Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: bad trippy on September 04, 2009, 12:36:00 pm
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went out for a couple of hours last night canvassing, have been canvassing on off for last 6 months and its always the same response from potential custys "what method do you use" "We dont like the pole" This is a reoccurring sound i hear almost every time i go out canvassing, its not just in one area its wide spread so we cant blame one poor poler.
Im not having a pop at wfp at all as many of you know i use a backpack and trolley on dangereous windows and find wfp easy to use.
So whats going on folks why are so many people disliking wfp?
I have to admit ive taken loads of work from wfp guys (not undercutting)
please discuss
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Window Cleaners thinking they can "splash and dash".
Customers thinking that the cleaner is "too quick" therefore they cant do a good job.
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its the windows being left wet they dont like. customers want instant results not wet windows
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i will tell you why it is unpopular, becouse the trad guy that has a big round is defending it, he knows we are coming into his area at some point, dont think for one minute he is not bad mouthing wfp to all his custy, called brain washing, hes bringing it way down, saying it scratches, and they only use water, not mentioning pure water, and every thing else he can think of, would you not do this, by the time you get there, you basicly dont have a leg to stand on, especialy with oaps,
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its the windows being left wet they dont like. customers want instant results not wet windows
Not all customers don't like it, and i think alot of it is down to the window cleaner, ie how he explains it, and how they clean. If you explain the benefits for both the customer and yourself, i find i don't get any problems at all. I have picked up quite a bit of work from other window cleaners using both methods. I recently bought a traditional round and have converted them all to wfp, and not lost one customer, and i am in the process of purchasing another traditional round that i hope will work out fine as well.
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i personally believe that you can give a more setailed clean of better quality using traditional methods - The customer also sees it this way
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it depens on the user, i do four housing estates that have trad only cleaners on and i still do the majority......cant be that bad
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Only advantage i see is the 3 storeys
Did you have any interest in the rollingmill estate ronnie ?
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i personally believe that you can give a more setailed clean of better quality using traditional methods - The customer also sees it this way
when you wfp any window and frames , theres nothing left to detail, you cant get better than that ::)
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offers but not willing to budge on price so ill keep
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We clean the windows whipe the frames done just as quick with little overheads - You just have to be fit to keep the pace all day - If i had Wfp id cut back on wages and appeal more on commercial work but i see Wfp a bigger advantage commercially than anything - Its your preference
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there is no way that trad is as fast as wfp ::) if you are doin the frames as well ???
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i get a lot of new customers bad mouthing wfp, i normally say its down to the user not the system as i am 100 percent traditional but am going wfp v soon,
however some people are just a bit funny dont like the water everywhere etc
what i dont understand is why some wfp users will pole a bungelow or the whole house when they could do the the downstairs trad and keep the customer, imo its lazyness, thinkin they can splash water everywhere at 100mph then dash off no wonder customers are cancelling
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I think that the major problem with wfp is that customers see a pole being waggled around for a few minutes and then the window cleaner is off and onto the next job leaving a bill for the equivalent of £100ph.
Customers like to see graft and risk taking for their hard earned money ;)
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well im sitting here witnessing a wfp company soaping the windows 1st then going round and wfp them this is after major work??? this is after scaffolding coming down due to council repairing roofs on houses, guess whose house should be on the list next ;D
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yeh im finding the same, im finding alot of people not liking wfp especially the old people they dont like it one bit, im not complaining, it just means im picking more work up. im finding alot of them saying about wfp is that they dont clean the top frames properly and they dont like them leaving the windows wet.
paul
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I was talking to a cleaner near me who did the same chaps windows for years.He used wfp and the customer was always happy with the results but he was always at work when they were done so didn't know the method used.When he finally saw that they were being done wfp he told this wcer he didn't want them done anymore.Despite his protests that this was the way they had been done for years.Ridiculous.
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I think most of the complaints will be down to ignorance and not knowing how they work. If you have a poor window cleaner then he will be poor what ever method he uses.
Point out that it's a lot safer with a pole and the result are better. But at the end of the day if the customer is not happy then that is there call as to carry on using a wfp cleaner or a trad cleaner. But in a few years time there will be less and less trad cleaners out there
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I personally think that most windows cleaners with full rounds and using wfp could not care less to be honest...3 years on...I am almost full and I now decline work that does not 'fit-in' to my way of working/methods.
Its 2 sided this game either party can stop the clock..
What an arrogant sounding post..it's not meant that way..honest.
Cheers
Dave.
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a bloke says to me once i dont want you to do my windows with a pole
2 windows on a dormer he reconde the water made the tiles on his roof a funny shade ;D
of green backward idiot or what also another blamed the water for the bad paintwork
when theyd been glossed in a monsoon.
i find the moaners are all the ones where you cant use trad and be safe and you need to be safe.
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Because the the one that dont like are not a very nice persons ;D
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We have explained the system to our customers................and asked for feedback to see their opinion of it. Not one as yet has complained. Unfortunately too many people get tarred with the same brush. If they have a crap trad cleaner, does that mean they will never use another trad cleaner??. Because little is known about wfp by a majority of custys, a bad experience means the pole system must be bad...........nothing to do with the operator, but we explain infact it is the operator for various reasons. We had two custsy blatantly tell us that they didn't want "the pole" because the last cleaner left it all streaky!!. Those two are both now happy with the results we produce.........and have recommended us to two other custys ;D Do a good job, don't cut corners and you get the work for providing a good service. ;D
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not long ago, alady phoned me,.. i called and in the end... quoted her..., she said that sounds fine,
she said the other window cleaner came with two lads, and she overheard them saying," lets see how fast we can do this,
she said it took them ten minutes..(traditional)......she then asked why the frames were not being cleaned or the sills, they said it would be double....!
i told her i use wfp, and will do the frames, but i was still hesitant as i really thought she had called because she did not have a window cleaner !.... cos im nice and dont tread on toes often.
Anyway she said she had already sacked them before i gave my price... which was £4 more than them.....
it took me twenty minutes first clean, she was over the moon...
she simply did not see it had taken me only half the time of the 3 trad lads, and i had done the frames too.
I like to earn my hourly rate plus look after my customers,
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Point out that it's a lot safer with a pole and the result are better.
Yes it's safer... but no the results are not better (why do so many customers eschew wfp...are all customers dimwits?)
But in a few years time there will be less and less trad cleaners out there
I think you'll find the reverse is true. As global mean temperature rises water will become a more valued commodity...and what modern-green-thinking customer wants to see 10s of gallons of valuable water squandered on her windows?
Please don't get me wrong as I'm all for wfp as it's safer and earns more money, but I refuse to be told that " the results are better" when loads of customers say "it ain't " and from an environmental viewpoint trad wins hands-down.
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Well I can vouch for wfp.
The only reason a street keeps its trad w/cleaner by me is out of sentiment.
They all moan about him. Smears and streaks etc.
I know because I have cleaned several of these houses facias and gutters etc.
You dont have to hear there moans you can see the state of the windows first hand.
There again I have seen some wfp work which was not good ether.
To much about speed and not enough on finishing off properly.
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Point out that it's a lot safer with a pole and the result are better.
Yes it's safer... but no the results are not better (why do so many customers eschew wfp...are all customers dimwits?)
But in a few years time there will be less and less trad cleaners out there
I think you'll find the reverse is true. As global mean temperature rises water will become a more valued commodity...and what modern-green-thinking customer wants to see 10s of gallons of valuable water squandered on her windows?
Please don't get me wrong as I'm all for wfp as it's safer and earns more money, but I refuse to be told that " the results are better" when loads of customers say "it ain't " and from an environmental viewpoint trad wins hands-down.
done right windows gleam, i got custys who would never go back
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Well I can vouch for wfp.
The only reason a street keeps its trad w/cleaner by me is out of sentiment.
They all moan about him. Smears and streaks etc.
I know because I have cleaned several of these houses facias and gutters etc.
You dont have to hear there moans you can see the state of the windows first hand.
There again I have seen some wfp work which was not good ether.
To much about speed and not enough on finishing off properly.
I agree ,
they do complain all the time, about trad cleaners... dirty sills, not cleaning frames, dirty cloths...and more importantly, the bucket of dirty slew some carry around,
that definitely will put any customer off.
i have a good wfp round, dont think i have lost one because of it, i have had the odd..." can you just look at that window, as last time there was a row of spots".... and once i agree to work out and explain how this happened , and that i will keep a close eye on it , and do it a couple of times...they are very happy.
There are too many people who have the attitude, if you dont like it tough....
but i like that.... because that means more work for me. ;)
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But in a few years time there will be less and less trad cleaners out there
I think you'll find the reverse is true. As global mean temperature rises water will become a more valued commodity unquote
Global warming will also cause monsoon type rains, floods and unusual temperatures.
so water , i imagine...would still be in abundance. :)
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But in a few years time there will be less and less trad cleaners out there
I think you'll find the reverse is true. As global mean temperature rises water will become a more valued commodity unquote
Global warming will also cause monsoon type rains, floods and unusual temperatures.
so water , i imagine...would still be in abundance. :)
it sure is in Scotland ;D
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But in a few years time there will be less and less trad cleaners out there
I think you'll find the reverse is true. As global mean temperature rises water will become a more valued commodity unquote
Global warming will also cause monsoon type rains, floods and unusual temperatures.
so water , i imagine...would still be in abundance. :)
And some of us use harvested rainwater, which is about as green as you can get. I don't even filter or DI mine and the results are always spotless!
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i will tell you why it is unpopular, becouse the trad guy that has a big round is defending it, he knows we are coming into his area at some point, dont think for one minute he is not bad mouthing wfp to all his custy, called brain washing, hes bringing it way down, saying it scratches, and they only use water, not mentioning pure water, and every thing else he can think of, would you not do this, by the time you get there, you basicly dont have a leg to stand on, especialy with oaps,
ill have to remember to use those comments with my customers ;D
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But in a few years time there will be less and less trad cleaners out there
I think you'll find the reverse is true. As global mean temperature rises water will become a more valued commodity unquote
Global warming will also cause monsoon type rains, floods and unusual temperatures.
so water , i imagine...would still be in abundance. :)
Wish you were right. However monsoon type rain merely causes flash-floods and landslides. This sudden deluge of water swells the rivers which flow to the sea (becoming saline) and has little impact on the water table (for which gentle and sustained rainfall is required) and vital to our daily domestic needs.
Just what I've read mate!
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wfp is here to stay
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Ah well,
lets just hope they can invent huge pumps, which pump the floodwater into the nearest reserviors. before it sets off to sea.
They will have to do something.
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i get a lot of new customers bad mouthing wfp, i normally say its down to the user not the system as i am 100 percent traditional but am going wfp v soon,
however some people are just a bit funny dont like the water everywhere etc
what i dont understand is why some wfp users will pole a bungelow or the whole house when they could do the the downstairs trad and keep the customer, imo its lazyness, thinkin they can splash water everywhere at 100mph then dash off no wonder customers are cancelling
I think there is a place for both styles, but if you spend the money on a wfp system why would you not use it. to use it only on some properties, is like saying well it's ok for upstairs, but not so great on lower level. wfp either works or it doesn't.
that said not so good on the inside ;)
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dont for get stan chages moor for the frams so il have to tell em its inclued in mine ,i kow a windy of 29 years and he wont do the tops the mess he makes of windows is unbelivebull yet hear he is 29 years on and still makeing a liveing and neaver sarts befor 11 ,thats not a pop at you stan ,i persunly neaver diss any one cos thayv a liveng to make
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Forget the moaners, There are plenty out there who like the way I clean their windows. I have always said that WFP is not perfect but I just clean windows for money. Its a business and I can make more dosh with my WFP.
You are never going to please everyone so don't try. Stay focused.
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so water , i imagine...would still be in abundance. :)
There is no more or no less water on the planet than there has ever been since.....well ever
It's either in the sky, in the sea, in the rivers, lakes, underground or in ice form.
It might change over millions of years but the same amount of water is here somewhere in some form.
I hate these eco warriors with their water is running out war cry....NO IT'S NOT
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im finding alot of people not liking wfp especially the old people they dont like it one bit,
Well I must be doing something wrong because we have a complex of 35 OAP flats who think it's great.
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im finding alot of people not liking wfp especially the old people they dont like it one bit,
Well I must be doing something wrong because we have a complex of 35 OAP flats who think it's great.
Yes, I do a load of OAP flats and they think the same.
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i personally believe that you can give a more setailed clean of better quality using traditional methods - The customer also sees it this way
I useed to believe that but not anymore, i did some first cleans this week that havent been done for years and with wfp if you do it right they come up the same, with no smears etc that fairy can leave in the sun / bad technique its all the same, its not what you use its how you use it :)
im fully sold to wfp cant wait to never get on a ladder again !!
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I had more compaints when I was trad, than ever I do with WFP.
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I had more compaints when I was trad, than ever I do with WFP.
Ooer! Just as well wfp was invented then or it'd be another Taff on the ol' rock n roll ;D
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I had more compaints when I was trad, than ever I do with WFP.
Ooer! Just as well wfp was invented then or it'd be another Taff on the ol' rock n roll ;D
;D ;D ;D
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its simple that most customers are just set in there ways and can not understand how wfp can work so dont like it, the truth of the matter is it does work just like when you washing a car with the same sort of priciple scrub and rinse except your using pure water to finish it of properly - i will be honest i have lost customers due to being wfp but this has only started to happen when the recession hit, not when i first started out and i was leaving a mess but during the recession and virtually all of them customers even agreed they dont like the idea of wfp, i ask what the problem is and if i can see a mess if there is one and the answer is always the same - oh i just dont like that pole - and this in my eyes translates into my hours have been cut/my husband has lost his job so were a little skint...
kris
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im going back to the real way to clean windows now wher can i get a shamy buger that sqwegy ;D ;D ;D ;D
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im going back to the real way to clean windows now wher can i get a shamy buger that sqwegy ;D ;D ;D ;D
its vinegar and newspaper here tomy ;)
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so imof to the chipy then :'( :'(
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theres nothing wrong with wfd done right like i have read on here and my personal exsperance pepole just set in there ways and just get it in ther head it does not work it like when we changed from scrim to squege they did not like that same principal aplies takes time more of us use it they will get use to it
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I think Pure Vision is right there, I was thinking of changing over this year. I wont though. I have other things I am concentrating on at the moment.
It's several things that make me think long and hard about moving to WFP, too many to go into at the moment.I think it will be a few years yet untill people really accept WFP as standard practice, but it will be eventually.
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On the
incontinent the trouble with wfp is that it and all the misc bits and pieces are so expensive....I am able to get by as I order everything from the UK and have it shipped over.
I have to order everything and then double it in the main...but for the average trad guy here in The Netherlands it is just too expensive...and that is why it will remain the exception and only really used by the larger commercial companies.
Just a different reason of use and acceptance.
Cheers
Dave.