Well..... I never had one of them before........!

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

As some of you may know there is a bit of a running joke around here that I am the official head window cleaner to the Nottingham Taliban. In short I have more than my share of Muslims, Hindus and other ethnic clients.

Now I know that a few of you do not care to accept jobs from Mr or Mrs barterer as the negotiation for price can be harsh but I have found that if you stand firm on the price, do not be afraid to walk away and sometimes adopt an almost indignant manor then Mr or Mrs Barterer will agree your price and pay it.

It is not that they think your price is unfair or unreasonable they are simply so used to haggling as part of their culture that is a normal part of the conversation to them.

Well Tuesday morning comes round as usual and I figure I can either sit round the house dying slowly or get off my ass and go make a couple off hundred quid.

So I have just finished up a job at Mr Shahs house, his stunning daughter pays me with a smile (she gave me the tenner as well as the smile) and I am packing up my van when Mr Shah calls to me.....

'I have another job for you!' He calls from across the street

'No you don't' I call back, 'I haven't got time to stand around negotiating with your nephew for the window cleaning price, the price is always the price'

'No not my nephew' he says.......'I need you to do the windows once a month at the Mosque!'

Well fiddle de sticks! I never had a religious building before, let alone a Mosque.

So we jump in my van together and go to look at the Mosque. We take a walk around and I give him a price........'Is this the very best price?' He asks??

'Well if you don't like it feel free to call another window cleaner Mr Shah'

'We do not know another window cleaner we trust' he replies, agrees the price and shakes my hand.

Since getting the Mosque, I have picked up 9 more Muslim clients this week alone.. just goes to show that when you persevere you will get results.

For city boys cracking ethnic groups can be very lucrative, and the nice thing that all customers have in common is the cash they pay you with all has the Queens head on it so it's all good to me!

 

[Eviestevie]

green have you been asking in the mosque?where you been

 

[boarcity]

hope it works out for you greenlad but iv no time for them these days . by them i mean anyone south of the dover straits

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

hope it works out for you greenlad but iv no time for them these days . by them i mean anyone south of the dover straits

Well then up yours too Boarcity!

You obviously forget, or just dont care, both I and my wife are from south of your 'Dover straits'

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

No Stevie, I don't ask there, they just come to me. /emoticons/smile.png

 

[Guest]

I think it doesn't matter where they come from, you always get the good and the bad the key is fishing out the good ones and keeping them and forgetting about the bad

 

[peter rogers]

doesnt matter wats on the outside guys we are all the same on the inside treat all others as your equals

 

[boarcity]

Well then up yours too Boarcity!
You obviously forget, or just dont care, both I and my wife are from south of your 'Dover straits'

where are you from then green? i had assumed you are a whitey

iv been warped like a length of untreated mahogany left out in the rain , warped by my bad experiences at the hands of the injun community . at one stage i tried my hardest to be the local windie who had a " big stash of injun" as customers - had over a dozen on board at one time - a frickin boatload - but they wore me to a point with their sneering /nitpicking .

if im honest i had only let them all up the gangplank so i could brag about it ,at family BBQs "if it wears a dress im on it, chortle chortle,,,,but you wont bleve how ungrateful they are ...here, pass me a sausage....theres this fooker from bangladesh ...."

then one day i had a meltdown and wiped the lot off the round,at this a big cheer "yesssSSS yaHEEEY "rose up from my workers! [including 1 lad whose likely a 1/4 injun ]

 

[norm]

hey @Green good to see ya back on :thumbsup:

 

[cheapncheerful]

yeh im trying to be pc but boar you do make cheapie chuckle...

not so much a problem around here yet but to be warned is good.. I mean fat fingers keep slipping..

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

I am a 'whitey' as you call it Boars, but being white does not automatically make me British, I am just from a small place in the middle of nowhere, my wife on the other hand is of Chinese origins but is just as white as you are.

I don't have 'Asian' customers just for bragging rights, I have them as clients as the cash they use to pay me still has the Queens head on it.

What they actually think of me, or have to say about me behind my back does not bother me in the slightest, after all they are paying off my mortgage for me.

And as for my looks, if I stood next to you in a bar in you would think I was as local as you are.

 

[Jacob]

got a couple off 'them' myself, they do pay upon finish of the job, but i try avoid them because i dont want all that haggle, i feel like they dont see me worthy enough to pay the Price i want. and custys like that can just feck off (including White, chinese, russian, afro or whatever). my Price or nothing.

do they also try haggle over a milk Down the supermarket? think not

 

[Dave B]

I agree it is their culture to haggle but i also agree i can't be arsed with it

 

[TolishAPurd]

I can't stand hagglers. On many occasions I have dropped my prices on my own accord as I feel I have gone in too high, but its on my terms, not because some ***'ed wants to get a deal. Everyone that has ever haggled has been dumped later down the line as it shows me a glimpse the character of the person I'm dealing with. As for the 'ones' thats in the culture, I am getting very jaded myself. I'm even tempted to go into their restaurants and start haggling once I've had my meal, to give them taste of it- see how they like them apples.

 

[peter rogers]

lol if someone haggled the price with me i just give my card and say thank you and to contact me if they want it done

if they haggle the proce u give in they will haggle for everything with u including when owing money

i owe u for 2 cleans at 13 pounds

i give u 25 pounds when orginally shoud of been 15 quid a clean

thanks but no thanks

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

got a couple off 'them' myself, they do pay upon finish of the job, but i try avoid them because i dont want all that haggle, i feel like they dont see me worthy enough to pay the Price i want. and custys like that can just feck off (including White, chinese, russian, afro or whatever). my Price or nothing.do they also try haggle over a milk Down the supermarket? think not

Yes, they do actually try to haggle at the 'local' supermarkets, we have a few Asian supermarkets here that I use as the fruits and veg are usually loads cheaper than Tesco etc and usually more choice for exotics, mangoes, starfruits etc.

They haggle with me also but get nowhere, I simply tell them at the beginning, one time price, take it or leave it, if they ask for better just walk back to your van and you will hear 'ok, ok' and that is that.

It is a fool that discounts the Muslim / Asian community, it is MASSIVE in this country and the only person you are penalizing is yourself as they will simply pay your competition to do the job.

 

[boarcity]

I'm even tempted to go into their restaurants and start haggling once I've had my meal, to give them taste of it- see how they like them apples.

give it a go please and report back here -
tip-

take a steak knife in with you in your back pocket

 

[Dave B]

But also you get the distrustful ones who after haggling about price then follow you room to room while you are on the outside

Had one do that to me and before i had time to detail a couple of missed bits or spider cack off the glass she is tapping the inside of the window to point it out

Ladders went back on motor and drove off sod her

I can't be bothered with all that

Here we have a tiny indian community anyway so I'm not bothered

On the other hand give me a seik to work for and i have no problem

Very nice people and appreciative of a decent job

 

[boarcity]

I am just from a small place in the middle of nowhere

nottingham?

 

[Jacob]

Well i dont cut myself off, here we have some 'ghetto' areas were they all live (muslims) and as a dane i am not welcome in the area as they believe it belongs to them (it dosent but in their book it said they are superior people and we are just trash and should be their slaves) so cant be bottered with them.

My competition is more than welcome to clean their windows because i wont!

 

[mrtaytay]

nottingham?

I seem to recall Green said he was from the Channel Islands.....not sure which one.