Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: wcs. on August 07, 2010, 03:19:53 pm
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Are there more wfp window cleaners than trad window cleaners in the UK, now almost every supplier is predominately selling wfp equipment and with the H&S issue has wfp become the norm yet.
No IMO.
More window cleaners are using ladders than are using WFP if my area is a fair sample.
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More trads in my region also.
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we are out numbered round my way by a big margin there are very few wfp and loads of trad
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i think it is slowly getting there, about 60% pole 40% trad round here
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very few wfpolers near me and long may it continue as ive picked up some more work from some crap trad lads today!! ;) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.
two £15 houses!i scrubbed all the frames up and cleaned the two skylights on the kitchen extension on house no 2 and they were overjoyed! ;) ;D ;D
a lot near me have never even heard or seen wfp until i came along with mine!!!seriously its not that common yet!!maybe in another few years(say 5!)
dazmond
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many wfp are going back to trade coz parts keep going and they have to wait for parts for there equipment.But i dornt need parts for my equipment coz im trade
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its around 6 trad's to every 1 wfp here, based on the number of w/c's i've met/seen/been told about.
Darran
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trad is about 20 to 1 around here ;)
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im definitely glad im mostly wfp now.you trad guys really dont know what your missing!ive been a trad window cleaner for 16 years and im steadily picking up work BECAUSE im wfp!and i feel i can charge a bit more as their getting a more thorough clean!!
the only 100% trad i do now is my block of granny flats which mostly have oxidized frames and i dont clean all the downstairs flats so im just being respectful to the old dears i dont clean for.i enjoy it as well! ;) ;D ;D
wfpolers are very few in my area and i dont see things changing for a while!a lot of tradders are set in their ways and are not interested one bit esp when you mention the cost!a lot are reluctant to even buy a decent set of trad gear!fair enough!each to their own! ;) ;D
im starting to realise that im better off with my feet on the ground waving a pole about most of the time!! :) :)
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im definitely glad im mostly wfp now.you trad guys really dont know what your missing!ive been a trad window cleaner for 16 years and im steadily picking up work BECAUSE im wfp!and i feel i can charge a bit more as their getting a more thorough clean!!
the only 100% trad i do now is my block of granny flats which mostly have oxidized frames and i dont clean all the downstairs flats so im just being respectful to the old dears i dont clean for.i enjoy it as well! ;) ;D ;D
wfpolers are very few in my area and i dont see things changing for a while!a lot of tradders are set in their ways and are not interested one bit esp when you mention the cost!a lot are reluctant to even buy a decent set of trad gear!fair enough!each to their own! ;) ;D
im starting to realise that im better off with my feet on the ground waving a pole about most of the time!! :) :)
daz make u right mate
plus down south everyone seems to be splash and dashing now ;D ;D
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I'm definitely glad I'm mostly wfp now. You trade guys really don't know what you'r missing!ive been a trad window cleaner for 16 years and im steadily picking up work BECAUSE im wfp!and i feel i can charge a bit more as their getting a more thorough clean!!
the only 100% trad i do now is my block of granny flats which mostly have oxidized frames and i dont clean all the downstairs flats so im just being respectful to the old dears i dont clean for.i enjoy it as well! ;) ;D ;D
wfpolers are very few in my area and i dont see things changing for a while!a lot of tradders are set in their ways and are not interested one bit esp when you mention the cost!a lot are reluctant to even buy a decent set of trad gear!fair enough!each to their own! ;) ;D
im starting to realise that im better off with my feet on the ground waving a pole about most of the time!! :) :)
You're not supposed to love WFP ;D Trade is far better and you know what job you have done when you leave them windows :D
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loads more trad but im getting lots of there work because the custys dont like people breaking tiles on there porches and general crud jobs.
they get a perfect job with wfp everytime and they stay cleaner for so much longer,all my custys love wfp!
they say its so more profesional too.
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I only see the trad guys. I know quite a few of them, i also know three WFP near me, doing similar areas and never seen any of them out and about at work. Only WFP i've seen working is a local trad guy who has taken to using a few barrels and a pole out the back of his car on a few three storeys.
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its because trad is so slow you see them!
I only see the trad guys. I know quite a few of them, i also know three WFP near me, doing similar areas and never seen any of them out and about at work. Only WFP i've seen working is a local trad guy who has taken to using a few barrels and a pole out the back of his car on a few three storeys.
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
The only shiners daft enough to pay yellow pages prices are the ones daft enough to blow loads on wfp!
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most of the ladder boys are beer money brigade though ;)
Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
The only shiners daft enough to pay yellow pages prices are the ones daft enough to blow loads on wfp!
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
thats because wfp boys are short of work and trad lads are full and dont need to advertise ;)
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
That would not give you a good clue either way. The only fact that would prove is who advertises. Given the outlay for WFP as against trad i'd say its a fair bet that someone who has invested in the system may be driven to try advertising. I'd say someone who has earned a living with his ladder for years is not motivated to go advertising for more work, i may be wrong, maybe they pay the teams of lads with them on a PAYE basis too, and maybe them plain vans undistinguishable from anything else are cleverley done for a reason, what do i know !! I wonder if there is a correlation between yellow pages and livery? How many trad cleaners have you seen in vans that advertise what they do?
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
thats because wfp boys are short of work and trad lads are full and dont need to advertise ;)
Hey Stan, when the teams of WFP cavassers come round is it like seeing your pension dissapear before your eyes?!!!
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most of the ladder boys are beer money brigade though ;)
Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
The only shiners daft enough to pay yellow pages prices are the ones daft enough to blow loads on wfp!
PMSL at that comment coming from a cleaner with a full time job elsewhere
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
thats because wfp boys are short of work and trad lads are full and dont need to advertise ;)
Hey Stan, when the teams of WFP cavassers come round is it like seeing your pension dissapear before your eyes?!!!
nobody canvasses work around this area,its all patched up ;)
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loads more trad and im getting more work from custys that dont like the pole, its inconsistent finish and general crud jobs.
They get a perfect finish with trad everytime and i dont waste reservoirs of water. All my custsy love trad and they think its more professional too!!!!
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loads more trad and im getting more work from custys that dont like the pole, its inconsistent finish and general crud jobs.
They get a perfect finish with trad everytime and i dont waste reservoirs of water. All my custsy love trad and they think its more professional too!!!!
same here ;D
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
The only shiners daft enough to pay yellow pages prices are the ones daft enough to blow loads on wfp!
Yellow pages is also free ::)
Yea it is free for a one line listing, how many state that they are wfp in this one line? My brother in law pays £4000 for his building company!
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
The only shiners daft enough to pay yellow pages prices are the ones daft enough to blow loads on wfp!
Yellow pages is also free ::)
needs to be,ive had 4 calls in 2 years
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i will be a full time windy at 300 customers!
most of the ladder boys are beer money brigade though ;)
Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
The only shiners daft enough to pay yellow pages prices are the ones daft enough to blow loads on wfp!
PMSL at that comment coming from a cleaner with a full time job elsewhere
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i wouldnt say looking in the yellow pages is a fair or very accurate reflection of window cleaners across the whole of the country.smallish domestic i would say theres a lot more trad.
im actively seeking larger residential/small -medium commercial as ive got loads of "bread and butter" domestics!now ive got wfp i want to use it to its full potential on larger better paying jobs!!
any of you that are still trad must think sometimes"i wonder what its like?"
i would generally say that due to tradders being either tight fisted/skint/illegal/set in their ways and seeing us wfpolers as a threat they will go all out to slag wfp off as much as possible!
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Just had a look in the yellow pages, far more seem to be wfp.
Far more seem to be trad, do you have any figures?
9 trad window cleaners in my local area 1 wfp
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needs to be,ive had 4 calls in 2 years
Why would you advertise in a 'patched up area'? Or maybe you are targetting customers outside your area, maybe in someone elses patch?
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Which ever way you look at it trad is declining, I just wondered how much it has declined so far.
I think you're right, it is decling , to what extent is very hard to say. I read a lot on here that customers do not like WFP and thats fair enough. However its not my personal experience, mine is exactly the opposite. I find customers like the idea of all the plastics and frames washed down too, to the extent that i do several properties both residential and commercial where they have kept their trad cleaner, usually because they've had him for years and feel sorry for him and they also employ us to clean too because thats what they prefer.
How do the trad only guys wash down the complete fronts of connys and porches with out 'wasting loads of water', where do they get the water and how long does it take? Does the savings made on frosted bog widows make up the shortfall? One can only wonder ;D One things for sure, the advent of WFP has raised the bar on what customers expect or want from a 'window cleaner'.
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ive picked up a few jobs off 2 trad cleaners recently and i have to say the window frames were terrible!(just like a lot of mine before i went over to the dark side!!)and i cleaned frames/sills/doors and charged a few quid extra than the trad guys.they were OVER THE MOON!!NO JOKE!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
im now getting a reputation as a good wfp guy in as little as 2 months!full complete clean,doors washed down(if good pvcu!),awkward windows cleaned and skylights!
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in the 2 years iv been at it,ive seen about 4 w/f/p vans driving ,only ever seen 2 of them actually cleaning. iv seen dozens upon dozens of the trads in the same time . my conclusion is the w/f/polers go for a totally different market from where i work
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full complete clean,doors washed down(if good pvcu!),awkward windows cleaned and skylights!
And thats what people expect now Daz,anyone who doesn't prepare themselves for this may as well stick with a rag and a chamois!!!!!!!
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needs to be,ive had 4 calls in 2 years
Why would you advertise in a 'patched up area'? Or maybe you are targetting customers outside your area, maybe in someone elses patch?
did it to see what happens,have passed a couple of the calls on to other cleaners,even in a patched up area you come across the odd street tucked away that has no cleaner,onwards and upwards ;)
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Still waiting for Les Dennis to come back to me with the final figures. He`d be a lot quicker if he stopped doing his crap impression of Mavis Riley and fretting about Neil Morrissey doing his bird >:(.
I`ll get back soon....
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i wouldnt say looking in the yellow pages is a fair or very accurate reflection of window cleaners across the whole of the country.smallish domestic i would say theres a lot more trad.
im actively seeking larger residential/small -medium commercial as ive got loads of "bread and butter" domestics!now ive got wfp i want to use it to its full potential on larger better paying jobs!!
any of you that are still trad must think sometimes"i wonder what its like?"
i would generally say that due to tradders being either tight fisted/skint/illegal/set in their ways and seeing us wfpolers as a threat they will go all out to slag wfp off as much as possible!
Just as wfp'ers do to trad! :-\
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any of you that are still trad must think sometimes"i wonder what its like?"
Classic ;D
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Still many more trad than WFP but the numbers are growing. I was the first round here but now I have lost my unique status.
Part of the problem where I live and work is that we get window cleaners coming in from miles away because they see the North West London suburbs and think its got to be good money. So its hard to keep track of who's who. At least five regular WFP vans working in my immediate vicinity, plus me.
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i think wfp has turned a lot of window cleaners in to business rather than jobs
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i think wfp has turned a lot of window cleaners in to business rather than jobs
Yes it has but it has also brought a lot of new people into the business who would never have considered doing it with a bucket and a ladder.