Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: ScrimShady on August 01, 2007, 01:55:32 pm
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Has anyone heard of these people??
They are cold calling a lot of my custys and it is really getting on my nerves >:( >:( >:(
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any more details website etc.
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yeah they are based in Crawley
they have just recently gone into window cleaning, and do their canvassing by calling people on their phones
i think they have about 6 vans on the road already, havnt been doing it long, but i do think they are charging very little, to get the work
but who cares, got to make a living some how
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i dont think they are the same people, these come from brighton and have around 18 vans on the road so i have been told.
there website is www.windowandwheelie.co.uk
i agree they have to make a living but there are loads of window cleaners where i am and i big company like that will make trying to get more customers more difficult.
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yeah that's them
didn't realise they where based in Brighton
they have grown quick
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actually they are not cheapos either their prices are not too bad
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i have been told that they are expensive, charge per window
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i was talking to one of there worker and the people who own it have thrown a lot of money at it and hope for the best
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hmmm well they need to hope for the best, but with 18 vans on the road, they must be doing well
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Well with 18 vans on the road I'd say his turn over is big enough. I mean give us a chance like! There is a guy by me who will do anything cleaning wise to earn money but they vary in work that much they do a poor job of everything.
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There are plenty of people out there who are "jack of all trades and master of them all!"
Competition is good for business, it focuses the mind, stops us sitting on your ar9es getting complacent!
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i agree with that, but think of the little guy trying to earn a crust
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there not cheap by any means £25 for 15 windows. there not in my area yet i know
but if they were i wouldent be losing any sleep.
scrim i hope you havent lost any to there cold calling.
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There are plenty of people out there who are "jack of all trades and master of them all!"
Competition is good for business, it focuses the mind, stops us sitting on your ar9es getting complacent!
Coulnd't agree more!!
Whoever is behind this business has had the B*lls to put a lot on the line and good for him/her or them. It's no good sitting around or posting here moaning about competition. Wake up. It's a business and it's just going to get more and more competetive as time goes by.
I,m all for it because it will sort out the wheat from the chaff and get rid of the lazy s*ds who expect everything to come to them or think they have the right to a so called patch. What makes this business so different to all the others where competetive practices are the norm?
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What makes this business so different to all the others where competetive practices are the norm?
Nothing at all. And I am glad you bought it up. In truth the nature of the business is "sketchy" in its truest form. You can walk round one estate and the supply really outstrips the demand. Walk round another and the demand is over whelming.
The only real problem I have with these guys is not the threat they pose to me, I/We could join/beat them if we really wanted. But the threat they are to themselves. It is far too easy for one of their employees to start up a company and steal there work. It is far too easy for someone to come along and offer the same service for less. So I am more worried for them than I am of them.
As an investor I would never buy shares in them, the window cleaning game supports the small guy much more than the big guy. It has always been a game of low overheads and high profit margins vs the weather and the economy. The problem for a window cleaner does not lie with big companies starting up, but with lots of small ones, bad weather and high unemployment (which also causes more small operations to appear)
I would say that as long as they manage to keep their work force professional, then they will aid the industry, giving it a different image to the cloth cap n beer money image, only last week I was told that my job was good for a bit of pocket money :D . However cold calling via telephone is not something that is professional in my opinion.
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These sound like the same people who have been phoning up many of my customers, and I am not very happy with the tactics that they are using as despite the fact that they have no idea who I am they have suggested to some of my customers that I am unproffessional and unreliable, fortunately my customers have put them right in no uncertain terms!!!
If anyone knows their phone number please let me know as I would like to have a word with them!!!!!
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What makes this business so different to all the others where competetive practices are the norm?
The only real problem I have with these guys is not the threat they pose to me, I/We could join/beat them if we really wanted. But the threat they are to themselves. It is far too easy for one of their employees to start up a company and steal there work. It is far too easy for someone to come along and offer the same service for less. So I am more worried for them than I am of them.
???
Why?
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phone numbers on ther web site and the boss is called Mr Walls.
www.windowandwheelie.co.uk
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Thanks Scrim, I shall be having a word with Mr Walls >:(
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18 vans on the road and based in Brighton, thats really weird, I've never seen them!I'll have to keepa look out for them
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So I am more worried for them than I am of them.
Huh
Why?
Because I think the odds are staked against them.
Who worries you more?
A competitor who has low overheads and can undercut you or
A competitor that is having to fork out employment costs, large over heads and you can undercut him?
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So I am more worried for them than I am of them.
Huh
Why?
Because I think the odds are staked against them.
Who worries you more?
A competitor who has low overheads and can undercut you or
A competitor that is having to fork out employment costs, large over heads and you can undercut him?
TBH Karl, the competitor that worries me the most is the one who is desperate for work and has a bunch of employees who have to be paid whether they are working or not, vans that need to be paid for whether they are working or not , insurances to pay etc
This guy obviously has his head screwed on or he wouldn't have 18 vans on the road and a sales force telemarketing , a sole trader has to maximise his return on nearly every job to be able to stay in business whereas a large company relies more on smaller profits from more jobs
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I have never seen any of their vans, but as well as canvassing my customers + slagging me off >:( they are advertising in my local paper for window cleaners to work a 48 hour week for £16,000 a year! thats got to be close to the minimum wage.
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i dont think they are the same people, these come from brighton and have around 18 vans on the road so i have been told.
there website is www.windowandwheelie.co.uk
i agree they have to make a living but there are loads of window cleaners where i am and i big company like that will make trying to get more customers more difficult.
Sorry for delay. Just back from holiday.
The ones my customers told me about are from Brighton.
The funny thing is, some of the areas I cover don't yey have wheelie bins.
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thats the company shiner, they have seperate vans for the wheelie bins
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I have never seen any of their vans, but as well as canvassing my customers + slagging me off >:( they are advertising in my local paper for window cleaners to work a 48 hour week for £16,000 a year! thats got to be close to the minimum wage.
£6.41 an hour
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Well worked out Wayne!! ;D
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Well I think they sound like they are stretched to the limit financially and out on a limb.
I can't imagine anything worse than trying to run that many vans. They must be employing Polish labour.
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If thats £307 a week garanteed + 4 weeks holiday + clothing + all kit provided etc etc, then he won't have any trouble getting labour. I know a WC in Newcastle whos just packed up to work as a pub cleaner in the morning and kitchen porter in the afternoon, both on NMW.
Our real competition will come from China as an RO/DI WFP for DIY cleaning at £10.
Regards Mal