[Morph]

Didn't know wether to put this on a Place to chat or not...

I'm into my second week with wfp.

Today where I was working a neighbour came out, bemused, watched me for a few minutes, then said, "Aren't you washing them properly with soap anymore, and drying them?"
Innocently, I said, "No need, this is purified water!"
She replied sarcastically, "is that what virgins drink?"  (This neighbour was 70 - 80!)
So I replied equally, " hopefully I'll soon be at the stage, that, it'll just rain on your windows, and I'll send you a bill!"

She curtly retorted, "don't bother doing mine with that"
I loudly responded, "Not now, not never dear!"
Another one bites the dust!

Shame hey.

Pj

[Chris Cottrell]

good on ya Pj

show em who's boss

Ps hope its goin well ( on the whole that is )

[AuRavelling79]

Innocently, I said, "No need, this is purified water!"
She replied sarcastically, "is that what virgins drink?"  (This neighbour was 70 - 80!)
 

Next time smile sweetly and say "Well you should know miss!"

(Malc (G)old of the "Easy to be clever after the event" class.)

[Morph]

Another one today!
Half way through week 2 wfp...Explained how I'm cleaning her windows, she pays, she goes out, I clean them.
Later today I get a phone call, "I can't stand this you'll have to do something, come back today ASAP".
Back I go, first she tells me that all the water left on her doorstep made her feel like crying!!
Then she says "look at my kitchen window, (south facing, sun streaming in), I can't live with that!  It looks worse than before you did it, covered in spots!"
Well I admit there were a few spots, fist clean, only been at it 2 weeks.  But the fuss she made was as if life is now not worth living.  What was worse was the fact that the inside hadn't been cleaned for about 6 months!  You could hardly see what she was on about anyway.
So I patiently tried to explain how the new system works......again, but she would not listen.  Just kept saying "I don't care what it does or how it does it, my windows are not clean!"  And wouldn't even look at me.
So finally I said, "Do you want me to explain?"  "NO, I WANT THOSE SPOTS GONE!"
I said "I'll do better than that, here's your money back, and I'm gone!"
Would you believe it, she wouldn't take the money!

That's the end of that one
Am I bovvered?  Do I look bovvered?

Pj

[callum macleod]

hi i started wfp 7mths ago finally i got rid of the rubbish customer's !!  Funny thing i found even the most loyal customer this system will make or break them ! anyway i am now crackin on earning more now than before and in less time too!!
Once you get the hang of the system and learn what to do and not do you will be fine
This forum i have found invaulable !!
 

Another one today!
Half way through week 2 wfp...Explained how I'm cleaning her windows, she pays, she goes out, I clean them.
Later today I get a phone call, "I can't stand this you'll have to do something, come back today ASAP".
Back I go, first she tells me that all the water left on her doorstep made her feel like crying!!
Then she says "look at my kitchen window, (south facing, sun streaming in), I can't live with that!  It looks worse than before you did it, covered in spots!"
Well I admit there were a few spots, fist clean, only been at it 2 weeks.  But the fuss she made was as if life is now not worth living.  What was worse was the fact that the inside hadn't been cleaned for about 6 months!  You could hardly see what she was on about anyway.
So I patiently tried to explain how the new system works......again, but she would not listen.  Just kept saying "I don't care what it does or how it does it, my windows are not clean!"  And wouldn't even look at me.
So finally I said, "Do you want me to explain?"  "NO, I WANT THOSE SPOTS GONE!"
I said "I'll do better than that, here's your money back, and I'm gone!"
Would you believe it, she wouldn't take the money!

That's the end of that one
Am I bovvered?  Do I look bovvered?

Pj

[Terry_Burrows]

These are just some of the reasons why we never clean houses they have nothing better to do than moan ???I think the wfps will have a tough time with houses,winter is going to be cold and hard this year :
and with the wfps putting a skating ring outside there doors,dont fink there going to be pleased :

[Moderator David@stives]

Move to the coast where we only get about 5 days of frost a year and it is normally gone for about 10.00 o` clock.
I have no problems on domestic i just use on the upstairs and the customers are more accepting that way.

I got rid of all my moaners and prune faces a long time before getting wfp .

If you have got a long established round with good quality customers then they WILL give you time to get your act together

Dave

[rosskesava]

Yup, we're on the coast also so the sea keeps things just that bit warmer.

Also, if it's that cold then we wouldn't work anyway. Last year there were a few days where after squeegie'ing I thought the window looked a bit odd only to find an ultra thin film of ice was on the glass. On the next window my squeegie frooze onto it.

As for using ladders on really frosted ground - nope not ever even with someone footing it.

Having said that, I think traditional methods can be used with colder temperatures than wfp. Water doesn't freeze at zero degree's C, it is frozen at that temperature but ice starts to form at 4 degree's C. If the ground temperature is below about 3 degree's (which is quite rare) then you get icing when there is no sunshine.

Last winter a house next door to one we were doing with trad methods had been done the afternoon the day before. The woman of the house was going nuts because at 10am she had a path that was all iced up. The water from the wfp hadn't evapourated enough during the early evening and night and had frooze in several places.

We gained a customer that morning.

If it does get to cold for wfp, we'll go back to trad methods. If it gets too cold for that, then I'll stay in bed. 

As for moaning minnie customers, as opposed to one who has just one complaint, I used to put up with them but not anymore. Sometimes it's like they are sucking your blood.

Cheers

[Morph]

Don't pity me guys, the story is there to amuse you who know the type.  2 moany old women in 2 weeks...that's all so far.  Everyone else happy so far.
I also live and work near sea...Unfortunately North Sea!  It was 6 degrees today with a north wind.  Nice!  Here the men are men, and so are some of the women!

Pj

[rosskesava]

It's where the weather comes from in terms of wind direction. If the wind/weather has to come over a large land mass then it will be colder.

Most of our weather comes from the SW. So Eastern places will be much much colder then Southern or Westerly place. Moscow is roughly on the same latitude as London and look at the winters there?

If your near the North Sea, which is at it's warmest now at a stunning 44 degrees F, and the weather comes from the N, NE, or E then you've had good not so freezing weather unless the weather has circled over the Scandinavian area's first, or worse still, Iceland. I'm not laughing at where you living but ha ha ha. Good job the good old North Sea was there otherwise you'd be really cold as the weather the last few days has come from that direction. 

6 degrees? Boys stuff. It was that cold here a few days last winter and we still worked.

Here some of the men are women and some of the women are men and some of them are half way through the operations and a lot just don't know what they are. Some are happy to be half way and some don't care.

Cheers

[Morph]

I see why you drive that vehicle now Ross!

Pj

Anyway, back on topic please....

[Ian_Giles]

Ross,
Water does not form ice crystals or begin to form ice until it reaches freezing point itself.
for an ice crystal to form, that ice crystal has to be at zero degrees minimum.
When you talk about that in relation to the weather then it is a question of the local conditions.
Ever noticed how your windscreen will ice up but your side windows do not?
A reason for this is that while  the windscreen is facing the sky, side windows are facing horizontally (obviously) so they are affected by radiated heat from whatever is about them.

The reason why during the winter, patches of shaded ground remain heavily frosted, and puddles still frozen, (apart from t he obvious fact they are not warmed from direct sunshine) is of course because the fround temperature is remaining low enough to stay below freezing.
This mostly happens through the months of January and February, after the shortest day has passed.
The reason?
The ground itself takes a long time to warm up and cool down, generally it takes until after the winter is very well advanced for the mean temperature of the ground to have fallen to the point where its temperature is low enough for long enough for the water to freeze up and stay frozen.
This is the reason why the coldest days of winter are January side of the shortest day and not the other side of it.
You get the flip side of this in the summer too.
The warmest weather always occur after the longest day, the ground has taken this long to absorb the energy from the sun, and to radiate it back out.

That may have drifted off topic a little, but this thread doesn't have real topic as such, so I don't feel too guilty

one of my teeth gritting frustrations with domestic customers is the fact that they all have different ideas as to what constitutes window cleaning weather.........or not>

It's not worth cleaning the windows, it's going to rain.
They don't need cleaning in the summer so much.
They need cleaning more often in the summer.
Its too cold to clean windows.
Its too hot to clean windows.

And don't you just hate it when they change there statement into a question? and add a 'Don't you think so?'


Time for work, I'm outta here.

Ian

[marc al]

  Ian, you spoke alot of sense there, but do you have a picture of your van as my side windows are vertical!!!

[simbo]

i have been thinking about wf a lot lately and have even started saying to customers that i will evenyualy be getting onely the ones with say upstairs bays or low tiled roofs that i need to climb on and so far have had posative feedback but to do all the upstairs windows i do not think they will like it so for now i think i will just get a small van mount made up just for those awkward ones and try and get more comercial for wf
cheers paul
ps sorry no full stops or commas keyboard wont let me  I HATE COMPUTERS

[rosskesava]

Hi Ian

You're right in that pure water in thermal eqaulibrium freezes at one atmosphere pressure at zero degrees.

However ... ice and the weather are not a perfect model of ideal conditions.

Localised icing can and often occurs at slightly higher temperature especially during Jan/Feb. It's to do with dew point, air pressure, ground temperature, air flow and wind chill and as you rightly said, thermal conductivity.

Otherwise how would you get a frost above 0 degrees C?

As I understand it, in terms of the weather when the weather sytstem is slightly unstable, 4 degrees is the accepted temperature due to all those factors written above which can create lower temperatures in localised places, which can be big or small and often seemingly random, although the temp is to warm for ice forming in ideal conditions.

Now I've again gone off topic as well. 

Hi Simbo

A few months on with wfp and although I still have my resevations with some claims about how good it is, it is a very worthwhile investment.

I can gaurantee 100% that when you get it, you'll find yourself using it more and more and for some jobs it beats trad methods hands down.

Cheers