@dazmond the rain thing really irks me sometimes. I always say I work all year round and in most weathers. I'm not unreasonable and wouldn't show up if it was battering down, or loads of snow etc, but I have to earn money to pay bills like everyone else. When I started a few years ago I really took things quite seriously and would get quite annoyed if you got someone who said they wanted a regular window cleaner and then cancelled after one, or they were persistently demanding or messed me about with silly excuses like drizzle etc. Nowadays I don't take it to heart at all. I only do gutter clearing for long term customers and very little gsf cleaning as I don't like it and I just find that people think it's a 20 minute job worth about £15. Everyone is different but I'd much rather clean windows all day than most other exterior cleaning. I'm not one for holding grudges, but if for any reason they mess me around a lot I remove them from my books and if they get in touch again I just tell them I'm unavailable (as I just don't want the hassle). I'm never rude but I don't barter on price or tolerate too much of the "could you just do this while you're here..." sorts of people either etc. Lots of red flags in this game - some justified and some occasionally not, but you do get a reasonable sense for it.
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Frustrating customers!
- Thread starter bryyy2104
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Bell Pallisey
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Every biz has its aggro doesnt it, we are lucky in that the main aggro is somebody not paying but its minor in comparison to a shop owner who has shoplifting to contend with. Know a friend who works in a toy shop they had somebody walk out with 600 notes of lego, so they employ a security guard but he costs them 500+ per week so imagine that ? And then theres a local pub somebody said a tiny splinter on a chair back pulled a thread from his wifes wool coat, guess what a new coat cost them almost 300 notes .Theres so many conmen and women out there, back when i was married my exs sister threw herself under a bus chugging out the bus station , only got 3k as it was a crappy fall. But god knows how it affected the driver?
Bell Pallisey
Well-known member
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About 5yrs back a fellow got in touch via FB , im an ex windy but im now crippled after army service can you clean my windows? Of course we can, so turn up and his wife calls upstairs to "iAN,HURRY UP its the window cleaner! "
down comes IAN, runs down stairs 2 at a time,in his socks ,like a gazelle straight out the front door and whips round "howr you doin mate?" i replied how are you getting along in that wheelchair?? [id seen it on FB] . tHis would all be a bit funny only recently hes got a brand new VW Caddy wheelchair equipped its all so wrong
down comes IAN, runs down stairs 2 at a time,in his socks ,like a gazelle straight out the front door and whips round "howr you doin mate?" i replied how are you getting along in that wheelchair?? [id seen it on FB] . tHis would all be a bit funny only recently hes got a brand new VW Caddy wheelchair equipped its all so wrong
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DefinitelyThat's really good @Iron Giant that some positive stuff has come from it
I've found posting on Facebook local area hubs really good for getting interest. I need to get more pics and reels on my business page though, which I find a faff to be honest, but my wife's offered to help out thankfully.
I have been toying with the idea of doing more pics and creating a poster like image which I can just post every once in a while, to be honest, I don't need any new jobs, but I think it's still good to keep yourself in the public eye,
I normally avoid local FB groups but re-joined one last week and as soon as anyone ask for a window cleaner 4-5 names are been thrown into the hat from users and business owners, it's saturated in my neck of woods with cleaners.
Sounds good! Working smarter, not harder as they say. I'd love to be in a position to be able to do that, but I've only been going 14 months so I still need all the customers have.I very rarely get any trouble from customers these days....
If I do I just get rid.i dumped 2 long standing customers the other week because they don't want me cleaning their windows in the rain...
It's impossible to not occasionally clean theirs in the rain with climate change so I don't want them on my books
I'm just don't care anymore if they don't fit into my way of working/schedule
I never clean inside windows(apart from the odd kitchen window for an elderly customer),no gutter clearing,no ladder jobs....
I'm still picking up work here and there and cutting any deadwood out of my round....
It's normal!remember that!all our rounds are built on shifting sand and constant refining is needed to keep it in good shape....
Just out of interest, how long have you been going for @dazmond?
dazmond
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31 years!I started back in 1993 aged 21.im now 52....
316 jobs at present and work 20-25 hours per week usually spread over 4 days.
Wow! So you'd have started when I was 10
I've got a friend who helped me set up who has been going 25 years, and he's steadily refined everything to a fine art. He refuses to work in the rain, which I envy a bit as I'm nowhere near that point yet.Do you still enjoy it after all those years?
adamangler
Wakefield Window Warrior
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- Wakefield
Refining work never ends. Just when you think you have everything sorted someone will start paying slowly or forgetting to unlock the gate. I dump customers all the time i dont have anytolerance for messers these days. I dumped one this week because the parking always does my head in, one the week before because shes always moaning about 1 particular velux thats a pita to clean. I only work 16 to 20 hours a week on windows now so dont need as many, i want quality not quantity.
dazmond
Well-known member
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- salford, manchester
Wow! So you'd have started when I was 10
Do you still enjoy it after all those years?
Yes.....the job is a lot easier and a lot more profitable than when I was on the ladders,also no collecting money twice a week in the evenings like the old days...
It's an absolute doddle compared to all that ladder climbing!
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It's a choice to work in the rain or not, personally if you have 4 days of work a week these days you don't have a choice otherwise it's money down the drain, I'm not losing £100's because of a bit of rain,
Just keep on pushing on!!
I have been trading for over 24 years and cleaning windows a lot longer, I am still refining and even dropping good customers to make my rounds more compact and each day more profitable.
You will reach your goals if you keep at it, but you have to put up with some awkward customers and jobs you'd sooner be not doing at times that's just how it goes to build a solid customer base.
