Yeah paul id like that
i don't have a problem with calling some people and booking the job in.
i didn't seem to have any problem with them when i called first time, they wernt there and the cheque came the next day, so it means i don't have to call them
but this whole control thing, if there is a customer whom, would like you to call and it doesn't take you much, and they just want their windows cleaned, and they don't mess you around, then what's the problem.
i wouldn't put up with it if it continued, but work is work
OK. I will pass enquiries onto you when this happens in future.
As for this phoning up the night before the sort of things that were happening were as follows:-
1) Sometimes no-one would answer the phone (presumably out) and there would be no voicemail service. This would mean having to keep trying to phone back.
2) I would make contact for the gate to be unlocked for me. I would arrive the next day to a locked gate and no-one home.
3) I would phone and the customer would say what time(s) I could arrive. They were not prepared to leave their gate unlocked for the day after all but were trying to ensure that I arrived when they were in.
4) They would say "not tomorrow" and try to get me to clean on another day.
5) One even wanted me to go to her relative's house to collect the gate key (each time) so I had to make arrangements with the relative and drive several miles out of my way.
6) Bad weather would stop me working so I would have to re-arrange a number of customers from scratch for the day after (less relevant now as I work up to moderate rain).
I agree with you that if I could send a few quick text messages and the gates would all be unlocked for me without a problem, then it wouldn't be so bad. However, my experience was that it doesn't work that way.
Also, assuming a full workload, why mess about pre-arranging work when you have a full round of work where do don't have to phone in advance.
I even had one customer who padlocked their gate, wouldn't give me their phone number, and expected me to knock on their door on the offchance they were in. No chance !!
I've also had customers who told me to call after a certain time (2 o'clock was one example) and they would still not be in.
It got very silly in the end. The majority of people who wanted me to pre-arrange messed me about one way or another. I ditched all the ones who messed me about and gradually allowed the ones who didn't to fall by the wayside as they gradually moved on, died, or just cancelled eventually. It was a bad experience and one that I vowed not to repeat.