Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: wcs. on June 19, 2008, 07:37:12 pm
-
?
-
I bought it simply because I thought I would make more money. Safety wasn't a consideration for me. I'd been working 13 years without a fall or accident. Perhaps one was round the corner though, who knows.
-
If i wanted to massage ego`s on here i would say that it`s because it`s safer and it does a lovely job on the frames lol,if i was telling you the truth i would say it`s because i earn loads more money and i don`t get tired to much anymore.99.9% of people go WFP for the money the other .1% is lying.
-
i would say because its faster so more money also i am getting older and wiser now and have family so i would now say safety as well i would be no good to my family in a wheel chair if worst come to the worst ;)
-
I bought it simply because I thought I would make more money. Safety wasn't a consideration for me. I'd been working 13 years without a fall or accident. Perhaps one was round the corner though, who knows.
Same here, and also because it's less tiring.
Also I was off for 5 weeks with repetitive strain in my shoulder from scrubbing and squeegeeing.
That's when I knew I had to change things.
-
If i wanted to massage ego`s on here i would say that it`s because it`s safer and it does a lovely job on the frames lol,if i was telling you the truth i would say it`s because i earn loads more money and i don`t get tired to much anymore.99.9% of people go WFP for the money the other .1% is lying.
lol at the 1%
I was near on forced to change direction quicker than I wanted to so I changed for Safety first I did not go diy as again Safety was my issue I have a family to support and a car crash made me think very hard and fast, was a good move for sure.
Thats being totally honest I was looking into it and hearing horror stories before I crashed, I have to also thank a guy for speaking to me about it then going to my customer after I cleaned there windows and took the job off me (nice guy stabbed me in the back) as I did not have wfp so could not do the 2nd floor windows, I thank him and will remember it always.
Ian
-
safty furst & formost SAFTY , it wosent till i sarted wfp that i fond it wos qicker
-
I bought WFP mainly because of my health.
-
If i wanted to massage ego`s on here i would say that it`s because it`s safer and it does a lovely job on the frames lol,if i was telling you the truth i would say it`s because i earn loads more money and i don`t get tired to much anymore.99.9% of people go WFP for the money the other .1% is lying.
lol at the 1%
I was near on forced to change direction quicker than I wanted to so I changed for Safety first I did not go diy as again Safety was my issue I have a family to support and a car crash made me think very hard and fast, was a good move for sure.
Thats being totally honest I was looking into it and hearing horror stories before I crashed, I have to also thank a guy for speaking to me about it then going to my customer after I cleaned there windows and took the job off me (nice guy stabbed me in the back) as I did not have wfp so could not do the 2nd floor windows, I thank him and will remember it always.
Ian
Good reason Ian, increase margins by delivering a better service.
The guy who took the job of you!
That was not the reason but it did help I hate being turned over by people I have OCD on this
-
i fell off a ladder twice, first time hurt, second time shook me up so the next day i went wfp.
i tell all my customers this, i dont lie and say you cant use ladders and they respect that
if i have to use a ladder i do, but only when or if i need to otherwise its wfp
for me wfp does a great job, and most of all its fast and safe...and yes i earn more money from it...but it also costs me a heck of a lot!
-
[quote
i tell all my customers this, i dont lie and say you cant use ladders and they respect that.
if i have to use a ladder i do, but only when or if i need to otherwise its wfp
Exactly, part of the explanation we give customers " window cleaners can use ladders, but only as a last resort when all other options have been investigated and exhausted" They accept this and come on the books...They don't accept this and it can be done WFP they don't come on the books..easy :)
Purpose we changed over....to work more safely than before, let's be honest the outlay on WFP is worth it to reduce as much as possible the risk of a fatal or near fatal fall. We have staff and I certainly don't want to be the one who has to break bad news to nearest and dearest. Once we were up and running with WFP we found it is quicker on SOME work not all, so yes we have made more money on SOME work, but defo not the reason to convert :)
-
Health reason for me mainly already had an operation on my back and will always have problems with it.
If i stayed on ladders i doubt i would be able to continue many more years.
Wfp has made it so much easier on my back for me.
-
To be honest , I am thinking of wfp because of all the hype ! I earn a really good whack from trad , and I love it ;) I dont want to sound negative here , but everyone I know who has had wfp as a customer didnt like it ! ( frieinds and family ) I want to modernise and keep up with the times , and all that , but the positive comments on here just dont match up with the real life people I have talked to :-\ I mostly do semis , so maybe wfp is better on bigger properties ? Just to add , all my work I dont have to extend my ladder more than a couple of rungs ;D
-
Honestly sjm, I wouldn't listen to the hype on here. People just talk about the positive of wfp in the main. If you enjoy trad, are fit, and are making good money, stick at it. Starting wfp is a huge hassal. I'm not making any more money 2 years into wfp than I was before. I did used to run all day with ladders, but it kept me awake and buzzing ;D I found the job kept me healthier back then also. Just don't fall off ;)
-
Starting wfp is a huge hassal. I'm not making any more money 2 years into wfp than I was before
Seriously? Don't you find its any faster at all?
-
Starting wfp is a huge hassal. I'm not making any more money 2 years into wfp than I was before
Seriously? Don't you find its any faster at all?
Yes, faster on some jobs. But the costs are more, so net profit pretty equal.
Not boasting, but I was pretty damn quick trad.
-
Starting wfp is a huge hassal. I'm not making any more money 2 years into wfp than I was before
Seriously? Don't you find its any faster at all?
dont often agree with you tennet :P but ill have to say i agree there, in 2 years with wfp my buisness booming! after 3 years of trad before slowly turning over the customers, now im gaining at least 3 a day yet still getting through them (although i am struggling now with 2 of us going out, hence 2 vans on the road plans :D)
-
Starting wfp is a huge hassal. I'm not making any more money 2 years into wfp than I was before
Seriously? Don't you find its any faster at all?
dont often agree with you tennet :P but ill have to say i agree there, in 2 years with wfp my buisness booming! after 3 years of trad before slowly turning over the customers, now im gaining at least 3 a day yet still getting through them (although i am struggling now with 2 of us going out, hence 2 vans on the road plans :D)
Lwc , dont you think that if you were trad you would be getting the same enquiries ? All I am saying is that you are doing well because you are a positive person ! ;D
-
Bare in mind I do a fair few shops, petrol stations, pubs. Not getting any gain from wfp there at all. Getting a gain on the domestic work, extra 2 houses a day on average I reckon. As I say, profit pretty even.
I started trad at 17 finished at 30, doing wfp for the last 2 years. So I was very experienced and still young enough to be quick all day.
I find, if given the choice, domestic customers in the main perfer trad. I'm bursting with work, so they get what their given ;D
-
Starting wfp is a huge hassal. I'm not making any more money 2 years into wfp than I was before
Seriously? Don't you find its any faster at all?
dont often agree with you tennet :P but ill have to say i agree there, in 2 years with wfp my buisness booming! after 3 years of trad before slowly turning over the customers, now im gaining at least 3 a day yet still getting through them (although i am struggling now with 2 of us going out, hence 2 vans on the road plans :D)
Lwc , dont you think that if you were trad you would be getting the same enquiries ? All I am saying is that you are doing well because you are a positive person ! ;D
I believe when you go wfp you tend to take your trade more seriously - perhaps due to the investment? From my experience domestic customers prefer trad over wfp if given the choice.
-
i went wfp because i am worried sick, not of falling but falling and not being able to pay my bills (i have a family) and the insurances not paying out due to HAS.. also im 31 and been wc for about 11 years and clean windows (trad) at a silly fast pace and was wondering just how long i could keep it up for beofre my knees give in...
-
my customers love wfp or could it be the fact that they love me dave the smart reliable & trustworthy window cleaner ;D ;D
-
I went WFP because if I didn't I would have got out of window cleaning altogether.
My knees were shot, I was getting older (48 at the time, 52 now) and didn't want to be humping 35ft 3 tier ladders about when I was 68 let alone 48 :-\
It re-invigorated my enthusiasm for the job and my earning have soared, anyone who says WFP isn't miles quicker than trad is doing something wrong! In almost every case (and I do regular time and motion studies) I am faster with WFP.
Getting it right isn't as easy as getting it right with trad but for the majority of the time the work I do is first rate.
Just recently I have had someone alongside me a day or so a week and have been training them up to use WFP, and I am constantly having to either re-do or pick up on mistakes, make no mistake, there most certainly is a learning curve to using WFP, at the moment I rarely trust this person to do upstairs windows, and won't until I am absolutely sure they have developed the 'window cleaners eye'.
Oh, and I am no slouch with trad tools by the way.
The money I can earn with this method is now a massive incentive, safety? pah! When I changed I gave no real thought to it...but now?
The realization of how much safer it is is most certainly a major consideration, until you come 'off' ladders you don't realise just how dangerous they really are, you become blazé and you don't realise the risks you take, and boy, did I take some risks!
But if yo uwant to make money with WFP, you have to be switched on or learn very fast indeed.
Ian
-
Yes Ian, you just about covered everything there and I agree with every word.
My Dad used to say " If you want to find the easiest way to do a job give it to the laziest man"
I am the laziest man
-
started window cleaning wfp after being made redundant.would never of been able to do it off ladders.