Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Tony dunmall on February 23, 2017, 02:52:40 pm
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Just some advice please form those that do
Currently I do few each year but how do you go about targeting in specifics solar panel cleaning and what training is needed if any
There are a lot solar farms poping up near me now just small private owned ones
It's seems that some installation companies are providing a yearly service just lost out to one recently they charge £500 a year for two cleans and maintenance on the router and wires( no idea what they do)
But it's a good income we were £285 once a year so two cleans at £500 good money
Just would like to try and focus or target this type work as add one not just random calls from website
Any help would be useful thanks
Tony
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
That's shocking...Talk about slave labour. lol
Did you have to pay to go on his so say training course too?
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Yes I did , i did learn a few minor things , to be fair to him he does know his stuff his business model is obviously set up for him to make money , as we all want todo , I believe he is going down the franchise route now , i only did a couple of jobs for him - very disorganised it was left tome to contact the customer and sort everything out as well as doing the job , I still get emails from him Evan though I am no longer a contractor the last one stated that you had to supply photos of before and after cleaning the panels , photos of your tds get paper work sighned each day !!!!!!!! And so it went on big mistake I would never do anything like it again compleat wast of time , I now would rather spend the time canvassing my own work if I needed more which at the moment I don't
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Can I ask how many panels where you expected to clean in a hour regardless how dirty they were.
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473
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473
Yeah right...don't you mean a day? lol
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Yes I did , i did learn a few minor things , to be fair to him he does know his stuff his business model is obviously set up for him to make money , as we all want todo , I believe he is going down the franchise route now , i only did a couple of jobs for him - very disorganised it was left tome to contact the customer and sort everything out as well as doing the job , I still get emails from him Evan though I am no longer a contractor the last one stated that you had to supply photos of before and after cleaning the panels , photos of your tds get paper work sighned each day !!!!!!!! And so it went on big mistake I would never do anything like it again compleat wast of time , I now would rather spend the time canvassing my own work if I needed more which at the moment I don't
.......Agree, same happened to me, good luck to him but not a viable business as a subby
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I wonder how many people have read this and thought I told you so.
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I'm glad people are starting to speak up as just goes to show solar panel cleaning sub contractor work is not all what it's cracked up to be. Loads of hassle and bloody hard work for very little reward springs to mind.
Wondering now how many still sub for him as he must find it difficult to keep them once they realise they are being taken for a mug surely?
Also betting you two are so glad you never bought into his franchise idea too. lol
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I wonder how many people have read this and thought I told you so.
I could see it from the get go not being a viable option somehow. Also would have been peed of after forking out 100 squid for his so say training course then only to find out you only get 18p per panel. He also made you sign a gaging order too I take it and I'm not surprised he did. lol
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I doubt he'll actually find out who's said what on here unless people have actually got their real name as their profile name
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You won't hear from many people. It takes a brave man to admit they have made a mistake. The good thing is other people who think it might be a good thing in the future will no better and able to make a more informed decision. For that we should thank the people that come forward.
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You won't hear from many people. It takes a brave man to admit they have made a mistake.
Wish more would share there experiences as we can all learn from our own and others mistakes.
I for one did not like the idea of having to clean thousands of panels in a field no matter so say how well paid it was. I'm sure the likes of Susan mentioned one job had to throw more manpower at it as was taking a lot longer than expected to complete.
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Appreciated everyone's comments and honesty
Glad I never booked up to go will just pick up odd few that comes in
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Hi,
I've got to price a customers solar panels tomorrow is there anything I shouldn't do when cleaning them?
Jamie
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Hi,
I've got to price a customers solar panels tomorrow is there anything I shouldn't do when cleaning them?
Jamie
Break them
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The most panels I have personally cleaned in a day is 1200 most employees do 800 to 1000 that's some going I'll leave you to work out the money at between 16 to 18 pence a panel , but remember you may have to travel for 2 + hours each way to the job as well so money is not good in my books some may be happy with it but after water costs, fuel, time travelling , getting paper work sighned, photos before and after clean photos of tds readings etc it's not worth it I wouldn't recommend it , if you are short on work you would be better of canvassing windows as repeat easy much better paying work , I don't Evan do these solar farms for my self now as prices most company's that own the panels will pay is so poor , it's only a matter of time before most with be cleaned machanicaly by tractor type vehicles so I think it's a dying job on the whole , there will always be the exception to the rule though , it's not for me and I gave it a good try
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I cleaned 200 today. Took six hours.
What will SS do if nobody subs for him?
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What will SS do if nobody subs for him?
Send his Office girls out to do them?
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I clean them the same as a Connie roof. Use a soft brush. I only clean domestic panels and I only do them if asked.
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What will SS do if nobody subs for him?
Send his Office girls out to do them?
;D
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I cleaned 200 today. Took six hours.
What will SS do if nobody subs for him?
Good job you didn't get 18p a panel then, or did you?
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I got offered work by SS but already earn more on my own windows so turned it down as it wasn't viable. For the difficulty involved with the job I would have wanted Three times the price I was offered!
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I cleaned 200 today. Took six hours.
What will SS do if nobody subs for him?
Good job you didn't get 18p a panel then, or did you?
Hell no! Off to finish them shortly.
Not heard from Steve for nearly a year. I admire his ambition but people won't work for peanuts. Especially if they can do an easy day on the glass for a couple hundred quid.
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We had a couple of phone calls from him or some bod who works out of his larder last year. About the same job on one occasion, I don’t think they’d realised they made that mistake but they were obviously struggling to get someone to do their work for them.
The price for a I think it was a 12 panel rooftop array was £30 as I remember it. If you had no work I guess it wouldn’t seem too bad, its money isn’t it, but when your stacked out in the summer why would you do that and line someone elses pocket?
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I'm now thinking ss is not going to keep any franchises for very long either.
I did chuckle at his profile pic. http://cleansolar.solutions/meet-the-team
So it's true you can get a shock from cleaning solar panels after all. lol
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Nooooo! That's my new profile pic.
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Wow that must take ages to do his hair in the morning..... glad I'm a skinhead no messing about
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They supply a bird proofing service. Might interest Dazmond.
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I thought that pic was a joke! Like Slacky had photoshopped it or something but I looked on the website and it really is him! Unbelievable hair and 'tache.
The "office girls" look pleasant enough mind.
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I only clean domestic panels and I only do them if asked.
Yeah, it's better to wait to be asked first.
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15-18p a panel lol I did 12 last week 4ft square and charged £60 she was made up with that once a year,took a while the first time as they have oak trees near by so they were dirty. It took me 20 minutes - half hour with hot water,18p lol 😂
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15-18p a panel lol I did 12 last week 4ft square and charged £60 she was made up with that once a year,took a while the first time as they have oak trees near by so they were dirty. It took me 20 minutes - half hour with hot water,18p lol 😂
Lol
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15-18p a panel lol I did 12 last week 4ft square and charged £60 she was made up with that once a year,took a while the first time as they have oak trees near by so they were dirty. It took me 20 minutes - half hour with hot water,18p lol 😂
That's a wee bit better than having to clean 334 filthy panels in a middle of a field for the same amount. That's hoping you don't get stuck in the mud too. lol
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I wouldn't want to loose the T shirt have to clean a solar farm to replace it.
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15-18p a panel lol I did 12 last week 4ft square and charged £60 she was made up with that once a year,took a while the first time as they have oak trees near by so they were dirty. It took me 20 minutes - half hour with hot water,18p lol 😂
Have you reduced your prices?
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A window cleaner near me went on one of his courses.
He was telling me the course consist of a telephone conference and you dial in and do it on your computer.
He said if the job requires access eqipment then he is supposed to cover the cost then claim it back.
It seems like a way of giving you subbies a health and safety induction and tool box talk and charging them for the privallige then giving them work for stupid money.
To be honest the man is a genius no wounder his smiling so much in his picture
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Never the less I'm thinking it will come back to bite him in the bum if he continues to rip wanaby subbies off.
No matter how much work he can generate without looking after his subbies it will reach a point where no one will want to work for him. Then he will be totally screwed. lol
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To sustain a business just doing solar panels you would need loads and loads of jobs day in day out the ones I've done all want it doing yearly,I'm not fussed about doing them I'll only do them if they ask I don't try to promote it tbh.
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To sustain a business just doing solar panels you would need loads and loads of jobs day in day out the ones I've done all want it doing yearly,I'm not fussed about doing them I'll only do them if they ask I don't try to promote it tbh.
As mentioned previously who in there right mind would works their soaks off sub contracting for the likes of ss for pittance before any overheads are taken out.
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
this is the way the world works , ive just posted a box via. d.p.d. at the cost of 19 pounds the guy who will deliver it at the other end in his own van ect ect ect will only get 1.05p of it hes only doing what 99% of of them do
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
yes we make it works for us , we have our own solar sites we clean so we cant do the bigger jobs for him as we don't have the time
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
yes we make it works for us , we have our own solar sites we clean so we cant do the bigger jobs for him as we don't have the time
So why do you need subby work then if you have plenty of your own?
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
yes we make it works for us , we have our own solar sites we clean so we cant do the bigger jobs for him as we don't have the time
So why do you need subby work then if you have plenty of your own?
Damn good question.
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
yes we make it works for us , we have our own solar sites we clean so we cant do the bigger jobs for him as we don't have the time
So why do you need subby work then if you have plenty of your own?
because if I have one of my vans a street away why not go into to the next street and earn extra £ while ones guys doing the job the other guy can leaft the street , besides that we like to try new things and we can write a few costs off the vat and tax when trying them
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
yes we make it works for us , we have our own solar sites we clean so we cant do the bigger jobs for him as we don't have the time
So why do you need subby work then if you have plenty of your own?
because if I have one of my vans a street away why not go into to the next street and earn extra £ while ones guys doing the job the other guy can leaft the street , besides that we like to try new things and we can write a few costs off the vat and tax when trying them
Do those guys split the van in half?
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
yes we make it works for us , we have our own solar sites we clean so we cant do the bigger jobs for him as we don't have the time
So why do you need subby work then if you have plenty of your own?
besides that we like to try new things and we can write a few costs off the vat and tax when trying them
Like what Susie?
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Susan do you still take on subbie work for ss?
yes we make it works for us , we have our own solar sites we clean so we cant do the bigger jobs for him as we don't have the time
So why do you need subby work then if you have plenty of your own?
because if I have one of my vans a street away why not go into to the next street and earn extra £ while ones guys doing the job the other guy can leaft the street , besides that we like to try new things and we can write a few costs off the vat and tax when trying them
Eh??
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;D ;D ;D better than the telly this place at times!! ;D ;D
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;D ;D ;D better than the telly this place at times!! ;D ;D
Hilarious isnt it. Especially the ones doing the boasting getting caught out ;D
"Writing a few costs off" is the new "paperwork ". ::)roll
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Paperwork for me today.
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Do those guys split the van in half?
It's the brain that's been split in half.
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Paperwork for me today.
All day I hope ;D
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Paperwork for me today.
"Record" day?
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Paperwork for me today.
Heated chair?
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I haven't worked all week but I've done really well, £60 an hour most days.
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Anyone up for an Office Chair race?
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Anyone up for an Office Chair race?
I would love to, but unfortunately I'm doing paperwork all day 😓
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Anyone up for an Office Chair race?
I would love to, but unfortunately I'm doing paperwork all day 😓
:(
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
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15-18p a panel lol I did 12 last week 4ft square and charged £60 she was made up with that once a year,took a while the first time as they have oak trees near by so they were dirty. It took me 20 minutes - half hour with hot water,18p lol 😂
Hi NWH. Do you really think we would offer £2.04 for you to clean 12 panels for us? 🤔
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I'm glad people are starting to speak up as just goes to show solar panel cleaning sub contractor work is not all what it's cracked up to be. Loads of hassle and bloody hard work for very little reward springs to mind.
Wondering now how many still sub for him as he must find it difficult to keep them once they realise they are being taken for a mug surely?
Also betting you two are so glad you never bought into his franchise idea too. lol
We currently have over 130 Approved Contractors (AC's) from over 60 companies Smurf, many are into their third or fourth year of working with us. We don't find it hard to keep them. We have only had 3 or perhaps 4 companies I think in 2 years say the arrangement was not for them, so overall, it works out very well for both parties.
They must all be on this thread. ;D
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
Those machines are about £120k-£250k each, depending on which one you buy. So they don't come cheap. They are not without their limitations or faults either.
I am growing the company organically, without external investment or debt. We are tying up deals for the coming season currently. When we have orders confirmed, the robots will follow....
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Yes I did , i did learn a few minor things , to be fair to him he does know his stuff his business model is obviously set up for him to make money , as we all want todo , I believe he is going down the franchise route now , i only did a couple of jobs for him - very disorganised it was left tome to contact the customer and sort everything out as well as doing the job , I still get emails from him Evan though I am no longer a contractor the last one stated that you had to supply photos of before and after cleaning the panels , photos of your tds get paper work sighned each day !!!!!!!! And so it went on big mistake I would never do anything like it again compleat wast of time , I now would rather spend the time canvassing my own work if I needed more which at the moment I don't
.......Agree, same happened to me, good luck to him but not a viable business as a subby
That's a bit unfair bob. It can be a viable part of a growing business,but as you said to me, your age meant your body couldn't cope with the demands of solar cleaning and the fact that you have a business in its autumn years means you do not need the work.
While I appreciate it may not have been for you, it can be a viable part of a business, as proved by the amount of companies who have worked for us for years now. Some are established multi-van operations and are now into their 4th year of subcontracting for us. So people do find a way to make it work.
hes not that old ;D ... hes just grown his residential by about 200 customers .. I know cos I sold them to him.
I no longer do residential window cleaner just commercial and large exterior cleaning projects ... if you ever want a quote for that massive Deeside solar farm let me know but I wont be doing them for 18 p a panel ;)
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
one of our sites used company similar to this to clean there panels the same day they the last phase was to be paid for (nomally there paid for in three stages ) a top guy from (the maker of the solar panels ) took loads of pictures of them cleaning then voild the warranty on all the panels in the fields all 85,000 of them
it was stated in the small print they had to be hand cleaned , hence we got there work
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
one of our sites used company similar to this to clean there panels the same day they the last phase was to be paid for (nomally there paid for in three stages ) a top guy from (the maker of the solar panels ) took loads of pictures of them cleaning then voild the warranty on all the panels in the fields all 85,000 of them
it was stated in the small print they had to be hand cleaned , hence we got there work
What a bummer lol. But the question begs if the warranty was so say void afterwards on all 85,000 panels did it really matter what methods was used?
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
one of our sites used company similar to this to clean there panels the same day they the last phase was to be paid for (nomally there paid for in three stages ) a top guy from (the maker of the solar panels ) took loads of pictures of them cleaning then voild the warranty on all the panels in the fields all 85,000 of them
it was stated in the small print they had to be hand cleaned , hence we got there work
What a bummer lol. But the question begs if the warranty was so say void afterwards on all 85,000 panels did it really matter what methods was used?
WFP isn't hand cleaned.
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
one of our sites used company similar to this to clean there panels the same day they the last phase was to be paid for (nomally there paid for in three stages ) a top guy from (the maker of the solar panels ) took loads of pictures of them cleaning then voild the warranty on all the panels in the fields all 85,000 of them
it was stated in the small print they had to be hand cleaned , hence we got there work
Did it take you long to clean 85,000 panels Susan?
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
one of our sites used company similar to this to clean there panels the same day they the last phase was to be paid for (nomally there paid for in three stages ) a top guy from (the maker of the solar panels ) took loads of pictures of them cleaning then voild the warranty on all the panels in the fields all 85,000 of them
it was stated in the small print they had to be hand cleaned , hence we got there work
Did it take you long to clean 85,000 panels Susan?
She probably split Two men in half to put Four on the job- which just so happened to be around the corner and saved a load of Vat in the meantime!
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85,000 panels would seem to take forever I'm thinking even throwing loads of manpower at it.
Lets just say a team of ten wfp guys clean 1200 each per day = 12,000 per day it still would take over 7 days to clean it.
One superhuman wfp guy working flat out cleaning 200 panels an hour for 6 hours a day would take 71 days in total.. Fook that for a game of soldiers lol
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Bit she did it, she said she did so she must’ve.
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
one of our sites used company similar to this to clean there panels the same day they the last phase was to be paid for (nomally there paid for in three stages ) a top guy from (the maker of the solar panels ) took loads of pictures of them cleaning then voild the warranty on all the panels in the fields all 85,000 of them
it was stated in the small print they had to be hand cleaned , hence we got there work
Did it take you long to clean 85,000 panels Susan?
it took just over 2 weeks working everyday dave , the guys got there vans stuck to the axles in mud three times , some days they were only doing 600-700 aday due to the bird dropping all over them
we hand three of our vans and my sons two vans on the job along with the ranger to pull the vans off site if needed it was a massive learning curve the first one , put us behind in our window cleaning work as well , taking jobs like this on is ok but throw a van getting stuck for aday in the mud and your losing money fast
some of the pot holes that were on the site were knee deep ! fill them up with water and there look small , loads of lads leant this the first day they started when they stepped in them
when I rang the insureance up (vans) they want a ex 200 pounds per van a year to go on site as they said its high risk , as if a van had a fire on site the they would be liable for all the cost even the lost energy ! which this site was running 14k aday profit after all the cost were took out (head man told us at dinner time )
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/whitevangirl/meeee.jpg) (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/whitevangirl/media/meeee.jpg.html)
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Sounds like it was a nightmare of a job Susan. No wonder you don't take on larger jobs anymore.
Even the smaller sites must be a pain in the arse too?
I'm also betting ss is laughing all the way to the bank too unlike his subbies. lol
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As Susan has said difficult access on a lot of these sites , damage to vehicles , poor pay , getting behind on your regular work that pays well why do people do it ????? Shear madness , we earn more in a morning doing easy windows than in a day and a half cleaning panels and it's easier work I still maintain you cannot make reasonable money on it , maybe for someone just starting out with no work but it's no good for an established business, these big sites can take weeks to clean , who can afford to be away from regular good paying jobs to do this as a one off job or Evan an annual job plus it's so mind numbing to be doing large sites we had 4 vans on some big jobs with 12 people working 8 + hours a day sole destroying work , never again will we be doing it , I do however understand that some are happy to do this type of work but think that most sole traders/self employed people would rather put there time into canvassing regular window cleaning jobs , where they benefit fully from there hard work rather than earning low money sub contracting , steve is a nice bloke and I admire his enthusiasm for the job , he is also very knowledgeable about the subject but you are never going to earn what you could by working for a company like this as they take a large cut of the money , that's not a dig at you either steve as you are In it to make money it's just a fact of life . There are Evan more solar farms being installed around where I live I hope you are successful with getting the contracts but it's going to involve a lot of traveling for someone to come down hear to do the work as most of the window cleaners down hear feel the same way I do about it , those that have done it soon give up that has to tell you something .
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Thanks folks for sharing you honest opinions as made interested reading from the troops on the ground as it were.
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I hope you are successful with getting the contracts but it's going to involve a lot of traveling for someone to come down hear to do the work as most of the window cleaners down hear feel the same way I do about it , those that have done it soon give up that has to tell you something .
I suspect that's why he's back. One of the larger firms on here said he'd bid on one of the same contracts as SS and the price he quoted was unprofitable. The only way he can make money is to sub it out to the unsuspecting.
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The operative word in that is ‘unsuspecting’. Eventually when thats the case the wheels just fall off.
I have some experience of a job that was SS’s which I imagine has fallen foul of this business model as well as a number of phone calls offering prospective work which didn’t pay the going rate.
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Once bitten, twice shy and all that. lol
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Im sayin’ nuffink. ;D
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I've spoken to 2 local guys who were subbys for him both of them have stoped doing work for him due to a number of issues that I wouldn't want to put on a public forum , I suspect there is another company based about 8 miles away from me that is doing work for steve but knowing the individual concerned I don't think it will last long . I don't Evan bother quoting for theses jobs now as it's a waist of time they just use you to get a selection of prices , I've told several company's to contact steve as Ime not prepared to work for the prices he quotes and am not prepared to waist my time on site visits knowing that I will be considerably dearer , we do a lot of domestic panels and smaller commercial jobs on farms, with just a few hundred panels as we can make these pay and most are add on jobs for existing customers who would rather deal with a local company that they know , like most big firms you are expected to jump through a lot of hoops for these large solar farms and it's just not worth it as far as Ime concerned , I much prefer the hotels , care homes , and blocks of flats that we already do we have a number of retirement apartment blocks that we do for a very well known company and are doing more work for them year on year they like the personal touch from a small company they have had national contractors doing there work and had no end of problems so gave decided to use us instead , this has worked very well for both parties we now do work 200 miles away from base for them and have been asked to price work in oxford and Chelsea, weather we will get it is another matter but time will tell
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We used to do a lot but a certain person who used to come on hear does have a lot of contacts and gets a lot of work he only pays 18 pence a panel so it's not financial viable, also its mind numbing to do several weeks on one large site , on some of the ones we did access was difficult with a van as the roads were very rutted , generally we only do smaller jobs now and domestic as I didn't feel it was worth the hassle on some roof mounts on farms they can be really filthy and take a lot longer to clean , I don't think it will be to long before all these big sites are cleaned using tractors with cleaning machines mounted on them we have dozens of large solar farms where I am and I've started seeing them used more instead of poling them by hand , best way to do it as far as Ime concerned , personally I would suggest forget this type of work and build up a decent window round , regular cleans , easy work , good money solar panel cleaning as it's done now is a dying business, although ss wouldn't agree as he's trying to sell it as a franchise and make a quick buck with it
I agree with all of that apart from the last 6 words.
Morning Solar Steve. How come you've not got a mechanized fleet of solar panel farm washers by now?
Sod trying to clean that lot by hand lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keDPGrbRx90
one of our sites used company similar to this to clean there panels the same day they the last phase was to be paid for (nomally there paid for in three stages ) a top guy from (the maker of the solar panels ) took loads of pictures of them cleaning then voild the warranty on all the panels in the fields all 85,000 of them
it was stated in the small print they had to be hand cleaned , hence we got there work
Did it take you long to clean 85,000 panels Susan?
it took just over 2 weeks working everyday dave , the guys got there vans stuck to the axles in mud three times , some days they were only doing 600-700 aday due to the bird dropping all over them
we hand three of our vans and my sons two vans on the job along with the ranger to pull the vans off site if needed it was a massive learning curve the first one , put us behind in our window cleaning work as well , taking jobs like this on is ok but throw a van getting stuck for aday in the mud and your losing money fast
some of the pot holes that were on the site were knee deep ! fill them up with water and there look small , loads of lads leant this the first day they started when they stepped in them
when I rang the insureance up (vans) they want a ex 200 pounds per van a year to go on site as they said its high risk , as if a van had a fire on site the they would be liable for all the cost even the lost energy ! which this site was running 14k aday profit after all the cost were took out (head man told us at dinner time )
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a113/whitevangirl/meeee.jpg) (http://s10.photobucket.com/user/whitevangirl/media/meeee.jpg.html)
Looks like a pikey meet to me :P
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If u taking big jobs on like this it has to pay more than the run of the mill work. U risk running ur regular work late and upsetting the applecart
I like to take big jobs as I enjoy them better
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Oh do please delete your account again you boring twonk
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Is this the ballcock thread ???
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Oh do please delete your account again you boring twonk
+1
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As Susan has said difficult access on a lot of these sites , damage to vehicles , poor pay , getting behind on your regular work that pays well why do people do it ????? Shear madness , we earn more in a morning doing easy windows than in a day and a half cleaning panels and it's easier work I still maintain you cannot make reasonable money on it , maybe for someone just starting out with no work but it's no good for an established business, these big sites can take weeks to clean , who can afford to be away from regular good paying jobs to do this as a one off job or Evan an annual job plus it's so mind numbing to be doing large sites we had 4 vans on some big jobs with 12 people working 8 + hours a day sole destroying work , never again will we be doing it , I do however understand that some are happy to do this type of work but think that most sole traders/self employed people would rather put there time into canvassing regular window cleaning jobs , where they benefit fully from there hard work rather than earning low money sub contracting , steve is a nice bloke and I admire his enthusiasm for the job , he is also very knowledgeable about the subject but you are never going to earn what you could by working for a company like this as they take a large cut of the money , that's not a dig at you either steve as you are In it to make money it's just a fact of life . There are Evan more solar farms being installed around where I live I hope you are successful with getting the contracts but it's going to involve a lot of traveling for someone to come down hear to do the work as most of the window cleaners down hear feel the same way I do about it , those that have done it soon give up that has to tell you something .
Pretty interesting stuff this. I can mentally narrow you down to one of two or three people. Not many people at all have had 4 vans on one of my jobs, so I think I know who you may be. I don't know why you haven't voiced this to me personally if you think I'm a nice guy. I always try to hear people's concerns and find a mutually acceptable way forward. I virtually always succeed in doing so as well.
One of whom earned £60k+ from us last year and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with solar farms. The other had the men and vehicles, but decided to against against my advice on how to tackle these jobs and decided he knew better.
When you say that we take a large cut of the money, how on earth do you know what we make??? Truth is, no one knows what we make except me and ONE other person who works for me. So you have absolutely no idea what we make.
Make no bones about it, these jobs are logistically challenging. We do not make them out to be easy to do. But we have cleaned more solar farms than anyone else in the country. We KNOW how to do them and AC's who listen to advice given on the training and stick to that, they make money. To the degree that some ask if we have any coming up in their area as they think they are good money. These are not one-man bands either, because as lots are pointing out, they are massive jobs, too big for one man to do on his own.
I also make it plain though that if you disregard what we advise, these jobs will come back and bite you on the bum. They are huge undertakings, beyond the capability of many. That surprises me really, because 'there's no difference between solar panel cleaning and window cleaning'.....apparently. So why can't you big window cleaning firms do what we do? Because it is a completely different industry and methodology, as I have tried to say on here from the beginning.
The soft side of me feels sorry for those who have tried these solar farms and failed. But I know you disregarded our advice and thought you knew better. The hard side of me says that the less window cleaners out there panel cleaning, means more for me.
I've been doing this for years now and I have noticed a lot which I have kept to myself. Here is something I have noticed: Those that do well at this are those who are willing to accept they don't know it all and will listen to advice. Those that think they know it all, will often fail on a solar farm. This is a reality that you are all now reading about........
Hmmmm...So you are basically saying to peeps that don't want to work for you anymore it's their fault not yours. lol
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Clearly, it's working for some people. We are all different and in different circumstances- what will work for one may well not work for another. Also be mindful that money isn't the main motivator for a lot of people- beyond earning a certain level of income. The money to be earned from some of these solar farms may not outweigh the issues/challenges involved to someone who already earns good money on their own well priced and regular work. Someone with 4/5 vans and some spare capacity may see it as an opportunity to fill some time and pay wages.
I don't see the point of hounding SS just because you may not understand his business model. Stick to your own guns and just get on with it. I have turned many of what other people might see as "lucrative" jobs down= even passed them to other cleaners because for me personally, I have no desire to work any harder or longer hours than I do currently for any additional financial return that may come from doing so. The time and effort outweigh the financial return for me- the money isn't my motivation.
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
You may "add" anything you like Smurf if you wish to extend this thread to 20 pages of repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!!
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
You may "add" anything you like Smurf if you wish to extend this thread to 20 pages of repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!!
How can you say that when people have actually worked as a subcontractor for ss that have just given their honest opinions.
I'm sure people can decide for themselves if they want to go down the subcontracting route or not.
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
You may "add" anything you like Smurf if you wish to extend this thread to 20 pages of repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!!
How can you say that when people have actually worked as a subcontractor for ss that have just given their honest opinions.
I'm sure people can decide for themselves if they want to go down the subcontracting route or not.
Totally agree- like, that's what I just said. Did you not absorb my post?
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
You may "add" anything you like Smurf if you wish to extend this thread to 20 pages of repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!!
How can you say that when people have actually worked as a subcontractor for ss that have just given their honest opinions.
I'm sure people can decide for themselves if they want to go down the subcontracting route or not.
Totally agree- like, that's what I just said. Did you not absorb my post?
You lost me on "repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!! bit. lol
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You lost me on "repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!! bit. lol
Thats coming from the blue-skinned gnome-like freak.
(http://www.lovethispic.com/uploaded_images/16702-Smurf-Gif.gif?1)
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
You may "add" anything you like Smurf if you wish to extend this thread to 20 pages of repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!!
Pot calling the kettle black Chummy. ;D But you always had a soft spot for the most blatant fantasist on here.
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
You may "add" anything you like Smurf if you wish to extend this thread to 20 pages of repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!!
Pot calling the kettle black Chummy. ;D But you always had a soft spot for the most blatant fantasist on here.
1. I am not your chum
2. SS clearly has what you have not in business (among other) terms.
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Whom may I add is hounding anyone as I would like to think people can share their experience god or bad openly without the fear of retribution.
You may "add" anything you like Smurf if you wish to extend this thread to 20 pages of repetitive tittle tattle by Green eyed monsters!!
Pot calling the kettle black Chummy. ;D But you always had a soft spot for the most blatant fantasist on here.
1. I am not your chum
2. SS clearly has what you have not in business (among other) terms.
You certainly aren't my chum. You are Chumbucket though. What SS has is a Walter Mitty complex. You are right. I do not have that.
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You get my post now Smurf? ::)roll
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When did I say that those solar farm jobs were sub contracted work off you ??? They were my own jobs nothing to do with your company , and I was doing them before I came on your "training course " I haven't disregarded anything you have said as I only did 3 jobs for you , what I am saying is that at those prices it's not viable in my opinion, as I said some may be happy to do it at those prices but it's not a viable business plan for us .
I know what you have been charging for some jobs as the client has told me that's the price to beat and as I said ime not intrested , I have given up the solar farms as they are more trouble than they are worth , with the issues mentioned before , I have Evan suggested to some clients that they contact you as you do a large number of these sites you are very welcome to them , we are sticking to the windows thanks easier , more money , regular 4/6/8 weekly jobs , all I have been trying to do is point out the pit falls to unsuspecting, new cleaners who are inexperienced to try and prevent them making the same mistakes I did by taking on this type of work in the first place if I could turn back the clock I would never have done this type of work not for my self or for your firm , you seam to think that people cannot get this type of job themselves, they can get these jobs but from experience most don't want them , and I accept you will probably corner the market doing it with your franchising model , I hope you are successful with it you work very long hours and know your subject well , but the subcontractors , franchises need to understand fully what's involved , are you telling me that anyone wants to work on one site for weeks cleaning tens of thousands of panels ????
No one In there right mind would want to do it as it's sole destroying , boring work , and the money isn't good , if someone wants to expand ther business they are better off getting regular window cleaning jobs In the long run . Also I see a lot of these tracker cleaners being trailed near me I was talking to one of the md s and he said it won't be long before most panels will be cleaned this way , I accept not all jobs can be do like that but most sites are laid out so that it can be done , let's face it it makes sense to do it that way , I know these machines are expensive but you would be in a good position to buy a couple and lorry to transport them around the country cleaning everything, that's not a dig it's just a fact you would be mad not to what's half a million to you with all this work that you have it would soon pay for its self , but I guess you would make a lot more with franching ?????
I me not getting into an argument with you or enyone else about this Ime just stating a few proven facts that many would agree with but I do genuinely wish you the best with your business venture I personally wouldn't want to spend the time on this that you do as long as I can pay the bills that's enough for me
Mod note: I have stuck a few paragraph breaks in to make your post easier to read. Hope you don't mind and that you bear it in mind for future posts.
Thanks, Gold.
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Hip hip array! Glad it's all sorted.
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Hip hip array! Glad it's all sorted.
not yet ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
i happly cleaned one panel today ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Hip hip array! Glad it's all sorted.
not yet ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
i happly cleaned one panel today ;D ;D ;D ;D
me too but didn't like it so I bin it off and replace it with a ten panel clean
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Better weather's coming nice to see solar Steve's dusted off his soap box to get his 2017 batch of cheap subbies.
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Hip hip array! Glad it's all sorted.
Watt are you ohm about?