Scheduling New Work

[Iron Giant]

You should be able to find out as a mod and check the ip address and compare them

I haven't been a mod for months now

 

[Pjj]

I haven't been a mod for months now

Ah ok sorry didn’t realise that

 

[Chris34]

Hi all.
This one's aimed probably more at the sole traders on here.
How do you handle new work, bigger jobs etc?

I wouldn't say my monthly is completely full but work is getting pushed back when I get days I can't work (haven't worked 3 days this week due to a family bereavement for example). My current strategy is advising new customers that it could be 4-5 weeks until I get to you on large houses, GFS cleans real bad gutters etc.

Given that I'm trying to keep my monthly/Bi-monthly schedule fairly flexible for both myself & customers, I'm thinking it might be better to try and fit the new work in sooner and push the regular work back a little.
Smaller houses & jobs I just fit in as and when.

Thanks in advance.

I try and fit new customers in as soon as possible because I believe you need to strike while the irons hot. When they want a window cleaner it's usually asap, I always think that if it's any longer than 2 weeks and another window cleaner suddenly knocks on their door within that two weeks then there is a chance you will lose the job to them.

However, my current customers are priority, I might move them a day out but will rarely move them into the next week. Current customers are what pays the bills, they're proven customers unlike the unknown of new customers.

Extra work (add ons) I'm now considering stopping doing them. I did a gutter clear this week that took 2.5 hours, it was baking hot and I gradually lost the will to live with it, my arms were giving up and the gap from tile to gutter wasn't ideal coupled with the customer talking a lot the time just ticked by. I only got £130 for it but I get that window cleaning and my arms aren't knackered and it's extremely predictable with the time taken.

The more I do this business the less interested I am in killing my arms with difficult jobs. I'm starting to see people die quite a lot that are not much older than me and it starts making you think what's important in life with more consideration given to it than when you're younger. The idea of working hard and earning good money is like a medal of honour in society in general, but really who does it benefit? Working is good for the soul but only to a certain extent, I think working and coming home with enough money to live a happy life, with enough time to do things you enjoy and spend time with family and friends, not being in pain or physically knackered should be the ideal to aim for. For me the add ons are detrimental to my physical health and so are awkward windows that need my arms at full stretch. So I think moving forward I'll be re-evaluating what work I WANT TO DO, and I'll be cherry picking customers that fit in with my goals. Life's too short to be dealing with all the non payers, picky customers and difficult jobs when you don't have to.

 

[ched999uk]

I try and fit new customers in as soon as possible because I believe you need to strike while the irons hot. When they want a window cleaner it's usually asap, I always think that if it's any longer than 2 weeks and another window cleaner suddenly knocks on their door within that two weeks then there is a chance you will lose the job to them.

However, my current customers are priority, I might move them a day out but will rarely move them into the next week. Current customers are what pays the bills, they're proven customers unlike the unknown of new customers.

Extra work (add ons) I'm now considering stopping doing them. I did a gutter clear this week that took 2.5 hours, it was baking hot and I gradually lost the will to live with it, my arms were giving up and the gap from tile to gutter wasn't ideal coupled with the customer talking a lot the time just ticked by. I only got £130 for it but I get that window cleaning and my arms aren't knackered and it's extremely predictable with the time taken.

The more I do this business the less interested I am in killing my arms with difficult jobs. I'm starting to see people die quite a lot that are not much older than me and it starts making you think what's important in life with more consideration given to it than when you're younger. The idea of working hard and earning good money is like a medal of honour in society in general, but really who does it benefit? Working is good for the soul but only to a certain extent, I think working and coming home with enough money to live a happy life, with enough time to do things you enjoy and spend time with family and friends, not being in pain or physically knackered should be the ideal to aim for. For me the add ons are detrimental to my physical health and so are awkward windows that need my arms at full stretch. So I think moving forward I'll be re-evaluating what work I WANT TO DO, and I'll be cherry picking customers that fit in with my goals. Life's too short to be dealing with all the non payers, picky customers and difficult jobs when you don't have to.

Great post, well said.
PS price your addons higher.

 

[Jaygti]

I try and fit new customers in as soon as possible because I believe you need to strike while the irons hot. When they want a window cleaner it's usually asap, I always think that if it's any longer than 2 weeks and another window cleaner suddenly knocks on their door within that two weeks then there is a chance you will lose the job to them.

However, my current customers are priority, I might move them a day out but will rarely move them into the next week. Current customers are what pays the bills, they're proven customers unlike the unknown of new customers.

Extra work (add ons) I'm now considering stopping doing them. I did a gutter clear this week that took 2.5 hours, it was baking hot and I gradually lost the will to live with it, my arms were giving up and the gap from tile to gutter wasn't ideal coupled with the customer talking a lot the time just ticked by. I only got £130 for it but I get that window cleaning and my arms aren't knackered and it's extremely predictable with the time taken.

The more I do this business the less interested I am in killing my arms with difficult jobs. I'm starting to see people die quite a lot that are not much older than me and it starts making you think what's important in life with more consideration given to it than when you're younger. The idea of working hard and earning good money is like a medal of honour in society in general, but really who does it benefit? Working is good for the soul but only to a certain extent, I think working and coming home with enough money to live a happy life, with enough time to do things you enjoy and spend time with family and friends, not being in pain or physically knackered should be the ideal to aim for. For me the add ons are detrimental to my physical health and so are awkward windows that need my arms at full stretch. So I think moving forward I'll be re-evaluating what work I WANT TO DO, and I'll be cherry picking customers that fit in with my goals. Life's too short to be dealing with all the non payers, picky customers and difficult jobs when you don't have to.

I sort of agree with you.
I charge quite a bit extra for ad ons now. They are hard work , and I don’t need the extra work, so I’ve really bumped up the price.
But yes , once your established, make your work as easy as possible.

 

[Yogi1872]

i like to do any new job as a priority .I have a fixed price structure that is easy to remember .Every Aug i have a clearout of around 100 customers that one way or another are not ideal

You genuinely need to get mental help, I'm not even joking about it. Go and speak to someone.

 

[dazmond]

I try and fit new customers in as soon as possible because I believe you need to strike while the irons hot. When they want a window cleaner it's usually asap, I always think that if it's any longer than 2 weeks and another window cleaner suddenly knocks on their door within that two weeks then there is a chance you will lose the job to them.

However, my current customers are priority, I might move them a day out but will rarely move them into the next week. Current customers are what pays the bills, they're proven customers unlike the unknown of new customers.

Extra work (add ons) I'm now considering stopping doing them. I did a gutter clear this week that took 2.5 hours, it was baking hot and I gradually lost the will to live with it, my arms were giving up and the gap from tile to gutter wasn't ideal coupled with the customer talking a lot the time just ticked by. I only got £130 for it but I get that window cleaning and my arms aren't knackered and it's extremely predictable with the time taken.

The more I do this business the less interested I am in killing my arms with difficult jobs. I'm starting to see people die quite a lot that are not much older than me and it starts making you think what's important in life with more consideration given to it than when you're younger. The idea of working hard and earning good money is like a medal of honour in society in general, but really who does it benefit? Working is good for the soul but only to a certain extent, I think working and coming home with enough money to live a happy life, with enough time to do things you enjoy and spend time with family and friends, not being in pain or physically knackered should be the ideal to aim for. For me the add ons are detrimental to my physical health and so are awkward windows that need my arms at full stretch. So I think moving forward I'll be re-evaluating what work I WANT TO DO, and I'll be cherry picking customers that fit in with my goals. Life's too short to be dealing with all the non payers, picky customers and difficult jobs when you don't have to.

From my experience we all need to keep taking on new work when it suits our rounds....because we all lose customers/jobs throughout the year (whether it's through moving or death,poor health,etc).

As for add ons I only take on the easier jobs nowadays and even though i don't need the work it makes up for the skipped jobs that happen to us all from time to time(building work,holidays,etc).

I have a few jobs I've not cleaned for over 12 months now because of major building work but they will be great paying jobs when completed...

I stay away from any one off
add on jobs that are not existing customers,maintenance window cleaning is the best for me both for my regular earnings and manageable strain on my 52 year old body!