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Advice on winter cancellations

Hyzer373

Active member
Messages
170
Location
Midlands
Hi everyone, my window cleaning business has been going about 7 months now (so still new) and it’s been going well until recently... I’m passed 120 odd customers which I’m happy with in 7 months but I am finding that a lot of customers are now asking to skip cleans since October and also a lot have asked to be changed to 2 months and 3 months who were on monthly cleans, this has all been pretty annoying and I’m just wondering if there is a way to fight this without completely losing the customer altogether.

 
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As you're still round building, maybe just say to them that you can change their frequency, or skip, but it'll cost XX amount more as they'll be a lot dirtier and will take you extra time to clean.

That may convince them to stick with the original schedule. I only say this as you're still building your round, so probably can't afford to ditch them and move on.

 
We only accept 4 and 8 weekly on domestic , when quoting I stress this is a year round service and we work in light rain , if there is any hesitation I walk away they arnt a customer I want , if they want to go to 3 months if we have time we would do it but it then would be a one off price 2-3 times more , other than that it is an instant dump 

 
Agree with wezza. Now isn't the time to go all guns blasing on your approach, but next year you'll be able to call the shots better

Focus on maintaining and building then when busy you'll be in the driving seat. If you do lose some however, they often do come back and just keep advertising like mad (it just feels better when you lose a house and can quickly replace it) 

 
go out and get some more customers.........surely you cant have THAT many customers skipping cleans or going on longer frequencies?ive only ever had a handful in 26 years of window cleaning(even when i first started off).....

longer frequency then charge more,for those "see you in the spring" id dump after explaining i cant run a business for only half of the year as i have bills all year round.....

also canvass well to do areas not people that are just about making ends meet....you dont want them sort of customers...

 
As the years pass you will gradually weed out all the messes like this but I normally find unless it's a good reason to skip like illness holidays etc then I just say sorry our outgoings are regular so I only clean on a regular basis year round and have a waiting list of customers (even if you font) that want regular cleans so I'm sorry i will have to remove you from my round. The vast majority have said ok keep coming please the few that haven't sent worth having i guess 

 
Cheers guys some really good advice, I will have to be a bit sterner with customers who are messing about changing frequencies and asking to skip cleans, I’ve been too passive about it I think due to not wanting to risk losing them if I did let them know I don’t work like this and I don’t do skipping cleans etc but then I need to think if I do lose them then they can be somebody else’s problem and I can replace them. I will keep canvassing it just seems harder to pick up customers in the winter compared to when I was canvassing in spring/summer. 

 
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I’m in the same boat mate I’m a year in with 220 customers and lately I’ve had a handful telling me to leave it until March... really annoys me as I do a good job all year for them, turn up on time most months and then they dump me in the winter ? anyhow I’m biting my tongue this year and just accepting it next year I’ll be telling them something along the lines of “I can’t hold your slot until next year if I get a new customer that wants to be added to the round they will have to have your slot” (obviously I’ll make it sound better than that) 

 
I have one tourist based business that doesn’t require them doing Nov-Feb as they are closed then. Which I accept. But domestically, I don’t accept that. Funnily enough I had 2 customers ask me to stop for the winter last year for the first time in ages. So I did, but I didn’t go back. I haven’t done that in 27 years of window cleaning. I’m not starting now!

 
If a customer wanted windows left for 3 months or till March next year they are not a customer any longer are they?. When they finally return(if they do) they are a new customer, and you make a decision whether or not to put them on your round.

 
Cheers guys some really good advice, I will have to be a bit sterner with customers who are messing about changing frequencies and asking to skip cleans, I’ve been too passive about it I think due to not wanting to risk losing them if I did let them know I don’t work like this and I don’t do skipping cleans etc but then I need to think if I do lose them then they can be somebody else’s problem and I can replace them. I will keep canvassing it just seems harder to pick up customers in the winter compared to when I was canvassing in spring/summer. 
During winter we have found that some customers don't even notice their windows had been cleaned. 

We found we got a lot of winter cancellations/leave it till spring to begin with. I also got a bit frustrated as I was also trying to build a round. 

But we really get it now. Over the years those who wanted to skip winter cleans now don't request it and we just clean as normal.

I've only had one so far and she is a new customer from spring. She also decides if she wants just tops done or all windows on the day. She actually a bit of a pain but doing her house makes cleaning the next doors side conservatory windows from her property much easier. So for the meantime we tolerate her foibles. She is a very nice person tbh. None of her neighbours have s bad word to say about her.

 
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Hi everyone, my window cleaning business has been going about 7 months now (so still new) and it’s been going well until recently... I’m passed 120 odd customers which I’m happy with in 7 months but I am finding that a lot of customers are now asking to skip cleans since October and also a lot have asked to be changed to 2 months and 3 months who were on monthly cleans, this has all been pretty annoying and I’m just wondering if there is a way to fight this without completely losing the customer altogether.
I used to always get this when i had first started up but i had a customer the other day say the same thing, i told her she can switch to a 2 monthly clean for the winter if she wishes as windows in the winter get more dirty and she said yes that would be better, in the summer she will probably switch back to once a month,


Dont forget we only have 4 months of cold weather , Novemeber,December,January,February so its your job to educate the customers to stay on board, once you know how to educate the customer then it becomes a lot easier.

 
@HWCS my reply would have been, may I please ask why you would like to skip the clean this time and then reply accordingly dependant on the answer, she could have had a family bereavement or anything so better to ask why
Nah, its coz she wont leave gate unlocked and im not gonna keep climbing over, she wants me to clean only when shes in, and as im not willing to sort my round to only when shes in thats what the problem is, crazy really as she lives in a very very low risk area, BUT her husband has a koi pond with thousands of quid invested in his fish so i can inderstand, its just a case of inconvienience sadly.

£15 gone every 6 weeks, but picked up a £40 6wkly today so swings n roundabouts

 
Nah, its coz she wont leave gate unlocked and im not gonna keep climbing over, she wants me to clean only when shes in, and as im not willing to sort my round to only when shes in thats what the problem is, crazy really as she lives in a very very low risk area, BUT her husband has a koi pond with thousands of quid invested in his fish so i can inderstand, its just a case of inconvienience sadly.

£15 gone every 6 weeks, but picked up a £40 6wkly today so swings n roundabouts
I would have stopped the texts, done just the fronts and charged your minimum price, Bic Pen Lady used to get a text to leave the money in a safe location with no access issues at all, then she would ask me to skip the odd clean because she was on night shift or forget to leave the money out, she no longer gets a text and hasn't said a thing and I am happy for her to owe double as she has been a good payer on the whole over the last 4 years or so

 
Nah, its coz she wont leave gate unlocked and im not gonna keep climbing over, she wants me to clean only when shes in, and as im not willing to sort my round to only when shes in thats what the problem is, crazy really as she lives in a very very low risk area, BUT her husband has a koi pond with thousands of quid invested in his fish so i can inderstand, its just a case of inconvienience sadly.

£15 gone every 6 weeks, but picked up a £40 6wkly today so swings n roundabouts
you know your customers better than anyone on here but this jobs sound a croc of Shiite anyway good riddance come to mind. 

 
Hi everyone, my window cleaning business has been going about 7 months now (so still new) and it’s been going well until recently... I’m passed 120 odd customers which I’m happy with in 7 months but I am finding that a lot of customers are now asking to skip cleans since October and also a lot have asked to be changed to 2 months and 3 months who were on monthly cleans, this has all been pretty annoying and I’m just wondering if there is a way to fight this without completely losing the customer altogether.
This happens in the window cleaning world. I have always gone along with it and cleaned when the customer wants to resume the service. However I now have enough customers to stop this. First off - I always explain to any new new customer that my window cleaning services are all year round and not just for the summer months! This seems to reduce the amount of them cancelling or postponing when the winter arrives. However it'll still happen now and then.

I contacted a newish customer on Thursday to say that her windows are due to be cleaned (£17 bi-monthly). This would have been her 2nd clean and she said to leave it as the weather isn't very good to have her windows cleaned this time.

My reply was that I run a very busy window cleaning business and have to say no to some new customers as I don't wan't to let my excisting customers down by being overloaded with work. Therefor when people just decide to cancel because they think it's not the correct weather to clean windows I could have replaced it with a new customer, and I think it's best that I remove you from my customer base unless you would like to continue as agreed with a regular clean, or look for a window cleaner that just works in the summer months!! That was that and she is now off my list. However on the same day I picked up two new customers to the initial total value of £75 and they are both going to be bi-monthly.......RESULT!!

 
Nah, its coz she wont leave gate unlocked and im not gonna keep climbing over, she wants me to clean only when shes in, and as im not willing to sort my round to only when shes in thats what the problem is, crazy really as she lives in a very very low risk area, BUT her husband has a koi pond with thousands of quid invested in his fish so i can inderstand, its just a case of inconvienience sadly.

£15 gone every 6 weeks, but picked up a £40 6wkly today so swings n roundabouts
You could ask her to register with Go Cardless and do the front back gate is no excuse

 
We are almost into spring ? this post can be someone news issue for the winter of 2021! Work hard over spring and summer guys ? so it isnt an issue for you. 

 
Had my first winter cancellation today. She asked me to stop and return in April. I told her I can't guarantee I'll space in my schedule but I'll see what I can do. 

Another one last month also wanted me to stop for the winter. I told her the same and she said that she didn't want to risk losing me so she kept me on. Although I did suggest she changes to 8-weekly. 

Very annoying but it's part of the process of fine tuning your rounds. Still, picked up 3 new customers today so overall, I've gained rather than lost. 

 
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