Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: P @ F on August 24, 2005, 11:02:41 am
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As i say , its a must have , i for one am blown away by the performance and earning potential of it .
For the past year i have been a ladder man only , and i wasnt the quickest of workers , you may have seen my earlier posts about speed {not the drug !}
Admitedly i am using it on top and bottem , but i think if your gonna drag the hose round then use it !
I was always just above my overdraft , dont get me wrong , i had a comfy life but now its gonna get better , i just went to the bank to check how poor i was and had a shock , almost £500 in credit , that may sound like peanuts to some of you but considering i have only been on wfp for 4 days i think its great .
Zero credit after bills to £500 after bills , and i just gave the other half £70 to go get herself somthing nice , i got the feeling shes gonna like wfp too !
From a very happy Rich P @ F ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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thanks for your comment on wfp ive been w/c for 3 years and have just gone down wfp route and have made my own trolley as i got sick of draggin hose round but your comment is encouraging. i noticed on some of your posts your only using di for your water, have you got an ro yet and if so which one.
Thanks
Phil
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dont count your chickens yet
at least wait and see how many cancellations, or complaints you get .
every wfp user locally i know seem to lose quite a few customers.
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to david do you use wfp? and if so did you lose any customers
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No RO as yet , i am lucky enough to have TDS of 100 , i figure that it will give me 5000 L of pure per bag of resin , i currently use about 250L per day , thats 20 days work in the month , {all i want to work !}
So £80 a month on resin i dont mind spending , but having said that , the area i work has a TDS of 40 and i have about 4 customers who are not on water meters who said any time i wish to refill do so , so that has already halfed my resin usage .
I am on water meter , so by the time any RO has drained off its waste it might be more economical for me to stick to DI only , time will tell .
STILL A VERY HAPPY RICH P @ F ;D ;D ;D
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no i do not use my ploe on the public yet .i will not neither until i am 100% convinced i can go out with it and have no come backs .
i have never seen a wfp cleaned window without spots .maybe i am to fussy ,but i also have some fussy customers,thats why i have got a lot of them throughbad pole work or normal cleaning off other w/c s.
if i am having probs on my own downstairs windows ,how do you get enough confidence to do customers upstairs windows .
after all they are paying for quality service .i may test on a few select customers next week
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p@f like yourself ive been using ladders for a little over a year and im not that fast ,been looking at wfp for a while ,as i am turning work away, mainly second floor work townhouses ect, what system to go for is proberbly the only thing holding me back at the mo. tell me what did you go for , and how much was it
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david
i have managed to use wfp withou spotting with ease on some houses on others it spots however im only going to use it on the tops and do downstairs traditional. luckily alot of my customer are pleased for me to be safe and dont mind a FEW spots and are please because it does the frames even thoght i always do the frames traditional anyway ??? how ever i think the spots have been my fault from mistakes like splashing brickwork etc. i know you've probably been doin wfp for longer than me but the windows on your house may be some of those that take ages to come good with wfp i know mine did and this was because they hadnt been done for months and even then is was just a quick going over not the standad i would clean a customersmers.
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NICE ONE DAVE ST IVES :'( :'( :'(
I have had 2 mentions so far from customers , you know ,"Who did you send to do my windows this month" , after i told them that it was a new system that all window cleaners would at some point be using due to HS regs , i seem to have gotten away with it so far , i redid the windows and they came up better the second time so heres hoping .
I also think that my slowness on a ladder has helped me no end in the past , they all saw me as giving quality value for money work , and i always stopped for a chat too , which makes them a little more reluctant to fire you !
Although i am counting my chickens early i am prepared for loss , my grandad always said "Plenty more windows in the sea boy" HE WAS LOOPY ! ;D
Rich P @ F
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Good ain't it
Be careful about telling the missus how good it is I bet she'll find loads of new ways to spend your extra cash, Mine did after three years with WFP things look rossy but bank balance still low (other half+kids+grand kids = negative cash flow)
you really feel the benifits when the wind is blowing and you can carry on safely,
don't worry about loosing customers with the added advantage of being able to get to those windows that others can't reach = charging more you can replace every one lost with at least 6 new ones paying more.
WFP = personel money making machine.
Alan
ps. I take it your rained off as well?
Pps, just went to a couple of shops with canopys over the windows and pitched for the first floor windows and canopy cleaning (told them I did not want to take the other w/cleaners shop work) gave a fair price (about 15 minutes each for £20 each) got the work WFP creates job situations.
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steve have a look at www.d.co.uk and wintecs i got mine from wintecs but wish i had heard of matts site.
phil
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don't worry about loosing customers with the added advantage of being able to get to those windows that others can't reach = charging more you can replace every one lost with at least 6 new ones paying more.
WFP = personel money making machine.
Alan
now you have convinced me !!!!!
turn £20k into £100k
i`ll be out with mine tommorrow
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Its lashing down in Plymouth at the mo , but the weatherman said id get a couple hours this afternoon , dear of him !
I got a big gutter job on a bungalow and plenty of inside work to do though .
STEVE JAMIESON , I got the entry level system from WINTECS £777 , but i upgraded to a 175L tank and got a 24' pole so i could get higher windows , im not sure if you could get your townhouses with the 18' {dont quote me on that}
As you can tell from my posts im well happy with it , if you want to see it look for my older thread "MY NEW INSTALL"
All in all i paid £850 with battery and a bag of resin .
One thing i will say is check out your TDS before you go spending all your money on a DI only system as you may well need to get RO aswell to benefit
RICH P @ F
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NICE ONE DAVE ST IVES :'( :'( :'(
Although i am counting my chickens early i am prepared for loss , my grandad always said "Plenty more windows in the sea boy" HE WAS LOOPY ! ;D
Rich P @ F
Loopy? Maybe, but he was right, there ARE plenty of windows in the sea - Portholes on submarines which you can clean in port. Or if you've got the right gear you can do Titanic, Bismark, HMS Hood, Yamato etc etc.
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Hey , you might have somthing there MalcG , low reach pole systems $$$$$
Rich P @ F ;D
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hi P@f , You sounded just like i am at the mo. Ive just started to use my wfp but am not to confident with it at the mo, I worry people are gonna complain (think thats me just being me). I really need to start using it full time and boost my earnings, Was you like me at first ? Any advice ?.
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ive been WFP upstairs only now for allmost 1 year :)
i warned my customers that the first clean or 2 might result in a odd few spots and if they could judge the system after the THIRD CLEAN then they will see what a cracking job it does
for people thinking of it, i started in NOV and i thought that was a good time, dull dark days dont show up the odd spot, only bright sunlight ;)
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steve have a look at www.d.co.uk and wintecs i got mine from wintecs but wish i had heard of matts site.
phil
fame at last :)
seriously though, if your in 2 minds about it and dont want to spend SILLY money, its the only choice ;)
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that system from wintecs is expensive for what it is.
the sum of the parts-=about £400 max
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thanks p@f nice little set-up doesnt seem to take up all your van space either , i could fit something like that into the back of my renault laguna estate as its designed for 7 people ie will comfortly carry say 2-250ltr yes i wll get a small set up and upgrade as and when cheers chaps
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so Matt after a years use what do you think and did you lose any at all? Im still in two minds. Im fast with a ladder and if it wasnt for the regs i wouldnt risk big cash for the chance of losing loadsa customers :'( Doesnt make sense. I think if wfp was guarenteed to do a good job on all windows i would have coughed up with out a thought.
Then some would say we dont have a choice cos of the regs then others would say "ladders arent banned if wfp doesnt please the customers then it isnt a reasonable alternative" Man im confused!!
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so Matt after a years use what do you think and did you lose any at all? Im still in two minds. Im fast with a ladder and if it wasnt for the regs i wouldnt risk big cash for the chance of losing loadsa customers :'( Doesnt make sense. I think if wfp was guarenteed to do a good job on all windows i would have coughed up with out a thought.
Then some would say we dont have a choice cos of the regs then others would say "ladders arent banned if wfp doesnt please the customers then it isnt a reasonable alternative" Man im confused!!
what do i think ?? ??
i think its the best work tool EVER, it means Im stood on the ground all day long, it means i leave the house and i know i will be returning at Tea time :)
It does a good enough job, ive done mine on the odd occassion and YES i still get the odd run or water and they dry with a few white spots in that run, its not a big deal
Have i lost customers, i do near 400 properties, Ive not lost a single account, NOT ONE
Have i picked any up because of it, YES a fair few who liked the idea of the frames being cleaned (i dont clean the frames BUT i explain the spray from the water will clean them in time ;))
i would have never have paid the money some of the "system makers" are charging, i have a young family and couldnt justify it, thus built my own :)
i only do upstairs with WFP as i feel the customer will still see you taking a certain time to clean a house BUT i have speeded up a fair bit,
would i recommend the WFP system to others, YES its bleeding great :)
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I totally agree with Matt,and theres no risk or danger either,iv`e been window cleaning for nearly 17 years and im 36 with a young family,iv`e seen lots of near accidents and a few slight accidents and known a few window cleaners having accidents that have ended there days,so wfp for me all the way,Gaz.
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Mind me asking you guys but you seem to have small vans and are using WFP.
I was under the impression that you needed a SWB Transit for WFP to carry
a 650 l tank which should last a day.
What size tanks can you fit in your vans and how long does it last. I am looking
only to do tops as a start off using WFP and average 10 houses a day using
traditional method.
So am I aiming to high and should go for a smaller van and smaller tank.
Any advise please.
Cheers
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hi i have an escort 75 and carry 400ltr water tank always lasts all day most of the time i have some left.
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iv`e got a citreon berlingo and i use a 60litre tank that i can leave in the van or it can be mounted on my trolley and i can fit about 10 25litre containers in aswell,i do this because a local fellow window cleaner who has been using wfp alot longer than me says it is alot safer to carry your water in smaller containers,some may disagree especially if doing large commercial work but horses for courses,it works for me,cheers,Gaz
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Mind me asking you guys but you seem to have small vans and are using WFP.
I was under the impression that you needed a SWB Transit for WFP to carry
a 650 l tank which should last a day.
What size tanks can you fit in your vans and how long does it last. I am looking
only to do tops as a start off using WFP and average 10 houses a day using
traditional method.
So am I aiming to high and should go for a smaller van and smaller tank.
Any advise please.
Cheers
i use a VW passat estate CAR, i carry 6 of 25 L barrels and it last me all day, normally only use 4 of the barrels (thus 100 L of water)
i get about 3 - 4 houses out of 1 barrel (DOING TOPS ONLY) so that'll give you a rough idea
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STEVE JAMEISON , Knowing what i know now Dave from St Ives is right , if you do buy the parts separateley you can make more savings than ever , i was under the impression that there was a hell of a lot to it , but the system is so basic once you have looked at it , its untrue .
If you have the time and patients to wait for the parts then go that way , if your like me and just want to get on with it spend a bit more , its your choice at the end of the day , all i can say is i dont regret going the expensive way for a single moment , it will pay for itself in no time at all .
cheers Rich P @ F ;D
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GIFTED K , Listen mate , just get out there and stick it to em , its the way we will all go in the end so the sooner people get used to it the better !
If you get on well with your people , explain about the HSE regs and tell them it really isnt worth your while to get caught with your pants down !
Dont know how easy it is for you to find new custom but it is out there for the taking , obviously , if your system isnt performing right then keep easing it in a bit at a time till your there , i jumped in and am doing all of them top and bottem to see what happens , if they complain im gonna know aint i !
I started the bussiness a year ago with no customers , and just a B&Q ladder on top of my car , i now have 4 ladders YIPPEE ! , a wfp system , a van !
What im sayin is , if it all goes T**S up , ill just do it again !
All the best mate Rich P @ F ;D
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p&f what i way to go mate i paid £3500 for my round 6 years ago.i have improved it by compacting it up more and more and inching up the prices by about 20% a year so far not lost any customers by it. i think the way to go for me is not neccesseraly up with wfp . i have twice as many bungalows as when i first started .and i have dropped the highest 10-20 jobs every year so i do nothing over pretty low 2 storey .so in the end i will just be going out with my 6` a frame . and leaving the high stuff and spots to you guys.
i know what you mean about wanting to just buy your system and get on with it ,i was just a bit more patient.
have you got a full work load yet ?
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just one thing i noticed about you system i think you have got a manual on/off switch on your pump i think you would be better with a pump controller .
dave
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David , have you got a crystal ball down there in Cornwall ?
I was just sayin to the missus today , im gonna need more customers soon if all goes well with wfp , im about half full , in respect of what im now doing per day.
Im not a greedy man , i just want a good life , i was a greedy man before w/c, two jobs to keep the wife happy , but it wasnt enough for her , she did one with a Plymouth Argyle player ! BOO HOO !
Thats why i chose this new life , my new partner helped out in the early days , got me the much wanted points and signwriting and had faith in me to do it , we now have a little girl and all is going according to plan , listen to me , ill be writting Mills and Boon novels in a minute ! !
Sounds like you got your round sorted anyway , but as you have the wfp now you will always have the option to do bigger stuff if you need to , who knows , your missus may get a bit fruity one night , and that big old stork may come callin ! ;D ;D ;D
Rich P @ F
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David , what do you mean about the pump controller ?
Rich P @ F
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:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( i have already got 3 kids eldest now 9 so do not want to go back there .i know a guy who is selling a small round in chasewater dont think he wants much for it .i think that may be a little way out for you .if i hear of any thing plymouth way i will let you know.
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Yeh , thats a bit far for me , i will go if they pay £30 a house !
Rich P @ F ;D
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is your pump permanantly wired to a manual on/off switch ?
if so you could change that for the pump to come on and off automatically as it is supposed to do and the pump controller allows you to alter the flow rate of the pump so you dont waste to much water and stops the pump cycling ie on/off every two seconds .i think your system was sold that way with a switch to keep it cheap as i went to bodmin /wintecs and saw the system and this was one thing i noticed about that system
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is your pump permanantly wired to a manual on/off switch ?
if so you could change that for the pump to come on and off automatically as it is supposed to do and the pump controller allows you to alter the flow rate of the pump so you dont waste to much water and stops the pump cycling ie on/off every two seconds .i think your system was sold that way with a switch to keep it cheap as i went to bodmin /wintecs and saw the system and this was one thing i noticed about that system
Check out williamson pumps aint got the link (too many wee ones seeing double)
Alan
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http://www.williamsonpumps.co.uk/NEWHOMEPAGE1.html
how s that for service 8) 8) 8) 8)
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That was somthin i talked to the salesman at length about , the outcome was that Flojet pumps would no longer warrant the micro switch inside the pump , due to the earlier model burning out due to constant switching on and off .
The best way to combat this , the man said was to fit the flow back valve in line so that the pump could run constantly , i have a stop valve on the end of the hose , when this is closed the water just flows back to tank .
Im not sure if this is the case with other systems as i have never seen anybody elses system !
Tell me more oh wise one ! Rich P @ F
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salesman talk
that is what the pumps are designed for .and the pump controller helps save the life of the pump .they dont guarantee constant cycling and they reccommend the controllers .i got the same speel from wintecs .just phone the manufacturer.after all they are designed for wfp at least mine is
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Ill do that cos i dont want the pump blowing up do i !
Rich P @ F
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by it staying on constant you might forget to switch it off ,and only find out when your car wont start .and on constantly it will wear out quicker.
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8)