Collects

Book 'em in Dano for monday nights!  Why keep wasting time and fuel going out night after night throughout the week? We all know this can add a couple of hours to our working day.

Always keep to the same day for collecting, your customers will get used to that, put it on your calling slip, whenever a customer asks you to call back tomorrow, hand them the envelope, likewise staple an envelope to the calling slip for those difficult to find in and outlying customers. To keep going back two or three times to collect money means you're spending more time getting the money than earning it. With a monthly turnover of 4.5k maybe it's time to prune your round a bit.

Boredom (depression?)

But life is not all about money is it?

You've maybe become too focused on the work and are not being stimulated by what's going on around you.

I know the names of all the kids, cats and dogs on my round. I take the time to feed a dandilion leaf to the pet rabbits and guinea pigs. I look forward to seeing Mrs Smiths tulips in bloom and take an interest when my customers are proud of their gardens, classic cars, koi carp or whatever. I know what all my customers do for a living and don't have to look far for a mechanic or plasterer. You are spending a large part on your life out on your round and will do so for decades to come, it becomes your world. Interact with your world.

Get an iPod, get bluetoothed, listen to some music or a talking book, have a chat with your mates. Take a break, find the local cafes, take the time to chat with your customers a bit more. All goes to breaking up a boring day. Take someone on and train them up, you may find they are good company.

Image

Get uniformed and signwritten if you want to portray a professional image. (though I like to keep things imformal)

If you're really getting pee'd off with it take someone on to do the work, I pay my best man 2/3 of the money he earns me, that would leave you with 1.5k for managing the round and leave you with the time to persue a more stimulating occupation.

Or you could sell up? Question is are you worth 50K per year at anything else?

I very rarely go out collecting,  by calling all my customers up the night before I clean they have money waiting and if they have to go out they always remember to leave access for me and leave payment in a place out back.

sometimes some of them forget but thats only a  few and on the odd occasion so I can put up with that but usually I have no problems and as I get free land line calls it costs me nothing to call and the customers love it as they feel they are getting a great service which they are of course but also builds up a good loyalty between supplier and customer.