[Dave Mills]

OK, we'll put me on the spot. Never mind the topic of the OP. You've come to help the breakfast club member who has 3 days a weeks worth of work and is starting a franchise. I'm just a bully and I use sarasm. Luckily, you spotted that and have exposed me. Well done. Is there any chance of staying on topic?

Don't really know why I bother answering posts like yours. Must be getting old.

I've noticed Hydro, that people who have a problem with the "image" of this window cleaning game, they tend to try and give off some sort of image of businessman. They aren't window cleaners anymore, they are cleaning contractors, or small business owners etc.

When they are at parties or "breakfast clubs" they say they have a "small to medium sized cleaning set up". Easy to spot. Sad, but people are people. To wear a suit and work in Lidl as a "manager" on less tha 7 quid an hour is better than telling someone you clean other people's windows.

I was like that when I first started. I moved on and soon saw what could be earned in a short day in this game. One day Hydro, you may also reach the point in life where you realize it's not about image and posturing, it's about earning enough to have a good lifestyle and peace of mind or having your own business, or being happy about how you go through your day.

Just accept that window cleaning is a way of earning a living. The longer you struggle against what you are doing for an income, and try to make people think you're something else, the more unhappy you will make yourself, and the more ridicule you will attract.

We are all in the same boat, some earn more than others etc etc. It's like sex, the more you get, the less you need to tell everybody. Simple.

Shame you feel bullied, how could that happen??

In what way is a single word of that on topic, sarcasm boy?

You really are a child arent you?

Now just make sure you get the last word in.  Only a loser would let someone else say that last word.  Show youre a real man.

[Paul Coleman]

I would like to thank everyone on this topic who has posted about not calling/texting the night before, special thanks to those few who have had personal digs at me.

I went to a networking meeting this morning and in my speech, I mentioned this forum and showed all who were there this topic which I had printed off copies for them.

I stated that I am the village idiot : because I call or text the night before, and if possible I will work my round to help my customers.

I showed then some of the replys from those of you who do not call/text the night before and they were impressed with the Dump and Replace attitude from some :

Anyway I picked up 3 new customers, I have one meeting to quote for an office block and someone knows a lord who owns a stately home, I might not get the job but at least I get the chance to pitch for it.

I have now changed my website, I will be promoting my call the night before because it looks like there are customers out there who want this type of service.

So once again, THANK YOU, without your input I would not have this new work. 

and I also mentioned some of the other things that was said as well on this topic, they really like them, so keep on posting it brightens their day up for them.

I'm not particularly bothered what a load of Amway wannabes at a breakfast meeting think.  I doubt any of them have ever tried cleaning windows as a business so they wouldn't get it anyway.

[mikecam]

Most people on here can't offer the "i'll come back and clean in the afternoon or at a time to suit you" policy simply because most of us have too much work to dart from one place to another. The only windies who can offer this are the ones without enough work like yourself. Phoning the night before is fine if that's what you want to do. Just doesn't suit everyone. I don't think the guys who don't phone have much to worry about to be honest.

I've snipped the other parts of your post aimed at someone else. You're assuming what you state here is true. None of it is.
 I (we) can offer a clean at a time to suit you...(it comes with a price). I (we) can and do dart from one place to another, if you price for what you're doing the of course you can.  Any of these will turn up......





Our rounds are full. Only a fool says no to more work at the right price.
As for if the guy who don't ring have nothing to worry about , then you might be right. But my experiece shows they are actually worrying..........
 We where approached here whilst cleaning and called 'billy one job' by some local scarface/tattoed window cleaner who thought he was a hardknock. His gripe ? He'd been cleanig here for x amount of years.



 I've left the road name in on purpose. Last time round he seen us he 'asked' us if we'd give it a miss so he could have them back. He was told ...no.
  So whats the point of me mentioning this? He charges £3 for them. We charge  £10. We got the work because of going the extra mile with customer care /contact. He wants to argue and fight over £3 jobs and we just keep getting more and more £10 plus jobs.
 I'd never dream of telling anyone how to run their business..i.e phone, don't phone. I think you should do whatever suits YOU and your CUSTOMERS. But as far as i'm concerned what you above  is completley wrong. We're full, we ring, and it works. And to take a leaf out of Billys book, yes we're looking to franchise out. Thats how much work we are getting using this method.
 I was toying with the idea of not ringing and just turning up, and the getting 'lads' to work the round for us. You think this might be better for us?   

[mikecam]

 I was toying with the idea of not ringing and just turning up, and the getting 'lads' to work the round for us. You think this might be better for us?   

And by the way, if reading here on this forum is anything to go by then i love the prospective employer questions !!! They range from...what can i get them to do, can i give  a nil hours contract, do i have to pay when it rains and do i have to pay for bank holidays !!!
 Don't want to pay nothing, don't want to charge much, don't want to cater to customers. You can see apattern here can't you?
 Tell no one nothing, that's my motto. Oooops. i just broke it !!! 

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Most people on here can't offer the "i'll come back and clean in the afternoon or at a time to suit you" policy simply because most of us have too much work to dart from one place to another. The only windies who can offer this are the ones without enough work like yourself. Phoning the night before is fine if that's what you want to do. Just doesn't suit everyone. I don't think the guys who don't phone have much to worry about to be honest.

I've snipped the other parts of your post aimed at someone else. You're assuming what you state here is true. None of it is.
 I (we) can offer a clean at a time to suit you...(it comes with a price). I (we) can and do dart from one place to another, if you price for what you're doing the of course you can.  Any of these will turn up......





Our rounds are full. Only a fool says no to more work at the right price.
As for if the guy who don't ring have nothing to worry about , then you might be right. But my experiece shows they are actually worrying..........
 We where approached here whilst cleaning and called 'billy one job' by some local scarface/tattoed window cleaner who thought he was a hardknock. His gripe ? He'd been cleanig here for x amount of years.



 I've left the road name in on purpose. Last time round he seen us he 'asked' us if we'd give it a miss so he could have them back. He was told ...no.
  So whats the point of me mentioning this? He charges £3 for them. We charge  £10. We got the work because of going the extra mile with customer care /contact. He wants to argue and fight over £3 jobs and we just keep getting more and more £10 plus jobs.
 I'd never dream of telling anyone how to run their business..i.e phone, don't phone. I think you should do whatever suits YOU and your CUSTOMERS. But as far as i'm concerned what you above  is completley wrong. We're full, we ring, and it works. And to take a leaf out of Billys book, yes we're looking to franchise out. Thats how much work we are getting using this method.
 I was toying with the idea of not ringing and just turning up, and the getting 'lads' to work the round for us. You think this might be better for us?   

The difference being, Mark gets £10 for them too, at least, he's also pulled out with work but doesn't have to pi** about phoning them all up the night before! :

[Window Washers]

I have only ever text people that have access issues.
I am thinking of just texting the lot day one to let them no and also they may pay quicker online, have to test this out first before/if I roll it out.

We will all run our business' diffferent, some have a lifestyle business, some run it as a business each is good for the person doing it.

This thread is massive, but great to read.

Some very good posts Ross makes a very valid point  about 9000 posts back and a few others

[Dave Willis]

The difference is also that I have no houses on my round like the ones above, none at all. I don't need them and don't want them, I turn them away. I pick the houses and customers I want. So Mike, in my case what I say is true. Like has been said already on here it works for some, not for others.
I've never been to Liverpool either but from what I've seen it's vastly different from my neck of the woods.
I have no gripe with you either by the way.

[Dave Willis]

This is typical of my area, some have to be phoned the night before because they have electric gates but even these get dumped if they start the "clean it next week please" game.

This one below was dumped for that very reason, it takes twenty five minutes to get there and then I work my round back towards home. When they started messing about it meant nearly an hours extra driving for one house and a completely cocked up schedule. If they were willing to pay an extra £60 for lost time and fuel then I would do it but even these people wouldn't go for that.

[Ian101]

New sign writting looks good Mike !!!

[William McCafferty]

William - I'm pleasantly surprised that people who go to "breakfast clubs" to gain and exchange contacts and "leads" would be overly concerned about their window cleaning. How many of these clubs do you belong to? And do you get that sort of response every week?

And what sort of business leads do you bring to the table in return? That's how it works isn't it?

At the moment I am only a member of one club, this is a newly formed one at Sutton Coldfield, I use to be a member of 5 clubs and like any form of advertising it has to pay a profit, in all the other clubs I got business but the leads started to slow down, I was getting more refferals from visitors than members, so I will give these clubs a rest for a year or so.

I will go back as a visitir from time to time though.

All networking is a 2 way street and I do bring refferals with me, I know that when I left the Edgabaston club in January, I had been a member with them for 4 years, I had over that time recieved 126 referrals given and 97.

So far at the Sutton Coldfield club I have given 5 refferals, recieved 15 with 7 of these converting into business, this weeks meeting was my 5th time.

Everyone one of us network, whenever we post a topic or respond to a topic for "where can I get" we are networking by passing on or recieving a refferal.

Networking clubs are the same, it has been said that evryone of us has contacts to 200 people so for instance one member wanted indroduction to teachers, well I am a school governor, I clean another 2 schools and I have at least 5 customers who are teachers, I can now place on the staff notice board in these schools what she is looking for.

Another example, a customer of mine had her car stolen from her house, somehow they got into her home and nicked the car keys, they also did 3 of her neighbours, well I know a guy who runs a alarm company, so I called him and passed him her phone number.

[mikecam]

The difference is also that I have no houses on my round like the ones above, none at all. I don't need them and don't want them, I turn them away. I pick the houses and customers I want. So Mike, in my case what I say is true. Like has been said already on here it works for some, not for others.
I've never been to Liverpool either but from what I've seen it's vastly different from my neck of the woods.
I have no gripe with you either by the way.

No i know that mate. I just wanted to point out for some of us its a must. If you've ever seen them alley gates then almost everwhere has them here. You can't even climb over them, rollers and grease.

[William McCafferty]

I think it was more the 50k + earnings you claim, that dropped overnight to £600 a week for two (previously three of you),

I do wish that sometimes you take the time to read a post correctly, You say I quote a figure of £50k and then say I have averaged £656 per week over the last 13 weeks, but you forget this figure is just window cleaning, I have not mentioned what I earn from carpets/solar/gutters and gulley cleaning, but to give you a clue, last year one customer spent £4215 on carpet cleaniing, this year I expect it to be higher.

So please when you want to quote figures, try and quote the right ones, not the ones that make you look stupid or maybe you have problems with reading, that could explain why you are not a printer anymore.

[Dave Willis]

Hydro, I really can't be arsed. Your figures change faster than the weather. We've been through all this on another forum and we all know what happened that time.  
Remember, I'm a failed printer these days   

[William McCafferty]

This is typical of my area, some have to be phoned the night before because they have electric gates but even these get dumped if they start the "clean it next week please" game.

This one below was dumped for that very reason, it takes twenty five minutes to get there and then I work my round back towards home. When they started messing about it meant nearly an hours extra driving for one house and a completely cocked up schedule. If they were willing to pay an extra £60 for lost time and fuel then I would do it but even these people wouldn't go for that.

How far are these places from Gloucester? as I already have work there and as you keep pointing out, I'm not got a full round it might be worth a canvass drop and door knock

[Dave Willis]

Wrong County. But you can pretend you clean them if you like. I won't tell anyone our secret. 

[C o z y]

The trick is on these kind of threads, tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said then!!! Also, your figures would add up Hydro."hole, stop digging"  Too many members on here have caught you out in the past, no point trying to impress anyone really. It just  gets worse for you mate. Next time you go to one of those Amway breakfast cub thingies, just listen more than you talk. Nobody will notice when your figures are wrong if you say nothing.

Hope this has helped.

[William McCafferty]

Wrong County. But you can pretend you clean them if you like. I won't tell anyone our secret. 

I have to get them first, but let me worry over that small problem.

I was thinking of doing it after my next operation and I am out of plaster, so roughly 5 months time, just in time for xmas, I might start of with a xmas deal, 1st clean free of charge, they get the cashback after their 3rd clean.

What do you think? good idea or not, by the way how many houses in each village and where can I get their postals addresses from? I'm thinking of using dot mail to send out a personal letter to each person who lives in the villages and as they only cost 34p each including the printing/envelope and postage it might be cheaper than a leaflet drop.

I won't be able to clean many in a day though as my leg needs to heal, but if I can cover my diesel and say a profit of £50 for the day, I will be happy, of course if it works and the customers grow then I suppose I will have to look at employing someone local.

Buts let not talk about that just yet, thats for the future.

You have nothing to worry about as I offer a different service to you, I'm more customer friendly like if a customer says can you just do that little bit extra as a one off, well why not and no charge, and of course none of your customers will leave you because I call the night before.

[William McCafferty]

The trick is on these kind of threads, tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said then!!! Also, your figures would add up Hydro."hole, stop digging"  Too many members on here have caught you out in the past, no point trying to impress anyone really. It just  gets worse for you mate. Next time you go to one of those Amway breakfast cub thingies, just listen more than you talk. Nobody will notice when your figures are wrong if you say nothing.

Hope this has helped.

Thank you for the advice and I do listen when I go the those network thingys, I listened very well when I meet Sahar Hashemi at one in march, funny enough her and her brother came across many people like you when they first started their business, luckily for them they took no notice of what they said.

I think I will do the same.

[AuRavelling79]

William; shame you didn't have this thread to show her. She'd've enjoyed discussing its finer points over a cup of coffee with you. 

[Dave Willis]

Wrong County. But you can pretend you clean them if you like. I won't tell anyone our secret. 

I have to get them first, but let me worry over that small problem.

I was thinking of doing it after my next operation and I am out of plaster, so roughly 5 months time, just in time for xmas, I might start of with a xmas deal, 1st clean free of charge, they get the cashback after their 3rd clean.

What do you think? good idea or not, by the way how many houses in each village and where can I get their postals addresses from? I'm thinking of using dot mail to send out a personal letter to each person who lives in the villages and as they only cost 34p each including the printing/envelope and postage it might be cheaper than a leaflet drop.

I won't be able to clean many in a day though as my leg needs to heal, but if I can cover my diesel and say a profit of £50 for the day, I will be happy, of course if it works and the customers grow then I suppose I will have to look at employing someone local.

Buts let not talk about that just yet, thats for the future.

You have nothing to worry about as I offer a different service to you, I'm more customer friendly like if a customer says can you just do that little bit extra as a one off, well why not and no charge, and of course none of your customers will leave you because I call the night before.

Hydro, you can stay in bed for the next year if you like. Just send your fleet of imaginary vans down this way with all your imaginary staff. I'll give you some good B&B's if you want.