[pylofm]

Today arrived at a farm to clean the house...nice job about 27quid...each and every time this lady has been on the phone trying to reschedule because of this/that and the other...last week we had very heavy rain so I called the day off and put a note into each customer for the days letter box and rescheduled them for today...

On the day in question I get a phone call saying please dont come today..its raining heavily I do not feel it would be value for money...in answer to this I said that I had already cancelled her and in her letter box she will find a note from me saying that I will clean today (the following monday).

Now when I got there today...both side gates were locked (no-one home)....so I did the front and side I could reach...phone call this evening saying you did not do the back...thats right I reply both gates were locked...she then say that I should have used the gate from the farm that goes to the back of her property(never knew it existed and it was never mentioned as a access point).

Now I have terms and conditions which say that in the event access is not available..full payment would still be required...which she has said she will not pay .....I am very carefull with this woman normally, she is very particular and I go to great lenghts to ensure I do a tip-top job and double check everything.

So what do you do over 27 pound...the truth is I am not a 'bover boy' ...so it seems that yet again I am shafted and have to admit feel a little less a man today...

I can see no way I can prevent this type of thing happening...if the customer for any reason has an issue...they just don't pay..

Any advice?

...yes, yes I know this type of thing happens in the formative years

Thanks for listening...

[Trevor Knight]

OK,

Firstly, has she seen your T&C's and signed to say she agrees to them?

If no, then you will have to be diplomatic and look at if indeed this job is actually worth the hassel? I know its £27 each time but in reality how often do you clean her house and also how far do you have to travel etc.....

Now, on the other hand, if she has seen your T&C's and signed to say she accepts them then I suggest sending her a firm but fair letter with another copy of her signature agreeing your T&C's and reminding her that you will, if no payment is received, take this matter further and if need be go to court.

Yes you will lose her custom but lets face it, by the sounds of things she isn't worth the hassel. I have this clause in my T&C's and have exercised it before on customers who generally just arn't worth the grief. Obviously if she is a good customer normally then use your discretion.

There is no point having T&C's if your too afraid to enforce them, this is a business and if you weren't wasting your time and money at her property you could have been earning money from more reliable customers!

Look at this link

http://www.lawpack.co.uk/small_claims_kit.asp?source=overture&cat=small_claims

regards,

Trevor

[captain lard]

She is flouting your T&C so I feel you either have to enforce them or accept she will not comply and drop her. The only compromise is to arrange to go round and complete the job but that depends if you feel you can offer that.

good luck mate.

[NWH]

To be honest it`s simple,tell her your conditions if she`s not happy then say you`ll have to get someone else.If you give these kind of customers an inch they`ll take a mile,even if i was struggling for work i wouldn`t do it.

[Davew]

Difficult one, if it was me I would have to go back to collect anyway so I would do the backs whilst I was there and warn her for next time. But that's only because I need the business more than she needs me. All down to weather you can afford to let her go in my opinion. Nearly thirty pounds isn't to be chucked away - get too stroppy and she might pay nothing. If you have a full round then the decision is easy.

[shammy davis jnr]

sun and dont shine springs to mind ,just dont go back if it aint that this week it will be this the nxt week as for feeling less of a man do her as normal nxt month and then tell her thanks for her custom but i have droped you from my run
why the reply will be becase i only do my regular customers with no access problems petty m,be
im a biz man and dont need hassel with no access and not todays thank you....
stare her right in the eye while telling her this
you will jump in your van and the man thing will all come flooding back
then by the time you get to the bottom of the road your grin will come back im sure lol
and fill her with two half decent houses nxt to u prob solved 

[Davew]

I bet she was one of those "we used to have a window cleaner but he just stopped coming round" types.

[williamx]

What I would do is charge her for the work you have done which is the front and side, £20.00 should be a fair price.

Then I would give her a letter stating that because your customers take no notice of you T&C you now have no choise but to increase the cost of cleaning her windows.

I would then double her price and drop her like a brick.

[matt]

ditch the house it aint worth the hastle

and for the 27 quid, they know you will not take it to the small claims court so you have to swallow the loss

[Clive McDonald]

I'm pretty stumped.
What would I do. It's a misunderstanding, she'll pay whatever, and in future I will know there is back access.

Possibly there will be problems in the future, or things could settle down and she could be a customer for years.

I'm sure she thinks she's in the right and doesn't consider you have any feelings on the matter. Give a thought to Gordon Brown, he's dreamed about that job all his life. Now he's got it what a mess he's been left in.

Try and balance this with the days you feel 'king of the world'.

Ps. I don't think Holland follows english law.(small cliams)

[pylofm]

Thanks for all the info/advice...you are all right....just another one down to experiance.

 

[matt]

Ps. I don't think Holland follows english law.(small cliams)

oh yes, in holland

[Clive McDonald]

If an employee came back in these circumstances with dented pride you would still expect him to back there next time.

[Paul Coleman]

It sounds like a decent sized job for a domestic which would be a pity to drop but you may have no choice in the long term.
I know it's not much help to you but this is a classic example of why I will not even quote for work that has no access.  Well that's not quite true because I would do it for very lucrative work but it would have to be a lot more worth my while than £27.
I have turned down no end of work over access issues because I still remember the aggravation they caused me in the first few years.

[pylofm]

Given that this 'lady' has proved herself to be less than.....I have said if that is the case I shall not be cleaning for her...it's a pity as we got her from her parents, whom I clean for.....I suppose the family thing will kick in and I will lose them as well...

target this week...replace the lost money.. left foot infront of right and repeat.

Cheers
All

[Paul Coleman]

Given that this 'lady' has proved herself to be less than.....I have said if that is the case I shall not be cleaning for her...it's a pity as we got her from her parents, whom I clean for.....I suppose the family thing will kick in and I will lose them as well...

target this week...replace the lost money.. left foot infront of right and repeat.

Cheers
All

Sounds like the right decision to me.  Don't be so sure about losing the parents though.  I've had situations like that and relatives of the lost customer probably know what they're like even more than you do.

[Trevor Knight]

ditch the house it aint worth the hastle

and for the 27 quid, they know you will not take it to the small claims court so you have to swallow the loss

I have taken a customer to court over £8, in the end it cost her £42 including costs. Its not the amount its the principle.

When you go to court you always apply for costs as well and when you get the judgement in your favour your pretty much always awarded costs as long as they are reasonable.

Take them to court, a CCJ hurts you deep down when you least expect it!!

[Spiceworld]

Take them to court, a CCJ hurts you deep down when you least expect it!!

Couldn't agree more 

[Russell Macdonald]

 Its not the amount its the principle.

My thought too.