Customer complaints

[Alex101]

Hi all, new to the forum. Have been window cleaning by pole system for about 2 years now. Started up a new business with my father in law. He bought a new van, hot water system, a couple of new rounds of other window cleaners. We have started a new round recently (in January) some customers have called and said they don’t want us to clean their windows anymore (no reason was given even after we asked why). Is this normal? The person we bought the round off of was their window cleaner for 20 years. I haven’t been rushing the jobs or cleaning any different to what I usually do, is this something to be wary of? I thought some customers would leave because people don’t like change usually which is understandable but my father in law is very precise and can have a bit of OCD so he wants everything to be 100% and not have any complaints ever. Any advice would be very appreciated thank you.

 

[Bwfc]

Was the previous window cleaner trad??

 

[Alex101]

Was the previous window cleaner trad??

No he was using the same method as us.

 

[DS WC west midlands]

Tbh i am not sure how ppl still think they can sell a round to another cleaner, the cleaner selling is not the owner of the property and thus has no say in weather customers will be happy with them making that assumption of their property... There is no regulation in the industry to prevent this activity going on, thus some cleaners think they own a patch or round and can sell it off, that's just lies on their part to get you to buy it... When you clean domestic you can not sell somebody a window round without some sort of contract in place with the home owner at least and even then it's very ambiguous, did the customers sign anything that explicitly said they would honor the change of cleaner for a fixed period ? I doubt it

 

[ched999uk]

Tbh i am not sure how ppl still think they can sell a round to another cleaner, the cleaner selling is not the owner of the property and thus has no say in weather customers will be happy with them making that assumption of their property... There is no regulation in the industry to prevent this activity going on, thus some cleaners think they own a patch or round and can sell it off, that's just lies on their part to get you to buy it... When you clean domestic you can not sell somebody a window round without some sort of contract in place with the home owner at least and even then it's very ambiguous, did the customers sign anything that explicitly said they would honor the change of cleaner for a fixed period ? I doubt it

Selling 'a round' is very common but what they are actually selling is 'goodwill' with a list of customers. There is never normally any contracts with domestic customers.
Some sellers go round with the buyer and introduce them to the customers some don't. It is a gamble but most windy buying rounds say they are happy with the way it goes even after a good few months - yes you will probably lose some but that's just life.

Does selling rounds not happen in the West Midlands?

 

[DS WC west midlands]

Selling 'a round' is very common but what they are actually selling is 'goodwill' with a list of customers. There is never normally any contracts with domestic customers.
Some sellers go round with the buyer and introduce them to the customers some don't. It is a gamble but most windy buying rounds say they are happy with the way it goes even after a good few months - yes you will probably lose some but that's just life.

Does selling rounds not happen in the West Midlands?

it does but customers round here normally won't let you do that, they are fussy as all hell lmao I seen ppl sell a round or two here, and then the new cleaner will lose the whole round. And they have been fantastic cleaners tbh... waste of money for my blood, build it yourself then you have only you to think about, selling rounds for houses you don't own is a scam in my book, without proper agreements and contracts you don't own a damn thing, but as soon as you mention contracts to customers they will run for the hills...

 

[Crystalalan]

If the previous owner of the round was a tradder then thats 20 years of detergent on the seals and panes so it would require a heck of a lot of scrubbing and rinsing to disipate the soaps. Maybe mention this to the custys letting them know that there might be residues still on the glass once the water has dried and if there is then let us know and we will come back and rectify this. The thick black rubber seals are the worst and these require some serious scrubbing but fear not these teething problems will disappear.

 

[Crystalalan]

Also let the custys know that the frames will come up amazing as the whole window will get a thorough wash. You really have to become a bit of a salesman in this game. Let them know that the WFP method is actually an upgrade on what they had before. Its all about educating your customers and putting their minds at ease.

 

[Yogi1872]

Tbh i am not sure how ppl still think they can sell a round to another cleaner, the cleaner selling is not the owner of the property and thus has no say in weather customers will be happy with them making that assumption of their property... There is no regulation in the industry to prevent this activity going on, thus some cleaners think they own a patch or round and can sell it off, that's just lies on their part to get you to buy it... When you clean domestic you can not sell somebody a window round without some sort of contract in place with the home owner at least and even then it's very ambiguous, did the customers sign anything that explicitly said they would honor the change of cleaner for a fixed period ? I doubt it

What happens if a company buys out the company who supply your energy, your simply swapped over to the new one. Maybe it's luck but rounds that I have bought haven't ended up with anymore than 1 or 2 canceling, most of the time there's no cancels. If I take over a run I usually give them a chap first and explain the situation before we start.

 

[Clean zero]

If the previous owner of the round was a tradder then thats 20 years of detergent on the seals and panes so it would require a heck of a lot of scrubbing and rinsing to disipate the soaps. Maybe mention this to the custys letting them know that there might be residues still on the glass once the water has dried and if there is then let us know and we will come back and rectify this. The thick black rubber seals are the worst and these require some serious scrubbing but fear not these teething problems will disappear.

 

[Clean zero]

Some times people don’t like change if they have had the same cleaner a lot of years it can be a challenge. No matter how good you are if your face doesn’t fit they will get rid .

 

[PC]

Been buying and selling rounds for over 30 years. It’s no different now than it was back then. You just have to have a good handover letter at the very least (sell yourself). Even better is if you can work the round with the leaving cleaner and then you explain as you go round. Same as the above post I’ve never lost more than a couple when I’ve bought a round and nobody who has ever bought off me has called me to say there was a problem with cancellations.
I’ve always found it to be a really good way to pick up a compact round, get a few years wages out of it and then hopefully if you’ve built it up sell it on for a nice profit.
Bottom line is that the customers just want somebody to clean their windows.
Businesses are bought and sold all the time and window cleaning is no different.

 

[Yogi1872]

Selling it on instead of just giving it up looks alot better on yourself aswell. In 4 years time there could be a job needing done that's worthwhile and it could be made by one of the people on a run you used to do. You certainly won't be considered as in there eyes your not reliable. Saves countless customers being left in limbo aswell not knowing how long they should give you until they call someone else. I'm being genuine when I say this but I wouldn't sell a run on to someone who I thought was going to muck people about or got the impression that there cowboys.

 

[Jaygti]

Tbh i am not sure how ppl still think they can sell a round to another cleaner, the cleaner selling is not the owner of the property and thus has no say in weather customers will be happy with them making that assumption of their property... There is no regulation in the industry to prevent this activity going on, thus some cleaners think they own a patch or round and can sell it off, that's just lies on their part to get you to buy it... When you clean domestic you can not sell somebody a window round without some sort of contract in place with the home owner at least and even then it's very ambiguous, did the customers sign anything that explicitly said they would honor the change of cleaner for a fixed period ? I doubt it

You must live in a weird area.?

Success is all about the handover. If the person selling tells his customers he doesn’t want to let anybody down, and therefore has given the work to someone he trusts.
(He doesn’t need to mention selling it).
And the person buying goes out of his way to make a good impression, then loses should be minimal.
I rang every customer first to say hello and assure them that everything would stay the same except the bank details, it went down really well. I bought 6 days worth of work and didn’t lose a single one.
Most people just want clean windows ??

 

[Iron Giant]

No complaints at all, simply means they don't like the fact that their old windy has left them some people simply don't like change and if they weren't given advance notice they'll just be a bit miffed, as long as the number are low I wouldn't worry too much if you haven't cleaned all the jobs as yet or on your next run make a point of introducing yourselves but this should have already been done prior to the sale a drafted letter reassuring them might do the trick.

 

[PC]

Hi all, new to the forum. Have been window cleaning by pole system for about 2 years now. Started up a new business with my father in law. He bought a new van, hot water system, a couple of new rounds of other window cleaners. We have started a new round recently (in January) some customers have called and said they don’t want us to clean their windows anymore (no reason was given even after we asked why). Is this normal? The person we bought the round off of was their window cleaner for 20 years. I haven’t been rushing the jobs or cleaning any different to what I usually do, is this something to be wary of? I thought some customers would leave because people don’t like change usually which is understandable but my father in law is very precise and can have a bit of OCD so he wants everything to be 100% and not have any complaints ever. Any advice would be very appreciated thank you.

Go round personally to every single customer and introduce yourself. If you’re polite and friendly it will go a long way to reassuring the customers who exactly will be coming on to their property especially when they are not home. My feeling is the handover wasn’t done properly. But it’s saveable if you put a bit of time and effort in going round. It’s a pain but worth the effort. There is also a slim chance that the old window cleaner has sold to you and is taking his work back by stealth. It’s very rare but it does happen.

 

[DS WC west midlands]

What happens if a company buys out the company who supply your energy, your simply swapped over to the new one. Maybe it's luck but rounds that I have bought haven't ended up with anymore than 1 or 2 canceling, most of the time there's no cancels. If I take over a run I usually give them a chap first and explain the situation before we start.

That's not a viable comparison to window cleaning, energy is a requirement to life in 99% of cases it is classed as essential by the government.
Window cleaning is seen as entirely optional cosmetic if you will, by the customers and the government so unless you have a contract and they want to walk you have no say in it. You do not and will never own a window cleaning round on other peoples properties, unless the government bring in legislation to dole out cleaning patches or allow legally binding contracts... I wish it was not that way but it just is...

 

[Marko067]

I found myself in the situation many years back of selling some very good work I didn't need to another window cleaner who turned out to be so unreliable that the customers involved all begged me to come back. I held off for some time due to the fact that I'd sold the work to this other guy but when I realised most of them had fired him and were looking for someone else I took them back on. He never got awkward with me over it. I guess he realised that he was to blame for what happened.

 

[PC]

That's not a viable comparison to window cleaning, energy is a requirement to life in 99% of cases it is classed as essential by the government.
Window cleaning is seen as entirely optional cosmetic if you will, by the customers and the government so unless you have a contract and they want to walk you have no say in it. You do not and will never own a window cleaning round on other peoples properties, unless the government bring in legislation to dole out cleaning patches or allow legally binding contracts... I wish it was not that way but it just is...

And yet buying and selling rounds has been going on for at least 35 years that I know of. Discuss?

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Even if you have a contract in place it will only have at the very best 3 years on it but most cases 1 and they’re really not that hard to get out of.
Yet commercial cleaning companies sell for millions.

There are loads of customer facing businesses with no contracts that people buy and sell .

 

[Yogi1872]

That's not a viable comparison to window cleaning, energy is a requirement to life in 99% of cases it is classed as essential by the government.
Window cleaning is seen as entirely optional cosmetic if you will, by the customers and the government so unless you have a contract and they want to walk you have no say in it. You do not and will never own a window cleaning round on other peoples properties, unless the government bring in legislation to dole out cleaning patches or allow legally binding contracts... I wish it was not that way but it just is...

It happens with every company though. The wheelie bin cleaners, gyms get taken over and membership is transfered etc. It's also the best option for your customers, you might think different and think your special but most customers couldn't give a flying f who cleans there windows aslong as there okay. I'd imagine most people who work for themselfs will be polite and friendly to customers so usually the customers get on with the new window cleaner the exact same as they did you.

Although over the years we do get to know quite a bit about them and probably know more than some of there family about what they have been doing etc, none of them are our pals who we would text for a pint etc. We have a working relationship with them and that just continues with the next person