General Cleaning Issues - Floorcare, car valeting, buying and selling businesses, pricing, staffing, market research, etc.
Those Darned Awkward JobsPosted by Les (Les), 4 February 2004
Hi all,
I was wondering if any of you good folks get jobs where you think, " Why did I say yes to this job"?
I was pondering this question whilst attempting to clean and reseal the floor of a garage forecourt shop, late at night whilst they were still open 
I then recalled the time I was asked to clean the entrance carpet of a Sports Centre, during the day, with hundreds of school children in and out,(and it rained) 
or the time I had to deep clean the swimming pool changing room floors of another sports centre, again whilst open.
Their appears to be a chemical reaction between floor cleaning products and the public 
once applied it seems to draw the poor unsuspecting person to walk all over it, (obviously after they've moved the 'Caution Wet Floor' sign out of their way).
Have you noticed that they always say "Sorry mate" only once they've got to the other side 
Am I just unlucky or do you have similar tales to tell ? 
Posted by Happyeater (Happyeater), 4 February 2004
Been there, done it too. We used to clean Moto Service stations, including the walkways over the motorway. 12,000 sq ft to be stripped and sealed. Of course it had to be done overnight and the fun and games began.
Firstly, only a few power points worked, so extensions were required. The stripper applied was so slippy we had to walk arould holding onto the barriers to stay upright while buffing and aquavacing. Then the temperature dropped.
All that glass turned the walkways into a fridge. Bloody freezing. The polish wouldn't dry at all.
Then around midnight the drunks arrived. We had half the walkway (length ways) cordened off with tape attached to cones. These beggars climb over the tape and walk up the polished side, then as they are shouted and say 'Sorry mate' and climb back over....or simply ignore you.
We took two full nights and a part of the morning to complete. Five of us, cold and knackered, two nights running. And as the carrot was doing it often, we did it for £800 !!!!!!!! 
Ho hum.Posted by Les (Les), 4 February 2004
Brilliant !
I'm feeling better already 
Posted by Happyeater (Happyeater), 4 February 2004
Glad about that. Here's another corker;
Batleys warehouse, they asked for the toilets to be deep cleaned. These were the toilets used by the drivers....and they hadn't ever employed a contractor to clean them. I thought the walls were flat, painted black....they were actually white tiles!! Anyway, my partner thought he'd hire a petrol power wash the blast the walls clean. £60 for the hire.
This was another over night'er, so he set up and started the engine and 3000 psi hammered against the mucky goo. Next thing, the fire alarms go off. Not sure if it was the spray or the fumes from the engine but, it meant a callout for the key holder and a 3 fire engines. Total cost £ 220. Add that to the hire charge etc. We were paid...erm...nothing, the job went undone. Got no more work either.Posted by Les (Les), 4 February 2004
Great Job cleaning ain't it ?
Years ago.... 
when I was still a bit new at carpet cleaning I got asked to a job for the Harristokracy, (Lord and Lady whassername). They said a friend of theirs had reccomended me to them, (must've been looking for a mug) 
Told me the stately home they lived in wasn't far away from me, (not in their 4.6 litre Range-Rover), took me 1 1/2 hours to get there in my Honda Acty Van (600 cc of sheer power) 
Mu Lord & Lady were out, (shooting peasants I think) and there were so many rooms the staff couldn't remember which one to do. I was already running out of time and I hadn't even started yet.
Eventually completed job and lady wasserface was well pleased.
She asked if I could 'JUST' do the stairs before I left... you guessed it, last cleaned during the war and about 20 feet wide!
No problem, after all I didn't have stair tool then so I used my trusty 3 inch hand tool.
I think Terry Waite probably felt more 'upbeat' by the time I finished.....
She was so pleased with my work,(and the ridiculously low price) that she wanted me to do ALL the windows, inside & out, (4 floors and lost count of windows) and me with my set of 4 rung steps from Homebase.
Happy Days
And your'e too late to buy the Acty, I sold it, (yes really) To a lad who was starting up gardening. Great for those heavy loads of soil 
Posted by Happyeater (Happyeater), 4 February 2004
Yeah, but without all this, we'd only be at home with the family/in the pub etc etc. Posted by squeaky (squeaky), 5 February 2004
We do work for the Forbuoys group of newsagents, when we strip and polish the hard floors we have to start on a sunday morning whilst they are still open and put up bollards and tape to keep the punters off the part of the floor that we are working on.
NEVER OVER ESTIMATE THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
They move the bollards or break the tape , walk on the wet floor,and then look at you as if you are a zombie because you ask them to stay off the f*^"%ing floor
I do wonder sometimes
MarkPosted by squeaky (squeaky), 5 February 2004
Les,
Do you need an agent?
You could make a fortune in the clubs as a stand up.
My sides were splitting reading your last post.
Regards
MarkPosted by goodhand (goodhand), 5 February 2004
sorry i dont mean to change the subject but les, can i ask just out of curiosity how do you go about deep cleaning the swimming pool changing room floors?
mattPosted by Les (Les), 5 February 2004
Hi Mark,
thanks for the offer about the agent but I already have one...She who must be obeyed
She obviously thinks I'm a comedian because she keeps reminding me.... " you're a bloody joke you are"
And sometimes she laughs till she cries , like the time I said I wanted to take her away to a stately home for a weekend
Unfortunately I forgot to tell her it was so she could help clear up the grounds after a pop concert, and that she would be sleeping in the back of my Escort 55 Van with the back doors open because the lock was a bit 'iffy' She did larf
I hope the posts don't come over as flippant as they aren't intended to be, and glad to hear you enjoy them.
I'm sure there will be more to come as I seem to get some crackin customers and jobs.
All the best
Les Posted by Les (Les), 5 February 2004
Hi Matt,
in reply to your question about the floors at the swimming pool.
I tried quite a few chemicals and found the one I had most success with was the 'Bonamain' range. they are specifically designed for the job. Someone mentioned them recently on here and may be able to help with a supplier.
I don't do the job anymore as it got a bit too much. I only went in about once every 6 weeks, (to save money) and the day cleaners, (lifeguards) were only allowed to clean the floor with pool water to save money on chemicals. The management were getting slated about the condition of the whole centre in the local rag and i didn't want to be associated with it.
plus it was hard to get help late on a friday night to do the job. I took my nephew once but he's a bit of a poser. He was forever looking at the ladies from the swimming club walking past in their cozzies, hence me getting sprayed from head to toe with the hosepipe he was using
If you don't have luck with Bonamain details I will try to dig them out for you.
LesPosted by Anj (Anj), 7 February 2004
Had the same problem, strip and reseal the floor of a Sports Instute , client assured me that no-one would be in building when the task was to be done, on arrival found the whole of the Womans Hockey team there, i got as far as the stripping when i had to stop completly, as the ladies were on a winning streak they all wanted to help me. needless to say no other work was done that night, but i did get paid for the work i had done , i had to reschedule all my weeks contracts to fit the Instute back in, and apologize to all other clients. I did get paid for the work i had done, and the remaining work did get carried out ,to the amusement of the NetBall team x AnjPosted by goodhand (goodhand), 8 February 2004
Thanks Les, i will look in to Bonamain,
at present i am using, Bioscan and virosol and a lot of elbow grease, having the same problem about finding staff on evenings especially saturday and sunday. thanks for the reply.
mattPosted by Les (Les), 8 February 2004
Hi Matt,
I see there is a web page called bonasystems.com giving contact details for bonamain products.
Les Posted by goodhand (goodhand), 8 February 2004
thanks again les
i have e-mailed them for a brouchure
m
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