[Niall McAllister]

hullo, read a topic that implied that if your not wfp your a waste of space ( not exact quote).
can it really be so?

[TennetClean]

yes.

nah just kidding.  Nobody is a waste of space.

[Londoner]

No way! Its the view of a small number of people on this forum and its they who are a waste of space.

You clean the windows how you want and stuff what they think.

There is a movement towards, expensive sign written vans all kitted out with the latest gear, uniforms and the like. It does raise the image of the trade but it doesn't get the glass any cleaner.

[Clive McDonald]

Yes there is snobbery mainly because people feel they want to move on from having a job to having a business. This is entirely normal and human as anyone with brothers and sisters with bigger houses and better cars will know, it's not the end of the world, nor does it mean that those guilty are monsters.

For what it's worth there's probably a caste system too within WFP, starting with barrels and ending with Ionics. Those that condemn the snobbery are sometimes the very same ones who have strong and negative feelings on other subjects.

[pingu]

To be honest...who cares....whether it's trad, wfp, steam...back end of a soiled fiesta mag that we clean windows with...windows are windows and when people look through them..do they care...no

To be honest...it's a speed thing for me and to be really honest I do not like ladders too much....

But for most I would imagine it is a combination of speed and money earning potential..

But look down...no...I personally look in awe at a good trad w/c....it just looks good.

Dave.

[Londoner]

The only thing you need to be a window cleaner is a pulse.

[Ian_Giles]

How can you possibly be a window cleaner if you can't clean trad?

I've got WFP, use it everywhere I possibly can, but there is hardly a day goes by where I don't use my trad tools.

So no snobbery from me.

As for sign written vans and uniforms...is there some reason you can't be wholly trad and have the same thing?
They are two things that improve your image, regardless of whether or not you have WFP, wish I done it years ago now

Ian

[LWC]

yes. go wfp

[d s windowcleaning]

i do both trad & wfp so no snobbery for me it makes me wonder how many wfp users cant trad , i know 2 who cant but they wish they could .

[jaykie]

I dont believe im a snob but i know most of my customers are and want the best of everything and that includes the way there window cleaner looks i.e uniform, van etc.

Chris

[groundhog]

 it makes me wonder how many wfp users cant trad , i know 2 who cant but they wish they could .

When I started my first part time round many years ago, I had no idea how to use a squeegy, I just bought some kit and taught myself. It took about 10 minutes to learn how to do a decent job, and a couple of weeks to get up to a reasonable speed. Anyone could trad if they wanted to, is all you would have to do is watch another window cleaner for 5 minutes and copy what you have seen!! easy peasy!!!

[Nathanael Jones]

I voted "Yes", because even though there shouldn't be any snobbery, the opinions expressed on this forum are sometimes blatantly snobbish.

Not just WFP vs trad,... Cobbled WFP vs Brand name,... Trolley vs Vanmount etc etc. (Hot vs cold???    )

If the windows are clean when you walk away from the house, what does it matter how they got that way???



Snobbery aside, safety is a big issue. If there is anyway you can afford it, go WFP ASAP!!!!

[Glyn H]

Both are needed.
The skill to use a squeegee proficiently is essential for internal work.

[davids3511]

How can you possibly be a window cleaner if you can't clean trad?

Why not? I have  round of 220 monthly customers and I have never even held trad tools, never mind used them. I suspect trad skills will become a speciality as newcomers to the job will pick up the pole and off they go. If they don't have an overwhelming need to learn trad, they won't.

I suspect if you asked any of my 220 customers to describe what I do for them they would say he is my 'window cleaner'.

[L.J.Thorpe]

How can you possibly be a window cleaner if you can't clean trad?

Why not? I have round of 220 monthly customers and I have never even held trad tools, never mind used them. I suspect trad skills will become a speciality as newcomers to the job will pick up the pole and off they go. If they don't have an overwhelming need to learn trad, they won't.

I suspect if you asked any of my 220 customers to describe what I do for them they would say he is my 'window cleaner'.

how do you do insides

[Dale Smith]

Surely to be any good in the market place you need both?
We use trad everyday at some point or other, but use WFP constantly....
No snobbery here..... anyway I love doing trad.... bruv hates it though   

[Sanity]

Its all a matter of perspectives...

My brother is a RMN, and is currently a Deputy Ward Manager in one of Leicestershires largest Psychiatric hospitals..

I was at his house for lunch one day, talking about our prospective careers...and he said...

'Yes, but you are just a window cleaner.'
 (he really is a snob...)

'I am CEO of a company, and you are just a nurse..'

'I am a Deputy Ward Manager, and you are just a window cleaner...'

'I am CEO of a company, and you are just a nurse..'

Just goes to show, even the snobbiest can be put in their place...

[gary999]

im mainly wfp but trad insides it makes me money so why would i put it down

very handy on days when its tipping down and dont want to be in the wet

[L.J.Thorpe]

i still trad small bungalows,and have gone back to trad on the car showrooms
its not really any slower and big windows need lots of water to rinse so horses for courses
plus i like tradding........just not ALL the time

[dai]

Having been trad for so many years, I certainly don't think I'm any better now I have gone WFP.
Same guy, just a different method that's all.

I watched a guy last week using WFP, he had a van mount with a 100 psi Flojet, pushing water out at such a rate I could hear the water hitting the glass from 40 meters away. He had garden hose running to his pole hose, and that must have been 8mm diameter. This was a totally unrestricted flow, and to make things worse one of his jets was blocked. I am not kidding a single jet of water was landing 25 ft away from his brush. This guy wasn't rinsing, he was power washing. Brickwork, vents, everywhere was getting blasted. He then said that WFP was not all it's cracked up to be, he had been getting complaints.
I know for a fact that he has never learned trad methods, he does insides with a spray bottle and microfiber cloth.
I believe that we have benefited from all those years of trad cleaning, it gave us a feel for the job, we learned to treat glass with respect, especially when cleaning the old fashioned leads and single glazed panes. I for one think I am a better window cleaner for having put my time in cleaning trad. Dai