Peed right off with some customers

[Baldmonkey]

I have something similar written on my website about doorstep cancellations, the failing in all of this of yours and mine is how can they give you a a full days notice to cancel if they aren't aware that you are due the next day until they get a text and you are going to be there first thing the next morning, 

My jobs mostly pay via direct debit so if a gate ain't open when I call then they get charged my minimum and if it continues they get charged full price, I ain't had anyone spit their dummy as it's there in black and white on my website. which they most likely never read and most likely never check their emails when a payment request is made as no doubt it goes in the spam folder. 

My cleans are on a precise schedule and easy to know when I'm due, they can easily be marked on a calendar ?

 

[E Rutherford]

To give you an example of how little we are in the customers minds.

I used to have a customer on my first round which I cleaned monthly for about 6 years, I also cleaned their roof and would help them carry plants and thing because they were getting on, the clean also included cleaning the inside of both conservatory’s every month where they would more often than not be having a cup of tea and a chat with me. 

One December day I was in the conservatory and on the table was her stack of Christmas cards ready to be handed out, top of the pile was addressed to “the postman” did I receive a card, no. Bloody postman did and they didn’t even know his name.

 

[Baldmonkey]

To give you an example of how little we are in the customers minds.

I used to have a customer on my first round which I cleaned monthly for about 6 years, I also cleaned their roof and would help them carry plants and thing because they were getting on, the clean also included cleaning the inside of both conservatory’s every month where they would more often than not be having a cup of tea and a chat with me. 

One December day I was in the conservatory and on the table was her stack of Christmas cards ready to be handed out, top of the pile was addressed to “the postman” did I receive a card, no. Bloody postman did and they didn’t even know his name.

Ha ha ha posties had you there ?????

 

[Martyn]

One December day I was in the conservatory and on the table was her stack of Christmas cards ready to be handed out, top of the pile was addressed to “the postman” did I receive a card, no. Bloody postman did and they didn’t even know his name.

Much more important, did you get a tip?

 

[Davy G]

My cleans are on a precise schedule and easy to know when I'm due, they can easily be marked on a calendar ?

I'd be interested to know how that works with holidays (theirs and yours), Illness (dito), weather that's just too foul to work in, equipment or van breakdowns and servicing or other unforeseeable issues?

Fair play, you're some man if you can lay all your life out on a calendar with any degree of certainty and confidence. ?

 

[Baldmonkey]

I'd be interested to know how that works with holidays (theirs and yours), Illness (dito), weather that's just too foul to work in, equipment or van breakdowns and servicing or other unforeseeable issues?

Fair play, you're some man if you can lay all your life out on a calendar with any degree of certainty and confidence. ?

Hi Davy, I don't work every day, I work exceptionally hard for 4 days a week then leave 3 days for the sake of time off and one off jobs, every 3 weeks I have 10 days off so if I'm ill I can move a big block to that space, or if it's the odd day with bad weather etc I can move it forward a few days, when I do that it just forms a different pattern. If I want to go on holiday I just slot it in my 10 day off period and bobs your uncle... it's dead simple really

 

[cleaniac]

Haven't got time to read all these replies..but this is what I do. 

When I leave a bill, I put the next clean date on the bill with a big arrow. I stick to that date regardless. 

I don't text the night before, it's down to them to note down the date, all I have to do is turn up and clean. There is also a written  statement that says, full payment is due regardless as they are paying for the appointment slot, so if your gate is locked, tough we clean what we can but..full payment still due (not worded like that, but you get the picture). 

Only time I need to text is if I need to cancel the appointment, which is rare.

As for all this 50% cancellation nonsense,  trust me all it will do is alienate your customers. Don't hold a gun to their head, it's window  cleaning for goodness sake. 

Just have a good business process in place to start with.

 

[Danfire]

When I started virtually all customers paid cash and a few with cheques. I didn't want the aggravation of driving round collecting money (or cheques) from customers that weren't at home during the clean or didn't have any money at the time.

A text or phone call the evening before helped to avoid wasting time collecting as money could be hidden in the usual places for me to pick up during the clean.

It worked well. Anyone wanting to skip would either be dropped or put onto an alternative schedule with a higher price. The last thing I want is to turn up to clean and someone feeling obliged to have the work done even though they don't want it. If the customer isn't enthusiastic about my service, I don't really want them.

Now the payments are done by transfer I still send the reminders. Most appreciate it, some don't need it and I don't bother but it definitely has its advantages. 

 

[Don Logan]

If I didn't make contact with most of my domestic customers we would encounter locked gates blocked drive ways. 99% of my customers like this approach, you are always  going to get the odd one say no for some reason. Two on the bounce and out, or a customer starting to go ad hock I bin them straight away.