[P @ F]

Hi guys , as Q says am i being harsh , i binned 6 customers today , i was so wound up i nearly went home and burnt my van out !
I got 3 not this time mate , and then i decided to bin 3 more who have given me the runaround for payment , funnily enough they are are all in the same street .

From now on my minimum price is £8 , no matter what size it is , i dont need the A holes anymore , i have been a walk over w/c for too long already .

 Rich   P @ F 

[geoffreyspecht]

u get days like that sometimes, it happens to everyone not just u

[Roy Harding]

Hi Rich

It happens, but I must say I very rarely get the problem. I never ring the bell I  just start.

But if some one did say not today, I simply say I turned down a job today so I could do yours as I cant do both. If you dont want it regular  they do, this brings them into line.

I found in the past if you ring the bell before you start it gives them the chance to put you off.

Roy

[pjulk]

I don't think you are being to harsh at all.

I tell all new customers my terms when i take them on and if i get not this time or they start playing about i also bin them.

There are plenty more good customers out there. so don't put up with any crap.

Paul

[Clear Vision]

Good on ya rich!

Ditch the as**oles.

Someone phoned me up the other day and left a message saying "miss us out this month as we've got a bird nesting at one of the windows" I phoned back and said Well thats ok then but what about the other 20 windows??? Do you have birds nesting on all of them? Don't think he liked that. He didn't know what to say.

I never diched him but I assure you if he plays up with me again I wont be back

[jeff1]

Well done Rich

I dumped a whole street of about twenty, because it was the only area were I was having problems, with about half a dozen of them saying not this month, or trying to get payment from the same one's,

so I dumped the whole lot, when asked by a few of them to restart there windows, I  just reply now, by saying there are to many unreliable customers up your street and its not worth it,
one custome even asked for there names and addresses, so he could go around and sort them out. but I said I can't do that. and just keap clear of the whole street now.

[Paul Coleman]

Hi guys , as Q says am i being harsh , i binned 6 customers today , i was so wound up i nearly went home and burnt my van out !
I got 3 not this time mate , and then i decided to bin 3 more who have given me the runaround for payment , funnily enough they are are all in the same street .

From now on my minimum price is £8 , no matter what size it is , i dont need the A holes anymore , i have been a walk over w/c for too long already .

 Rich   P @ F 

I've been doing a bit of that recently as well.  I've been wanting to trade in some of my work for better work for a while now.  Any work that isn't particularly well paid now where I get the runaround just gets binned.  It's giving me the time to seek better work and customers.  My financial situation has finally cured me of unnecessary guilt.  One of the best things (if not THE best thing) about being self-employed is having some sort of control of my work environment.  I would be silly to let certain customers treat me in the shabby way that certain employers used to.
I have quite a few decent customers too I should add and I look after them well.

[matt]

i find putting them up to silly prices works great

you get either of this happen

they cancel you  -- no harm done

they pay you silly price -- you make a few quid extra

[Cleaner Windows]

Hi guys , as Q says am i being harsh , i binned 6 customers today , i was so wound up i nearly went home and burnt my van out !
I got 3 not this time mate , and then i decided to bin 3 more who have given me the runaround for payment , funnily enough they are are all in the same street .

From now on my minimum price is £8 , no matter what size it is , i dont need the A holes anymore , i have been a walk over w/c for too long already .

 Rich   P @ F  i know what you mean and agree fully

I've been doing a bit of that recently as well.  I've been wanting to trade in some of my work for better work for a while now.  Any work that isn't particularly well paid now where I get the runaround just gets binned.  It's giving me the time to seek better work and customers.  My financial situation has finally cured me of unnecessary guilt.  One of the best things (if not THE best thing) about being self-employed is having some sort of control of my work environment.  I would be silly to let certain customers treat me in the shabby way that certain employers used to.
I have quite a few decent customers too I should add and I look after them well.

[Paul Coleman]

i find putting them up to silly prices works great

you get either of this happen

they cancel you  -- no harm done

they pay you silly price -- you make a few quid extra

That's all very well Matt but if I find a particular customer to be a severe pain in the rear, that is still irritating whatever I'm charging them.  I've been feeling a bit intolerant lately - oops.

[P @ F]

OK tHATS SORTED IT THEN , OOPS , SORRY TREVOR !

 I have not had this problem before , i knew i was going to get the prob in this street from the outset  , its one of those buy half rent half developments , im not saying these people are scum , there may well be of few of you guys in these places , lets face it the property market these days is a joke for first time buyers so sometimes it is the only option for people to get on the ladder , so to speak !

 I was gonna just bin the whole street , about 15 houses in all , but there are some spot on people there , one family pay up 6 in advance .
So from now on i will go in high and lay the rules down before the first clean .

 Rich   P @ F   

[bumper]

I got a customer last night, i said windows, she said you not been coz my back kitchen window is dirty,well i know they had been cleaned coz shes a moaning @@@@ so i said can i have a look' the kitchen window' half was clean the other half had spots of water on them,you could tell what the problem was' someone had been watering the plants and got water on the windows,all the other windows were ok,she said to her husband have you watered the plants,have i heck' we got no plants,as i pointed out that there was plants under the window he hummed and id,then he's wife said well we've got no money anyway you well have to come back next week

[Trevor Knight]

wow there are a lot of customers getting dumped this week, is this national dumping week maybe??

The one thing I will say and has been mentioned earlier, NEVER knock first, you are opening yourself up for all sorts of excuses why they dont want the windows cleaned.

Think of it this way;

You have arranged a frequency with them already!
If they were out you would have cleaned them as per your arranged frequency!

So why ask again??

Clean them, collect or ticket them and over a period of a week you will probably clean an extra 15 houses from the time stood waiting at everyone's front door!

Best wishes,

Trev

[Paul Coleman]

wow there are a lot of customers getting dumped this week, is this national dumping week maybe??

The one thing I will say and has been mentioned earlier, NEVER knock first, you are opening yourself up for all sorts of excuses why they dont want the windows cleaned.

Think of it this way;

You have arranged a frequency with them already!
If they were out you would have cleaned them as per your arranged frequency!

So why ask again??

Clean them, collect or ticket them and over a period of a week you will probably clean an extra 15 houses from the time stood waiting at everyone's front door!

Best wishes,

Trev

Quite agree Trev.  There are only two places I knock first but only because they have requested it.  Both places are elderly couples who never stop me cleaning.  It's just that they get a bit jumpy if someone appears suddenly in their garden without warning.  If they started cancelling, I would do so too.
I have found that as time goes by, I just don't want the hassle jobs any more.

[gaza]

picked up two decent jobs and ditched a crap,moaning minger old age pensioner.
you just have to wait your turn to get rid of them

.gaza

[LSB]

We always knock and start at the same time ! this doesnt give them (much) time to say not today , and i wouldnt feel rigth not knocking ! if it happens regularly why not change them to every 2 months before you bin them ! 

[Grafters Cleaning Services]

no you are not being to harsh,
this week i droped 2 in the same road for "not this time"

as they have both done this once before i did not hesitate as i have a very strict rule "2 strikes and your'e out"

i will carry on doing the rest of the road however because nothing gives me more pleasure than when they see you cleaning neighbours and asking you to do theirs and you can then reply

"not this time dear"
ha ha 

[S.A.J]

No your not being to harsh ditch them there is always beter customers around the corner.

and keep to your minimum price people will pay it. Just put my minimum price up to ten pounds to try and stop some of the work coming in (cant keep up with demand) but every one is willing to pay that!!

Stuart
SAJ Window Cleaners Ltd

[sparkle clean]

hello rich,
i take it by your comments you wont be wanting my little £5.50 a house work!!!
it must be horrible when you have days like that!! i think because i havent been window cleaning that long i have probably got all this to come!!!
by what you have posted i would do the same as you. get rid of the tight g@ts!!!! chin up fella
                                       neil

[S.A.J]

A bit off topic this.

Niel if your are interested people keep asking me to go down to a new development in devonport called Gun Wharf, Cornwall Street.

I dont have time to go down and put some leaflets out.

So if your are interested go down a put some leaflets out.

Stuart
SAJ Window Cleaners Ltd