Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: geefree on February 05, 2008, 09:06:09 pm
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In a shop today looking for a hose connector, trying to explain what i needed to a very polite assistant, who asked a colleague if he knew what i was asking for...
colleague asked me what exactly do i need it for, i said window cleaning,
before i got any further re;wfp..... he curled his lip up and said " hah " with a smile and a dirty look and then turned his back on me and walked off,
i waited ten seconds or so, hoping he would get or head towards the part i was looking for,
but he had done with me, i called him and said so you have the part or not, he said "no,"
i said " dont sneer at me mate because i clean windows, i work for me not some tin pot store paying £5 per hour, he said he didnt mean anything, so i asked him why he walked off blah blah blah.........
in the end he was very aware he may lose his job as the manager was nearby.
I Felt kind of small as i walked out of the shop, i thought to myself, i am really proud that i am building something of my own, but because its w/c... people still have this thing about them that they are the lowest....
Also not long ago, i heard someone else sneer at a logo on a guys top "wheelie bin cleaners"... like he was a piece of dirt.
having second thoughts about a logo now too,
i know i should be proud and more thick skinned but some people are simply horrible . ::)
weekly moan over ;)
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In a shop today looking for a hose connector, trying to explain what i needed to a very polite assistant, who asked a colleague if he knew what i was asking for...
colleague asked me what exactly do i need it for, i said window cleaning,
before i got any further re;wfp..... he curled his lip up and said " hah " with a smile and a dirty look and then turned his back on me and walked off,
i waited ten seconds or so, hoping he would get or head towards the part i was looking for,
but he had done with me, i called him and said so you have the part or not, he said "no,"
i said " dont sneer at me mate because i clean windows, i work for me not some tin pot store paying £5 per hour, he said he didnt mean anything, so i asked him why he walked off blah blah blah.........
in the end he was very aware he may lose his job as the manager was nearby.
I Felt kind of small as i walked out of the shop, i thought to myself, i am really proud that i am building something of my own, but because its w/c... people still have this thing about them that they are the lowest....
Also not long ago, i heard someone else sneer at a logo on a guys top "wheelie bin cleaners"... like he was a piece of dirt.
having second thoughts about a logo now too,
i know i should be proud and more thick skinned but some people are simply horrible . ::)
weekly moan over ;)
I love people that do that dig at me, makes me laugh, I walk away smiling, £5 they get whos the mug, let them look down at you, but being rude I would have reported them and also caused a scene at the same time, I do not deal with people being rude to me in person very well.
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me neither i stopped short of reporting as i had an idea he was in trouble, but he copped a gobful of me.!
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me neither i stopped short of reporting as i had an idea he was in trouble, but he copped a gobful of me.!
good on you, and keep ya head up high, we are the elite they just don't know it ;)
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me neither i stopped short of reporting as i had an idea he was in trouble, but he copped a gobful of me.!
Just sneer at him when you see him doing his shopping at Aldi`s,wave your M&S bag at him ;D ;D ;D ;D lol.
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what a complete prat. good for you getting him told.
I'd have swung for him probly, your way is better
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I dont care what people think of my job i know what i earn and its a good wage they are the ones in dead end jobs with poor pay and work long hours for someone else i enjoy the freedom of it and that is more precious to me than the thoughts of someone i dont know
Dean
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I've been doing it for a year now, and it was one of the hardest things for me to deal with. If i bumped into ex workmates and told them my job you could see their reaction straight away and it really upset me. I'm starting to learn to ignore it now especially when i get some good comments from some customers who really appreciate your work. Still get the odd customers who treat you like dirt but at the end of the day you work when and where you want with some decent earnings too.
It helps coming on here and finding some intelligent normal people doing the same thing with the same problems.
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only ever time someone has really been happy that I was a window cleaner and I got repect for it was in a pub in Lancaster, the guy was not a window cleaner but he new his stuff about it, shook my hand and said that is business sence.
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I've been doing it for a year now, and it was one of the hardest things for me to deal with. If i bumped into ex workmates and told them my job you could see their reaction straight away and it really upset me. I'm starting to learn to ignore it now especially when i get some good comments from some customers who really appreciate your work. Still get the odd customers who treat you like dirt but at the end of the day you work when and where you want with some decent earnings too.
It helps coming on here and finding some intelligent normal people doing the same thing with the same problems.
i agree totally,
i still find it little disheartening, that people cant see past w/c bit... instead of thinking he is working for himself etc building something....
i have a friend who started her own cleaning business after working for others for pittance....
she is doing really well, and everyone thinks she is wonderful, and rightly so.. she is cleaning though.. same as us. yet she gets the respect. lol,
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Good looking?
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Good looking?
me ? yes .. her ? no
lol
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Snide remarks about window-cleaners ?? ;D ;D you should speak to my Mum, my Dad and her brother were both Chemists, shes a snob and senile, I dont stand a chance ;D
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If perceptions of window cleaning were more favourable, we'd have a lot of competition and in time lower prices, so thank goodness some people look down on us. Always look at the positive side of negative thoughts. W'c's need a thick skin to thrive in the job.
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If perceptions of window cleaning were more favourable, we'd have a lot of competition and in time lower prices, so thank goodness some people look down on us. Always look at the positive side of negative thoughts. W'c's need a thick skin to thrive in the job.
brilliant advice.
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nice decent people don't look down on us. People who do, are not worth considering. Sod them. Plenty of nice people in this world.
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Never look down on somebody unless your helping them up.
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I just laugh at them. Thankfully6 they dont know what I know. There are always going to be people like that so I tend to ignore them because they are simply not worth the steam off my p***!
When people ask about things and in conversation I always make a joke and say something like "when I had a proper job" This usually6 gets a bit of a smile or alaugh. So I find it better to deal with humor or you end up as Mr Mad allday!
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Tell them your hoping to get a better job soon, and that you have applied for a job as a Bin Man, that should impress them! ;D Who cares what people think, I hope window cleaning is never considered a respectable job, as then everyone will want to do it!!! ;)
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I have never had any snide marks.
I have had a few bouts of being embarrassed but that was only my own perception of how i thought others would percieve me.
I am over it now, it was mostly paranoia on my behalf.
I am now at that stage where i couldnt care less what people think, mind you i do get ribbed locally as the "millionare window cleaner" even though i am not, but i dont mind that label lol.
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I've been doing this job 14 years and believe me its got a lot better. I never seem to get the remarks or if I do then i'm to thick skinned. But when I started it was known to be a low paid end of the line job.
Boy have things changed.
Steve
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Its not the remarks, its the face they pull when you tell them, it drops and then they try to rescue it and smile.
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Then they shuffle their feet, and stare at their shoes
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I 've had a few comments over the years about what job I do and when I see people out in the street I like nothing better then to pull over in my nice car and say Hello would you like a lift, 9/10 they say no it's OK...
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I had a chap trying to bellittle my job when I saww him in a pub, not long after I started w/c. He was taking the p155 cos I had been to clean his mums windows, normal rubbish blah blah blah.
When I saw him stacking shelves at the local Tescos the next day he was not quite so vocal.
I met up with an old mate I had not seen for ages the other week and he thought it was funny that I was a poor little, skilless window cleaner. As it turned out he was a factory worker who earned about half what I do and he does 12 hour shifts too, he was quite put out when I told him the hours I work too.
Running your own business is not something to feel embarressed about. Just laugh at them gazza
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If it bothers you, don't tell them you're a window cleaner - tell them "I have a window cleaning business"
:D
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If it bothers you, don't tell them you're a window cleaner - tell them "I have a window cleaning business"
:D
then they say so your'e are a window cleaner then.
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tell them you are a transparant wall space engineer
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Or an illumination technician ;D
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tell them you are a transparant wall space engineer
lol i like it
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I'm a tiler, wall and floors etc, was on a site one day and the painter said to me i should get a proper job and anybody can tile. He was a right Pratt he kept on all the time, i had an old van which was just right for tiling, anyway while we where having lunch the plumber came onto site and said to me that the gas boilers in the five properties that i own needed servicing...The painter nearly choked on his tea ;D Guess who wants to paint my houses now. I hate people looking down on what you do its only jealousy as they hate people getting on in life.
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so are you also a part time window cleaner sherco ???
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No I'm just getting into hard floor and carpet cleaning to run along side my tiling business. My ex girlfriend's dad was a dustman and was made redundant 20 years ago and set up a window cleaning round i saw him the other day he had sold his round bought a bungalow on the coast paid his mortgage off..He is 55 and said he has enough money to live, best thing he ever did was window cleaning
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No I'm just getting into hard floor and carpet cleaning to run along side my tiling business. My ex girlfriend's dad was a dustman and was made redundant 20 years ago and set up a window cleaning round i saw him the other day he had sold his round bought a bungalow on the coast paid his mortgage off..He is 55 and said he has enough money to live, best thing he ever did was window cleaning
oh,
i was simply wondering how you ended up posting on a w/c site...thats all
good post though about the painter... i would have told him where to go. lol
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Tell them your hoping to get a better job soon, and that you have applied for a job as a Bin Man, that should impress them! ;D Who cares what people think, I hope window cleaning is never considered a respectable job, as then everyone will want to do it!!! ;)
oh mi god i actually AGREE with him :o :o :o i think i may need to go and scrub my self clean
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I'm a tiler, wall and floors etc, was on a site one day and the painter said to me i should get a proper job and anybody can tile. He was a right Pratt he kept on all the time, i had an old van which was just right for tiling, anyway while we where having lunch the plumber came onto site and said to me that the gas boilers in the five properties that i own needed servicing...The painter nearly choked on his tea ;D Guess who wants to paint my houses now. I hate people looking down on what you do its only jealousy as they hate people getting on in life.
priceless ;D ;D ;D ;D
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;D in 2006 I was lucky to go to tampa bay Florida,with Kim and Aggee how clean is your house,to make a TV commercial with them,was out there for 6 days great! ;D while having drinks with there manager debs talking about who she has on her books like charlie dimmock Tommy walsh etc blah blah,talking about some of my ideas, out comes from her your only a window cleaner,my reply who the hell do fink you are and who you look after,I slaged her down,even the people I get to meet mix with,I will not take from any one,you are only a window cleaner,
so guys I am right behind you!so if you ever thought I was stuck up fink again please ;D you have just to talk to me and find out,
I hope to see you at windex but my dad is dieing he could go any day the longer this goes on windex may not be possible for me.I wait each day to what it may bring....
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Sorry to hear about your father, Terry - thoughts and prayers for you. Hope things don't drag on too long for all your sakes, especially for your Dad.
Back to topic:-
One of my customers is a very successful businessman and is Irish - he said one thing that sometimes gives him an edge in business is that thick people assume the Irish are thick ....
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Had one today doing a builders clean at a school and the safety officer saw me put my steps against a wall while i dipped my applicator came over and said dont do that if you mark the wall i will have to call the painter back and charge you for it and with what you will be getting paid im sure you dont want to pay for that i just turned away and smiled to myself and mumbled "little Hitler"
Every time i saw him i had a little chuckle to myself and thought if only you knew
;D
Dean
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Had one today doing a builders clean at a school and the safety officer saw me put my steps against a wall while i dipped my applicator came over and said dont do that if you mark the wall i will have to call the painter back and charge you for it and with what you will be getting paid im sure you dont want to pay for that i just turned away and smiled to myself and mumbled "little Hitler"
Every time i saw him i had a little chuckle to myself and thought if only you knew
;D
Dean
tape some pipe lagging over the top, saves hassle ;)
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The women in the bank don`t look at me like S*** when i walk in lol. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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At least we have the nounce to get up and do some thing for ourselves.
We run a business. We can pick our hours....within reason.
We can do as much or as little as we like.....subject to finances.
We dont have to listen to a boss telling us what to do and how to do it every 5 mins.
We run a customer service which people need/want.
I can walk out of my door in the morning and feel very free. Not burdened.
Dont let anyone put you down. It is not worth it.
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I think the perception issue will be with us as long as weve got the unshaven, tracksuit, filthy trainers, 1 inch of filthy putrid water in the bottom of a poundstrecher bucket, fAg hanging out of mouth brigade giving us a bad name ;)
ps, make sure you breathe when reading the above. ;D