Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: windowwashers on October 25, 2007, 08:25:46 pm
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I would love to hear peoples veiws on this: is wfp cleaning quicker when you first start ?
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I noticed an improvement right away, Luke
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I noticed an improvement right away, Luke
did you have any spotting or complaints when you started
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I found it slightly longer on most jobs.
If you try to keep up with your usual times you'll do a bad job and regret it.
It will annoy you to take so long, but not as annoying as constant spots. :(
I was probably doing 75-80% of my usual turnover for the first 2 months.
After that it became 20-25% more, like it is now.
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No spotting or complaints, if you ask me spotting and complaints are down to a poor operator, I know I'm only young with wfp but if you take your time all will be well. Dont push the fact that you are wfp, infact dont even bother to mention it. Just do your work and only explain if the customer looks puzzled or asks. Dont make it out to be a big deal otherwise they will sense on this and start asking loads of questions! Luke
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I never found it slower,.. but it depends on the type of work. First cleans on houses are slow enough,.. but I think still a little faster than trad. Commercial is double speed, even for for first cleans when you have big panes of glass.
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Just to clear one thing up, I am not asking people for advice on this in anyway, I am very good at keeping customers happy have done now for meany years if it took 100 litres of water to get no spots at the start thats what I would do, my question is: do you find wfp quicker at the start if you do let us know, if you dont let us know, as i am interested to hear others points of view on this topic.
Squeaky you gave a very good reply instead of a smart ass one :P
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hi
i wanted to throw my trolley over the nearest hedge on the fist day!
out of 11 houses one was on holiday (no opinion) two wanted two windows re-done and two wanted (needed as all the windows. were crap) the whole house done again. white spots everywhere.
totally my fault in not rinsing down well enough.
i now do all new account twice on the first visit and have had no problems since.
it will save you time but only after the first or second clean.
tony.
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NOPE!!
Like Squeaky it took maybe slightly more time 1st time around. After that it seemed to slightly faster every time until I reached about 40 to 50% faster overall.
I can't say I didnt get a few spotting probs coz I did. Not many though :) If u try to keep up with ur old trad pace u will only get frustrated and probably do a pretty cr*p job. TBH it's a bit of a nightmare until u get used to a completely different way of working. DEEP BREATHS are the best thing lol :)
Ohhh Luke u young Jedi... good advice on the dont make a big fuss about it but I bet u a pound to a penny u did get a few spots... ur custies just didnt tell u :P
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there most be more people on here tonight come on give us you tales
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No I don't think it is quicker the first time around, I averaged about the same speed wfp as when I was trad,
I didn't have to spend longer on the job the first time around, and the reason for this was, I spent months before changing over wiping the tops of the frames and the frames from the ladder, when I changed to wfp I didn't have as much crap to wash off.
The second time around was faster and the third even faster, you will find your own speed when you get there, don't try to be to fast to begin with.
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def slower when started,but as advised by the wise on here by third clean def faster. im on fifth or sixth clean on most now and its embarrasing how quick i can be :) :)
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anymore, come on I know theres my people that do water fed pole, give your comments on when you started
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To see the full potential of WFP i reckon you need to give yourself 8-12mths,the first time round if you think blimey that`s quicker the chances are you`ve done a bad job,remember some customers don`t check the windows at all they see the slip on the door mat and send a cheque and being out at work all day it`s the last thing on there mind.This time of year is a really good time to start with the days being so short it gives you a head start on those first couple of cleans,when up and running it is at least twice as quick as trad but i didn`t feel i was acheiving this doing a proper job until 8-10 months into it.
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there is no way wfp is quicker from the start . its a lot slower i was trad for around 7 years then made the change . ive now been wfp for around 15 months and ive picked up my speed . wfp is good but them first few cleans are a nightmare .
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Interesting question this, I did find it very slow going at first which was to be expected but find my workflow has improved with time. I’ve never done trad method, I’m 100% wfp and normally cover around 10 -15 customers on a 5 hr stint incl travelling to and fro.
So my question would be how many would a trad cleaner cover in the same period? Or how long would a Std ave semi take trad. I usually spend around 10- 15 mins with 8-9 windows. Although on some larger detached houses it takes around 50 mins.
Wayne
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I also phased customers in gradually at first i didn`t go straight in and do every customer from day one,doing this with no real experience would potentially be a bad business decision.Your bound to get houses that will play up with WFP and you have to make the choice whether to still do them trad way or pass them on,i don`t no for sure but the amount of customers that Squeaky has lost i wouldn`t be surprised if he went in all guns blazing cleaning everyone with it,getting experience with it takes time as with trad but after a while you can just tell if you`ve done a good job by having a set routine with the way you clean with it,i do think it looks a much better job if you do frames and sills with it and after the first couple of cleans doing this it`s hardly any longer than doing glass only.By doing frames and sills should mean less problems and customers will see the real advantage of WFP.
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Houses that used to take me 1.5hrs-2hrs take me 45-50 mins with WFP,that is an acurate example of how much quicker it is.Houses that were 2hr jobs trad way are at least halfed.
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Houses that used to take me 1.5hrs-2hrs take me 45-50 mins with WFP,that is an acurate example of how much quicker it is.Houses that were 2hr jobs trad way are at least halfed.
my experience too!!
I wasn't quick trad and i found it was about 40% quicker on larger jobs from the outset. Much quicker now.
On semis etc i was about the same time for the 1st couple of months.
Overall, twice as quick now. It's the ladder worked windows that you will notice the real difference in speed compared to trad.
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so far there is about 11 replies to this from wfp'ers please any one reading this add a comment as this will help every new to it, and also anyone thing of going wfp
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Hi All,
To be honest, I threw myself in at the deep end.........Like a kid with a new toy!!!
But I had learned a lot from this site and also explained to my customers that I was learning a new method, it would take one or two cleans to get their windows spotless and if there were unbearable marks to let me know and I would put it right.
Most didn't bother and left me to work it out. A few rang me with problems and I sorted them (but the problems did bug me and knock my confidence a bit)
Now some didn't like it at all!! and immediately canceled. This really did bug me big time!!
The first few months were nightmares!! hassle, hassle hassle!!
But thing started to settle down and new work started to come in. Customers started to see the good of WFP.......however...........
It has taken ME ages to get over the fact WFP leaves the windows wet and you don't know if you have made a mistake till they dry and the customer rings you up and complains!!!!
As far as the original question is concerned......YES I found WFP immediately quicker.....BUT I did make mistakes!
David
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I was slow at trad, I didn't do it for long and I didn't have many customers when I switched(30). I was and still am slow.
People like Squeaks and probably yourself who are good at trad will probably find less advantage to start, but people like Luke who had been window cleaning for about three weeks for one day a week have a different perspective.
It's the same with the cleaning frequency. You are a solid 4wk man, but I promise. because of the stays cleaner longer factor you will get requests for a longer period between cleans.
As it goes I'm pretty crap at everything and was 35 before god let me in on his little secret about what I was good at. I spent my life drifting.
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David, you say you saw a difference in speed staright away, yet you had problems, I myself am fininding it slower and have had one problem out of 40 houses, have gone back to see after the clean was dry, there are a few spots where it had run from top seal and left say 5 or 6 little spots in a line, I am telling customers as and when I need to, I got another new jopb today as a lady was singing my praises I have wanted to get more houses in the area as they are a clicky lot, I have 4 so far all are over £25 houses, so this is a right result, yet to lose a customer, I am sure i will at some point, but am picking up new work at the same time only better priced.
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Just to clear one thing up, I am not asking people for advice on this in anyway, I am very good at keeping customers happy have done now for meany years if it took 100 litres of water to get no spots at the start thats what I would do, my question is: do you find wfp quicker at the start if you do let us know, if you dont let us know, as i am interested to hear others points of view on this topic.
Squeaky you gave a very good reply instead of a smart ass one :P
I found it pretty much like Squeaky did as well - with the exception that on some of the much larger jobs, I can now halve the time I took with traditional methods. This could be as much to do with not being up to pace with a squeegee as it is to do with WFP though.
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My biggest problem was how much water I was using up!
When the boys on this site said make sure you do a good rinse.......Well...... ::).... 300ltrs later!!!
Now I am frugal and can do a 4 bed with sky light windows on 15/ 20ltrs max. Thats after the first clean though. First cleans need special attention. Once done you can pick up speed quite easily.
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My biggest problem was how much water I was using up!
When the boys on this site said make sure you do a good rinse.......Well...... ::).... 300ltrs later!!!
Now I am frugal and can do a 4 bed with sky light windows on 15/ 20ltrs max. Thats after the first clean though. First cleans need special attention. Once done you can pick up speed quite easily.
so glad you said you used alot of water, I used a lot today, and only got 3/4 of the work done. 90% was perfect the others had a few spots, i got round that be saying I am cleaning the frames free and it normaly would cost £28.50 .
any more stories for others about when they started please, its a great help to me and others that are starting ;)
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This is what I do.
Wash frames first.
Top windows first.
Go over windowpains covering corners.
Take brush away from pains and rinse off top pains only.
Do all upper windows first plus top pains then go back and do bottom pains rinsing off.
If top windows are not dripping on bottom windows proceed to do bottom windows, same fashion.
Spotting is caused by not rinsing off properly or the worst your tds has crept up. Or you have not eliminated soap residue.
Doors and door frames I tend to squeegy and wipe off respectfuly.
Dont get cought like I did when I did not check an old painted frame for chalky residue. the frame when washed whent ashen gray.....like I did when I reolized. It took ages to clean up as it kept leaching out of the frame.
I am sure the old geazers of wfp will have better ideas.
This works for me and I have had no spotting.........as yet.
Oh another thing which people forget to do. Make sure your brushes are kept clean. I did have an instence where particles were left on a con sliding door. I had just done a dirty frame previously.
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This is what I do.
Wash frames first.
Top windows first.
Go over windowpains covering corners.
Take brush away from pains and rinse off top pains only.
Do all upper windows first plus top pains then go back and do bottom pains rinsing off.
If top windows are not dripping on bottom windows proceed to do bottom windows, same fashion.
Spotting is caused by not rinsing off properly or the worst your tds has crept up. Or you have not eliminated soap residue.
Doors and door frames I tend to squeegy and wipe off respectfuly.
Dont get cought like I did when I did not check an old painted frame for chalky residue. the frame when washed whent ashen gray.....like I did when I reolized. It took ages to clean up as it kept leaching out of the frame.
I am sure the old geazers of wfp will have better ideas.
This works for me and I have had no spotting.........as yet.
Oh another thing which people forget to do. Make sure your brushes are kept clean. I did have an instence where particles were left on a con sliding door. I had just done a dirty frame previously.
how do you keep your brush clean when the sills are dirty and there is cobwebs etc ?