Sorry that is your experience but unless something has changed in the past 3 years I know it is not taught in training.
I think everyone forgets that our industry is by nature hard to bid accurately. There’s countless threads on this forum asking how to bid, or what to do when a mistake was made bidding. Company ABC may be bidding at $3/pane while Company XYZ may be bidding at $4/pane. Does that mean ABC is undercutting? Not necessarily; it means their internal business systems, costs, and goals are different than XYZ.
@marcuswindows I have the same experience with some of my competitors; we get jobs because they dropped the ball on quality or reliability. This is not unique to you, to Fish, or to any market or industry. As far as going into “your businesses” I am sure everyone on this forum that cleans storefront does that… It’s the nature of the business.
Home Depot and Lowe’s usually open stores within 1-mile of each other, they don’t stay out of a market because the other is there. That’s business Underbidding was not cool, but you got that account back so no big deal. I have a gentleman in my area who leaves threatening voicemail on our office line when we walk into one of “his accounts.” Even when they say they are happy with him and we don’t get the account.
Glad to provide you all some entertainment this winter. Lol. Feel free to beat me up if you see me in person I guess.
Yeah and they be chopping windows up too. I should know even the owner had to come out to clean the windows himself and the business was still not happy. So they called me instead.
Yea I hear you on that one. But when purposely bowguard business even though you know it’s getting clean and looks good is just wrong. I don’t do business like that. If a company did that to me I would turn around and get the job back. If they want to play you can’t beat free. Now beat that. Most of the time it’s not worth it. If I really hate the way they muscled the account I’ll do it for free just so they can’t have it. HaHa
Sooo… you’d be shady and unethical to combat a competitor who is shady and unethical?
I don’t care if the store has clean windows. I’ll bid it because who knows if they’re pissed off at their current window cleaner who does a good job but smells like alcohol every day and looks like a predator.
When people say they’ll do it for free just so they can’t have it, then that’s just stupid. I’m running a proper business and I’m not going to play those sorts of games. I’ll do windows for money because that’s my business model. I won’t do windows for spite. When I do free windows, its for a church or a nonprofit I support.
Oh, and btw, it feeds the fish ego when you say stuff like that. It gives them something to tout during training as if all other competitors are scared and you’re the big fish in the pond.
The problem in any business if you take jobs on low price is, you have a customer base that awards business on price. Not only are you poorly compensated for your work, you will get ditched next time a low baller walks through your customer’s door.
i have a friend who still is with the original franchise system i started with. occassionally we help each other out and frequently talk about our customer. i have taken of what were his customers and occassionally he takes one of mine.
i would never go to one of his customers unless:
i had done them while with the franchise myself (non compete is over) as i have approached most.
i was canvassing the street in which case they’re just another house.
i personally would never discount a house because i was already at the neighbours, i would consider that shabby treatment of the original customer.
i wouldn’t discount a job to get it from a competitor, that is a predatory practice and would bother me.
i lose customers to other window cleaners every year and i take customers from other window cleaners every year. it’s my job to minimize the losses and maximize the acquisitions.
different businesses have different values. the larger the business the harder it is to enforce uniformity.
i just try to operate in a way that makes me feel good. and i’m certainly not perfect.
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i am also personally oppsed to capitalizing when i type because i am a crap typist and try to avoid anything that involves an extra key!!!
Underbidding was not cool, but you got that account back so no big deal. I have a gentleman in my area who leaves threatening voicemail on our office line when we walk into one of “his accounts.” Even when they say they are happy with him and we don’t get the account.
Most of the time it’s not worth it. If I really hate the way they muscled the account I’ll do it for free just so they can’t have it. HaHa
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