[leepaton1]

bvc the round ive just got as been done by the same cleaner for the last 8 years ive not bought it its all been done trad but as its only a small village and i no most of the people they would be happy for me to use either method . ive a mate who uses wfp and he will be taking me out next week for a couple of days .

[BVC]

Ok mate, just read you got the work from an old boy, whos retired. Think about it, The old fella was probably on first name terms with all 120 of your customers, done them for years and watched all their kids grow up. He probably drank tea, ate biscuits and had a chinwag with most of them and spent half an hour on every house with his ladder. I would bet most of them are over 50.

Now picture this. A groundhog turns up in a van full of water, get his hose out and sprays it everwhere. Puts it all back in the van a puts a bill in for a tenner. when the customer asks were is the ladder, they get told, sorry love health and safety. (I guarantee if you do this, you will not have 120 customers left next month.)

My advice, Consolidate your round, earn your money, then build it up to where you want it.

[matt]

GET THE POPCORN OUT MATT

the wife cooked a nice meal tonight, so no popcorn for me, but im sure this thread will rubble on till tomorrow

A TROLLEY as far as im concearned, its good to start with, you can stick it in a car or van, if in time you decide on a Van mount then its not wasted as it can be used for them houses that are heard to park outside etc etc, you can even alter the trolley to run as a van mount, just use the IN pipe into a tank in the van

<--------- e.mail me for a link to the DIY WFP site, you will then have to let me know your name ( post a Oi matt thread here, i will see it )

[mark dew]

bvc the round ive just got as been done by the same cleaner for the last 8 years ive not bought it its all been done trad but as its only a small village and i no most of the people they would be happy for me to use either method . ive a mate who uses wfp and he will be taking me out next week for a couple of days .

In this situation i reckon the best way to approach it is to do them wfp but go back at the end of the day to check the dried windows and if good then ask for the money.
No matter what explanation you give them beforehand, they will probably not like this new way by default. But if they are dry and spotless when you're asking for payment you will have taken away their most likely ammunition of what they don't like. 

[BVC]

Ok mate, just read you got the work from an old boy, whos retired. Think about it, The old fella was probably on first name terms with all 120 of your customers, done them for years and watched all their kids grow up. He probably drank tea, ate biscuits and had a chinwag with most of them and spent half an hour on every house with his ladder. I would bet most of them are over 50.

Now picture this. A groundhog turns up in a van full of water, get his hose out and sprays it everwhere. Puts it all back in the van a puts a bill in for a tenner. when the customer asks were is the ladder, they get told, sorry love health and safety. (I guarantee if you do this, you will not have 120 customers left next month.)

My advice, Consolidate your round, earn your money, then build it up to where you want it.

Ok, I look a bit of a wally now, that should teach me to read all posts before I post!!

Well 8 years Is still a fair while, but if you say the customers are happy with wfp you would be mad not to go wfp.

I cant believe Im saying this, but I kind of agree with groundhog, Get a cheap van mount, as it looks a little more proffessional on an established round, (most people will think youve got a nuclear reactor in there) It also creates a little bit of mystery because all the customer can see is a pole. Plus if your just starting out, you will need as much water as you can transport. Backpacks are fantastic, (I carry mine by the strap like a shopping bag and the pole in the other hand) but you need to know how to conserve water and be familiar with your work.

[matt]

Ok mate, just read you got the work from an old boy, whos retired. Think about it, The old fella was probably on first name terms with all 120 of your customers, done them for years and watched all their kids grow up. He probably drank tea, ate biscuits and had a chinwag with most of them and spent half an hour on every house with his ladder. I would bet most of them are over 50.

Now picture this. A groundhog turns up in a van full of water, get his hose out and sprays it everwhere. Puts it all back in the van a puts a bill in for a tenner. when the customer asks were is the ladder, they get told, sorry love health and safety. (I guarantee if you do this, you will not have 120 customers left next month.)

My advice, Consolidate your round, earn your money, then build it up to where you want it.

good call

this is what i did, i was in the same situation as you, i did the round the first few times with ladder and WFP system, the hard to reach windows i did with WFP ( inc the bath room ) i then did the windows i was sure i was safe enough on ( i also used a rojik ladder stopper and a sand bag )

this served to purposes to me, 1. i met the customers and got to know them a little, 2. it got them used to seeing the WFP trolley, i explained about the WAH regs AND MY SAFETY and i would as soon be going over to WFP upstairs ( now they had seen me use it on the hard to reach windows, above porches etc etc , so it wasnt that much of a shock )

i would also just do the upstairs WFP, then you can do the downstairs and get it right first time ( non of this, it'll come good in a few cleans ) by hand downstairs you know it'll look good

[BVC]

Yep, I think matt has got it spot on. No pun intended. The last thing you want to say to these customers is, sorry but you will have to pay me at least 3 times before your windows look clean.

[mark dew]

Yep, I think matt has got it spot on. No pun intended. The last thing you want to say to these customers is, sorry but you will have to pay me at least 3 times before your windows look clean.

Yes, i can't get my head around that either. We are not paid to do a good job in the future. Wfp is a great tool but its out of order to take money for a job that we haven't done. If windows haven't come up good we should rectify it rather than hope for the best next time.

[chris@c.m.s]

I cant see any reason for a customer to wait for 3 cleans for a satisfactory result from wfp  If you follow whats said on here and it is mostly good advice then the customers will see the advantage straight away. ok so a first clean takes twice as long, "frames first then around again for the glass" you will make that up on the next clean you need to invest your time to reap the rewards later.
I have not had a compliant yet about wfp.
 

[windowwashers]

Yep, I think matt has got it spot on. No pun intended. The last thing you want to say to these customers is, sorry but you will have to pay me at least 3 times before your windows look clean.

Yes, i can't get my head around that either. We are not paid to do a good job in the future. Wfp is a great tool but its out of order to take money for a job that we haven't done. If windows haven't come up good we should rectify it rather than hope for the best next time.

I must admit I have used the line there maybe a problem first clean, but if there is please let me know and I will be straight back to sort it, I prefer to cover myself that way 
I do spend longer on first cleans but unless you stand and wait for the water to dry completly you cant tell if you going to have problems.

Thats my take on it.

Roll on 6:30 so I can go to work

Ian

[leepaton1]

cheers for advice guys its good to no that theres people out there that will give advice . like the sound of the trolley matt as you say you can still use as a van mount thanks 

[groundhog]

Now picture this. A groundhog turns up in a van full of water, get his hose out and sprays it everwhere. Puts it all back in the van a puts a bill in for a tenner. when the customer asks were is the ladder, they get told, sorry love health and safety. (I guarantee if you do this, you will not have 120 customers left next month.)

What you have failed to account for is the Groundhog charm  , I have taken over many jobs from other cleaners who have been trad, and to date I can only think of 1 customer who I have lost due to wfp, it is how you sell yourself and your service that counts!

[d s windowcleaning]

id go with what matt said until you get used to the work as it seem to be a new round for you , you never no you minght have 120 customers to start with but you could lose some of these .

[groundhog]

this is what i did, i was in the same situation as you, i did the round the first few times with ladder and WFP system, the hard to reach windows i did with WFP ( inc the bath room ) i then did the windows i was sure i was safe enough on ( i also used a rojik ladder stopper and a sand bag )

this served to purposes to me, 1. i met the customers and got to know them a little, 2. it got them used to seeing the WFP trolley, i explained about the WAH regs AND MY SAFETY and i would as soon be going over to WFP upstairs ( now they had seen me use it on the hard to reach windows, above porches etc etc , so it wasnt that much of a shock )
i would also just do the upstairs WFP, then you can do the downstairs and get it right first time ( non of this, it'll come good in a few cleans ) by hand downstairs you know it'll look good

What a lot of fannying about, start as you mean to go on, clean them properly with your wfp and let them see what a good job you can do with your system, don't p*ssy foot around apologising that you have to use wfp because of health & safety ect, tell them you use wfp because it is fantastic, that there frames and sills will be cleaned everytime and that the windows will stay cleaner for longer!!!

[L.J.Thorpe]

What you have failed to account for is the Groundhog charm

strange ....cos ya keep it well hid on here

[matt]

this is what i did, i was in the same situation as you, i did the round the first few times with ladder and WFP system, the hard to reach windows i did with WFP ( inc the bath room ) i then did the windows i was sure i was safe enough on ( i also used a rojik ladder stopper and a sand bag )

this served to purposes to me, 1. i met the customers and got to know them a little, 2. it got them used to seeing the WFP trolley, i explained about the WAH regs AND MY SAFETY and i would as soon be going over to WFP upstairs ( now they had seen me use it on the hard to reach windows, above porches etc etc , so it wasnt that much of a shock )
i would also just do the upstairs WFP, then you can do the downstairs and get it right first time ( non of this, it'll come good in a few cleans ) by hand downstairs you know it'll look good

What a lot of fannying about, start as you mean to go on, clean them properly with your wfp and let them see what a good job you can do with your system, don't p*ssy foot around apologising that you have to use wfp because of health & safety ect, tell them you use wfp because it is fantastic, that there frames and sills will be cleaned everytime and that the windows will stay cleaner for longer!!!

aye, thats a cracking idea groundhog

leepaton1, just do as groundhog says, of course when you lose a 1/3 of your work, as least you can say " i told them good and proper  :, im the boss "

or you could play it safe and follow my idea

[L.J.Thorpe]

yeah what matt says groundhog has a one size fits all idea that works regardless of location,budget etc,he is seldom wrong and his charisma more than compensates for any other shortcomings

[leepaton1]

groundhog it may seem like fannying around too but im after a bit of advive mate i want to make sure im going the right way about and making the right decision on what to use when i start , i dont want to waste money that ive not really got .

[groundhog]

OK Leepaton follow these two amateurs advice and build yourself a very nice little average round, peronally I think you would be better off getting a job in Tescos, now thats really playing it safe!!!

When I first decided to take the plunge into full time window cleaning I asked for advice from a chap called Paul C Smith on another forum, he advised me to get straight into wfp, to go for an 800 ltr (min) van mount system and not to waste time messing about with trolleys and backpacks, to get my van sign written and to wear a uniform. To employ at the first opportunity so that you can concentrate on canvassing and growing your business, to set a high minimum charge and stick to it...... I could go on.

Where is Paul now? He now owns the massive Powerclene window cleaning business, and makes a fortune selling franchises in his business!!!

I wish I had listened to Paul from the start, so my advice is if you want to be average listen to mat or lj thorpe, if you want to be the best... listen to Paul!!!! 

[matt]

think big, be big

as long as you think your big, your big