Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: AuRavelling79 on June 07, 2015, 05:46:47 pm
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Got any top tips - anything that makes work a little more professional or a little less hard work?
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Buy a top quality hose reel they will last longer and out perform
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Pay the drums with Extreme poles.
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Stop and smell the flowers once in a while.
Vin
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Vision 8)
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There's no substitute for a bit of common sense.
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Charge more and work less ;)
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When rinsing, don't have pressure on full blast, this can cause splashing when you don't want it - sometimes resulting in spotting
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Dump the messers immediately, they slow your progress and only irritate you to distraction. Dump and replace with two more.
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Don't eat the yellow snow !
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Don't eat the yellow snow !
Your not playing the witcher at the moment are you?
I keep seeing this message on my loading screen :D
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Consistency
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Get a van mount and a backpack straight from the start.
Use carbon poles.
Fixed reel in your van.
6mm hose.
Price higher and work harder.
Use computer software for admin.
Signwrite and vinyl wrap your van.
Logo d work wear and good waterproofs and boots.
Decent pro looking business cards/leaflets.
Work in most bad weather.customers get used to it.
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Carry a watering can in the van, so when you need a wee your old man fits perfectly in the funnel ;D
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Dazmond has near enough covered it all ;D ,
Dont convert to wfp expecting the magic water to dissolve dirt and work like magic and for you to be twice as fast as trad on every job . Technique first then speeding up will come in time
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Don't f*rt when you have diarrhoea
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Don't f*rt when you have diarrhoea
The technical term for that is a Shart !
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take a packed lunch and flask every day to work.it saves money and cuts down time faffing about going to sandwich shop/chippy.
dont try and cram in too much work in a day as you ll suffer the next day(6 or 7 hours "on the glass"a day is enough for me)
use shoe covers for any inside window cleaning.looks more professional than taking your boots off!
always carry a good stock of clean dry cloths/cleaning chemicals/brushes etc
have a toolbox with lots of spares(connectors/tape etc)
have a spare pump, hose reel, hose and emergency back up pole in your shed/garage/storage space
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Stay in bed.
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Dazmond has near enough covered it all ;D ,
Dont convert to wfp expecting the magic water to dissolve dirt and work like magic and for you to be twice as fast as trad on every job . Technique first then speeding up will come in time
+1
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Buy an amplifier so that you can listen out for people when p'ing in their gardens.
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great info on here;
use the best equipment/tools you can afford
price higher - don't expect to get every quote - if you do, you are too cheap.
dump messers
work in the rain when you need to, as much as poss..
love the watering can !!
simple
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Carry a watering can in the van, so when you need a wee your old man fits perfectly in the funnel ;D
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1433774952_12221222.jpg)
Really?
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Charge more and work less ;)
+1
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Never refuse drink offers from customers.
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I never accept a drink from customers - some of them have no hygiene levels at all :-X
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watering can too bulky
750ml oasis bottle is fine for average sized cocks, you can use it sat down in front as well, unzip, throw a jumper over cock n bottle to conceal form passers by/custies.
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That's pretty accurate measurements there mate. Seem to know a lot about average willies then. ;)
Mate of Matt Bateman's are ya? :o
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ALWAYS get customers mobile numbers if they pay by BACS/SAE so you can send them a text reminder if they forget to pay you(mines 14 days)
dump customers who persistently give you hassle(always late paying and missing cleans etc).it wont affect your overall yearly earnings and leaves room for a better customer.
keep "text night before" customers to a minimum.it keeps your round more flexible.
purify your water,print invoices and write "chits" etc the day before your scheduled work day.
have a price review every year in jan and put at least a few up in price in april.earmark ones your gonna dump and do it.cut out the "dead wood" so to speak.
work with a high flow.you ll work quicker for sure.
get ahead with your bills and build up an emergency fund.dont rely on getting ALL your owed money in.we all have "rolling debt" from one month to the next.dont worry about it most customers will pay you in the end.the ones that owe you 2 or 3 cleans will pay next month balancing out the other ones that dont pay you next month and so on and so on.
dont take it personally when a customer cancels your services.it just happens from time to time.
if you do get any complaints about your work.rectify it ASAP(next day if possible).
stop and have a little chat and a laugh with your customers from time to time.(even 5 mins here and there will do wonders for customer relations)
ALWAYS do what your say your gonna do.if theres an unexpected delay or problem.let them know and the reason why.
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"stop and have a little chat and a laugh with your customers from time to time.(even 5 mins here and there will do wonders for customer relations)"
+1
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Do you see the pearls of wisdom you get from Dazmond whens he's not trying to flog Vision
Good to see you back mate. ;)
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If your a trad cleaner make sure you only use cold water in your bucket . Ideal for putting your cans of special brew in and keeping em cold before you go to wether spoons at half eleven . ;)
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Don`t base your prices on how little you can charge, Be brave and charge as much as you can get so when it come to employing you don`t shoot yourself in the foot. Research your market there is a reason the old school more experienced charge more.
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They wouldn't be confused if you knew what you were doing :P
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Carry a watering can in the van, so when you need a wee your old man fits perfectly in the funnel ;D
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1433774952_12221222.jpg)
Really?
His missus is being shortchanged!
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If you get any water on any surface above the glass that isn't scrubbed and rinsed that can run onto the glass, you will get runs on the glass.
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Go with your gut reactions!
I've taken on new custys thinking (this is going to go bent one way or another). And did it? Absolutely.
Now when I get that gut feeling I just say 'sorry i'm too busy at the moment'.
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Dont be to willing to give advice on here as most will think you are a smart ass.
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Dont be to willing to give advice on here as most will think you are a smart ass.
i dont worry what other people think of me ;)
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Don't go in low on prices.
Vin
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watering can too bulky
750ml oasis bottle is fine for average sized cocks, you can use it sat down in front as well, unzip, throw a jumper over cock n bottle to conceal form passers by/custies.
Don't drink from the Oasis bottle ;D
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;D
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Dont be to willing to give advice on here as most will think you are a smart ass.
i dont worry what other people think of me ;)
Yes you do. Thats why you talk yourself up all the time.
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dont clean windows for a living, my days are nearly at an end
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Dont be to willing to give advice on here as most will think you are a smart ass.
i dont worry what other people think of me ;)
Yes you do. Thats why you talk yourself up all the time.
talk myself up?up to what?
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talk myself up?
Serious?
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That quote about the Oasis bottle did make me laugh 😂😂😂
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Throw a jumper over your cock lol
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Carry a large wooden wedge in the van - use it to wedge customers gates on windy days ;)
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Don't listen to a word Seank says
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Carry some FSG cleaning leaflets with a space for a price, if you happen to notice that one of you customers needs this service write the price on it and post it through the letterbox with your clean slip.
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Carry a large wooden wedge in the van - use it to wedge customers gates on windy days ;)
Good tip this one. I have a couple of wedges in the van for a ladder foot on sloping ground, but this is a good one. Thanks. :-*
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(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1433972180_image.jpg)
Best thing I ever bought ;D
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Porta potti lol some of the comments on hear make me lol(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1434041984_image.jpg)
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Must say in reply to Dazmond, i would never clean in all weathers, i think that is terrible advise. You get ped wet through, the seats get ped wet through, customers hate it, I hate it....... i cant give enough reasons why i disagree. would you wash your car in the rain? I personally think there are enough dry days in the year without going out in all weathers! drizzle may be, but heavy rain, NO NO NO for me
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Must say in reply to Dazmond, i would never clean in all weathers, i think that is terrible advise. You get ped wet through, the seats get ped wet through, customers hate it, I hate it....... i cant give enough reasons why i disagree. would you wash your car in the rain? I personally think there are enough dry days in the year without going out in all weathers! drizzle may be, but heavy rain, NO NO NO for me
i said MOST bad weather!not hurricanes or 6ft of snow!your bank balance will be healthier! 8)
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Put your prices up by 10% or more every 3 years or your round value will be eaten alive by inflation.
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I agree you shouldn't need to work in bad weather or the rain,as said there enough dry of days when it's not pouring hard to work
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Only do loud farts in the van and if needed only ever do smelly ones in their garden when it's windy as I can guarantee that if you do a real corker on a day with no wind, the customer will appear.
Also, don't do the insides of a customers house after eating 3 Mars bars for lunch. It may help you work, rest and play but it don't do much for what goes on in your guts in between.
Never ask to use a customers loo and do number two's. It'll stink the place out. Use a public loo instead.
Always wash your feet every morning and use foot powder. You never know when you may have to do the insides of a house and have to take your boots off.
Never wear socks with holes in them. Especially holes that are where your big toe pokes through.
Don't pick your nose and think no one's looking and don't flick that bogey. You never know where it may end up.
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Nothing to do with bank balance dazmond :) i just dont think its worth losing good customers by insisting on working in the rain .
I had two customers today ( one 32 quid 6 weekly, one 50 quid 8 weekly) who asked me not to clean there windows today as there are thunderstorms due and their windows will be dirty again tomorrow.
Would you insist on cleaning them today and risk losing them customers whether you thought there point was valid or not?
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Nothing to do with bank balance dazmond :) i just dont think its worth losing good customers by insisting on working in the rain .
I had two customers today ( one 32 quid 6 weekly, one 50 quid 8 weekly) who asked me not to clean there windows today as there are thunderstorms due and their windows will be dirty again tomorrow.
Would you insist on cleaning them today and risk losing them customers whether you thought there point was valid or not?
You should train them when you take them on. So you explain what kind of weather conditions you work in and why. "Because you are removing 4/8 weeks worth of dirt" .
I would kindly explain that while I don't work during thunderstorms. I don't believe that generally one thunderstorm will make windows dirty. It is the accumulation over 4/8 weeks along with birds muck snails trails and spiders poo that gets removed.
The fact that you have 6 weekly and 8 weekly customers also indicates to me that you give too many options.
£32 or £50 doesn't come into it. (You say "nothing to do with the bank balance" but there it is for all to see) How long it takes and how much I get messed about does.
For the record I only work in a maximum of drizzle or showery conditions; not to keep my customers happy but because I do not have the desire to. I am lucky in that I am happy with my monthly income and that I can do it in 3 days a week average. If I were younger, fitter and wanting to earn 50K a year instead of 30K then I would work in the rain or have an employee or two who would have to work in the rain for me to make a profit on their costs.
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Hi Granville,
I have to say i disagree with some of your points to me, customers that are my business and if they give a valid reason for me to call back i will.
Where i live one heavy rainfall with wind can make the windows dirty and customers are wise to this as they get a lot of sand on the glass, not all but some. I do explain about working in light rain etc but the fact is most customers dont like it and in an area like mine(Poole) which is saturated with window cleaners and canvassers you have to give some lee way.
The point about the money is would you insist on cleaning the windows on the chance you could lose them when you can call back when you are next in the area?
Business is business and whilst i understand we have to cull crap customers we also have to provide a service that isnt one way.
My opinion only of course, thanks for your feed back as well.
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ps i offer 4 6 8 and 12 weekly service which is priced accordingly, if you didnt do that where i live you would struggle i think.
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I offer six weeks take it or leave it. I'm always late though because I won't work in bad weather. Don't like it and don't like the customer comments either. So for me it's walking a fine line trying to keep me happy and my customers. Today I only worked a few hours - forecast was dreadful. Never came to much but I have work booked Saturday and Sunday so a day off today didn't seem a bad idea.
One reason I don't fancy employing too. I understand some guys have to work in all weathers, fair play to them.
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Nothing to do with bank balance dazmond :) i just dont think its worth losing good customers by insisting on working in the rain .
I had two customers today ( one 32 quid 6 weekly, one 50 quid 8 weekly) who asked me not to clean there windows today as there are thunderstorms due and their windows will be dirty again tomorrow.
Would you insist on cleaning them today and risk losing them customers whether you thought there point was valid or not?
id dump them mate seriously.every customer that has ever said "dont clean them today as its forecast rain later" have been struck off my round straight away.its never affected my income and im on course to earn £20,000 MORE a year than 5 years ago this year.
we all run our businesses differently.ive still not broke my new year resolution either!(working weekends).mon-fri then whatever doesnt get cleaned,gets done the week after. 8) love it.
fair play in regards to working in bad weather.most of the time i choose to work in it.i like to keep on schedule.of course i take the odd day off here and there if really bad but not usually. :)
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Only work regular hours between 8am (ish) - 3.30pm (ish) Monday to Friday if you're mainly domestic. You can still get through all your work during the winter and have enough space for add ons in the summer.
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also i very rarely lose customers.ive had parts of my round leafleted,canvassed and other guys trying to undercut me at least 10 times this year already.only lost one customer!happy days 8)