[colley614]

In my town we have a few shopping villages with the butcher,bakers,candlestick makers type shops there is about 3 or 4 of them. Now I've been round and canvassed them and been told the sentence from every shop " Oh an old bloke does mine, he hardly cleans them but I couldn't let him go." This annoys me a little because between the 4 shopping village there must be about £1000 worth of work. I was walking around one this afternoon when I'd been the bank and the windows on one store were about 6-7 feet high by 3-4 wide and the guy who was doing them had cleaned up to about 6 foot but the last foot hasn't been washed for years. This really bugs me why pay someone for a job that they are not doing professionally. Have any of you guys seen this? What would you do?

[dave0123]

Colley ul never get them anyway! not only are they old blokes doing them! there doing it for hardly nothing talking 1.50 a shop it really is a joke!

the ones near me cleaning shops are 2 old fellas about say 70 odd! and they use normal domestic ladders not 2 big jus big enuf to reach the first floor windows and he can just about lift them off his car! With a great strugle!!


Dave

[colley614]

Good to see you Dave. It really bugs me though. One guy can hardly walk, charges buttons and I end up with his jobs he's swerved!  On a good note though my domestic work is picking right up.

[dave0123]

It is anoying really.. but there not really any money in them unless u have a few all 2gether or maybe houses around the area to..

Nice to see u too lol atho i never av  

what areas do u cover now? and what do u go round in may have seen u about!!

Dave

[colley614]

I'm basically all over the Wirral now. Form new Brighton to Ellesmere Port West Kirby to Neston, Plus I'm going to price 2 big office blocks in North Wales at the weekend. I've got rid of my van at the moment because of a few problems so I'm in my green rover at the moment. 

[simon knight]

We've got an old boy who seems do half of Putney High Street. Windows tend to be between 7-8 ft tall. He's got his bucket, applicator, pole, blade and scrim. He makes no attempt to detail and the end result is usually a mess. No idea what he charges (probably £5 a shop). He's been doing it for all of the 20 years I've lived here. Even if I felt inclined to try and poach...which I don't...there'd be zero chance of me getting a foot in the door. He's like part of the fixtures and fittings.

Bless him

[colley614]

Have just been thinking about it and I feel sorry for the guys. The lads in the builders shop say he leaves his bucket outside and goes in the pub from 12 o'clock till it shuts. Wish I could afford to go the pub for a 12 hour stint everyday. 

[simon knight]

He probably does the boozer as well!

[colley614]

Yeah thats a point I don't have any pubs on my round. Wonder if its because I don't drink.

[simon knight]

Apart from my local dentist I don't do commercial, but for the guys who do pubs the work must be sooo much easier (inside) now that tabs have been banned.

One lady i do smokes like a chimney and my scrims are yellowy brown afterwards.

Eugh!

[matt]

my local town is done by somd old guy ( must be in his 70's ) and ive got to know a fari few of the shop owners though the years, they all laugh at him, yet keep him on

why

the price

i do a fair few shops for 7 - 10 quid

he charges 1.75  : :

its pocket money for him, the shops pay more from lunch at M&S  each day that pay him weekly

it doesnt bother me though, thats life i guess

[Paul Coleman]

A couple of miles from where I live a guy does some window cleaning occasionally at a café.  He takes at least half an hour for a job that should take 5 minutes and his payment is a ham sandwich.  He's about my age.  He is quite a messed up person and I've seen him about over 30 odd years.  He doesn't work and must certainly be on benefits of some kind (probably permanently signed off due to psychiatric issues).  I was in the café recently and the windows haven't been done in a long time.
I don't consider that he's taking a job from anyone because these people wouldn't pay for windows to be cleaned anyhow - in spite of running a food outlet.

[simon knight]

But Shiner doesn't this speak volumes about the business and the way what's bread and butter to you or me is beer  (or ham sandwich money) to others?

[sussex187]

i had this with a domestic job the other day i done all her fascias and con roof for her and after asked if she had a regular window cleaner to which she replied "i do but hes not very good if he ever leaves i will give you a call" i wonder how many people pay a window cleaner for a standard of work which they are not very happy with but choose not to say anything lol

[sair]

we had a n old boy like that when i was about 23, i tried to canvass a few got me no where ,he fell and broke his arm one day i offered to do his work for him for FREE, i was young could fit it in early mornings around my own houses   collected his money gave it all to him for a year

he said to me didnt think he would be coming back said that he thought i had paid my dues and gave me the round

intertsting when he left i doubled all prices and they all excepted, had only kept him on over loyalty. a rare commodity now
 
i turned it around changed prices and now it valued at ??k a year, just looking at employing a young lad to do it and his been trained for a bout a year half ( slovak) now, best thing i ever did was turn it into a wfp round about 8 years ago know   

moral story dont poach from the old boys be nice you never know whats around the corner !!! 

[colley614]

Yeah might give that one a try!

[Londoner]

The thing about old boys is that they can't last forever. If they are struggling now then how much longer can they go on?
Why not have a word with them, it may well be they are keeping going because they think the customers depend on them. Offer them £500 for the round.

Alternatively, go and see the shop keepers and say you know old Joe and Fred do their windows and you don't want to tread on their toes but here's my leaflet. You might want to keep it for the future.