[24-7 S C Services]

Hi Everyone,

This has been eating me up all week.

I was getting ready for work on Monday/ Tuesday (one of those days), when I heard ladders around the back of our house. Initial though was WOW a window cleaner, because we hadn’t seen a window cleaner in our area for the two years I have lived here (and no, I don’t clean my own street).

To my surprise and shock, I witnessed two sets of ladders up against our neighbor’s house, one lad up each and two other lads cleaning the downstairs windows. So that’s 4 people on one job and still no one footing the ladders.

None of these lads where even half presentable in the way they dressed or looked. I watched them as they cleaned a further 4 houses on our road.

At this stage my blood was boiling!!!! What a bad example for window cleaners they where setting. I feared that their clients may feel intimidated by this group of lads.

I was going to go out and give them a piece of my mind, but the wife would not let me. Why they don’t just split into two teams of two is beyond me that is more acceptable. They could have got a couple of clean t-shirts from tesco’s for £1.75 each, and had a shave also.

I am very tempted at this stage, to leaflet my street now, just to get rid of this rabble and I would be interest in everyone’s thoughts also. Do you have gangs like this and what are your feelings towards the way they operate?

Andrew

[Davindo Cleana]

Hi Andrew - I haven't been doing this long enough to get annoyed by the cowboys but I know what you mean -
I am maybe being a bit naieve but I always think idiots like that, help to show the high standards of people like your good self, so in a funny way, they might be inadvertantly helping your business grow
Red

[Moderator David@stives]

they might of been realy nice guys ,if you would of took time to actually took time to talk to them. but i agree 4 on a house is a bit to much.you cant always judge a book by its cover.here is one of my recent posts from the darker place

"Just be yourself and the customers will get to like you and would not swap you for any one else .no matter what as long as you do a good job and turn up regular ,after all we are not dentists ,lawyers etc .
yes we do exactly what it says on the tin ,we clean windows .nobody has ever sacked me for being unshaven or got ripped jeans on or turned up there drive in my ancient rusted out Volvo .they just like me for who i am and what i do. nice uniforms don't win jobs .they just want clean windows of someone they can get to know and trust .They no i always go home a bit knackered and have got family and some times  cant be bothered running yourself through the tarting up bit .believe me i clean in a very affluent area and have done so for the last 7 years .Not all customers are like Mrs Bouquet you know .


David @st-Ives

[thewindowcleaner1]

When I first started there was a windowcleaner who worked this area and he would drop a team of 3 to 4  of to work one area and then go and work another area with another 3 lads, I soon relised that they were not the example that I wanted to follow, fAgs in mouths ,souting to each other and as you say the intimidation of 3 or four people around your house at once,
 that was several years ago, I'm glad to say that I now clean most of the houses That I knew they did, and although I,m trying to expand my business I insist that no more than 2 people per house, and that they are polite and presentably dressed (I,d hate to think that other people will look on me in the same way that I once viewd these now ex window cleaners...

[UBA1]

Couldn`t give a monkeys...they won`t last...

[Moderator David@stives]

you never know though do you ?

[AuRavelling79]

You do know really though don't you?

This team of four will work for someone else and sooner or later this is what will happen - the bright/motivated  one will go on his own, another will find a job in the warm when winter comes, another will go on the dole, and the last one will go back inside or get deported! (MalcG of the sweeping generalisation class)

All in all, while they are about they'll make you look good!