[Helen]

Yep, good post Dave,
but oh so many come into window cleaning and get it oh so wrong!

A point to remember is that WFP does not replace trad, it only really replaces the need to work off a ladder.

Ian

Oh so true on both accounts, we made many mistakes at first, but we learnt really quickly from them, we still make mistakes as we all do, just not so many

[alan andrewswestsi]

good tip helen i will remember to say purified water in future , 1 other tip is when they say ( they,re still wet ) and they do even when you,ve explained it to them , i say the reason we leave them wet is that the water is steralising the glass so that they stay cleaner longer .

[trevor perry]

good tip helen i will remember to say purified water in future , 1 other tip is when they say ( they,re still wet ) and they do even when you,ve explained it to them , i say the reason we leave them wet is that the water is steralising the glass so that they stay cleaner longer .
[/quoe]
i bet with bulsh-t like this flying around they dont stay clean for long

[D.Salkeld_Ltd]

Hi All,

I have been telling all new customers:

"The only trouble with my Water fed Pole method is the windows are left wet.  But they will dry of fine"

Customers reply is 99% of the time

"Oh, I don't care about that, so long as they are clean"

Getting fed up of harping on about "Wet" windows :
But I still mention it

David

[davids3511]

I was dumped today by one customer because "I had a chat with my wife and we don't like the windows left wet". I really had to bite my tongue not to ask how they managed when it rained. Apparently no problem with the work quality, just moaning about the windows being wet.

Personally I couldn't be bothered about these people. They either want the windows clean or they don't. I don't expect to tell the bus driver how to drive or the plumber how to plumb or the electrician what tools to use.

Problem is everyone is an expert on something they think you can pick up in a day. If they are that clever they can do their own windows.

On the plus side I gained a £10.00 job, an £8.00 job and a £13.00 job today so they wont be missed.

[groundhog]

I started off trad then went wfp, I then went back to trad and now I am back wfp! I think it is down to how you sell your service to the customer, when I take on a new customer I tell them that I provide a superior service and I clean frames and  sills as well as the glass and I even clean their doors, all included in the price! I tell them that I use the latest methods in window cleaning using pure water with no detergents so the glass actually stays cleaner for longer due to no sticky residue. I don't go in there giving them all the negatives about the glass being wet ect and apologising that I have to use these new methods due to health and safety! Sell yourself and your service, do a good job and you won't lose customers due to wfp, in fact you will gain them.

[Captain Scarlet]

Sounds like your not quite doing things right, thousands of wc's have proved that the wfp method and cross over is simple and have had very little if any casulties on the way. Re think your buisness plan, Luke

[Sir Squeaky]

I started off trad then went wfp, I then went back to trad and now I am back wfp! I think it is down to how you sell your service to the customer, when I take on a new customer I tell them that I provide a superior service and I clean frames and  sills as well as the glass and I even clean their doors, all included in the price! I tell them that I use the latest methods in window cleaning using pure water with no detergents so the glass actually stays cleaner for longer due to no sticky residue. I don't go in there giving them all the negatives about the glass being wet ect and apologising that I have to use these new methods due to health and safety! Sell yourself and your service, do a good job and you won't lose customers due to wfp, in fact you will gain them.

Exactly what I do, but I don't gain any, I lose them.

[windowwashers]

I started off trad then went wfp, I then went back to trad and now I am back wfp! I think it is down to how you sell your service to the customer, when I take on a new customer I tell them that I provide a superior service and I clean frames and  sills as well as the glass and I even clean their doors, all included in the price! I tell them that I use the latest methods in window cleaning using pure water with no detergents so the glass actually stays cleaner for longer due to no sticky residue. I don't go in there giving them all the negatives about the glass being wet ect and apologising that I have to use these new methods due to health and safety! Sell yourself and your service, do a good job and you won't lose customers due to wfp, in fact you will gain them.

Exactly what I do, but I don't gain any, I lose them.

Then you have to be doing something wrong m8, or you are just the most unluckist bloke in town,,,, yer but not but yer but......whateva

[NWH]

And you`ll keep losing them,i reckon you have a customer base of like minded people.None of them give a S*** about your saftey,you say you get comments about the new van etc.I get no not today thankyou`s and 99% of them have excepted the pole,you have to groom them to your way of thinking Squeaky.

[pingu]

We all lose customers....some will just moan and say 'I lose customers but do not get more'....some will do something about their situation...I have not canvassed or bought a single customer...all mine come from leaflets and word of mouth (just starting to take off)....it's slow but an average of 2 new customers per week just from leaflets (just orderd another 5k)...now think how many that could be with a combination of leaflets, local rag advertising & canvassing etc, etc?

This whole thing is about attitude.....some people take a few knocks on the chin and lose the will to fight and then some take the knocks....stand up, dust themselves off and start again...

For those who are going through a bad patch and losing customers (we all have them)....re-evalutate the concerns address them and approach those issues from a different angle...There seems to be a certain line that new customers seem to present fewer issues/cancellations that converting exsiting trad customers...I have not had this as I started 'fresh' but lets face it every business needs some new blood....if your having problems with existing customers....seek to replace with new.  Just think in 2 years it should be no problem to gain an avg of 1 per week..... = 104 new accounts...without really trying...perhaps a good period to start re-pricing....

Window cleaning is a very simplistic business...but as we all know it is equally easy to let it stagnate and die...

Targets, targets, projections & evaluation:
------------------------------------------------------

We made the decision that if we made our targets this year....we'll go on holiday...In Jan we'll be getting sun burned in Thailand for 3 weeks and diving, diving, diving....after 45 weeks of this year we hit both our monetry and customer base targets....was it an accident...hell no...we made it happen...so I far have put 20k leaflets out....and will continue to re-leaflet area's, streets until I achieve the targets....for 2008/9 & 10...

Each sunday we look at 'George' and evaluate what is happening..ok so I am a bit anal with numbers/percentages....projections, targets...but without it...I would have no real clue as to what is happening and what is not...

Now reading this post back to myself...I think ...it is all just full of 'I' and 'me'....I did this, I did that...well yes it does but it should also say Thanks to all those who do the same...as without it where would we learn from?

So Thanks to everyone for helping the g/f and I sit on a beach in Jan , we'll be thinking of you all....right!!

Dave.

ps The banks here have said that I should be able to get a mortgage in 2009/10 at the rate this business is growing...whahhhhhhhhey!!

[Davew]

The problem i have is that my calender is very uneven so when i have a couple of very busy weeks i don't canvass and would prefer not to take on new work. Then when i hit my quiet patches it's already too late to pick up work. I think you need to be on the lookout for opportunities all the time.

[Captain Scarlet]

I actually find these type of posts very negative for our whole industry because these customers will forever not like wfp whereas they should be loving all of its safety and cleanliness aspects. I used to be trad, cleaning both glass and frames and wfp does a better job, no question, anybody that says otherwise is very very very wrong, either their not doing it right or are prejudice towards it. It does an amazing job of frames and glass. My dad had a man follow him around a new clean, just totally amazed how well the wfp was removing years of muck so easily!!!end of case, I have an open mind but when it comes to this my mind is closed, wfp does a better job, Luke

[karygate]

all i know is that i started window cleaning in june using wfp and have now around 70 customers,all by word of mouth and all i have ever had is reconmendations from them and no complaints up to date. i took the time to totally explain how it worked and even left them a leaflet explaining it all again,just in case i had forgotten something. i have seen other people using wfp and also traditional window cleaners over the last few months and spoke to many. i think both ways are as good as each other if done properly as the results differ so much from each window cleaner. if some people took an extra couple of minutes on each job,whichever way they did it they may not be so many complaints. i have also found that 50 % of the job is the windows and 50% of the job is customer relationship. hope this helps .

[groundhog]

I totally agree with your post Gary, I think many people get carried away with the speed side of wfp, and end up with poor results. And as you say customer relations are 50% of the job!

[Captain Scarlet]

I was going to say exactly the same thing, if people respect you then they respect your work, Luke