From now on, This is how I will get paid...

Christopher said:
I got jerked around on one job many years ago and after "talking to him in a certain manner" and that I will be there in 20 minutes to collect I also let him know that I will be putting a lien on his wife's house if I am not paid, I will be collecting one way or another at this visit. His wife answered the door and I told here what is happening (she was a doctor, owner of the house and just had a baby) she did not know what was happening and understood the situation and wrote me a check right then and there.

As I left, I could hear her yelling at him calling him a deadbeat and jeopardizing here house due to his incompetence. It was funny to hear.

Sometimes the right tone, accent and right words can help in a lot of situations. I did not threaten him but I made promises that I would keep.
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Chris- totally agree- tone and manner is huge- stressing what you require up front is a must also

A few years back i did some contracting work for a guy in a affluent area who wast around much (he worked in NYC)

He paid as we went but it was like pulling teeth

When the job was done he asked about installing new gutters throughout which i didnt do but had a contractor friend who does

Well he stiffed him out of around 2k which i didnt know about for about a month later

I felt bad for my guy, who was a quiet guy who i knew the HO was trying to get over on,and after several attempts finally latched on to the HO who was clearly dodging me- I basically told him in a tone you speak of "i wouldnt want to come home and find no gutters on my house"..

He paid
 
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Rapid HotClean said:
Boilerplate on all of our proposals and the subsequent work orders so that right from the get go there's no misunderstanding. Before we start they've seen it twice.

Full Payment Due on Completion
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Honest, a case in point. Yesterday I put out four house wash proposals. All proposals always go out via email with the boilerplate payment language. This morning I got an email back from one of them saying he was going with us but won't have the $ until next week and was wondering if that's ok. So there you go.
 
I'm guessing this is a basic question, what to do regarding any fees from checks that bounce? I've only had it happen once, and was with a regular I deal with, and was no hassle to collect the bank fees after.
 
I dont know man maybe i am living in the stone age, but i dont even have any type of contract that i have my customers sign. I tell them how much, they tell me do it, i collect check. no recieptsn o invoices, nothing. 1000 houses and the only problem i had was when i washed a house before they painted it, we crossed signals somewhere because The guy wanted me to blast all the paint off before he re painted it. he was a little upset but I still collected my 300 for a small 1 hour lake cottage.
 
junker1 said:
I dont know man maybe i am living in the stone age, but i dont even have any type of contract that i have my customers sign. I tell them how much, they tell me do it, i collect check. no recieptsn o invoices, nothing. 1000 houses and the only problem i had was when i washed a house before they painted it, we crossed signals somewhere because The guy wanted me to blast all the paint off before he re painted it. he was a little upset but I still collected my 300 for a small 1 hour lake cottage.
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Steve- im probably alot like you- However, we are both playing with a bit of danger here- even for the $350 house wash

What i do, and i slack sometimes,is do an email/text confirmation before i do the job- it serves a few purposes

First, Its a reminder were coming and i also put the payment requirement in there

Second, it serves as a record of the job should there ever be an issue

Maybe in your part of the woods peeps are more laid back and here in NJ most are genuine but a % are pretty cut throat-always people trying to get over

Over the many years ive been in contracting there have only been a few who tested the waters of not paying (all failed) as i have found to be clear and upfront of the terms which works.
 
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Dont get me wrong, I d have some sort of system in place LOL, I use wave apps for my accounting, thats where my customer info is. I do record all that for future references. Most H.O.A and wood work i do require a estimate and proposal. But most house washes are that, simple house washes, and those range between 250 and 500. Though Every once and a while i will get someone asking me to email an invoice.
 
We recently changed our payment policy for residential clients to 'cash up front' before the work commences. Complaints about anything will be entertained ONLY in written form and received at our office within 24 hrs of the job. All complaints are or will be investigated by our supervisors without bias and hopefully a mutually agreeable level is reached. If not, and our investigation finds no reasonable fault with the work provided... court action starts after 2 invoices sent to the client, each with 7 days to finalize.

Gunna (John)
 
^Interesting approach. How big is your organization? Employees,supervisors, etc?
 
hey Scott

We have 8 domestic and commercial cleaners, 4 Forensic cleaners (2 are part time on call) and a team of 3 for the pressure washing (2 work at any given time). We have 2 supervisors with over 9 years of experience each in the cleaning biz.

Keeps us busy enough...lol
 
Funny to here guys say I never had anyone stiff me. I recently was talking to other guys telling me that they never made mistakes, they can not afford to. It goes back to think bigger and how many people do you lose because all you are telling the customer is that you want your money.
If you never made a mistake or never got stiffed from a customer you are not working hard enough and pushing hard enough to do more work.
Put systems in place and stay on top of people that owe you money. Do not give discounts unless it help you get the job, and that is really for commercial. If it takes them 3 months to pay you then mark it down and go out and get more customers.
 
Rsuds said:
Funny to here guys say I never had anyone stiff me. I recently was talking to other guys telling me that they never made mistakes, they can not afford to. It goes back to think bigger and how many people do you lose because all you are telling the customer is that you want your money.
If you never made a mistake or never got stiffed from a customer you are not working hard enough and pushing hard enough to do more work.
Put systems in place and stay on top of people that owe you money. Do not give discounts unless it help you get the job, and that is really for commercial. If it takes them 3 months to pay you then mark it down and go out and get more customers.
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I'll agree with this. It reminds me of something Ron wrote recently (can't remember thread, hope it was Ron who said it, lol.) about the brain surgeon who has "never killed a patient." More than likely he doesn't take any challenging surgeries, and thus his numbers show up well, but he really isn't as skilled as someone who challenges themselves to be better.

When I was being trained to spray hvlp, the guy teaching me said I can teach a monkey to paint well in good conditions. It's a real worker who knows what to do when s!%t hits the fan, and how to fix it properly and maintain being professional.

One thing I've found true over the years: The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. Lol!
 
Forensic Cleaning

Hey Scott

Forensic cleaning is the cleaning up after a suicide, murder, decomposed body etc.. Not the prettiest job in the cleaning industry but a job that is in big demand and one that pays well.

Gunna (John)
 
Gunna said:
We recently changed our payment policy for residential clients to 'cash up front' before the work commences. Complaints about anything will be entertained ONLY in written form and received at our office within 24 hrs of the job. All complaints are or will be investigated by our supervisors without bias and hopefully a mutually agreeable level is reached. If not, and our investigation finds no reasonable fault with the work provided... court action starts after 2 invoices sent to the client, each with 7 days to finalize.

Gunna (John)
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John you have to Have a Signature with Contact info. Website or Phone
 
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