[AuRavelling79]

Yes you might get a few messers who will.
Put up with it until you no longer need their custom and then take great pleasure in dumping.

+1

[AuRavelling79]

The longer you're at this, the less customers you get who say stuff like "Oh, can you stop doing them and come back in May?" (or something like that).

Why?  Because you drop 'em and just stick with your regular hard-core of customers who have you month-in-month-out (or whatever your frequency).  As time goes on, you build a round of good, dependable customers.

+1 too! 

[Sean Kelly]

She must of had rank to earn that much buddy, or been in London fire brigade where they get waiting allowance

[PoleKing]

She must of had rank to earn that much buddy, or been in London fire brigade where they get waiting allowance

She was ranked (I forget where) and yeah, in London.
Knightsbridge actually. Harrods was just in front of her station.

[Paul H]

Stick to your job as a fire fighter I'm sure you earn good money & leave the window cleaning to us professionals lol !!!!

Danny, you try living off a fire fighters wage, I'm a professional window cleaner as much as you are lol

Go on strike for more money then.... Like youse did last time and always threaten.... Oh yeah get offered more money but in return no second jobs / fiddle on your week off every other week ...

Cake and eat it springs to mind...

Glad to see you've got yourself Into a proper day job!

[Sean Kelly]

We are on 22k in training and 28k after in Dorset Darren, and Danny don't hold your breath there's talk of another strike soon

[PoleKing]

£28k's not a lot for the work really.
It's one of those things though-be honest-when was the last time you went to a proper emergency? Probably not very often. If one has never really benefitted from the fire service (or the rest of them for that matter) one will say things like 'you don't do much anyway' but if you're trapped in a burning car with your leg hanging off and petrol dripping into the would one would put them on £100k overnight.

I personally feel that nurses get the worst deal.
They are on £16k to start and get abused like you wouldn't believe.

[Sean Kelly]

Yesterday actually Darren, we are quite busy on our patch so go to quite a bit of decent work, yea nurses get a poop deal I was an auxiliary nurse on my days off last year on a&e and the money was gash, but fire fighting and nursing I both couldn't do if I was in it for the money. There's quite a few of us fire fighters down here who do window cleaning on our days off and actually find it quite therapeutic

[PoleKing]

Yesterday actually Darren, we are quite busy on our patch so go to quite a bit of decent work, yea nurses get a poop deal I was an auxiliary nurse on my days off last year on a&e and the money was gash, but fire fighting and nursing I both couldn't do if I was in it for the money. There's quite a few of us fire fighters down here who do window cleaning on our days off and actually find it quite therapeutic

Fair play bud.
Yeah-you'd only ever WC for the $.
Job satisfaction would have to come from elsewhere.

[andyM]

We are on 22k in training and 28k after in Dorset Darren, and Danny don't hold your breath there's talk of another strike soon

I would agree that the money isn't great, especially when you take into account the unsociable shift pattern and potential dangers of the job.
I've got a customer whose son is a full time fire fighter and he is considering also being a retained fire fighter on his days off to top up his money.
From what I've heard most fire fighters have a second job/income.

[dave0123]

I agree the money isn't great for what you guys do.. however 28k a year people survive on a lot less without having a second job..

[Sean Kelly]

We are on 22k in training and 28k after in Dorset Darren, and Danny don't hold your breath there's talk of another strike soon

I would agree that the money isn't great, especially when you take into account the unsociable shift pattern and potential dangers of the job.
I've got a customer whose son is a full time fire fighter and he is considering also being a retained fire fighter on his days off to top up his money.
From what I've heard most fire fighters have a second job/income.

Yea it's true, on our station we have a plumber, 2 carpenters, and electrician, painter and decorator and a landscape gardener.

[PoleKing]

I agree the money isn't great for what you guys do.. however 28k a year people survive on a lot less without having a second job..

Roughly £1,200 a month after tax. (Ish)
Bet not many do without benefits/cash in hand/thieving etc...

[AuRavelling79]

I agree the money isn't great for what you guys do.. however 28k a year people survive on a lot less without having a second job..

Roughly £1,200 a month after tax. (Ish)
Bet not many do without benefits/cash in hand/thieving etc...

Eh?

£2,333 gross so about £1,750 after tax and NI I reckon.

[Tom White]

The longer you're at this, the less customers you get who say stuff like "Oh, can you stop doing them and come back in May?" (or something like that).

Why?  Because you drop 'em and just stick with your regular hard-core of customers who have you month-in-month-out (or whatever your frequency).  As time goes on, you build a round of good, dependable customers.

Cheers tosh started 3 months ago and have now gone waterfed. I love it, I've got a lot of military houses up the marine camp these are my hardcore ones, and about 10 commercial got loads of I think are reliable so hopefully will do ok through my first winter,

The military aren't great customers.  They go on deployments for months at a time and their wives go back to Mummy.  They won't tell you either; they're normally too busy to think of their window cleaners (some will some won't), so you'll be owed money and no-one is there to chase it up from.

Then they do unit moves where they all up sticks 'n' go somewhere else and a new mob move in.

But they'll do while you're short of work.  If you're into carpet cleaning, they'd be good customers for that.

[Tom White]

Oh, they all get paid on the last working day of each month; try and get paid from them shortly after that.  Leave it till the 5th of the month and they'll all be skint!

[dave0123]

Roughly £1,200 a month after tax. (Ish)
Bet not many do without benefits/cash in hand/thieving etc...

erm.. think you've calculated that a bit wrong?    think you find its more in the region of 22k after tax & NI

[PoleKing]

Sorry-you're right. Beer has been on since 1.

[Sean Kelly]

Haha beer should get deducted before tax!! My pension contribution after so it doesn't leave me with much, I've got a mortgage to pay and a mrs and 2 mouths to feed, so window cleaning is a good top up for me. I find the military round here great customers as I know most of them,

[Perfect Windows]

I agree the money isn't great for what you guys do.. however 28k a year people survive on a lot less without having a second job..

From the Office for National Statistics site: "In April 2012 median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees were £506" - £26,312 annualised.  Median is the amount where half of people earn less, half earn more.

So half the population somehow manages to scrape by on less than firemen get for working half a week.

Vin