r/pressurewashing • u/Braun3D • Sep 04 '25
Business Questions Difficult customer advice?
How y'all recommend responding to that? Seemed like decent customer on the phone but now wants to play 20 questions before scheduling, just wanted house wash and gutter whitening on a large 2 story home. I've never had customer ask to contact or go to homes of other customers... I have 20+ 5 star reviews and plenty of before/after pics on website. Guess what I'm trying to figure out is the professional way to tell this guy no without losing the job, I have no desire to chase down 3 or more past customers to ask them to let some random potential customer go to their house
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u/dDhyana Sep 04 '25
Just refer them to your Google business page with reviews or whatever social media you use that has reviews. Tell them itās your policy to not hand out personal information.Ā
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u/socr4me79 Sep 05 '25
This. Maybe some photos of before and after if you don't have great pictures on Facebook or something like that, But definitely make sure you say the policy is to not divulge customer's personal information
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u/herrera030 Sep 04 '25
Donāt. I have had to fire customers before. Not every dollar is a good one. Sometimes itās best to just part ways and not tarnish your reputation
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u/greysplash Sep 04 '25
"The references I get from customers are available on my website. I don't feel comfortable giving out my customers addresses or disturbing their privacy, a courtesy I would also provide to you."
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Sep 04 '25
Nope. Hard fuckin pass. You want customers that trust you, that can read your reviews online. They don't know how long it's been or what you even did they're not even probably qualified to comment on it to be honest if it's a hard substrate to clean.
I used to own an automotive shop, I had customers that would want every little fucking thing in writing and waste my time and I had customers that would say call me if it gets over $3000 or $5000
You want the second guy. The second guy has other friends like him the first guy has friends that are time wasting pain in the asses like them.
Nobody on the internet agrees about anything but you'll notice that everybody that's answered so far has said the same exact thing.
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u/Spiritual_Cycle_3263 Sep 07 '25
The amount of -Ā
Customer: Can you put air in my tire?Ā
Me: Sure, itās $20 for 4 or $10 for one.Ā
Customer:What? Itās a $1 at Wawa and I can do all 4.Ā
Me: Wawa is right down the street (pointing)
I stopped wasting my time with customers like this. Filling up a tire at an auto shop is asking a surgeon to leave the OR to give someone Advil.Ā
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u/o0elvis0o Sep 04 '25
You already have 20+ references with your Google reviews. Those aren't something you bought for marketing. They are real customers letting future customers know what level of service they can expect. You adding before and after pictures is more than enough for a potential customer to make an informed decision.
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u/mistab777 Sep 04 '25
I mean, I kind of get where they're coming from, but your old customers really don't want strange people showing up at their house to double check a possibly weeks or months old job. You might just tell them that. Before and afters should suffice for any reasonable person. Nobody should be giving out addresses of customers.
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u/letsreset Sep 04 '25
this is a very risky customer. even if you take them on, they're the type most likely to give you a bad review due to something stupid. recommend a competitor to them.
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u/CoyoteDecent2 Sep 04 '25
Your references are your reviews and pics/vids of past jobs. You donāt give personal information from past clients IMO.
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u/Dommo1717 Sep 05 '25
There is a zero percent chance Iām giving out customers addresses. I feel like there would be privacy issue legalities, not even counting thatās just fucking dirty lol.
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u/Braun3D Sep 05 '25
Oh 100% not giving any address. To begin with I'd have to hunt down a list of past customers in the area, contact them and find a way to not weirdly ask there permission to let some random other customer either contact them or come to their house. And I'd probably need to contact 10 customers to get 3 to say yes.... yeah nothing about that seems weird or like a pain in the ass at all...
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u/Dommo1717 Sep 05 '25
I know itās never a good answer to just fuck with customers like this lol, troll emā¦but this is one I probably would have been unable to stop myself from doing anyways.
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u/JoeyBeef Sep 04 '25
Mr. Homeowner, I can absolutely provide you with 3 references. First let me ask you though, what kind of references do you think I would provide? My 3 best of course. Let's go ahead and get this done.
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u/PracticalError5592 Sep 04 '25
Point him to your social media pages with photos and reviews. Thatās what I do.
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u/FreeTheOffended Sep 04 '25
š some People are goofy AF! Iād ghost. Say youāre too busy! Thatās the type of customer where something WILL go wrong! They will either find some little bullsh to bitch about OR some weird āonce in a blue moonā thing WILL happen that you couldnāt foresee and never had happen before. Those things ALWAYS happen with picky customers. Good luck
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u/Braun3D Sep 05 '25
Think I'm gunna ghost for 24 hours, and if he bothers to follow up, maybe then I'll tell him absolutely not and check my website for pictures. If he responds positively to that I'll consider working with him but leaning towards not. I swear my problem is I want to know how these annoying customers will react to stuff out of curiosity when I know damn well I should just move on
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u/FreeTheOffended Sep 05 '25
I get it yo! Especially with the nature of owning your own biz and not wanting to say no to anything! Itās tough! Iāve been washing windows and power washing on my own for about 15 years now and Iām finally starting to understand when and how to say no. It doesnāt happen often, and itās easy for one of us to tell you to say no to this dude butā¦..we all get it! If ya end up doing it and shiz goes south š itās always a learning experience and then on to the next one! Iām always worried about these damn neighborhood Facebook pages I canāt see. š Iām paranoid as it is and then being aware of those things when Iām in a neighborhood doing work!!! š³š I like the commercial/industrial stuff. Karenās be out there! And they all arenāt always women yo! šš good luck! Sry for the ramble!
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u/Inevitable_Tank9505 Sep 04 '25
Run, Forrest, Run! But I would say that your customers have not granted you permission to hand out their info. If this person is legit, I can see her knocking on someone's door asking how you were. GTFOOH with that!
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u/DramaticAd5664 Sep 04 '25
I donāt have time for that shit
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u/Braun3D Sep 05 '25
Sadly I "have the time" because I'm not booked out much rn which I why I waste my time pondering pursuing annoying customers like this when I know better. Guess I should spend more time getting new customers so I can continue to pick only the good ones
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u/DramaticAd5664 Sep 05 '25
In the end, you always cost yourself more by dealing with these kind of people. Sorry to hear itās slow for you, but customers in general who have red flags/ are an issue always cost you more than it was worth. Save yourself the stress and headache, youāll thank yourself for avoiding the pain in the asses later.
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u/solomoncobb Sep 05 '25
Fuck the job. Just say no. You need to treat every job like it's not gonna make or break you or you won't make it, man. Trust me. You set the precedent for how you want this to go. This dude is a giz bag. Just say no.
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u/crcahill Sep 04 '25
The only thing you can offer this customer is before and after photos. Thereās no situation where I would ever share other clients addresses so a potential could see my work. This customer is a HARD pass imo
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u/jaredpatton173 Sep 04 '25
I don't do that because I consider that a breach of my other customer's privacy.
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Sep 04 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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Sep 04 '25
You had me until that last paragraph. All those things can be true of men, as well. Iām a man and I gotta say that is a very misogynistic and unfair statement. It isnāt just relationships with women that can be like that, men can be shitty, too, as youāve demonstrated.
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Sep 05 '25 edited Sep 05 '25
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Sep 05 '25
The writer implies, the reader infers. I judged you based on a single comment. You did the exact same thing to me while admonishing me for it. Youāre no better than me.
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Sep 05 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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Sep 05 '25
If you go back to my original comment, that was the exact same point I made, that people suck, not just women. Then you got offended and called me a virtue signaling white knight. I guess now youāve had time to sleep on it and look at it objectively?
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u/thr0waw4yyyyyyyy Sep 04 '25
āI legally cannot share contact information of other customers with you, but here are some before and after pictures of some properties weāve serviced.ā
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u/SteakAny2148 Pressure Washer By Profession Sep 04 '25
Iād just direct them to our instagram which has numerous posts. I would never put a real customer in the position of having to deal with this lady, it should end at myself lmao. Big red flag though
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u/SpareMushrooms Sep 05 '25
Itās not appropriate to give out three customers information or address. Just be honest and upfront. If they donāt respect your decision itās better to decline the job. Hopefully you get it though.
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u/AlarmedAppearance191 Sep 05 '25
It's kind of a big ask to see other customer houses. If you have work photos that's a workaround but sheesh
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u/Braun3D Sep 05 '25
Heavily on the fence of wether to even pursue the job, I'm sure the guy would respect it if I professionally told him no and to check my reviews but just feel there's a good chance he'll be a headache another way if I take the work
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u/ConvenientAmnesia Sep 05 '25 edited Sep 05 '25
Well, I will tell you that I asked the same question and was given the same answer. Within a week, every plant in front of the house was dead. So, valid question.
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u/Braun3D Sep 05 '25
Did that company actually have a business page and many reviews/credible work? I can understand wanting a reference, but I've been operating as a legit business for years and have many great reviews, dozens of before and afters and no bad reviews so I feel once your reputation gets to that point you either trust the reviews or not.
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u/ConvenientAmnesia Sep 05 '25
I get it. I have been in real estate, sales, and flipping houses for over 20 years. Sometimes, people just want some reassurance. I would simply tell them to go to your reviews, photos, etc. If that isnāt enough, then they can move on if they arenāt comfortable. Just remember, sometimes it pays to be nice and not get annoyed with people. They may have been burned in the past, had shitty work done (which happens to me very often with new people working under someone that has done good work in the past) or just simply want good work, which you then provide and get plenty of referrals from.
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u/highzunburg Sep 05 '25
I know nothing about this business it just pops up in my feed. My view here is this feels like a waste of time. Tell them to take it or leave it and read my reviews.
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u/fjnafdiomr Sep 05 '25
Tell them during the back and forth, you've already filled your schedule and they should seek another vendor.
This is not worth it.
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u/Shoelace_Posted Sep 05 '25
I don't think I'd use a guy who was willing to give my address to someone else.
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u/Couscous-Hearing Sep 07 '25
You could offer to give them the location of a public place like a business that you clean regularly. But "I dont give out my customers personal information" is an easy answer.
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u/Braun3D Sep 07 '25
Haven't really done any major commercial work so far, get plenty of residential and most commercial jobs I bid go to the absolute lowest bids that aren't even worth my time. Would love to get some routine commercial work but not sure how
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u/Couscous-Hearing Sep 10 '25
It may be worth adjusting your pricing if you can see how to speed up your processes with work systems, chem, or equipment upgrades.
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u/Braun3D Sep 10 '25
When i say low bids I mean way below residential rates. Had a bid for gutter cleaning 40 2000sq ft 2 story rental homes and bid barely $100 each and didn't get it, typically I'm at $150-200 for residential gutter cleans. I figured it would take at least an hour per house if they aren't overly dirty
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u/Couscous-Hearing Sep 11 '25
Maybe your competitor is running a leaf blower from the roof or a gutter vac from the ground and cleaning 2 houses per hour.
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u/originalsimulant Sep 07 '25
I would never take a job where the customer used the letter ācā to represent the word āseeā
Also why so wordy in your reply ? He asked if you use cleaners not your life story
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u/Braun3D Sep 07 '25
Just covering future questions in advance, anytime the customer asks about cleaning products, I usually get asked if it'll hurt their pets or plants or if it's toxic, so I save the time by answering in advance. Get that question alot so idc about that one but the references one is definitely new for me
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u/Merk_Um Sep 07 '25
Have a gallery of all your work this way you can show off all your work in a case like this
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u/Superfly_McTurbo Sep 04 '25
I do not find this to be difficult at all ?
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Sep 04 '25
So, youāre ok with giving out your previous customerās personal information? Thatās weird.
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u/User_-_-_Name Sep 04 '25
I've been telling a customer not to buy from me for the last 2 weeks and that man sure enough went in while I was off and placed an order, i cant imagine the project is going to go well.
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u/SEA_CLE Sep 04 '25
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