[captain lard]

Been at it since March and today lost me first job but it has happened in a very sour way.
I clean part time as I work and fit it around a full time degree course.When the course started up again in October it affects the time I can work and October was a bad month for me as there was quite a bit of rain and it seemed to rain 75% of the time when I was wanting to clean windows.As a result I am behind schedule but tried to catch up a bit this week.
Any way took my wife up to a secondary school as she was trying for a few hours cleaning just to help the coffers as we could do with the cash.When she was coming away she bumped into a customer of mine,semi with conservatory only priced at £5 as I was starting up when I priced it.
Anyway to keep a long story managable she gave my wife a fair bit of stick about me being late,just checked me records and I one week and three days late on a 4 week cycle,she gve my wife a bit of verbal which nasty and unneccasssary and told my wife she didnt want them done but with a big dollop of attitude and looking right down her nose,my wife said 'Fair enough,suit yourself and this lass went off it asking my wife who she thought she was and sadly my wife lost her cool a bit and swore in her reply which was along the lines of 'Whats your ******* problem' and all hell let loose then.
Told my wife she shoulddnt have sworn but I think she was under a fair bit of provocation and left with this woman shouting 'You will lose the srteet now cos I am going to tell them.'
I saw this woman in the chemists 2 days ago and she said hello but said nothing about a problem or being dissatisfied.My wife tried to explain why I was late but all this woman said was 'It hasnt rained every day since September love,and its no good to me I need a regular cleaner etc'
I told me wife not to worry as this customer had given me a bit of grief before and I always expect something from her.
Anyway go to collect the youngest kid from school and suddenly this woman appears and as my wife gets to me in our car with the little un and it starts again,I couldnt believe it and got out and told me wife to get in the car and told the woman she was dropped anyway and she said she wouldnt have me anyway and then starteed banging on about witnesses to my wifes attitude!!!! so I said my wife took a canny bit of lip of you before she swore and if you had a problem why didnt you say something to me in the chemists?
We got in the car and drove away but it seems a right mess and though my wife lost her cool am a bit aggrieved at the actions of this woman,the first incident took place in the school where she is a dinner lady and she did it in front of all her mates/co workers so I dont know if she was trying to belittle me wife or look big or if she is just a nutter which I have suspected since I got her as a customer.
Me wife is really upset and I am mad about it,she only lives about 8 houses away from me up another street so am waiting for round three to start,I will lose her parents as customers as well nae doubt. 

[windows_chepstow]

Lardy,

You sound upset, mate, but there's not much you can do that'd be worthwhile.  I can think of one or two ex-customers of mine that've really wound me up in the past; one in particular that I felt deserved a good thumping.

I've a list of others that could do with a good 'egging' or a handfull of carpet tacks thown over thier drives; or castrated even.  Of course, I've not done any of this stuff.

Stupid customers can really nark me at times, but what can you do?  You can't say, 'look, fill in this IQ test and if you pass, I'll clean your windows', or ask, 'Are you a decent human being, or not?'

Get Your Lass a bottle of wine and tell her to give this woman a good 'hair pulling' the next time she sees her.

I know what you lot are like in Co Durham!

Anyway, focus on the good stuff.  How's this degree course going?  What're you studying?  I hope it's not English Language!

I did a 60 point OU course the year before last (A103), but found it tedious in the end.  I doubt I'll do anymore, but it was interesting.

Regards,

Tosh.

[mark dew]

She's a nutter mate!!
Good riddance. She'e gone now as a customer.
Try not to tar her parents with the same brush. You might be suprised at their (non) reaction.
You should re-title this thread, "have just lost first problem."
Good luck with your degree.

[captain lard]

Thanks for the support lads,she is a nutter,realised that in the summer and sort of knew there would be issues with her and that out association might be brief -ha ha.
We are laughing about it now.
I am doing a history degree,second year,have 3 essays to do for the 24th november so this wekend its in the loft with many many books!

[windows_chepstow]

Thanks for the support lads,she is a nutter,realised that in the summer and sort of knew there would be issues with her

If you get that, 'I don't want to clean this customer's windows' feeling, because there's something about them that unsettles you about them, I used to drop them.

Now I'm thicker-skinned and will turn up and clean when I'm there with an attitude of 'If I lose them, I lose them; who cares?  As long as they're not overtly rude, then they're just a 'cash cow' to me.

[pjulk]

I wouldn't let it bother you these are few and far between.
I had a bloke swearing at my wife when i changed over to wfp
Because his windows were left wet.

I heard it go on and walked up and told him if he don't stop talking like that to my wife i will shut him up and he he's got anything to say, Say it to me.

He closed the door then but we never cleaned his windows again.

Me i only take so much then i let rip on them.

99% of customers are ok its just the odd 1%

Paul

[captain lard]

I just wished she had collared me cos I would have sorted it very quickly by telling her she was dropped in a firm and as pleasant as possible way but she never said a word in the chemist's but decided she could give wor lass some pretty barbed comments and delivered very snottily to an audience.

My wife hardly ever swears and is usually fairly calm but this woman got right under her skin,quicker than I can as well.
At the car I did tell her she was dropped like,she did respond by saying she wouldnt have me anyway-ha ha,am out on the beer tonight so a couple of stellas will ease the memory.

[macc]

Dont worry about her mate, she sounds like a stuipid little person. Your mrs done well to keep her cool, i'm sure my mrs would have done the same.

She was trying to give it large in front of others & i bet they were thinking what a prat she is.

As for the rest of the street, they wont there windows cleaned, they wont want to get involved, if she starts again laugh at her & walk off, that will belittle her & make her look tiny.

Macc

[Paul Coleman]

Been at it since March and today lost me first job but it has happened in a very sour way.
I clean part time as I work and fit it around a full time degree course.When the course started up again in October it affects the time I can work and October was a bad month for me as there was quite a bit of rain and it seemed to rain 75% of the time when I was wanting to clean windows.As a result I am behind schedule but tried to catch up a bit this week.
Any way took my wife up to a secondary school as she was trying for a few hours cleaning just to help the coffers as we could do with the cash.When she was coming away she bumped into a customer of mine,semi with conservatory only priced at £5 as I was starting up when I priced it.
Anyway to keep a long story managable she gave my wife a fair bit of stick about me being late,just checked me records and I one week and three days late on a 4 week cycle,she gve my wife a bit of verbal which nasty and unneccasssary and told my wife she didnt want them done but with a big dollop of attitude and looking right down her nose,my wife said 'Fair enough,suit yourself and this lass went off it asking my wife who she thought she was and sadly my wife lost her cool a bit and swore in her reply which was along the lines of 'Whats your ******* problem' and all hell let loose then.
Told my wife she shoulddnt have sworn but I think she was under a fair bit of provocation and left with this woman shouting 'You will lose the srteet now cos I am going to tell them.'
I saw this woman in the chemists 2 days ago and she said hello but said nothing about a problem or being dissatisfied.My wife tried to explain why I was late but all this woman said was 'It hasnt rained every day since September love,and its no good to me I need a regular cleaner etc'
I told me wife not to worry as this customer had given me a bit of grief before and I always expect something from her.
Anyway go to collect the youngest kid from school and suddenly this woman appears and as my wife gets to me in our car with the little un and it starts again,I couldnt believe it and got out and told me wife to get in the car and told the woman she was dropped anyway and she said she wouldnt have me anyway and then starteed banging on about witnesses to my wifes attitude!!!! so I said my wife took a canny bit of lip of you before she swore and if you had a problem why didnt you say something to me in the chemists?
We got in the car and drove away but it seems a right mess and though my wife lost her cool am a bit aggrieved at the actions of this woman,the first incident took place in the school where she is a dinner lady and she did it in front of all her mates/co workers so I dont know if she was trying to belittle me wife or look big or if she is just a nutter which I have suspected since I got her as a customer.
Me wife is really upset and I am mad about it,she only lives about 8 houses away from me up another street so am waiting for round three to start,I will lose her parents as customers as well nae doubt. 

You're better off out of it - even if she does cost you other work.  i think you might be surprised how little work you do lose over it.  The chances are that she treats others badly too and they know what she's like.
I once had a situation in the Sussex village of Handcross.  When I first started w/c'ing in 1991, someone asked me to clean their windows.  I cleaned them maybe three or four times and used to collect the money from her from where she worked just down the road.  She said it was OK to collect from a work colleague if she wasn't at work and she would re-imburse the colleague (I think it was a little £4 job).  Anyway, one day I collected from the colleague.  I got home that evening to a very rude message on my answering machine that got very personal and accused me of not cleaning the windows.  Anyway, I was working that area the next day too so I put £4 in an envelope with a very polite letter (NOT an apology though as I had done nothing wrong).
Many years later on the other side of the village, a fairly elderly couple asked me to clean their daughter's windows.  They explained where she lived and I realised that it was THAT place LOL.  I also asked how long their daughter had lived there so it must have been the same person.  I decided to explain why I would not clean their daughter's windows and prepared myself to lose threee or four jobs over it.  After I explained myself the woman said  "I don't blame you.  She's a bad tempered cow anyway" - about her own daughter LOL.  I couldn't believe it.
What I'm saying is that her parents might be totally OK people and know what she's like.  Why don't you ask them if they want you to carry on or not and explain what happened?  You might be surprised.

[Paul Coleman]

I would like to have seen her try a stunt like that on my sister LOL.  She wouldn't have heard my sister swear cos she would have been seeing stars.  I tell ya, I wouldn't pick a fight with my own sis LOL.

[L plate]

I don’t know why you think your wife shouldn’t have sworn at someone who was acting so aggressively towards her. just because she pays you £5.00 to clean her windows or even if she was paying you £100
Don’t worry about this woman trying to poisons your other customers they already know her!!!
Doing a round wile doing a degree has its own pressers for you and your family.

don,t let one fool get you down

L Plate

[captain lard]

thanks lads-support is well appreciated,have shown the wife the messages,we are laughing now about it but at about 3-20 this afternoon I was stotting.

[macc]

What are you doing a degree in?

[windows_chepstow]

I am doing a history degree,second year,have 3 essays to do for the 24th november so this wekend its in the loft with many many books!

[TVCS]

Sounds like your better off without this weirdo on your round.
Like others have said I'm sure her neighbours will all know she is a freak and they you'll probably keep the majority of that street.  At the end of the day she'll be the one without any window cleaner cos word will get about and no one else will want the hastle.  

Hope you get your essays done. If you dont, your misses might swear at you.  (joking)
Ant
TVCS

[pylofm]

Nearly lost a job before I got it....I went to a quote last night and this couple have spent the past 6 years doing up a wreck of a house (detatched).

Very particular...I wont this and that...I do it this way, watch the plants, this is included, want a price for the whole house, tops only, front only, back only as sometimes I'm not in...blah, blah..

Tell them the price...that did'nt phase them...but then the guy (about 6ft 6, me only 5ft 4!!) goes on to tell me that he'll check this and that and will give me so many chances and then blah blah...

Remember I am now in this guys kitchen and yes I do respect I am in another persons house...I now feel he is really pushing...so I briefly advised him that I will do the best job I can do and welcome him to inspect, it is his money afterall however I will not tolerate his 'I'm the big kid in the playground attitude' and he is free to dismiss me in the event that I do not do a good job, however if he thinks he can talk to me like he has just done...I am not that desperate for his money and suggest he could find someone else...

Well blow me...he accepts it...we all have a good chat about his building work and we'll be doing his house very soon for 45quid for the 1st clean and then 30quid on normal cleans..

I suppose this just goes to show..nowt as weird as folk.

Remember mate you and yours should be shown respect as a human being should....you're not a dog...sounds like this bird is just a big mouthed cow and just likes to big herself up....good riddence...if she can be like that so quickly with you, she'll have done it before with others in your local area and more than likely will be known for it....

Onwards and upwards 

[rugby]

i think tosh has the right work ethic, if i lose them i lose them, who cares, if we can all get into this this mind frame we would all feel a lot more relaxed in our working day,  and get wound up alot less by stupid customers.

maybe its being brought up in the welsh valleys but i have no problem telling customers who try to belittle me for the work i do to get f****d. not very professional i know but makes you feel good.

[Neil Williams]

Losing your first one does hurt. But as time moves on and you build the business so you take more control of it.
We have did have one area where there must have poisoned air, everyone around there had an attitude problem. Bottom line dropped the lot, shame on the few decent ones there but the relief when you know that you not going to have to put up with all that **** again.

The next stage is taking customers to court. We have one who thinks I'm joking about the £23-50 she owes. Telephone calls, letters and slips STUCK to the front door hasn't worked so off to the County Court on Monday...and all because she wants us to do this ONE property on Saturdays only in future.
Oh, and if her 2 friends of eastern origin on the same estate decide to dump us so be it, because I can see that happening too.

[EasyClean]

I personally make a point of NOT window cleaning in my own area where I live. I travel to work, then when I finish and drive home, I have NO-ONE knocking on my door in MY TIME to give me any grief, instead I may find a complaint on the anwering machine (very rare-but it does happen once in a blue moon from a new clean nutter) Gives you breathing space and time to discuss the problem with the person making the complaint in a civilised manner.
The morale of this story is that if you work where you live then from time to time you will bump into your customers at the most unexpected times.

[captain lard]

Very good point Easy Clean but  I was /am starting up and not a single other person has given me any hassle - you always get one I suppose.