[stuart mc]

keith i was thinking of letting him go he asking for too much money and im getting too many complaints giving him an appraisal today to straighten things out so gonna give it 4 weeks trial to improve, only just finding out off customer they aint been happy for months with standards so ive got to dramatically change something its hard when certain customers are ringing saying windows look great and so you think everythings going sound but then next minute your inundated with complaints, now i know people were saying i was giving him to much work but that is what he can do but i think the problem started when i was allowing him to get work done and go home to help with wedding arrangements etc i think hes been blitzing the work too fast and standards have dropped

im not really thinkin of franchise anytime soon i just thought id ask the question as it has recently came up in conversation with the lad who was looking to sell you a bit of work

this explains a lot richy, as soon as you make the job and finished there is a temptation to rush, especially if it isn't your own work, when I had a lad we worked together and all of a sudden he was getting faster and faster, I expected this as he was young and improving speed, but it was getting really fast, then the complaints started, we worked together from the one van, he was looking at the work list and watching me tick off the jobs as knew once the sheet was done it was home time, so next day unknown to him, I let crack on as normal and as the sheet got close to being finished I pulled out another one and the dread on his face was funny to watch, I worked him until 4pm then sat him in the van and explained standards etc and how he wasn't meeting them, then next day we went out and redid all the houses he had cleaned again slowly, that did the trick, your unlucky in that you send him out alone, but the appraisal may work, worth a try

[William McCafferty]

Richy

I worked in the Taxi and Courier trade for years, all the drivers are self employed.

In the taxi trade the driver provides his own vechicle, but some taxi companies do rent these out as well, the taxi driver pays a weekly radio rent and he is put on the rank and allocated jobs on a rank system, all the takings belong to him.

The courier driver also provides his own vechicle but is either paid a milege or commision of the job.

Both of these only work for one company and the taxman accepts that they are truly self employed.

You might want to look at this method.

The other way forward is look at your strengths and weaknesses, you seem to be good at getting work, but fail at the admistration and window cleaning side.

Why not get in a general manager who runs the admin and cleaning side of the business, while you consentrate on what you are good at which is getting the work in.

You will still need to sit down with the general manager to know what is happening in your business, but leave the running to him.

[colley614]

The other way forward is look at your strengths and weaknesses, you seem to be good at getting work, but fail at the admistration and window cleaning side.

Why not get in a general manager who runs the admin and cleaning side of the business, while you consentrate on what you are good at which is getting the work in.

You will still need to sit down with the general manager to know what is happening in your business, but leave the running to him.

I think that is a good idea myself, having someone who will run the company for you and deal with the admin and operations while you deal with gaining of new customers.

[richywilts]

yeah i agree gonna give it three months see how much work i can get in cant afford a new manager just yet i actually enjoy window cleaning when its all decent work and customers have been rang so gates are unlocked im quite happy window cleaning but im more focussed now new tax year has begun cant wait to start smashing it again and rebuild steadily

[rosskesava]

In the taxi and courier trade, both of which I've done, you're self employed partly because you can chose not to do a job.

When that option doesn't exist, you're not self employed.

[Roy Cauldery]

I'm stuck in the continuum again , help !!!!!!

[Dave Willis]

Bring in a manager? Kiss good bye to what? Fifteen grand a year plus your own non productive wages. Well there's thirty five thousand minimum your poor worker would have to fund.
Just keep it simple you could earn a brilliant wage on your own without the hassle of employing. You have the work in place. Sell or rent out the work you don't like and get off your arse.

[William McCafferty]

In the taxi and courier trade, both of which I've done, you're self employed partly because you can chose not to do a job.

When that option doesn't exist, you're not self employed.

the companies i worked for, this was not an option, if a driver refused work he was suspended or terminated.

[colley614]

If Richy was to take on a manager, then the manager would have to go on the tools. It's obvious that richy's strong points aren't working on the tools or the man management of his staff but at the same time he wants to drive his business forward so I think that bringing someone in that was going to take the bull by the horns and push it forward would be a good investment. But the type of person he would have to look for would be someone very experienced who is really motivated and could take his business down different channels.

[Dave Willis]

That's the man Richy should be - not a manager.
Richy could work on his own and turn over £1000 a week with the round he has. I wouldn't mind betting Richy struggles to earn half that money in his present role as managing director swinging about in his chair down at the unit he doesn't need.
If he has a massive surplus off work then Ians Franchising route would be perfect for Richy and he could still earn money in his chair.

[colley614]

Yes you are right, Richy should be that guy but that's his personality. He is struggling with the one employee at the moment, he has two vans and I presume that he's aiming at having both vans crewed and on the road. I know if I invested in two set ups I'd want the both manned. Either that or sells off his surplus assets and gives up the unit and does the work himself. I think if he doesn't take one of these two routes then it will be a downward spiral.

[Erithwc]

richy have a look at you google review don't sound good for potential customers i would be looking at getting the comment removed.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=window+clean+direct&fb=1&hq=window+clean+direct&cid=1020208678140227434&ei=AMGGT7jYHoXr8QOOn_zSBw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=placepage-link&resnum=1&ved=0CFMQ4gkwAA

Paul

[richywilts]

IVE READ IT MATE DONT KNOW WHERE ITS COME FROM I THINK ITS A BLAG COZ I CERTAINLY DONT REMEMBER ANYONE COMPLAINING I USED TO FIT UPVC FASCIAS AND GUTTERING SO IT WOULDNT BE A PROBLEM FOR ME TO REPAIR ANY DAMAGE

IVE COMPLAINED TO GOOGLE AND TRIED TO HAVE IT REMOVED BUT NOT HEARD ANYTHING, STILL GET A FAIR SHARE OF WORK THRU WEBSITE SO PEOPLE MUSTNT TAKE ANY NOTICE OF IT

[colley614]

Richy I used to get complaints for elite windows. I had one guy going ballistic down the phone at me because I hadn't turned up to fit his windows......this is elite window cleaning mate.......Oh, sorry.

[Erithwc]

IVE READ IT MATE DONT KNOW WHERE ITS COME FROM I THINK ITS A BLAG COZ I CERTAINLY DONT REMEMBER ANYONE COMPLAINING I USED TO FIT UPVC FASCIAS AND GUTTERING SO IT WOULDNT BE A PROBLEM FOR ME TO REPAIR ANY DAMAGE

IVE COMPLAINED TO GOOGLE AND TRIED TO HAVE IT REMOVED BUT NOT HEARD ANYTHING, STILL GET A FAIR SHARE OF WORK THRU WEBSITE SO PEOPLE MUSTNT TAKE ANY NOTICE OF IT

NO NEED TO SHOUT I WAS ONLY SAYING !!

[Richard iSparkle]

IVE READ IT MATE DONT KNOW WHERE ITS COME FROM I THINK ITS A BLAG COZ I CERTAINLY DONT REMEMBER ANYONE COMPLAINING I USED TO FIT UPVC FASCIAS AND GUTTERING SO IT WOULDNT BE A PROBLEM FOR ME TO REPAIR ANY DAMAGE

IVE COMPLAINED TO GOOGLE AND TRIED TO HAVE IT REMOVED BUT NOT HEARD ANYTHING, STILL GET A FAIR SHARE OF WORK THRU WEBSITE SO PEOPLE MUSTNT TAKE ANY NOTICE OF IT

there's no point in asking google to remove it.  you wont be able to get hold of a real person their, let alone them actually try to remove it.

all you can do is go to the source site and ask them to remove it if it's been scraped off another site. unfortunaltey in this case it was left on google.

unfortunatley you're stuck with it 

[AuRavelling79]

Richy I used to get complaints for elite windows. I had one guy going ballistic down the phone at me because I hadn't turned up to fit his windows......this is elite window cleaning mate.......Oh, sorry.

 

[stuart mc]

Richy you can leave a reply to the review or just add a review yourself in response