Who's unreasonable - me or window cleaner?

[HugATwat]

My dog is petrified of the window cleaner.

The reason I started using my current window cleaner is because he always texts so I know in advance when he's coming.

On Friday evening, WC text to say he was coming on Saturday morning. But I was going to be out Saturday morning so I texted him back and said to leave it for this month because the dog would be home alone and wouldn't cope. I said I'd still be happy to pay but please don't clean the windows.

No reply.

I texted again first thing on Saturday morning. No reply.

I called him on Saturday morning. He didn't answer. I left a message. No reply.

I texted him again before we went out saying please don't clean my windows today.

I went out because I couldn't avoid it. I'd asked a couple of friends if they could sit with the dog but they couldn't, far too short notice. When I came back, the windows had been cleaned. The dog was in a right state and had pissed and shit all over the floor.

So I spent an hour or so calming the dog down. Then another couple of hours cleaning everything up. And the living room carpet will need a professional because the piddle has stained quite badly.

I texted the WC to tell him I wouldn't be paying because I'd specifically asked him not to clean the windows.
This time, he texted back. Quelle fucking surprise.

I'm holding firm and not paying. Needless to say I've told him to take me off his books for the future.

It's a weird situation because I was actually willing to pay him for NOT doing the work. But I'm not willing to pay for work that he's done that I specifically asked him not to do.

Am I being unreasonable here? I'm still so pissed off.

@Hurrahhurrah no names mentioned.......... yet

They probably haven’t RTFT yet….

Stupid "Man". 🤷‍♀️.

Advance notice to cancel/NOT clean is perfectly acceptable in the real world of business! This is a casual arrangement not CONTRACTUAL with set in stone no changes allowed terms/days so those saying to pay are delusional and living in fantasy land. If you're told specifically to NOT perform a service but do it Anyway without a specific contractual clause stating you won't be flexible with appointments, you will lose in court EVERY time!!! NO means No, especially in writing, EVERYWHERE. SMDH at the lunacy!

@Rosula
I can't understand these people who refuse to understand that OP gave WC plenty of time to read his texts. I'm quite sure she wasn't the only person to have tried to contact him Friday/Saturday. Very poor management of his business.
Somebody obviously doesn't like or understand animals. The poor dog must have been terrified.

Of course he is not obligated to check his phone, respond to messages and voicemails...

No self employed person is.

However to not do so may mean wasting his time and money - which in this instance, he has. More fool him.

What if the OP had been saying 'don't clean at my property today, theres an unexploded bomb in the garden' or '.... im having all the windows replaced there are none for you to clean' or '... im having a naked orgy' or '... police are currently digging up the garden looking for a body'...

All could happen (two of those have happened to me/my immediate family... I won't say which) - all would mean he'd have made a wasted trip or been unwelcome and thus, not paid.

As for the idea that despite being told not to he turned up and did the job so should be paid... great, lets all run businesses where we turn up when NOT asked to do so, do work we have NOT been asked to do, then demand payment for it!

@WiddlinDiddlin I hope one of them is the orgy

at least a sensible comment or two in the comments section of the Mirror
I would have shut the curtains

And shutting curtains stops the noises does it? More sensible comments saying the WC is wrong. Also you'll note your idea of the sensible comments saying train the dog etc, get no likes 🤔!

When you say plenty, how many exactly do you mean?

Can you tell me where I can get this amazing curtains that shut out noise?

@PinkSparklyPussyCat I've already asked, I need some.

feck
the dog was afraid of the pole

it is not my words, just a Mirror commentator.
jeez
have some perspective

Sorry, I missed that @DizzyLizzyKizzy! Do let me know if you find any!

I'm more inclined to believe it's made up too tbh. I have an anxious dog. When I have to leave him alone, his bed gets put in the hallway and he's given free run of there and the kitchen. I also put a note on the door to say "ring doorbell, don't knock thanks", and I put the radio on loudly to distract him from outside noises. What I wouldn't do is shrug my shoulders and say "well, I tried" and leave him where he can shit on the carpet and potentially give himself a heart attack from stress.

In our area window cleaners cost about £8-12 a month. Not everyone is as handy with a phone or as organised as you might be when it comes to replying.

Pay up and find a window cleaner who is more responsive. Or find a trainer who'll teach your dog not to be scared of a window cleaner.

Oh you're a sheep and just copied what a Daily Mirror reader said....... 🙄

Not everyone is as handy with a phone or as organised as you might be when it comes to replying.

He shouldn't be running a business then! He must be a special kind of stupid not to realise people do have to cancel sometimes and therefore it might be a good idea to check before turning up

As PP said he's a special kind of stupid to be able to send a message but not read one

I'm more inclined to believe that some of the replies are just a massive wind-up. I shudder to think some grown adults could actually be so utterly dense.

Just because people have a different perspective and opinion on things, doesn't make them dense.

And people who love their dogs wouldn't put them in this position.

@BadNomad which is why the OP is so angry with the WC. She employed him for his communication skills, only to realise they were seriously lacking and he was in fact an ignorant twat!

I understand that. But we don't actually know why this happened. Because it's kind of ridiculous to see a message saying "don't come, I'll still pay" then still go anyway. Which means he either didn't get her messages or he didn't check his phone. We don't know which. Mobiles aren't always reliable. If he only switched his phone on in the morning, the messages might not have come through right away.

Regardless. The OP still needs to take some responsibility for this. She knew she didn't have confirmation that he wasn't coming, so she should have taken action to minimise the damage. Put a note on her gate/door/window. Put the dog in a carpetless room with the radio or TV on and put a note on that window to say "dog inside, go away". There were things she could have done that wouldn't have resulted in the dog shitting up the place and running around the house getting stressed.

And, actually, yes, train the dog. Distract him with treats. Make the window cleaner's arrival a good thing. Don't herd him around the house avoiding the window cleaner. That only reinforces that the pole is something to fear.

all these comments calling people thick ignorant twats, and the like. So unreasonable.
it is a very derogatory thread towards of other people's opinions. in the grand scheme of things, it doesnt affect anyone apart from the ahem, op and her carpet