2 window cleaners, same house.

[dmw]

I recently took on a customer ( his house backs on to my round) to do just the back of his house  because  his traditional window cleaner has to walk on his single story extension and has broken a few roof tiles. I only do 3 back windows and 3 skylights on his extension and charge him a tenner.

He says he wants to keep his tradder,( he's a miserable sod )to do the front and sides( which is a traditional roomy  1930s bay window with wrapround porch) because he asked him first and felt guilty sacking him. 

Anyway  I've been doing it monthly for a few months with no problems, paid on time, back gate unlocked etc. Happy days.....

Yesterday  while cleaning his house I was chatting to his wife and she let slip that they pay the tradder a fiver to do the front, the side, and porch .

No wonder they won't get rid of him.?

Anybody else share  a customer and is it amicable?

 

[Part Timer]

I do the top floor, third floor, of a house because the traditional guy can't reach. I get a tenner he gets £6, she won't get rid of him even though I've told her the full house would be £12 and she openly admits we clean the windows better. The trad guy keeps telling me he keeps picking up work from WFP lads because it does a  :1f4a9: job ?

 

[Wind o kleen]

I do upstairs windows while old guy does bottom , he only does ground work, they want keep him as he’s about 70

 

[Den]

Love a bit of loyalty good on him 70 nearly as old as @spruce lol.

 

[chris clean]

Yeah I have a house where they have had a big conservatory put on the back so the trad guy shes had forever can no longer do them. She pays him 5 a month and I charge her a tenner a month for the back which I less windows lol. It's on my round and nice and quick so I dont mind. The tradder just does the glass though and it always makes me laugh how her front frames and sills are green and the backs are all nice done wfp. It's an odd arrangement but equally I do appreciate her loyalty to the guy who trads so it's a win win

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

Mate of mine a few of years back got asked by this woman to do her's as the other window cleaner disappeared. Couple of month's down the line he reappeared again. Rather than cancel either one of them, she felt bad and kept them both on. So he said the windows where a doddle as they where always spotless! ?

 

[Suhrly]

Get this one...I got a customer about 2 years ago. A woman in her late 50's living in a bungalow. 4 small windows and AT HER REQUEST I clean both her doors for an extra £2 so £6 in total every fortnight. I was cleaning her friends a couple doors up and she said, 'do you know the woman in the bungalow has another window cleaner?'. Obviously I was a little shocked and said I'd speak to her when I came to clean her windows 10 mins later. Anyways, I cleaned her bungalow as usual for £6 and I said, 'the lady a couple of houses up said you have another window cleaner..?' 'Yes', she said, 'these lads clean my friends bungalow and they charge her £3 so I told her to send them down so they could start to do mine', thinking she's gonna save £3 per clean. I asked if their price included cleaning her doors like me and her face dropped realizing they don't and which I reminded her it was HER who requested I do the doors. (Her price without the doors would be £4 remember). Anyways....turns out I know the other window cleaner in question and he informs me he's been cleaning her windows for SIX MONTHS!! All the while she's kept both of us on. So instead of her trying to save herself money and paying either £12 per month with me or £6 with the other lad, she's been paying £18 a month for a tiny bungalow with 4 windows!! ? I always wondered why her windows never seemed to get dirty at all ? Neither of us knew about the other one and God knows how long it would of went on for had her friend a couple doors up not told me about it. Why she kept 2 window cleaners going for 6 months is anyones guess and no...she's not one of those who would feel guilty sacking someone or anything like that as she went to finish me when I confronted her before I raised the subject of the doors and then decided to keep me. She got rid of the other lad in the end. Honestly some folk boggle the mind.

 

[Suhrly]

Another one I got asked to do was from a shop. He caught me doing a shop over the road and said, 'or great mate you do all the frames and everything right?'. 'Of course' I said, so he got me to start cleaning his shop windows ( 2 of them). So went over and give the guy a first clean, got paid. This went on for weeks and weeks as normal. One day I decided to Trad the windows and instead of giving the frames the usual wash with the WFP I just give it a quick once over with the cloth as they were already still clean off the last WFP a fortnight before. So I finish and go into the shop. The shop owners are not looking happy at all and he scorns me, 'have you done the frames mate??' I told him I give them a rub with the cloth and he said, 'well that's exactly what our OTHER window cleaner does. We got you to wash the frames with your brush!'. He made me feel like a right idiot and I've never been closer to knocking someone clean out right there and then. So he has the other guy to clean the glass (Trad) and me to basically do the frames! WTF! I told him 'how the hell was I supposed to know you had another window cleaner, who in their right minds has 2 window cleaners?!?!' and I walked out. Anyways safe to say I never went back the bloke is an absolute hemlet! ?

 

[Pjj]

I wouldn’t take a job on to only do part of a house I did in the last and they always tried tk get me to dk more than was agreed for the same price so my policy now is we either dk the lot or nothing there cannot be any confusion then  

 

[chris clean]

I wouldn’t take a job on to only do part of a house I did in the last and they always tried tk get me to dk more than was agreed for the same price so my policy now is we either dk the lot or nothing there cannot be any confusion then  

Dont think that's cos it's a split job its cos that customers a p!ss taker. Nobody should mess u around on how much they pay you whether it's 1 windows half a house or a whole house!!

As for not doing any split jobs I agree in theory but when your on the road anyway and just need to drag your hose a few more feet from the van and earn another tenner for 10 mins or so work I couldn't care less who does the front lol

 

[spruce]

We do 3 houses where 2 of us are involved.

I have 2 windows above an extension that their trad cleaner can't reach in town. Quick and easy.

We do 2 annual (due now) gutter clear and clean, fascias, conservatory roof, window above the conservatory etc for 2 customers who have their own trad cleaners they have had for 20 years. We have been doing the job for around 10 years. I have noticed that the conservatory glass is very dirty these last couple of years so the trad cleaners are being finished early for winter.

Always nice cups of coffee and cakes/biscuits when doing these 2 jobs.

We did have a 4th job at one time. We had to do the window above the conservatory when we cleaned the neighbour. In time the story went that the trad cleaner go upset with 2 of us cleaning the windows to dumped her. We did her whole house for a bit and then she started playing us with payment. Can I pay you next time as I've just had a find £100 for the vet etc. Then, can I pay you £5 and the balance with the next clean? Then she wanted her conservatory roof clean spread over 3 monthly payments. We parted company. She didn't seem to feel she was doing anything wrong - it was my fault somehow.

 

[Tango]

Done two one off jobs with windows above extensions.. both have a trad cleaner but wanted me for their unreachable windows. One wanted the connie roof doing plus the gutters and down pipes.. should've charged more but i had a gut instinct that said they'd object to more than forty quid so forty i quoted and forty i got paid.

There's another over the road from a current client, she wanted to know how much for her windows above the connie as her trad man can't get them. Said i'd do it for a fiver, she said she'd call when she had the money. That was months ago.. now the builders are adding an extension to the house (clearly still not got the cash right).. whats the betting she'll be in touch soon wanting me to clean up teh builders mess for that fiver. Sod that!

 

[Skxawng]

I used to do a house where I had to go through the neighbors back garden and over a little 3' fence to get to the customers back windows (the customer asked permission from the neighbor). The neighbor had a trad cleaner but he couldn't do the 2 above their conservatory so they asked me to do them seen as I was there already. I thought I'd better do them as they could easily get awkward and stop me using their garden as access. I charged £3 just to cover my time (2 mins) but they always gave me £5 which was nice. Worked quite well for a couple of years until the original customer cancelled. There was no point driving out to do the above Conny window anymore so gave them one last free clean to say thanks for the extra tips and left it. 

Funny, in 2 years never seeing their own windy.. always wondered what he thought about it.

 

[Iron Giant]

Many years ago and unbeknown to me and the husband and wife individually, the wife got me to clean the windows because the other guy hadn't being seen for ages and she always paid me, any way after a few months I turned up to collect the money and both the husband and the wife were at home at which point it all came out the old windy had turned up and the husband had being paying him, for months they had paying two different window cleaners.?

 

[dazmond]

i dont take on customers who already have a window cleaner.....i have been approached a few times to just clean a few awkward windows because their trad cleaner cant reach them with his ladders...no thanks...

ive spent a small fortune on my van,hot water system,poles etc.....i want the whole job not the odd window here and there.....

 

[dmw]

i dont take on customers who already have a window cleaner.....i have been approached a few times to just clean a few awkward windows because their trad cleaner cant reach them with his ladders...no thanks...

ive spent a small fortune on my van,hot water system,poles etc.....i want the whole job not the odd window here and there.....

As said, I don't even need to move the van, I just walk through his back gate, it's an easy tenner.

I wouldn't travel to do the odd window though.

 

[chris clean]

i dont take on customers who already have a window cleaner.....i have been approached a few times to just clean a few awkward windows because their trad cleaner cant reach them with his ladders...no thanks...

ive spent a small fortune on my van,hot water system,poles etc.....i want the whole job not the odd window here and there.....

I find this an odd attitude and way to do business cos surely if your next door and have to drag your hose a few extra feet do a few windows for another 10 quid why do you care? It's like tesco saying I wont sell you a joint of beef cos you bought the roast potatoes and veg in Asda so I want to sell you the whole meal or nothing atall cos we have spent billion building our supermarkets!! 

The only time I understand what you have this approach is if the windows were under your minimum. So for me my minimum job is 10 quid.i wouldn't go to do a couple of windows for less. But when your in the road and can earn more why Care if a tradder does the front. But we all run our own business our own way that's they best bit about self employnent

 

[Lee85]

I've recently picked up a new customer who is in her 80's, she has had a the same window cleaner for the last 40 years! Possibly due to his advancing age, she mentioned that he is a similar age to her, he isn't doing a great job any longer and only had a couple of customers left. The customer said that she feels bad if she were to sack him so will keep getting him to do her windows, I'm now coming the week after he comes to in her words, 'sort out his mess!' 

 

[dazmond]

I find this an odd attitude and way to do business cos surely if your next door and have to drag your hose a few extra feet do a few windows for another 10 quid why do you care? It's like tesco saying I wont sell you a joint of beef cos you bought the roast potatoes and veg in Asda so I want to sell you the whole meal or nothing atall cos we have spent billion building our supermarkets!! 

The only time I understand what you have this approach is if the windows were under your minimum. So for me my minimum job is 10 quid.i wouldn't go to do a couple of windows for less. But when your in the road and can earn more why Care if a tradder does the front. But we all run our own business our own way that's they best bit about self employnent

i dont want to upset the other window cleaner for one....

ive refused a few times to just do the odd window here and there for someone with another WC.....only to be approached at a later date when they finally get fed up of "one scrim bob" and sack him off....ill take them on then.......but cleaning a property another window cleaner cleans as well is just not a job i want to take on....

in fact i turn down most new enquiries these days....i had one the other day...mid terraced house on a main road.....no thanks......?

 

[Martyn]

We've recently been asked to do a conservatory roof clean and full fascia/gutter clean for a house with a trad cleaner, I tried to put the woman off but she was keen enough to wait three weeks for us to fit her in. We'll probably make more money from this house in one hit than the trad guy does in a year.

I won't be trying to poach the windows though, good luck to the guy.

 

[dazmond]

We've recently been asked to do a conservatory roof clean and full fascia/gutter clean for a house with a trad cleaner, I tried to put the woman off but she was keen enough to wait three weeks for us to fit her in. We'll probably make more money from this house in one hit than the trad guy does in a year.

I won't be trying to poach the windows though, good luck to the guy.

now this is where i would take on the job if i had time to fit them in...a full UPVC clean.....ive done this quite a few times over the years since i went wfp as the trad guy didnt offer this service.