hi guys.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on a situation I find myself in and how you'd move forward with it if it was yourself. I'll try and keep it short and to the point.
I've had a customer for a year now. £15 on a monthly basis. Nice lady, husband seems nice. Turns out I knew their daughter when I was a teenager. I send the woman a reminder text the night before and she makes sure the dog isn't in the garden. The garden always smells like jeyes fluid so I guess she disinfects the patio for me before I come. Nice detached house with fancy cars. She's a fast payer and always asks about my kids and my dad who's disabled. Ideal customer really.
At the end of Feb I called round for her monthly clean. @daveyboy was working locally and popped round to see me while I was there. I was just finishing up on the flat roof above her garage conversion and noticed weeds growing out of the gutter that runs the length of the house from front to back. I put the ladder up and the gutter was half full with moss and muck with the odd weed here and there. I knocked the door for my money and reported my findings. She asked how much to clear it, I told her £30 and she told me to go for it. In fact, she almost bit my hand off she seemed that keen. I cleared the gutter, and gave it a quick clean with pure to get rid of the mucky splashes I'd made. Took about twenty mins, collected my money, customer happy.
Last month I sent her the reminder text and she replied and said she wouldn't be about. I replied and said not a problem, I'll crack on and then get the money from her another time. She replied and said she was "in and out of London" at the moment and asked me to leave it. I thought it was a bit odd but she could have personal stuff going on so no big deal.
At the end of last week I called round for her monthly clean. Completed clean, no one home. Cleaned next door and went on my way. I realised this morning that I'd not left a payment slip so dropped her a message letting her know that I'd call round on Thursday to collect.
This is the reply I got from her.
It took me by surprise a bit. She'd agreed the price (and was happy with it) before I started and was pleased with the job when i finished. I wasn't happy with her reply and wasn't really sure what to say so I sent this.
I tried to keep it professional and friendly but it felt to me like she was accusing me of ripping her off. She replied with the following.
I get that I didn't give her a mega-cheap price but I'm in this game to make money. Maybe she could have got it cheaper if she'd have shopped around but it wouldn't have been significantly cheaper. I suspect that the husband has come home and given her an ear bashing and now she's taking it out on me. I don't normally get wound up by things like this but she's waited two months to moan at me and pretty much accused me of trying to scam her.
She currently owes me for one £15 clean. I'm tempted to text her and tell her to keep her £15 as a good will gesture and that I won't be cleaning her windows any more. I want to keep it polite and civil but want her to know that I'm not happy. I clean some of her neighbours and she knows some people that I know.
Any thoughts on how I could handle this?
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on a situation I find myself in and how you'd move forward with it if it was yourself. I'll try and keep it short and to the point.
I've had a customer for a year now. £15 on a monthly basis. Nice lady, husband seems nice. Turns out I knew their daughter when I was a teenager. I send the woman a reminder text the night before and she makes sure the dog isn't in the garden. The garden always smells like jeyes fluid so I guess she disinfects the patio for me before I come. Nice detached house with fancy cars. She's a fast payer and always asks about my kids and my dad who's disabled. Ideal customer really.
At the end of Feb I called round for her monthly clean. @daveyboy was working locally and popped round to see me while I was there. I was just finishing up on the flat roof above her garage conversion and noticed weeds growing out of the gutter that runs the length of the house from front to back. I put the ladder up and the gutter was half full with moss and muck with the odd weed here and there. I knocked the door for my money and reported my findings. She asked how much to clear it, I told her £30 and she told me to go for it. In fact, she almost bit my hand off she seemed that keen. I cleared the gutter, and gave it a quick clean with pure to get rid of the mucky splashes I'd made. Took about twenty mins, collected my money, customer happy.
Last month I sent her the reminder text and she replied and said she wouldn't be about. I replied and said not a problem, I'll crack on and then get the money from her another time. She replied and said she was "in and out of London" at the moment and asked me to leave it. I thought it was a bit odd but she could have personal stuff going on so no big deal.
At the end of last week I called round for her monthly clean. Completed clean, no one home. Cleaned next door and went on my way. I realised this morning that I'd not left a payment slip so dropped her a message letting her know that I'd call round on Thursday to collect.
This is the reply I got from her.
It took me by surprise a bit. She'd agreed the price (and was happy with it) before I started and was pleased with the job when i finished. I wasn't happy with her reply and wasn't really sure what to say so I sent this.
I tried to keep it professional and friendly but it felt to me like she was accusing me of ripping her off. She replied with the following.
I get that I didn't give her a mega-cheap price but I'm in this game to make money. Maybe she could have got it cheaper if she'd have shopped around but it wouldn't have been significantly cheaper. I suspect that the husband has come home and given her an ear bashing and now she's taking it out on me. I don't normally get wound up by things like this but she's waited two months to moan at me and pretty much accused me of trying to scam her.
She currently owes me for one £15 clean. I'm tempted to text her and tell her to keep her £15 as a good will gesture and that I won't be cleaning her windows any more. I want to keep it polite and civil but want her to know that I'm not happy. I clean some of her neighbours and she knows some people that I know.
Any thoughts on how I could handle this?