[williamx]

what and you dont use a ladder EVER!!if you dont your not a PROPER window cleaner!!

dont need you to tell me to be careful i fell off twice(not for 10 yrs now though!)landed on my heels both times.ok though.hurt my back a bit last time but was back at work the next day!i was very lucky!

ill be mostly wfp in a few months but ill always have a need for the ladders sometimes mate.

regards

dazmond

I am a "Proper Window Cleaner" and I have a very sucessful business to prove it, yet I have not used a ladder for the last 7 years and I do not intend to start a bad habit again.

With all the equipment that is available today there is no need for a window cleaner to use a ladder, you might find 1 window that can only be accessed by a ladder, but 1 window out of hundreds of houses does not justify the use of a ladder or the death of a window cleaner.

You have had 2 accidents that you were lucky to walk away from, but there are many window cleaners who have ended their lives just to clean a piece of glass.

[dazmond]

how an earth can you reach the top windows on a kitchen extension if their really set back?windows above large porches with sloping driveways?conny roofs if conny is against nextdoors fence with no access to nextdoor?

im sorry mate but i would have to miss these windows out without a ladder!!

locked gates?we all come across these from time to time even if we ring em up the night before!! :

you must miss a lot of windows out then pal!!

what about soffit/frame cleans if their really mingin?you need to get up a ladder and scrub properly!!the list goes on!

[actualcleaning]

I would say that it is a very rare occurance for a window to be inaccesable for a wfp operative.However i can think of numerous conservatories that a trad cleaner just wouldn't be able to access unlees they maybe had a stretch with a squegee on a pole,and we know what results that would give.
As for minging fascias well by spraying from the ground with tfr and then poleing the results are quality,and believe me i have done some green ones in my time,but it comes up even better with a pressure washing system.
Trad has it's place,and it's definatly a skill,but wfp is advancing the industry where ladders will be a last resort one day.
You only have to look at commercial work say 10-15 years ago,how differant is that today,you wouldn't stand a chance of gaining decent commercial work just using ladders.
Time to advance and take hold of new technology and safety issues,the industry is moving on and some are being left behind.

 

[Johnny B]

If we choose to use ladders, then we choose to accept that there are risks involved. In my humble opinion if a ladder is used correctly with regard to angle, not over reaching, three point contact or placement on slippery or uneven ground etc., the use of a ladder is as safe as its user.

I also would point out that because I use ladders to clean windows, does that make me any less a 'proper'window cleaner than one who chooses to use alternative methods? I think not, as I have well over 400 customers who are loyal and satisfied with the standard to which I clean their windows.

I should add that I never rush about to the detriment of my or anybody else's personal safety. If a window cannot be reached with a ladder, I tell the customer and they are always OK with that.

With regard to trad window cleaners being left behind, I don't care if I am. My
customers are not all going to cancel on me for the sake of technology, so as long as I can continue to do a good job for them and make enough to live on, I will be content with that.

Best wishes,
John.

[gary999]

how an earth can you reach the top windows on a kitchen extension if their really set back?windows above large porches with sloping driveways?conny roofs if conny is against nextdoors fence with no access to nextdoor?

im sorry mate but i would have to miss these windows out without a ladder!!

locked gates?we all come across these from time to time even if we ring em up the night before!! :

you must miss a lot of windows out then pal!!

what about soffit/frame cleans if their really mingin?you need to get up a ladder and scrub properly!!the list goes on!

wfp does it all for me

i could climb ladders but to honest im far to lazy these days
i would rather make my money in an easier way,ali pole up
then ali pole down

never had a prob cleaning any of the above, as for access i either call
text or drop notes off to customers letting them knowthat i am
coming. on the rare occasion i cant access the back i just clean the front
but as im wfp i can get more done in a day so im hardly losing out

yep!! far too lazy to climb ladders

i wish i had your energy

[Mike55]

Out of interest with the advancement of WFP do any of you guys think that trad cleaners will become sought after by customers as the number of trad cleaners reduce?

[gary999]

nope

[Johnny B]

I have had quite a number of my customers ask if I intend to change over to the
wfp system. I said that I don't and they have unanimously expressed their relief. I have picked up work from wfp'ers who did a poor job. To be fair, I have also picked up work from trads who also did an unsatisfactory job, so there are clearly good and poor window cleaners on either side of the wfp v trad argument.

I am not knocking either system at all. We make our choices and live by or suffer the consequences. Neither method is wrong, so why do some have to insist that one way or the other is? And perhaps a more salient point, why should anyone care?

John.   

[Window Washers]

I have had quite a number of my customers ask if I intend to change over to the
wfp system. I said that I don't and they have unanimously expressed their relief. I have picked up work from wfp'ers who did a poor job. To be fair, I have also picked up work from trads who also did an unsatisfactory job, so there are clearly good and poor window cleaners on either side of the wfp v trad argument.

I am not knocking either system at all. We make our choices and live by or suffer the consequences. Neither method is wrong, so why do some have to insist that one way or the other is? And perhaps a more salient point, why should anyone care?

John.   

That post is so true John,

I have picked up work from wfp customers and trad, and we clean 99% wfp, we wll always lost customers it is nature of having a lot of customers they come and go.

Some Customers Lie. they slate wfp when really they dont like it, and likewise they slate a trad cleaner because he was cleaning port holes.

I use ladders for access only I do not have a problem using ladders I choose not to because of risk.


Makes me shudder that someone has died using a tool I use myself as do my staff.
I have been trained in the use of them  10 years after I stopped using them