[david68]

Hi
Changed over to wfp explained to customers about what will happen.
But you get that old lady who thinks you cant beat the old methods.
So i said to her give it a try and if you don't like it i will do your trad.

Looking the way she was i knew i would be getting a phone call tonight.

Well this happened and she said the windows where streaky and there where spots.

But not only this she knocked all the neibours doors to say how crap this method was.

So tomorrow i have to return and trad 3 of the houses.

But the good news today we met a bloke in the street who sold us £100 of new work on a up & coming building development.

Is work came to £100 a month and he said just give me a months money.

He took us to the customers and introduce us.

We paid him the cash on the street.......This felt wrong.....But it seem a good deal.


Lets hope this year of window cleaning changes my life........

I realy good do with some luck

Dave

[scrimit2]

hi, Sorry to hear some of your customers are taking time to adapt, as for the new work you bought, if you met the new customers, Im sure it will be ok.
good luck

scrimit

[pjulk]

So tomorrow i have to return and trad 3 of the houses.

NO don't do it.
Now you have made the change go back and WFP them again don't go back to traditional.

I would never let any of my customer make me go back to traditional you have spent out all that money for what.
For nothing if you are going to go back to traditional.

I would go back and WFp them and if they didn't like it i would tell them that they would need to look around for another window cleaner.

Don't make a rod for your own back and stick to your guns.
the way your doing it before you know it you will have them all back traditional.

Paul

[JM123]

any new customers are always told beforehand that they may get a few spots the first time (usually fine) and if there is then they are to ring me and they will get the windows recleaned for free.

[david68]

I know i should stick to wfp,,,But my work is very low and need to keep regular work on...
But as soon as i build up then these will be the first of my list.

I wish i could do without these people, But not just yet and its only fronts.

I did do upstairs and downstairs with wfp....will speak to them as see if i can just downstairs trad and keep wfp upstairs....

As soon as i have new work coming in then these may go......

But not yet already lost to much due to recovering from my illness.

But ha Paul thanks for the advise and i know i should do what you say....but all in time.....

dave

[rosskesava]

As more and more window cleaners use wfp, so the value of cleaning windows traditional with a mop and squeegie will become more valuable in terms of money or the price charged.

As more jump on the band wagon for an easy buck fed by the advertising and grab the profits by wfp companies, the good wfp'rs will get lumped in with the fly by night brigade. I think wfp companies will become a victim of their own success.

I reckon within a few years, wfp window cleaners will be two a penny but those who use trad methods?

Some customers will pay through the nose for it.

And I'm not not having a go at wfp versus traditional or whether safer or not.

I am just making an observation.

I use wfp also.

[DaveWilkinson]

Im no expert but i thought it can take 1 - 3 cleans before rusults are good, I would try to explain this to her.

Will she be willing to support you and your family if you fall off your ladders on her property ?? i think not.

Dave

 

[rosskesava]

Will she be willing to support you and your family if you fall off your ladders on her property ?? i think not.

That is a separate issue completely. If you fall off your ladder, that you chose to use, on her property then that is not down to her, but down to you but that is not the point I was making.

I was just simply making an observation. That's all. Sorry if I seemed to be having a go. I was not intending it to read that way.

Whether wfp this or wfp that, the choice to do the job is in the person doing the job. They can explain but in the end, is the lady prepared to accept what is being said or not and is the person willing to carry on trying to explain things against her dislike of the job being done that way and go on doing the windows for 3 cleans possibly with out payment untill the windows come up ok?

Personaly, I appologise after and say they will have to find another w/c who suits their requirments after the first complaint.

There are so many other customers out there who don't care less how their windows are cleaned and some are hapy just to get the muck off and whether the result is sparkling or not, they don't care.

Cheers

[steve k]

David, trust us on this...under no circumstances go back and trad
First, go back and check the quality of the clean...it all could be on the inside !

If all the houses really are bad, go over them again with WFP...if they are not happy with this, tell them they will have to find another window cleaner.
Don`t ASK them if its OK to WFP top and trad bottoms...just do what YOU want to do.
How much money are these customers worth?
You will get new customers in a matter of days if you are out canvassing which you should be if you don`t have a full worl load.

[pylofm]

David I have had the same as you, on one occassion I could hear the old wifey screaming at her husband "look at all the water coming down the windows!!!!", she was going ape.....

He came out shortly afterward and said that this system would not clean the windows and he did not want us again!!

This is all despite full information being given to him about the how's and what's....

Unless the loss of this ladies custom will seriously dent your pocket....(I am not in the position to dump yet) I would try to calm her and show her the benifits.....but should this not work....try not to let your customers tell you how to run Your business.

I know it is hard, I like yourself and many other newbies here have to 'bow' to customers on occassion because we are not yet full....but every dog has his day

Just do not compromise your safety...

Cheers
Dave.



Keep your chin up!

[Sir Squeaky]

 

[david68]

squeaky clean.
Why the......

[Grafters Cleaning Services]

once you have changed over to wfp DON'T go back and do them trad
if you do get at complaint go back and do them wfp again but lots of rinsing,
if they still complain after that then DROP EM, they ain't worth the hassle.

what is the point of spending all that money on wfp then still using ladders, you will make a rod for your own back as others will see you doing it and before you know it your whole round will be trad again.

stick with it  and be firm.

all my customers are now wfp, some tops only and some i will trad the bottoms if it suits me, i never us a ladder for the tops.

[John Peters]

Show them the kit and explain how it all works, cusstomers will be impressed by the flash equipment and your knowledge of the technology, be enthusiastic and that will fill them with confidence. If you're all woolley and offer to do it the old way then you will be the loser.

Stick with it, for every one you lose you'll gain three and you'll be able to charge more for new customers than the old ones you lost.

John

[lee_dewing]

hi, i had a customer moaning the other day how her windows dried wth stains and her old window cleaner at her other house used wfp and she hated it.
 i went back next day and checked with ladders.
windows were perfect 100%.

I left her a letter saying i hope u choose to continue but if not let me know asap as i have a list of customers waiting to come on my round.

I am a fool I should not have gone up the ladder.
but when you first go to wfp it is nerve racking, how's your technique?

been water fed pole 5 months and loving it.

Rosskeva sorry mate but I don't agree with your theory of being highly in demand by being trad.
i use to be a skilled workman in the print a 4 col planner skilled job done by hand.
I to thought that the mechanised version of my job done on pc was inferior.

Now I'm a window cleaner.
my point is that majority of people except wfp, not everyone using wfp is cleaning windows correctly, hence spotting, i'm not perfect and did suffer the first month!

Now I'm completely happy with my freedom trolley and i still squeegee some downstairs windows to save on water.

 know matter how many people decide to buy wfp systems, this is not a recipe for success on it's own.
If you do a good job show up regularly, be polite to your customer you will always have more work than you could possibly want.

I am so suprised how many guys out there can't manage this.
P.s this isn't a pop at anyone on here.
Just my opinion on the average window cleaner, like the one i use to work for urinating in the customers flower beds.

Lee

[steve k]

I always leave a SAE for customer payments and so never really get to see the dried end result of my WFP efforts. The next time I see the window is when I return 4 weeks later.
Anyway, yesterday I ran out of envelopes on the last few so drove back up later on to collect.
The windows were gleaming
They are in the main, good sheeting windows but I was amazed at the shine on them.
They were filthy as well from the storms 2 weeks ago.

Once you get used to the pole, you make it look so slick when cleaning that any reservations are few and far between.
I think there is a direct link to the amount of water you use and the level of complaints.
If you use gallons of water after reading on here to rinse - rinse and rinse again, then the old lady peering out her living room window is going to think the house is about to subside in your waterfall...it looks messy...sounds messy and in her mind can only be messy.
After a time, you will be confident in using the minimum of water and as soon as you move from the window, the dripping stops virtually immediately.

[dai]

There a special way to deal with the older ones, It goes like this.
Her] "is this your new contraption then?
Me] Yes after all the years of using ladders, it's come to this.
 Her] Why?
You] It's this ECC thing isn't it, they sit on their fat backsides in Brussels and dream up these new regulations restricting the use of ladders. and now my insurance company, who have been happily taking my premiums for 12 years have pulled the plug on me. They won't insure me anymore for window cleaning off a ladder.
The worlds gone health and safety mad. It's crazy,
I can buy a paragliding outfit out of the paper, and go and jump off some cliff. That's fine. But if I want to go up a ladder to clean a window, I need to fit stabilizer contraptions, and tie my ladder to some ring bolt or other. Can you imagine what my customers would say if I turned up with a big drill and wanted to screw eye bolts under every window?
We don't run our own country any more, We have to do what a bunch of foreigners tell us.
 [By this time you have their total sympathy]

I'll tell you what though, this thing really works well. You get the frames cleaned too, not just the glass. I was a bit sceptical at first but I have to admit, it does a better job than when I was doing them the old way.
I know I have to leave the glass wet, but it dries off perfectly clear.
The only down side is that I have to use this Deionised water, and the deionising resin costs me £80 a bag. [ now I'm softening them up for the next price increase]
What can I do? I have to earn a living?

This spiel has worked really well for me, espeacially with the older customers. Try it. Dai

[Paul Coleman]

There a special way to deal with the older ones, It goes like this.
Her] "is this your new contraption then?
Me] Yes after all the years of using ladders, it's come to this.
 Her] Why?
You] It's this ECC thing isn't it, they sit on their fat backsides in Brussels and dream up these new regulations restricting the use of ladders. and now my insurance company, who have been happily taking my premiums for 12 years have pulled the plug on me. They won't insure me anymore for window cleaning off a ladder.
The worlds gone health and safety mad. It's crazy,
I can buy a paragliding outfit out of the paper, and go and jump off some cliff. That's fine. But if I want to go up a ladder to clean a window, I need to fit stabilizer contraptions, and tie my ladder to some ring bolt or other. Can you imagine what my customers would say if I turned up with a big drill and wanted to screw eye bolts under every window?
We don't run our own country any more, We have to do what a bunch of foreigners tell us.
 [By this time you have their total sympathy]

I'll tell you what though, this thing really works well. You get the frames cleaned too, not just the glass. I was a bit sceptical at first but I have to admit, it does a better job than when I was doing them the old way.
I know I have to leave the glass wet, but it dries off perfectly clear.
The only down side is that I have to use this Deionised water, and the deionising resin costs me £80 a bag. [ now I'm softening them up for the next price increase]
What can I do? I have to earn a living?

This spiel has worked really well for me, espeacially with the older customers. Try it. Dai

You could also try telling them that purified water is a cure for wrinkles   

[mike richardson]

ditto lol, i use the same method so as, in the end they feel sorry for you, us bieng poor window cleaners!if they dnt feel sorry for us they are sick of me rabiting on so just go back in & shut up, works 99% of the time,

[AuRavelling79]

There a special way to deal with the older ones, It goes like this.
Her] "is this your new contraption then?
Me] Yes after all the years of using ladders, it's come to this.
 Her] Why?
You] It's this ECC thing isn't it, they sit on their fat backsides in Brussels and dream up these new regulations restricting the use of ladders. and now my insurance company, who have been happily taking my premiums for 12 years have pulled the plug on me. They won't insure me anymore for window cleaning off a ladder.
The worlds gone health and safety mad. It's crazy,
I can buy a paragliding outfit out of the paper, and go and jump off some cliff. That's fine. But if I want to go up a ladder to clean a window, I need to fit stabilizer contraptions, and tie my ladder to some ring bolt or other. Can you imagine what my customers would say if I turned up with a big drill and wanted to screw eye bolts under every window?
We don't run our own country any more, We have to do what a bunch of foreigners tell us.
 [By this time you have their total sympathy]

I'll tell you what though, this thing really works well. You get the frames cleaned too, not just the glass. I was a bit sceptical at first but I have to admit, it does a better job than when I was doing them the old way.
I know I have to leave the glass wet, but it dries off perfectly clear.
The only down side is that I have to use this Deionised water, and the deionising resin costs me £80 a bag. [ now I'm softening them up for the next price increase]
What can I do? I have to earn a living?

This spiel has worked really well for me, espeacially with the older customers. Try it. Dai

Dai - I would like to nominate this post as "Post of the year" and it's only February.

First class! Hats off to that man, Dai!

 

Modified to add: BRILLIANT!