If you’ve ever had a customer who criticized your work unfairly, disrespected your employees, or made unreasonable demands, then you understand the frustrations of working with a problematic cleaning client. 

While additional employee training or improved client services (clear communication, proactively offering solutions) could resolve the issue, that’s not always enough. 

Sometimes, the best option for your business and employees’ well-being is to walk away from the job.  

But how do you recognize the signs of a problematic customer? 

That’s what you’ll discover in this guide. You will also learn about:

• The impact these customers can have on your business.

• The best times to walk away.

• How to walk away professionally.

• What to do after breaking the relationship.

Let’s get into it!

What are the signs of a difficult cleaning customer?

Difficult cleaning customers nitpick about your hard work, blame workers for things they didn’t do, and go AWOL when it’s time to pay. 

And that’s not even the half of it. 

Here are other red flags to watch out for:

Disrespect and demands

Rude and demanding cleaning customers don’t understand boundaries. Warning signs to look for include: 

• Scope creep: When a client suddenly asks for an extra cleaning task or two (or even a deep clean) to be completed within the same budget and time frame as the original cleaning project. Sometimes, they end this request with a promise to send more jobs your way or put in a good word with their friends instead of extra payment.

• Verbal abuse: Outrightly ridiculing your work or bullying an employee. This could also involve them yelling and shouting at the crew.

• Unrealistic expectations: They expect you to complete cleaning projects within an impossible timeframe. For example, demanding that an old, faded carpet look brand new after a cleaning job.

• Last-minute cancellations: They wait for the team to arrive before canceling the appointment, which can cost you time and money. 

Late payments and complaints

Another way to identify demanding clients is their backpedaling when it’s time to pay for cleaning services. They devise several excuses to delay payment, from forgetting the check on every visit to forgetting their credit card and having issues with their bank.  

 To avoid paying, these clients also:

• Constantly find fault in your work, even when it meets all the quality standards. 

• Request multiple re-cleans because of fabricated issues. 

• Hold payments until additional unpaid tasks are completed.

• Question your payment structure or try to renegotiate after you complete the job.

This kind of behavior impacts your firm’s morale and cash flow over time. 

How do difficult cleaning customers impact your cleaning business?

Problematic clients can increase the time your cleaning crew spends on a job. The team will have to get more clarification, reclean, pay extra attention, and increase their communication with the client. This results in longer project time, higher labor costs, and reduced profitability. 

Drain on time and morale

The extra time and effort spent with these customers strain your resources and weaken the crew’s morale. It creates a ripple effect that goes on to affect: 

• Scheduling operations: When one job takes too long, it throws off your entire schedule. Crews may miss or delay other jobs, disappointing clients and piling up backlogs. 

• Employee zeal: Reworking a job and arriving late for other projects wears your team out. Morale drops, and over time, stress and burnout become real risks.   

Stunted business growth

Constantly dealing with challenging customers can shift your focus from landing new clients and expanding the business. 

Instead of thinking about training employees, service improvement, business growth, and advertising online, you’re stuck managing conflicts or putting out fires.

There’s also a high chance that unhappy clients leave bad reviews online, spreading negative word-of-mouth and damaging your reputation. This could drive potential clients away.

When to walk away from a cleaning client

There are times when diplomacy and apologies can resolve an issue. 

Other times, walking away is the solution. Matthew Stowe, the chief operating officer at OctoClean, chose this path when a client bullied his partner. 

“Sometimes the only way to manage a toxic customer is to ‘fight fire with fire’ as a bully will usually only respond to their counterpart…you need to tell them enough is enough,” says Stowe. “ When they [client] yelled at my wife …I called him up and told him that I did not appreciate his actions and that we would not be doing business with him anymore…He quickly backpedaled and apologized for his behavior. ”

So, how do you know when to draw the line and cut ties with a client?

Low-value relationship

As a business owner, every client relationship is important. If you play your cards right, it can improve your reputation and bring repeat business.   

However, if a client begins to trivialize your service relationship by constantly demanding more than they pay for, that’s a sign to let them go.

Other ways to identify low-value relationships are when clients: 

• Refuse increased rates. 

• Repeatedly reschedule appointments only when the crew arrives at the job location. 

• Always require special treatment or service intervention. 

These demands cost you time, energy, and profit. They also stretch you thin, preventing you from getting quality, better-paying jobs. 

Whenever the effort put into a client's job outweighs the reward, with little to no room for improvement, it’s time to let them go. 

No resolution after trying

You need to cut ties if you have to continually explain what your cleaning service includes and why a client isn’t entitled to more.

That’s exactly what a cleaning business owner described during a Q&A session with psychotherapist Amy Worthy and Angela Brown of the Savvy Cleaner training company:

“They always expect me to do more... A customer will try to negotiate, saying, 'If you didn't clean this room today, can you clean this other room instead?' when it's not on the list and hasn't been bid as part of the job.”

Amy recommends: 

• Referring back to the written scope that both parties agreed to.

• Using the broken-record technique, where you repeat the same reasoning over and over again.

And if the client keeps pushing even after that, the next step is to walk away from the account. 

Team disrespect or value mismatch

Do not allow clients to disrespect your cleaning staff. 

This isn’t to say customers can’t point out an error when there’s a slip-up, so employees take responsibility for it. However, it’s not right for them to talk down to or shame the crew.

If you identify toxic customers such as this, protect the team by:

• Notifying clients that such behavior is unacceptable. 

• Instructing the crew on how to behave when the clients act in a certain way. 

• Cutting ties with clients who continue to be disrespectful. 

It’s crucial to choose clients who align with your service standards. This protects the well-being and safety of your crew, and good clients are likely to refer others who share the same values.

How to professionally walk away from a difficult cleaning customer

Losing a customer is never easy. But when keeping them is affecting the team’s morale or productivity, walking away while staying professional is crucial. 

Doing so protects your brand and leaves the door open for better opportunities. Here’s how to do that:

Communicate clearly and calmly

Founder of Automated Cleaning Business, Mike Mak, recommends: 

• Sitting down with a client and hashing things out before walking away.

• Renegotiating the budget for clients who have added new services without additional payment.  

If either of those approaches doesn’t work and you’re ready to move on, try meeting with the client in person to explain the situation. Allow them to share their perspective before calling it quits. 

Mak used this approach to leave a problematic cleaning client, and it ensured there was no bad blood with the customer. He said it showed authenticity, leaving no room for bad reviews. You can also call or email.

Here’s a script you can use on a call:

“Hi [Client Name], I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to call because this isn’t an easy conversation. First, I want you to know we truly appreciate the chance to work with you and have done our best to make things run smoothly. “However, after some reflection, I think we’re just not the best long-term fit for your needs. I’m really sorry—it’s not a decision we’ve made lightly. Out of respect for you, I wanted to give you a two-week notice so you have time to find someone else.”

(If they ask why or push back): “I understand this may come as a surprise, and I’d be happy to share more. It really comes down to ensuring our clients enjoy working with us as we do them, with expectations and working styles aligned closely. I’d be glad to hear your side as well—sometimes there are things we can learn from.”

(If they pressure you to stay): “I hear you and genuinely wish things could be different, but this decision wasn’t easy. I want to leave things respectfully and hope the transition is smooth for you. I can recommend a few people or platforms to help you get connected with someone quickly.”

You can repurpose the script as an email, too:

“Hi [Client Name],

I hope you're doing well. I wanted to reach out personally to let you know that, after thoughtful consideration, we’ve decided to transition out of our working relationship. This hasn’t been an easy decision—we’ve truly appreciated the opportunity to serve you and have made every effort to make the partnership work.

That said, we’ve realized that our services may not be the best fit for your long-term needs. In the spirit of professionalism and respect, we’re providing two weeks’ notice so you have time to make alternate arrangements. We’re happy to complete any scheduled services within that window.

Please know that this decision comes from a place of honesty and care, not blame. We're open to hearing your thoughts or feedback if you’d like to share them. You might also find suitable alternatives on platforms like Thumbtack or Angi, where many providers are currently available.

Wishing you all the best moving forward.”

Keep it professional

You want to avoid abruptly quitting. Sure, things might be messy, but you need to stay professional at all times to ensure zero negative reviews.

You can do that by giving clients a 14- or 30-day notice period before you quit. Tell them you wouldn’t want to leave them hanging, and if they find a replacement, you’ll support them. 

Avoid venting or angrily responding to a poor review online, as it will turn future customers away. Handle the situation with grace and professionalism.

What to do after walking away from a difficult client

With the account closed and the brand’s reputation maintained, here are the next steps to follow:

Learn from the experience

What red flags did you notice early on, and which did you ignore?

Reflect on everything that went wrong from the start, such as micromanaging, scope creep, or questioning your pricing. 

Write down all you learned and update your client onboarding process to filter out such behavior in the future and improve customer retention. 

It’s also a good moment to revisit contracts and service agreements to ensure current accounts clearly outline your boundaries, payment policies, and scope of work. 

This is relatively easy to do if you use Aspire. Its CRM feature stores records of all client accounts, allowing you to track service agreements and client interactions. 

Here’s how Aspire helps you learn from experience:

• Track client history: Because Aspire logs every job detail, note, communication, issue, and client request, you can review the complete picture before working with similar clients. 

• Identify ideal client profile: By analyzing staff feedback and client information logged in the CRM, like cancellations, complaints, and scope changes, you can note recurring issues. This information allows you to refine your ideal client profile and screening process. 

• Define service boundaries: Aspire’s CRM feature gives you insight into scope creep. It allows you to revisit the original quote against actual job costs and requests. This way, you know how to build stronger contracts and quotes for the next project.

Focus on great-fit clients

Now that you’ve seen what you don’t want in a cleaning client, spend time nurturing those who align with your values. These are clients who respect boundaries, trust your process, and understand the value of your work.

Launch an advertising campaign to attract more ideal residential and commercial cleaning services. 

Then, nurture these relationships by delivering consistent quality and communicating clearly. By focusing on great-fit clients, you create a healthier work environment and build a network of people who are more likely to send similar clients your way.

Walking away from difficult commercial cleaning account customers vs. residential ones

How you exit business relationships varies for commercial and residential services. See how they differ below so you know how to approach each type of cleaning account.  

Commercial is more complex

Leaving a commercial cleaning client is trickier than a residential one. 

For starters, more stakeholders are involved with commercial clients, which could lead to extended exit times. Your contact person may not even be authorized to terminate or change the agreement.

You should also review the fine print before making any move, as many commercial service agreements typically require notice periods. Ignoring these steps could put your cleaning business at legal and financial risk.

To walk away from a commercial cleaning contract:

• Give ample notice as written in the agreement.

• Provide a transitional plan on how to wrap things up.

• Speak with a lawyer for guidance when in doubt. 

Residential is more personal

While commercial contracts are formal, homeowners’ cleaning services rely on rapport and personal relationships. Emotions are involved, so ending a contract here feels more personal to the client, and sometimes you as well. 

Even though there might not be a formal contract, giving proper notice is respectful and professional.

Anything between one week and a month is a good idea, as it leaves a positive impression on the client. 

To ensure a smooth exit, try to have an in-person conversation with the customer, thank them for their business, and, if possible, recommend a new cleaner. 

Over to You!

Leaving existing clients can be daunting, as it could mean a dip in your profits. However, when it comes to difficult clients, that single act can help attract better-fit clients. 

As the business grows, ensure you have the right tools in your corner to monitor progress, track profitability, and scale the brand. 

One such tool is Aspire, a service management software solution that helps cleaning businesses take charge of their operations. Instead of leveraging manual materials or multiple tools at the same time, Aspire provides a centralized platform that allows you to manage the entire business.  

From managing clients and scheduling jobs to assigning projects to crews and ranking clients based on profitability, Aspire does it all.

Get the hang of how it works—schedule a free demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much notice should you give before ending a cleaning service agreement?

Depending on whether it’s a residential or commercial cleaning service agreement, a 14- to 30-day notice period is enough. 

Residential contracts are more flexible in this regard, as personal relationships are involved. Commercial agreements, on the other hand, are more rigid, involving multiple stakeholders and legalities. 

What are the legal considerations when ending a service contract with a cleaning client?

The legal considerations include:

• Contract agreement: Are there termination clauses, notice periods, or penalties for early termination in the contract?  

• Written notice: Per the agreement, how many days is the cleaning agency required to give before walking away?

• Confidentiality clause: Honor clauses that safeguard client data. 

What are the potential consequences of walking away from a difficult client?

By walking away from demanding clients, you risk:

• Losing stable income.

• Getting negative reviews.

• Missing out on word-of-mouth referrals.

• Being drowned in legal disputes if contract terms weren’t followed.  

What are the risks of continuing to work with a difficult client?

• Low employee morale.

• Missed growth opportunities. 

• Scope creep and underpaid labor.

• Reputation damage. 

How can you protect your business reputation when dropping a client?

• Listen to the client’s perspective before making a decision. 

• Discuss your intentions in person. 

• Provide a path forward, e.g., giving notice or recommending another cleaner.