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I Just Cant Help Myself (I'm Greener and I'm a secret OVER CLEANER)

Greener

Active member
Messages
436
Location
Swindon
Its a weird one this and since I started out on my own in January one I've been struggling with:confused:last year due to personal circumstances I fell into this wonderful world called window cleaning, I worked for a guy for around 11 months mon-fri 6hrs a day for £54 (£9 per hr) and loved every min of it /emoticons/smile.png I used to clean around 12-14 property's within this time and worked my goo-noods off, I used to worry how slow I was as he would clean around 18-22 houses to my 8-12, every now and then I would voice my concerns and he would always say that the way i cleaned was as if i cleaned twice:) please don't worry, your the best guy Ive ever had and with you I know I can go home every night and not worry about having "That phone call" from a customer complaining about the standard of work ect, and even though i didn't earn him the money other guys had in the past that this was worth more than a few extra £££ in the pocket every day.

So i Jan this year I decided to take the plunge and start my own business, because in the words of my good lady "who ever you've worked for in the past you've always worked as if its your own". Well now it is LOL.

As I said above, I used to clean around 12-14 houses a day with the other guy but now its my own business/customers I only seem to clean around 6-8 houses a day (6 hours), its not due to lack off customers as I have plenty of work on, I know this is partly down to my round not yet being as compact as his was and I have a bit more traveling time throughout the days but I also know its because I'm extremely thorough, I try to be quicker but still probably scrub twice as many times as I need to and rinse much more than I need too_O I just cant seem to get over the over clean if you know what I mean? I read a lot on this forum regarding the numbers and earnings some of the boys turn over on a daily basis and I have no doubt they are doing a great job:thumbsup: but I just cant seem to stop myself from over cleaning:mad: now I really happy with my lot at the moment but I also know I could be earning more ££ per day and not have to worry as much about fitting in my scheduled customers.

does anybody else have this problem?

Cheers Greener

 
I was just thinking about this. Reading several other posts. When I used to clean I thought I was doing a decent speed and still keeping quality but watching some lads out there, mainly the guy that cleans our offices and the guys who cleans my house they seem to do it a lot quicker than I did.

They literally from top of window including frame, scrub all the way down rinse then next window.

I was more clean frame first. Stop water and brush of water sitting on top edge of frame as would always bloody drip later on. Then rinse window a couple of times then next window.

I just could not walk away feeling confident the way I see these guys do it. To be fair they do do a good job. Maybe one or two runs on our office windows but they are horid old wooden frames ones.

 
I was just thinking about this. Reading several other posts. When I used to clean I thought I was doing a decent speed and still keeping quality but watching some lads out there, mainly the guy that cleans our offices and the guys who cleans my house they seem to do it a lot quicker than I did.
They literally from top of window including frame, scrub all the way down rinse then next window.

I was more clean frame first. Stop water and brush of water sitting on top edge of frame as would always bloody drip later on. Then rinse window a couple of times then next window.

I just could not walk away feeling confident the way I see these guys do it. To be fair they do do a good job. Maybe one or two runs on our office windows but they are horid old wooden frames ones.
Confidence is key. Once you're on a regular clean you know that there should be no problems thereafter.

 
I was just thinking about this. Reading several other posts. When I used to clean I thought I was doing a decent speed and still keeping quality but watching some lads out there, mainly the guy that cleans our offices and the guys who cleans my house they seem to do it a lot quicker than I did.
They literally from top of window including frame, scrub all the way down rinse then next window.

I was more clean frame first. Stop water and brush of water sitting on top edge of frame as would always bloody drip later on. Then rinse window a couple of times then next window.

I just could not walk away feeling confident the way I see these guys do it. To be fair they do do a good job. Maybe one or two runs on our office windows but they are horid old wooden frames ones.
I know what you mean @Gav Ive watched loads of vids and other window cleaners in the area and It looks crazy fast, BUT they still get paid and seem to have plenty of work on? some days I go out and think to myself, right today Im going to smash through these jobs and only clean half as hard as I normally do and we'll see what happens?? problem is by the time I get to the first window I just cant seem to change my technique: Go round each frame - extra scrub on top frame - I tend to brake each large glass frame into two half's and scrub each half 6-8 times-then good rinse on top frame - rinse down glass and sides of frames- bring brush down - adjust head for sill - put brush back up - give sill a good scrub- then on to next window.

 
My advise is to inspect the window before cleaning it. If it looks clean before you start then it needs minimal attention. 2 passes on the glass will be more than enough. Anything more is a waste of your time.

You have to change your habits, and changing a habit takes a long time. You have to consciously give yourself instructions as you go. Done top frame, finished. Done side frames, finished. Cleaned glass with 2 passes, finished. Wash sill, finished. Rinse glass and brush over sill, finished. That's done and then force yourself to walk away and start the next window.

Do your bottom windows this way to start with as they are easier to inspect. It may mean a return trip to check them, but this is the only way you will gain confidence that you are walking away from a clean window. As @Tuffers says, its all about confidence.

My son in law has a splash and dash approach unless there is a problem window. At one time I didn't trust his approach and used to do spot inspections. I never found an issue. There were a few complaints when he started, but when we got down to the knitty gritty of it, the complaint was that he was too fast so couldn't be cleaning their windows properly. We inspected the work and those windows were spotless. He takes half the time to clean a window than I do.

Now I haven't had a phone call of complaint in the last couple of years.

One of our fellow windies once said that he was looking for customers that would accept a 90% clean. So he wouldn't work for an OCD customer. In our part of the world we need volume to make up the daily takings as our pricing isn't what windies get in the south. To get that volume you can't offer a 100% clean. It takes too long.

 
I would always aim for 100% clean. I could not be giving cleans that are only 90%. Granted you have a valid point re volume etc and most probably dont even notice but i guess its just me.

 
yep cheapie doesnt care about time at all...

he just cant leave a window he doesnt believe it one hundred percent..

but sometimes he does wonder....why

when he looks at the state of some of the insides ..

and the number of blown double glazing units which really mean you couldnt possibly get it wrong.

it is so funny though...

some days go just great so fast you cant believe...

and then others drag soooo bloomin long..:rofl:

 
I would always aim for 100% clean. I could not be giving cleans that are only 90%. Granted you have a valid point re volume etc and most probably dont even notice but i guess its just me.
Gav, you're right. I wouldn't dream of doing a substandard job, but when does a job become substandard?

I often find I'm more critical of the results than my customer is.

How do you define a 100% clean? What about the front door?

 
To me 100% is not spots drips or anything that a customer could look at and say its not clean. I included doors as standard on all my cleans when i was cleaning. I know what you mean though. And i used to drive myself insane trying to get everyone perfect.

 
To me 100% is not spots drips or anything that a customer could look at and say its not clean. I included doors as standard on all my cleans when i was cleaning. I know what you mean though. And i used to drive myself insane trying to get everyone perfect.
/emoticons/smile.png

At one time I would try to get all the black rubber marks off the window frames from their deteriorated seals and would try to remove every single kick mark off the front and rear doors.

We have a customer who uses cellotape to stick notes on the front door. Every time we clean the house the front door has half a dozen stripes of cellotape sticky residue. I used to religiously clean it off, but now I don't bother. It takes longer to clean it off the door than to clean the front of the house which includes 2 bay windows. If they are happy to continue to use this method of communication, that's fine, but they must also live with the results or pay extra for that service. If they don't like it (they've never mentioned it when we collect) then we don't need that business.

I understand that some may not be in our position, but we are bursting at the seams with customers - most came from recommendations - so we can afford to lose a few.

 
/emoticons/smile.png
At one time I would try to get all the black rubber marks off the window frames from their deteriorated seals and would try to remove every single kick mark off the front and rear doors.

We have a customer who uses cellotape to stick notes on the front door. Every time we clean the house the front door has half a dozen stripes of cellotape sticky residue. I used to religiously clean it off, but now I don't bother. It takes longer to clean it off the door than to clean the front of the house which includes 2 bay windows. If they are happy to continue to use this method of communication, that's fine, but they must also live with the results or pay extra for that service. If they don't like it (they've never mentioned it when we collect) then we don't need that business.

I understand that some may not be in our position, but we are bursting at the seams with customers - most came from recommendations - so we can afford to lose a few.
Yes indeed i think if your in that position then you can have the flexibility of not being as picky with some. I never got to that point so i was still in the phase of building my round and reputation at the time so i was making sure i was doing a VERY good job.

 
I know exactly what you mean Greener. Reading your post was like I wrote it. Spruce is right you have to have a routine and make yourself walk away which as Tuffers says is a confidence thing.

On the next hot day (they will dry quicker and it won't slow you down inspecting) go over the glass only twice and check the bottom windows after, you may be surprised at how little scrubbing it takes.

I am slowly falling into my old habit of scrubbing the glass way too many times especially on phobic glass. I often wonder am I over scrubbing the top and bottom of the pane of glass, so I guess it is about refining the way you work and learning how much/little you need to do to have a perfect window.

Jonathan Sanderson posted a video a few months ago may be worth a look if you can find it to see the speed some people go at and also at how easy and effortless he made it look.

 
Its a weird one this and since I started out on my own in January one I've been struggling with:confused:last year due to personal circumstances I fell into this wonderful world called window cleaning, I worked for a guy for around 11 months mon-fri 6hrs a day for £54 (£9 per hr) and loved every min of it /emoticons/smile.png I used to clean around 12-14 property's within this time and worked my goo-noods off, I used to worry how slow I was as he would clean around 18-22 houses to my 8-12, every now and then I would voice my concerns and he would always say that the way i cleaned was as if i cleaned twice:) please don't worry, your the best guy Ive ever had and with you I know I can go home every night and not worry about having "That phone call" from a customer complaining about the standard of work ect, and even though i didn't earn him the money other guys had in the past that this was worth more than a few extra £££ in the pocket every day.
So i Jan this year I decided to take the plunge and start my own business, because in the words of my good lady "who ever you've worked for in the past you've always worked as if its your own". Well now it is LOL.

As I said above, I used to clean around 12-14 houses a day with the other guy but now its my own business/customers I only seem to clean around 6-8 houses a day (6 hours), its not due to lack off customers as I have plenty of work on, I know this is partly down to my round not yet being as compact as his was and I have a bit more traveling time throughout the days but I also know its because I'm extremely thorough, I try to be quicker but still probably scrub twice as many times as I need to and rinse much more than I need too_O I just cant seem to get over the over clean if you know what I mean? I read a lot on this forum regarding the numbers and earnings some of the boys turn over on a daily basis and I have no doubt they are doing a great job:thumbsup: but I just cant seem to stop myself from over cleaning:mad: now I really happy with my lot at the moment but I also know I could be earning more ££ per day and not have to worry as much about fitting in my scheduled customers.

does anybody else have this problem?

Cheers Greener
What do you disagree with @windowsurfer ??

 
Th

What do you disagree with @windowsurfer ??
Thought I corrected that, was hitting the agree button, I'm on holiday, so I'm sorry n the internet is sllllooooooowwwww, sorrrrrrrrryyyyy, if there was ever something I disagreed with I probably wouldn't publicly disagree, as it would just annoy.

 
ive got quicker without trying, you tend to get to know how to tackle each individual house in the best way subconciously. i still over clean, its mainly hydrophobic glass where i take the most time but i can still do about 12 in 6 hours and they are spread out a bit but i was doing 6-8 in that time 6 months ago and i dont feel im doing much differently, frosted glass just gets a once over and top frames are not cleaned everytime unless they look dirty, you can kind of cut corners.

I also no longer chase every sinlge spot of dirt off a sill quicker to wipe across with a cloth and on downstairs windows if i clean the top frames i wipe them off with a microfibre takes seconds rather than waiting for them to drip.

Still can get a lot quicker yet i want to be able to do 15 in 6 hours soon.

 
yes cheapie used to get drawn into doing jobs just because he was there but do they realise have they noticed...so now...I dont do unless they ask...

I cleaned his gutter over the road because he was panicking about the pretty yellow flowers that grow around here in the gutters but did I clean the full gutter or...just get the bits out that he could see...

and if some of the yellow flowers fell back into the muck of the gutter doesnt that just mean cheapie gets another job next year:rolleyes:

 
yep I wfp ed all my windows today but..

was it faster..well ....I just dont know..

me loves em both daveyboy..

so could cheapie walk away to wet front room windows..well...he did try but....they are front room windows...and squeegee and you know its right...

but me loves wfp just as much...and really...in the rain...its a no brainer...:rofl:

 
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