[steve k]

How many WFP users would be users if the system was much slower to use than Trad methods and therefore profits were lower?

Lets face it, if WFP never came along, we would still be using our ladders to earn a living.

I for one, realised that WFP was going to be a lot faster to use and therefore more profitable and that is the sole reason I purchased a system...for more profit!

A nice side benefit was not having to use ladders as much but profit came first.

If WFP was slow to use and my hourly rates dropped from £30 to £15...I would not be using it.

Anyone else who uses WFP for profitability first and safety second?

Come on..be honest

[pylofm]

Having only spent 6 months doing trad (fulltime) about 18 years ago....I cannot really say I was a proper trad wiindow cleaner...however last year I decided for various reasons to start-up for myself....

I for one looked for a 'safe' method as I am not a great fan of ladders...

My decision was sealed by the posts I found here on this forum...so personally my decision was both for safety and profit.

Cheers
Dave.

[Grafters Cleaning Services]

safety came first with me, and profit is a bonus.
even if it was slower i would still use it.

[Paul Coleman]

How many WFP users would be users if the system was much slower to use than Trad methods and therefore profits were lower?

Lets face it, if WFP never came along, we would still be using our ladders to earn a living.

I for one, realised that WFP was going to be a lot faster to use and therefore more profitable and that is the sole reason I purchased a system...for more profit!

A nice side benefit was not having to use ladders as much but profit came first.

If WFP was slow to use and my hourly rates dropped from £30 to £15...I would not be using it.

Anyone else who uses WFP for profitability first and safety second?

Come on..be honest

I would be trying to wriggle out of using it too Steve if it dented my profits.  Bigger profits AND more safey is a very big bonus for me that is just starting to lift me away from financial meltdown.  Just had my best January EVER.  I earned more in January than I did in some Summer months.  Ok so the outgoings were higher too but didn't keep pace with the extra turnover.

[williamx]

I would hate it being rich and in a wheelchair or cemetery. Safety first- Money second

[matt]

from my point of view its SAFETY 100% and i really mean that

i know wih my feet safely planted on the ground for my round i know im going home at night and not falling off a ladder and ending up in hospital ( or worse )

[drakestar!]

bit of both but we are being ripped of as in 10 years the cost will be less than it is now. look at the price of anything that is new on the market eg dvd players, get them for a tenner now!

[steve k]

if we are saying safety...then why did we ever choose a ladder business in the first place.
If safety on the ground was our prime motivator, why did we not be a postman or a car valeter or a jet washer  etc etc.

We used ladders while monitoring our own standards of safety and ladder techniques...then along comes WFP and we jumped at it.

In any workplace, there are possibilities of accidents and whether its a fall from a ladder or a forklift falling on top of you, the end result is the same.
We (those with normally accepted levels of common sense) go about our daily social and working lives aware of dangers and avoiding them.
We worked off ladders and for the majority of users did so safely and with self imposed safety practices in place...why not continue doing what we did?

We are always looking at ways to speed our productivity up as more houses is more money.

It doesn`t wash with me at all that if WFP was considerably slower than traditional methods, some people would be happy to earn a breakeven wage cleaning windows as long as they were safe!

You can earn a breakeven wage for a lot less effort than window cleaning that is for sure.

Maybe the safety benefits of WFP have become blurred with the profit increases possible and we have lost touch with what is really motivating us...
My mission is to earn as much money as possible during working hours whilst maintaining the high standards of business practice I have set for myself.
Whilst not working, enjoying being with my family, reading my books, contemplating the merits of putting a bottle of Guinness in the freezer before slurping it...and accepting that a wonderful side beneft of WFP is no more silent prayers at the top of a ladder.

[Tosh]

I'm one of those idiots who firmly believes that nothing bad will happen to him, (I can fall into a barrel of poo and come up smelling of roses; honest) so I wanted a WFP to make more money and have an easier time doing it.

Saying that, I did some high first floor windows this morning and left the pole leant up against a window to move the backpack a bit to the left.

I must've tugged on the pole and it came crashing down, nearly hitting me on the head, but I managed to get my hand to it first.

I only ended up cutting my 'and!

[brightnclean]

I used to do quite a bit of rock climbing. Freestyle as well!  For the uninitiated that means no ties or ropes.

I felt safer doing that than trusting my life to a ladder. Its not ladders that are dangerous. Its the incorrect use of them and in window cleaning unless you have the perfect round and are a perfect person I bet a pound to a penny risks are taken most days.

I wouldnt go ladder only to earn half of what I do. Its a bit of both for me. Maybe I am unusual because I started out with WFP so perhaps I am not really qualified to answer this one with experience bit no way would I take a pay cut and go ladder only.

[macc]

safety came first with me, and profit is a bonus.
even if it was slower i would still use it.

Same here!

My safety comes first, the fact my profits, turnover & getting round all my worh every 4 weeks in the last 15 months on time is a huge bonus.

Macc

[steve k]

is that another Tosh...??

[matt]

if we are saying safety...then why did we ever choose a ladder business in the first place.
If safety on the ground was our prime motivator, why did we not be a postman or a car valeter or a jet washer  etc etc.

i somewhat stumbled in to becoming a WC'er

ive been up triple ladders fixing roofs and gutters , i will be honest it scared me

i honestly can say hand on heart if i earned the same with ladder and WFP i would be happy, as im safe

[spotless2000]

if we are saying safety...then why did we ever choose a ladder business in the first place.

If it wasn't for WFP I wouldn't be in this business.

I would never have considered WC if I had to use a ladder.

After being given 3 months notice that I was going to be made redundant I started researching various options of self employment on the internet and discovered WFP.

The rest as they say is history.  

So for me it's not safety OR profit  - It's safety AND profit!

Steve

[Tosh]

is that another Tosh...??

No it's me!  The same ole slanty-eyed Geordie Jap.

I used to do quite a bit of rock climbing. Freestyle as well! For the uninitiated that means no ties or ropes.

I've done a fair bit of rock climbing too; but you're a nutter.  I'd climb nothing unless I was getting blayed (is that how you spell it (bee-laid; phonetically).

[Neil Williams]

3 years using ladders before the WaHD idea was first made public.
Changed to WFP for safety reasons.
In a short time productivity went up.

So, both safety and profit in the end

[EasyClean]

I use to traditionally clean lots of windows 3 levels up but would clean them by WFP even if the money was lower purely from the safety aspect and being able to have a restful night's sleep not having too worry about climbing a ladder on gusty days. Nowadays I don't have much choice: it has to be WFP method because of my arthritus not the safety or money decision but health decision!!

[Mike_G]

I agree with Steve K.

[trevor perry]

 I agree with steve k , the safety side had very little to do with me going wfp apart from the fact that i was having to justify useing a ladder to a lot of safety officers on jobs we clean.
  I have used ladders for the past 25 years and for many of those years did commercial jobs useing ladders to a height of 60ft i found these really big ladders safer than small ones because they are that heavy once in position they will never move.
 Useing wfp is definately quicker but i seriously dont think it does as good a job on a lot of work but people accept the finish due to the safety reasons, my main concern is that a lot of people are now becoming window cleaners that before wfp wouldnt have lasted a day and this in the long run will drive prices down.
  To sum up ,on ladders and safety i would say ladders are a very safe tool if used correctly but in the wrong hands it is like giving a machine gun to a monkey and people will be hurt.

[matt]

  my main concern is that a lot of people are now becoming window cleaners that before wfp wouldnt have lasted a day and this in the long run will drive prices down.
 

thats a good point, ive had FIVE leaflets though my door since christmas from window cleaners

shocking