[Jays]

Been traditional cleaning for 20 years recently got another van with reach and wash system for commercial jobs and third/fourth floor flats that I've been cleaning off treble ladders for past 7 years!!have 4 guys who work with me and clean over 2,000 homes a month some of which I've been cleaning since day 1 which are still £5 front and back!on average my prices range from £5-£15 for 4 bed with conservatory.
I keep thinking if I changed my whole round to WFP and had 2 vans running two poles in each and I would concentrate on commercial side would my customers agree to change in technique and obviously I wud need to increase price as I would be cleaning frames/dormers/doors/sky lights etc!?
Can anyone help me with this matter!!?

Cheers
J

[tonycarr]

hi J

go for it.....i to was traditional for 20yrs and i also would clean town houses with a set of treble ladders....but no more...i moved over to WFP last october. both of my brothers in law are windy`s, they to used to be trad but converted to WFP a number of years back, they were always on about me changing over. i fancied it but i was worried about the transition from trad to wfp, and the amount of work i might use, cutting a long story short me and the wife (as we`re a team) discussed it and decided to go for it. for the next couple of months i tried to speak to as many customers as possible. basically telling them that we were going to be changing the way we work, i said were going to be using new technology using pure water and explained what is involved, and how it worked, i emphasized the benefits for them IE...includes the frames, doors, windows that i couldn't previously reach, no holes in the lawn, drys smear free etc etc, i also mentioned (or blamed if you like) the EU & Brussels and the fact that they are changing the law to minimize the amount of time that is spent on ladders in the work place because of health & safety issues, i also mentioned it would be better for my own health, i told them that me ol knees need a rest. i got really positive results, some windys draft a letter explaining what  the system is and how it works, that might be good for you considering your workload, i chose to speak to as many as i could in person as my workload then enabled me to do so.

i believe that's a lot better than just turning up one day with a squirty thingy sweeping the windows, them not having read your draft

i would honestly say that well over 90% of my customers said ....(i dont really care what you do as long as the windows are clean) i have a really good relationship with my customers and for those that wernt sure of this change, i basically said to them, well Just give it a go to and see how the results turn out.



a year later, with the exception of i think 4 customers i still do every single one, and have also increased my workload, a lot of it by recommendation because of the new system

go for it J

tony     

[SeanK]

To be honest Jays I don't think the majority of domestic customers care how the windows are cleaned
as long as the quality stays the same.
So as long as your not hit with a large amount of problem windows then I cant see a problem with you going
fully WFP.
But I cant see what your trying to achieve, is it that you believe you can make a lot more money or is it for the
safety of your workforce ?
Why don't you take a section of your round and give it a trial run just to see how it goes then you should be able
to judge if it will be worthwhile converting your whole round.

[KS Cleaning]

If you do decide to change over, on your last trad clean wipe all the top frames and the seals with a cloth, pay particular attention to vents, this will be time consuming but you will reap the benefits on your first wfp clean as it will help to stop any contamination.

[richywilts]

with 2000 jobs per month it may be worth looking at going wfp and franchising the work out to the lads if your nearing retirement age etc give each man 500 customers

[colin bird]

If you do decide to change over, on your last trad clean wipe all the top frames and the seals with a cloth, pay particular attention to vents, this will be time consuming but you will reap the benefits on your first wfp clean as it will help to stop any contamination.

Good piece of advice

[wfp]

I did the same thing after years off of ladders trad and went wfp and had the same concerns.I too have about 2000 customers
I drafted a letter and posted when did last trad clean explaining to my customers exactly what i intended to do and explaining
benefits and method of wfp-had no problems only a few older people set in their ways but they soon got used to the idea and
in fact some now have even said to me they wouldnt want their windows cleaned any other way than wfp they are so pleased with results on frames etc
Dont over worry because the very few you may lose you will be able to take more on as much more time efficient wfp
best thing i ever did

[slap bash]

Offer a clean guarantee if the customer calls with in 48 hours you will clean the offending window absolutely free of charge. I did this and have a hand full of comebacks.Worked for me. I put it in writing to reassure my customers

[SeanK]

I did the same thing after years off of ladders trad and went wfp and had the same concerns.I too have about 2000 customers
I drafted a letter and posted when did last trad clean explaining to my customers exactly what i intended to do and explaining
benefits and method of wfp-had no problems only a few older people set in their ways but they soon got used to the idea and
in fact some now have even said to me they wouldnt want their windows cleaned any other way than wfp they are so pleased with results on frames etc
Dont over worry because the very few you may lose you will be able to take more on as much more time efficient wfp
best thing i ever did

500 customers per man per month how more efficient is he going to be ?, that's why I asked why has he decided to convert
the whole round to WFP.
Plus he is going to have to up his prices just to cover the extra wfp expense plus up them again to cover the under priced work.
Maybe I'm missing something but it doesn't add up to me.

Sorry mate I hope you don't take this as a personal attack on your post, was just using what you said as an example.