[Mr. S]

Which of these options best describes the way in which my soon to be fellow WFP ers clean their windows? I think it may be of interest to many to find out!

[Sir Squeaky]

Trad everything.

I sometimes jet-wash my car.
That's a kind of wfp isn't it?

[brett walker]

I wfp tops on half my round and trad bottoms if youve got the water capacity it is faster and you can earn more money
if you wfp both.  Personally i would miss doing trad as i would find wfp tops and bottoms a bit boring.

Each to their own

regards

Brett.

[P @ F]

 I wfp everything , i do the odd bit of trad now and again and it really knackers me out  !
 I suppose in a way you have to admire SQUEAKY CLEAN for sticking with trad when wfp is so available .

  Rich   P @ F

[Mr. S]

Maybe Squeaky!!!! I like trad too!

The reason I posted this is because although I love trad way, more money in WFP, but as Brett says could get boring WFPing everything. So once all votes are in, yours is an option im looking at Brett when I start WFP hopeful next week! Might help others I hope too!

Cheers

Regards

Keep votes coming, Many Thanx

Craig

[rosskesava]

WFP has it's interesting bits too.

We pick and choose which is best and which is appropriate.

We get paid extra for one huge rich persons house to do it trad. They had WFP's previously and don't want WFP at all. In fact, all the really best jobs we've got in the last 6 months have been jobs done previously by WFP and I'd like to thank them for the brilliant job they done explaining to the customer that ladders are banned. That approach has earnt us a bomb as because of that mis information, we charge extra for using trad methods well within the rules of the WAHL's.

Some commercial work would be slower with wfp. Some is more suited for it. Some is much much quicker and the result better.

It's horses for courses.

[Paul Coleman]

I WFP everything now but there are a few exceptions such as where the frames are very leaky or if I don't want to put excessive water in a doorway.

[brett walker]

Its so easy to get carried away wfp everything for speed, especially on lead and georgian 

Its like a hot knife through butter


Brett

[Andrew McCann]

Mornin all.

Like Brett says  leaded and georgian. The whole property.

Commercial.  The whole property.

Rest of the domestic stuff. A mixture really. Definately anything we would have to climb to get to where a pole can get to it. Trad for windows above deep flat roofs. For variety and to break up monotony we use trad on bottom windows most of the time. If we just want to speed through the day or get that extra 2 or 3 in at the end of of the day then its all done with WFP. Its good to mix it a bit because as I say it it breaks up monotony.

We only went WFP for safety at the start. OK we are a lot faster now and could be faster still if we WFP'd everything but we like to enjoy our days work so it gives us the luxury of being able to choose which method to use on the ground floor. Variety is the spice of life

Cheers

Andrew

[Ian_Giles]

As a general rule it is WFP all the way for me, but Trad gets used just about every day at some point.
I actually find I now enjoy the times I am using Trad a lot more than I did when I had no option.
Today I shall be using trad on 2 or 3 windows, one on an office balcony, and once on a door and the 2 windows next to it (again, another office)
The balcony because it is easier to trad them, and the other because for some reason these couple of bits just won't come up right with WFP

Time to go!

Ian

[Terry_Burrows]

  why spend £££££ when you dont have to when Trad will do private houses not keen on it from my feed backs,to messy they say,can be sold good to
comercial h/s and all that

[DASERVICES]

  I do tops and some bottoms have found the customers LOVE IT, have had
  no cancellations to date but no doubt will have. Have not used ladders are
  banned but have used the honest approach that it is a lot safer for me.

  Offer them the service if any window does not come up to standard I'll
  come back and do it again.

  And best of all I have a captive audience when doing it, and once finished
  the business cards come out. To the ladies I just tell them no more drawing
  your bedroom windows when you see the window cleaner coming 

  Best investment to date.

  Doug

[Morph]

I went straight in at the deep end.  Still fairly new to wfp, but informed everyone this is how I do it now, if they don't like it I go back to the old way.
feel like I've shot myself in the foot in some ways.  No-one wants to go back.
So everything wfp for me.  Tops bottoms, bungalows, the lot.  Front doors under porches get just a quick wipe.

Pj

[Sarah Sarill]

100 % wfp.  Dont carry ladders anymore.  If we cant get access without ladders then we dont do the property at all.

Sarah

[windows_chepstow]

why spend £££££ when you dont have to when Trad will do private houses not keen on it from my feed backs,to messy they say,can be sold good to
comercial h/s and all that

Terry,

I can't believe I'm giving you advice, but here goes.

Okay many residential customers may prefer to have their windows cleaned with ladders being used for access to their first floor.

But who cares as long as the window is left clean?  Don't give them the option.  Some people - like Roger (Squeaks) - don't like change.

You've got to sell the benifits of WFP to your customer.  No holes in the lawn.  No noisy ladders.  Clean frames; free-of-charge.  No dead or crippled window cleaner trying to sue you.  Etc.

I've lost one small account due to my WFP; and gained a lot with it; and two large (by my standards) accounts that I wouldn't have touched if I just did trad.

This afternoon I did a three-storey farm-house with a massive Georgian windowed conservatory.

It's a nice job with a WFP.

[Sir Squeaky]

But who cares as long as the window is left clean?  Don't give them the option.  Some people - like Roger (Squeaks) - don't like change.

Keep at it Terry, you're quicker than any of them.
In a lot of cases I am too.

I don't dislike change, I just get too much negative feedback to upset my customers.

I had another one ask me today, as they were unhappy with the previous wfp'er.

John Hughes is also going to lose a BIG one because of it too.
She much preferred his work when done by hand.

I won't take it off him, as I know him.
I was asked to though.

I haven't had a complaint for many years....apart from missing people out sometimes!

Rog.

[gaza]

funny I had a  women ask me to wfp her windows today cus she wasnt happy with her previous trad window cleaner

 gaza

[Sir Squeaky]

funny I had a  women ask me to wfp her windows today cus she wasnt happy with her previous trad window cleaner

 gaza

Care in the community is a wonderful thing.....

[gaza]

squeek how did you  know you would enjoy sex till you tried it ,bet you carnt get enough now
gaza

[Mick (UHPS)]

WFP everything....what is this trad lark  :

I do a few trad if I have to 

[windows_chepstow]

I don't dislike change, I just get too much negative feedback to upset my customers.

Rog.

Rog,

Remember, your customers aren't your family.  Don't worry about upsetting them by a 'change'.

Remember also, I was asked to quote for The Bridge pub that you did.  I was using a WFP at the time too.

No doubt the same has happened to me.  I've been dropped by customers who've said 'they've bought their own ladders' and stuff; yet surprisingly their windows stay clean; month after month.

I know they've swapped me for another window cleaner.  "'Poo' happens', as they say!

But what I want to know is, how you've recieved negative feedback from your customers about WFP, when you don't use one?

97% (a guess) of my customers had never heard of the WFP or pure-water cleaning till I turned up, waving my yellow pole around.

How are your customers so well educated they can give you all this negative feedback?

[Sir Squeaky]

WFP everything....what is this trad lark  :

I do a few trad if I have to 

Ho hum....

At least you got rid of the picture of the pig Mick.

[Sir Squeaky]

How are your customers so well educated they can give you all this negative feedback?

It's not necessarily customers, but friends and family of them I bump into.
Wasn't a customer I was speaking to today about John's work.
Others are strangers stopping to ask me to do theirs.

I thought you said everyone around here has wfp now?

Oh, and the Bridge asked you because I didn't turn up regular enough.
They told me I was the only one who could get them perfect.

Rog.

[macc]

wfp all of mine, only get my ladders off for access( flat roof etc). 

[neil100]

We do tops and Bottoms with wfp.

I clean the odd house Traditional, But only when the frames are not good enough for wfp, or windows on flat roofs where I cant get my pole too.  Quality is king, and I am getting a lot of postive feed back of customers who are delighted with wfp.

I must have done a far better job on First cleans then I thought, The vast majorty have been perfect.

I did a house yersterday were I thought she would complain and cancell cos of wfp. She was the excact oppossite. She came to watch and was stunned as her windows and frames came up like new. She even Tipped me, And thats despite her price going up 20%.

I lost one customer today, £6.50, A real Victor Melldrew this chap, His wife is even worse, I did not get chance to finnish the whole house, He disliked the water dripping down, he said " Look at the Bloody Mess your Makeing. I dont like This. You can do it Trad or not at all."

I picked up my money, Wished them all the best and told them I would not becoming Back.

Lost £6.50 cos of wfp this week. Did 4 new customers today who had been watching us use wfp, Total £60.00.  New Customer rung up at Tea time cos of WFP, Another £40.00, Last week took 3 new customers on cos of wfp, another £50.00.

I am pulling in more money each day then Trad, and I am no where near Peak effeciancy yet.
I was thinking today I hope that the w/c in my area stay Trad cos I can really expand into certain Dorma estates that w/c avoid.

Nel.

[Trevor Knight]

Have spent the last 6 months cleaing commercial by wfp. Was so not sure how my domestic customers would like it. As of today I have had NO cancellations, picked up 3 new customers, increased 4 customers prices as i can now get above the conservatories. All I can say is WFP the whole lot, gives better results, is easier and looks the business.

Whats a squeegee again?

[windows_chepstow]

Oh, and the Bridge asked you because I didn't turn up regular enough.
They told me I was the only one who could get them perfect.

Rog (Squeaky),

Jenny from the Bridge Inn gave me a 'slightly' different story.  She didn't tell me who her window cleaner was.  She just said she wasn't happy with the job he did.  She didn't say, 'My window cleaner does a 'perfect job'; he just doesn't turn up on time'.  

As I say, I didn't quote for the job. 

But anyway; you know what some customers are like!  I believe they messed you around somewhat.  My point was, you can 'break your balls' for your customers, but some won't appreciate it (such as Jenny from the Bridge Inn). 

They'll drop you for another window cleaner for a multitude of reasons.

(You're too fast!  You're too expensive.  I never know when you turn up.  My door wasn't cleaned.  We've bought ladders.  My Dad says it's illegal to use ladders (I lost one due to this; honest).)

Anyway, friends and family do not constitute your customers.  And if they're friends and family; surely they'd like to see you 'on the ground', rather than, 'in the hospital'?

Honestly, Rog, do you still see yourself humping your body up and down ladders for the next twenty years?

Even if you did; do you honestly think that you won't have at least one fall in that time?

Roger,

I honestly don't mind whether you use ladders or not, but I'd rather see you on the ground.

Regards,

Tosh.

PS.  Tim from Caldicot has just purchased his WFP stuff and Terry Peates (a new member here; but hasn't posted) has also priced up his WFP gear.

[H h20]

I`m  a WFP`er but use pad and squeegee more,it`s ladders i have dumped,can`t stand the things too dangerous if it`s anything thats going up to clean a window it`s my pole not my life,Gaz

[Moderator David@stives]

Squeeky

Can you remember my attitude to wfp, I was very critical of it and thought it was the biggest pile of s**t i had ever seen.

I thought it was the biggest marketing scam ever by the manufacturers and even publicly stated so. I even went on a wfp course to see what it was all about but this just served to compound my negative thoughts.

I was going to pack it all in i was that fed up and was determined never to use a ladder again after 8 years of near misses.

Anyhow i put together a cheap diy system just to do 1 or 2 awkward jobs , another tool in the box so to say.

Since using wfp regularly i am kicking myself i did not get one years ago ,it has turned my life around and i am earning lots more money not just because it is faster,mainly because i am not as pi**ed off about going to work because i could not face yet another day of ladders and difficult jobs. I am actually enjoying my work again.

You know i always speak my mind and do not hold back for nothing and wish you would believe me when i say wfp is the future.
If you dont make the change soon you will be left behind, remember the dinosaurs went extinct.
All the good jobs will be taken by time you finally get around to buying one because believe me you will get wfp one day.

If only you do it for your wife and children, that is a good enough reason you will be no good to them crippled or cabbaged, you will be in fact a burden to them.

When i attended the bwca wfp course i met a guy there who had an accident a few years  back and had smashed all the bones in his legs and the bones ripped through his jeans and were pocking out a good few inches also on the same day i met Ian Lancaster a clean1ngpros member and he can no longer wear shoes because of smashing his feet up.
Everybody that day had a tale to tell and i felt so lucky that all i had was near misses and nothing worse.

Wfp does not leave streaks or spots and i have no problems with it at all, can you ever remember me asking for advice apart from before i got wfp ? No because it is that simple and that good.
If you are a good trad cleaner you will be a good wfper.
If you are a bad trad cleaner you would probably be a bad wfper as well.

Now stop being a stubborn pig head and do yourself a favour and buy a wfp system, you have read all the advice on here and all your friends are telling you how good it is.

Do you think we are all lying or what ?

Now heres what i want you to do.   

Day 1   ask for advice of best set up to suit your needs

Day 2  order said equipment

Day 3  go out with Tosh or Ian for the day

Day 4 Buy me a pint for me helping you to make the best decision of your life     

If it does not work out i will buy all your equipment back off you.

Now theres a challenge and thats how confident i am that you will never turn back.

Dave

[AuRavelling79]

I voted "other"

Because I wfp tops 90% of the time.
Bottoms most of the time.
Front doors I more often than not do trad.

[pjulk]

I use WFP on nearly all of my work.
I have a few i do traditional as they are not suitable for WFP.

Just lately i have been doing the bottoms on a lot of my customers traditional as they seem to take forever to dry in the cold and dont really want to leave all the windows wet all day.
As soon as it warms up a bit i will be back to WFP the whole lot.

If its leaded, Georgian or just out of reach i do it all by WFP.

I have had some customers ask me to do the whole lot by WFP also.

Bungalows i always do these traditional unless its leaded.

I dont think i would ever want to be 100% WFP as i like both methods.

Paul

[Sir Squeaky]

Now stop being a stubborn pig head and do yourself a favour and buy a wfp system, you have read all the advice on here and all your friends are telling you how good it is.

Oh I don't doubt you are all happy with it and pleased with your results.

The problem is, I'm in a rented house with no garden space for a tank.(not a cheiftan )

The other thing is, I'd want a van so I can carry so much water I don't need to refill too often.
That's my main gripe, having to spend time before and after work faffing about with water filling.
At the moment I fill my bucket and go, then when I get home I put my feet up.
You don't get paid for that extra hassle.

I like the safety idea, but that's it really.
Too many people tell me they don't like it.

Also, as I tried to explain to Ian, could I make enough extra money to pay £250 a month for a van lease and still come home with more money from a mainly domestic round?
Bear in mind I'm pretty fast and £25p/h is nothing for me.

Rog. ( doing his best to at least consider it!)

[Moderator David@stives]

Rog. ( doing his best to at least consider it!)

I think we have got him lads

[Moderator David@stives]

Squeeks

My van was
£3k i will get about 3 years out of it so that works out at £20 a week . But in reality i will still get some money back for £1000 ?
Insurance not much more than a car.

What is the tds in your area

[JM123]

sorry but I just can't understand it - why spend £££'s on wfp and only use it half the time, it just doesn't add up.

[windows_chepstow]

What is the tds in your area

It's about 157 in Roger's area.

Good post Dave, by the way.

[Moderator David@stives]

Thanks  Tosh

Roger

Now with a tds of 157 i guess you would get 2-3 months out of a 25 litre Di vessil
so you will not need water storage or an RO system straight away.

That would work out at £5.00-£10.00 a week for resin max ,so you now no longer have any excuses.

I have seen cleaners with a 250l tank in a trailer so you could still keep your car.

All you need is about £700 to dip your toe in the water + the trailer, and if you did not like it you would get every penny back for your equipment and the trailer.

What have you got to lose.

Dave

[neil100]

Squeeks,

You easily can afford WFP.                                                                           

Bear in mind I'm pretty fast and £25p/h is nothing for me. (QUOTE)

On a 40 hour week you are rakeing in £1000.00 a week.

Stop being Tight, Invest some Dosh In wfp.

Nel.

[Sir Squeaky]

Well if I'm on a grand a week do I really need to? :

Dave, all sounds bloody complex to me.
Far more difficult than filling my bucket.

250litres wouldn't last long before I have to fill up again would it?

I wouldn't want to have to do anything other than just get in the car more than once a week...

[Moderator David@stives]

250 litres goes a long long way and would last me a day and if i run out i fill up at a customers house as i fill up.

You win ,you stay as you are.

I dont want you as a fellow wfp user anyway i was having a weak moment     

Dave

[Pippin]

all cleaners in my area are WFP except one who is saving to buy one.

[windows_chepstow]

We could start a whole new thread called:

'Excuses why Squeaky (Roger) won't transfer to WFP'.

1.   My customers won't like it (based on conversations with his Mum).

2.  I've a bad back and 25 litres is heavy.

3.   I live in a rented house.

4.   I don't have a garden.

5.   It leaves streaks.

6.   It's more skilfull using a squeegee.

7.   Aliens forbid me to use pure water.

8.  I'm allergic to RO units.

9.   I can't afford it.

10.  It's too complicated.

11.  My Mum doesn't like it.

12.  I might have complaints.

13.  Complaints stress me.

14.  I never have complaints.

15.  What if I lose Mrs Kawakami at No 55?  She makes me tea.

16.  My Mum isn't happy about pure water cleaning.

17.  What if I lose so much business I can't buy my copy of 'train spotters weekly'?

18.  What happens if my TDS rises above eight?

19.  I can't understand what a TDS is, so I'm sticking to my ladders.

20.  My Mum says I can get Lymes disease.

Roger,

Where there's a will there's a way!

[neil100]

My son was cleaning the back of this House by Wfp. Another W/cleaner was cleaning the next house Trad. He Shouts to my son, " I have now seen everything, I cant beleive you are cleaning them like that, Rubbish absoult Rubbish, Does the customer know that  you are doing them like that?

He moves His ladder for a better look, " Your cheating them useing that, Dont you realize they are going to dry all streaky, God you have got a lot of nerve."

It seams like some w/cleaners have never heard of WFP, or Pure water in my neck of the woods. I never said anything, I will just let him bad mouth me. Though I clean 6 houses on the cul de sac were he lives, so you never know he may go over and play " try to spot the Streak" 

Nel.

[Sir Squeaky]

No.7 is true Tosh.

I was visited by Quorgon1 from the planet Moog and he said purifying water is forbidden and I'd rot in hell.

Apparently.....