[tlwcs]

Anyone else ask why?
In 20 years I’ve only ever had a few reply.
This was a ground floor 2 bedroom flat, about 9 windows at £18 monthly. It’s in an extremely affluent area.
Customers come and go, I know that, but 10 past 8 on a Saturday evening, while there’s legs on the telly.
Boils my miss.

[Mike Burd]

Keep a separate mobile number for work so your Saturday evenings aren’t disturbed by prats like that.

[Phil J]

Pointless asking, you very rarely get a straight answer. Cross him off the list and move on.

[Richard Groves]

Sounds like he may have sold up.
Didn't want you knowing that in case you failed to turn up for one last clean. Count yourself lucky , I've had people move out before without even bothering to cancel me.

[Richard Groves]

Keep a separate mobile number for work so your Saturday evenings aren’t disturbed by prats like that.

Yeah, dual SIM phone. Turn work number off or silent notifications if it's going to bother you that much.

[tlwcs]

Pointless asking, you very rarely get a straight answer. Cross him off the list and move on.

I know Phil, but I always ask.

[Arnold Palmer]

Pointless asking, you very rarely get a straight answer. Cross him off the list and move on.

I know Phil, but I always ask.

Me too, sometimes they are moving to an area that I cover.

[Smudger]

We always ask - mostly you don't get a sensible answer but like soupy customer just moving and they dont realize you cover the new address

As long as your not losing them on a regular basis it's nothing to worry about

Darran

[NWH]

Ask the reason they give you an answer and then the next month you drive past the house-flat in this case and someone else is cleaning it for a coffee and peanuts,don’t lose any sleep easy come easy go.

[jk999]

The worst ones are the ones that move to another area 1 to 2 miles away and don't think you travel any further than your own town 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[NWH]

There’s usually only a couple of reasons you’ll get sent down the road maybe 3,cost-quality of work or they just don’t like you.

[dazmond]

So to the OP...did you get a reply?If I get a cancellation its usually because their moving house and they often ask do I cover their new area where their moving to.....others are usually because they ve died.....

[Spruce]

I've only ever heard an honest reason once - "because I'm skint."

"There was a streak left on a window the second last clean". "Which window?" "The front bay side window,"  pointing to closest one to the front door, the one we would notice when collecting on the Friday.

"We are having new windows fitted. We will call you when they are replaced." Still waiting for the call 12 years later and the windows were never replaced.

"We have just got a new puppy and we don't want you frightening him with your brush." The dog is now 8 years old.

After 4 years of cleaning a property we cleaned on the one day she was in. "Don't you dry the windows after you have washed them?"  "No, we use deionised water and the windows will dry perfectly. This is the way we have cleaned them for the last 4 years and you have always commended us on the clean quality when we collected the money." "Well I'm not happy about the way you clean them." Got a text cancelling our services from him stating he has found a window cleaner who has cleaned their windows properly." 

"Your son was rude to me." "No, he doesn't converse well with people so he tends to say very little until he gets to know you." "He didn't dry my back door off last time." "I'm sorry to loose you and thank you for your custom over the years. Goodbye."
"Aren't you going to just do them and not your son?" "No."

"You charge me £5 to clean three windows. My husband and my friends think that's extortion." "I have to work off step ladders to clean your back bedroom window over your extension. It takes me 20 minutes to unpack, clean and pack away which is time that has to be accounted for." "Its only 3 windows and I'm not paying you £5." (She agreed and paid the price for over a year.) "OK, that's on your conscious not mine."

TBH I don't bother asking these days. In the early days when I was younger I used to take the loss of a customer very personally; now I don't. I'm never rude to them and always clean to the best of my ability. If they cancel I don't hold a grudge and will always stop and talk to them if I see them in the street. In our area everybody knows everybody. News spreads and bad news spreads like wild fire.

[Arnold Palmer]

There’s usually only a couple of reasons you’ll get sent down the road maybe 3,cost-quality of work or they just don’t like you.

Nonsense.

1. Cost
2. You're crap
3. They don't like you
4. They're moving
5. They're dead
6. Their mate has started a round
7.  Some idiot is going to do it for £3.50 once then never return
8. They have timed you and worked out your hourly rate
9. Their cat doesn't like you
10. It always rains just after you've been
11. They have new 'self cleaning glass'
12. They have bought a Karcher
13. They really need you to be there at 11.24 on the third Wednesday after the full moon
14. You are getting the plants wet (seriously)

I could go on...

[Spruce]

There’s usually only a couple of reasons you’ll get sent down the road maybe 3,cost-quality of work or they just don’t like you.

Nonsense.

1. Cost
2. You're crap
3. They don't like you
4. They're moving
5. They're dead
6. Their mate has started a round
7.  Some idiot is going to do it for £3.50 once then never return
8. They have timed you and worked out your hourly rate
9. Their cat doesn't like you
10. It always rains just after you've been
11. They have new 'self cleaning glass'
12. They have bought a Karcher
13. They really need you to be there at 11.24 on the third Wednesday after the full moon
14. You are getting the plants wet (seriously)

I could go on...

 

You reminded me.

I got a cancellation because our water had killed off all his pot plants.

Another cancelled because we killed her rose bush with our water - the rose bush was at the bottom of the garden.

[Smudger]

ahh, yes - you get the plants wet - not quite that bad but had you make the glass too wet 


TBH I don't bother asking these days. In the early days when I was younger I used to take the loss of a customer very personally; now I don't. I'm never rude to them and always clean to the best of my ability. If they cancel I don't hold a grudge and will always stop and talk to them if I see them in the street. In our area everybody knows everybody. News spreads and bad news spreads like wild fire.

me too - but now I just see it for what it is and thats business  - there are some real corking excuses out there !

Darran

[Dave Willis]

I ruined the patio, steamed up the windows and stuck the windows shut. Walked on the lawn too once. Sacked for not working in the rain, sacked for working in the rain and more recently sacked because I don’t clean gutters. Sacked for not collecting, sacked for collecting on a Sunday, and sacked for not paying a cheque in quick enough. Got another ‘ leave it ‘till Covid has gone.

[alank]

If its because of a genuine issue with quality, which i would rectify then fair enough.
Most other reasons are just an excuse to cancel and in the early days used to bother me, now I can't be arsed so just move onto the next job.

[NWH]

£5 🤣🤣🤣 you should  of just said to them I don’t answer my phone to a customer for 5 quid,are people running this as a business or working for free because cleaning anything for 5 notes isn’t worth driving anywhere for lol.

[dazmond]

"my husband/son/grandson are going to clean them from now on"......

yes ive had the "we re having new windows fitted...we ll call you when they ve been replaced" line...10+ years later they still havent been replaced...

the oddest one was a customer who used to  pay me 4 cleans in advance for a house she never lived in THIS WENT ON FOR AROUND 15 YEARS!.....when she eventually moved in which was around 5 years ago now she cancelled me.....they never been cleaned in 5 years either...absolutely filthy they are....