Ian_Giles

  • Posts: 2986
Those nasty blue bits
« on: February 17, 2005, 09:20:34 pm »
From 2.30 until 6pm! I earned the almighty sum of £16 :'(
A new account, £8 regular clean, 10 minutes work, nice one ;D Initial clean this time, will I get that blue protective tape of the new UPVC frames? Asks the customer.
Not a problem says I, but it will double the price.
An extra half hour, bit of a loss, but it will pay for itself after a few cleans thinks I.

Ever tried to get that b l o o d y stuff off :o

I expected it to peel off in sheets, but getting it off each sill took longer to do than a flight to glasgow from Bristol :'( (or Bristol to Glasgow with a tailwind ;D)

20 years in the business and I can still get caught out :-[

any other experienced cleaners still get caught out now and then?

Ian
Ian. ISM CLEANING SERVICES

pjulk

Re: Those nasty blue bits
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2005, 09:55:09 pm »
Had one the other day bungalow outside and conservatory inside and out. I quoted £16 and she was happy with that.
Anyway started to clean front and she shouts out ive made you a cuppa tea ( she was an old dear) anyway finished the front went in to do the inside of the conservatory and drink me tea out came the kit - kats. I said no thanks but i had my 14 year old son with me and he had one with his tea.
Put my applicator on the glass and it nearly stuck to the glass. It turns out she was a heavy smoker and the insides are never cleaned. The trouble i had getting the smoke of the glass it was a nightmare. It was like treacle. and i had to keep changing my water and scrim it was disgusting.
Whilst i was doing this my son was in her front room with this womans sister watching tv and on about his third kit - kat.
Get half way along the inside of the conservatory out comes more tea. But me being me i don't like to say no.
In the end a job i thought was going to take 20 minutes took 2 1/2  hours 3 cups of tea. My son trimming her dog.
Anyway she wants it done every 4 weeks so it should be ok next time but i will leave her till last just incase.

Paul

Roy Harding

  • Posts: 1964
Re: Those nasty blue bits
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2005, 09:59:01 pm »
I had to do one that had the plastic left on for two years, just a little bit at a time. what a pig.  :(I wont tell you how much I earnt it will really depress you. :) :) gloat gloat.

rosskesava

Re: Those nasty blue bits New
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2005, 10:53:40 pm »
Have done the nicotine thing except it was really a no choice thing.

We got a contract to clean the outside windows and frames around the council estate where I live for £20 a house after the roof's had been replaced on about a fifth of them.

The foreman asked us to do the insides of one house and to charge double because this bloke had moaned so much about being bed ridden, all the mess and noise etc and all the black dust that had gone in through his windows. He'd already got the carpets cleaned for free.

I should have guessed when I noticed his net curtains were a f*g coloured yellow and the frames on the outsides round where the windows shut were also 'f*g yellow'.

I smoke but doing these windows turned my stomach. It took 2 of us about 2 hours for a small 2 up 2 down town house. I ended up scraping it off with a scraper. There was no way I was even going to attempt the frames.

All his pictures, mirrors and everything were yellow tinged as were the walls. He tolds us all he had left was his f*gs which he smoked one after the other. Every half minute he coughed his guts up. It was obvious to us that his days were numbered.

Afterwards, it took 4 washes to get the nicotine and stink out of the mops and scrims.