[casa_1978]

Hi every body,
Thought about doing a few hours cleaning so I put an add in a high street news agent  but all I got was weird calls from people who want different services to what I was advertising for like sex, bathing people and even cleaning toys in a massage parlour.........
then when you I told them off they got really upset and started swearing at me..............put me right off .........
and decided to forget about the whole thing.
What do you think an add shoud really include to make it crystal clear to people that you are interested in cleaning only?
cheers
khadija

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[Derek]

Hi

I think the answer here is to make sure that your advert is on letter headed paper which specifies what services you are offering i.e. house cleaning, carpet cleaning etc.  There should be no mistake then.

Your post reminded me of a story I would like to share with you.
A colleague who lives in the North East is a carpet cleaner who decided to expand his business some years ago by offering to bind the edges of sections of carpet to create rugs for some of the big retail stores.

He needed some equipment to carry out this service so he decided to advertise on the internet for a 'whipping machine'
The response he received from all parts of the globe certainly made him blush ..BIG TIME

Regards
Derek

[STEVE71163]

Thats given me a laugh this morning Derek

Steve Lowe

[luap]

casa....please share with me what you actualy put in your advert.....as things are pretty slow round this time of year....

paul.

[Claire_Bennett]

I,m also thinking of starting up that way (by putting adds in shop windows), you have made an interesting point. I guess it raises issues of personal safety aswell, if you are going into a individuals home on your own, you are quite vunerable. I'm a qualified nurse and have been working in the community (evening shifts) and more often than not, work alone. Myself and the other nurses on shift all carry mobile phones with each others numbers programmed in and we all keep in touch throughout the evening. If im visiting a patient in a dodgy area, or if Ive not previously met the patient, i tend to be quite cautious. I will even ring my collegue just before I enter a house and ask them to ring me back in 5 minutes. This usually is enough time to gather a 'first impression' of the house im visiting. It might sound a bit over the top but you never know who has got hold of your number!

Anyway on a less depressing note  : can you share with us your thought on Insurance (are planning to get any!), are you taking on other cleaners and do you mind sharing with us info such as hourly rates etc.

best of luck

claire

[STEVE71163]

Hi Claire,
           A friend of mine who runs a house cleaning service tends to send the girls their in two's.  Its much safer because once in a while you do come across some strange individuals.

Good luck with your new business

Steve Lowe

[Claire_Bennett]

My four year old son does a great karate style high kicking throttling- the- living- daylights- out of you type thing, I could always send him in ahead of me (after he's removed his shoes of course)

[gibbouk]

hi claire
as well as window cleaning i also train and "sometimes" teach self defence classes. if you work on your own have a mobile on you, phone someone before you enter a house and say where you are and how long you will expect to be and ring back then. or maybe get them to ring you in an hour to check. have a look at this site for safety aspects of visiting strangers houses
http://www.suzylamplugh.org/home/index.shtml
be aware but dont let it worry you

[Claire_Bennett]

Hi Gibbouk,

thanks for that advise, we did actually have someone from the Suzy Lamplaugh Trust talk to us (when I was a Community Nurse), the advise was very good and I would reccomened the website to everyone, your right though about not worrying too much, you have to keep these things in perspective  

[Derek]

Those last few posts have brought it home to me what a frightening world we live in today.... very sad.

As a carpet cleaner I work every day in peoples homes very often alone with the lady of the house. I am fully aware that I am in a vunerable position and take great care to avoid any potential awkward situations.

Fortunately my client base is extensive and most of my work is either repeat or recommendation therefore it is less likely that I will find myself in a compromising situation.

The closest I ever got to an embarrassing situation is where I was, I think, propositioned by a very attractive lady. The awful thing is that I didn't recognise the signals or indeed the proposition until much later in the day ...three jobs after in fact.... that was embarrassing part... admitting to myself that I could be so green.

Once I realised everything fell into place

Derek