[rhys11]

hello there wonder if you can help

The weather has been bad for 2-3 weeks now not stoped raining in the day time. My question is  how do you get out to clean the windows when its raining all the time???   i only do it part time at the moment and finding it realy hard to get out to do them because the weather.What do you guys do in this situation?? do your wage suffer??  ???can you catch up?? do you clean in what ever the weather?? .
when its like this do the customers mone when your cleaning in the rain??
hope you can answer my questions because i want to take window cleaning full time 

many thanks
rhys

[Toff]

 Go out everymorning do what you can untill the wheather stops you, you can normally get something, if thier not in and you can clean the windows do them. The days that you think its not going to stop like today it will. I only stay off if its bad. build a float to use on the bad days, Then when it rains its great a day off

[a-r window cleanin]

We worked for the first time in mild rain last sat & sun just to catch and have to say all our customers were fine with that!!

[Sunshine Cleaning]

To be frank, untill joining here I really struggled to make a living at all.
But, in 3 years my personal income has risen by about 50%.

A number of factors,

1   Price increases this year and 2 years ago, put them up untill the customers start to swear at you.

2   Running a business acount, I pay myself a weekly wage just enough to cover the bills. This way there is usually a balance of 1-2k in the account, nothing in my personal account though. If I have to take time off I still get paid. Whereas before, i would panic if my personal account was low and we had a wet week.

3   Not worrying about how much I was earning, but concentrating on working whenever I could. I will go out to work at 8:30 and come home at 4:30, there was rarely a day when I couldn't earn at least £50.00. This got me into good habits.

4   WFP I converted march last year. This has got to be the best business decision I have made. If it's absolutly lobbing it down i stay home, but it is possible to work during weather that Trad would stop me. And if you only get a couple of hours a day like last week, I find it easier to blast off £50-£90. On a good, full day I can easily earn 50-70% more. So by Wednesday on a dry week I have earnt what it would have taken me all week previously to do.

5   Dropping my Cleaning partner. While trad I needed someone to work with, for motivation and safety, since i have gone WFP neither are a problem for me. Both of us earn more than we did and we are still availiable to help each other out when we need to.

6   Realising I was doing a professional job. Yes anyone can clean a window, but not everyone can run a business, even a one man show. My attitude to work, how I charge people, how much I take notice of the moaners, reflects that I feel i am doing a professional job.

7   Getting rid of poor work. At one time I was so busy I could not take on new work, the problem was i was busy with poor work. Some prices i doubled, a lot i droped. That left me free to pick up better work. My average account used to be about £6.00. Now my average is £12.00 and I have set a minimum of £10.00 for new work.

Thats it really, hope this helps.

[holland1945]

To be honest mate I was completely nervous about cleaning windows in the rain, but this past couple of months I've not had much choice as the heavens have opened with very little warning.

The first time I was working a close where I thought the customers (all retirement age or above) would give me grief, but nothing could be further from the truth, all of them paid happily and commented on how glad they were to see me in spite of the inclement weather.

The second time I cleaned in the rain (yesterday) i received a £2 tip 'for turning up in this horrible weather' and was made coffee on numerous occasions.

Once you have a good relationship with the customer I think they'll be much more 'open' to the idea of you cleaning in slight rain as they know that you provide a good,regular service.

However, yesterday the rain was falling in such a fashion that it didn't actually hit the windows, if it was lashing against the windows at 90 degrees it'd probably be best to spend the daying doing something else.  ......

.....maybe watch the latest series of 24. HURRAH

[KarlJones]

Sunshine,  That is some excellent stuff you just dished out.  I have just printed it out and stuck it on the wall in my bedroom so I can remind myself what I am trying to create.

[LSB]

I work on all the dry days ( and some of the wet ones ) ,

that normally means im up to date and therefore making a living !

[Count Phil]

I use a similar method of paying myself a wage. I pay all my money into one account. On the first of the month I transfer my months wage - enough to cover the bills. I always go a bit over but its a good target to live within my means. All the rest gets left in the other account and builds as I put money in during the month.

You know how much you earn on average during the year so you know how much to pay yourself, so when it's bad, your months wage is already in there. You've probably been able to save more by being regulated and living like employed people paid once a month. So it's less stressful earning next months money rather than today or tomorrows money. It just takes away the worry.

[cd5000]

I STARTED TO CLEAN CARPETS, COMES IN HANDY WHEN IT RAINS AND IT IS GOOD MONEY, I STARTED BY ASKING MY WINDOW CLEANING CUSTOMERS IF THEY WANTED THERE CARPETS CLEANED.

STEVE

[supernova77]

I STARTED TO CLEAN CARPETS, COMES IN HANDY WHEN IT RAINS AND IT IS GOOD MONEY, I STARTED BY ASKING MY WINDOW CLEANING CUSTOMERS IF THEY WANTED THERE CARPETS CLEANED.

STEVE 

Good idea - But how do you know when its going to rain so that you can book the carpet cleaning jobs in for rainy days? 

Andy

[geoffreyspecht]

simple, i in all weathers

[Lizzy]

Sunshine.....that post was fabulous.

Seems like you have sorted it out with a system that works for you.

[matt]

my advice

put a little aside for this time of the year ( do that extra house in the summer when your yearning to get home for your tea, put a little away a week and you dont miss it

last winter i didnt lose 1 day due to rain from Oct to end of Feb ( i only work first 3 days of the week though ) i was spoilt

this year has been a dead loss

today it was hammering down here, i didnt even go out, i got showered and went out for the day with the wife and my daughter, we got to the shops and planned to hav pizza hut, it stopped raining, now i know i should have rushed the shopping and came home and worked, but what the hell, i didnt , i enjoyed the day off with the family

[windows_chepstow]

To be frank, untill joining here I really struggled to make a living at all.

Etc.....

Thats it really, hope this helps.

Good post mate.

[windows_chepstow]

My question is  how do you get out to clean the windows when its raining all the time???   i only do it part time at the moment and finding it realy hard to get out to do them because the weather.What do you guys do in this situation?? do your wage suffer?? 

rhys

Rhys,  I'll clean windows in light to moderate rain if I need too; heavy too; depending on the type of account I'm doing.

But generally I try to avoid working in the rain.

Also, yes; our turnover has decreased since about mid-November when all this rain first started and continued for what seems like ever-since.

I'm lucky in that I work with Wor Lass and we have a routinely good hourly rate; so we only have to work a few hours to get enough work done to get the bills paid; most of 'em anyway.

My advice would be to price well and learn how to work quickly.

[rhys11]

Thanks you guys for all your replys

[AuRavelling79]

I've been window cleaning for ten years and this has been the wettest couple of months for me ever - but I'm still hanging on in there and last year was probably the best weather ever in the spring through to November - so swings and roundabouts.

Top post sunshine!