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Did you tell her she's making your life difficult? Give her a wake up call Clyde. Let 'er know what time it is. I feel your pain big guy.

I agree with the others....you gotta finish. You can always say nicely " Mrs. so and so, I would love to be able to sit and chat but you are constantly slowing us down and we have other work to do. I will give you plenty of time to view our work when we are done,thank you for understanding".

Ive had 2 similiar to this, this year. One wouldnt give me a deposit, said she had been done wrong by other contractors. I was going to restore her faith! So did contract with no deposit. We had to be there on a certain day at a certain time and out of there by a certain time. We were running behind so I called her to let her know. Left a message. Didnt hear her call back, pressure washer was running. She left a real nasty message, LOL!!! I called her back and she wanted out of the contract, I said no problem! She called up a friend I network roofs with. Of corse they recommended me, and they got an ear full, lol!!! Geeze!

Thursday I went by my notes and called ahead, for estimate. Wife can meet me there. Left a message that I'll be there in half hour. Got there and walked round house. Dropped a card at the door, and called her to let her know I have some prices! She answered. Freaked out that I looked in her back yard. Called it invasion of privacy!!!! Wouldnt stop! LOL!!! I made the conversation end. She called back wanting pricing. Gave her the prices then she went on with the invasion of privacy chit! I wished her luck with her decision of a cleaning service! But now I'm not gonna do it! lol!!!

If you are hungry you have to deal with customers like this. My 2 cents.

Had a lady on a quote that was the same. I quoted her a VERY high price and just chilled the deal.

Whenever a customer comes outside while I am working I stop working and tell them once they go back inside I'll continue. I tell them it is a safety precaution on our part.

Then again, this service is not my primary source of income and I can pick and choose.

Roof Cleaning Palm Harbor FL 727 543 3276 wrote:

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IIf you don't finish u will more than likely find that u will have an even bigger problem with her. I normally just tell them to stay inside because of the dangers of the materials that we use and what the results could be (bleached clothing, inhaling fumes etc...) That normally keeps them inside. Go back and finish Clyde. You may be surprised. Sometimes the ones like this are the same ones who tip u and actually get you more work.

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 I didn't exactly walk off the job, I just didn't show up or call the following day to complete the job, I was going to call this morning and tell them I wasn't planning on comming back. Thank God I didn't call and tell them that, I will cool down and decide Monday if I will show back up.

however some times its better to walk. because things could get alot uglier trust me. lol.

-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Lanoka Harbor NJ 609-971-6553 on Saturday 25th of June 2011 07:49:12 PM

Roof Cleaning New Jersey wrote:

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Every time I had a gut feeling and didnt go with it I regreted it. I know Clyde personally and hung out with him a few times. In spite of his online Tom Foolery he's and esay going straight shooter. Once someone decides to hire you over another co. or someone else, they almost have an obligation to allow you to execute your standard procedure without hinderance. I can see if Clyde is doing something that is obviously dangerous or potentially damaging, but Clyde is a professional, presentable and has the proper equipment. Its not like she paid upfront.
Clyde did you show up on the job again in your hospital gown?

 

no

-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Lanoka Harbor NJ 609-971-6553 on Sunday 26th of June 2011 09:54:54 AM

I recently walked off a commercial sidewalk cleaning job because of a corporate douche bag who was complaining so much about how long it was taking and how they is still a spot where gum was. You can't please everyone, but sometimes you have to respectfully walk away when you just aren't seeing eye to eye with someone.

Do what I did once, I had a lady who talked and talked and talked all the way around the front part of her house and my ground guy I was feeling bad for was just like ok, over and over. She was not concerned about anything but her tiles since whoever did it last broke some 150 tiles ( must have been a big guy or maybe it was her husband who pressure washed it since it looked like it was pressure washed before, it had all the tell tale signs ) Well when I started on the Lake side of the house there was a light breeze and I warned her several times that if this chemical gets on you it will spot up your clothes and may irritate your skin and she replied oh it's ok these are just workout clothes. So I finially did something which I look back now and think it was not a wise move but when a gust picked up and she was picking up pine cones for some reason I gave her the juice nuke em' just picked up the wand just right so that a little overspray misted her, she disappeared promptly.

JHWorth wrote:

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I really don't like an audience when I am cleaning a roof, I know what I am doing but when they eyeball you the whole time it is sort of awkward, right? Now if they are a straight up PITA I just tell them I charge extra for watching if they laugh I reply I am serious and the they usully go away. But then again it happens once every other year for me, I make them feel comfy during the quote and tell them to make sure all windows and doors are closed, pets if any inside, and if they decide to come outside to look out for any dipping or overspray because it will spot up clothing and irritate skin while active, that works.

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 Hey! Ivan here..when you do things the right way...you gotta have "AUDIENCE"... they are your "MARKETING"..... I just love when they do watch you the entire time!!!!!...