[seandyer2003]

ladders

[seandyer2003]

ladders on trad work obviously but wfp i arrange access

[windowwashers]

ladders

same way I go over wfp m8tey, just clean them quicker wfp

If if have no access I go over gates have small ladder in van to do this 

[brett walker]

quality = word of mouth = a good business and good prices, i find customers will pay a bit more for quality and will stay loyal

i built my business and name on quality

Brett

[peter holley]

you have to have quallity to build quantity...

[Londoner]

I think you are missing the point. Its not your quality that counts in this its the quality of your customers.

And I don't mean big houses and snotty owners ( the type who get out of the shower to have a pee)

Good customers + good price + right area+ easy access

If you do a brilliant job for a miserable old cow who's underpriced anyway thats not quality.

But when you get good customers you want lots. THATS quantity.

[Pj]

In this business it really depends on how you want to target the market.
If you want a good reputation for providing your services locally, then quality has to come first.
If you don't care about local reputation then go for quantity.  In windowcleaning if you're going for quantity then you need staff, you can't do it alone.  Same with any manual work.

My father in law made millions.  One thing he used to do was buy paperback bestsellers, he only made 5p  per book!  but all he did was the deal round the table, the rest was done by others as he would buy half a million books on pallets and distribute them to trade & retail outlets as fast as poss.  Quantity not quality.

[Oakley Windows]

M & S or Lidl

[Sir Squeaky]

I slackened off a few months back for more money.

Missed frosted windows, did less rinsing, didn't do frames on most, didn't detail trad stuff...etc...

Made noticably more money, but got tired, as I found it also encouraged me to spend all day rushing about flat out, to see how much I could do.

Got a complaint too, and that was the end of that.

Might do it today though, as I've got an area that I wouldn't finish and have to go back up on monday otherwise...

[Paul Coleman]

Confession time.  I've been making a gradual transition from quality to quantity.  However, that's not as bad as it sounds.  At one time I was spending more time than necessary on quality.  I still do a decent job but now without the overkill.  I take the view now that a very occasional complaint is an occupational hazard rather than a statement on my general standards.  Also, I reckon there is a choice in this matter.  I can try to put up all my prices to offset my increased costs or I can try to get through the work a bit faster and freeze the prices.  Another alternative is to work longer hours - difficult to do in Winter.  Not malingering this morning either.  Need to take it a bit easier today as my back is tweaking and I've got some non residential work to do on Sunday.  So if I were to focus too much on quality, I would need to increase my prices - perhaps not such a great idea at the moment.

[Londoner]

There's a man who knows his business. I reckon Shiner has hit the nail on the head.

There's quality and there is obsession, its hard to strike a happy medium. people on here have said in the past things like " I have never had a complaint in 20 years" well more fool them. A certain level of adverse customer reaction is healthy.

There's the old story I told a while back about Peter Perfect and Spash & Dash Sid. Who makes the most money?

[mick hay]

Different answers to 2 different scenarios really.

Lets say you employ 4 guys, 1 in each van, out on there own cleaning for you. No employee will clean and work to your standard in my eyes. So in this scenario, its gotta be quantity, with ongoing marketing to gain more custies, as you would prob loose them weekly due to standards of work. However, would be a very profitable business to have!

If you are on your own......Quality!

[ftp]

I think you need Quality in order to get Quantity. If you start out as splash and dash then you won't pick up much.

[pingu]

Most of us are more than likely guilty of swinging between quality and quantity...but I suspect the alot of us do not know when to stop with the washing, scrubbing and rinsing...I hold my hand up to this...I think I spend far to much time scrubbing and rising....

Tried my own windows the other day as a speed test and really went like the clappers ...one window had a few spots...but other than that all was well.

Dave.

[pjulk]

There has been some excellent replies on here.

I myself have always been a bit of a perfectionist but in doing this i sometimes get a bit  behind in my work.

I know i spend to much time washing and rinsing.

Today i went out and washed less and rinsed less and managed 4 extra jobs.

On my way home i stopped and checked a couple and they were perfect.

To be honest i would not mind the odd complaint as i tells me im slightly to fast or have not rinsed quite enough.
I never get a complaint and i think it's because i spoil them and go a bit OTT.

So i think that we need to find a balance between qualitity and quantity.

[seandyer2003]

ive only just gone wfp and i think i spend minutes more than necessary on evry window, but i am convinced  there gonna be awful when i leave them! And its hard to know when you have got the dirt off, and do you have to go over the whole sheet of glass rinsing?

[NWH]

ok is will say this another way the way I think

Quantity = busy fool
Quality = clever minded

this works for many business' not just window cleaning, but other business' do not work this way window cleaning yes Quality every time but having both is good

Don`t agree with that,a busy fool is someone that runs around allday for nothing not getting out of his busines what he could or should be.If the company is doing quantity there turning over a lot of business and can afford to be less fussy because if they lose the odd bit of business it`s not the end of the world,you can be as good as you can at this job if your not producing the numbers you won`t earn much or if you employ staff will go out of business.The only company i know that produces both of the above is VIRGIN,IMO they provide the ultimate service and by that i mean they make you feel like your a valued customer and not just a number.In his job i would say that if you give a reliable above average service you will go far but if you take quality to the extreme you`ll never make a what i call desent living.