[Panorama]

true dave...me thinks these firemen our worse the doleys at least the firemen have jobs and  should have enough money to feed there kids..

. Since iam a fireman I'll take issue with this quote. I've got my insurance , I pay more tax ( because of a second income ) and everything I do is legitimate. To class me has worse than a doley is quite frankly an insult. At the end of the day my goal in life is to provide a decent living for my family. I'll ask you one question craig James . If you earn x amount per year then the following year you fast approach passing that amount, do you say to yourself , I better stop taking more work on because it's not right that I've got off my backside and provided a decent living for my family  ?........ At the end of the day we are all window cleaners, regardless of our backrounds and modes of transport. If you are legit all I say to anyboby , is well done .                                                                                    

[scud]

  I know a cleaner who works from an old Mondeo estate, 35 years in the job, still works what he has retained of his round off ladders ( the rest he has sold to me).

  I can gaurantee that he is the best cleaner around, with absolute tip top prices.

  Just because he works from an old car doesn't mean he is a doley, I think his window cleaning skills would put most of the younger upstarts to shame, that is why he charges top dollar for ALL his work.

[erithwc]

LOL, nothing wrong from starting out using the family car for business. But if you can’t find or don’t have a reason for buying a small van for your business after a few years, you don’t have a business.

wrong just because you don't have a van don't mean you haven't got a business

im looking a spending £8000 on a new motor for work after winter, am i going to buy a van no im going to get a berlingo multispace why ? because i like having the extra seats to take my 3 daughters out on my days off its all about what you need. plus some cars/mpvs look better than vans  

If someone has got a datsun sunny for work who cares worry about your own bussiness  :

[Paul-pp]

A good example happened last week when a friend of the family said she wanted me to become her w/c, she lives in a 2bed modern house for which i would charge my min rate of £8 - her current w/c does it for £3. I am all for competition, but how do you compete with that without "buying" the work?

[andyM]

LOL, nothing wrong from starting out using the family car for business. But if you can’t find or don’t have a reason for buying a small van for your business after a few years, you don’t have a business.

I cannot agree with that. There are some top class trad cleaners out there who have been in the biz 20 years+ and use cars to get around in.
I know someone in my area like that and he has more work than he knows what to do with as his customers will never drop him.
Sorry but your statement is nonsense Ewan  

[david watts]

i would just like to say sorry to evrybody on here for my coments about working;
out of a car ;i know its wrong to look down your nose at people as dole cheats
just cos they have a car and a low class car at that sorry but i carnt help it

[erithwc]

I see the point your making

But you don’t see mine, I can’t be bothered to explain in any detail but if/when you sell your business………….

i know what you are trying to say but it seems that people think you need to have a van to suceed why to be a sucess do you need a van NO i clean residential only so with a multispace i have enough room for a wfp trolley plus a 125 ltr tank and on my days off i can take the tank out and put the seats back.

if i was going after commercial work or jet washing i would buy a van but for residential cleaning their isn't any need for it.

at the end of the day its all about what you need to do the job when my daughters dont need running around and picking up from school then i will buy a van but until then i will stick to having a car/mpv.

[gary999]

i use a volkswagen passat estate and im 98% wfp,i was using asmall van
but two vehicles made no finanicial sense to me especially with
me being the only driver in the household.

i take 200ltrs of water out with me in the morning and if need
be top up for the afternoon all my work is within a few miles
radius of my home and is all residential so its totally managable



i wouldnt say its ideal but its workable and in the summer
i shall move onto a multispace and when the youngest
has left home for university following our eldest lad i will
go back to using vans.

just because people use other vehicles than vans dont
assume they are either dole dossers or no hopers.
i may be no empire builder but i make more than a decent
living from what im doing.

if your on about the professionalism of window means you
must have a sign written van ive come across plenty
of all the gear and no idea cowboys who couldnt wipe
their own arses never mind clean windows

[Craig Trevain]

Cant get a ladder rack for all cars, mine included!

[clearlyclean]

Cant get a ladder rack for all cars, mine included!

get a Mondeo you buy a cheap rack in Halfords

[Moderator David@stives]

Theres room for everyone, sometimes it does hurt when you have spent thousands, and Mondeo man is cleaning up with beer towels and beats you to that prized job

 nothing wrong with that.

Its not his fault you feel like a wounded Lion, If you are going to invest in your expensive work equipment, its up to you to market to the clients where you think it will make a difference.

Theres approx 30 Million properties in this country, I would concentrate on getting your fair share rather than what Mondeo man is up to.

[cozy]

I agree with that attitude. There are enough custies if you go find them.

What a strange situation it is though on this topic. We are all in the maintainance cleaning service. If we don't go to work on Monday, the country wont come to a grinding halt will it? I mean, we supply a service, but it's not really hard to get into.
What's happening now is, some window polishers have a pole, others use squeegies. Now it's an issue for some of us.
I know how it felt when I first got into this malarky. Down the pub, someone asks you what you do for a living and you answer, "Oh I've got a cleaning firm and do mostly commercial work" blah blah .

Some guys need to get over their own image here. So long as you earn enough to live the lifestyle you want, where's the problem?

By the way Ewan, when you leave Sainsbury's and start your business, try and remember all that advice you gave. :

[erithwc]

Some guys need to get over their own image here. So long as you earn enough to live the lifestyle you want, where's the problem?

By the way Ewan, when you leave Sainsbury's and start your business, try and remember all that advice you gave. :

quality comment    very funny nice one cozy

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

What a hilarious presumption to make.

I'm all for running a van, but it doesn't instantly make you a business.

My van troubles have been well documented this year and currently use the family car and a trailer.

One customer thought I had "gone all posh" because of using a car rather than the van.

Another presumed I had bought into a franchise because of how I presented myself, he said this after complimenting my trailer set-up and "new" vehicle.

Moral: Don't presume anything or you could end up looking like a fool.

[mikecam]

I find it really annoying that ive invested thousands in decent kit/van/insurance/training/marketing etc for them to turn up & undercut me & drag down this trade

And that is YOUR problem. You've invested thousands. Its possible for very minimal investment to do this job (window cleaning). Infact if you already have a car its possible to get going with £200 worth of kit. Are you sure you researched your business well before you embarked upon it? Oh, and i must be one of the ones who drag the trade down too, because if i can undercut you and it pays me to do it, then i will do it.  
 You might be better spending your time and concentration on what YOU are doing and not everyone else you see.
 I feel better now !!!!!!

[Paul-pp]

Sure i could of invested peanuts & looked like a monkey,

[zimzam]

Sure i could of invested peanuts & looked like a monkey,

thats exactly what you've done bubbles.

[cozy]

Sure i could of invested peanuts & looked like a monkey,

But you're the one bleating, : Get a grip and get over yourself. Mondeo man maybe earning more than you. He could even know how to clean the insides too.  There's a funny concept, a WC that can clean insides too.................

[erithwc]

Sure i could of invested peanuts & looked like a monkey,

what ever make you feel good its your bussiness.

I use my 06 plate fiesta for work, i have a nice uniform polo, fleece & jumper with logo and phone number on it, i am a traditional window cleaner with a point ladder (getting purefreedom trolley in Feb ) and i have never had a customer say i don't want you to clean my windows because you use a car residential customers don't care most of the time my car is parked up and i walk round to do my rounds

[kate1]

From an outsiders point of view, from what I read, all I can establish is that you all work different methods, ways, vehicles, marketing, expansion.  None of which are to say is wrong.  Whatever works for everybody is fine, because we are all in diffferent situations, with different expectations.  It all depends ultimately where you end up, or want to take the business.  Do you want to make provisions now should you want to sell, if it were the case, then you would be having hindsight, thinking forward.  I think everybody has a separate level of what they want to achieve, and I think that should be respected