Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: daveappleby on May 14, 2008, 05:03:08 pm
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hi all,
i clean a first floor maisonette. i was doing it trad but now have moved over to wfp.
went to clean yesterday and ground floor resident was there and made comments to her hubby about the amount of water dripping onto their windows. now when i did them trad i asked if she would be interested in me cleaning hers but she said no as the hubby did them.
now, it is only the second time i have been to clean and i am already getting tuts and remarks. what do you lot do? blade them off? give them a "free" clean? just leave them?
cheers
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tell them it's only water and ask what they do if it rains?
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hi all,
i clean a first floor maisonette. i was doing it trad but now have moved over to wfp.
went to clean yesterday and ground floor resident was there and made comments to her hubby about the amount of water dripping onto their windows. now when i did them trad i asked if she would be interested in me cleaning hers but she said no as the hubby did them.
now, it is only the second time i have been to clean and i am already getting tuts and remarks. what do you lot do? blade them off? give them a "free" clean? just leave them?
cheers
With maisonettes/flats I either do ground floors only or I ask for the contact details of the management company so I can do the lot. i've never yet managed to get the lot :)
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hi all,
i clean a first floor maisonette. i was doing it trad but now have moved over to wfp.
went to clean yesterday and ground floor resident was there and made comments to her hubby about the amount of water dripping onto their windows. now when i did them trad i asked if she would be interested in me cleaning hers but she said no as the hubby did them.
now, it is only the second time i have been to clean and i am already getting tuts and remarks. what do you lot do? blade them off? give them a "free" clean? just leave them?
cheers
Take "free clean" out of the options is the first thing you do ;D ;D
Take "blade off " out of the options is the second thing you do ;D ;D
Would just ignore the tuts and remarks, we had one like it and after a few months she gave up coming out and moaning.
If it is a problem in the future I would speak to the custie upstairs and explain that due to the fact you have had complaints from downstairs you are no longer able to clean their windows. Replace this work with better and hassle free work :)
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Basically there`s nothing they can do except moan or worse case they may have ago at you then they will end up worse off,at the end of the day it`s only water not paint or a harmful liquid they can`t complain to the law because it ain`t vandalism,
so unless you are a softy then shrug your shoulders at them and get on with earning your money ;)
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hi all,
i clean a first floor maisonette. i was doing it trad but now have moved over to wfp.
went to clean yesterday and ground floor resident was there and made comments to her hubby about the amount of water dripping onto their windows. now when i did them trad i asked if she would be interested in me cleaning hers but she said no as the hubby did them.
now, it is only the second time i have been to clean and i am already getting tuts and remarks. what do you lot do? blade them off? give them a "free" clean? just leave them?
cheers
Take "free clean" out of the options is the first thing you do ;D ;D
Take "blade off " out of the options is the second thing you do ;D ;D
Would just ignore the tuts and remarks, we had one like it and after a few months she gave up coming out and moaning.
If it is a problem in the future I would speak to the custie upstairs and explain that due to the fact you have had complaints from downstairs you are no longer able to clean their windows. Replace this work with better and hassle free work :)
or you could always say that you are going to have to increase the price to include the downstairs trad cleaning, then say to these people downstairs you will do them free as upstairs is paying.
if not you could always walk away.
I have this myself at the mo, I just carry on cleaning the upstairs, if they have a problem with water on there glass downstairs they can either use me or someone else, put up with it, or move. I tend to have thick skin with these types of people.
Ian
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i think that if you are putting dirty water on the flat below then you should clean them for free.or do the tops trad or leave out completely.
you can not expect the flat below to put up with you making thier windows dirty.
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i think that if you are putting dirty water on the flat below then you should clean them for free.or do the tops trad or leave out completely.
you can not expect the flat below to put up with you making thier windows dirty.
Why should you risk your life going up a ladder ? the person in the flat above should be able to have there windows cleaned, if the person below is doing them thereself then the best solution is to clean them just after the guy has wfp the up stairs flat.
If it causes to much hassle just walk away as I said, or charge the upstairs more to include the downstairs.
Doing them free I dont think so.
Ian
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Why should you risk your life going up a ladder ?
Going up a ladder is not risking your life.
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useing a car has a risk involved but people dont say they are risking their lives useing a car.
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useing a car has a risk involved but people dont say they are risking their lives useing a car.
little bit different there m8 we was talking about ladders, this is pointless to be honest, ladders are a risk it's plain and simple.
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thanks everyone for all your comments. doing them for free was never an option, just a thought off the top of my head. i think i shall just carry on doing them wfp. its a pain otherwise as i would only need my ladder for this one custie and if they carry on with the moaning i shall walk as its a little out the way and isnt that well paid.
thanks again ;D
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I get fed up with people making ladders out to be a big risk, they are a risk but using a wfp also has its risks. Lets be honest one of the biggest incentives to use a wfp is money and not safety.
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I get fed up with people making ladders out to be a big risk, they are a risk but using a wfp also has its risks. Lets be honest one of the biggest incentives to use a wfp is money and not safety.
sry m8, my incentive was safety from a car crash I had, I had no other choice and this was because of the risk of falling even a meter would put me in bed for the rest of my life till my back healed, I am 31 have three kids and a wife that depend on me.
I understand you get fed up with wfp v trad argument, I have nothing against ladders but they are a risk thats all and one at the time I was not risking anymore. Money can be better, that depends on how good and quick you are at trad, I used to be very quick, so the change over cost me money. I am now able to get to places that a ladder cant and thats a bonus, knocking trad nope I did it for to long. Ladders a risk I still stand by that but not for the reasons I am guessing you think.
Ian
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im not fed up with wfp v trad i use both but statements like risk your life using a ladder is just not accurate. i understand your reason for using wfp fair enough. More people are injured in car accidents then are using ladders, i know more people use cars than ladders but when you look at the hse's case studys on falls from hights involving ladders they mostly involve people using power tools. Yes there are risks with ladders but they need to be looked realisticly.
Alot of people use safety as an excuses for wfp when if they were honest they would admit that they use wfp because it is quicker and easier and earns more money. also you can never be 100% sure that windows will dry with spots or runs.Just because a window has come up great many times before doesn't garentee it will next time you clean it. but we accept these things because it earns us more money and most customers are not picky and are generally please with the results.
lets be honest.
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Anyway it's not trad V's wfp.
I'd say you get the upstairs to have a word with the downstairs to explain they have every right to get their windows cleaned by whatever method their w/c uses.
If the downstairs are reasonable they'll accept it, if they're unreasonable and will have none of it then I suggest you walk away....
....life's too short for this kind of aggro!
F cleaning their windows for nowt!
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im not fed up with wfp v trad i use both but statements like risk your life using a ladder is just not accurate. i understand your reason for using wfp fair enough. More people are injured in car accidents then are using ladders, i know more people use cars than ladders but when you look at the hse's case studys on falls from hights involving ladders they mostly involve people using power tools. Yes there are risks with ladders but they need to be looked realisticly.
Alot of people use safety as an excuses for wfp when if they were honest they would admit that they use wfp because it is quicker and easier and earns more money. also you can never be 100% sure that windows will dry with spots or runs.Just because a window has come up great many times before doesn't garentee it will next time you clean it. but we accept these things because it earns us more money and most customers are not picky and are generally please with the results.
lets be honest.
I was being totally honest with what I said as I always and and straight to the point, and I do stand by what I said about the risk because it is true. May not happen but could and thats was my point, not that I hate ladders as I use them.
Ian
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I get fed up with people making ladders out to be a big risk, they are a risk but using a wfp also has its risks. Lets be honest one of the biggest incentives to use a wfp is money and not safety.
not for everyone matey ;D
safety was main reason i went wfp
few near misses was enough for me
must say tho that nearly all of em wer slips on roofs
rather than any problems with the ladder itself
money was a bonus :)
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got no probs with ladders at all but you are safer with your feet planted firmly
on the floor and by god its less effort!! ;D
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To get back to topic:
Clean the upstairs as normal. If the downstairs tenants complain, tell them to complain to the upstairs ones. You're just doing what they've asked you to, so it's up to them to sort out complaints.
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i think that if you are putting dirty water on the flat below then you should clean them for free.or do the tops trad or leave out completely.
you can not expect the flat below to put up with you making thier windows dirty.
Why should you risk your life going up a ladder ? the person in the flat above should be able to have there windows cleaned, if the person below is doing them thereself then the best solution is to clean them just after the guy has wfp the up stairs flat.
If it causes to much hassle just walk away as I said, or charge the upstairs more to include the downstairs.
Doing them free I dont think so.
Ian
Oh if only life was so simple ;) I do an upstairs only of a propery. She does the down herself. When I changed from trad to wfp she wasn't happy because I cleaned to ups and dripped on the downs the day after she had done the downs. Well, I go the same date every month, so why did she do the downs the day before she knew I was coming ??? She's on her last chance.
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I live in a flat 3rd floor, I cleaned our windows WFP and those of the the person below no problem. The person on the ground floor different story, they didn't want theirs done so they complained to the landlord. As a result the landlord wrote to me and their letter said if I used such methods to clean the windows again then I would be taken to court by them as it was an anti social act. Of course, I challenged this and said to them "You tell me how I can do them then?". There suggestion was that I could do them from the inside Not poss with the design!), So when that wasn't an option they turned round and said "Use ladders!". What a load of rubbish, "why should I endanger my life just to do my own windows?" I said to them what about if I was to fall using the ladder, did that mean that I could sue them as it was them that instructed me to use a less safe means. They went mad. They told me "we will find other means" to this date they still have not done a thing! I am also not allowed to do my OWN windows! The point is there is aways hassle in this type of thing. Unless you have the whole block then it usually isn't worth the hassle.
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sorry to hijack the thread i would just clean the upstairs but always be polite and you will probably get the downstairs eventually.
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If you're that concerned about splashing windows on ground floor flat, just blade off the windows in parallel strokes down the glass and don't bother detailing, 5 seconds a window, big deal, as you've moved the splashes off the glass or spend more time than that arguing with the tenant.
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Just tell them you'll let them know when you've done upstairs so hubby can do theirs the day after if thats not good enough then tough ;D
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You've offered your services. They weren't interested. What more can you do?
Just tell them you'll let them know when you've done upstairs so hubby can do theirs the day after if thats not good enough then tough ;D
That's about the gist of it. Be polite in case you get them as a customer, otherwise just ignore it and tell them your hands are tied.
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I would just do them anyway as normal. As a previous poster said, everyone has a right to have their windows cleaned and whatever method suits. With mine I just try to minimise how much water I use up above. And anyway they're getting a free clean! ;D
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I can see four scenarios:
1 - they accept the situation and complain to themselves - they lose/you win
2 - they complain about you loudly and often - they lose/you lose
3 - you clean them for free - they win/you lose
4 - they pay you to clean their windows as well - they win/you win.
Hows about asking them something like ...
"So what's the solution that's going to make you happy and me happy?"
or
"What would you like to happen?"
They may just talk themselves around to the win-win situation.
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i had exactly this last week with a downstairs flat, guy came out complaining so i was polite and said sorry ect but this guy just went on and on and on, i was getting into a debate AGAIN over wfp and in the end my politness and kind manner ended up with him thinking he had the upper hand and started to swear, at which point i put my pole down and again politely said that he wants to be carefull who hes talikng to as i was now about 2 inches away from his face, this seemed to work ;D
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i had exactly this last week with a downstairs flat, guy came out complaining so i was polite and said sorry ect but this guy just went on and on and on, i was getting into a debate AGAIN over wfp and in the end my politness and kind manner ended up with him thinking he had the upper hand and started to swear, at which point i put my pole down and again politely said that he wants to be carefull who hes talikng to as i was now about 2 inches away from his face, this seemed to work ;D
tad extreme but if it works hey.... na my prob is that its two old's who are either on benefits or retired? they are always "pottering" in the garden and seam to know what and who comes and goes. they just have nothing better to do but give a good moan when they see a chance
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::) I really cant see what all the fuss is about!
First clean may produce a tad of dirty water but...
there after monthly I can't see that much dirty water coming down!
If they have refused your offer, be polite and smile...ignore...headphones work a treat even if your not listening to anything ;D
Just to add Ladders...unsafe!
Insurance premiums confirm this to be the case!
"Quote" insurance broker... "More w/c fall of ladders than anyone else" ::)