[stfc]

all i do is make envelops with my business name on,slips inside who to make it paybale to and to be fair no 1 is ever late and they pay the stamp them selves never had any comments.

[dazmond]

i find monday or tuesday evening better for collecting than friday!a lot go shopping on a fri or are getting ready for a night out/in!i usually go collecting for 2 hrs a week.a lot pay when i clean or sometimes i spend 15mins at the end of day getting some in.i do use s.a.e on some custys though if there scattered out of the way accounts.

[Martin ccs]

when you feel your round is big enough id drop them!

the bloke who said and! ive had that before - id had a bad week and i nearly lost it. i rang the bell and this bloke flung open the door and says what! i say hi there window cleaner - i cleaned your windows yesterday, when he said and! i said and ive come to get bloody paid!

he then said sorry and paid up.

customers need to understand that you are effecting your income.

[ryanst1982]

I agree with most on here. I only have one customer who pays in the day I clean, the rest all pay by bank transfer, dast and easy and a lot less stressful, highly recommend

[trevor povey]

The advantage of collecting is that you get to know the customer and can build up a relationship /trust and good will with them.

I then agree with a polite note through the door with a SAE for accounts that have gone over 3 cleans.


 

[Sean Dyer]

this is my preferred method

although some custies i have known for a long time start preferring to transfer or post cheque

this is fine with me

dont  like it form day one though

i dont spend a huge amount of time collecting

i dont like it but once you get stuck in its ok BUT 99% of my work is compact so i can do this

if it was spread out i wouldnt so can see why if you have lots of £20 + jobs spread around cheques is the way forward!!!

[Craig 72]

It's not that I mind collecting,but when leave a note saying that I'll be there at a certain time and people still mess about it does grate a bit.As I say I'm still relatively new to this and trying to find the best way to go about things.I think I will definitely start thinking about the S.A.E method.I'm surprised people say don't bother with a stamp though.I would have thought some people would get a bit arsey with having to provide their own stamps.

[GWCS]

I never used to collect, but some customers just take ages, and when i ask why they just say they forget and think i would collect.

So from the new year i will be doing it differently for all local work

I will ask if they want to pay in person at the door they need to phone me to confirm payment collection for the following saturday (so i know they will be in or be prepared to pay) - otherwise i will insist they pay via cheque, paypal or BT.

A lot of my customers are actually pleased ive taken this decision. So ive listened to my customers requirements and taken their views on board..

But all new customers will be getting a price increase to cover collection.

Off course there are annoying downsides to collections - There is a good side to collection - you actually get to meet your customers and have a chat with them which promotes a social interaction with them, you both know who each other are.

[Steve_Richardson]

I ordered a ruck load of address tickers from Vistaprint (cost £3 ish for about a million!), stick them on smal white envelopes and leave them with my note. All my customers pay this way now and 90% within a week 1/2 at most. Every blue moon someone will forget but 99% pay this way with no problem.

Educate nicely and they will understand, takes a few months but they soon get the hang of it (let's face it, posting a cheque is pretty hard so give them poor custies some time.....).
No collecting for me since I restarted window cleaning the 2nd time, love it

Steve - do you add stamps to said envelopes or do custies sort this themselves?

no stamp, just an SAE

[leapstallbuildings]

I certainly will be dumping prats like this when my round gets bigger but can't afford to at the mo.Some people though are just so bloody rude and thoughtless.I'm still new to this lark but finding out that it's not quite as stress free as I imagined before I started.

By the time I had a full round (and more) I had a dumping list that would have been nearly half a round from a ladder.  So I had to do the dumping a bit at a time.

[gordonswindows]

 certainly will be dumping prats like this when my round gets bigger but can't afford to at the mo


Craig if these customers are not paying when they should you cannot afford to keep them

Drop them and use your spare time to find customers who WANT you and who will pay

it does get easier, follow some of the excellent advice on this forum and life will get better

one other thing for anyone new, quite often the customers you pick up easily are ones who have previously been dumped by other w/c because of how difficult they are, nobody and i mean nobody drops a good customer

keep at it

Gordon

[Gaby P.]

I can’t understand why anyone would want to go out collecting, it makes no sense, After a day’s work why would I want to go around all my jobs again therefore increasing my working hours and decreasing my hourly pay.

If you enjoy knocking on doors that much, use the time to knock on new ones to gain work.

You are running a business! Unless you work for someone else and get paid hourly, it’s essential that EVERYTHING you do relating to that business is productive.

Apart from being better for you, SAE's and online payments are better from the customers point of view, no way would I like some clown interrupting my evening at home asking for cash. I would get rid of him on that basis alone.

How many other professions come round your house these days with their grubby paws out asking you to empty your kids piggy bank or give them your wife’s shopping money.
In my opinion collecting is degrading, outdated and unprofessional.

You might think me a bit shallow  but I may have stumbled upon a way to increase your tips.
I was out collecting last night and one of my customers gave me a nice bottle of red wine as a christmas tip, it was a fair walk back to the van and I only had 5 more customers in that street so I held onto the wine till I was done collecting.
3 of the 5 saw the wine, made some comment  and promptly gave me a nice tip as well.
Now I am not suggesting anything here but......... 


Neil

You arrogant twit

[peter holley]

 

[amayze]

I always leave a slip saying that I've cleaned the windows today and circle which day I'm coming to collect.

I also leave it at least 3 days and would never collect on a Friday night or at the weekend. Never had any problems and the beuty is that every customer has the right amount ready when I call. Happy Days

[the 1 and only]

i know sometimes i have loads to collect but they are not in and i have no money to go pub with or to go cinema.it realy annoys me