[Ken]

We've all been asked the unholy trinity of stupid questions I'm sure: "Are you a window cleaner?" (At this moment you will be carrying a ladder, bucket and assortment of squeegees!), "Do you work round here?" (See above) and "How much do you charge?".

How do you respond? I've tried humour, sarcasm and just answering the questions. I prefer sarcasm and adding a couple of quid to the quote!

[sham33]

Your post made me laugh   Yeah that happens quite often. Normally i reply with a simple yes i am, with a smile knowing i can charge more because they have approached me.

[Majestic]

I reply with a yes but am very busy, then they ask if I could fit them in , which I reply not realy, but I will try to do them next time. What ever I was charging for the house when they saw me I will just add a little to it and do theres next time .It allways works , customer happy and they think that you are doing them a favour

[Rick]

hahaah. lol to the, "are you the window cleaner round here"?

but seriously, people do say that sort of talk cause just for somthing to say and stuff. a way of introducing themselves

[allseasons]

Yeah this realy make's me    i normaly say am tv sale's man you should there face's thay dont know what to do..

[poleman]

there is a bloke down here that has the words on the side of his van saying YES IAM A WINDOW CLEANER with his tel no below, must work for him.

andy
dorset


fed member

[paul]

i usally say no im a painter and decorator

[shinebright]

I had an old lady open the bedroom window next door to a house that I was cleaning ask "Are you a window cleaner?"

I had just finished the last window on the house that I was doing and the customer was not home, so I thought that I would have a laugh.

I replied "No, I am a burglar and I thought that this was a good disguise." I then ran off with my ladders and bucket to my car, strapped the ladders onto the roofrack and sped off.

I returned 10 mins later to drop a card in at my customers house and called on the old lady. Her husband answered the door, fortunately he saw the funny side while his wife had been insisting on calling the police for the 10 mins that I had been away. I explained that this is a question that I am often asked and decided to startle the next person that asked which happened to be her.

The result: They are now customers and the experince has been related to many in the area who have also become customers. People need some light hearted entertainment - give it to them.

[Mikey Warner]

Hi,

I just reply "Window Cleaner!! no!! I'm a Vision Technician"  

Mikey

[gaza]

a really fit redhead ask me if I was the local window cleaner,i replied I was the only window cleaner on the estate,she replied good cus ive never had a window cleaner before, and how much do you charge.well you dont get offers like that every day now do you.


my answer was your not having this one im happily married,but if i wasnt i would do it for nothing.now shes got a boy friend lucky lad,but its me who get paid for it

[Nick_Thompson]

How about:
Well, I do run a small business that specialises in the removal of environmental debris from the surface of silicon dioxide.

[ian m]

sometimes I'm tempted to say " no i'm a peeping Tom will you be home soon?"
(females only)

[dave0123]

yes i get asked this all the time as well, when i get people ringing me up to say can you do my window's they got one of my cards or a leaflet they always say how much do you charge as if you all ready no the size of the house and the sort of widow's they have lol

[Steve_Richardson]

"How much do you charge"

My usual reply to this is , "I can't price without seeing your house first, I could come and have a look in a mo for you."

To which 99.9% of people then go on to describe their house and windows to me in infinate detail....I let them ramble on while I carry on working and then repeat as above:

"I can't price without seeing your house first, I could come and have a look in a mo for you."

I just keep repeating this nicely until they understand.....then price the house after I've seen it!

Don't ever price blind! It's not worth it 

Cheers
Steve

[WavieDavie]

Beat me to it, Steve.

I tell them the same. They're trying to describe their windows, I'm trying to imagine these windows, and if I give a price over the phone I'll normally be wildly under, or wildly over, what the cost for the job should be. If I'm under on the phone they'll think I'm trying to rip them off once I'm there, if I'm over they won't even entertain it before I get there.

I tell them that we're not the cheapest in town or we wouldn't survive, we're not the dearest, or we wouldn't get enough work to stay in business, but that we've got customers who've been with us for twenty years so we must be doing something right. That usually works.

[dave0123]

yes i allways go and see the houses i would never just give a quote like that.

[easycleanwindows]

Ive been caught once blind quoting.She told me it was a three bedroom house.Yes it sure was but had 12 other rooms and 30 extra windows.

[Jeff Brimble]

I say I will call and charge them for the first clean whatever it is and then if they are satisfied they can tell me whether they want me to call again.