Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: paul rulton on February 01, 2010, 10:26:50 pm
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can u help? ive not long changed over 2wfp how do u guys cope with the rain? ru able 2 do more in the rain than trad? or does it affect the pure water ???
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I work in light - medium rain... Never had a problem. Just tell the customer if the rain affects their clean I will re-clean them for free
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I'm the same, if its light rain no problems. Only problem I get if its too windy and its chucking it down!
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I work in light - medium rain... Never had a problem. Just tell the customer if the rain affects their clean I will re-clean them for free
ave u had 2do any re-cleans?
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Not a single one after cleaning in the rain
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thats all i needed 2know. thanks m8 u have helped me make my mind up :D
thats gonna make a huge difference 2 my income. so fed up wiv missing out
on money just cause its bloody rainin. thanks again.
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The only things that stop WFP are really strong winds, heavy rain (though some work through it) and freezing conditons, hoses freeze and water turns to slush on the windows.
Our biggest problems this last few weeks has actually been getting to the jobs.
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You just got to explain to the customer is there any difference if I clean them in the rain and it clears up in the afternoon and possibly rains again tomorrow or when I clean them in the in the dry and it remains soon after!!? The answer is no, its unavoidable and your doing a maintenance clean which is what they pay for. If they would like you to constantly stop and start when its raining or possibly going to rain, drop them as quick as, you won`t survive long like that living in a country where it rains often!!
As already mentioned if the rain is horizontal thats the only time it should stop you, which is thank fully quite rare
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is it true you can clean windows with rain water , the tds never above 11/12 ?
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Rain water harvesting is possible. You need to filter the water though. Depends what tds the water comes out at. There is a guy my way who harvests rain water and runs it through DI.
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i mean with a bucket of rain water no di nothing
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Not sure matey, next time it rains.... stick a bucket out and then check the tds
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is it true you can clean windows with rain water , the tds never above 11/12 ?
Yes. I use raw rainwater. I don't even filter it. TDS usually round about 006 to 008. It works just fine.
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Have worked in the rain since going wfp, you have to train your mind to work in it, the results are the same so no reason not to, ice stopped us for a week, but that weather is uncommon.
Get out there with some water proofs on, train the customers with the facts and crack on I say ;)
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the windows will have had a soak so it will be easyer to clean the dirt off ;) so cleaning in the rain can be better for wfp
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seems like its all good news then :D. just gotta get my head round it :P. its been strange enough
walkin away from windows that we now leave wet. after about 20years of doin them trad
& dryin them off almost felt like staning there while they dry off, 2make sure they r clean.
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the only problem i can see when cleaning in the rain is when you are looking up wfp your face will get a good soak too .
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I've started handing out a note I've made up, so as soon as all my customers have one I'll be cleaning in the rain, If the weather does start getting worse in the winter the extra income should soften the blow.
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now that is a good idea ;) if u do that can u email me a copy please?
i could ask my brother inlaw, he is s**t hot at things like that. only pro wiv him is he is always
so busy ::)
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I've started handing out a note I've made up, so as soon as all my customers have one I'll be cleaning in the rain, If the weather does start getting worse in the winter the extra income should soften the blow.
Could you paste it into the forum at all mate?
Or e-mail me with it if you dont mind.
info@oakleywindowcleaning.co.uk
Cheers.
Matt
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CMS WINDOW CLEANING
Dear customer
Due to the recent weather conditions and an ever-increasing workload we have found it almost impossible to provide the regular and reliable service we had hoped to.
With the Water Fed Pole system becoming increasingly popular it is now widely accepted that the cleaning results are largely unaffected by light/moderate or even heavy rain, this is due to the absence of soap residue and the fact that rain is almost as pure as the water that we use to rinse your windows.
We therefore have made the decision that we will work in light or moderate rain in the future; you can be assured that we would not turn up in extreme conditions or if we feel your clean would be affected in any way.
Of course it is your choice in the end and if you against our proposals then please let us know on the number below or when we visit, It may unfortunately mean that your property may be missed until your next scheduled clean though.
Please also note that in the unlikely event that there is a problem due to us cleaning in the rain we will happily return to re-clean any affected windows.
Yours sincerely,
Chris. Tel …………
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Cheers, looks good enough for me, I shall be implementing that shortly.
Thankyou.
Matt
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How about this one?
*************************************************************
Dear Customer,
As you know, we use a pure water system to clean your windows.
There are very many advantages to this system. Amongst them
are safety and quality of the results.
There's another great advantage as well. It means that we can
continue to work in light to moderate rain without any compromise
to the quality. That's because rain water is almost as pure as the
water we use.
So you will get your windows cleaned to the same high quality
and get them done on time no matter what the weather.
See you soon
Don Kidick - Window Cleaner
*************************************************************
Just an idea.
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nice 1 thanks chris, im so gonna use that. ;D ;D
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its good..... but... chris gets my vote on this 1 :o..... sorry ;)
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I like Chris's letter, but I wouldnt give custy the option of cancelling in the rain.
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I think its a mistake to be highlighting this in such a way. I have it as a mention in my terms & conditions that we work in all weathers unless deemed unsafe by us. But to make such an issue out of it by handing out a letter is just gonna make a rod for your own back, its almost like saying we know its unacceptable but were gonna do it anyway!
Whats wrong is that customers expect you to not work in the rain in this country, train your customers that it is acceptable if they expect a regular/reliable maintenance service if not drop them.
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One other thought is that by telling the customer that rain water is almost the same as our pure water it might give some of them the idea that they can clean there own windows by collecting rain water.
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are terms and conditions really necessary?if i came out with it my custys would laugh in my face.its not worth the paper its written on IMO!
what i do is when i take on a new custy i just explain to them i clean in light/moderate rain sometimes as i do this job as a business and i will fall too far behind with my work if i dont.i very rarely get turned away! ;)
i think if you explain properly from the start then you dont get many problems.being honest,straightforward and professional with customers really does work for me without this terms and conditions crap which i think could sour relations IMO.
regards
dazmond
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same here its not worth it
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I think simple one page terms and conditions on the back of your quotes are certainly not crap, quite the opposite, very professional, and sets out how you do business. Horses for courses I suppose, but if you want good reliable customers that appreciate a professional set up, most would expect such an approach. Its worked for me these last 18 years, anyways.
This is what I currently use, if you still think its crap, fair enough, but I don`t ;-)
http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=89346.0
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its almost like saying we know its unacceptable but were gonna do it anyway!
No its not, its saying WFP is fine in inclement weather whatever old wives tales you choose to believe.
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I think simple one page terms and conditions on the back of your quotes are certainly not crap, quite the opposite, very professional, and sets out how you do business. Horses for courses I suppose, but if you want good reliable customers that appreciate a professional set up, most would expect such an approach. Its worked for me these last 18 years, anyways.
This is what I currently use, if you still think its crap, fair enough, but I don`t ;-)
http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=89346.0
Like that, very good.
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its almost like saying we know its unacceptable but were gonna do it anyway!
No its not, its saying WFP is fine in inclement weather whatever old wives tales you choose to believe.
That was my point, it is acceptable so why make it sound like it possibly is`nt ::)
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Because most punters believe cleaning windows in the wet is unacceptable, they just need steering in the right direction.
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i carried on today, had a bit of a late start, so started the first house just as the rain started, i cracked on and she said " oh, you are cleaning in the rain "
i explained that with the snow and ice i am so far behind its a case of needs must
she accepted it and said, oh ok mate, if you think they will still be clean
a few houses were out, no probs with them
i get to a house in the middle of the close, the guy comes out " your not going to do them in this rain "
i joked, this is rain, its just light drizzle
he said, your mad, they will look crap tomorrow
i explain with the snow / ice i am so far behind, he said, no probs mate
most on here know my views on working in the rain, the customers ( who pay you ) DO NOT LIKE IT, they might accpet it, but they are not over the moon about it
so my take on it, this time these 2 were happy with it, as Im behind because of the snow, if i turned up and did them another time in the rain, i would have been 2 customers down today, this was out of 11 houses ( and most than half of them were out )
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most on here know my views on working in the rain, the customers ( who pay you ) DO NOT LIKE IT, they might accpet it, but they are not over the moon about it
Matt with respect you are clearly unwittingly letting your customers dictate how you work. See my responses above about how I overcome this objection. You need to bite the bullet & start training them. I have never lost a customer due to working in the rain. If you wre to walk away and it rained 1/2 hour after you have been, whats the difference, sorry my friend but I think you need to man up over this ;)
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some of you guys make me laugh!going on about terms and conditions and that you work in the rain etc.then why are you not working today then? ;D ;D
i worked yesterday in ice/snow on the ground but its been raining ALL day in the north west heavish mostly today so ill try again tommorrow.and thurs/fri/sat........!
im with matt on this one.custys do not like you working in the rain esp if its heavy and their paying £20 for a clean.i do occasionally but i try and do my lower priced crap instead that day!also it gets miserable working in the rain so i usually only do a few hours in it before it hacks me off! ::)
as i said before t&c are not necessary on domestics at all IMO
REGARDS
DAZMOND
if i had a window cleaner who gave me a contract id tellhim to bugger off!its only window cleaning!i think some of you overcomplicate the job!i really do! ;D ;D ;D
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im with matt on this one.custys do not like you working in the rain esp if its heavy and their paying £20 for a clean.i do occasionally but i try and do my lower priced crap instead that day!also it gets miserable working in the rain so i usually only do a few hours in it before it hacks me off! ::)
As is often the case its more a case of some don`t like to work in the rain, and they are quite happy to use the excuse that its unnacceptable to work in the rain - such a rediculous approach, if you want to make the most of this service/business you have to work in the rain end of, if your happy to accept that you will never reach your full earning potential then you don`t work in the rain, your choice, but believe me all customers that happily let you work in the rain are the ones to have and there are many more of them than a few on here seem to think. I would say at least 90% of all domestic customers have readily accepted this once it is explained why you do work in all but the heaviest horizontal rain, as set out in your terms & conditions!!!
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well how come your not working today then gary?or are you just another part timer? ;D ;D
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well how come your not working today then gary?or are you just another part timer? ;D ;D
because its raining ::)
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im with matt on this one.custys do not like you working in the rain esp if its heavy and their paying £20 for a clean.i do occasionally but i try and do my lower priced crap instead that day!also it gets miserable working in the rain so i usually only do a few hours in it before it hacks me off! ::)
As is often the case its more a case of some don`t like to work in the rain, and they are quite happy to use the excuse that its unnacceptable to work in the rain - such a rediculous approach, if you want to make the most of this service/business you have to work in the rain end of, if your happy to accept that you will never reach your full earning potential then you don`t work in the rain, your choice, but believe me all customers that happily let you work in the rain are the ones to have and there are many more of them than a few on here seem to think. I would say at least 90% of all domestic customers have readily accepted this once it is explained why you do work in all but the heaviest horizontal rain, as set out in your terms & conditions!!!
;) ;D
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thats a nice bit of art there ww but you have completely lost me as to what your point is?
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thats a nice bit of art there ww but you have completely lost me as to what your point is?
I agree with working in the rain, makes a nice change for me not to get stick for it and to see another person put there point across, thanks ;) ;D
Ian
p.s Thanks for the art work complement
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i work in light to moderate rain
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most on here know my views on working in the rain, the customers ( who pay you ) DO NOT LIKE IT, they might accpet it, but they are not over the moon about it
Matt with respect you are clearly unwittingly letting your customers dictate how you work. See my responses above about how I overcome this objection. You need to bite the bullet & start training them. I have never lost a customer due to working in the rain. If you wre to walk away and it rained 1/2 hour after you have been, whats the difference, sorry my friend but I think you need to man up over this ;)
to be fair i do let customers dictate how i clean windows, its not unwittingly either, as they pay me the money, so if they want the lounge window sqeegee'd off after i WFP it, then they get it done ( they pay for it though, i now have 3 who want this )
now i know people scoff at this, but they are the customer, i provide a service THEY WANT, if i decide to provide a service i want to provide ( and ignore the customers requests ) then they will go elsewhere, yes most will stay, but my round has been built so that i do house after house after house in the road ( most are 80 % plus ) this suits me, i accommodate reasonable requests
we run a biz that provides a service, i try 100 % to provide a service that the customer wants / needs, if they want me to whistle george formby whilst i clean the french doors at the rear, then whistle i will ;)
i run a pretty low risk strategy like this, it works for me
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Working in the rain? One of the reasons i won't employ. If it's raining then generally I'm off home. Don't like getting soaked, don't like asking for money etc.
So really it's down to personal choice, if you want to then do it and vica versa there is no wrong and right. Lately i've started working Saturdays if need be, it's just another day to me.
Get sick of people ramming this "you're not a proper business if you don't work in the rain, your not professional if you don't have a £30k van, your not a proper business if you haven't got a website etc etc. What a load of tosh!
Just work however it suits you.
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Working in the rain? One of the reasons i won't employ. If it's raining then generally I'm off home. Don't like getting soaked, don't like asking for money etc.
So really it's down to personal choice, if you want to then do it and vica versa there is no wrong and right. Lately i've started working Saturdays if need be, it's just another day to me.
Get sick of people ramming this "you're not a proper business if you don't work in the rain, your not professional if you don't have a £30k van, your not a proper business if you haven't got a website etc etc. What a load of tosh!
Just work however it suits you.
i must admit, i did think your not professional as you use cold water ;)
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Working in the rain? One of the reasons i won't employ. If it's raining then generally I'm off home. Don't like getting soaked, don't like asking for money etc.
So really it's down to personal choice, if you want to then do it and vica versa there is no wrong and right. Lately i've started working Saturdays if need be, it's just another day to me.
Get sick of people ramming this "you're not a proper business if you don't work in the rain, your not professional if you don't have a £30k van, your not a proper business if you haven't got a website etc etc. What a load of tosh!
Just work however it suits you.
have you finished now, do you feel better ? :P
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I have said enough on this so this is my last comment, of course you must work however you see fit, but the whole point of this topic was to ask whether its acceptable working in the rain. Just look at all the comments in conjunction with the survey results. The answer is very very clear. If you choose to ignore this overiding evidence then who cares but the original poster did ask and now he knows the answer!
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thanks every1 4all ur input. im gonna start workin even iff its
raining. but im also gonna try 2educate my customers :o. thanks again.
paul :)
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i live in the north west and it rained here all of the day, not heavy but the light drizzle, i cleaned 17 houses and the people that were in came out and commented on me cleaning, the only reason they said something was because they were worried about me getting wet (honestly). i have a very good relationship with 90%+ of my customers and throughout my switchover to wfp i have kept them informed of everything, this then means that they know about the ablility of me being able to clean in the rain.
Today i handed out a letter explaining some changes to my service and on this it also had the rain gaurantee. Some people on here do over complicate this job but thats there choice and it obviously works for them. Each to their own is how it should be ;D
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I have said enough on this so this is my last comment, of course you must work however you see fit, but the whole point of this topic was to ask whether its acceptable working in the rain. Just look at all the comments in conjunction with the survey results. The answer is very very clear. If you choose to ignore this overiding evidence then who cares but the original poster did ask and now he knows the answer!
There is no answer. Overriding evidence? Where?
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Dazmond 99% of a;; businesses all have some type of terms and conditions just think Mobiles, cars, restaurants, super markets, doctors, a trip on the busses and the list goes on and on. But if youfind no needand choose not to, good luck to you.
Cleaning in the rain have absolutly nuthing to do with been professional. Professional has allot most to do with your attitude and conduct to your clients your work your peers and other companies as well as yourself.
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Surely we are all in this buisness to do one thing and thats earn money ?? The principle i work on come rain or shine you go to work with the exception of thunder/lightning extreme heavy rain because if you dont work you dont earn any money