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Shocking Window Cleaners?

J

Jon Grainger

Hi everyone

Bit of a long winded story, but before I got married last May, I had my mates come up for a chilled weekend of good food, late nights and hanging out.

We went for a curry, got chatting to our waiter, who asked what we did for jobs, and he asked for my number as he managed a Subway restaurant as well as waitering in the evenings, and they weren't happy with their current window cleaner.

We spoke when I was back from honeymoon and settled, gave him a quote of £10, every two weeks, two windows, a door, and a few small pains of frosted glass above the shop windows, in and out. A fair price, as I want to get a foothold in that area and there is ALOT of passing trade.

He said his existing cleaner who had cleaned for years, but wasn't great, went to Thailand for three months from Christmas to end of Feb. He'd ask me to come during this time, do regular cleans, and then when the old window cleaner came back, say he'd found someone else. This was fine by me, as I was stacked out at the time.

Anyway, went this afternoon for the first time, hate working Sunday's but I am going away next week, and wanted to get him done while he was keen.

WFP'd the outside, and traditional on the inside. As I applicated the frosted glass, I couldn't believe how dirty it was! It turned my newly washed applicator, to a black mess, after three small pains, 1ft x 2ft! I bladed off, and it was running down black. Same was true for the normal windows, and the door glass.

The manager was standing chatting, we get on well, and he was speechless at the state it was in, and the work of the previous guy. He used to pay him £5.00 a free footlong sandwich, and he used to push his luck asking for free extras, costing the shop £9 just for the sandwich! I guess the insides haven't been cleaned for a good six months, maybe just a quick rub over with a cloth if the manager was looking /emoticons/biggrin.png

The guy cleans about ten shops in the same strip, which I'm going to canvass after the subway manager has gone and told them about me. And has done so for years.

Why do people pay for such shoddy workers, who are screwing the customers? I know we all like to price work well, but this guy was taking the mick!

Anyone else got any good story's of appalling window cleaners?

J

 
I took on a new customer a few months back. When we spoke on the phone the first time she told me that she'd got rid of her previous window cleaner because he "wasn't any good".

Alarm bells started ringing but I didn't push it and thought I'd go and see for myself. Went round the next week and she told me that the previous guy had told her that her front too windows were "too high" and he couldn't clean the tops ones at the back because "you've got decking and window cleaners don't clean windows above decking". God knows why but she'd stuck with him for about a year before ditching him. He'd never cleaned her top windows and was charging her for the full house.

 
You get what you pay for in life.

Years ago restaurants like subway,Pizza Hut, etc would be done twice weekly at the minimum.We had some that would be daily now so many retail units and restaurants are getting cleaned fortnightly and these people want to pay peanuts.

£5 for a shop/restaurant(the free sandwich probably cost them 50-80p) in and out it's no wonder he knocked it.

You also have to contend with old school window cleaners who have not upped their prices since the 80's there standards are poor but the shops are paying so little they will never get rid or care that he misses bits.

Looked at a daily clean on a well known jewellers recently.there window cleaner was retiring they were paying £19 for 6 cleans a week £3 a clean what do they expect for £3.

 
only shocking ones a have met is in Clacton , we have just bought around there so on my first trip out I made myself very well known

me and the wife had cleaned this fourth story flat on the front street its such a bad angle I had to use the ex47 and one extten for the front and the same round the back but we had to move the van round the corner so there I am cleaning away using the full 100m hose out up two alleys when I think to myself I need to visol this

walking back to the van I hear a guys voice saying "bet you think your clever " walks round the corner to see two blad blokes having a go at the wife with them bucket on the belts clipped on the side

I went mental that's all I can say about it on here , other then they will think befoure having ago at a fellow window cleaner again

 
I watched a couple of guys turn up at one of my neighbors. As they jumped out their van i quickly started a timer on my phone and watched them. One disappeared around the back while the other guy did the front. They used wfp but I have never seen before or since such a **** poor display of splash and dash in my life. The guy on the front took 3 mins yes that correct 3 mins, the guys around the back took a shade under 5mins. I was gob smacked at how slap dash they were. all in all i stopped my timer as they drove off down the road 7mins total.

I didn't mention anything to neighbour but few weeks later she approached me & ask if I would add her my round as she wasn't happy with the previous cleaners. they were also charging here the highest I have heard of any windy charging for that size house.

 
These shops forget that 5 years ago they were have daily or every other day clean and that's why they used to pay £5 per clean and to be honest if the shops along my high street wanted daily (and do bear in mind its all small cafes, bookies and hairdressers) I would do them at a fiver a day, I could knock out 20 in an hour along here.

Problem is as said above, it's all bi weekly now and they still expect a daily clean price.

 
haven't started yet but my hairdressers windy uses the garden tap, i mentioned that i come for a haircut but don't bring my own scissors.

 
I Also Pick up from " barcardi-cleaners" sometimes , you know " Hey its summer , i wanna be a windowcleaner !! ",( low Price of course ) o_O and then when Fall and Real Winter apears ... " Hey !! I wanna be something Else !!" In the meantime these low-budget losers have destroyed markets ! I use to work a certain area for 10 years , moved away and came back 6 mhts Ago , today its totally wrecked ,/emoticons/angry.png( cant make a Living wage in that area anymore. So ive found another to chew up ! :thumbsup:

 
i've just moved house recently and theres a WFP van that goes around here. I watched them and if the clients saw them they would probably be shocked, flinging poles/brushes face down onto the concrete whilst pulling the hose round the house.

rattling out house after house in minutes. This year i will make it my mission to educate these fellow neighbours /emoticons/smile.png

 
if you look through my previous posts, i don't actually do window cleaning rounds - my company does all the builders cleans including windows for house builders. We only use traditional methods

 
I Also Pick up from " barcardi-cleaners" sometimes , you know " Hey its summer , i wanna be a windowcleaner !! ",( low Price of course ) o_O and then when Fall and Real Winter apears ... " Hey !! I wanna be something Else !!" In the meantime these low-budget losers have destroyed markets ! I use to work a certain area for 10 years , moved away and came back 6 mhts Ago , today its totally wrecked ,/emoticons/angry.png( cant make a Living wage in that area anymore. So ive found another to chew up ! :thumbsup:
I suffer from that too, but not so much nice weather cleaners, but the national company Mv polering, they just low ball at rates thats unbelievable (although i pick up some of their unhappy customers) you must deal with them in the Fyn area too?

 
I suffer from that too, but not so much nice weather cleaners, but the national company Mv polering, they just low ball at rates thats unbelievable (although i pick up some of their unhappy customers) you must deal with them in the Fyn area too?
Oh yeah ! Found out the other Day that they're clawing into Fyn too . Their prices are ridiculous, but as you say , there's customers to pickup from discount companies. Just can't realize WHY?? Why sell out to minimum price . ? People don't respect cheapos .. :rolleyes:

 
Oh yeah ! Found out the other Day that they're clawing into Fyn too . Their prices are ridiculous, but as you say , there's customers to pickup from discount companies. Just can't realize WHY?? Why sell out to minimum price . ? People don't respect cheapos .. :rolleyes:
i know why he does it, cause i worked for him 2 year 2010-2012, he also in sweden and usa o_O. i wont name him things buts he is very special so to speak.

He doing at cheap prices cause he want to be the biggest in residential cleaning, for him the lower price mean many many new customers all the time, he only counts how many his cleaners are doing.

And now we talking being a cleaner at that place, wow. You gotta have ninja skills to get the jobs done every day, 20-30 customers a day is normal, trad ofcourse. when i worked the normal cleaning time given to a house was 8-15 minutes, it is insane and a quality job is not performed, but many ppl like to get thing cheap as possible.

The funny thing is i get a lot of customers from him that are unhappy and willing to pay the price proper cleaning costs when they figure out that he is sending a new cleaner is every time and water not being removed from the sills (part of the service imo)

And a few months back he called me to buy my business, haha i laughed and said no thanks, never gonna work for that company again forsure, i self employed till the end :laugh:

 
i know why he does it, cause i worked for him 2 year 2010-2012, he also in sweden and usa o_O. i wont name him things buts he is very special so to speak.
He doing at cheap prices cause he want to be the biggest in residential cleaning, for him the lower price mean many many new customers all the time, he only counts how many his cleaners are doing.

And now we talking being a cleaner at that place, wow. You gotta have ninja skills to get the jobs done every day, 20-30 customers a day is normal, trad ofcourse. when i worked the normal cleaning time given to a house was 8-15 minutes, it is insane and a quality job is not performed, but many ppl like to get thing cheap as possible.

The funny thing is i get a lot of customers from him that are unhappy and willing to pay the price proper cleaning costs when they figure out that he is sending a new cleaner is every time and water not being removed from the sills (part of the service imo)

And a few months back he called me to buy my business, haha i laughed and said no thanks, never gonna work for that company again forsure, i self employed till the end :laugh:
thanks for the indsights mate ! :thumbsup: And shocking to hear about such a rubbish Company . Got the Feeling after i Saw a guy in cph just bang Out a house in no time , lotta Water in bottom of course , no detailling . Feel Sorry for those employees !

 
These glass only merchants IMO should all be looking for another job, it should not happen today especially with WFP, I have picked up many that are amazed I do the frames and even the vents on a first clean. Being a "window cleaner" makes it quite clear to me anyway that you clean the window, not just the glazing.

 
I watched a couple of guys turn up at one of my neighbors. As they jumped out their van i quickly started a timer on my phone and watched them. One disappeared around the back while the other guy did the front. They used wfp but I have never seen before or since such a **** poor display of splash and dash in my life. The guy on the front took 3 mins yes that correct 3 mins, the guys around the back took a shade under 5mins. I was gob smacked at how slap dash they were. all in all i stopped my timer as they drove off down the road 7mins total.
I didn't mention anything to neighbour but few weeks later she approached me & ask if I would add her my round as she wasn't happy with the previous cleaners. they were also charging here the highest I have heard of any windy charging for that size house.
Interesting.

I timed me and @daveyboy1 today. He did a 3 bed detached in 8 minutes and i did a 4 bed detached in 8 minutes.

From arrival to driving away it was 11 minutes for two houses.

All frames,sills,doors and glass done.

Left gleaming.

 
Times wise it can be done quick without cutting corners on maintenance cleans, I managed 5 in a hour today with some driving. All perfect.

Then some take far longer, all depends on the house types and size, parking, acsess around the back, garden ornements laid out all over the place etc.

Most of mine today were cash hidden or GoCardless so no stopping for chats either

 
Times wise it can be done quick without cutting corners on maintenance cleans, I managed 5 in a hour today with some driving. All perfect.
Then some take far longer, all depends on the house types and size, parking, acsess around the back, garden ornements laid out all over the place etc.

Most of mine today were cash hidden or GoCardless so no stopping for chats either
Any haze on them? /emoticons/wink.png/emoticons/biggrin.png

 
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