When is a Good Time to Quit a Cleaning Client?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.พ. 2018
- When is a good time to quit a cleaning client? It's a tough call when you have to make the decision. A good time to quit is when your gut instinct or intuition kicks in and makes you want to end the contract.
We Ask a House Cleaner business advice for house cleaners and maids.
Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru, says more questions are part of finding a good time to quit. Don't just quit a cleaning client or stop working for a client. It's a business decision that needs attention.
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Check out this playlist of similar videos we made on firing clients. More great info. th-cam.com/play/PLh1fKdNH3piTomUV4MfCh9oSxODHYSswY.html
A good time to fire a client is when they disrespect you or your team. Are always paying late. Always complain about something after each cleaning.
There can be people with mental problems and I don't want to have. That in my life sorry.
“I have customers right now that I despise.” - Angela Brown
Me too, 100% 😊
Thanks for sharing! It's definitely tough when you have clients you don't enjoy working with. Remembering that it's just business and maintaining professionalism can really help navigate those situations. 😊
I draw the line when customers try to ask me to do things that add more work to my job.
Like saying to me hey can you use this wood polisher on my table today? OK well you do not pay for things to be polished in your cleaning that was not part of the agreement so no I’m not going to use the wood polish on your table today.
When this kind of stuff starts to happen I just pack my things up and I leave and I send them a message telling them that I appreciate the opportunity but at this time I do not feel like our business relationship is a good fit.
If they ask me to do something simple that’s fine. But if each time I go and they harass me like that, I don’t even try to fix it honestly.
When I end the relationship They always say “I dont get it I was so respectful to you” no you weren’t. Being respectful is more than smiling when you open the door and giving me a glass of water.
A respectful person would not bombard their cleaner with additional tasks that were never discussed.
Just because you are nice with your words to me does not mean you respect me.
Interesting points. Thanks for sharing. To avoid this in the future, you can mention on the walkthrough that what you are quoting is based on the walkthrough and the agreements the two of you decide that day. If in the future the requests change, so does the price. This will prevent any misunderstandings. I love that you have boundaries. 👏
@@AskAngelaBrown yeah it’s taken me awhile to creat paper work that I like. So that issue was just a result of not having good paper work
I have a customer I have been "MANAGING" for 21 years. I am done. LOL. I have been loyal through all her rudeness and "care less" attitude. There comes a point when enough is enough. We are no longer a good fit LOL thanks Angela for all your wonderful advice everyday.
Oh wow...21 years?! I'm amazed you stayed that long. Some people would've have quit sooner. But you know how much you can handle and put up with.
Excellent advice
Glad it was helpful!
I have one costumer that always complaints and is the lowest paying with less frequency. I've been a trooper providing a service for her but she is very difficult to deal with and always tries to find something wrong with my work. I have two prospects with twice a month frequency and better pay I might replace her with.
Thanks for reaching out and keep me posted on what happens. 😊
Thank you! Great tips for any part of life. Great video.
You are so welcome! Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching. 😊
If we were nurses, that’s another thing, people would be depending on us for their lives. I don’t think we should put ourselves in a position to be miserable unless it’s absolutely not economically viable to leave.
Thank you for your comment
welcome in America
Dear Angela, you show great loyalty for your clients which indeed is applaudable...however..some sorts of behaviour in my opinion should never be tolerated from anyone, especially not the customer. There runs a very fine thin line between loyalty and exploitation, between which the difference is not always clear at first glance. Never accept unrespectfull behaviour from a customer, no verbal agression and certainly not physical agression. Allowing customers to throw things at you?? You could say that is your personal choice to exept that behaviour but in my opinion it sets very low standards in civilian behaviour, and certainly should not be tolerated in any working atmosphere. It would mean other cleaners are forced to accept the same behaviour from other clients, lest they are out of the competition for trying to keep the toughest clients....Maybe better not to clean on a day when your client behaves as such, or clearly state you will not tolerate this behaviour. There are boundries to the (financial and emotional) race to the bottom.....
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I agree that setting boundaries is important and the story I told is rather an exception to the rules
I don't tolerate blatant rudeness towards me of any kind. That's my boundary for quitting a client.
That is fine as long as you have established those rules upfront and have communicated that to the client. Everybody has a bad day from time to time - and there needs to be forgiveness and compassion on days where something is not quite right. Quitting a client because one of you has a bad day is not scalable for growing a business.
That said, I had that very talk with a brand deal partner today. "I don't do business with rude people, so if you're a jerk to me or my network, the deal is off." 💯
@@AskAngelaBrown Respectfully, things are quite culturally different in Australia to America. It surprised me what you said about giving the client a pass if they're verbally abusive or throwing something. That behaviour is NEVER tolerated in Australia under any circumstance and this, thankfully, is an embedded cultural norm. Need not necessarily be communicated because it is so rare - and it would only take one single event for me to pack my belongings on the spot and walk out for good. Scaling/profit at the expense of your having your personal boundaries trampled just isn't worth it.
@@user-dq2ym1nn9k If a client threw something at me, I'd throw it back and walk out the front door never to return - says me from Oz.
@@debrawilson8605 Absolutely!
exactly, i was also surprised by this. Cannot imagine this client behaviour to be tolerated in Belgium, or the rest of north-western Europe, but then we have strong Unions and protective laws and contracts, even for cleaners... @@user-dq2ym1nn9k
I have fantasies about telling clients off and get it out of my system before I see them
I think many people have these fantasies and not just in the cleaning business. Thanks for watching!
"It doesn't matter if she swears at me or throws things at me". 👀
👍
What about the houses that are absolutely disgusting every time you clean because those living in it are just downright lazy and it's easier to pay someone to clean? The bins are jam packed with rubbish, the stove top is filthy and the spills are now baked hard, rubbish is thrown under the beds because they're too lazy to put the chocolate and chip wrappers etc. in the bins, all the floors are covered with clothes, toys etc. bathmats are soaking wet, plug holes are full of old hair and black soap scum and the floors are so dirty the mopping water has to be changed several times. This is a family of five - two adults and three children between the ages of 14 and 11. I prefer to clean a dirty house as I can see the improvement I've made but houses such as I've just described make me feel dirty and uncomfortable.
As a cleaning business owner you have a choice to choose to clean these types of homes or to move on to homes that don't make you feel dirty and uncomfortable. Or, you can realize that the people living there (whatever their habits or lifestyle) are seeking to upgrade their environment by hiring you. It's only a few hours every time you come, and the money you earn helps you pay your bills. You can be grateful for the business or you can be grateful in someone else's home. :-)
Debra Wilson, this is the most disgusting thing I would ever expect to hear from the cleaning person? You are so judgmental. Your job is to come and to make space clean, by definition. It is not easy to let someone into a home, to see the inside of our lifestyle, you with your terrible attitude toward your clients and your job, would be less than welcome in my house.
@@lifebeelifebee9214 You should've seen the house. The people living there weren't embarrassed at all. I'm not cleaning squalor - and that is the most appropriate description for the condition of the house. The clients had good jobs but they all had a very casual and slovenly way of living. They got their money's worth but I never returned.
Look at it from the perspective of the cleaner. They dont choose to judge, they just feel overwhelmed when their work is undone after only a couple of days. To clean a very dirty house is one thing. To clean a very dirty house and seeing no bettering after returning several times, can make a cleaner feel like their work is to no use, it can be very depressing and emotionally trying not to see progression. We all want to see results in the work we do, whatever work that is. Imagine you prepare a very, very nice meal for someone, you spent a lot of time on it. Then the person it is meant for swallows it up in two seconds, doesnt even taste what it was and asks for another plate straight away. Moreover, he gives part of it to his dog, and the other part he might spit in it or put out his cigarette in it. But he ate your plate, so whats the problem, right?@@lifebeelifebee9214
This is a boundaries issue imo. Your clients life is not your responsibility. I would not want to spend time in the home of someone I disposed. I would definitely give the person the opposite advice.
Thank you for sharing your perspective
I agree.
I scheduled and took a deposit from a new client for a deep clean. Check bounced. She is hard to get hold of, and does not return messages timely. Said she will pay in cash plus the bank fee, but has brushed me off on when I said I could drop by and collect already. Drop and eat the fees? What would you do?
Yes, It's a hard lesson to learn and I'm sorry you got hit with the bounced check fees, but if the money is not there now - and she's ghosting you... it's not a game you want to play. Move along. 🙁
@@AskAngelaBrown Agreed. Some people just suck.
@@TheHellFlower1 it's never solid when a cheque bounces, unless the person has a very good reason for it and communicates that to you.
@@amandawilson9555 Thanks, got it covered.
ive had customers calling be for an initial quote. obviously I do ask how often do they want the cleaning done...lets say they said the want the cleaning done every 2 weeks, I give different prices depending on how frecuent they want it done. and then they find excuses to push the cleaning more and more and more. I give them chances, but when it happens for several time I know is because they want to use me, spend less and still have a great quality cleaner. I dont usually raise my prices on them just because they waited to long to call me, I give them a few chances... I want to know if this is good enough to let them go. after you have explain to them that their price will go up, and they complain about it, but then say the will be constant but is all a lie is just to get their house clean same price... please help
I hope the issue of spacing out cleaning has been resolved for you- if so, what did you do to get a handle on the situation?
I get the same crap those are the ones I let go it’s not worth the headache and they don’t want there house cleaned that bad
Hi. I am so sorry for being so late to respond. Looks like you got good advice her and I hope you got your issue resolved. Thank you so much for watching, I appreciate it! 🤗
This information is not helpful or accurate you don’t keep a customer on because no
Thankyou for sharing your input.
Hi Angela, I just got a new client. I am using her products. I told her I do not use bleach, after she told me she cleans her hardwood floor with bleach. The first day I cleaned for her, she said amazing. Today I cleaned for her, she filled the laundry tub I use for a mop bucket with a gallon of straight bleach, forcing me to use the kitchen sink a a mop buck. I threw my dirty rags in the bleach and ran some more water to cover the cloths in the bleach. After an hour of leaving her house my eyes were burning and still are. She is obviously passive aggressive behaviour. I want to cut ties with her.
Hi Sandra, it sounds like there is a glitch in the professional agreement. If you are using her products, you don't get to pick which cleaning supplies you use. If she insists on bleach on her hardwood floor, that's what you get. Did you ask her reasoning for using straight bleach on the hardwood floors?
Also, are you her employee or are you a house cleaning company she hired? If you are a cleaning company she shouldn't be running your mop water (and doing your job) unless she is included on your insurance policy.
And speaking of insurance, if her hardwood floors are damaged due to bleach, your insurance company won't cover it, because the hardwood floors are in your custody, care and control - you are expected to know what you can and can't clean them with. She'll need to sign a waiver, saying she releases you from damage. I'm sorry you're going through this.
That sounds like far too much pressure from her to deal with, and I would've cut ties, upon someone filling a tub with a gallon of bleach for the job.
never use bleach. apart from bleaching it doesnt clean or kill bacteria. It mostly does severe damage to any surface and your health and environment. Many other less hazardous products work far better.
Hello Angela, if you re hired as a professional cleaner, is it not wise to bring your own products? (Because you are supposed to know the best and safest products to use for each task `pro` ) I work in a cleaning company as well and we are FORBIDDEN to use ANY harsh chemicals because mostly - they dont solve the problem on a long term base, often merely used because of bad general cleaning habits of the client, or to hide bad cleaning - they generally damage the item surfaces they are used on and the environment - and most of all, our health. Our health is considered priority above any what the client may suggest as a cleaning product. Usually we work with what the client has, and sometimes ask for this or that product that they buy for us. But we explicitly dont use bleach, sink declutter chemicals and the like. In my opinion even anti-chalc should be a no go.....kind regards @@AskAngelaBrown
Let be honest, cleaning people do not want to clean, they want to come and skip as much as they can get away with. Never under, always around, most of the time. One crew of two stole from me at the first day on the job.
Not hard - impossible to find honest service.
I am not sure what leverage I can have to make these people do what they suppose - to clean, and not to pretend.
After loosing our lady who was a solo, due to her covid complications, who treat our home cleaning like her own, I am struggling to find people who would do the job thoroughly.
I understand your frustrations. One of the reasons we created this show was to up-level the awareness and professionalism of the cleaning industry. Until a minute ago, it was the Wild West with anybody becoming a cleaner and everybody doing their own version of cleaning. We now are demanding a higher level of attention to detail, knowledge of chemical safety, personal protective equipment, compassion, reliability and proof of insurance. We've made enormous strides so far - so there is a light at the end of the tunnel... Thanks for your feedback and for reminding us all that we can do better as cleaners. 🙏
Here in rural Midwest, it is still a minute ago Wild West, trust me. Cleaning private houses here is far from being an industry.
Thank you for being understandable to a client's perspective.
That's very judgemental of you. I work hard at each and every job I do. I enjoy getting houses clean and take pride in what I do. I actually don't take on houses that are too clean as it's difficult to make them look different/cleaner. I want all of my clients to know they are getting value for money. Don't classify every cleaner as lazy.
@@debrawilson8605 Nothing personal. I don't judge people by what they say, but for what they do. One can right a book on how good they are, but the action will speak most louder, as we all know. I am speaking in frustration that was built over one year of me trying to find a replacement for our late cleaning lady, who we had for quite some time. Unfortunately, there is a pattern of the trait that I mentioned earlier. Otherwise I would not be spending my time watching videos with cleaning houses content.
Our house is a clean house, and for someone not to take it just because of that it's is kind of funny. I would not expect a cleaning person to try and make my house TO LOOK better that it is. As you wrote above. This is the problem lol. I would expect my house to be cleaned from one week of dust build ups, the bathroom being used for one week, the spills, the kitchen counter polished, the appliances being touched and show, ETC.
Ok have a good day. No use here.
@@debrawilson8605 you must not been doing it that long or as many not saying she was staying anyone as lazy it’s the hard help finding that is the issue . When you have been cleaning for over 20 years you don’t find that joy you just want it done and done right get paid no bologna and go on to the next