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The window cleaners bad custy code

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Pickingpaul

everyone wants a great round at the size that suits them with every single customer happy to see you and always paying on time.

Just read hanco's thread where he tells the typical tale of an awkward custy accusing him of not even doing the work a couple of months later and not wanting to pay.

We are know this happens from time to time, a certain percentage will be **** custys and we are always best off getting rid of them sooner rather than later. A single customer can really annoy you to the piont that it effects the rest of your day and stays as this negitive thought stamped on your brain.

We should be judging them from day one, this should have to reach our standards not the other way around. I and im sure you lot do too, get a sense of a bad custy straight away but u give them a chance because you might be wrong.

What tell tale clues are there to establish someone is a bad custy?

I want to here all the things that they say that a good custy never would say.

These are the codes to an early dumping

1. Untrusting custy. They ask far too many questions. This is not really a cardinal sin i know but it will mean they will be a pain. They ask things like..."when are you coming next" 'four weeks today' "im not normally in" 'no problem i will text you the day before and u can leave money in the garden here under this pot' "that doesnt sound safe" 'should be fine' " "what if its raining infour weeks" 'then i will be late which is way i text the day before' "i think i want to be in when you clean them, can you come on saturday, im only in today as its my week off" 'not really i do this road on mondays usually' "well i think i need to be in when u do them' "it doesnt really matter if you are in or not as the windows never go out" (no laugh at the joke) "im usually home by 5, can you do it then?" 'Me too, and no i cant' "do you live local?" 'No, i comute from spain each day'

Or. "Make sure you do a good job" "make sure you clean that one"

"can you call back for your money?" 'Not really, you can do me a cheque if you like' "dont have a cheque book" 'bank transfer then?' "Oh, urm, i can do it later then' "ok, heres my details" and they never pay

2 angry. "You left a note last week and it says i owe you £10, i was on holiday. I cant believe you gave me this note, i know you were due as i got your text when i was in cyprus, i will pay you, i dont need to get notes, heres your note back and your money! Never leave me a note like this again, ive never been so offended in all my life blar blar blar" i think its time to give them a miss

This is someone who is untrusting, they are basically telling me that in four weeks time when i text her she will say to leave it or totally ignore the text and not leave any money.

What tell tal signs do you look out for? Because we can all tell a bad custy a mile off but we often still take them on as you are getting a good run on a road ect

 
For me it's Just a gut feeling I get after meeting with them face to face is a good indicator if they are going to be messers or not. They get one strike and they are out now as I don't mess about as they need me more than I need them.

If you listen you can get the tale tale signs like

My last window cleaner stopped comming...I wonder why that was then could it be because you are a pain in the **** as you sound it to me? /emoticons/biggrin.png

 
Great one that smurf

To further it, ive been so annoyed at the odd custy that ive stopped doing a certain roads just because of them, now i dont do that but i still get a bad feeling when im due to do their neighbours house and im thinking they might come out and sk me to do theirs again

 
I can understand that as they are usually the type that whinge & moan to neighbours to try putting them off also through no fault of your own just to get back at you. Then they wonder why they can get a regular window cleaner /emoticons/biggrin.png

 
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hair that sticks up at the back like a fuzzy ducks **** is usually a sign of a messer .

 
Lol .I have 1 particular house that I clean the top and every month...and I kid you not. Every month the lady underneath comes out and moans. 2 years now. Once I lost my temper at her and add housed back. She's had her friends, husband and last month her son came out to ask me to clean her sills. I keep saying it rain water. What does she do after it rains? Nothing well that's what I'm doing!

 
About 6 mo ths ago i got a new messer, nice enough lady asked me to do hers so i said i will be over next, shes off out and said someone will be in to pay you later on thanks.

So i go over and clean the front upstairs then start the downstairs and a man walks up to me mid sixties and i say "all right mate?" Man just looks at me barely a smile on his face, i say "can i help you, everythig ok?" Man says nothing and shakes his head a bit, doesnt speak english and i cotton on to the fact he must also live here and the lasy from earlier was his daughter.

So he stands there watching me, quite close, too close for comfort and no conversation at all, i try to ask what he wants with body language but he just stands there watching. I hate this but ive already done half the bloody house so i may as well finish.

Go round the back and im doing conny, top openers first, and he starts pointing at windows i havnt yet cleaned as if im missing them out or something, i ignore him and do all my top openers first with my little squeegee and then do the bottoms. I know also there is a side window going round the othe side of the house which i will do at the end but of course he is trying to point this one out as if im not going to do it.

Finished finally and got paid no trouble but no way im doing their house again, they ask me everytime they see me and i just say im too busy to do any more, the neighbour which also asks me to do them everytime ive also stopped purely because i dont want to be asked by them again and again. I also dont want to have to explain myself to them, i dont want to say your dad was annoying me and i dont want to put up with him following me around, i work solo and listen to music and get on with my job

It annoys me that one customer can ruin a road sometimes

 
That raises another good point as the person you make the agrrement with can be great but their partners and/or relations can be really bloody annoying.

 
I'm just honest, I would just say your Dad annoyed me too much, sorry.

I wouldn't let that spoil a road for me lol.

 
And she would say but he can't speak much english so points a lot /emoticons/biggrin.png

I suppose It's a dad thing to make sure their son/daughter is not being ripped off :rolleyes:

 
I've had a few recently say 'the windows are still clean, can you comeback in a few weeks'. All mine are bi monthly? One wants me to comeback in September!

My work is spread out rurally, so no I can't. Got nearly 200 now, so I've started culling the non compliment customers. I love ripping up their index card. Mwahaha

 
Why as you can charge them double next time for a first clean surley? /emoticons/biggrin.png

Like they are going to agree to that as they don't have the money obviously :rolleyes:

 
thats why I double charge for 1st cleans as well, sorts out the messers.

worst ones are the new build estates, get u in to clean what the builders cleans have missed, then get a text sayin,

'oh thnks but dont need u next month, i will have u back when the dust settles round ere'. o_O

Me thinks: yh right, dont f****n think so mate!:laugh:

 
About 6 mo ths ago i got a new messer, nice enough lady asked me to do hers so i said i will be over next, shes off out and said someone will be in to pay you later on thanks.
So i go over and clean the front upstairs then start the downstairs and a man walks up to me mid sixties and i say "all right mate?" Man just looks at me barely a smile on his face, i say "can i help you, everythig ok?" Man says nothing and shakes his head a bit, doesnt speak english and i cotton on to the fact he must also live here and the lasy from earlier was his daughter.

So he stands there watching me, quite close, too close for comfort and no conversation at all, i try to ask what he wants with body language but he just stands there watching. I hate this but ive already done half the bloody house so i may as well finish.

Go round the back and im doing conny, top openers first, and he starts pointing at windows i havnt yet cleaned as if im missing them out or something, i ignore him and do all my top openers first with my little squeegee and then do the bottoms. I know also there is a side window going round the othe side of the house which i will do at the end but of course he is trying to point this one out as if im not going to do it.

Finished finally and got paid no trouble but no way im doing their house again, they ask me everytime they see me and i just say im too busy to do any more, the neighbour which also asks me to do them everytime ive also stopped purely because i dont want to be asked by them again and again. I also dont want to have to explain myself to them, i dont want to say your dad was annoying me and i dont want to put up with him following me around, i work solo and listen to music and get on with my job

It annoys me that one customer can ruin a road sometimes
I am quite thick skinned and would have just not of acknowledged the pointy guy

If the custy had said anything i would have been straight to the point

I get told I am too blunt with people by my missus

Better for people to know where they stand with you imo

 
I am quite thick skinned and would have just not of acknowledged the pointy guyIf the custy had said anything i would have been straight to the point

I get told I am too blunt with people by my missus

Better for people to know where they stand with you imo
Yeah, sometimes its easier to bend the truth lol

 
Rude is rude no matter the situation, if the guy doesn't speak English should leave it to his daughter, he did to book you why not with the rest?

I bet that guy spreads joy wherever he goes

 
if that guy stood next to me like that i would have told him to make himself useful and put the kettle on..

 
About 6 mo ths ago i got a new messer, nice enough lady asked me to do hers so i said i will be over next, shes off out and said someone will be in to pay you later on thanks.
So i go over and clean the front upstairs then start the downstairs and a man walks up to me mid sixties and i say "all right mate?" Man just looks at me barely a smile on his face, i say "can i help you, everythig ok?" Man says nothing and shakes his head a bit, doesnt speak english and i cotton on to the fact he must also live here and the lasy from earlier was his daughter.

So he stands there watching me, quite close, too close for comfort and no conversation at all, i try to ask what he wants with body language but he just stands there watching. I hate this but ive already done half the bloody house so i may as well finish.

Go round the back and im doing conny, top openers first, and he starts pointing at windows i havnt yet cleaned as if im missing them out or something, i ignore him and do all my top openers first with my little squeegee and then do the bottoms. I know also there is a side window going round the othe side of the house which i will do at the end but of course he is trying to point this one out as if im not going to do it.

Finished finally and got paid no trouble but no way im doing their house again, they ask me everytime they see me and i just say im too busy to do any more, the neighbour which also asks me to do them everytime ive also stopped purely because i dont want to be asked by them again and again. I also dont want to have to explain myself to them, i dont want to say your dad was annoying me and i dont want to put up with him following me around, i work solo and listen to music and get on with my job

It annoys me that one customer can ruin a road sometimes
That's defo one of our barterer friends!

 
it can be difficult if ya clean a few in a row and they all are friends but one doesnt seem to want to pay wile the others pay no problem /emoticons/angry.png(

 
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