Coys, I would never expect to be paid in advance for caretaking but I do like my invoices paid promptly.
We don't have a 'one size fits all' attitude to our clients as they all have different houses and they use them/rent them according to their family's needs.
Some clients who don't rent out want very little done other than security checks & meter readings. At the other end of the scale we have clients with pools & gardens who want everything done for them, and for their paying guests if they rent out.
We haven't expanded the business to employing people as (a) it's too expensive in France and (b) we'd lose control over standards.
Yes we've used a number of casual workers to clean over the years but always under supervision. Some have only lasted one shift.
Many of our clients have become good friends over the years, others are simply pleasant people to do business with.
Communication from both sides is important to ensure jobs get done on time and to budget (theirs and ours), and we actively contribute to plans such as 'when will we have to change the pool liner' and 'how many new bottom sheets do we need from the John Lewis Clearance?'
Mutual trust is a vital factor. This can take a year or two to develop with a new client and we always discuss this with them at the outset.
Who the 'eck is going to take over from us when we hang up our brooms, spare ADSL filters, pool hoovers, mower (we don't even have a lawn or a pool ourselves
) in a couple of years (maybe next year?) I do not know.