don't even say sorry to her mate. I had a customer like that last week, john how come u get the place so wet with that thing? I says love its been raining here for 2 months, surely ur used to it? I says to her I can climb up ladder and clean ur windows? glass will be nice and clean with dirty frames? everyone else in the street with nice white frames to catch the eye when u drive in. I can leave yours black with dirt if ya want? she says john just clean the ****** windows. lmao brilliant*Long post warning*
Went out today WFP for the first time, started cleaning customer (old woman, but still with it, cleaned her since I went self employed (5 years). Told her I had a new system and would clean her frames as well, she said she was all up for it. Brilliant!
So started cleaning. Did a few windows and got to her front door, didn't even think (guess I'm too used to trad!) cleaned her front door and soaked half her door mat. Bugger ,never mind I thought, will put it to one side and let it dry off. Was just about to grab a scrim and dry outside her front door when she came out, had a bit of a moan about the door mat and the amount of water by the front door. I apologised, mopped it with a scrim and steered the convo away from it. Things seemed okay when she closed the door but I literally went round side gate and did a side door (no mat or anything out there) had just started the upstairs at the side when I saw the side door start opening.
Here's how the convo went :
Me - "Hello again"
Her - "Oh no, I can't have this, stop!"
Me - "Sorry?"
Her - "Can you stop doing it?"
Me - "Er... okay, no problem"
Her - "I'm sorry, you've soaked my front door mat, why would you do that?!"
Me - "I do apologise, genuine mistake, I didn't mean to do it, I have already apologised"
Her - "And I would hope so too! What am I meant to do with it now?!, how can I dry it off?"
Me - "I'll hang it up for you, will dry off fairly quickly I should think"
Her - "Don't be ridiculous"
Her - "I don't like this "thing" at all your making everything soaking wet!"
Me - "It's only a bit of water on the concrete, I'm a bit confused - when I told you about what I would be doing, you said it was okay"
Her - "Yes but I didn't know it would make this much mess"
Me - "It's not mess, it's water - pure water in fact, it will dry soon"
Me - "Look if you want me to do your windows in the traditional method I can do"
Her - "Well, anything but this "thing" - I think your "banana's" for using it"
Me - "It's actually a more modern method of window cleaning, there's nothing wrong with it."
Her - "Well, I suggest you get your money back, you've been ripped off"
Me - "I haven't been ripped off, there's plenty of window cleaners using it these days"
Her - "Well, I've never heard of it"
Her - "I think we should part ways"
Me - "Bit extreem over a front door mat, considering I've been cleaning for you for 5 years presumably being a happy customer?
Her - "Well yes I was happy until today!"
Me - "So one mistake in 5 years and it's goodbye?"
Her - "Well it's a pretty big one!"
Me - "Not really, anyway I'll get my stuff and leave"
Bearing in mind this is a customer I've done various jobs for over the years - cheap gutter cleaning and also helped her out for free (mending broken cupboard, offered her a free tv when her's went on the blink). Cantankerous old ****.
Anyway I cleaned another 4 houses in the same road today, two of them seemed to dry very well (one had a big run on one of the downstairs which I polished out with a scrim). I had to trad the back of one, because of no access it was easier for me to go over with ladders than carry the backpack/pole.
The other two houses I made sure I gave them a damn good going over, using Ecover on frames and windows. It was only when I was doing the last house that I noticed the one before had loads of white runs on the downstairs windows, but I couldn't rectify it because they had someone coming to view the house! I did tell them beforehand to contact me if any problems, so fingers crossed they won't just chuck me. All in all it took me 4.5 hours to clean 5 houses today
Lets hope tomorrow is a better day lol.
Ah yeah I know mate, just annoys me when people you've come to know over the years suddenly drop you for something ridiculous lol.
Lol I'll have to remember that one
Frames are dirty because I've only ever cleaned the frames if customer asks for it. I know a lot of you do frames as standard but I've not come across a Trad cleaner in my area that does the frames without charging... The guy I cleaned with before I went self employed never did them, so I just carried it on really. I normally just say it will be x-amount extra every six months if you want a frame clean or if they have a big job booked (gutters/soffits and fascias etc) I normally just do them for free anyway. DI was at a trickel anyway, was taking an hour to fill a 25l. Tried it again today, no luck - must have made only a few hundred litres out of that, now using my second one.
Lol sounds like the same woman! This one always drags me in to do insides as well and goes on about her fence... lol. I think I should be happy she's gone, got some nice old dears on the round still /emoticons/smile.pngahh we all have days like that ....great conversation though.....did make me laugh.....especially as i have been doing old dears all day....its a shame she was in really because if she had come back, and of course the water would have dried up she would have been none the wiser....you should see me dodging around trying not to get caught...must have turned down three cups of tea with....oh i've just had one thankyou... i was trying to dodge the first one who of course drags me in to clean some insides and thought i was having a lucky start as all the blinds were drawn and just as i started cleaning the patio she was there drawing them .....got caught....once inside it's 98 degrees and she wanted a nice conversation about how the wind had blown out her fence, me getting hotter and hotter...of course she is a lovely old dear..... and then i started on one patio to look in and see three old dears having a cup of tea......oh i hate being watched...still some you win...some you lose.....and finally, i left this one till the end, i had no option but to go past her and was praying she had fallen asleep...and i managed to escape so i think she was....well another ten minutes would have seen me stuck in two lots of school traffic so not a bad end.....till next month
Yep learning that one mate, I'll get there.... Just gonna take time. While I'm on, anyone know the best way of strapping down 25l drums in my van. I don't really have a bulkhead (or whatever thier called), just a small frame behind the drivers side, wood on the floor of the van but none on the sides. They are bashing about all over the place when I'm driving at the moment (and I'm taking it really easy!).
mate i drive a mondeo tdci, I carry 11 25ltr containers in it and do all the ups and downs with a backpack, and see humping them drums about keeps ya fit. im looking a van myself
