[Splash & dash]

If you need to text text from a no reply number  problem solved 

Not really if you've got a large stand alone house to clean and you can't get in to clean it. Then you've wasted your time haven't you.

I text near enough all of mine. Sometimes I pray for someone to cancel, other times it boils my pi55 when I get a cancellation and it shortens my day. This coming Wednesday I'm dreading as it's a monster day, I'm hoping for one or two cancellations tbh.

Splash and Dash has over 4,500 customers and he doesn't text any of them if I'm correct. It works for him but texting works for me.

50% cancellations is a very lot @ OP.

We aren't like Sky, BT, electricity companies etc where you're tied into a binding contract. We have to suck it up and hope for the best.

Yes we do around 4,500 jobs a month never txt a customer  we do phone some commercial jobs but they are large buildings so don’t mind that .
Ime not going to get over confidant as who knows what will happen but we haven’t had anyone skip a clean unless their is a genuine reason ,building work , decorating etc and ime fine with that , again I put this down to the quoting stage when taking on new work I stress its every 4-8 weeks we work all year round and work in all weather within reason , if they hesitate I say I don’t  think we are the firm for you and don’t  take them on . If someone did  say skip a clean without a valid reason then it’s an instant dump and we would not take them back on at a later date , I know we are lucky with little competition and can afford to be fussy , but am sure this is why we don’t get the issues that a lot do . Again we don’t need to txt for access as we won’t take on jobs with access issues they either give us a key or code ti get round the back or we don’t do the job simple as that , I just don’t understand why people take this type of work on , if access is an issue just offer to do the fronts  I learnt this one from mick Kent on hear  I wish we had far more Victorian terraced houses fronts only very good earners .

[Richard iSparkle]

we never send texts to say were coming and we we never have.

like the previous said you need to stop texting all of them. a 50% drop off rate is ridiculous. that would put me out of business in a couple of months

Do you just jump locked gates then ? or do you not get many locked gates ?

I would estimate half of my work has a locked gate, it would be a real inconvenience most days if i didnt text anyone. I text probably 80 percent of mine. I text quite a few that dont have a locked gate also as i just always have. Certainly on the odd day i have forgot to text or the texts didnt go through i have had to clean a load of fronts.

We put a next due date on our calling cards

It’s up to them to remember the gate. Of it’s locked they get charged full price

[NWH]

I can see that going down well at the moment if they forget to open the gate and you sting em full price.

[Bungle]

we never send texts to say were coming and we we never have.

like the previous said you need to stop texting all of them. a 50% drop off rate is ridiculous. that would put me out of business in a couple of months

Do you just jump locked gates then ? or do you not get many locked gates ?

I would estimate half of my work has a locked gate, it would be a real inconvenience most days if i didnt text anyone. I text probably 80 percent of mine. I text quite a few that dont have a locked gate also as i just always have. Certainly on the odd day i have forgot to text or the texts didnt go through i have had to clean a load of fronts.

We put a next due date on our calling cards

It’s up to them to remember the gate. Of it’s locked they get charged full price

Bit of a faff. What if you lose a day to the weather or you're ill?  I'm never on time. One of the reasons I text. You charge full price if they forget? Many tell you to do one and find another cleaner?

[NWH]

Yeah all this forget the gate we still want paying stuff if it was me I’d use that as an excuse to sack you off,just keep forgetting the gate and when you keep charging me full price for the front I’ll cancel that direct debit.

[Bungle]

Yeah all this forget the gate we still want paying stuff if it was me I’d use that as an excuse to sack you off,just keep forgetting the gate and when you keep charging me full price for the front I’ll cancel that direct debit.

I'm taking you off my ignore list Nigel. You're starting to talk sense.

[windowswashed]

It's the ones that are cleaned within the shortest period that tend to notice the frequency the most. If any of them are going to start skipping cleans it will be the monthly's first.

[Bungle]

A friend of ours has a dog grooming business. She had 5 dogs booked in today. Two didn't even show. Does she send an invoice for full payment like isparkle would? Would she expect to receive monies owed? She's lost £70 today.

[dazmond]

I never understand window cleaners that say they don't text in case they get a not today....

I don't text all my customers but I text probably 20 % of them....not all of them for access either.some just prefer to know I'm coming esp larger stand alone houses....

'Not today's ' simply don't happen often enough to be anything to worry about and if I do it's for a good reason usually(building work,etc)....

I also think the OP is probably exaggerating.....50% is not a normal occurence at all!

[Richard iSparkle]

we never send texts to say were coming and we we never have.

like the previous said you need to stop texting all of them. a 50% drop off rate is ridiculous. that would put me out of business in a couple of months

Do you just jump locked gates then ? or do you not get many locked gates ?

I would estimate half of my work has a locked gate, it would be a real inconvenience most days if i didnt text anyone. I text probably 80 percent of mine. I text quite a few that dont have a locked gate also as i just always have. Certainly on the odd day i have forgot to text or the texts didnt go through i have had to clean a load of fronts.

We put a next due date on our calling cards

It’s up to them to remember the gate. Of it’s locked they get charged full price

Bit of a faff. What if you lose a day to the weather or you're ill?  I'm never on time. One of the reasons I text. You charge full price if they forget? Many tell you to do one and find another cleaner?

Yep we charge full price for front only if a gate locked. Always have and it’s never an issue. We’re 100% DD so they pay us automatically.

Having due dates can be a pain when we’re under pressure yes, but I have staff so they just have to get it done.

I have to pay their wages every month. It means me maximise our earnings every month too which is good

[Smudger]

I think the OP has to be exaggerating at 50% surely 

Noooooooooo Way!
surely not on this forum...............
everyone is straight down the line and would never embellish any of their experiences.....





 
Darran

[Smudger]

here let me pass you this....

its very helpful for some posters....

[AuRavelling79]

we never send texts to say were coming and we we never have.

like the previous said you need to stop texting all of them. a 50% drop off rate is ridiculous. that would put me out of business in a couple of months

Do you just jump locked gates then ? or do you not get many locked gates ?

I would estimate half of my work has a locked gate, it would be a real inconvenience most days if i didnt text anyone. I text probably 80 percent of mine. I text quite a few that dont have a locked gate also as i just always have. Certainly on the odd day i have forgot to text or the texts didnt go through i have had to clean a load of fronts.

We put a next due date on our calling cards

It’s up to them to remember the gate. Of it’s locked they get charged full price

Bit of a faff. What if you lose a day to the weather or you're ill?  I'm never on time. One of the reasons I text. You charge full price if they forget? Many tell you to do one and find another cleaner?

Yep we charge full price for front only if a gate locked. Always have and it’s never an issue. We’re 100% DD so they pay us automatically.

Having due dates can be a pain when we’re under pressure yes, but I have staff so they just have to get it done.

I have to pay their wages every month. It means me maximise our earnings every month too which is good

It's because you have set out your stall with your customers beforehand and have them well trained and in return they have an utterly reliable service.

Others on here will say you can't do that and it won't work. They are wrong.

Now I am not as stringent as you are but am fairly stringent but that is because I don't want to be tied to such an exacting standard.

If I had staff that needed paying a fair wage then I would be more stringent on having them work to the day in most weathers.

As I don't want to hold myself to such a high standard I don't.

But unlike others on here I believe it is a great business model as a way of working and it is of great value to me to realise it can be done.

[EandM]

None, so far here.

[Richard iSparkle]

we never send texts to say were coming and we we never have.

like the previous said you need to stop texting all of them. a 50% drop off rate is ridiculous. that would put me out of business in a couple of months

Do you just jump locked gates then ? or do you not get many locked gates ?

I would estimate half of my work has a locked gate, it would be a real inconvenience most days if i didnt text anyone. I text probably 80 percent of mine. I text quite a few that dont have a locked gate also as i just always have. Certainly on the odd day i have forgot to text or the texts didnt go through i have had to clean a load of fronts.

We put a next due date on our calling cards

It’s up to them to remember the gate. Of it’s locked they get charged full price

Bit of a faff. What if you lose a day to the weather or you're ill?  I'm never on time. One of the reasons I text. You charge full price if they forget? Many tell you to do one and find another cleaner?

Yep we charge full price for front only if a gate locked. Always have and it’s never an issue. We’re 100% DD so they pay us automatically.

Having due dates can be a pain when we’re under pressure yes, but I have staff so they just have to get it done.

I have to pay their wages every month. It means me maximise our earnings every month too which is good

It's because you have set out your stall with your customers beforehand and have them well trained and in return they have an utterly reliable service.

Others on here will say you can't do that and it won't work. They are wrong.

Now I am not as stringent as you are but am fairly stringent but that is because I don't want to be tied to such an exacting standard.

If I had staff that needed paying a fair wage then I would be more stringent on having them work to the day in most weathers.

As I don't want to hold myself to such a high standard I don't.

But unlike others on here I believe it is a great business model as a way of working and it is of great value to me to realise it can be done.

Thanks mate!

It’s all true. And to be fair if I were a one man band I would be more flexible for my own benefit.

And also, credit where credits due, it was Julie and Carl from concept 2O in Cardiff who taught me what to do and how to do it. They had it nailed 12 years ago. I just copied their plan studiously

[Stoots]

I think most wouldn't use your plan Richard not because it isn't a great idea but rather that they don't trust themselves to be able to hold up their end of the bargain I.e turn up when  they say they will. I would be too scared that for whatever reason I wouldn't be able to stick to it religiously and the whole thing would go belly up. I imagine if one day is missed it has a domino effect on the entire thing.

[Richard iSparkle]

I think most wouldn't use your plan Richard not because it isn't a great idea but rather that they don't trust themselves to be able to hold up their end of the bargain I.e turn up when  they say they will. I would be too scared that for whatever reason I wouldn't be able to stick to it religiously and the whole thing would go belly up. I imagine if one day is missed it has a domino effect on the entire thing.

yes i think you are right.

it does definitely add pressure to us to get all the cleans done on time, which is good, and sometimes not so good..

it doesn't help when i am building a new round up as we get a bottleneck before  we take on a new window cleaner and every one is working at maximum. with a more flexible system you can.. well flex the rounds a little

but like i say, it does keep our monthly income very steady, and maximises our earnings off regular cleans

if i were a one man band i wouldn't do it this way. i would want more flexibility

[NBwcs]

Like many of you I text the day before to arrange a clean .
until last month you may have had one or two say holiday or painters or what ever ,
This month about 50% have said leave it this month ,some jobs even the 10£ crap jobs we use to fill in I wonder if this is a trend ?
 Even more annoying is some jobs are now stand alone and only worth travelling to because I had 5 or six jobs in the area now only 1 or 2  do I dump  the lot or do I put up and shut up what do you guys do ?

Going back to the original post and whether or not it's a trend, have you had the same sort of drop out rate today when you texted? Also if you don't mind sharing, how people are you texting a day,?

[DJW]

we never send texts to say were coming and we we never have.

like the previous said you need to stop texting all of them. a 50% drop off rate is ridiculous. that would put me out of business in a couple of months

Do you just jump locked gates then ? or do you not get many locked gates ?

I would estimate half of my work has a locked gate, it would be a real inconvenience most days if i didnt text anyone. I text probably 80 percent of mine. I text quite a few that dont have a locked gate also as i just always have. Certainly on the odd day i have forgot to text or the texts didnt go through i have had to clean a load of fronts.

We put a next due date on our calling cards

It’s up to them to remember the gate. Of it’s locked they get charged full price

Bit of a faff. What if you lose a day to the weather or you're ill?  I'm never on time. One of the reasons I text. You charge full price if they forget? Many tell you to do one and find another cleaner?

Yep we charge full price for front only if a gate locked. Always have and it’s never an issue. We’re 100% DD so they pay us automatically.

Having due dates can be a pain when we’re under pressure yes, but I have staff so they just have to get it done.

I have to pay their wages every month. It means me maximise our earnings every month too which is good

It's because you have set out your stall with your customers beforehand and have them well trained and in return they have an utterly reliable service.

Others on here will say you can't do that and it won't work. They are wrong.

Now I am not as stringent as you are but am fairly stringent but that is because I don't want to be tied to such an exacting standard.

If I had staff that needed paying a fair wage then I would be more stringent on having them work to the day in most weathers.

As I don't want to hold myself to such a high standard I don't.

But unlike others on here I believe it is a great business model as a way of working and it is of great value to me to realise it can be done.

Thanks mate!

It’s all true. And to be fair if I were a one man band I would be more flexible for my own benefit.

And also, credit where credits due, it was Julie and Carl from concept 2O in Cardiff who taught me what to do and how to do it. They had it nailed 12 years ago. I just copied their plan studiously

What happened to them?

[Gringo]

They had too many cancels via text