A bit of a rant!

[JBC]

Had a gutter clean and clear yesterday for an older female customer.

At the end of the job paid up and said she would recover me to her neighbours, all good. I mentioned as I has leaving that I noticed a bit of a wobble in one of the barge boards on a gable end. (It was a bungalow) she said she would look into it.

Fast forward to today, i have a phone call from this lady. She has had some fella come and have a look at the barge board and he has found some problems... he proceeded to empty two big boxes of debris from the gutters and said I have also left black spots all over the outside of the Gutters. (These black spots are overspray from the neighbours painting their fence, paint removal is something I've ever included in a gutter soffit clean).

Anywho she is demanding a full refund (which I will honour as I don't want the hassle/risk getting a bad review). The best part is this handy man chap did all of this from the goodness of his heart and hasn't yet charged her any amount.)

Long story short, take before and after pictures of every job, lesson learnt.

 

[Jamo321]

Had a gutter clean and clear yesterday for an older female customer.

At the end of the job paid up and said she would recover me to her neighbours, all good. I mentioned as I has leaving that I noticed a bit of a wobble in one of the barge boards on a gable end. (It was a bungalow) she said she would look into it.

Fast forward to today, i have a phone call from this lady. She has had some fella come and have a look at the barge board and he has found some problems... he proceeded to empty two big boxes of debris from the gutters and said I have also left black spots all over the outside of the Gutters. (These black spots are overspray from the neighbours painting their fence, paint removal is something I've ever included in a gutter soffit clean).

Anywho she is demanding a full refund (which I will honour as I don't want the hassle/risk getting a bad review). The best part is this handy man chap did all of this from the goodness of his heart and hasn't yet charged her any amount.)

Long story short, take before and after pictures of every job, lesson learnt.

Why wouldn’t you take photos in the first place?

 

[JBC]

Been doing it for 17 years, can't always be bothered.

 

[Pjj]

So are you admitting you didn’t do the job properly , or did the guy claim he had removed this dirt from the gutters when he hadn’t ?.

 

[Yogi1872]

Did you check the gutters were clear when you were done ?. If you didn't and there's been 2 lots of buckets still left inside them, instead of feeling hard done by and having a rant I'd feel embarrassed that I've done such a bad Job.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I usually do bungalow gutters with the ladder. Got 3 on tomorrow and one will be with the ladder. I guess you must have used the vac and left alot behind. ?

 

[JBC]

Yes, I checked the gutters all working well. Just a handyman trying to steal work and the good will of customers. Hey ho, plenty more work out there. Thanks for your insights.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Yes, I checked the gutters all working well. Just a handyman trying to steal work and the good will of customers. Hey ho, plenty more work out there. Thanks for your insights.

There is people out there like that I'm afraid. Always happens when the OAP has no one to leave their house too and a "caring" handyman or female cleaner does plenty of stuff for nothing. Seen it in all the old TV detective dramas on ITV 3 but now its happening for real because plenty of folk with dementia.

 

[Deleted member 5762]

@JBC did you clear them and he have debris with him and then claim he'd just cleared them? Or was there that much debris after you cleared them. If it's the first one he's absolutely taking the p*ss. If it's the second then I'm not sure how there is that much stuff left in the gutters the day after you'd cleared them. Apologies, it's not very clear from your post.

 

[Yogi1872]

If you know 100% they were clear then I wouldn't refund the money. I'd ask to be put in contact with handy man and il also be straight back to the house to see where he's put the stuff that he says he's taken out.

If that's not the case and there was what he says there was in it then it's likely alot might be like that. If that's the case then although not great, it might just be that kick up the **** which might or might not have been needed which stops that scenario from happening again.

 

[Iron Giant]

Had a gutter clean and clear yesterday for an older female customer.

At the end of the job paid up and said she would recover me to her neighbours, all good. I mentioned as I has leaving that I noticed a bit of a wobble in one of the barge boards on a gable end. (It was a bungalow) she said she would look into it.

Fast forward to today, i have a phone call from this lady. She has had some fella come and have a look at the barge board and he has found some problems... he proceeded to empty two big boxes of debris from the gutters and said I have also left black spots all over the outside of the Gutters. (These black spots are overspray from the neighbours painting their fence, paint removal is something I've ever included in a gutter soffit clean).

Anywho she is demanding a full refund (which I will honour as I don't want the hassle/risk getting a bad review). The best part is this handy man chap did all of this from the goodness of his heart and hasn't yet charged her any amount.)

Long story short, take before and after pictures of every job, lesson learnt.

Personally, I'd tell her to jog on, and question her saintly handyman, as to where exactly he got the debris from and did he just not take some of the stuff you took out of the gutters, out of the customers' bin I'd want to know exactly where this handyman got the debris from, no doubt he's quite friendly with the customer and found out the price you'd charged and thought I'll have some of that,

If you spent hours cleaning the debris from the gutters and then washing down the plastics no way would I give a refund it's like you're admitting that you are guilty of something you haven't done and this angel of a handyman will get away with lying and be trying allsorts on in the future and taking peoples money dishonestly,

I'd stand my ground and wouldn't have someone pish all over my reputation because she'll be slating you to everyone regardless of whether you refund her or not and your reputation will definitely be tarnished.

 

[spruce]

Had a gutter clean and clear yesterday for an older female customer.

At the end of the job paid up and said she would recover me to her neighbours, all good. I mentioned as I has leaving that I noticed a bit of a wobble in one of the barge boards on a gable end. (It was a bungalow) she said she would look into it.

Fast forward to today, i have a phone call from this lady. She has had some fella come and have a look at the barge board and he has found some problems... he proceeded to empty two big boxes of debris from the gutters and said I have also left black spots all over the outside of the Gutters. (These black spots are overspray from the neighbours painting their fence, paint removal is something I've ever included in a gutter soffit clean).

Anywho she is demanding a full refund (which I will honour as I don't want the hassle/risk getting a bad review). The best part is this handy man chap did all of this from the goodness of his heart and hasn't yet charged her any amount.)

Long story short, take before and after pictures of every job, lesson learnt.

Many years ago we were asked to clear gutters and clean gutters and fascias for a neighbour of a regular customer.

No one was home when we did the job, so we went back later for the money. He's first words were, "how do I know you cleaned the gutters?" "I'll get my ladders off the van, and you can go up there and inspect them." "I'm scared of heights." "Well, I am sorry about that, but you will just have to take my word for it. You can always ask a friend who isn't afraid of heights to come and check them for you. I'll wait."

He very reluctantly paid up. When we left, we decided that we needed to take before and after photos of any new customer jobs, so we have proof we did the job, ensuring that part of the background is something they recognize on the ground, such as a flower bed, flower pots, etc.

We also use some tall A frame ladders for getting over locked gates. We also take a photo of that, as we have had an issue with this before.

These are not the kind of customers we want on our round. Once the issue has been settled, they are dropped from our customer base.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I did 3 gutter clears today and one had the inside brackets. He was saying some stuff is still under the brackets so next time I have to tilt the vac nozzle. I said don't worry when it rains all the debris levels out and I will get it next year. The other two I did with ladder and they both saw the amount of stuff I was taking out. Told one homeowner they needed a few new tiles so I will fit them when he gets them for a small fee. I like using the ladder so I can examine the roof and point out any defects and it tends to bring more work. ?

 

[Part Timer]

Many years ago we were asked to clear gutters and clean gutters and fascias for a neighbour of a regular customer.

No one was home when we did the job, so we went back later for the money. He's first words were, "how do I know you cleaned the gutters?" "I'll get my ladders off the van, and you can go up there and inspect them." "I'm scared of heights." "Well, I am sorry about that, but you will just have to take my word for it. You can always ask a friend who isn't afraid of heights to come and check them for you. I'll wait."

He very reluctantly paid up. When we left, we decided that we needed to take before and after photos of any new customer jobs, so we have proof we did the job, ensuring that part of the background is something they recognize on the ground, such as a flower bed, flower pots, etc.

We also use some tall A frame ladders for getting over locked gates. We also take a photo of that, as we have had an issue with this before.

These are not the kind of customers we want on our round. Once the issue has been settled, they are dropped from our customer base.

As quite a few of the gutters we "clear" are empty we try to avoid before and after pictures as you can't tell the difference ?

 

[K in Kent]

Personally, I'd tell her to jog on, and question her saintly handyman, as to where exactly he got the debris from and did he just not take some of the stuff you took out of the gutters, out of the customers' bin I'd want to know exactly where this handyman got the debris from, no doubt he's quite friendly with the customer and found out the price you'd charged and thought I'll have some of that,

If you spent hours cleaning the debris from the gutters and then washing down the plastics no way would I give a refund it's like you're admitting that you are guilty of something you haven't done and this angel of a handyman will get away with lying and be trying allsorts on in the future and taking peoples money dishonestly,

I'd stand my ground and wouldn't have someone pish all over my reputation because she'll be slating you to everyone regardless of whether you refund her or not and your reputation will definitely be tarnished.

The occasional bad review on Google or wherever isn't the end of the world, especially not if you've got a coherent and reasonable explanation for the particular situation.
Anyone looking at the review and your response to it can read between the lines and work out whether it's justified or not.
But what you don't want is what we've got here : a distinct lack of clarity about exactly how this happened. Was the debris real? And if not, I'd be pursuing this with the handyman - and telling her that he's a rip-off merchant and setting her straight.

 

[Iron Giant]

The occasional bad review on Google or wherever isn't the end of the world, especially not if you've got a coherent and reasonable explanation for the particular situation.
Anyone looking at the review and your response to it can read between the lines and work out whether it's justified or not.
But what you don't want is what we've got here : a distinct lack of clarity about exactly how this happened. Was the debris real? And if not, I'd be pursuing this with the handyman - and telling her that he's a rip-off merchant and setting her straight.

Totally agree I have 1 star review on Google from someone who had never been a customer of mine but I have a feeling it was the son of a customer I dropped because of issues with dog


The customer with the guttering issue could be pulling a fast one, with demanding a full refund because if it was a full gutter clearance plus wash down despite the complaint it isn't worth a full refund, and in a normal situation let's say issues with a retailer or supplier the normal cause of action is to address the issue(s) raised not be giving out full refunds based on a phone call because where is the evidence it needs to be backed up for it to be valid claim for recompense

 

[spruce]

As quite a few of the gutters we "clear" are empty we try to avoid before and after pictures as you can't tell the difference ?

True. We did a gutter clear today, which we last did 5 years ago. Hardly any muck in them. He asked how they were. I said they weren't too bad. The garage gutters were full though due to nearby trees. He was totally happy with that reply.

We would only present the empty gutter photos to a new customer.

Nowadays, we empty the gutter vac on the property in an inconspicuous place. We can always show him/her the evidence if there is a dispute. This guy who questioned our service happened 13 years ago when we still did gutter clears off ladders.

 

[Iron Giant]

Nowadays, we empty the gutter vac on the property in an inconspicuous place. We can always show him/her the evidence if there is a dispute.

Until that handyman pops up with his two boxes

 

[spruce]

Until that handyman pops up with his two boxes View attachment 29376

May be we should be videoing our job as we go. We do have the facility to do this with by adding an SD card to our monitor. We haven't had any drama since the aforementioned episode 13 years ago and we are now only reluctantly clearing gutters for existing long term customers.

 

[Iron Giant]

May be we should be videoing our job as we go. We do have the facility to do this with by adding an SD card to our monitor. We haven't had any drama since the aforementioned episode 13 years ago and we are now only reluctantly clearing gutters for existing long term customers.

I wouldn't bother if not needed as good customers have faith and trust in you built up over the years.

I myself reluctantly do add-ons' which is down to whether it suits me or not, otherwise, I'll pass the job onto a mate to quote

 

[Den]

I wouldn't bother if not needed as good customers have faith and trust in you built up over the years.

I myself reluctantly do add-ons' which is down to whether it suits me or not, otherwise, I'll pass the job onto a mate to quote

This is now perfect for me as my son is now working on his own so he gets all the add ons. - where as before I passed on to a few other windies winners all round ?