Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: mci services on June 14, 2010, 06:14:18 pm
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You get on first day wfp on paying customers. Ive been waiting for the latest update ;D
I know my first days were a nightmare falling over dropping poles, breaking things the list goes on
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not back yet stu,what do you think never happened to him lol :P
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He's still rinsing the first house off ;D
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or got the hose stuck round a wheelie bin ;D
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me thinks he be going abed thinkin spots..... :'(
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or he might be working 24hrs to catch up :)
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long old day for daz. :o :o :o :o
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hes pulling his hiar out ;D ;D
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hes listing the wfp on e bay and dusting the ladders off ;)
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hes listing the wfp on e bay and dusting the ladders off ;)
;D
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ive had a long day!!!! ::) ::)
started dead on 9am this morning and finished at 8pm!! :o :o
longest day ive ever done window cleaning!!just filled up for tommorrow.
it took me an extra 2 hours wfp what i could of done trad in 2 hours less ::) ::)
how the heck do you clean faster than trad? ;D ;D
i started off ok wfp top and bottoms and then realised id only cleaned 2 houses in an hour!!so i went wfp tops/trad bottoms till dinnertime.
then i realised i had loads of water left so started using it on everything!some houses have come up really good!the frames are really gleaming!i noticed a few spotty windows as well and a few runs!! :o :o
i just explained it might take a few cleans to get them up right as its a different way of cleaning!!
my shoulders are sore!!and this n tech fibreglass pole is crap!!its really bendy esp at an angle!it felt like it was gonna rip my shoulders off!! ::) ::)
i better get a carbon pole asap
the hose snagged a bit but not too bad!broke a few plants pots!!hose disconnected a few times!i dont think ive done too bad for my first day!!hope it gets better though!! :-\ :-\
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it always gets better, once you`ve got month 1 out the way. i started wfp at begining of this year and i found after a month something just clicks into place and you start zooming round the work.
Your first day sounds a bit like mine back in january
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It will get easier Daz, first cleans always take longer, just remember to give them a very good rinse.
Also to start off with stay away from the vents above the windows until you are more comfortable with the pole. these will run for hours if you catch them with the jets.
Matt
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well done mate you will get there. just keep at it
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Soon be Friday ;D ;D ;D ;D
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i just explained it might take a few cleans to get them up right as its a different way of cleaning!!
Cowboy ;D
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cheers lads!
i enjoyed it in a strange way!ive not climb any ladders at all today!! ;) ;) ;D ;D
pole tap came off the pole late on but ive decided to try in on my belt in a holster instead tommorrow!
i had the pure freedom controller on 60 all day and it took me till 8 to use just under 300 LITRES!!
how do you use anymore?i was almost trying to use it up at the end of a very long day!!
im a bit unsure how long i should spend rinsing and scrubbing so i went a bit OTT!!
the p/f 50 L TROLLEY is a fantastic piece of kit and the pump hardly makes a noise!!is not heavy even when its full as its very easy to move about!ive also put extra 5mm extension hose on the back of it as well.
all my custys commented on it!! ;) ;D ;D
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i always use 350 ltr a day unless extras like conni roofs crop up. But saying that a ful day is shorter now than when i was running up and down ladders.
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I've been mix WFP and TRAD for 3 years now. (trad only 3 previous, on and off)
WFP pes me off in some way EVERY day.
TRAD never gets me down.
;D
I still say WFP doesn't live up to the hype. It's good, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't / couldn't do without it, but it still pES me off, everyday.
BUT, I'm not complaining. ;)
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WFP newbie TIP for Dazmond. ;D
upvc front doors under open porches come up great with WFP,
BUT, make sure there is a bottom lip that covers over the door overlap. Window / door installers often leave these off because of the protection the door gets for the porch.
You will Flood the porch and loose a £30 beachfront house. ::) Doh ! Yes speaking from experience.
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cheers dan!
ive cleaned a few doors today(not in a porch though!)they took ages compared to a quick wipe with scrim/microfibre.i dont think ill use the wfp on many more!it just takes up too much time!! ::) ::)
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I dont really think wfp is any faster that trad unless you are cleaning leaded windows or small squares.
but worth its weight in gold for second story windows and higher.
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I see wfp as just another tool, i wouldn't be withiut any!
I don't mean porches inside houses, just in case someone thinks i took my pole into someones house. !!
However ! Thst brings me to something else you can try!! Next time a customer asks you to do some insides, say yes ok, get ur pole and hose and go to the door , (as joke ovius!) u'll be amased how many dimwits invite you in :-\
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lol 8pm c'mon dazmond me old m8 lol stick wiv trad il buy
all ya gear for 5ton lol ;D ;D ;D no seriously gud luck m8 ;D
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I had no complaints until i was 3 months in then i got about half a dozen or more and some cancellations. It felt like my round was rebelling and was a bit of a knock to the confidence that i had built up by then.
I decided then spent about an hour at the end of each day going round having a quick look at how they dried. The following month only a few windows needed going back and checking/re-doing. On all 1st cleans i go back and check the results.
This can take ages if you have loads of properties, but once i'd gone round enough to learn which window(s) weren't drying well, the time saved down the road far outweighed the initial time spent.
I have found that once the windows come up spotless that 1st time with wfp, they almost always come up good afterwards. It's getting them spotless that 1st time which takes the time and most effort.
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the only time i have problems with dirty windows is when the custy comes out with a cloth and wipes the window dry
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Tell me about it mark!!i did notice the odd run and a few spots here and there but sod going back to redo again!!i already spent twice as long than i would of trad!unless they pay me double then no way!
i basically say to custys itll take 2 or 3 cleans to get them up to scratch as its a totally different way of cleaning and i need to find my feet with it.
its a much more thorough way of cleaning than trad and i think the frames looked top notch on white upvc! ;) :D :D
BUT im working harder for the same money and its costing me more than trad at the moment.
im certainly not thinking"so glad i went wfp,i wish id done it years ago"
more like one big costly mistake!!ill give it 3 months then ill go back to trad if im not happy with it.
im off out again!taking it easy with the wfp today as my shoulders are aching!! :( :(
starting at 10 this morning.i think i went a bit OTT yesterday!! :-\ :-\
regards
dazmond
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Daz, it'll get better and you'll get quicker. It takes a bit of time. By the time you're on your third clean you'll be at least as fast as you were trad - and the work will be easier and sweeter - and within six months you'll be earning more for doing the same.
But your poles; are you using the correct size pole for your work? If you're using a big heavy one on upstairs and the same one for downstairs, that's a really tiring way to work and it won't be good for your body in the long term.
I tend to use a Harris (£15), with a 'Harris adapter'. Although the pole hose is always external to the pole, the beauty is that the brush head just slips off the pole when I want it to and when I do ground floor windows I just slip the brush head onto a shorter pole I carry on my trolley.
So it saves having to cart about another pole, brush head, and pole hose. And a short pole is obviously far lighter than a heavier pole for ground floor work.
Of course, an SLX or something like that will make the job even easier, but I won't fork out that sort of cash for something that people don't seem to get a year out of; and have problems with in less than six months from what I've read here.
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tosh ive got the upgraded extel 20ft pole(N-TECH STREAMLINE)glass fibre.
it just about reaches all my present work(i think)
what about the xtel carbon fibre poles?
i need one as i do have a lot of awkward windows where i just used to climb on the roof before!! ::)
im sure i could do some serious damage to my shoulders with this crap pole(still cost me 130quid with the vikan brush! ::))
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Daz I bought an Unger glass fibre pole 18ft I think, then I attached a superlight brush, it made a huge difference, the super light is half the weight of the vikan.
I use a the dual trim mono brush and it works a treat.
Even though I use my SLX all the time I still have my unger GF pole with a superlight for my emergency pole.
Matt
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Don't give it 3 months Daz give it 6 months you get faster all the time but 3 months is only long enough to make you break even time wise with your work. If you've been cleaning trad for a long time then chances are you are fast and to get to
that speed you'll need practice.
I'd tell your custies that if any windows come up bad to call you back and you'll redo them, hardly any will call you but sometimes when a window comes up bad it can be really shocking, worst ones are the windows with split rubbers at the top. Sometimes just the offer to redo the windows is enough to keep you in the custies good books.
The slx is brill if you look after it. Mines 2 years old now.
Simon.
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WFP newbie TIP for Dazmond. ;D
upvc front doors under open porches come up great with WFP,
BUT, make sure there is a bottom lip that covers over the door overlap. Window / door installers often leave these off because of the protection the door gets for the porch.
You will Flood the porch and loose a £30 beachfront house. ::) Doh ! Yes speaking from experience.
When doing doors daz lift the handle up, this way you wont fllod there hall way.
I think 2 hours longer in a day on 1st cleans is good so dont worry, come 3rd and 4th clean youll fly mate.........
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did notice the odd run and a few spots here and there but sod going back to redo again!!i already spent twice as long than i would of trad!unless they pay me double then no way!
Dazmond you would not leave streaks doing trad so why leave runs and spot wfp?
i already spent twice as long than i would of trad!unless they pay me double then no way!
the customer pays you to do a job how long it takes you is down to you, why should they pay you double?
looking at your posts i dont think you were ready to go and do customers houses, should have practised more on yours and family windows until you were sure of doing a good job,
I bet you are leaving houses not knowing if you have done a good job or not, doing them trad you would have!
thats why you should have practised more until you were sure of leaving a good job,
Wfp in the early days does get you stressed no doubt but it will come!
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Sorry for jumping on the post
James44 can you email me mate
platinumcontractsnorthwest@live.co.uk
Would like a chat about your maintenance service
Cheers
Danny
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Tell me about it mark!!i did notice the odd run and a few spots here and there but sod going back to redo again!!i already spent twice as long than i would of trad!unless they pay me double then no way!
i basically say to custys itll take 2 or 3 cleans to get them up to scratch as its a totally different way of cleaning and i need to find my feet with it.
its a much more thorough way of cleaning than trad and i think the frames looked top notch on white upvc! ;) :D :D
BUT im working harder for the same money and its costing me more than trad at the moment.
im certainly not thinking"so glad i went wfp,i wish id done it years ago"
more like one big costly mistake!!ill give it 3 months then ill go back to trad if im not happy with it.
im off out again!taking it easy with the wfp today as my shoulders are aching!! :( :(
starting at 10 this morning.i think i went a bit OTT yesterday!! :-\ :-\
regards
dazmond
this is why i converted a few over at a time , because to begin with you will be a lot slower,
also which vikan are you using, the sill brush or rectangle , although both are heavy,
a lighter brush would be better :)
, dont loose faith in it though , you will get there in the end , i nearly went back to trad on a few occasions, so glad i didn't .
daz
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;D
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dazmond , you back yet ;D
daz
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it gets beter ;D
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finished at 630 tonight.im knackered!!
pole tap came off late on yesterday so today i thought id try tap on holster on belt!never again!my foot and leg were soaking wet for hours this afternoon!think ive got trench foot!! ::) ::)
some windows came up great and some were truelly shocking but i couldnt be bothered to go and redo them again especially i after theyve paid me!! ;)
ive already explained to them im gettin used to the system and they wont be top notch for 2 or 3 cleans.
i keep banging on about their frames being gleaming and how im losing money as im working twice as hard for the same money.seems to do the trick for now!!
i was only slightly slower (about an hour)than if id of tradded them.
lost my swivelock squeegee! ::)
got my hose tangled up under my feet a few times.
on the positive side ive not had to get my ladders out apart from my single pointer on the last house to open the gate.
ive had my flowcontroller on 60 again and cleaned nearly all work wfp with only a couple of downstairs windows done trad.probably worked 6 hours actually working and only used just under 225L!
IM SURE IM SPENDING TOO RINSING AS WELL!!
i dont know how you guys use 400-500L in a day!! ;D ;D
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i use 250 a day at most, you will get use to it daz, might take 3 months before you see results, but when i was trad it use to take me most of a day to do a road that i can do in 4 hours now and only have to move the van 4 times
at least its summer and not middle of winter when u r changing over
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Only been wfp myself since March this year and experienced pretty much the same problems that everybody else have mentioned.Before wfp all work done Trad,with four employees.Not only am i faster wfp now but running business with only two! Basically i do the top front and side windows wfp and the other two follow me round doing back top windows off a ladder and all bottoms front and back Trad. This system is working a treat and wfp is proving without doubt to be the way forward. Good luck mate im sure you will be fine.
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wet.
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i planned the changeover in summer so i could find my feet a bit with it before winter sets in!!
a lot have said they changed over gradually.i cant be bothered with that!all or nothing!as i need the practice i better just get on with it! ;) ;D ;D
im gonna tape my pole tap up and have it on my pole again for tommorrow.i quite liked it and i didnt get a sodden leg and foot!! ;D ;D
ill probably try a trigger at a later date