Its the people side of the business I like the best. There are some clients that have just always been there in my experience.
Well, It happened. The last of our long term clients (ones served by my father before me) has left. When I came to Mr and Mrs Green's home yesterday to do the regular Fall cleaning, I found a for sale sign on their lawn. As my employee worked, I had a chance to catch up with the Greens and to reminisce a bit - my company had been cleaning the windows at their home for the last 45 years. We talked about my father, my kids and theirs, the neighbourhood, ...I was saddened by how much Mr Green had failed over the years. I remember him kibbitzing with my father and then with me every time we met, but now in his late 80's its not the same.
Anyway, with them goes the last concrete ties to the company that my father gave to me. I'm not sure how I should feel. A little wistful, perhaps. It certainly got me thinking about others that have gone before this. I've seen marriages start, kids born, marriages dissolve and new ones happen again. I've been called in to help prepare a house for a wake, and many more times, thankfully for marriages or the arrival of babies.
Clients come and eventually go. But not too soon.
Enough. Let the new era begin, or rather, continue.
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2 comments:
John, You have the best blog posts. I love that you post on the personal side of running a window cleaning business.
How great that you've been able to continue building relationships with your father's clients over the years. I'm also proud to tell my new client's that I have been cleaning windows for some Toronto families for over 20 years. It's the relationships that make the work so satisfying.
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