Bitch Slapped.

Joined
Jun 20, 2016
Messages
6,242
Location
Bc
Name
Jeff T
I write the price before I start cleaning and they sign the work order.
I collect only once I am done and if they are happy with the result.

Surely that's not that hard to follow, or a major cause for re-evaluation, solution hose cooker :winky:
I wasn’t speaking of you’re practices Ofer...
Yup, it’s that time again....
BTW, anyone have a source for cheap hoses?
 
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rwcarpet

Supportive Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Messages
3,084
Location
Youngstown, Ohio
Name
Robert Hodge
Got bitch slapped a few weeks ago by a kindly old lady. Little condo, traffic lanes only, I even went easy on her at $140. Quick in and out job with all the trimmings.....easy, quick setup, corner guards, Sealadoor, etc. She gave me the old "I'm on a fixed income, I didn't think it would be so high. Being the softie I am, and thinking of my Mother, I took $100. She later told another tenet that she feels bad using her age to get lower pricing.

I won't be back.
 

SamIam

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
11,094
Location
California
Name
sam miller
New customer this morning.

Stopped me in my van a few weeks ago, asking for a card.

From Florida, on the golf course here in Genoa, the most affluent town in the valley.

We had a longer than normal "get to know each other" conversation with lots of mentions by her of how hard it is to find quality, reliable service people

She's an artist who did an amazing job totally remodeling her home. Extremely modern when amazing textures that accent her artwork. I wanted to film a tour of her house but hubby turned me down saying the local home magazine gets 1st dibs..

After corner guards, runners, sealAdoors and prevacuum she asks how much do I owe you?

I tell her let me actually clean the carpet than we'll get to the paying part which gets me an Oh Wow, it looks so good already. Which it did, her vacuumer sucks .

I didn't feel inclined to give her the price as I'm sure Moniquah told her that her two tiny bed rooms would fall under our $125 minimum.

After I finish up and ask her to approve the work ( like the day it was installed!) she again asks how much so I tell her the minimum and she quickly fires back with a She told us $65!
For each room? I ask..

"No for both little rooms.."

The must be a misunderstanding, she would never tell you that.."

Well she did and my husband who was listening can verify, we were on speaker phone. We thought it sounded too cheap.."

at this point any further comments by me would have gotten real ugly as I felt I was getting "jewed" for lack of a better term..

All the little comments and actions are playing back in my mind, wondering where things went wrong..


I wish I had the freedom and nads to slap back.
Things went wrong with you not clarifying the price first after seeing what you had to do.

Quoting first eliminates the haggle after the fact.
 
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SamIam

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
11,094
Location
California
Name
sam miller
Really? Give the invoice BEFORE the service?
That’s like paying for clothes in a clothing store BEFORE you pull them off the rack to try them on....OR, paying for a restaurant meal, before you eat....
What kind of customers are some of you guys servicing?
I think its time to do some re-evaluation....

It’s called knowing 1 out 99 is going to bitch slap you.
 
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bob vawter

Grassy Knoller
Joined
Sep 15, 2007
Messages
43,689
Location
La La Land
Name
bob vawter
New customer this morning.

Stopped me in my van a few weeks ago, asking for a card.

From Florida, on the golf course here in Genoa, the most affluent town in the valley.

We had a longer than normal "get to know each other" conversation with lots of mentions by her of how hard it is to find quality, reliable service people

She's an artist who did an amazing job totally remodeling her home. Extremely modern when amazing textures that accent her artwork. I wanted to film a tour of her house but hubby turned me down saying the local home magazine gets 1st dibs..

After corner guards, runners, sealAdoors and prevacuum she asks how much do I owe you?

I tell her let me actually clean the carpet than we'll get to the paying part which gets me an Oh Wow, it looks so good already. Which it did, her vacuumer sucks .

I didn't feel inclined to give her the price as I'm sure Moniquah told her that her two tiny bed rooms would fall under our $125 minimum.

After I finish up and ask her to approve the work ( like the day it was installed!) she again asks how much so I tell her the minimum and she quickly fires back with a She told us $65!
For each room? I ask..

"No for both little rooms.."

The must be a misunderstanding, she would never tell you that.."

Well she did and my husband who was listening can verify, we were on speaker phone. We thought it sounded too cheap.."

at this point any further comments by me would have gotten real ugly as I felt I was getting "jewed" for lack of a better term..

All the little comments and actions are playing back in my mind, wondering where things went wrong..


I wish I had the freedom and nads to slap back.
What would John Dutton have done?
 
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Acp

Member
Joined
May 15, 2017
Messages
1,093
Location
Seattle
Name
Bjorn Marshall
I presented a $280 bill today and had the same bs... she INSISTED she was quoted $125.

I watched her scroll through her phone for 15 minutes looking for the non existent email. Every few minutes I threw out a comment like

"maybe it was $225 you were quoted" or "maybe you got multiple estimates" or "thats under our minimum charge so I dont think it was us that quoted you that price"
she finally gave up looking for the email that didnt exist and paid.
 

SamIam

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
11,094
Location
California
Name
sam miller
I’m guessing you guys who have this problem won’t be servicing these Cheapos again? And probably at some point expect the famous 1 star treatment?
 

randy

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
1,400
Location
USA
Name
Randy
I alway look over what I'm cleaning, fill out the form and GET A SIGNATURE before moving one piece of equipment. Too many people looking for a "discount " after the work is done.
 
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Mark Saiger

Mr Happy!
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
11,197
Location
Grand Rapids, MN
Name
Mark Saiger
I raised our minimum to $150 - $175 - $200- and or you better have a lot of work for us to come that distance ….

my wife at times thinks it might be too high until she starts talking to most of the clients and they do say, "I guess we do have more work they can do besides that one bedroom walkway". Then she understands with it this busy and people wanting us just for a quick little job is costing us money really.

We had one that is a pain in the A$$ on a 3rd floor 250 foot hose run that has cheap poly carpet. It always involves a call back to go explain to them what wear is...he used to own a couple of laundromats….

Last year he apprantley posted a negative post about us on Facebook, and when he called (and it had to be get here right now!) we went. His comment of "well my post on Facebook must have got your attention!" My reply: "No we actually didn't see it...it was your phone call to us that got us here....That's all you need to do...." (He wasn't happy about that either)

This year, my wife and daughter will remember the notes I have in the system of "REFUSE TO CLEAN IF THEY HAVE THE SAME CHEAP WHITE POLY....ALWAYS A CALL BACK"

His name is pretty engrained in everyone's brain now
 

Rob Grady

Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Messages
565
Location
Sauble Beach, Ontario
Name
Rob Grady
Amazing how we can go from hero to zero in under nine seconds isn't it? I had a call early summer for dog diarrhea through 2 bedrooms on upper level. The lady of the manor said she could wait til Tuesday, this was on a Thursday, it was raining and I had a 47' Sea Ray to clean dockside, so I told her I would clean for her. Well! wasn't I the lifesaver (her words).
After choking on the smell for two hours while cleaning, her husband, who had come home during the process was wowed by the RVjr''s results thought it would be a good idea to match up the adjoining hallway, MBR and 18 stairs down to ground level. But...he would have to discuss with wife.
They book me for the remainder of the work, another two& a half hours. FIVE &A HALF HOURS for $480.00!!
Well, I'll hurry it up Marty, the s#@ hit the fan this time, not the floor. They eventually paid, but they are on the do not work list.
By the way, I only spoke to the lady on the phone, never met her as she is on the go by the sounds of it.
Long story short, I like time make eye contact with first timers, and I didn't. Live and learn.
 
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Brian H

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2006
Messages
3,568
Location
Detroit Michigan area
Name
Brian H
Lastly selective hearing.

It happens a lot between the phone conversations

Will be there 8–10 on Thursday.

Inevitably they call at 8:05 where are you??????

8-10 is an arrival time.

No the lady said 8, the lady said 8!

Hopeless.
We teach our people to say "..will be arriving between 8 and 10 am. " We learned that after too many of the calls like you took.
 

Brian H

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2006
Messages
3,568
Location
Detroit Michigan area
Name
Brian H
Amazing how we can go from hero to zero in under nine seconds isn't it? I had a call early summer for dog diarrhea through 2 bedrooms on upper level. The lady of the manor said she could wait til Tuesday, this was on a Thursday, it was raining and I had a 47' Sea Ray to clean dockside, so I told her I would clean for her. Well! wasn't I the lifesaver (her words).
After choking on the smell for two hours while cleaning, her husband, who had come home during the process was wowed by the RVjr''s results thought it would be a good idea to match up the adjoining hallway, MBR and 18 stairs down to ground level. But...he would have to discuss with wife.
They book me for the remainder of the work, another two& a half hours. FIVE &A HALF HOURS for $480.00!!
Well, I'll hurry it up Marty, the s#@ hit the fan this time, not the floor. They eventually paid, but they are on the do not work list.
By the way, I only spoke to the lady on the phone, never met her as she is on the go by the sounds of it.
Long story short, I like time make eye contact with first timers, and I didn't. Live and learn.

Remember, "the value of services diminish rapidly once that service has been performed" And that includes the second you are done. I am not sure where I heard that but I have heeded that warning for many, many years.

If adding on as what happened in Rob's example, we just make sure the customer knows what the additional work will cost before we add it on. "Yes, we can do the additional bedroom and stairs while we are here. That would bring the total cost to $xx.xx".

I don't like surprises and I am sure no one else does either.
 

FredC

Village Idiot
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
26,229
However, the recording or sharing of wire conversations require the consent of all involved parties. (exceptions for court order an emergency)

and she is in CA which is two party consent


*https://law.justia.com/codes/nevada/2017/chapter-200/statute-200.620/
 
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FredC

Village Idiot
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
26,229
It was my understanding Monique answered this call. Is she in NV? Where would the calls be recorded?



and it wouldn't matter anyway....see above


NV requires consent of all parties on wire communications except in emergency or when there is a court order
 

ruff

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
11,010
Location
San Francisco, CA
Name
Ofer Kolton
Yea, that makes the whole thing real simple. A joy ride.

You play the recording, they claim it isn't their voice but it was doctored..........by the time you're done it's as close as it gets to WW-3, and you got an enemy for life to boot. Dale Carnegie in reverse.

All of that effort to avoid putting the price in writing before starting. Makes sense!
 
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Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
187
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
Name
Eric
Last week a customer called and asked how much it would be for 3 rooms and a hall. I gave a price and we scheduled the cleaning. When I showed up he wasn’t there but his wife was. House actually had 5 rooms and I told his wife it would be an extra $80 from the price I quoted and she said no problem. After I was done and went to collect payment the wife told me her husband has the credit card and to call him. Husband was pissed about the additional price and said he didn’t want those rooms cleaned and refused to pay any more than the quoted price. I tried to get him to meet me in the middle but he wouldn’t budge. I don’t know what else
I could have done but I just ate it and cancelled his appointment he made for his mom later that week. Super frustrating
 

Cleanworks

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Oct 22, 2012
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New Westminster,BC
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Ron Marriott
Last week a customer called and asked how much it would be for 3 rooms and a hall. I gave a price and we scheduled the cleaning. When I showed up he wasn’t there but his wife was. House actually had 5 rooms and I told his wife it would be an extra $80 from the price I quoted and she said no problem. After I was done and went to collect payment the wife told me her husband has the credit card and to call him. Husband was pissed about the additional price and said he didn’t want those rooms cleaned and refused to pay any more than the quoted price. I tried to get him to meet me in the middle but he wouldn’t budge. I don’t know what else
I could have done but I just ate it and cancelled his appointment he made for his mom later that week. Super frustrating
Should have told him to take it up with his wife but he has to pay you for the extra work.
 

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