Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: James Styles on September 04, 2019, 01:48:43 pm
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As this is my first year doing window cleaning by wfp i just had a few questions about the winter.
I keep my barrells in the car overnight, id imagine in the freezing conditions there’s a risk of the water freezing?
The other one is I’m noticing a few customers have already asked me to change their scheduled cleans from 4 weeks to 8 weeks over the winter, I don’t mind this too much just hope loads of my other customers don’t cancel over the winter, how have you guys got on with this?
I’ve read a few times people saying the winter is tough, is that mainly down to working in the cold or customers not wanting their windows done?
Cheers guys.
Also I’ve gone past my 100 customer mark now ;D
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Firstly barrels I’m not sure but my 650 litre tank has never frozen over the years but I still wrap an old duvet around it for safe measure, it’s more the reel hose that’s always frozen on me so I try to lag any exposed pipe with the foam stuff from b&q, if its frozen and not flowing in morning I have one of those £10 electric blow heaters from Tesco I bought years ago I throw in for 20 mins warms everything up!
I did try an oil filled radiator but had to have it plugged in all the time but with the electric fan heater throw it in leave 15-20 and everything thawed, just try to drain lines best you can at night.
Regarding customers try not to let them dictate too much unless you need the work however if they want to go 2 monthly and your happy with that make sure you charge more than the monthly clean and make it clear you don’t go over 2 monthly as they become like one off first cleans taking a lot longer.
Winter can be difficult at times around Feb time when everything freezes and sometimes it doesn’t get above zero, you can have a nice day weather wise but the temps are still minus and you’ll be leaving an ice rink when you finished so it’s just not worth it, just work longer on the good days.
You soon get used to it, look at the weather forecast but take it with a pinch of salt and aim to get out otherwise you’ll lose so many days you could have worked due to the crappy weather reports lol
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Well done for passing the 100 mark! 👍
Winter can be hard due to the conditions. Water in barrels in the car should be ok. Just throw some blankets or something over them, although you could take them inside which would be even better, so the starting temp wont be very low.
I told my customers that business continues as usual in winter. They soon understand
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i only have one customer who goes to a longer frequency( 8 weekly)during the winter out of 350+ customers....
my work routine is the same in the autumn/winter as it is in the spring/summer......
this will be my 27th winter window cleaning this year..... ;D
freezing water,hoses and pumps etc are not a problem for me as i use a hot water system with frost stat......
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We very rarely get a proper winter anymore, I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve needed to use my overnight heater in the van.
I find the fear of how bad the winter is going to be is far worse than the actual winter itself.
Just get yourself a decent warm hat, jacket and gloves and carry on as normal.
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When I know it's going to freeze I take the gear inside as I have a large area under stairs to store things.
Did it maybe 4/5 times last year max.
My biggest problem is water freezing in tank so I fill up in the morning....empty what's left the night before into 25l barrels if I think it will be freezing.
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We very rarely get a proper winter anymore, I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve needed to use my overnight heater in the van.
I find the fear of how bad the winter is going to be is far worse than the actual winter itself.
Just get yourself a decent warm hat, jacket and gloves and carry on as normal.
Yes that just about sums it up^^^
Any customers messing about trying to change frequency tell them no or find another cleaner.
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Well done for reaching 100 custards!
I would cover the barrels in a duvet and if you can't get electricity to the car overnight maybe throw a couple of hot water bottles in under their as well - but only if its definitely going to be minus 1 or colder
customers sometimes want less cleaning in winter just roll with it - it shouldn't be that many - look out for the ones who want to stop and then restart in April - these are the pee takers
I think many (usually newbies) find winter tough - not really got enough work, its cold and they would rather stay in bed - then find customers have moved on to a more reliable windy
I never minded the cold - once you've hit a couple of jobs you soon warm up and with wfp its not got the agony of really cold fingers like trad work...
Darran
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And ignore the fake news which happens every year during Autum that this year is going to be a record breaking freezing winter.
The newspapers do it every year which is all lies and just trying to cause panick.
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Fake weather news, the amount of times it's meant to be the hottest or the coldest and 50mph winds... All bull poop.
What I got caught with was the water freezing at the jets but that's from running cold through the pumps and 100m reel and across frozen lawns.
I add hot to my tank but if it's not empty you've got all the cold going through first.
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the winter of 2010 though was something else!i was using 10 barrels in an old kangoo van and 50l PF trolley! ;D
one night the temperature went down to -15 and i had 10 frozen barrels of pure! ::)roll
had 3 weeks off due to snow.....but i was ok..... 8)
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Winter can be hard, It's seen off many many "wish they we're" window cleaners.
Like most things its a mental game. I like tough things like winter as they make you tougher as a person. Character building.
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one thing i do in the winter months is carry some ice melt grit and a sweeping brush for standing water on very cold days....ill even offer to grit elderly customers driveways if its icy....
ALWAYS ask first though....as some wont want it putting down,others will be happy for you to do so....
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Winter can be hard, It's seen off many many "wish they we're" window cleaners.
Like most things its a mental game. I like tough things like winter as they make you tougher as a person. Character building.
winters not hard at all if your hot wfp!esp if you spent 17 winters 100% trad on ladders! ;D...and collecting 3 nights a week!
its easy these days with wfp and no/minimal collecting.....the winters are also milder......
i remember climbing on roofs every year in the frost/snow to clean windows in the 90s/early 2000s....how i didnt hurt myself ill never know....... ::)roll ;D
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Keep your neck warm, as well as your head, layer up, make sure at least one outer layer is windproof. I find in the winter it's not the temperature, it's the wind chill that makes it uncomfortable. Get some thermals from your local supermarket and good thermal socks, keep your feet warm. Gloves are a personal thing but I use Showa 282 temres.
I clean front doors using cloths, rather than wfp, so there is no water to freeze. Learn how to clean a front door quickly using a cheap microfibre cloth rinsed in pure and a glass cloth (I use paragon fish scale ones).
Any customers that want to go 8 weekly over the winter, don't worry about it, get on with it. (I am 8 weekly anyway).
Any customers that even hint about you not being busy over winter, I just say "I'm totally busy all year round"! Make them feel the odd one out! (I actually am so this doesn't occur anymore).
You can even throw in..."the week before Christmas is my busiest week as many customers ask for an extra clean because the family are coming down" (this is actually true for me).
Remember that in the winter, the sun is very low, and this will highlight dirty windows.
Any customers that cancel over the winter...you know what to do!!!!!
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The only thing to stop work is minus temps/freezing on the glass. Quite rare that happens, other than that it's the same as working the rest of the year but a bit more dark/miserable.
You might get the odd customer wanting to cancel in the winter, in that case treat them like anyone else who cancels and replace them.
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I don’t mind the cold at all, infact winter is my favourite time of the year, i also worked for a window cleaner when I was about 18 for a few years and that was done traditional so I had to go up cold ladders everyday and honestly it didn’t bother me.
I was concerned with the water possibly freezing overnight or loads of customers cancelling over the winter, also forgot to ask is canvassing a lot harder in the winter, like is it harder to pick up new customers?
As I still plan to canvass over the winter, I will probably just miss out December.
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I don’t mind the cold at all, infact winter is my favourite time of the year, i also worked for a window cleaner when I was about 18 for a few years and that was done traditional so I had to go up cold ladders everyday and honestly it didn’t bother me.
I was concerned with the water possibly freezing overnight or loads of customers cancelling over the winter, also forgot to ask is canvassing a lot harder in the winter, like is it harder to pick up new customers?
As I still plan to canvass over the winter, I will probably just miss out December.
i started canvassing on sunday 3rd jan 1993 and picked up 3 customers ...it was snowing at the time!i now have over 90 jobs on this estate and ive been cleaning most of them for 20+ years......
canvass AT ANY TIME OF YEAR......jobs picked up in december are usually one off s for xmas but if your books are not full take them on and charge them double.....better than being short of work....
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Never used barrels always had a van mount but can you not keep them inside somewhere over night ??? If not as has been said cover with a douvey , or put a fan heater in the car over night on a low setting .
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Start putting some money away for winter make sure all your Bill's etc are paid up to date . if you can't work because of severe weather at least you will have some cash to see you through. Its only winter, work when ever you can and don't waste money .
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I don’t mind the cold at all, infact winter is my favourite time of the year, i also worked for a window cleaner when I was about 18 for a few years and that was done traditional so I had to go up cold ladders everyday and honestly it didn’t bother me.
I was concerned with the water possibly freezing overnight or loads of customers cancelling over the winter, also forgot to ask is canvassing a lot harder in the winter, like is it harder to pick up new customers?
As I still plan to canvass over the winter, I will probably just miss out December.
i started canvassing on sunday 3rd jan 1993 and picked up 3 customers ...it was snowing at the time!i now have over 90 jobs on this estate and ive been cleaning most of them for 20+ years......
canvass AT ANY TIME OF YEAR......jobs picked up in december are usually one off s for xmas but if your books are not full take them on and charge them double.....better than being short of work....
Funnily enough i started on the 3rd of Jan 2003
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Get a 0% credit card just in case! If you can’t work , then at least you can still buy food and pay for things and then pay it off as soon as your back in work
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I don’t mind the cold at all, infact winter is my favourite time of the year, i also worked for a window cleaner when I was about 18 for a few years and that was done traditional so I had to go up cold ladders everyday and honestly it didn’t bother me.
I was concerned with the water possibly freezing overnight or loads of customers cancelling over the winter, also forgot to ask is canvassing a lot harder in the winter, like is it harder to pick up new customers?
As I still plan to canvass over the winter, I will probably just miss out December.
Just a couple of things James.
1. Congratulations on reaching 100 customers.
In my opinion, and this is just my opinion.
2. Do charge extra for 8 weekly cleans.
3. Watch for customers who will move from 4 to 8 weekly and then want to stay on 8 weekly in summer. You need to lay out your stand with regard to this. Once they've gone to 8 weeks its easier for them to stay with 8 weeks. So you need to make it less attractive financially for your customer to dictate this option.
I would discourage longer cleaning cycles in winter but if you get this often then stipulate a small increase for 8 weekly as a special over winter but penalise this price wise over summer. I initially thought that extending cleans was a good idea over winter as I had more customers than hours in the day. But now I extend cleaning times over winter myself when the weather is bad.
4. Over the years we have had a handful of customers cancel over winter with the premise of restarting in Spring. Unfortunately none restarted window cleaning in the Spring. Now, in our books they would just become an ex customer the moment they cancel winter cleaning. If they want you they will phone you. If they do then its your choice if you want them back again or not.
5. I'm not sure I would stop canvassing in December if you need the work. You will definitely get plenty of one off cleans for Christmas which will keep you busy. Price as a premium one off and offer a regular clean from Spring at a reduced maintenance clean price.
Trust me, however you work your business this winter will be different next winter 20/21. Most of us turn down Christmas cleans or offer to schedule the first clean in January. You will quickly find the genuine regulars and the just for Christmas one offs that tried to hook you will the bait of a regular clean.
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I don’t mind the cold at all, infact winter is my favourite time of the year, i also worked for a window cleaner when I was about 18 for a few years and that was done traditional so I had to go up cold ladders everyday and honestly it didn’t bother me.
I was concerned with the water possibly freezing overnight or loads of customers cancelling over the winter, also forgot to ask is canvassing a lot harder in the winter, like is it harder to pick up new customers?
As I still plan to canvass over the winter, I will probably just miss out December.
James you need to stop asking questions and BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
You are doing ok.
Water freezing overnight: anything by a front door clean those windows trad!
Any customers cancel (they are not good customers) bin them when you are able to.
I'll tell you when to stop canvassing...when you go out for a day and get nothing!
PS. Try 'sold houses'. Look on Rightmove. It will show you what houses have sold in your area in the last 12 or 6 months.
GET KNOCKING!
Beware of people ONLY wanting them cleaned for Christmas.
OR if I was starting up...I would be knocking houses asking them if they want a 'Christmas Clean'.
Then you should be able to convert 25 per cent of those as regulars.
GET ON IT!
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If the customers don’t want you in winter, don’t bother going back in spring. You have a living to make, its not just beer money. Re freezing pipes, get a cheap fan heater from Argos as has been suggested, put it on the lowest heat setting in the back of your van or car, it will be thermostatically controlled and switch on and off during the night. As for water freezing on steps, get a bag of grit from the roadside bins,and any water splashed beside front or back doors and steps, Chuck a couple of handfuls of grit on it. If the customer is at home, when you knock for your money, make them aware that the water may have frozen, and just tell them to be careful when heading out.
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If the temp is around freezing and may drop further, we skip the window above the front door/pathway. Living in an ever more litigious society, it's not worth the risk.
Give the front door a really good clean with cloths and spray. I have operated this way from the start and not one customer in ten years has ever mentioned the window being missed.
Even if they would not try and sue you, it's a dangerous thing to do and the poor customer coming home in the dark is probably not going to be wearing ice skates.
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If the temp is around freezing and may drop further, we skip the window above the front door/pathway. Living in an ever more litigious society, it's not worth the risk.
Give the front door a really good clean with cloths and spray. I have operated this way from the start and not one customer in ten years has ever mentioned the window being missed.
Even if they would not try and sue you, it's a dangerous thing to do and the poor customer coming home in the dark is probably not going to be wearing ice skates.
Hang on a mo whilst I google that ;D