“I want to be able to retire and leave it in good hands, it’s a great little business for someone.”

George* was almost wringing his hands as he spoke, exasperation evident on his face, recalling a recent attempt to hire someone for his window cleaning business.

“He didn’t even bring a pack-up (lunch from home) so we had to waste time driving to find a shop he could get food from. Then the next day he brought a tub of yoghurt, which by mid-morning had turned sour sitting on the dashboard of the van. The lad had no common sense!”

George was trying to develop a succession plan. He loved his business, providing a high standard of care for his customers, many of whom had been with him for years and some for decades. He especially enjoyed the banter with the older clients. Hiring “new blood” had become more pressing with his long-term employee recently leaving and his wife putting pressure on him to retire “while we can still enjoy ourselves, George”. He had tried out a few young people but no one “made the grade”.

An apparent lack of work ethic in the younger generation was particularly difficult for George to understand.

George was finding out from customers that they were unhappy with the cleaning work. “No one told me at the time because they didn’t want to upset me, but........

© The Guardian