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Walked off a job today.

BigFoot

Well-known member
Messages
937
Location
South wales
Was asked to quote a builders clean biggish house 5 bedroom and priced it nice at just under £200 for external only.

got to the site today and after five minutes decided it wasn’t for me, called the customer, offered my apologies and suggested ways forward, left on good terms.

i realised how clumsy it felt to work around scaffolding and other obstacles etc. I’ve been cleaning a few years now and this was the first New build builders clean and I’ve decided like others on her I’m not doing builders cleans, I’ll refer them to others window cleaners.

im realising more and more what it is I want and don’t see today as lost time but an experience that helps me narrow my buisness plan and be more focused on what I offer.

Has anyone else walked off a job because you don’t fancy it? 

 
Good stuff!

I have felt like walking off before on a few occasions, but I'm a fairly determined sort, even to my own detriment and frustration.

I do need to go through some of the things I do each month on my rounds and start to "exclude" them somehow. Like the odd window above a longer than usual conny roof.

 
I am new to this trade, so not speaking from a lot of experience. Recently i took on several large apartment jobs which required access to balconies to clean the doors + balustrade's.  I quickly realized this is a awkward proposition - entering + exiting the peoples flats with wet shoe's was a problem so take them off each time. Waiting around for the owner to open the empty flats ect. Also balustrades are a tough thing to clean well and much more time consuming than i expected. What i had expected to take 5 hrs took me 8 hrs. Won't be doing this type of clean again

 
Nearly walked off a job today.  Quoted going off google maps as a bit out of my area but I had another house on the next road.  2 up 2 down end terraced.  Initially said £20 first clean then £15 every 4, customer wanted longer so said £18 every 4 only because I already had another house near.

Anyway after setting up the direct debit she tells me that no window cleaners turn up after quoting.  I said I hear that a lot, nothing that I've not heard before.  Then she tells me that she has a dog with a dog flap at the back door and she would make sure he is not there, however if she forgets in the future then don't worry, he barks but he doesn't bite.

So I turn up to the clean, dog dirt on the pavement.  I check the front and it's astroturf, no problems.  I go to the back and there is dog dirt everywhere, literally about 10 to 15 piles of dog dirt all dotted about.  They had a nice astroturf back garden with a nice raised border surrounding it all but there was even dog dirt on the astroturf.

I was 50/50 whether to just leave it.  In the end I thought I'll see how I go and I basically covered each pile that was likely to cause me an issue with a garden chair and another with the garden table.  When it came to cleaning the windows I just stood in one spot and had the pole extended to reach over to the downstairs window and door and literally cleaned them at arms length.

Luckily I somehow managed to dodge it all but just to be sure I cleaned the pole and hose with some disinfectant and a microfibre.  

Seriously though why do people go to the effort of doing up their garden and then just leave piles of dog **** everywhere.  It's disgusting, I don't understand it.

I tell you something, as I was packing up I was thinking 'there must be a money making idea to sort out this dog **** problem', ha ha, seriously though if a dog can be trained to fetch then I sure it could be trained to use a special toilet  just for dogs.

Think I'm going to have to give that a miss next time, don't know what excuse I can say.  

 
Walked away from a job when I was doing the show houses on a sub-contract the sales woman wanted me to clean well over a 100mtrs of black painted metal railings not my job I told her I am here to clean the windows that's it, but the directors are coming this morning and they need cleaning, she wasn't happy at all ? needless to say I lost the contracts the following week which was a blessing as they were doing my head in with early starts and the builders cleans as well. 

I am only interested in cleaning windows these days and that's it, I am fortunate to be very busy with windows but unfortunate to have a dodgy back and shoulders, but after over 19 years in this game it's about time I did what I wanted all of the time. Got an early finish today and off to a secret rave tonight no idea where until 7pm 
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I am new to this trade, so not speaking from a lot of experience. Recently i took on several large apartment jobs which required access to balconies to clean the doors + balustrade's.  I quickly realized this is a awkward proposition - entering + exiting the peoples flats with wet shoe's was a problem so take them off each time. Waiting around for the owner to open the empty flats ect. Also balustrades are a tough thing to clean well and much more time consuming than i expected. What i had expected to take 5 hrs took me 8 hrs. Won't be doing this type of clean again


its a process of identifying what work you want. sounds like you know what to avoid or charge extra for on similar jobs. sometimes its a frustrating learn but always worthwhile.

 
Walked away from a job when I was doing the show houses on a sub-contract the sales woman wanted me to clean well over a 100mtrs of black painted metal railings not my job I told her I am here to clean the windows that's it, but the directors are coming this morning and they need cleaning, she wasn't happy at all ? needless to say I lost the contracts the following week which was a blessing as they were doing my head in with early starts and the builders cleans as well. 

I am only interested in cleaning windows these days and that's it, I am fortunate to be very busy with windows but unfortunate to have a dodgy back and shoulders, but after over 19 years in this game it's about time I did what I wanted all of the time. Got an early finish today and off to a secret rave tonight no idea where until 7pm 
200.gif
 
they often hold secret raves around south wales in the mountains. locals complain but they always clean up after, unlike the locals!!!

 
I tell you something, as I was packing up I was thinking 'there must be a money making idea to sort out this dog **** problem', ha ha, seriously though
Here you go .... 

http://www.pawservices.co.uk/about-us/faqs/ a company in swindon that cleans mess from gardens similar to a window round also there was news reports of a guy in America doing who if i remeber right turned it into a million dollar business  ?

 
We do the windows on a nice hotel they have just had twelve apartments built in one block and we had to do the builders clean hated doing it but didn’t really have a choice , they have also just spent over a million having a spar complex built as well got a phone call today to go and do a builders clean on half of it today as it’s opening tomorrow ??? we were working around all other trades absolute nightmare hated every muinit of it  just had to bite my tongue and smile sweetly , as it will all be a regular 4 weekly clean and will be a very lucrative job , if it were any one else I would not have done it 

 
they often hold secret raves around south wales in the mountains. locals complain but they always clean up after, unlike the locals!!!
Forgot to reply sorry, it was an organised ticketed event which ended up taking place in an almost underground loading bay, there were 100's there and it was a really good old skool night although there was a proper bar not just water and pop, would love to do a one in the mountains of Wales 

 
Forgot to reply sorry, it was an organised ticketed event which ended up taking place in an almost underground loading bay, there were 100's there and it was a really good old skool night although there was a proper bar not just water and pop, would love to do a one in the mountains of Wales 


old skool rave? prodigy etc/? ,luv it. we got a new age travellers site near me, i remember in 95 was a huge illegal one there, people were even there from spain. Total freedom. still go to the odd gig now but try not to do the smarties  :1f635:

 
These things happen , and this is how we all learn. ?

 
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Lydd airport used to be the main one in the southeast in the 90s - illegal raves being held there every weekend.. I was too young but i used to hear that they were legendary.

I miss a good club atmosphere with trance music - been years since i had a good night out and night clubs are dropping like flies these days which is an awful shame.

 
I suppose doing commercial work mostly in the retail sector, builders cleans are a regular thing for me, christ only knows how many of these I have done over the years. Working around several others tradesmen can be tedious and time consuming but it's just part and parcel for me to be honest. If I want the job I will do it, as these guys will all be gone after today & the job will never be anywhere near as hard as it is today. That is the way I look at it when I'm doing a builders clean.

 
Forgot to reply sorry, it was an organised ticketed event which ended up taking place in an almost underground loading bay, there were 100's there and it was a really good old skool night although there was a proper bar not just water and pop, would love to do a one in the mountains of Wales 


At it again last night in the next valley over from Me, it wasn’t you I saw in a white boiler suit whistle and glow sticks? ? 

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I go to a lot of skinhead reunions and ska do’s. Once you’ve had a good load of beers and you start skanking and moon stomping, the buzz and sensation are right up there ?.

It’s raving for the middle aged ?

 
I go to a lot of skinhead reunions and ska do’s. Once you’ve had a good load of beers and you start skanking and moon stomping, the buzz and sensation are right up there ?.

It’s raving for the middle aged ?
I've a week coming up next month where I have Madness on the Tuesday in Belfast then the Specials in my home town on the Sunday. Both outside gigs. Looking forward to it but not the hangover on the Monday..

 
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