[pylofm]

Ok guys...I just thought that I would go over my first 6 months....and would love to hear from others here...

Ok I have only got customers from leaflets/word of mouth and advertisments on supermarket boards.

So far I have 89 customers and I run 4 distinct area's using 4 and 8 weeks rotation...I know 89 customers is not exactly lighting the world on fire however having spent many months on this forum prior to starting...I decided that I would set my self a reasonable hourly rate and with the exception of about 5 jobs...I can achieve it and on some occassions with my travel accounted for.

I have delieberatly targeted semi's and detatched houses and only have about 5 terraced houses...this all fits in very nicely with the hose pulling..

Customers pay via internet banktransfer or cash....they have 14 days to pay as domestic and 28 days as business...all in all...I have written off about 6 quid as a bad debt....most customers on the whole are very nice people and have taking to wfp rather well.

As I have said earlier I use 4 & 8 weekly as my rotation and find that my 4 weekly customers tend to get twitchy around the 3rd or 4 clean and start playing games....so I have converted some to 8 weeks with an increase to reflect the change...they win and I get satisfied customers who now really see the benifits of the cleaning service. I now try to get most customers on 8 weekly...I know that my round will take longer to be full however I feel in the long run both the customer and I will be better off both in terms of finances and perceptions of quality.

After 6 months I do not for one minute regret the decision to go wfp as a newbie...I now actually enjoy going to work and with the exception of feeling bad when I look at the business and feel it is not going fast enough....I am aware that if I were to canvass my business would grow alot faster however it is not a path that is available to me at the present.

All in all...most customers are just nice normal people wanting a service that fits in with their expectations of quality, service and value.

The main comments I hear each week are that windows cleaners are not to be trusted as they do not turn up when they say, charge but have not cleaned, generally not reliable and do a shoddy job and the biggest is that they do not clean the frames.

With these points in mind...my customers are each given a card after each clean with my details, bank a/c number, date of clean, date of next clean....
I know many window cleaners would not choose a regular date for cleaning but in this day and age of locked gates...I find this way of working suits me and the customers....

So all in all...not a bad 6 months and I anticipate to have a healthy "ROUND" by the end of the year....

I would love to hear from other newbies......once again I would like to thank all those here who have answered my questions and have given me a gee up when I needed it....

Cheers Dave.

[Grafters Cleaning Services]

sounds like you are doing well dave
they only thing that i would comment on is

how can you poss give a date on your next visit?
what about weather conditions?
getting behind with your work?

this would not work for me as i do a 5 weekly cycle and turn up sometime within that week between mon-fri
i do not give a exact time or day
it's when i get there

good luck and keep up the good work
jay

[pylofm]

Jay, so far I have been able to complete my work and on a few days where it has not been able to work...I have re-scheduled the customers clean.....this is part of our terms and conditions...I appreciate that weather is a major factor however I am treating my work with a daily plan and lets face it most days throughout the year a plan is not such a bad thing and there will always be events that crop up that prevent the plan from being fully completed but on the whole it does seem to be working...

I have created a business plan for the business and I am able to earn at present  my target amount in 4 days of work each week which leaves a further 2 days to play catch-up should I need it....if I am able achieve my projected goals and daily averages that I currently have achieved, there should be no reason to work any more than 4 days a week... this would provide for 10days no work due to adverse weather/misc events and 4 weeks holiday.

So far....I have been able to achieve my targets....and plan my work....problems will always occur however the main plan allows for them to be accomodated.

So far the plan of work has been met with nothing but good vibes....my selling point is that I do what I say I am going to do and when I say I am going to do it...in the event I am unable to attend...the customer and I come to a compromise as to the next clean.

Plus without a plan I would more than likely doss in bed !!

Does anybody else here plan/book work?

Cheers
Dave.

[steve k]

plan..yes, as in I have an area booked in for a particular week.
No way to booking specific dates...impossible when you have a full round and when you have a full round, I will guarantee you will drop the date booking...it will be a major pain for you.
Every 4 weeks for me and if the customer asks for a date, I tell them it is impossible due to weather problems and regularly phonong round 200 customers to rejig cleaning days would be far too costly and mind numbing.

I tell them it will be as close as possible to every 4 weeks and if I cannot access the back safely, it doesn`t get done. The fronts are cleaned and they are charged 50%.
If they are not happy with that arrangement, they have no option but to find a more accommodating window cleaner.
This has not happened yet and I have an ever increasing key ring of customers back garden keys.
Trust me, no matter your good intentions, in a year, you will NOT be pre booking cleans

[Paul Coleman]

plan..yes, as in I have an area booked in for a particular week.
No way to booking specific dates...impossible when you have a full round and when you have a full round, I will guarantee you will drop the date booking...it will be a major pain for you.
Every 4 weeks for me and if the customer asks for a date, I tell them it is impossible due to weather problems and regularly phonong round 200 customers to rejig cleaning days would be far too costly and mind numbing.

I tell them it will be as close as possible to every 4 weeks and if I cannot access the back safely, it doesn`t get done. The fronts are cleaned and they are charged 50%.
If they are not happy with that arrangement, they have no option but to find a more accommodating window cleaner.
This has not happened yet and I have an ever increasing key ring of customers back garden keys.
Trust me, no matter your good intentions, in a year, you will NOT be pre booking cleans

Yes, my keyring grows ever larger too Steve.  If a customer is reluctant to release a key, they are sometimes happy to divulge a 4 digit number for a combination padlock.  I have a few jobs now where my access is via a 4 digit number.
I got in a mess with scheduling during my first year.  In the end I had to change how I do things.  It meant losing a few customers but in the longer term, it was well worth doing.  I still have two customers who I pre-arrange with though.  It's not a problem as I can do this the night before.  Both jobs are well paid and it suits me to do it that way with the two jobs.

[mogy]

Hi Dave
 Good to hear your working things out well , Ive been going four an a bit  months , trad , have  70 ish customers  from leafletting and word of mouth.
 I turn up on the same day every  time on 4 week cycle , on the few realy wet days ive had , Ive been able to catch up on a  empty day or a sat, this could be a prob in the future as  my diary  fills up, but have been plesantly suprised  with the weather so far iive only had two  total no go days  due to wind or snow .
 I too have found  some customers  after a few cleans  get "twitchy" wanting to change the agreement , miss cleans , backs locked  ect am resisting these so far , and was thinking along the lines of dropping  them  eventually if  they continue to be problem customers.
 Like the idea of earning enough in  four  days ,  gonna have to give this  some thought
  Best wishes  Mogy

[john tomkins]

Been at it 4 and a bit months too, got up to 90ish customers now but not by knocking, just flyers and recommendations, I know I would get more by knocking but delivered 470 leaflets last Monday and got 12 new ones  just from that, hard thing is getting the 1st cleans done now with all this crap weather

My main problem is access to rear of properties, having to ring to book but at least it saves collecting that way. Must have 80% where I have to ring but at this stage its still acceptable but with another say 50+ customers it could cause problems.

You're right too about 3 to 4 months in and you get the feeling they really don't want you so often, a couple of "leave it this month" "can you do it next week instead" but all in all not too bad.

Just lets have some dry days

[pylofm]

Steve K I'll take you up on that !, why should a planned service not work? You say that you tell the customers that you cannot give a date re: bad weather...how many times is that actually the truth? (not having a go )

If at the end of the year....you are right..I'll say so and then look at it differently...but so far even during the bad weather we have had...it's working.

I am now starting to get more and more work purlely because I plan the work and they know when I am due to do it...I know I am going against the grain with regard to how the majority work but this is a business which is here to service the customer...I am new I agree but I have set a rate of xx euro's an hour and I when I have the work I get it...so when the I am full I will have my hourly rate and time during the week to pick up any outstanding work...When I have holidays I book it and then re-schedule the work

I have had very few problems with access as I make it the responsibilty of the customer to provide it ...no access - billed in full..only 1 customer has proved a problem with a re-schedule...re: bad weather...the rest have show they have eyes and each already said I did not expect you that day...

I am I know new but working in this way is working for me...and I am getting nearer my goals each week...I treat it like a job that many people have...I even have a couple of people who I have to be at their house at a particular time & date....for this service they pay very well for...

I understand that freedom is guarded very much but I like to know what I am doing and on the whole it is working for me....

Cheers
Dave.

[pylofm]

Mogy how are you finding the same date thing? easy ? or just plain stupid?

Cheers
Dave.

[pylofm]

John....I have no collecting whatsoever...back access issues are dealt with by putting the responsibility with the customer....

Customers are told that we do not collect...

If no access is available...the still get billed...their problem

  Dave

[steve k]

good luck to you...honestly

but what happens when you cannot work on a particular day for whatever reason and you have to reschedule 20 customers from that days cleaning.
15 say ok to the new day but 5 say they cannot have it done that day.

You then have to reschedule the 5 customers for another day.
On that day, you have another 20 customers scheduled in at another location.
You now have 25 customers to do in a day.

Multiply this by at least 2/3 days in a month and you have a diary nightmare on your hands.

Why create difficult administration when the customer will accept you being there approximately every 4 or 8 weeks...give or take a day or so.
Honestly, they don`t even know what day you are due or probably care!!

We all started out with similar ideas...but trust me...specific scheduling is not required, will cause you stress and headaches and is just not necessary.
You will thank me for this advice when you are enjoying the freedom it brings and it will not impact on your professionalism one iota!!

[pylofm]

Steve K...I take your advice seriously and in the manner it is given ...I will leave it as "we'll agree to disagree" and the jury is adjourned until 31/12/07...

I will then either raise a glass in Victory or will bow to the victor 

Cheers
Dave.

[john tomkins]

Dave,
I do very little collecting, maybe 5 times since I started, that's the one advantage of ringing beforehand, they either will be in or will leave the money/cheque somewhere, I do on occasions leave a SAE but again this is at most 5 a month.

[tatman]

im with steve k on this one . dates and times doesnt work when you have over 250 customers. Too many phone calls what a nightmare. You get the clean as near as possible to 4 weeks and if theres no access front only Charge more than half though. No way can you clean to appointment. Ive got about 15 appointment cleans and they annoy me to be honest

[pylofm]

Well it seems as if I am out on my own here and I hope that you do not prove me wrong but my round at the moment is at about 40% capacity and if it continues to work as it is...I will be able to give a good account of the year in December...I would imagine that my max customer count would be around 220 and if the averages continue as they have on a week by week basis...over the past 27 weeks...all should be fine

Some said the world was flat and that WFP would'nt work

[mogy]

Hi Pylofm
 So far having a list to do   for everyday seemes the logical way , customers
, pretty sure of when you are going to appear, and equally understanding  when you dont appear  due to bad weather , the prob will be if there more than one day a week being rained off  . Having  a day list allso  lets me see  exactly how long Im taking every  day, so should be able to hone it down and  fit in the most jobs.
  Mogy

[mogy]

Hi again
 I find one apointment  clean a day works , and I make that the first job.
 Mogy

[pylofm]

I suppose you have to plan for downtime which I am doing 10 days of non-work due to sickness/van trouble/weather/Tsunami's etc...

And also 4 weeks holiday...