USA and Aus cleaning...

[Jake]

Chatting to a customer yersterday who was over from NZ visiting family,

She asked me how we do the windows here in the UK, I explained etc etc,

She said 'so how often do you do them' I said 'about once a month on average'

I said 'what about in NZ' she said 'usually once or twice a year'

Now isn't that just a bit silly? I mean I know they do it like this is yanky land, but windows get dirty within 6-8 weeks, so why would anyone pay loads of money for there windows to be cleaned, if there only getting them done yearly?!? Seems a total waste of money!!

I think it's great for the workers, mega bucks for just a few houses a day, but the customers really are being ripped off, because they may pay up to $200 dollars, for the windows to just get dirty again in about 2 months!

Strange...

Good you oz/nz cleaners, bad for the customer! I wonder if it will ever change for those country's, weather the monthly clean will ever catch on...

 

[boarcity]

the original BigRedMonkey owner [colchester] moved to Florida i bleve and set up shop there . he had an idea to start cleaning monthly the UK way, whether that got off to a good start or failed miserably i dont know as not heard a whisper myself

i bleve lee burbridge was going to follow him and video how it panned out.

 

[Jake]

Yeah he sacked it off boar, said he'd be mad to do it the UK way, reckoned ther was more money in the U.S. Way...

Which is clearly the case, and fair play to them!

But what I'm getting at, is the customer is getting ripped off really, as there paying a huge wack for clean windows for a short while... Then they just get filthy again lol!

Whereas we keep the customers windows clean all year and charge a whole lot less

 

[boarcity]

so hows he getting along [big red-jeff] ? from what iv read in the USA window cleaning goes dead in the wintertime ,and they often end up putting up Xmas lights or raking snow off roofs just to make ends meet - now that must be a real bummer . iv just remembered couple of yrs ago i had a few messages from that guy in Alaska who used to make really great windie vids,im struggling to recall his name, andy but whats his second name hmmm itll come to me.... anyhow HE worked hard all summer and this was enough money for him to then fly south and winter somewhere warm doing nothin but surfing, which he had done for many years

 

[Jake]

Now that's the life boar, surfing all winter in the sun!

I think Jeff is doing well, he's got a few employees...

There's a vid on YouTube called 'window cleaning in the redneck riviera' - lee burbidge

 

[boarcity]

andy Engstrom ,was the guy from Alaska i was trying to recall his name , i spose hes made a few bucks selling his vids too ,i once bought one myself,very good inspiration - sales no doubt all helpin him stay surfing www.freewindowcleaningtips.com

 

[Jake]

Defo, that'll be one reason he's surfing! Selling DVDs to gulable yanks!

 

[Pickingpaul]

It would be good to go to us or au and do a year window cleaning there to compare, i know they have the screens and tracks but we have more in the frame department dont we?

As u say, the workers seem to get a better deal than the customers there and oposite here

One strange thing is the lack of customers wanting the insides cleaned here, i think it would be a pain if not impossible to arrange to clean the insides on everyone on a monthly basis.

How often do we hear this line off a customer "oh, now i'll have to do the insides"

 

[Alien Human]

I asked one of my NZ custies how window cleaning worked out there and she said very differently to Oz.......

Said they all lived in smaller bungalows so many choose to do it themselves.

 

[Jimroot]

Apart from the physical side, cleaning screens, more bugs, perhaps it's also critical mass and popular trend; the locals just don't want monthly enough for anyone to afford offering it to do few, where in the UK it's become custom

 

[Jon Grainger]

In Barbados there are no window cleaners, everyone does it themselves, mainly yearly, when they paint their houses, usually at Christmas time.

That's because the wages are so poor, many live on the poverty line so can't afford luxuries like window cleaning.

Saw a WFP on a hotel, and literally as soon as the water touched the glass it evaporated in 30c+ heat! No streaks, if only we had that /emoticons/smile.png

 

[boarcity]

in most parts of Europe nearly all the windows open inwards so the homeowner can easily clean it themselves . im not sure about the States ?

 

[norm]

eh dont know about this but enjoying the thread :thumbsup:

surfing and chillin :envy: just found this envy man but he is a bit grumpy looking

 

[simon]

in usa they get a massive deep clean for their money in/out all the little creases blinds etc

 

[keefo]

Quite a few customers do take up the regular 6- 8 week clean if after the initial clean i offer them a $20 discount for externals only.

 

[tonyc]

in nz for me it rolls like this,most cust expect insides done too.its a very personalised service in that all residental propertys are so different in desighn. and size each must be priced individually .same with frequency .what differences in nz? well many people buy home depo gear and do it themselves!franchise cleaning companys are getting into pure water cleaning and can afford to really market hard.established windy companys that have most the good comercial shop fronts etc. and of course the ever present student,retired guy,unemployed guy,second job part timer,who all do it tax free cash.the really great thing about nz is that it is still possible to pick up a bucket and squeegee and get out there and do it from scratch and thats my situation right now.

 

[Simply Business]

Wonder if they get quite as dirty over there @Jake? Different conditions, less rain, maybe different kind of dirt in the air? Twice a year still sounds strange though!

I visited Finland a while back where the outside of houses get absolutely battered by the conditions, and I can imagine window cleaning is a weekly job there!