Windows above busy high street shops

[kahoona]

Hi guys,

I need your thoughts please.

I have been asked to quote for window cleaning outsides for some offices which are located above shops on a very busy town center high street.

IMO it would not be feasible to do these in normal working hours and even 6am weekdays sees quite a steady flow on commuters making their way to the station.

So i'm thinking it would have the be Sunday morning if I wanted the job at all.

Do any of you have similar scenario and if so how do you would round this? do you also clean them outside normal hours.

Also can anyone direct me to any info that describes what sort of practices i need to follow regarding warning signs and/or coning off a section of pavement and possibly part of the road!

cheers

View attachment 3959

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

If it's offices and not residences I would do it at 4am on a week day. AND CHARGE WELL for the privilege.

NEVER on a Sunday you blasphemer! /emoticons/tongue.png

No I used to do high street offices and we would start each Monday at 4am, 2 hours of work, treat the lads to a bacon roll and coffee then off to do the rest of the round.

 

[abs]

Used to clean Nottingham post newspaper offices in Nottingham City centre and we had to start early, put a hi viz on and you'll be fine

 

[boarcity]

iv a few jobs like that. i explain to the customer it must be done early . i charge 4 x my normal rate ,this extra also allows me to treat a worker [who is with me to put out cones and stand on road to foot ladder] to a bacon roll and coffee .

 

[kahoona]

cheers lads, looks like an early start mid weeks is the way forward and of course I'll be charging accordingly for it ;-)

 

[kahoona]

one other question, because of the "narrow" pavement I can't use ladders without going in the road, so was thinking to do these by WFP. Whats best practice when WFPeeing above shop windows! do you give the shops a free clean in the event you rain dirty water over their glass?

 

[DanielT]

At 4am, the shops won't know who did it ;-)

 

[Smurf]

I've been asked loads of times to do jobs like that and you can guess what I've said /emoticons/biggrin.png

 

[boarcity]

one early job i got purely cos id ladder it,with ladder on road. i make sure to use cones plus a helper

the previous windie doin the job broke a high window with his w.f.brush ,he had had the job for nearly 10 years at 10 quid.and was doing it in the normal daytime hours - but he initially refused to pay for the broken window , then changed tack when they cancelled him! too late!

i charge 40 quid for the same job and the other windie is really peed off!

 

[Duncs]

hi kahoona one problem you are going to have all your water is going to run onto the shop windows

this is if you do them late they will deffiently kick off

go 7am make yourself safe

no way would i be grafting early **** that

 

[kahoona]

I know what you mean Smurf, i think I'll play the old "send an FO quote" and see what happens.

 

[Duncs]

one early job i got purely cos id ladder it,with ladder on road. i make sure to use cones plus a helperthe previous windie doin the job broke a high window with his w.f.brush ,he had had the job for nearly 10 years at 10 quid.and was doing it in the normal daytime hours - but he initially refused to pay for the broken window , then changed tack when they cancelled him! too late!

i charge 40 quid for the same job and the other windie is really peed off!

gd one charity on him

 

[boarcity]

its only once happened to me [breaking a window] it was that old victorian wafer thin glass

i bought new glass and replaced the window one Saturday. took me ages cos im a novice ,but so worthwhile and quite therapeutic

 

[Smurf]

My late father was a pro glazier by the time me and my brothers had grown up as it seems every week he had to replace a pane of glass in the house that got broke mostly due one of use playing ball games. Oops!

 

[TolishAPurd]

I would never start that early for any job unless it was going to be finished quickly and pay me enough to have the rest of the day off/orgo onto earn a lot more money. There is much easier work to be had out there. Saying that, my method would be to do it on a Sunday morning and tie it in with a few other jobs to take me up to lunch, and then use the money to treat the family.

 

[Duncs]

`

I would never start that early for any job unless it was going to be finished quickly and pay me enough to have the rest of the day off/orgo onto earn a lot more money. There is much easier work to be had out there. Saying that, my method would be to do it on a Sunday morning and tie it in with a few other jobs to take me up to lunch, and then use the money to treat the family.

thats what i would do couple of hours on sunday easy graft now and then

 

[Smurf]

Are you lot bonkers (4am 7am start) so not to get run over

I don't do early anyday of the week and especialy weekends nor play dodge the traffic as I like my sleep way too much /emoticons/biggrin.png

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

I would never start that early for any job unless it was going to be finished quickly and pay me enough to have the rest of the day off/orgo onto earn a lot more money. There is much easier work to be had out there. Saying that, my method would be to do it on a Sunday morning and tie it in with a few other jobs to take me up to lunch, and then use the money to treat the family.

I really do struggle to comprehend you sometimes.

You wouldn't do an occasional early start but you would go and work on a Sunday morning? That to me is just plain retarded.

My weekends are far too sacred. In the past 8 years I have not worked a single Sunday, in the past 15 months we have worked only one Saturday.

Surely the sacrifice (for decent financial gain) of getting up a couple of hours early on a work day anyhow once in a while outweigh the frightening idea of using up almost a whole morning of my very precious weekends off.

Perhaps just me?

 

[Smurf]

I work weekends as is my most productive days but not at silly o'clock now.. **** that

 

[TolishAPurd]

I really do struggle to comprehend you sometimes.
You wouldn't do an occasional early start but you would go and work on a Sunday morning? That to me is just plain retarded.

My weekends are far too sacred. In the past 8 years I have not worked a single Sunday, in the past 15 months we have worked only one Saturday.

Surely the sacrifice (for decent financial gain) of getting up a couple of hours early on a work day anyhow once in a while outweigh the frightening idea of using up almost a whole morning of my very precious weekends off.

Perhaps just me?

Other people on here seemed to comprehend my post, but I'll break it down and elaborate where needed just for you.

Why an earth would I want to start at 4am as per your suggestion above? I have no issues with starting a nice big job early (or late), but there's a cap on what you can realistically charge for a job as small as that. I don't believe I could earn enough from that job to make me set my alarm for 3:00. For me to disrupt my evening by going to bed early, I would want the sort of job that would pay me enough for the day off- which that job realistically won't do unless you get very lucky with the person you are pitching it too. SO lets imagine the job takes me an hour and I'm finished by 5.... then what? I doubt my residential customers would appreciate me turning up at their windows at 20 past.

On the subject of Sundays; I value my weekends too, but I still work the odd Saturday or Sunday for a few good reasons;

1) It helps be clear a backlog of customers. That way I keep customers(new and old) happy and not waiting too long.

2) It enables me to put jobs such as this that have the potential to kill momentum, on a day when I'm not pushed for time, not fighting through traffic, and in the case of this job....not having people bump into my ladder while I work.

3) On a Sunday morning you get a lot of nice casual walkers, couples, etc. Just about every Sunday I have ever worked has resulted in me getting extra work off people passing by. A nice quiet high street with just a few people bimbling by is an ideal time for someone to strike up a conversation and give me more work- and it happens almost without fail.

4) By grouping a load of these awkward yet well paid jobs into a Sunday morning, I can earn in a couple of hours what would normally be my average days wage. By the time I get home, the kids are up, and the Mrs has the roast on!

Nothing retarded about all of that IMO.

In my posts I try not to portray my advice as being 'the way', all I do is offer up how I would go about it, and people can take it or leave it. If you are happy at getting up at 3am, that's fine...that's your way. Me personally, I am happy being out of the house just before 10, and finishing a little later then most would want - 5 or even 6, anything that detracts from that- needs to pay big time.

 

[abs]

I've a big nursery to do in and out tomorrow and it pays me to get there early be fast and get out quick .

7.00 am start tomorrow but that's the limit for me nowadays.