[Chris A]

Dave,
      First let me apologise if I went on at you yesterday, I was in the pub all afternoon and Man City lost again . I'm still new to window cleaning and thought it would be a good idea to join some sort of association but am still unsure of the benefits. Looking back through the posts they have been deleted so if you could explain the advantages of joining the apwc it would be great

[Trevor Knight]

Hi Chris,

Take a look at this page. http://www.apwc.info/html/membership_benefits.html

Best wishes,

Trevor

[reah]

Hey
i joined a fed two years ago
not one of my clients have ever heard of any fed come to think of it neither had i before i came on to these sites.
If i am honest i have never benefited in any way from being a fed member.
so my money is better of in the bank.
I am in no way knocking any one.
I am in this to earn money not waste it.
All the info i need regarding window cleaning i can get from these sites.
Reah

[Moderator David@stives]

Chris

No need to apologise, We all get wound up from time to time, its just the nature of forums.

The main benefit of joining an association and that is true of most trades ,is that you are showing your professionalism and you are aspiring to be the best you can.

You are also showing your customers that you have presented refrences and the relevent insurance, you dont get cowboys joining associations do you ?.

By joining it also helps you stand out from the crowd,think about it if you were employing the services of a trades man , who would you most likely go for the one with or the one without association accreditation.


 Trevor has provided a link with the full list of benefits, We have another benefit in addition to the ones shown which i think is the best, I dont know if i can tell you about it yet i will double check with the rest of the  committee

Dave

[Trevor Knight]

Hi Reah,

The association that you joined 2 years ago was as is now known, The Federation Of Window Cleaners and NOT the Association Of Professional Window Cleaners

I understand that you as well as many others are not satisfied with this Federation and The APWC is a totally seperate Association altogether.

Have a look at the previous link I have posted and you will see several aspects that make it stand out.

Best wishes,

Trevor

[reah]

Hey
I must say very impressive and seems professional.
Do you have a mission statement yet.
Looking at that list my mind is changing.
Thanks for the link trevor
Reah

[Trevor Knight]

Glad to be of assistance.

Best wishes,

Trev

[www.crawleycarpetc]

Seems a lot of money to me, What actually happens to all the membership fees etc? 

[Moderator David@stives]

RCS

If you look at other trade associations in  different professions you will see that the APWC is very cheap and good value.
Most associations charge anything from £200 upwards.

As regards to the membership fees, all the money recieved goes back in to delivering member benefits.

What you have to look at is the association was started and is being run by ordinary window cleaners who are giving there time for nothing.

Dave

[www.crawleycarpetc]

Very commendable Dave, Do your members get to see the accounts?

Regards Rob.

[windolene]

Hi,

I am awaiting thier liability insurance before I consider joining. When will this be up & running.

Kevin WINDOLENE

[Moderator David@stives]

RCS
The members will be supplied with proper Audited accounts at each AGM, for members not attending an AGM, they will receive a copy via post and these will also be available in the members only area of the apwc website



Windowlene

We are in the final negotiations with an insurance underwriter and details will be available in the next week or 2

Dave

Dave

[reah]

Hey
I was sent  an email regarding joining
Which i dismissed.
Can i be sent or have the link regarding how much to join as i am changing my mind.
Thanks Reah

[Moderator David@stives]

www.apwc.info

[reah]

Thanks

[Ian Rochester]

I'm not one to knock any association and I'm currently a member of FWC, however to be a member of any credible association you need to demonstrate to the public that you are a credible member, ie: proof of training and ability, certification, insurance, H&S awareness, etc.

These should all be asked for and certified before members are allowed to join, this would then demonstrate to the public that the association has some standing.

APWC, what do you need to prove in order to join, other than having a few quid to spare and an £80 public insurance policy?  All the rest of the criteria demonstrate nothing.

Joe Bloggs off the street could set up tomorrow with 3 references from mates, a PL policy for £80 and a glib promise to APWC or FWC for that matter, to comply by the holy guidelines, which are totally unenforceable.  Next week he is walking along as an associate member.  I joined FWC as it is now after only a few weeks cleaning windows.

Both of these associations are concerned with saving money for their members and not about demonstrating to the public that members who hold a card are able to demonstrate their competence at the task they are doing.

Would you use a non Corgi registered engineer on your gas system?  I wouldn't.  That is one association that carried a lot of weight!  Make yourselves of that standing and I will willingly join.

Rant over!

[Ian Rochester]

Also just noticed that there is nothing on the website that tells the public why they should employ someone carrying a APWC card as opposed to someone without.

In three years I have never been asked by anyone, commercial or domestic for my FWC membership card and we do a lot of high profile customers including local and regional councils, NHS, who are all normally s**t hot on qualifying credibility

[Moderator David@stives]

Ian

The web site is only a temporary one and the new will be released within the next week or so, also we have not officially launched yet as we are finalising the last few benefits.

Dave

[www.crawleycarpetc]

I'm not one to knock any association and I'm currently a member of FWC, however to be a member of any credible association you need to demonstrate to the public that you are a credible member, ie: proof of training and ability, certification, insurance, H&S awareness, etc.

These should all be asked for and certified before members are allowed to join, this would then demonstrate to the public that the association has some standing.

APWC, what do you need to prove in order to join, other than having a few quid to spare and an £80 public insurance policy? All the rest of the criteria demonstrate nothing.

Joe Bloggs off the street could set up tomorrow with 3 references from mates, a PL policy for £80 and a glib promise to APWC or FWC for that matter, to comply by the holy guidelines, which are totally unenforceable. Next week he is walking along as an associate member. I joined FWC as it is now after only a few weeks cleaning windows.

Both of these associations are concerned with saving money for their members and not about demonstrating to the public that members who hold a card are able to demonstrate their competence at the task they are doing.

Would you use a non Corgi registered engineer on your gas system? I wouldn't. That is one association that carried a lot of weight! Make yourselves of that standing and I will willingly join.

Rant over!

Thats what i thought! 

[Pj]

Well done for all your hard work on it Dave.  Don't get discouraged.

Pj