have them done and tell them the previous price included a loyal customer discount which they now don't get.
rgards mal

[Trevor Knight]

wot would u do if 1 of your customers came out saying not this month for 3 months on the trot then wot would u do just stop doing them all together or wot???
[/quote
Explain that this is not how you oeprate and you have many customers that you need to get to clean each month. Therefore if they cannot agree a frequency i.e 3 x monthly or less you will have to let them go.

The time wasted is made up by cleaning a regular customer and earning money!!

Trev

[Ian_Giles]

i would be polite and say to them "for now i will take you of my list and you can just give me a ring when you need me next" who knows..they may phone when they can have you regular again, or if they ARE trying to get rid of you then its easier for them, and less embarrasing for you this way. and there is always another customer round the corner to get

I like this one, it gets you out of sounding rude and it makes things easier for the customer.
I do have a couple of customers where you know that money is tight for them, every penny counts, and sometimes they simply cannot afford to have the windows cleaned even if they really want them done, so I am usually sympathetic to their situation.

But I will certainly use Dennis's solution on persistant 'not this time'ers'.

Oh, and if they say, 'Nah, no thanks mate, not worth it, its going to rain'.

Well that will be the last time I call, I won't discuss it with them, just smile and walk away...never to return
If they collar me in the street some months later and ask why I haven't been around I find it easy to tell them I don't do 'if in' work, which is what it the comes down to if you have a customer that continually looks at the sky and uses his or her judgment as to whether or not it is window cleaning weather...

Ian