[Clear Vision]

What a bunch of moaning old women!!! Get a grip. Were moving into the future now!

 The results are fantastic! They are every bit as good as trad on 99% of jobs. How many trad cleaners wash and rinse the frames and sills??? none of them. They just wipe over with a damp dity smelly scrim.

 We brush & rinse them properly. Trad cleaners only do half a job while us wfp ers do a right job. Why worry about loosing customers to wfp? If you loose 1 you will pick up 2 or 3 in the next few days.

If you not getting good results go home and practice on your own windows. Your obviously not doing it right! I just picked up a large contract as they were not happy with there trad cleaner.

why settle for less with trad when you can get more work done with wfp and pick up larger contracts  which could never be done trad? My feet are safely on the ground and Im very happy with my system. Just stick to it and dont question yourself. If you dont have faith in your own work how will your customers?

[LWC]

superb reply clear vision!

couldnt of put it better myslef

"My feet are safely on the ground"

as to are mine and thats where they're stayin 

[macmac]

every ones work is different, every ones customers are different & every window cleaner is different, what works for one may not work for another.
Here is some advise from my personal experience. (3 1/2 years wfp)

Not all my work can be done wfp & some that can is better/quicker done trad. If i dropped the jobs which i dont/cant use wfp on then i would be losing a very lot of money & some of my best accounts.

Be realistic about wfp, treat it as an additional tool & not a total solution. Dont get sucked in to "all the hype" it's not as rosey as you may beleive.

You will only ever earn more money if you personaly create more work, wfp will not do this for you, so could you be earning more now

On an average, i personaly dont think wfp is that much easier than trad, (domestic wise) yes it is easier to a certain degree but not as much as others on here make out, like- OH MY GOD, I HAD TO USE A LADDER TODAY, I THINK I'LL HAVE TO NIP TO CASUALTY!! I'M KNACKERED, ACHING, OH PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP! (kind of thing) as if using a ladder is 10 times harder than wfp :

I have some jobs where wfp is far quicker than trad & some where it's hardly any quicker. wfp should always be safer than trad but not always quicker or easier.

There are many benefits too, but i'm sure others will point these out
Just be realistic in your expectations, not everyone can afford to lose customers & not everyone can easily replace them. I've never lost 1 customer to wfp but that may be cos' i only use it where appropriate, some of my work could never in a million years be done wfp.

I'm very glad i went down the wfp route 3 1/2 years ago, i benefit from it greatly, it was very hard at first (i had been given "all the hype"). I just wish someone had explained the downsides of wfp to me first. I would still have done it, but it would have made me more realistic & better prepaired for my wfp venture, thats why i think it important to be informed of the negatives of wfp before you go into it, this way you have all the info, which will benefit you when you start out.

Sorry if i sound like a misserable b***ard, (i'm not realy) but like i say, i feel it important to benefit others.


tony

[NWH]

Macmac your last post was correct in every sense of the word,i would say the same to any wc thinking of going wfp route.On some of my jobs i wouldn`t be without it now but i`m sure the old blade comes out a lot more than some people say on here,unless it`s got more than 3 bedrooms i rarely use the pole with the exception of leadlight houses.

[LWC]

no lies, i dont use the blade, only for insides

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

I've been wfp for almost 4 months and lost 2 customers due to wfp.  I use it on almost every thing but I also carry a bucket on the van with a blade.

You do need to talk the customers through it though and even leave a leaflet.  One lady blew her top when she saw us using the pole, she went in read the leaflet and then phoned up to apologize.

I think you would loose more from doing a price increase, I know I have recently and in previous years.

I find it great for bungalows and the customers like it as it, they say it does a better job on the frames (never did these).  Even on bungalows it's faster, not on the first clean but after that when you can just give a quick brush over and then blast off with water, it's quicker.

Simon

[neil100]

I have been going 16months wfp now and hand on heart its the best thing I have done since I started w/cleaning in 1980.

I have lost about 10 customers max because they dont like wfp. On the positive, the size of my round as increased by 40% since switching to wfp.

I was working at my max trad cleaning,so any increse in the size of my round would of resulted in switching from a 4 week clean to a 5 or 6 week.With wfp the speed increase for me was around 30% over trad so its allowed me to earn more money in less time.

Wfp is not perfect on everything. But you get to know which windows are the problems and you adapt accordingly. On some downstairs windows I will dab a top  window with my brush and then scrim it dry. Because if I wfp the top opener the water runs behind the seal of the window picks up dirt and then leaves spots.

Iam 98% domestic and most customers love wfp.

Change is hard, give it time for customers to get used to it and for you to develop your teqnique.
Nel

[macmac]

simon
i agree with you on the price increase, thats why i would never advise someone to put prices up when they start wfp cos' it gives the customer a "get out of jail free card" if they dont like the idea of wfp. they could easily use the price increase to drop you. They may well think- your gonna leave my windows, walls & patio wet through AND put the price up? i dont think so!

You know what some people are like- "we dont like change"

tony

[LWC]

"we dont like change"

"we fear change"

[Londoner]

I didn't lose any customers when I switched and I would never go back but I still find it hard to walk away and leave the windows wet.
I still blade patio doors and the like because the only thing that pure water won't shift is a handprint.

The thing is, when you are trad you choose your customers to suit your method of working. I avoided leaded windows and houses with cars in the front garden that blocked your access. Now neither of those are a problem but not having ladders means I can't get to some of the side windows over extensions etc. Its horses for courses.

Squeekie's comment about bungalows is true in part but most bungalows round here have leaded glass. (I don't know why except they tend to have older people living there and I guess its to their taste ). Is a lot quicker to do them WFP.

[Alex Wingrove]

to be fair though, wfp good for commercial, if its being cleaned every 4 weeks, so not alot of dirt accumulates
but come on lets get into the real world, people don't always want their windows done every 4 weeks

and besides you leave the window soaking wet, what with all this pollen and dust around, it sticks straight to the glass and looks awful

[Sir Squeaky]

and besides you leave the window soaking wet, what with all this pollen and dust around, it sticks straight to the glass and looks awful

Certainly something I'm concerned about.

On ones I've had doubts about I've quickly squeegeed off the water on a few prominent downstairs windows.

[LWC]

am i right in thinking that pure water is still doing its job whilst drying?

therefore blading off wouldnt help??

[NWH]

I find that if blading off is needed then i`ve not rinsed enough.

[simon knight]

Face it guys, wfp may well be quicker/safer but it just doesn't produce a consistently a good a job as trad!

Proof?...I've read loads on this forum of wfp guys getting sacked because the customer prefers trad but nowt about trad getting sacked for wfp.

Also, with my ladders and a little bit of balls I get to windows wfp boys can't/won't attempt.

[Sir Squeaky]

He's right you know.

[NWH]

You won`t be saying that in a couple of months squeaky,and simon what do you mean with a little bit of balls you get to windows off a ladder wfp wcs do,have you read the thread about check your policy it`s interesting reading it might change your view mate.And squeaky if you ask me i think the worst possible time to change to WFP is this time of year it`s asking for trouble,this time of year you`ll see every little mark thats left on certain sides of houses,this is gonna cause you trouble on your first couple of cleans unless your willing to spend ages there doing them.When i went WFP it was the begining of winter and in the winter as you know it gets dark between 3-4 and the sun hardly shows it`s face that time of year,starting that time of year it gives you loads of cleans to get the windows up to scratch so when summer comes round you`ll have no problems at all.

[simon knight]

Mr NWH, my work looks good in all lights, in all seasons... (and first time round!!) And I certainly don't have to fanny customers into accepting that the first 2-3 cleans will be sub-standard because I've adopted a new method but still expect them to pay full price.

[NWH]

You`ll come round in the end they all do,i`ll just carry on doing twice as much work and still not knackerd on a friday.And that`s not just bitching that`s a fact i was trad for 15yrs+.

[simon knight]

"twice as much work"...as who?