Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Moderator David@stives on October 02, 2008, 06:53:02 pm
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My lads got sacked off a £17.50 house today for being too quick, apparantly a neighbour said they were only there 5 mins.
Her windows were clean so no complaints there.
Do you think wfp has become too quick and people expect to pay less ?
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My lads got sacked off a £17.50 house today for being too quick, apparantly a neighbour said they were only there 5 mins.
Her windows were clean so no complaints there.
Do you think wfp has become too quick and people expect to pay less ?
Have had a few people say we have done them very quick, all I say is if there are any problems at all I will redo the house, we have to be quicker as are expenses have gone up and have kept your price the same.............oh and we clean your frames aswell now.
Seems to work a treat
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tough tittie really!
if they say anything i just mention how many thousands of pounds it cost me for us to be so quick! :D
its the competition you've probably got to be more worried about ;)
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a woman flow out of her dorma bungalow,christ that was quick she said,other fella took ages,she didnt like the water on windows leaded,can you do it other way scrim,ok but it will cost more,why because it will take longer,ok then,she will pay more crazy,the result will be the same but longer
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i would have told her to get lost.
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I am not worried about the competition, just my reputation.
The neighbour said its disgusting what we charge her and dont think you will be doing them again.
This house is a dormer with a 3 storey window at the front and and 14 other large windows.
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What the hell has it got to do with the neighbour ???
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I am not worried about the competition, just my reputation.
The neighbour said its disgusting what we charge her and dont think you will be doing them again.
This house is a dormer with a 3 storey window at the front and and 14 other large windows.
if you had trackers on your vans dave you'd know how long they would of been there ;)
that sounds un realistic for that amount of cleaning in 5 minutes
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The neighbour is one of those nosey types, I suppose he is just looking out for her as she is a single pensioner.
We have been doing the same house for 5 years, I spoke to the women and assured her of being insured and police checked and we were vat registered and it costs a fortune to produce the water, and 5 mins was probably a little stretch of the truth.
So that I didnt intimidate or pressurise her at the door, i said i would take her off the list and that she should phone me if she should require my services again.
Steve cm
There was 2 of my guys and they had to drive into a cul de sac just to clean hers, did you tell me about the trackers last time ?
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yes it was me
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Steve
Can you send me details again as that last link never worked
Thanks
Dave
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just go onto ebay and search 'real time tracker' they cost about £330 its the only ones on there. best piece of mind you'll buy fella!! ;)
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i must admit i do tend to take a bit longer on the customers houses, who are at home.
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if you have trouble finding them dave, search this auction number
190241165016
thats what i have fitted on my vans
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cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vehicle-Tracking-A-Real-Time-GPS-Satellite-Tracker_W0QQitemZ190241166262QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190241166262&_trkparms=72:1301|39:2|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
item number 190241166262
Is this the one
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I see it is
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you can print out reports each day, see what mileage has been done, see how long they were at each job. plus you can log on and see where they are in real time. It is good for not much cash!!
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OMG you two watch Big Brother too do ya?
Thames Water fitted these on the premis it was for H&S, problem is it was abusied by the Merchant Bankers
Where has the trust gone huh?
lol
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Dave
Have you asked your lads how long the job took?
Where I live £15-20 per hour is the absolute max that Mrs Public would pay to have her windows cleaned.
(There might be a small number of rich people that might pay more for the peace of mind of getting an excellent job, done by someone they liked and trusted.)
15 windows in 5 minutes is 3 windows per minute.
My own house has 10 large windows and it takes me 15 minutes. It takes me 15 minutes because I want the windows perfect. I clean everyone else’s windows the same way. Because I do theirs less often than my own, theirs probably take me longer.
You’ve been doing the job a lot longer than me and , judging by your success/growth, have obviously been doing it right for most of the time.
Although I would expect most experienced cleaners to do the job faster than me (I'm older and slow and too conscientious), there must be a limit to how fast a window can be cleaned (properly). I suspect that some cleaners are exceeding that limit in their efforts to make even more money!
Once you employ other people to do your work for you – you’re going to get let down from time to time. You just have to accept that.
Mike
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i woodent work for any body who kept tabs on my integry
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then i wouldn't employ you! ;)
how many people on here say that employing doesn't work for them?
you need to have systems in place in order for it to work
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i have had 2 customers recently phone me claiming lads were too quick but on both occasions i was near enough to visit on same day. i just knocked the door and asked them if they could show me the reason they said too quick one said well i put the kettle on and they had gone by the time it had boiled, ok but are the windows clean. the customer tried hard to find fault but was left with egg on there face as the windows were really good, i didn't say anything but left her with the feeling of embarassment hasn't complained since. second one yesterday phoned me they can't have called as no sign of cleaning i was 5 minutes away so said i would be there straight away, this customer hadn't even gone outside to check. she said they look smudged from inside her windows were dirty inside. went out with her to look, once again faultless.
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continued
i think it is just the nature of some customers, they usually have never run a business and think what they pay you is all for you. and have no ideas of costs involved in providing a service. the only answer is to pity them and treat them in a professional way like the professional businessmen we are.
keep your chin up and remember we live in the real world. its tough out there. :-\
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Dave,
I had soneone come over to me this week and said they would like me to clean there windows,
They were watching me from over the road, and I have taken over 30min to clean this house.
She has a window cleaner that just takes 10mins,
She also said they all watch you,
I think it is a bit of a mind game, if I finish to quack I do something in the van or just wipe down more
Gazza
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iv had this too quick thing in the past,since i went wfp ??? i asked them if the windows were clean? yes came the reply!
some people just dont like the fact that a wc can earn xxx amount an hr, as its a job that is in the category of low pay in peoples perceptions ;)
i dont mind realy i can use this perception to my advantage ;D
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then i wouldn't employ you! ;)
how many people on here say that employing doesn't work for them?
you need to have systems in place in order for it to work
Works fine for me most of the time
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then i wouldn't employ you! ;)
how many people on here say that employing doesn't work for them?
you need to have systems in place in order for it to work
Works fine for me most of the time
what does? having systems?
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Dave, 5 minutes is the most flexible time frame, it's become synonymous with not a very long time.
when you are getting ready to go out, and your misses Say's I'll be ready in 5 mins, your tearing your hair out at the front door 15 mins later.
I bet your lads were there for longer than the actual 5 mins.
I took me all day once to fill a large skip with soil, a guy with a digger would have it filled in 5 mins.
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;D I get sacked every day! ;D :o ::)
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I clean one small house every month, takes no more than 5 mins max and the custie says to me everytime "you've missed the 1st window around the corner upstairs", (I haven't at all and inform him), "I'm very careful to never miss any windows", he then replies "well how come the window is bone dry and all the others are still wet"? I reply, "if you wait a few more minutes, they'll all be dry". There's no pleasing some people. ;D
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I've heard of 'cushy' jobs but - 'one small house every month' - THAT is easy!
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When I still lived on the continent, I once heard inspector frost say, there is a pair of eyes behind each curtain. Came to the UK, and boy how true that is, I've had this a number of times. I really do not care at all.
Couple of builders told my customer I was there for 20min. I was there for over 2hrs. Wanted to go back and sort them out to be honest. Jealousy, that's what it is.
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I've heard of 'cushy' jobs but - 'one small house every month' - THAT is easy!
It's getting a bit too hectic for me now with the shorter, winter months drawing in and I was thinking of possibly selling it but only if I could get ten times it's value ;D
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Me and the missus always used to work together on a property trad, but now we work separately wfp, so we can go twice as fast with no perceived increase in speed. I was asked twice today if wfp is faster, my reply, "some places yes others no, you might see me and think it's faster but there is a lot of other stuff that takes up time like reeling out e.c.t. Oh and you get clean frames."
Simon.
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Where I know a custie is in who really moans if I'm too quick, what I do is go back to the van and kill 5-10mins by having a bite to eat and a cuppa, then I reel my hose in before I knock on the door for the money (whilst grumbling to myself outloud about the sodding pump,etc) so the custie thinks the job took longer. ;D
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Hi Mke. Perhaps its us that should be sacking off the people that dont pay all that well and just go looking for those rich people you were talking about. See you around Mike. I like the idea of sitting in the van as one guy mentioned to make the job take longer. Regards Tony
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If I feel I'm being perceived as too quick by a custy the first thing I do is, with brush in hand knock the door so that when they open it they can see I've started. Then after I put everything away except a towel.
I go back and knock for payment (unless they've paid already and if they faff about getting the dosh or writing a cheque I'll wipe the nearby window cills or door frame to "finish off".
On one detached easy property I charge £25 and it takes me twenty minutes if I work briskly and they're not home. If they're home then at the twenty minute point I knock for payment and say I'll just wipe off the bottom cills while you write the cheque. It takes another minute or two to do that and I think it shows conscientiousness (albeit unnecessary for the quality of the job.)
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I used to do hundreds of little terrace houses, I had almost all the houses in the street and there were five long streets near the centre of town. I did them all trad (going back many years). The trick was to go all the way along the tops, then come back doing all the bottoms, then go along again knocking on the doors. The custies had absolutely no idea how long I'd spent on each house. Neither did I ;D
Since going WFP, I've given up these sort of jobs as there's always a problem with parking and 100m of hose along the road is asking for trouble. I've got one area left where I can do about 30-40 modern two bed terraces front and back without moving the van - I still use the "all tops first" method, and I can exceed my usual hourly rate while still only charging £6 per house and no-one ever complains ;D
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well thats ok steevy CM , but i still woodent work with a traker in van , if an employee is takeing the pee it dusent take long to coten on
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your buisness is your investment so protect it as much as you can. If someone doesn't want to work under my rules for 23k a year then they can go work in a factory and pack burgers! ;) the good ones get rewarded and don't slack off so they have nothing to hide from by having a tracker! the slackers and chancers try it on so the weak bosses get crushed. i ain't, won't and don't!!
comprende?? ;D ;D
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I've had the "Gosh, you were quick!" thing loads of times....going back 25 years when I was trad!!
I remember ripping around a dormer bungalow property in 15 minutes (she timed me) and when I knocked on the door asking for my £3.75 she also exclaimed, "do you always earn £15.00 an hour? I think that's disgusting!"
At the time I really didn't know how to answer her, and as the years passed I was always a bit flummoxed as to how to reply without appearing rude :-\
Most of the time of course it is just their interpretation of how long it took and not how long it 'really' took.
Now I just go along the route others have mentioned on here, higher running costs, high investment and so on, or say thank you for noticing and tell them it has taken me years to get that fast! ;D
I will also tell them my prices are competitive and my work is top notch...seems to work for me anyway ;)
Ian
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I remember when i first started w/c I used to just fill a bucket and sling my ladders on the van and away i went cleaning windows. Now I have to make pure water, check tds readings fill the van, check filters ,etc etc . It all takes time and they dont see that, they also dont see the amount of time that window cleaners spend on forums like this ;D ;D ;D, so" bugger em" .
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I've had this "too quick" thing sometimes too. A couple of times when they've said "that was quick", I've replied with "Yes. I'm getting pretty good at this".
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We are dealing with the great British public here and you are going to get all kinds of problems over a period of time because thats what people are like.
I never worry too much because I expect to find a few who simply don't like me or the way I work. Its life. It takes all sorts to make a world.