We’ve had the same window cleaner throughout the nearly 3yrs we’ve lived in our home. We ‘inherited’ them from the previous occupants and until now there’s been no issue.
Me & my husband are hybrid workers so there’s usually one of us WFH mon-Thurs.
The window cleaners, led by ‘Nigel’ didn’t have a set pattern and would just turn up at some point once a month, someone would usually be in. They’d wash the windows, we’d pay, that’s the end of it.
The last few times maybe 3-4, bearing in mind it’s monthly, he’s come on a Friday when usually no-one is home; husband in office I’m on a day off and usually out; I go to gym straight after school drop off then whatever else I need to do out and about.
I therefore come home to a note that they’ve been. Of relevance, if no one is in Nigel &co can’t get round the back, so only do the front and therefore charge half the usual price.
Nigel does the rounds collecting cash, which we pay, in the evening. I did ask about bank transfer but he ‘doesn’t do that’.
Again no issues with this - until today.
Today (being Friday) I was walking out of the school gates on my way to the gym.
Nigel was doing the windows of a house by the school, on a trajectory to eventually get to my road.
He spotted me and called me and I trotted over.
He announced to me that I hadn’t been in the last few times they’d done our windows. This is true!
I was slightly surprised he recognised me and had seemed to have memorised my presence or otherwise during window cleaning.
I agreed with him, slightly baffled not knowing where this is going. I thought it was about the payment.
We always pay up immediately when he does his collection rounds (or at the time if we’re in).
He then asked if I’d be in this morning, I said no told him I was going into the village. He wanted to know when I’d be back. I didn’t know. After gym I had a parcel to collect, usually have a little mooch around the shops might get some groceries, basically didn’t want to be held to a time (also, why??).
I’m getting annoyed with him now.
He then says ‘Doris says you’re off on Fridays’ ‘Doris’ being my ndn. I’m not sure what he thought the relevance of this is but he said it very accusingly almost like a ‘gotcha’
I just said ‘yes I am so I’m almost never going to home on Friday’, and went to walk off.
This is where his actual reason for all this questioning is revealed:
Basically his only access to the backs of our whole row of houses on the road is through our attached side garage.
If he can’t use our access he can only clean the fronts, and only charge half for everyone on the row.
I usually unlock the garage doors from the inside, Nigel and co troop through and do the back and the use everyone’s single storey back extension roofs to travel along the whole row. Thinking about it I now realise they come back and out through our garage afterwards, close the door behind them then I pop out and lock it after them.
Without over explaining he can’t access the rear of the other houses without going through the houses themselves, ladders buckets boots and all.
So after him explaining this to me, I think I was meant to say “gosh I didn’t realise, I’ll cancel my plans and go home and wait until your arrival”. Which I didn’t. I just said we’re usually in every day but Friday but if he persists with Friday I usually won’t be in.
He then asks (again) what time I’m usually back on Friday and I just say I’m out all day now, because by this point I cba.
He’s not exactly aggressive, but clearly quite annoyed about my lack of acquiescence and inconsideration of his requirements.
He just says ‘so you’ll be out again this morning then?’ As if this is just unbelievably selfish of me.
I walked off at this point but I’ve now decided I’m just going to cancel him and see what life is like without clean windows, perhaps hire the other chap who advertises on Facebook sometimes.
And Nigel can work out how to access his other customer’s windows without my help on Friday or any other week day.
Only issue is I don’t have Nigel’s number so will have to have another unpleasant face to face conversation.
YABU - you should just make sure you’re home on Friday morning to let Nigel in.
YANBU - continue to use your days off as you see fit and also fire Nigel.