Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: CleanClear on August 16, 2019, 11:32:38 pm
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I clean a few properties, and they also have another window cleaner. I'm WFP and the other cleaners are usually a traditional type cleaner. In every instance the reason they enlisted me was because they wanted them cleaning properly, and conversley he/she wasn't cleaning them properly. Infact the sole reason they still kept him/her was because they'd used him for years and still felt loyal/gratefull to him. (And of course he/she was very cheap).
So, i'm not really interested in the method i.e WFP vs Trad..thats been done to death. I'm more interested to find out exactly what window cleaners offer and provide. What sets you out above your competition ?
And interestingly, (i'm in Liverpool)any of you LFC fans will know who Michael Shields is................. Michaels dad is a traditional window cleaner in Liverpool. My friend who is also a window cleaner same as me was cleaning a house for years (he's WFP) and this one time he rocks up to clean who is there but .... Mr.Sheilds !!! ;D A conversation ensues............... The customer says there is no problem, i'm employing you both i want you both to carry on................. My mate is fine with this, Mr.Sheilds is not. He says out of respect for me.... just drop the job and we will leave them. My mates carried on BTW.
If you found your customer had another cleaner to do the job you where doing and he was getting more money, would you carry on and not be bothered? Or would you reflect , change nothing ? ;D
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If a customer had another window cleaner I’d just bin the job. It would have the potential for all sorts of unnecessary poope. There can be enough problems in this job without another unnecessary load of old customer generated balls.
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this happened to me years ago.
my customer was a single mum, a lovely young lass but too polite. The other cleaner was very hit n miss to when he showed up. The problem was though, that the streets he worked, all knew each other and he would always tell a different tale as to why hes not been for so long. So many got rid and came to me as I was reliable. (yes i did a good job etc, etc) but they knew I would be there every four weeks.
So I turn up to clean her house and make a start on the front windows (without the need to send a text, James 😉) and who should start walking round to the front from the rear, but this other chap. The young lass came to the door all embarrassed and paid him and he troddled off. I stayed n we got talking, basically she didn't have the heart to finish him, he charged £3.50 and I was charging £7 at that time.
I was polite about it but mentioned I would make it easier for her and stop coming. ;D
lol, if they ain't got the heart to tell someone who came out possibly every 4 -6 months to clean the windows, to sling their hook. Then I ain't gonna save em by cleaning up their poor attempts at window cleaning.
likewise in your opening thread and especially if you have to take off/rinse off soap suds every time your cleaning. Then I would get rid of em as well
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I’m pretty sure I have the same situation.........
Lady approached me and said “I like the way you work, could you clean mine, I have a cleaner, he’s a great chap, but he can’t reach the windows above my garage, and sometimes he only does downstairs. ???”
I said yeah no problem, gave her a quote and started monthly.
Now occasionally I will go, and on the down stairs opener/hopper windows I can see they’ve been poorly squeegeed, soap marks and lines down sides and bottom. It could be the owner, but I doubt it.
I’m not too fussed, and will Just carry on as normal. If it ever poses me a problem I’d just dump it, or tell her first to give her the opportunity.
I’ve only done about 3 cleans for her, so it might be that she’s trying to find the right way to sack the old cleaner. Who knows.
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So, i'm not really interested in the method i.e WFP vs Trad..thats been done to death. I'm more interested to find out exactly what window cleaners offer and provide. What sets you out above your competition ?
The competition varies due to the amount of shinners so there's plenty of sh!t trad and wfp window cleaners out there and likewise there's decent ones.
I took on wfp work last year where the frames (sides/bottom) weren't getting cleaned so a bit of graft getting it up to my standard, also some easy windows were being missed!
I also took on trad work where they didn't touch any of the frames and again got it up to standard.
I also took on trad work where some houses got the frames cleaned but the price wasn't any different from their neighbours, apparently on one he got on with her husband so they got the special attention! Made a point of telling her all my customers will get their frames and sills cleaned as standard and no one gets singled out for special attention.
So I'll say the following is different from some shinners...
Regular/consistent, cleans the frames/sills and doors, online payments/invoicing, text for gates, no smoking and no taking a dump etc in their garden! Oh and we don't miss windows because their not in!
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I have one that I was employed to finish off another wc works on. They are a neighbour of one i do already. It's the hard to reach windows that never get done by the trad guy.. So the customer pays twice as I still charge my min rate for doing just 4 windows. She refuses to change him as she had used him for years. This is fine by me if the customer want to pay.
I take issue with the other guy not doing a full job for his money. He knows its being finished by another wc.. He should do the right thing for the customer and walk away.
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I had someone ask me to price up her large posh house the other week,she already has 2 window cleaners!(one trad/one wfp).I gave her a price and she said I'm more expensive than the other two,I left it with her....she wants me to clean them in another 6 weeks time.....
I basically told her to contact me when shes cancelled the other guys...
Guess what?........shes not contacted me.... ;D
Some people are just strange.....
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I was asked by a householder to clean the windows over his two large conservatories monthly because his trad window cleaner couldn't reach them but he wanted to keep him on and have me just for the awkward ones.
I declined. Too much potential for hassle.
I thought about suggesting he sack the trad guy and let me do the whole job but didn't think that was really fair.
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I was asked by a householder to clean the windows over his two large conservatories monthly because his trad window cleaner couldn't reach them but he wanted to keep him on and have me just for the awkward ones.
I declined. Too much potential for hassle.
I thought about suggesting he sack the trad guy and let me do the whole job but didn't think that was really fair.
this has happened a few times over the years....i always refuse.....its pathetic....all the windows or none at all....ive even had people asking me to just clean their top windows before now....again i say NO.....idiots....
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I was asked by a householder to clean the windows over his two large conservatories monthly because his trad window cleaner couldn't reach them but he wanted to keep him on and have me just for the awkward ones.
I declined. Too much potential for hassle.
I thought about suggesting he sack the trad guy and let me do the whole job but didn't think that was really fair.
this has happened a few times over the years....i always refuse.....its pathetic....all the windows or none at all....ive even had people asking me to just clean their top windows before now....again i say NO.....idiots....
Why are they idiots for asking you to do a job ? I have a few ocd customers who clean their bottom windows every time the sun comes out so have no need for me to clean the them, they pay the same for the tops as they would for the whole house.
That said you will get some who will try to save money by asking for tops only, nothing idiotic about trying to save money, again full price will be quoted.
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I have one that I was employed to finish off another wc works on. They are a neighbour of one i do already. It's the hard to reach windows that never get done by the trad guy.. So the customer pays twice as I still charge my min rate for doing just 4 windows. She refuses to change him as she had used him for years. This is fine by me if the customer want to pay.
I take issue with the other guy not doing a full job for his money. He knows its being finished by another wc.. He should do the right thing for the customer and walk away.
If he priced the job without the window he couldnt reach and the customer agreed then as long as he's honoured that agreement why should he walk away ?
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I clean a few properties, and they also have another window cleaner. I'm WFP and the other cleaners are usually a traditional type cleaner. In every instance the reason they enlisted me was because they wanted them cleaning properly, and conversley he/she wasn't cleaning them properly. Infact the sole reason they still kept him/her was because they'd used him for years and still felt loyal/gratefull to him. (And of course he/she was very cheap).
So, i'm not really interested in the method i.e WFP vs Trad..thats been done to death. I'm more interested to find out exactly what window cleaners offer and provide. What sets you out above your competition ?
And interestingly, (i'm in Liverpool)any of you LFC fans will know who Michael Shields is................. Michaels dad is a traditional window cleaner in Liverpool. My friend who is also a window cleaner same as me was cleaning a house for years (he's WFP) and this one time he rocks up to clean who is there but .... Mr.Sheilds !!! ;D A conversation ensues............... The customer says there is no problem, i'm employing you both i want you both to carry on................. My mate is fine with this, Mr.Sheilds is not. He says out of respect for me.... just drop the job and we will leave them. My mates carried on BTW.
If you found your customer had another cleaner to do the job you where doing and he was getting more money, would you carry on and not be bothered? Or would you reflect , change nothing ? ;D
What a silly question to ask on CIU, you can be sure no matter what price the other shiner would be charging the guys on here will be charging double. lol
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I had one who recently let slip that in between my visits she has had another window cleaner for a while and uses us both. The last time I turned up she told me he was either due next week or had been the week before (I forget which it was now), so could I leave them. I thanked her for letting me know and said goodbye.
I won't be going back. I don't want to be there when the other fellow turns up or is there when I do. I would rather walk away and leave them to it.
John
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I was asked by a householder to clean the windows over his two large conservatories monthly because his trad window cleaner couldn't reach them but he wanted to keep him on and have me just for the awkward ones.
I declined. Too much potential for hassle.
I thought about suggesting he sack the trad guy and let me do the whole job but didn't think that was really fair.
this has happened a few times over the years....i always refuse.....its pathetic....all the windows or none at all....ive even had people asking me to just clean their top windows before now....again i say NO.....idiots....
Why are they idiots for asking you to do a job ? I have a few ocd customers who clean their bottom windows every time the sun comes out so have no need for me to clean the them, they pay the same for the tops as they would for the whole house.
That said you will get some who will try to save money by asking for tops only, nothing idiotic about trying to save money, again full price will be quoted.
there still idiots......theres no way im doing half a job,besides if you clean just the tops the bottom windows get wet/dirty anyway....if they cant afford a few quid for a proper window cleaning service then im not interested....im hardly charging them a "kings ransom".....forget it... ;D
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We do the windows for a privately run chain of estate agents we do all but one of there offices the old guy who does that one does an appalling job but he has done them for years and they don’t want to upset him , we vac the gutters on the offices twise per year and the owner said could we give the windows a good proper deep clean at the same time , I have no idear what the trad guy thinks when he turns up the next visit and they are all sparkling frames 😂😂, must think the fairy’s have been 😂😂😂
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I had one who recently let slip that in between my visits she has had another window cleaner for a while and uses us both. The last time I turned up she told me he was either due next week or had been the week before (I forget which it was now), so could I leave them. I thanked her for letting me know and said goodbye.
I won't be going back. I don't want to be there when the other fellow turns up or is there when I do. I would rather walk away and leave them to it.
John
And the fact that she turned you away but wants him to clean them next week, probably means you’re the cr@p window cleaner that the other one is cleaning up after ;D
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We do the windows for a privately run chain of estate agents we do all but one of there offices the old guy who does that one does an appalling job but he has done them for years and they don’t want to upset him , we vac the gutters on the offices twise per year and the owner said could we give the windows a good proper deep clean at the same time , I have no idear what the trad guy thinks when he turns up the next visit and they are all sparkling frames 😂😂, must think the fairy’s have been 😂😂😂
😂
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I had one who recently let slip that in between my visits she has had another window cleaner for a while and uses us both. The last time I turned up she told me he was either due next week or had been the week before (I forget which it was now), so could I leave them. I thanked her for letting me know and said goodbye.
I won't be going back. I don't want to be there when the other fellow turns up or is there when I do. I would rather walk away and leave them to it.
John
And the fact that she turned you away but wants him to clean then next week, probably means you’re the cr@p window cleaner that the other one is cleaning up after ;D
Probably, she's too polite to tell me that because I'm too nice! 😂
John
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I have one that I was employed to finish off another wc works on. They are a neighbour of one i do already. It's the hard to reach windows that never get done by the trad guy.. So the customer pays twice as I still charge my min rate for doing just 4 windows. She refuses to change him as she had used him for years. This is fine by me if the customer want to pay.
I take issue with the other guy not doing a full job for his money. He knows its being finished by another wc.. He should do the right thing for the customer and walk away.
If he priced the job without the window he couldnt reach and the customer agreed then as long as he's honoured that agreement why should he walk away ?
Because he cannot clean all the windows. As a window cleaner, that’s super crap.
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There's always a window over some over extended house that you don't want to do, either it's a fully extended 35ft pole (horizontal) or get the ladder out and trample on the roof tiles, and I don't do trampling on roof tiles for windows it's simply not worth the hassle.
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If a customer had another window cleaner I’d just bin the job. It would have the potential for all sorts of unnecessary poope. There can be enough problems in this job without another unnecessary load of old customer generated balls.
I fully understand that Matt, and i'm not inclined to disagree. However, would you ask the other cleaner to give them up too and effectivley leave them in limbo ? But even beyond that question, would you not think to yourself...... "who is the crap one they tolerate... me or them ? "......................... or you not bothered ?
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If a customer had another window cleaner I’d just bin the job. It would have the potential for all sorts of unnecessary poope. There can be enough problems in this job without another unnecessary load of old customer generated balls.
I fully understand that Matt, and i'm not inclined to disagree. However, would you ask the other cleaner to give them up too and effectivley leave them in limbo ? But even beyond that question, would you not think to yourself...... "who is the crap one they tolerate... me or them ? "......................... or you not bothered ?
I know you have asked Matt the question. but seeing as I would bin them too I wouldn't care if it were me or the other guy who was crap. My ex-customer's windows always looked ok, so the chances are that we both did an ok job. I'm just not prepared to invite a situation where we both turn up at the same time, so I would rather back away than be in the middle of a potentially embarrassing or tense situation. I'm busy enough so it's no loss.
John
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If a customer had another window cleaner I’d just bin the job. It would have the potential for all sorts of unnecessary poope. There can be enough problems in this job without another unnecessary load of old customer generated balls.
I fully understand that Matt, and i'm not inclined to disagree. However, would you ask the other cleaner to give them up too and effectivley leave them in limbo ? But even beyond that question, would you not think to yourself...... "who is the crap one they tolerate... me or them ? "......................... or you not bothered ?
I know you have asked Matt the question. but seeing as I would bin them too I wouldn't care if it were me or the other guy who was crap. My ex-customer's windows always looked ok, so the chances are that we both did an ok job. I'm just not prepared to invite a situation where we both turn up at the same time, so I would rather back away than be in the middle of a potentially embarrassing or tense situation. I'm busy enough so it's no loss.
John
Its probably a fair question to anyone John, and its open for anyone. Chances are actually that one of you did a crap job. I'm not looking to be argumentative. Its just factual....................... The hard bit is knowing which one of you is crap, and then admitting it.. ;D