[Sean Kelly]

Have recently gone to wfp, had a customer text today saying they no longer want me due to the dirt collection on the first clean, I told them before had to expect white dirt spots and that these are not water marks,

Then to top it off done a customers house I've had for 6 months, she was in but wouldn't open there door when it come to paying up after I knocked twice,


Only a plus picked up 4 more customers

[dave0123]

Dirt collection on the first clean? what do you mean mate? .. ya supposed to clean the dirt off  lol

[Sean Kelly]

They were filthy!! I told them it will take 1-2 more cleans to get them nice

[dave0123]

if you use more water and scrub a little longer first cleans usually come up fine! expect to take nearly twice as long though!

[gary999]

sorry matey but should be spot on first time...next time on a first
clean scrub and rinse longer.

if somebody told me it would take more than one clean to get
the job done right and expected to get paid...well 

[Sean Kelly]

Ok thanks for your advice guys ill take it on board

[dave0123]

its well worth getting your first clean spot on.. its the one the customer is going to be checking and looking at how good you are! 

[gary999]

Ok thanks for your advice guys ill take it on board

good attitude matey....I imagine you will do fine

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

its well worth getting your first clean spot on.. its the one the customer is going to be checking and looking at how good you are! 

Yep, good advice.

[Archer]

Sean Kelly,

Keep scrubbing and rinsing off and you will get better results.

We cleaned a job last week, and had to go over it 5 times as it was filthy.

[8weekly]

sorry matey but should be spot on first time...next time on a first
clean scrub and rinse longer.

if somebody told me it would take more than one clean to get
the job done right and expected to get paid...well 

Up to a point. I took one on this week with sash wood frames on a busy road and they were minging front and back. There is no way I could get them perfect first time. The only way to do it would be to wait for them to dry, then go over the glass only. With windows like those, I think it is better to just say it will take a few cleans to get them perfect.

[Archer]

It also depends on the height in which you are working, because there are occasions when it is difficult to see exactly how they are cleaning from ground level, in which case the higher windows will require a good few cleans to achieve the desired results.

[mark dew]

sorry matey but should be spot on first time...next time on a first
clean scrub and rinse longer.

if somebody told me it would take more than one clean to get
the job done right and expected to get paid...well 

Agree with that.

On repetitive work it's well worth spending whatever it takes time wise to achieve a good result that 1st time.
Once this is done you will end up flying around maintenance cleans with speed and confidence the jobs going to dry good.

[gary999]

sorry matey but should be spot on first time...next time on a first
clean scrub and rinse longer.

if somebody told me it would take more than one clean to get
the job done right and expected to get paid...well 

Up to a point. I took one on this week with sash wood frames on a busy road and they were minging front and back. There is no way I could get them perfect first time. The only way to do it would be to wait for them to dry, then go over the glass only. With windows like those, I think it is better to just say it will take a few cleans to get them perfect.

I would never say to any customer it will take several cleans to get them right
I would rather as I do...clean to the best of my ability then make a point of
suggesting on rare occasions there could be a possibility of some spotting
and if it happens I will be only too glad to go back and reclean the offending windows

if it happens at all its normally in the cooler part of year when the glass doesn't
dry as quick.

shouldn't be a issue this time of year the glass dries quickly so if there has been any
errors they can be quickly rectified...re cleaning and if necessary putting a squeegee
on a pole and quickly drying the glass so totally eliminating the problem

I get all my work from recommendations that happens because I don't take
the easy or as I see it the lazy way out.

[gary999]

It also depends on the height in which you are working, because there are occasions when it is difficult to see exactly how they are cleaning from ground level, in which case the higher windows will require a good few cleans to achieve the desired results.

to be fair I have no knowledge of high level cleaning as I don't do any
I would imagine archer on a average domestic property you would
rectify a problem if there was one if a customer complained.

[8weekly]

sorry matey but should be spot on first time...next time on a first
clean scrub and rinse longer.

if somebody told me it would take more than one clean to get
the job done right and expected to get paid...well 

Up to a point. I took one on this week with sash wood frames on a busy road and they were minging front and back. There is no way I could get them perfect first time. The only way to do it would be to wait for them to dry, then go over the glass only. With windows like those, I think it is better to just say it will take a few cleans to get them perfect.

I would never say to any customer it will take several cleans to get them right
I would rather as I do...clean to the best of my ability then make a point of
suggesting on rare occasions there could be a possibility of some spotting
and if it happens I will be only too glad to go back and reclean the offending windows

if it happens at all its normally in the cooler part of year when the glass doesn't
dry as quick.

shouldn't be a issue this time of year the glass dries quickly so if there has been any
errors they can be quickly rectified...re cleaning and if necessary putting a squeegee
on a pole and quickly drying the glass so totally eliminating the problem

I get all my work from recommendations that happens because I don't take
the easy or as I see it the lazy way out.

Your point is a valid one, and in general I admire your ethic and would go along with you, but to be honest I would rather lose some customers as they would be unprofitable. The one I described the other day is a case in point. Also, because there is no contract, I would not put a disproportionate amount of time into a "minger" when the real possibility exists that they will get bored with their clean windows and cancel you after a couple of cleans.

[Archer]

Gary999,

Yes I would most certainly.

Sorry, I was merely commenting about certain heights working with the poles, which only applies to very heigh level as we work to 90ft on a couple of buildings.

[Paul Coleman]

My own wording goes something like, "Sometimes there are imperfections on first cleans due to detergents used on previous cleans and because I take the trouble to scrub the frames.  This can mean that dirt trickles down from the frames.  However, I do go around the windows twice to keep this to a minimum.  Any imperfections that may be left after the first clean will be resolved on the second."

This gives them the message that any issues are being caused by you being thorough (true).  That it only happens sometimes (true).  That if there are any issues, the second clean will sort them out fully (usually true with possible, occasional exceptions).
Just be up front about it.

[dazmond]

i never ever say to customers "it will take a few cleans to get your windows cleaned properly!"

if its a "minger" first clean charge them more!sometimes it takes me 3 times as long as a maintenance clean.


case in point. last year i posted that i made a mistake on a first clean by not charging more.it took me 3 HOURS TO CLEAN  a property for £45.so £15 an hour.i was devastated at the time!

that job now takes me 50 mins for £45 and its almost a joy to clean!

[PoleKing]

I charge more and warn of spotting.
Belt & braces for the one off brigade.

[David stewart]

The technique I use on a first clean is to give the frames all a good run round with the brush (on a section of the house, say do the whole front) and then by the time I'm back at the first window the vents should have stopped dripping. pay good attention to dividers as dirt will collect on the top side of them. then move onto the glass giving each pane a really good scrub making sure to get along the tops of the frames where they meet the glass, go right round the section of the house and then back again to the first window and do the normal for my maintenance cleans which is two agitations and a good rinse. Then move onto the next section of the house and do the same.
It's worth putting in the extra effort to keep the customer happy and ultimately keep the business. After a first clean I do explain about the build up of years of dirt/detergent which can cause the odd run but tell the customer I've cleaned them 3 times and they should be perfect but if anything they aren't happy with, just text or ring and il happily put it right. Never had a call yet.

[landy2]

i find on first cleans they are not always 100 %  , you have to understand that you are cleaning a property that you are not going to get anymore money for , i always clean to the same way , on a house that is been booked in for a one of clean then yes i would go over it a couple of times as i have budget for a one of clean

[formb]

If I employed someone to clean my windows I'd want them clean that day. If they came up streaky you'd better come back and clean them straight away or you wouldn't be coming back ever.

If you can't afford to spend enough time on windows to get them clean you need to charge more.

[H2GoKent]

My own wording goes something like, "Sometimes there are imperfections on first cleans due to detergents used on previous cleans and because I take the trouble to scrub the frames.  This can mean that dirt trickles down from the frames.  However, I do go around the windows twice to keep this to a minimum.  Any imperfections that may be left after the first clean will be resolved on the second."

This gives them the message that any issues are being caused by you being thorough (true).  That it only happens sometimes (true).  That if there are any issues, the second clean will sort them out fully (usually true with possible, occasional exceptions).
Just be up front about it.

+1 used wording like that for 10 years only ever had one or two cancel.

[formb]

If a window needs to be re-cleaned 10 times you should do it. And with a smile on your face. They are paying you to clean their windows FFS. No wonder women on mumsnet think they are being ripped off.

I find the opposite to be more of a problem. Once you have got it right first time you will never get streaks. Sometimes they don't tell you it has come up streaky so you just give it a once over next time, meaning it will streak again. I'd much rather know I'd left a crap job so I could get it right on day 1

[Paul Coleman]

If a window needs to be re-cleaned 10 times you should do it. They are paying you to clean their windows FFS. No wonder women on mumsnet think they are being ripped off.

That's all very well but are they prepared to pay a lot extra for the first clean?  A big extra charge would be the way because I would want to guard against taking 2-3 times longer when someone cancels because they only wanted a one off anyway.

[formb]

Cancellations, messers, 1offs they are all part of the game. You need an overall pricing structure that covers you, or just clean them properly in the first place.

[Archer]

There have been many occasions that I have cleaned buildings at a loss, taking longer on the initial clean to get them bang on, which in turn makes it easier for future cleans and also enables me to show just how good of a job I do.

Obviously this only applies to regular work which has been arranged before the initial clean is carried out.

So the windows get cleaned as many times as it takes, we have just done this on a building last week.

[dave0123]

I agree with ARCHER, sometimes a first clean just doesn't make you any money!! but it does pay off! next time around and its always nice to know the customers are really pleased with the results.


I was always taught to do a good job at window cleaning no matter how long it takes even if you don't make any money from it.. its called reputation!

[richard jagger]

Here go mate look and learn try look at all this guys youtube listing. You need to u
understand W F P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uuPft4tjLk

[Sean Kelly]

Thanks for all your help

[Elfyn]

Does anyone give real mingers a good dry brushing with cobweb brush first, before washing?
I do a lot of near one off cleans on commercial properties and I find this method gets rid of the loose muck and cobwebs.

[richard jagger]

Good , Top  tip Elfin

[8weekly]

Good , Top  tip Elfin

+1