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Got dumped today...

TolishAPurd

Well-known member
Messages
5,294
So I lost my first customer today. Bit gutted tbh. Had him since the start, It was a £30 monthly and hard work, but he seemed a good guy. I picked him up off a wfper and he had ditched him after so many years because the window spotted, and the frames were filthy. I brought the windows round and he was chuffed to bits.

So the job itself was those fake georgian slats that stick on the outside, and there was loads of them. The run off would get stuck behind them and then cause drips after I'm gone. So I would clean a window, move on to the next, and then what I was finished, go back to the first- the whole thing was a ball ache, but I catch the odd drip and so thought it was sorted.

So I get a text today saying that the windows are all smeary with drips everywhere, and that hes going to get someone else. Said it was the same last month too.

hmmmm.... I think.

....what did I spy with my little eye in the window for the first time last month???

....THIS LITTLE CNUT!!!!!!

karcher-wv50-window-vacuum.jpg


And yes, he'd clealy had a go himself since I noticed all sorts of streaks, drips, and smears on the inside. I did the insides about a year ago and they were spotless then.

Hes the type that'll go for another window cleaner, but it won't surprise me if he gets dumped himself soon when the windy realises what a pain the windows are, especially if he underquotes as they are quite deceptive. I used to really take my time with them, and I just ubiked the **** out of the sills yesterday too.

Oh well, onwards and upwards.

 
He told me he was just waiting for you to sort the sills then he was gonna sack you off, says it's cause you got an avatar of Nige. He don't like Nige so you got sacked and he's now hiring Romanian gypos for all his odd jobs! /emoticons/tongue.png

 
Hope his battery packs up, there no use then, and it needs dog earing. /emoticons/biggrin.png
I think his own battery will packup first mate, its a lot of work even with a nice lightweight squeegee, and he's not the most physical bloke. lol

He told me he was just waiting for you to sort the sills then he was gonna sack you off, says it's cause you got an avatar of Nige. He don't like Nige so you got sacked and he's now hiring Romanian gypos for all his odd jobs! /emoticons/tongue.png
Lol, probably about right knowing todays world. The annoying thing was that his sills and frames were pucka since I spent ages on the first clean, the ubik was just a little cherry on the top since he was one of my favourite custys. It sucks really, but I guess it was going to happen one day.

 
Feel your pain TAP, not a nice feeling when you get dumped, it usually hits me quite hard (I must be a sensitive wuss /emoticons/biggrin.png). Don't beat yourself up, like they say, as one door closes, another one opens :thumbsup:

 
Yeh it does hurt when you've had the work for so long, and put a lot of effort into it.

But those fake georgian windows are a right pain. It doesn't matter what method you use (WFP or Trad) Water seems to run after you go. (I hate them, plus the strips come off sometimes).

As for those little kartchers, I agree. I have a couple of customers who have one and say they are really good. (LOL they can't be that bothered about there inside windows. what a mess)

At the end of the day it does not matter what tool you use, you need some skill too.

 
Feel your pain TAP, not a nice feeling when you get dumped, it usually hits me quite hard (I must be a sensitive wuss /emoticons/biggrin.png). Don't beat yourself up, like they say, as one door closes, another one opens :thumbsup:
Cheers mate :thumbsup:. If it was one of the houses where its a lost cause it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but this one was mint, and local.

you will be glad hes gone, in the long run
As nice a guy as I thought he was, his windows werent designed withthe cleaner in mind, and I never enjoyed cleaning them, so I think you're right. i like your methods mate, and funny enough, moments before I got the text I had just done a leaflet drop in the rain on a couple of the local council estates. I'm going to make a big push for work in the coming weeks to make up the shortfall from this guy, and the two I dumped myself last week.

 
Yeh it does hurt when you've had the work for so long, and put a lot of effort into it.
But those fake georgian windows are a right pain. It doesn't matter what method you use (WFP or Trad) Water seems to run after you go. (I hate them, plus the strips come off sometimes).

As for those little kartchers, I agree. I have a couple of customers who have one and say they are really good. (LOL they can't be that bothered about there inside windows. what a mess)

At the end of the day it does not matter what tool you use, you need some skill too.
Right you are mate. Whichever cleaner he uses hes going to have the same issue. I would offer to put right, but its not worth the effort since the design is flawed. If he had given me a warning then I may have tried a different method, maybe switching to a spray or something, but it would make the job too hard and I would end up losing out money wise. One thingsfor sure though, I won't take someone back if they ditch me and find the grass isnt greener. -I realise I sound like a jilted woman whose husbands run off with some young fluff../emoticons/biggrin.png

 
Right you are mate. Whichever cleaner he uses hes going to have the same issue. I would offer to put right, but its not worth the effort since the design is flawed. If he had given me a warning then I may have tried a different method, maybe switching to a spray or something, but it would make the job too hard and I would end up losing out money wise. One thingsfor sure though, I won't take someone back if they ditch me and find the grass isnt greener. -I realise I sound like a jilted woman whose husbands run off with some young fluff../emoticons/biggrin.png
Was he a barterer?

 
Right you are mate. Whichever cleaner he uses hes going to have the same issue. I would offer to put right, but its not worth the effort since the design is flawed. If he had given me a warning then I may have tried a different method, maybe switching to a spray or something, but it would make the job too hard and I would end up losing out money wise. One thingsfor sure though, I won't take someone back if they ditch me and find the grass isnt greener. -I realise I sound like a jilted woman whose husbands run off with some young fluff../emoticons/biggrin.png
He sure is.

Funny I picked up a similar job a few week back, but they wanted me to do insides as well. They had green velux windows which I could only do WFP. (good job).

I then thought I would do the rest WFP since I had the kit out. Only to find one window leaked.

I ended up doing some WFP and some trad lol.

To top it off they had fake georgian inside and out. I had exactly the same problems you had. Not only that but one piece came off. (Husband was in room a time, had to stick it back on lol)

At the end of the day they were really happy with job, but it was harder work than I thought. Think I might try light spray trading next time.

Edit. Or maybe just damp cloth and scrim.

 
not nice getting the red card its like getting kick in the nuts

just remember you tried your best, he bought the karcher to save money and to do the windows himself

thats it tight ****

 
Was he a barterer?
No mate, English through and through. I think he was *** (lots of boys nights, immaculate house etc.) Very wealthy for his age but I never did find out how he made his money, he had a good job but it wasn't enough to pay for that house and all the nice stuff in it.

He sure is.
Funny I picked up a similar job a few week back, but they wanted me to do insides as well. They had green velux windows which I could only do WFP. (good job).

I then thought I would do the rest WFP since I had the kit out. Only to find one window leaked.

I ended up doing some WFP and some trad lol.

To top it off they had fake georgian inside and out. I had exactly the same problems you had. Not only that but one piece came off. (Husband was in room a time, had to stick it back on lol)

At the end of the day they were really happy with job, but it was harder work than I thought. Think I might try light spray trading next time.

Edit. Or maybe just damp cloth and scrim.
This house had so many little panes that my fingers and shoulders would ache as I was doing it, so as much as I would consider using a spray to save the job, I don't think it would be good in the long run- too much time and effort for not a lot of gain. Making this thread has really put it all into perspective for me, I'm better off without.

not nice getting the red card its like getting kick in the nutsjust remember you tried your best, he bought the karcher to save money and to do the windows himself

thats it tight ****
The bloke was clearly minted, and they are usually the worst ones, but he was always good for paying, and didnt mind me charging (a lot) more then the last guy. I just don't think he'll ever be happy since whatever bloke he takes on be it WFP,or trad is going to have the same problem as meand the guy before.

 
I dumped a pain in the arris custy the other day but got 3 new ones today in 1 street from canvassing..true that as 1 door closes another opens..fill his space with a quality job tolish and don't look back

 
I dumped a pain in the arris custy the other day but got 3 new ones today in 1 street from canvassing..true that as 1 door closes another opens..fill his space with a quality job tolish and don't look back
davy is right fluke him off

 
I quoted 3 regular jobs totalling 62 quid all doable from 1 parking spot tonight so i am well happy

More than makes up for the 12 quid job i binned

Better to sort the wheat from the chaff

 
Lol, why is the word G A Y blocked on this site @Gav? I would expect it ifI was saying ******, ******,******,****, ******* ******, ***** ******,and all the other slurs, but not G A Y. lol /emoticons/biggrin.png

I dumped a pain in the arris custy the other day but got 3 new ones today in 1 street from canvassing..true that as 1 door closes another opens..fill his space with a quality job tolish and don't look back
Right you both are. I've extended my round into 6 days now which will be very tight on some days, but leave me with a few spaces on other days which will be for targetted dropping, and maybe a bit of canvassing. I don't really want any more then 6 days but I'll see where it takes me.

Cheers lads, I'm off to my garden to lift some weights and burn off some aggression. And if I'm lucky, I might get a tickle off the wife. :thumbsup:

 
I lost ne not long after starting WFP, because some of the windows seals were completely shagged (so I thought) and it let the water in from my WFP. Old chapel, good money, nice job.

That was maybe 6 months or so ago, I get a call from her last week she wants me back, went to have a look saying I would maybe trad those ones that leaked, and test which do, well, when I tested them and looked turns out that not only are the seals gone, there actually aren't any, someone had taken them off to paint them all nice and never put new ones on, no wonder they were leaking lol.

I charge her more now /emoticons/tongue.png

Just move on from it, his loss /emoticons/smile.png

 
What suprises me is that you have been doing the job for so long, why all of a sudden the change.

I have a commerial customer who's plastic strips have come off. The adesive tape they use to stick it on has gone.

I have talked to them about it and will (at cost) repair them. While I will use the double sided tape, I will also use glass silcone to seal them. This way I will have a choice of using WFP or Trad. with no runs.

In hindsight, had he given you the option (and paid for it), you could have sealed the windows slats (especially at the top) and the job would be a good un.

I think it's worth offering that option to akward fake georgian windows that cause a problem. Some customers might reject because of cost, but if they want a good job in future it's worth considering. (it dosn't take that much time to seal the tops with good quality silicone).

Anyway I'm sure you will get another good job soon to replace him.

 
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