Ask a House Cleaner, Pain of a Client Firing You, Savvy Cleaner

Pain of a Client Firing You – House Cleaners Weep

The pain of a client firing you is tough the first time it happens. A house cleaner feels rejected at today’s firing on the heels of getting fired several times this week.

Ask a House Cleaner what to do if you’re not a good fit for the customer but can’t stand the rejection of them firing you. If you’ve tried your best move on. House cleaners get fired all the time.

Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says “Getting fired is like a breakup. You will feel angry and dejected. And it’s okay to cry.” This house cleaning training will give every maid service the tips needed to “get used to it.” Relax, you’re on your way to becoming a Savvy Cleaner.
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Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.

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house cleaner crying over the pain of a client firing youQuestion: Pain of a Client Firing You

The pain of a client firing you is something that every house cleaner has to deal with during their career. And it doesn’t get any easier. But we’re going to talk about that today.

Today’s question comes from a house cleaner who has been fired many times this week alone. And she wants to know, “How do I get over the pain of a client firing me? How do you do that?

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Answer: Pain of a Client Firing You

Well, the reality is this. You don’t. I know, you were hoping for a happy answer. But here’s the honest answer. You don’t get over it. You get used to it.

The Pain of Breakups
the pain of a client firing you is like the pain of a breakup

Now, if you break up with your boyfriend or your girlfriend, your heart aches. You cry and you’re sad and you feel dejected and you feel like the world hates you. The world doesn’t hate you. You just were not a good fit. That’s all.

If you look back to past relationships that didn’t work out, as an older and wiser person, you might get it. You might be able to see where that person went in their life and the things they turned into.

Often times, you might stop and say, “Whew! That was a close call!” I almost ended up with that person.” Divine Providence intervened sending you in the right direction.

I’ve been there. At the time, I was crying and brokenhearted. I was bitter and angry and all the things that come along with a breakup.

But as I look back now, I’m like, “Man, that was a close call. I could have been that guy’s wife. Thank goodness I’m not.”

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Blessing in Disguise

Sometimes things happen and we don’t know why. But when a customer fires you, sometimes it’s a blessing in disguise.

It might not seem like a blessing at the time. In fact, it hardly ever does. We need the money, so getting fired seems like a bad thing.

The Spaghetti Ladythe pain of a client firing you - messy house

There is a lady whose house I used to clean. I don’t know why, but they ate a lot of spaghetti, and they would remnants of it all over the house.

You’ve heard about people throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks? I think that’s what they actually did. There was always dried spaghetti all over their kitchen every single time I came to clean. It was one of the most annoying things I’ve ever seen.

When spaghetti sauce sticks on a flat painted wall, it doesn’t come off. And when it does come off, it leaves a yellow stain. There were yellow spaghetti stains all over their walls and she expected me to clean them.

Spaghetti Lady Fired Me!

the pain of a client firing you - angry woman yelling

And then one day she fired me!

I was so aggravated and upset. I took her firing me as saying, “Hey, you didn’t do a good enough job.” 

In retrospect, thank goodness, she fired me! Because her house was always a mess and it took way longer than it ever should have for the money she was paying me. It was a blessing in disguise.

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The Pain of a Client Firing You – You Get Used to It

Now, I’m not saying that all clients that fire you are a blessing in disguise. But what I am saying is the pain does not go away. You just get used to it.

the pain of a client firing you - 10 houses this week

Here’s a game. The game makes it easier.

Let’s pretend that you have 10 customers that you service a week. Next week, on a bi-weekly rotation, you have a different 10 customers that you serve. In the course of this year, you’re going to have 20 customers. This year, you will get fired 10 times.

Okay, now you have 20 customers. You’re going to get fired 10 times. Which means by the end of the year, you’ll have 10 new customers that will have filled those slots.

Turn the Pain of a Client Firing You Into an Opportunity!
the pain of a client firing you - 10 houses next week

When a customer fires you, that might be a good time bringing in a new customer to raise your prices.

Think of it instead of I’m getting fired 10 times, I’m going to raise my prices 10 times this year on 10 new accounts.

Look at it as an opportunity. You’re not going to fire the customer. And you’re not going to raise their prices at random.

You’re going to wait until the customer fires you. Then the new person that you bring in, you’re going to bump them up a little bit and charge them a higher fee.

the pain of a client firing you - only 3 houses cancelledThis Game Changes Your Thinking

What happens when you get to the end of the year and you only have three customers that have fired you?

You’re like, “Oh, my goodness. Now I’ve got to raise prices on my customers and I only got fired three times.”

It’s just changing the way that you think about it. Because it doesn’t sting so bad if you prepared to get fired ten times, but only did three times! Hey! Seven people still love you!

Every Business Loses Customers

the pain of a client firing you - angry man yelling

The truth of the matter is, every business loses customers. Every business. It’s the way that you look at it.

There are stores I used to shop at. And when they stopped carrying my favorite brands, I stopped shopping there.

They lost me as a customer. And I’m sure they don’t stay awake at night going, “Oh, Angela stopped shopping at our store.” They moved on and you will too. Every business loses customers, and you will, too.

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Comfortable Rut

Say I promised you a business where you would never lose customers. I would also have to promise you that you would never gain new customers.

If you keep all the customers you’ve always had, there’s no time to take on new clients.

Then you’re stuck in a rut. Sometimes this rut feels nice. You get connected with the families that you work with year after year.

There are times your contracts need, just by the nature of maturity, to expire.

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Renewable Contracts

It’s one of the reasons in my business we have renewable contracts.

At the end of every year, your contract expires. At the end of the year, we have to decide if we even still want to work together. Believe me. There are customers in November and December, that I’m counting down the days.

My customers are lovely people and there’s no good reason to fire them, but sometimes we are just not a good fit anymore. And it’s time to move on.

 

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Sometimes People Change

I don’t know why. But sometimes people change on us, and they go from lovely to not being lovely at all.

We still care for these people, and we still want to do our best cleaning job. But sometimes we appreciate when they fire us.

We’re like, “Yes, thank you. I will move onto a new customer and I will have a new experience.”

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No Burned Bridges

Then you leave the customer that you worked for in a positive light. You have positive vibes and blessings.

So that in the event that you see them in the community, you can still have a pleasant interaction with them. You don’t have to duck your head and hope they don’t see you.

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The Pain of a Client Firing You – Change the Way You Look at Things

How do you get over the pain of a client firing you? You change the way you feel about it.

You just realize it’s part of the business and it’s going to happen.

the pain of a client firing you - all your houses cancelledMy hope to you is that it doesn’t all happen in one week because that stings. That makes it look like it’s your fault.

If you’re only expecting 10 cancellations in a year and you get 20, then guess what? The problem is you.

And if it is your fault, then go back to the basics. Figure out what you did wrong so that you don’t get a whole bunch of cancellations in one week.

All right. Until we meet again, leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.

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Resources For This Episode

How to Keep from Getting Fired – http://amzn.to/2y2oguK

4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication in Love, Life, Work–Anywhere! A How-To Guide for Practicing the Empathic Listening, Speaking, and Dialogue Skills to Achieve Relationship Success – http://amzn.to/2fqyjC6

I GET YOU: How communication can change your destination – http://amzn.to/2wMRq0L

Connect Instantly: 60 Seconds to Likability, Meaningful Connections, and Hitting It Off with Anyone – http://amzn.to/2wMW7I4

The Answers Within: Find Your Soul Purpose and Ignite Your Hidden Superpowers – http://amzn.to/2ymLeJd

Relaunch Your Life: Break the Cycle of Self-Defeat, Destroy Negative Emotions and Reclaim Your Personal Power – http://amzn.to/2hsHcbs

Catching Courage: Understand Your Fears, Control Your Anxieties and Make Better Decisions – Use Obstacles to Your Benefit – http://amzn.to/2yn5CKa

Think Like a Warrior: The Five Inner Beliefs That Make You Unstoppable – http://amzn.to/2wLIFEh

From Failure to Success: Everyday Habits and Exercises to Build Mental Resilience and Turn Failures into Successes – http://amzn.to/2hsNGXV

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