[Carl2009]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if you guys have any knowledge on replacing seals on windows - you know the ones, old and leave black streaks on the uPVC frames.

Can it be done? Is it a specialist job? How do you go about it?

Cheers

[nathankaye]

Only my thought,  but dont go there!
Its liable for so many "no go" areas. Insurance claims, liable clauses and a whole lot of hassle

[Carl2009]

Only my thought,  but dont go there!
Its liable for so many "no go" areas. Insurance claims, liable clauses and a whole lot of hassle

Nope, I wasn't thinking of doing it. I just lost a custie cos her frames are leaking black and I wanted to give her some advice.

[P @ F]

Why would you want to give her advice after dumping YOU because her windows are cheap  ?
 

[dazmond]

ill give her some advice REPLACE THE WINDOWS!!

[Carl2009]

Why would you want to give her advice after dumping YOU because her windows are cheap  ?

1. She's a great customer.
2. It's a very profitable job.
3. I enjoy doing it.
4. I like to give good service.
5. Her windows are not cheap - it's just that the seals have gone. The windows are too good to replace if the seals can be replaced.

[Carl2009]

ill give her some advice REPLACE THE WINDOWS!!

They are too good to replace and it's not practical at her age and given the scale of the job.

[P @ F]

You seem to have fallen down on point 1.
She has obviously put the blame to you and your pole thing , you did it so you should be sacked on the spot , she is not a great customer as she is past tense , did you not put the point over when the stains came to light ?
If i get the problem , i will say , unfortunately i dont do ladders anymore , this is what needs doing , if i get binned then its nice to have had your custom , GOODBYE !

[ray mck]

Easy to replace length of gasket washing up liquid a  bit of wood .window fitters would do it easy.

[P @ F]

Exactly , window fitters would do it easy , not window cleaners , run forest run , run like the winnnd 

[nathankaye]

Strangely enough, my blunt post on the thread "how did i handle this" seems quite fitting somehow 

In this game, we all loose customers and gain customers for various reasons. But its sad to see how some window cleaners are in denial about the business they run. Its a service not a charity n a nice chit chat with customers. We all have those great customers who go extra mile, not only great payers but provide drinks, maybe cakes etc etc. Which is absolutely great, i have plenty of them types myself. Had same customers for 14 yrs, cause of loyalty, im a nice guy n built up trust. Oh and yes, blooming great at my job!!  If i wasnt or their circumstances changed, im not dissolutioned to think they will keep me on because of our nice little chit chat moments. They wouldnt hesitate to drop me! Why, because they are the customer and im the business. Hence in this case, by his own admonition, hes dropped due to customer assuming hes damaged seal and shes a lovely lady n his advice will win back her loyalty n take him back on! Sounds desperate!! We all gain customers n we lose customers, the nature of our business! But dont leave it were your grovelling for the work!! Man up n realise like p@f was saying, shes wrongly accusing you n whenever anything goes wrong, you will be blamed! Drop the bad business n pick up the good business.
I agree with p@f,

[rosskesava]

Carl2009 was asking a few simple questions.

It hardly requires the War and Peace of assumptions as an answer.

[nathankaye]

Your right, but the thread of responses and the conversations within, expands to a larger reasoning and advice n help or discussion etc is relative to that.
However, you could be right, might be a slight over kill

[rosskesava]

I do take the point of what you are saying though as often that is the case. Often it is a simple 'dump' and move on.

I think maybe in this instance it was just a question.

[Shane sharples]

If you did want to replace the black seals, you'd probably need to go on a window fitting course to know the ins and outs of it all... But if you think about it, is it worth it? I mean out of your whole round, how many custys have those horrible black seals? I think I have a couple but wouldn't worry me if I lost them as id probably gain a couple more custys after that with decent windows

[Jonny 87]

Hi guys,

Just wondering if you guys have any knowledge on replacing seals on windows - you know the ones, old and leave black streaks on the uPVC frames.

Can it be done? Is it a specialist job? How do you go about it?

Cheers

It would be far easier to deep clean the frames and deals with a degreaser like virisol until you stop seeing any black leach out, then use a magic sponge and take off any black marks. You will have little to no problems in future.

The problem of leaching black marks happens wether the windows are cleaned or not. The rain can do it too.

Not really sure why she cancelled you?

[dazmond]

ill give her some advice REPLACE THE WINDOWS!!

They are too good to replace and it's not practical at her age and given the scale of the job.

ok so shes an old lady judging by this post?and cant afford new windows?

i only have 2 or 3 properties that have the odd dodgy rubber seal that run like squid ink.i clean them just like any other window and they come up ok (glass only,frames not so good).

so what did she sack you for?stained ink on the frames?its really not your fault or problem.the only way to eradicate this  is to replace the whole unit.

or maybe she thinks your "water brush thingy" has caused the problem and is secretly blaming you!

[Carl2009]

Jeez guys, I wonder how some of you stay in business, I really do. Some of you need to read posts a bit more fully too.

Shrek - like I said, read the post: I'm-NOT-going-to-do-the-job-myself. I'm just enquiring whether it can be done and what's involved.

Nathankaye and p@f - She did NOT say that i'd damaged the seals - they were wrecked before I had the job a few years back and she knew that. I simply wanted to provide my customer (and - get this - future customers) with some advice in an attempt to provide good service and try and retain her business. I'm not desperate but it's a job that very much suits me.

Some people I dump - messsers, people who don't pay on time, people who don't clean up after their dogs. Others that are lovely and profitable, pay on time, nice big Christmas tip, easy to do and who are just, well, nice, well call me old fashioned but i'd like to try and keep these.

She didn't "blame" me for the windows being blackened - she knows it is the seals. She loves the "pole thingy" and the clean it gives to the glass, however you all know that if you use any sort of TFR or similar product it only get the frames partially clean - they need a good going over with PVC cleaner or stubborn stains remain. Now you'll also know that this is an up-the-ladder, cloth-in-hand job and takes a while, only for the leaking seals to spoil the job in a relatively short time afterwards because we and she knows that it's the rain that makes them run as much as any wfp.

I find it hilarious that some people on here just dump custies for no real good reason. You carry on lads, but you'll forgive me if I run my business in the way that has seen it grow to the highly profitable enterprise it is now.  There are people who run their business with good customer service in mind, then there are others.

[Smurf]

There is probably a local glazing doctor or whatever they call themselves that you could get in with to do this kind of work for you.

[Carl2009]

There is probably a local glazing doctor or whatever they call themselves that you could get in with to do this kind of work for you.

I guess there is Smurf. I was kind of hoping someone might have had their own experiences to share though, plus we'd all benefit from the thread. I sort of wish I hadn't bothered asking now lol.