[MWCS]

After being let down for the last time by my young apprentice    I've decided to take on someone I can rely on. Someone who'll always be on time, someone who i get on with........

The Wife.

Any advice/thoughts on working with "er in doors" will be greatly appreciated

I know i've probably opened a huge can of worms here, cause if your wifes like mine she reads posts on this site as well.

 

[gaza]

keep her working 1 house away

[TERRY AB]

Better still go seperate Streets.
Let her collect the Money, she will be keeping
it anyway.

[pjulk]

I take my wife with me when the kids are at school.
She don't do a lot of cleaning to be honest she's rubbish at it.
But she like's to talk to the customers which im fine with as i get on cleaning the windows.
The only thing is when im on my own the customers think i have got loads of time to talk to them like the wife did.
But i think most of them know now that i can't stand around talking thats what the wife's for.
I get her collecting with me but i tend to collect 3 for every 1 she collects again she stands at the door talking.
So my advise would be if she can clean windows get her doing that so she does not have time to stand about talking.
I sack my wife at least 4 times a day but she still comes back.
I had to sack myself once as i did something wrong but had to re-employ myself as there was no one else to carry on with my work

Paul

[thewindowcleaner1]

I used to take the other half with me spent more time popping her to the shops than working, then she broke her wrist and she rufused to work for with me any more.

Alan

[cleanthrough]

Hello

I Love taking the other half out with me.
If it rains it can be more interesting than having a member of staff with you.

John

[thewindowcleaner1]

I Love taking the other half out with me.
If it rains it can be more interesting than having a member of staff with you.

If it rained it used to cost me fortune I'd get dragged to the shops to spend any cash i had,

Now if it rains I sit it out in the van and relax.

[MWCS]

And there was me thinking i'd be saving money on wages and still getting the same amount of work done 

She was cleaning the back kitchen window today practising but i think i need to invest in some plasterers stilts, she can't reach the tops, she's only petite bless her.

[rosskesava]

She was cleaning the back kitchen window today practising but i think i need to invest in some plasterers stilts, she can't reach the tops, she's only petite bless her.

You could buy her a 4 or 5 ft A frame?

Good luck and I'm not laughing (honest) ........ 

[windows_chepstow]

Any advice/thoughts on working with "er in doors" will be greatly appreciated

I've worked with my Missis ('Wor Lass' - pic in the avatar) for the past two years.  We've a school aged little un'; so it works out well.

She only does the bottoms and is a shorty; so needs an A-Frame for most jobs.  Don't be a tight-wad like one local window cleaner who works with his missis.  I've seen her carting  3 foot step ladders around with her.  Apparantly (so I've read) they're the most dangerous ladders in a window cleaners repitoire.

We wear the same clothing; a sort of uniform; which gives us a professional look, so I'd like to think.

When working on residential properties; always make your Missis start cleaning the door, while you do the top left window.  Once she's done the door, and you've moved to the top right window; she starts bottom left.  In this manner you'll never be cleaning above her, (assuming you use ladders).  Therefore, if you fall, you won't squash her.  And there'll be less chance she'll step off her A Frames and knock you off your ladders.

Within a short period of time you'll have your own systems going.  You getting the ladders off the roof rack; she getting the bucket out.  One knocking to collect the cash or leave a 'chit', and the other heading off to the next property.

Remember though; it's a physical job.  Wor Lass is a marathon runner; fell runner; (extreme fitness nutter); yet a five hour window cleaning shift really drains her!

She adds around £40 to £70 a day to our earnings though, which is better than a kick in the bottom, but not as much as a fit-strong bloke would clean.

Oh, toilets can be a problem.  I'll have a sneaky wee in some back-alley or customer's garden.  Wor Lass won't (although she has done in the past - and got caught - oh did I laugh).

Oh, also, I'll work quite happily in the drizzle and rain.  But I always feel sorry for Wor Lass, so tend not to work in the wet stuff when I'm with her.  I take her home.

Oh, when going to to quote for a commercial property, take her with you; both of you dressed in a 'uniform'.  Always push the fact that there's a female window cleaner as part of your business.  It's a definate positive.

[dai]

Exellent post Chepstow. The toilet visits are a real pain, it usually means a 3 mile round trip to the supermarket. A spare bucket in the car can take care of her liquidity problems, if it's the other, well you have to go. Now it's ok if this happens once a day, but if it's twice it can lead to a sigh of dissaproval to say the least. I made my mrs a partner and this has tax benefits. I find that I'm only about £20 a day better off when she's with me, but it's nice to have the company. My mrs at 4ft 9ins has to be the smallest wc in wales. [they don't make them very big in Indonesia] In fact i'v told her that I'm making a seat on top of a pole and she can do the tops for a change. She said "ok then I can give water down on you,  Her English is far from perfect and a torrant of Indonesian proffanities come my way when I drip a bit of dirty water on her head.
My customers love her though, she just smiles her way into their hearts. Dai

[MWCS]

I'm giving her a weeks trial (tongue in cheek) starting Monday, she'll only be out with me a few days a week due to our little arrival (in the pic). Didn't realise how hard it was to be up every 2-3 hours in the night and then do a full days graft!!!!

Thats enough of my moaning I'll keep you posted on how it's going. Thanks for the replies.

[gaza]

cheap windows wear the same cloths lov to see you in bra and panties

[windows_chepstow]

cheap windows wear the same cloths lov to see you in bra and panties

I bet you would, Mate.  You should have a 'chat' with Gayham Goul.  He's into that sort of stuff; no doubt.

[Londoner]

Without being funny , I wouldn't want to work with my wife (and there is no funny punchline or comment coming here) I just don't think it would be a good idea.

Saying that I've seen several husband and wife teams when I've been around on my travels and they seem to be working really well togeather.

[gaza]

wHAT SHES DOING AWAY FROM KITCHEN SINK? [ONLY JOKING LADIES]

Anyone heard from Texas Girl ?she seems to have dissappeared.

 GAZA

[texas girl]

Hey handsome dudes;

 Thanks for missing me; I have had a rough time of it the past two months because it was one year April 24 since my son died.

I hope you never have to feel it; but I will honestly never be the same. Your kid is a part of you and you are a part of them.  It is not natural to have to live without being able to love your child in the flesh.

Touch them; laugh with them; see them shine and prosper. It hit me in April and I just crawled into myself a bit. It hurts so much some times I want to run somewhere but there is nowhere to go to escape. Greiving is a process I have discovered. You do not control it. Time is helping. Just time and God.

Back on track now but anyway; that is what happened. Now I am ready to be crazy and wild! (just kidding).  My husband likes the wildness in me. We do get crazy sometimes. That is what married people were meant to do. (right)?

Forgive me for my deep thought posts but I feel like you guys are my buds.  And I have been in agony emotionally. I try not to think about it; and stay busy.We women always talk to our men and our buddies.

Karl knows well about women since he is surrounded by them 24/7.

Yes; we like to  talk talk talk. Pee in a bucket? No way Hose'! Male restrooms suck. I can work 12 hours and do 100 windows in a day, then it is miller time, but I will pee in a clean restroom thank you.

Some times I pee in the lake but only if I have to. I always think a fish or a snake will visit my private parts but it is a clean lake. I love boating.

Next year I am going to get a swimming pool at my house. Finally bit the financial bullet. The pool will over look the lake. When I was a kid I loved swimming in a river or lake. But now I guess I am picky.

I am concerned about critters. Maybe hypersensitive.

Window cleaning is such a brilliant choice for a career. Such a hidden gold mine. If you like it you love it; if you hate it you won't do it. So we all love it!

Hugs; make a lot of money this week!

Texas Girl

[windows_chepstow]

Just a quick note about working with your missis.

Normally today; me and the missis would do a set amount and she would finish by 3.00 pm to look after the little 'un when she gets out of school.

Then I'd go and do another six houses, which would take me till 4.30 - 5.00 pm.

But, today she wanted to collect the little 'un and go look at a dog called 'Scooby' at the local RSPCA cat and dog shelter.  I said 'no problem', as long as we fulfilled our quota.

Guess what; I worked just as hard as I normally would and we finished our quota by 2.30 pm.  I couldn't believe how fast she was going; I struggled to keep up doing the tops.  UBA1 would have some competition today!

We're off again tomorrow evening to visit 'Scooby'.  He's got to be castrated and chipped (the poor little lad) before we take him home; after we've had a 'home visit' to check we're suitable dog owners (doesn't matter if we're suitable child owners or not - no one's checked on that).

I will be tactfully finding out why Wor Lass can work as fast as UBA1 on some days; but slower on others!

I'll keep you posted on how many black-eyes I have (one or two) here!

[texas girl]

Chepstaw;

I worked with my ex husband for 9 years.  Altho there were some advantages, the disadvantages out weighed them.

For one thing making all decisions together is a pain. We knocked out a lot of work and we looked like Barbie and Ken(he is 6 feet tall, slender and very handsome and me blonde and petite) but it was a bad decision.

My ex was really jealous. Couldn't even visit with my male customers. Had to watch what I wore really closely. We wore matching shirts(cute), but had to watch shorts, tight jeans, etc. He had a short fuse.

We did go out to lunch together and had a lot of good times, but it is just too much time together. Regarding having small children while doing the business together; that is convenient.

When the girls were babies he would go out in the morning and do outsides and I went back in the afternoon and did insides and collected the money(invoice, etc)

We got along better doing it that way; and babies had us around.

We all need space. Nine years was a long time. If ever we had a dissagreement; it was awful.

Then the split in business after divorce. Then the fight over the business name.


Whatever works is great; that is the bottom line.

Hugs,

[MWCS]

Well guys and gals it's the end of another week, and it looks like I'm back on my own on Monday. For the sake of her sanity and our relationship she's decided to stick to her office job. But one things come good at least now she knows how hard this job is and i'll stop getting all those "part timer" remarks  :

Matt