[Toprung]

As ever, the clue as to what to write about is in the thread title...

I started window cleaning a long time ago and I discovered through trial and error the things that make / allow me clean more efficiently, none of them had anything to do with rushing around and aiming to go faster just to make more money. Like a lot of people on here it was about doing the small things which made the flow of work improve and reduce the stress overall with the objective of doing the work in less time and having some choices. So the only reason for speeding up the work rate really is that there may be other things in life (or business) you want to do rather than just cleaning the same old winderz... ALL DAY!

The best thing I ever did was keep a tight round, not letting it grow endlessly but still paying attention to the customer 'churn' rate.I went out during the working day in the time I had made for myself, sticking more leaflets through doors to get more customers.

That's how I got more money, using leaflets to drive people to my web site where I could advertise all the things we do. That led me on to up-selling oportunities, basically increasing the number of services we provide, not just cleaning but other types of property maintenance, especially seasonal work for when the days get longer.

It was through taking on board that a variety of work types is more often a better way of securing a longer term predictable increase in earnings, that I managed to get things where I wanted them to be, happy in my work.   

But mainly it was about not letting the work spread into all the available time in the working day, so I still had the quality of life, for which reason I gave up what I was doing previously on an office treadmill.

Oh... and not forgetting to make time to go to Windex and see first hand what new products are available. Hmmm, there's some junk kit around, to be sure...

[Smurf]

Well said Toprung

[Sean Dyer]

fasten a hose roller guide in the back of your van and run the hose thro it,you can walk in any direction and the  hose wont jam,best £5 i ever spent.

buy a couple of 450 mm cones from northern tool theyre great for standing on to reach bolts over gates,you can stand them next to cars to stop the hose getting caught under the tyre [obviously not ones that are going to be driven away] and theyre good to warn people about the hose,best £4 i ever spent.

carry one of them little washing up sponges with the rough green side on them in your pouch, they instantly remove bird crap.best 10p i  ever spent

Cut it in to your back door you mean? or fix it somewhere?
fix it on the van floor in front of the reel

ive got mine attached to a piece of 3 by 2, which in its self is attached to the front leg of the reel (i keep reel in van all the time) Im so chuffed with it, as the other poster said , best fiver ever spent, it has made my work so much quicker

So yours goes through the floor trippy?

Im intrigued as to how everyone uses there hose reel as mine keeps blowing the connector and so im constantly running back to fit it , or not turning water off incase it goes which wastes water
And i use it out of van but its always falling over if i pull to hard on hose, nightmare

Id like to bolt it into van but worry that i cant a, de pressure the system b, connector blows and soaks van

ideas on a postcard please

[andyM]

I've cable tied my hoselock connection onto the swivel elbow of the hosereel for extra protection.
I used 3 cable ties: one just under the hoselock connector, another one around the brass swivel elbow on the reel and the third cable tie is used to connect the other two ties together.
Now the connector can only physically come away from the hosereel if the cable ties break or are cut.   

[Justen Uff]

Try to cut back on the afternoon naps in the van.

[lee_dewing]

Another thing I brought in with all private clients about 5 years ago was switching them all over to Standing Order payment. No need to ring the bell to collect payment, no waiting for a cheque or cash to be found. Offered them a price incentive to switch over when I was doing an across the board price rise.

Alex i was thinking about this myself, fed up with the odd not today thank you's, I bet the standing order cut this out and also makes it easier to work in light rain as they've already paid

Only thing i was wondering Alex is this difficult to run a standing order scheme as a sole trader (1 man band)
Just worried about running late due to heavy rain bank and personal holidays. (custies getting the ump understandabley being overcharged in effect.
P.s, what's the difference between direct debit and standing order?
Thanks Lee.

[lee_dewing]

Alex; sorry one more question, how do you keep track of all those standing orders

just worried i'd clean a custies windows only to find thet stopped payment the day before

[Richard iSparkle]

Alex; sorry one more question, how do you keep track of all those standing orders

just worried i'd clean a custies windows only to find thet stopped payment the day before

not difficult at all using standng orders as a sole trader.  you can ask your bank to supply you with a template for one.

make sure you put your own reference on the standing order, street name and house number work well. 

you add a date of when the standing order starts, and then you check at the end of every month that the payment has come through.  if it hasnt you need to call you r custie to let them know.

[mar]

I find on line banking is the way to go no more going out collecting money my customers pay online or post a cheque , thank to online banking!!

[AuRavelling79]

Just screwed hoseguides in front of my reels - much better at those awkward angles. (I know you've all done this before but in case there is another thicko out there I thought it might be useful)

[dazmond]

SPEEDING UP YOUR WORK RATE?

things that have worked for me.

going from trolley to van mount

aqua-daptor

25FT SLX

light gardiners sill brush

being organised!tickets/invoices printed/written out ready to go

taking a packed lunch/flask with me every morning so lunch is 30 mins tops then back on the job.

rinsing brush on the glass on cleanish windows with a high flow

having boab/bottle on my belt for easy transition between wfp and trad for certain jobs

working my round from a-z roughly in the same order(apart from stand alone 8 weeklies)

i also find working at a steady brisk pace instead of hammering my work at full speed is more productive.less chance of burning myself out or having an accident!!

[Ian101]

As ever, the clue as to what to write about is in the thread title...


The best thing I ever did was keep a tight round, not letting it grow endlessly but still paying attention to the customer 'churn' rate.I went out during the working day in the time I had made for myself, sticking more leaflets through doors to get more customers.

TOTALLY agree with this ... I just went for it last year and ended up with rounds all over the place and had to work like a crazy man to get it all done.

Every month there were customers not getting done so end of last year sold everything off in Chester to concentrate on North Wales ... got a part time helper and a canvasser now building nicely the areas I didnt drop ... getting a good bit of infill now in the rounds and taken a drop in dosh but long term defo way foward.

[Roy Cauldery]

As ever, the clue as to what to write about is in the thread title...


The best thing I ever did was keep a tight round, not letting it grow endlessly but still paying attention to the customer 'churn' rate.I went out during the working day in the time I had made for myself, sticking more leaflets through doors to get more customers.

TOTALLY agree with this ... I just went for it last year and ended up with rounds all over the place and had to work like a crazy man to get it all done.

Every month there were customers not getting done so end of last year sold everything off in Chester to concentrate on North Wales ... got a part time helper and a canvasser now building nicely the areas I didnt drop ... getting a good bit of infill now in the rounds and taken a drop in dosh but long term defo way foward.

Agree with this Ian
Starting to in-fill the gaps in the round, compacting all the time.My guys enjoy working together(they also work harder and faster ) so now doubling up the
days where we can, which means less fuel , higher takings/profit and better profile for the business
Aiming to swap all our poles over to Gardiners as they are bl**dy mint!
And relentless leafletting/canvassing in our covered areas with upselling of our other services too

Regards
Roy

[Alex Gardiner]

Another thing I brought in with all private clients about 5 years ago was switching them all over to Standing Order payment. No need to ring the bell to collect payment, no waiting for a cheque or cash to be found. Offered them a price incentive to switch over when I was doing an across the board price rise.

Alex i was thinking about this myself, fed up with the odd not today thank you's, I bet the standing order cut this out and also makes it easier to work in light rain as they've already paid

Only thing i was wondering Alex is this difficult to run a standing order scheme as a sole trader (1 man band)
Just worried about running late due to heavy rain bank and personal holidays. (custies getting the ump understandabley being overcharged in effect.
P.s, what's the difference between direct debit and standing order?
Thanks Lee.

As has been said it is quite easy to run a standing order system. The bank will supply a template if you need, all you really need is to give the client your bank details and also a reference number if you want to help track the payments. I use WCP software to keep track of my rounds, but I also have a written list of all of my standing order clients and once a month I go through my online bank statement to quickly check if they have paid. It does help cut out a lot of not this time type clients. I work on a monthly schedule due to the high percentage of commercial work that I do. This usually gives a couple of spare days in the month to catch up if needed. You can always refund if needed. The difference between a standing order and a DD is that the SO is controlled by the client , this does reassure clients that they control the process.

[Ian101]

Regarding Standing Orders do u have all come in at same time or spread out ??

Once I can prove to myself that all work can be done ontime then I will be swapping mine over.

Bob Plumb has loads of his on S.O.

[Alex Gardiner]

Regarding Standing Orders do u have all come in at same time or spread out ??

Once I can prove to myself that all work can be done ontime then I will be swapping mine over.

Bob Plumb has loads of his on S.O.

I have them all spread out through the month, basically depending on when the clients has set them up. It would be easier to have them all coming in on the 5th or something, but it would be difficult to get working.

The main reason that I have done this is because most of my work is commercial and the only way I can put up with domestic clients is if they (a) live right next to the commercial work and (b) if they pay by SO so that I do not have to waste time waiting for money etc.

Now that they are used to it most clients prefer it as they do not even have to answer the door if they do not want to, they can carry on doing what they want to.

[Dave Willis]

I think I have a direct debit to Gardiners.

[Alex Gardiner]

I think I have a direct debit to Gardiners.

Just set up a regular standing order to us and keep it simple 

[SunShineCleaning]

I have asked residential customers to pay via standing order based on the fact that I promise 10 cleans per year.
They pay the year total divided by 12 and it works itself out over time.
ie. £15 job done 10 times = £150 = 12 payments of £12.50

George keeps track, any time a customer wants a statement of account it can be produced.
Commercial customers are on a 'service charge' anyway. That is they pay monthly for a monthly amount of work.
Even the ones I clean 4 times a year pay by monthly SO.

[lee_dewing]

Thanks Alex and Sunshine cleaning; Guys