[The Jester of Wibbly]

A blast from the past.

My first ever customer I cleaned moved out of the area about 7 years ago after working for him for a few years.  Also was always a very promt payer.

Got a call from him today. Back in my area again and back on board as he kept my number.

It's a good feeling 

[Soupy]

1994 summer holidays, first customer, Monday morning.

Dad: "Don't put the bucket behind the ladder"

14 year old me: "I know dad, I'm not stupid"

Splosh.

[Dave Anderson]

1st ever day on the job 06th August 2006..... Viking oval brush, Glass fiber pole, Freedom Trolly with aload of 25litre cans in the back of the van..... still cleaning it

Thanks to everyone here who helped along the way and of course Andrew McCaan who helped me as I fumbled my way in the first few days.

[Dave Anderson]

And now a Facelift pole, again in '06 still cleaning it.

[Dave Anderson]

That 'kin glass-fibre pole again..... still cleaning it.

[Roy Harding]

The first one I canvassed and cleaned in 1985, I still clean every 4wks.

[richard groves]

September 2003 , two of us on a weeks try out for a local firm, given 10 mins instruction on wfp and left to own devices. A 45 ft Ott fiberglass pole ( though it may as well have been made of lead pipe ) base section was taller than we were ! " go clean this 4 storey office block " if any of you had watched us you'd be ping yerselves ! Second guy folded after first day, said sod that ! ..... Glad I stuck at it now though    ......

[richard groves]

...... Thing is though, since going alone self employed , can't for the life of me remember who or where my first customer came from   

[Perfect Windows]

Yup, I have a framed scanned copy of their cheque on the wall.

Vin

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Don't remember my first customer, but still have a number of my early customers on my round after 40 years, and also some of their kids who now have families of their own including one young man who bought the house he grew up in after his mum sold it to an older couple who sadly both died within a couple of years.  Makes me feel old.

[AuRavelling79]

Besides practicing on my own house and my mother's I "bought" £100 worth of work in 1996 for £200. This comprised of about 8 houses. Over the years five of these eight houses I "gave away" as they became non-profitable. Two others (farms) I lost in the foot and mouth epidemic of 2001  but one I still have from 1996.

Mr and Mrs S. the same owners. Their kids who were early/mid teens and have grown up - one  gone to Uni and married with kids herself aged about 33 now. Nice detached property in about an acre of land with about 20 windows which I did off of ladders for £14.00 every 8 weeks. They were all Georgian panes too. It took me an hour, but I couldn't get the dormers as they were set in the main roof which is single roman tiles.

They have extended the property but no Georgian panes anymore and I can get the dormers with my pole. So now it is about 28 windows which I do for £28 in about 35 - 40 minutes.

[duncan h]

My best friend. He bought a Methodist church. I thought half hours work £7. He said It was too little and said £15. I still do them at £15. He hasn't paid me for 7 months. I will leave it till Christmas.
If I priced it up now, it would be £40. He said he wouldnt be having them done lol. I miss the frosted glass and do then every 6 months or so. Don't tell him

[dazmond]

new year january 1993 i remember canvassing an estate in an affluent area  in the snow.i picked up 3 new customers!(one i still clean 24 years on!).i now clean 80+ properties on this estate.

i was so happy just to get them 3 jobs at first!

[Stoots]

November 2014. Yes I remember it. Took me forever as I'd only practiced on my house before that. Still clean it and still the same price.

[rosskesava]

2001.

Me and a mate both on the dole bored and broke. We found an old brass squeegee in a skip and desperate for some beer money he joked he had a ladder and how about knocking on some neighbours doors.

With a bucket, some tea towels, the squeegee that we had found, his ladder and a sponge, and some door knocking, we badly cleaned the windows of two houses on the council estate where we both lived and it took all afternoon..

We charged a fiver for each house and had 2 pints each that evening down the pub.  We both felt like we had achieved something special and it was more like a celebration.

The landlady of the pub when hearing our story said we could clean the windows of the pub and we agreed the huge fee of a tenner. We done that the next day which took hours and hours which then got spent... in the pub.

My missus was seriously unimpressed at my new found way of making money.

[Tosh]

1998. I started with a fella I knew who had an established round. Two weeks after starting I fell off the ladder trying to bounce it along a window cill so I could reach the far side of the window. It would've been okay had the ladder been on grass, but it was on concrete. I broke my leg and heel.


6 weeks later the fella I was working with had decided it wasn't going to work, me working with him, so he sold me a wedge of work, well rented it to me. I can't remember which were the first houses on that round I did by myself but I don't do them anymore, I sold the work on to someone on here who never cleaned any of it, ever.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

I didn't remember my first paying customer when I started reading this thread but reading your post Slacky has brought it back because I started with a friend.  He still is a friend but I don't see him often.  However, I remember thinking on the very first house we did, a three bed council house, "this isn't going to work."  We were using leathers and scrims back then and he was so slow.  I wasn't quick, but by the time I'd  finished the downstairs of the house he was still doing the first pane of glass he'd started on.  So after a very short period of time we split the work we had 50/50 and went our separate ways.  He didn't stick it though and I'm still at it 41 years on.  There's been a few changes since those early days of bicycling, wooden ladders, leather, scrim and 45 pence a house.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

I found my first pole the other day (could not throw it away) A nice orange fibre glass thing with a red broom like brush head.  I picked it up and took a double take on it thinking "wow. How the hell did I mange to work with this? Heavy!"

[Dry Clean]

Cant remember my first customers but will never forget my first poles a Xtel fiberglass 36 footer with a brick on the top  is something you never forget closely followed by a 25ft that was actually 23ft Brodex Hydra alloy.
My arms still ache thinking about them.

[jonboywalton75]

1st custie was cleaned on a Monday in mid July 1972,somewhere in Widnes with a chamois and scrim