17/05/2026
Perception isn’t always as it seems.
Had a good conversion earlier this week with a regular customer who’s been with me around a year or so.
We we just generally chatting and he mentioned that the window cleaner he had before me was a guy who I’ve considered as one of the my top competitors, he’s always posting in local FB groups and guaranteed to be recommended on 90% of posts asking for a window cleaner which is why I’ve assumed he’s good at what he does etc.
When I mentioned that I thought he must be good the customer laughed and said his service is in no way comparable which shocked me, he went on to say that he just turns up(if he decides to do the windows that is) didn’t pay a lot of attention and more bothered about being paid in cash so he can get to the pub and would randomly message to say he’s doing gutters this week for cheap(this was a red flag to him apparently and said well why is he doing for cheap?!).
I was shocked because of how often I see the guy being recommended, I can only assume it’s more friends and family rather than genuine customers but it did make me think I’ve naively taken the perception of this guy and built him up to be better or more established than me.
People may look successful and professional but it’s not always the truth, now it could be the way he’s conducted himself around this particular customer has just rubbed him up the wrong way but I’ve definitely taken it as a compliment from him and also a eye opener to not believe the perception of others without meeting first hand.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far and hope you’ve had a great weekend
