[CLEANCARE WC]

Anyone just see them cleaning the windows? imagine that was your custard and they asked you to do insides, how much would you charge? 

[rosskesava]

In a previous life, about 5 or 6 or 7 years ago, when I was in a partnership and ran a window cleaning business, we got asked to do a job for a flat in Brighton that was shown on 'changing houses' or changing something or something like that or maybe I have the tittle confused with something else. I don't watch tv.

It was a program where a persons flat or house was filthy with tons of junk everywhere, and this lady turned up with her 2, or was it 3, cleaners and cleaned it all up and got rid of all the rubbish.

Although it was only a one bedroom flat and we could have cleaned the windows plus frames inside and out in less than an hour, they hired us for the whole week.

So me and 2 employees stood around waiting for the best part of a week doing nothing.

What staggered me was the number of people involved in that one episode and the incredible number of cars, lorries, vans, coaches etc parked around the place. It was like a small army of people and for 99% of the time, they also all did nothing.

The food on offer for free in the catering lorry was 5 star with no expense spared.

We invoiced them for £2 500 odd quid and they paid without question.

[Cliff perkins]

Blimey id have followed them around from house to house.
You missed a trick there mate

[elite mike]

In a previous life, about 5 or 6 or 7 years ago, when I was in a partnership and ran a window cleaning business, we got asked to do a job for a flat in Brighton that was shown on 'changing houses' or changing something or something like that or maybe I have the tittle confused with something else. I don't watch tv.

It was a program where a persons flat or house was filthy with tons of junk everywhere, and this lady turned up with her 2, or was it 3, cleaners and cleaned it all up and got rid of all the rubbish.

Although it was only a one bedroom flat and we could have cleaned the windows plus frames inside and out in less than an hour, they hired us for the whole week.

So me and 2 employees stood around waiting for the best part of a week doing nothing.

What staggered me was the number of people involved in that one episode and the incredible number of cars, lorries, vans, coaches etc parked around the place. It was like a small army of people and for 99% of the time, they also all did nothing.

The food on offer for free in the catering lorry was 5 star with no expense spared.

We invoiced them for £2 500 odd quid and they paid without question.

well impressed , fair play 

[rosskesava]

It was intensely boring. I prefer to be working rather than doing nothing.

The amount we got paid wasn't decided by us. They had a bloke who hired all  the various people needed locally and he said what the payment would be. When he said two and a half grand my jaw hit the floor.

The house clearance blokes were also in 7th heaven. They got a couple of grand plus 3 dumper truck loads of stuff to sell at Sunday markets.

Why we had to sit around in our van in the car park of this block of flats for almost 5 days was a mystery as this bloke said the windows would be done at the very end ( and quickly at a moments notice) but as he was paying us to sit around.....

It actually led to a big argument between me and the 3 others I was in partnership with which eventually, a few months later, ended with me selling out to the others. I said that the two employees should get a hefty wedge (on condition they tell no one else) as a bonus on top of their £220 flat rate because they got the job and knew how much it was paying. I was all for sharing profit.

Those two who sat around all week with me, I could read their thoughts. I felt embarrassed and like a real Scrooge.

Anyway, there wasn't a chance of doing anymore work for the tv company as this lot went from place to place all over the country. The final filming shots were done at about 4pm on the Friday and by the following Monday, they would be in Grimsby or Sidiothorpe, or some where North, and it would start all over again.

edit - I typed Scunthorpe not Sidothorpe.

[bobplum]

It was intensely boring. I prefer to be working rather than doing nothing.

The amount we got paid wasn't decided by us. They had a bloke who hired all  the various people needed locally and he said what the payment would be. When he said two and a half grand my jaw hit the floor.

The house clearance blokes were also in 7th heaven. They got a couple of grand plus 3 dumper truck loads of stuff to sell at Sunday markets.

Why we had to sit around in our van in the car park of this block of flats for almost 5 days was a mystery as this bloke said the windows would be done at the very end ( and quickly at a moments notice) but as he was paying us to sit around.....

It actually led to a big argument between me and the 3 others I was in partnership with which eventually, a few months later, ended with me selling out to the others. I said that the two employees should get a hefty wedge (on condition they tell no one else) as a bonus on top of their £220 flat rate because they got the job and knew how much it was paying. I was all for sharing profit.

Those two who sat around all week with me, I could read their thoughts. I felt embarrassed and like a real Scrooge.

Anyway, there wasn't a chance of doing anymore work for the tv company as this lot went from place to place all over the country. The final filming shots were done at about 4pm on the Friday and by the following Monday, they would be in Grimsby or Sidiothorpe, or some where North, and it would start all over again.

edit - I typed Scunthorpe not Sidothorpe.

thats what i would have done,thats how you keep good employees