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I’ve mentioned on here over the years how I think it’s important to be a ‘people person’ in this job. Never has this been so apt on a scenario like this. I’ve got customers whose windows I’ve been cleaning for over 25 years. They know the name of my wife and my sons even though they’ve never met them. The point I’m making is, if you spare a minute with your regular customers and ask about THEM, not tell them all about you, they will feel that personal touch and won’t even look at these ‘special offers’ or cheaper windies. Pub time 🍺. Have a great bank holiday fellow windies 🙂. More to life than work 👍

Some ridiculous replies. These sort of gimmicks only send one message to customers... window cleaners should be cheap. Where in the advert does it say anything about the quality of his work?? I'll bet it's not the first 6 months of the contract he's offering for free, it'll be the last 6 months and guess what, he'll have packed up by then!! Why is he targeting people who already have a window cleaner only?? If I pulled a stunt like this the first thing I'd be doing every morning would be going outside to check that my van was still in one piece.

If you're happy with it then it's a good price. It's your business and you shouldn't be bothered with what other people say

Hello all, I've been lurking for a while I'm afraid, but now I'm coming clean 😋 Just started up in Scotland, after researching (lurking😳) for a while, currently at 7 customers. Been helped out a great deal by window cleaner friends, and this forum. I'm really blown away reading posts by the positive and helpful folks on here, so thank you 👍 Here's an exciting photo from the back of my car (if it's uploaded) on the usual SLX22 and Gardiner Backpack (and borrowed barrels from a friend), they've been great so far, as everyone has said. Maybe I can contribute a bit back to the forum one day, so hello 🙂

Hi Tango I did reply to your 00:57am personal forum message via email the next working day - due to the complexity of my reply I decided to reply by using your email address rather than the Forum PM system. In case my email went into your Spam folder and due to the content of your above post - here is the content of the email I sent to you at 12.23pm yesterday during the working day. Your PM to me Hi Alex, Sorry to trouble you - I thought we'd sorted all of our issues with connectors but i'm a tad confused about something. I spoke with one of your ladies on the 5th March about pole hoses and trying to go tubeless. It's a tad unclear but listening to the call recording I think she says her name is Cathy but it could be Cassie - which would make more sense as she was the one who replied via email but i don't want to put the wrong name forward. Anyway long story short, she says if i use a connector on the hose to make it shorter (I had a tubeless setup in mind but didn't know the term for it back then), the pole will not fully extend because of the connector being in the way. I accepted that, you people are experts.. and i placed my order minus the extra ez-snap connectors which wouldn't help.. I've just found this: https://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/blog/hoseless/ Method 1 clearly mentions using a EZ snap connector!!! I'm coping by disconnecting my pole hose at the gooseneck where the plastic connector is but I cannot see that being as robust as an EZ-snap - which I could have previously ordered and saved postage on. I think you need to test the knowledge of your staff periodically to keep them on their toes because although it is only a connector to you, it's still a product sale and your staff have given me the wrong advice which has put me off buying it. I can't help but wonder how many pole sales you might have lost like this. Maybe you could have a monthly product quiz? - You could reward the winner with a box of chocs or something - anything to keep it positive, fun and encouraging so that they retain the correct knowledge.. Regards, Tango (actual name used in PM) My reply to you by email Hi Tango (actual name used in email) I thought that I would reply to you via email, rather than forum message. Before replying I did take the time to listen to all 15 minutes and 24 seconds of your phone conversation with Cassie. I have acted on one of the points raised and altered the name of the EZ-Snap connector that is used on the pole connector drop down. This is now referred to as a EZ-Snap Male Plug instead of EZ-Snap Tail. Whilst many in the industry use the phrase 'tail' or 'plug' interchangeably, I can see that for those unfamiliar with coupling terminology it is better to use just the one phrase. The advice that Cassie gave you during the call was correct. When you were asking about the viability of cutting down the pole hose (you did not mention the phrase tubeless) to a shorter length she said: "we do not recommend going shorter than the supplied length" and " most people find that the (the 10m length supplied) is a good length of hose to work" The above is completely correct and is what I would want a member of the team to say. We do not recommend going any shorter as there really is not a need. Working with a backpack, even on a trolley, you really would find a 10m length of hose very useful as it will save constant moving of the backpack. Shortening it down would become restrictive and a bit of a pain. In practice looping the hose when not in use around the trolley handle is not a problem for most people and is how I work when using a backpack on a trolley. Cassie then said to you that "although you could shorten the hose (when you specifically asked) you would find it quite difficult to use with the extra connectors as they would not pull through the pole properly" This is also correct. Adding a set of male/female connectors would add difficulty because they would drag on the ground and probably disconnect because of this. If used as the standard set-up with a Protecta-Ball then this would also not be able to pull up through the base of the pole as stated by Cassie. She stated that it would be "quite difficult to use with the extra connectors as they would not pull through the pole properly" - this is correct - even if you removed the standard Protecta-Ball, the female coupling would only just fit through the hole in the base of the end cap. In practice this would mean that you could not simply extend the pole as needed, but you would have to extend until the female connector touched the end cap, then reach down and manually push the connector through the end cap and then continue extending the pole. Then to close the pole you would to repeat and at a certain point manually pull the female connector back through before finishing closing the pole. In reality due to the tightness of the fit you would probably find that the male/female connection would uncouple whilst doing this. So as Cassie stated this would not be able to pull through the pole properly and is not a solution we would advise or recommend. Moving on to your comments about a full 'tubeless' setup. This is actually quite different to having the connector halfway along the hose as the connectors are all at the very start of the pole so it eliminates some of the above extending, catching and manual feeding issues explained above. This is still not a solution that we recommend or feel is actually needed. However because some people have asked we have posted this basic guide online showing how it can be done without the need for an expensive or complex connector setup. You will notice though that on the full tubeless setup Option 2 that the end cap has to be modified to allow for easy connection. So in summary of the technicalities, you can cut the hose down in half, but it will cause problems feeding up through the pole. If you remove the Protecta-Ball from the male pole plug then it is possible, but will still cause issues, it will accidentally uncouple in use and will generally 'wind you up' in a short time. We have had many years experience advising clients and particularly those new to the WFP business. We always try and recommend the more preferable and reliable setup - many things are possible, but not all things are advisable. Of course you are free to modify or use whatever system or method you desire - whether we recommend it or not Now looking at your staff training and knowledge comments - As I have explained above, our staff have not given the wrong advice in this case (but as they are only human, misunderstandings can obviously occur so I'm not saying it will never happen!). We feel that we are a good bit past a monthly quiz or box of chocolates with our staff We have been operating for over 13 years and many of our staff have been with us for a lot of years, including Cassie who dealt with your query. All new Customer Service staff are subject to a minimum of 6 months training before being allowed to 'go live' with clients -even then up to 12 months in the job they still are considered on a junior level and would always refer complex issues to a more senior member of staff - we have 9 staff on the Customer Service team alone. If a member of staff is unsure of something, they can refer to our in-house computer system (called Procedure Flow) which is a centralized database of information and flows that will allow them to guide a client through any product or decision making process. If for some reason the answer is not found in Procedure Flow, they can ask another more experienced colleague or refer to me. All Customer Service team staff are monitored with all calls being recorded and are subject to regular knowledge reviews and updates. Having over 15,000 retail customers, it would not be good business practice to have staff that were not up to speed on all products and the fact that we cannot keep up with orders is testament to the great job they do. I appreciate the time you have taken to give me your feedback and I have taken on board the need to uniform the description of the EZ-Snap Tail/Plugs and have amended the website as such. If you any further queries please do not hesitate to get back in touch. I think you will agree that my reply did fully address your PM to me 😊

This is how you learn to run a business, you will never learn without making mistakes. Contrary to a lot on here I think you're better off pricing jobs, in the early days, at a level to secure them. You can always put them up, or replace them, when established. You never will learn anything, including techniques, if you don't secure work to begin with. I'm not saying quote £5 on a £15 job but if you turn up at a job that you're not sure about then, personally, I'd go in on the lower end of my price range. If I'm cheap then so be it, can always up it later, can't knock on the door later and drop you're price when you've missed it. Class the first year as your apprenticeship, both in technique and learning how to run your business. This is why I think people that post about pricing advice, not knocking them, won't learn anywhere near as quickly as those that "go for it" Anyway to quote Mr Garwood, pub time

Guys, I’m fairly new to this business, I did take quite bit of notice of the forum going back a few months and did post a little hello. I got a great welcome, well wishes and some cracking advice/direction. Just not been on much at all for the past 3 months since starting up purely because of time. But a while ago I saw somebody post about their experience since starting up and thought I’d do similar. If I can help other guys thinking of getting started or those who’ve started and need a bit of reassurance, encouragement or whatever then great. The really bit of great of advice a few of you guys gave me before I started was to focus on getting a solid round of windows going. In my welcome post I spoke of wanting to offer a variety of external property cleaning/maintenance services. And the sensible and logical advice I got did exactly that – it helped me focus. I was and still am in a slightly different position to most starting out – in that I’ve got a decent, well paid job and work continental 4 on 4 off shifts. Which gives me 4 day blocks, a lot of it in the week, to be able to build up my business. Plus the safety net, that after 24 years with the company, most of it as a manager, that they have to make me redundant in September. My department is closing but others are opening. So, although I’ve focused on the windows, when I’ve been asked to clear gutters, clean fascias, soffits or whatever, I’ve not said no. The meat and potatoes of what I want to get over is this. Starting up was daunting, it was different, it was unknown and after working most of my life at the same place, in the same extremely secure job I was so unsure how things would play out. I had a plan, some targets and an idea of where I was heading. It was fairly ambitious. Not because I’m greedy. But because I felt I had to be ambitious, to try and ensure as best as I could that things for my family didn’t change now or in the future. That I could swap one good secure income for another with as little problems as possible. And I’m glad to say I’m on the way. I’ve got my 100th customer on Friday after just over 3 months in the business. A lovely lady popped over the road as I was finishing a job and wanted a window cleaner as her last one ‘disappeared’! A common theme I’ve found! I haven’t actively tried myself to find new customers for over 3 weeks now. Purely because the way it’s growing there’s no way I can make it until September and sustain the windows and a full time job. In the last 3 weeks I’ve acquired 25 new customers. In the first 2 months I’d done some door knocking but not advertised anywhere. No social media and no internet presence either. Part of my plan was to be old fashioned in my approach and have a reputation based on word of mouth and that it would spread. And it has! 2 things that stand out. Firstly and I really don’t mean this in an arrogant or cocky way. Getting customers, making them happy customers, retaining them and have them recommend you is, in my opinion, so unbelievably easy I can scarcely believe it! And most of it doesn’t cost a penny! Being professional, polite, communicative, reliable, trustworthy, honest and complete the service your customers are paying you for. All of those things come quite naturally to me and all I feel all I’ve done is be me. I don’t want to say anything disparaging about the competition and I won’t. Other than I’m picking up work that they very easily could too. I truly hope none of the guys are struggling to make a living at this because they really shouldn’t be! Two things that have come up in various conversations with customers that I’ve stressed I’m not prepared to do. Undercut or try and steal away other window cleaners business. So politely declined a few times to quote when somebody has stated they already have a window cleaner and they’re trying to lure me by also telling me what they currently pay. Or if they tell me they have a window cleaner I wish them a good day and leave it there. I really wish all the other guys the best and welcome the competition. Particularly if it drives up standards and customer service. Secondly. The way I feel about what I’ve created is difficult to put in to words! In a good way! I’ve had 24 years working for what was once a great people company. They’ve grown substantially in that time but it’s no longer a people company, it’s a numbers company. So when I decided to start a window cleaning business I wanted create something I wanted and something that would give me a whole range of things including happiness. To have great, warm, amicable relationships with the people I was working for. I also wanted to be my own boss, to work outside, in a more physical job, not stuck behind a monitor in a badly air conditioned office! I wanted to have more flexibility in when I worked and have a better work life balance so I could have a lot more quality time with my 2 little ones. Window cleaning is giving me all of that. And much more. Cups of tea are flying at me, biscuits, pieces of cake and a warmness that I’d hoped for but wasn’t sure existed. It’s been truly amazing what’s happened so far. If I was a pessimistic person I’d maybe feel it could only go one way now! And I’m sure there will be bumps in the road. There’s already been a few! So if you’re thinking of starting, have started but can’t get the traction or whatever stage you’re at keep going. There’s definitely more than enough work out there. And a successful business is only a good chunk of hard graft away. The one thing I will add, in case anyone is thinking this sounds easy! As explained I’ve got a full time job, I’ve got a wife and 2 young kids, god forbid a bit of a social life and there’s only so much time in a day! With the amount of work I’m getting through and in the thorough and professional way I’m going about it I am absolutely knackered. Bordering on exhausted. Which is another consideration for being careful how many customers I take on while I carry on at my other job. But it’s only for a little while longer. But yeah, a combination of using your brain and working your socks off clearly works! As time becomes more prevalent later this year I hope to engage more with the forum. Because I will say that it’s full of smart cookies who know this business. It’s clearly also full of decent guys who want to help others when/where they can. Which I've certainly found useful and appreciate. Good luck guys Andy

I would not touch it with a barge pole. They've shown what they're like. Questions to self if I were in your place: Am I prepared to let someone dictate the price I can charge? How long will it take to get the money? Will I ever get the money? Do I want the stress? Do I want the worry? What do I do if they give me the runaround over payment? What do I do if they refuse to pay perhaps by picking faults? Can I afford to not get paid? Can I afford to hire equipment I may have to pay for out of my own pocket if I don't get paid? Can I afford to pay for help out of my own pocket if I don't get paid for the job? If you read between the lines. What I'm actually saying is. Not flaming likely!🤔😉

No wouldn’t quote for the job once a customer is dumped or dumped me never go back

@Tango i'm going to be sounding harsh again but I can't really say this any other way. Your choices are quite simple. 1: Tell current supplier no, you want the same deal he lured you in on or you will go else where. 2: Find a pile of 25 litre barrels (car washes, ebay, free from my garden) and pay 'man with van' on Facebook £25 to drive you to nearest place to fill them all up affordably. 3: Sell a pile of old stuff you have laying about and get a cheap RO/DI to get started 4: Get a start up loan (Company like Transit) practically no interest to pay. 5: Tell old employer that you are jacking it in and put yourself in a position where failure is not an option and get on with it. I am sorry but we are but mortal window cleaners we can't fix every hurdle you want to throw our way mate. Sooner or later you got to bite the bullet and make the choice. Starting on the glass is cheap.... not free but there is some expense. You could always go roof rack and ladder until you have saved enough cash to get a pro system and more importantly have enough customers to warrant it.

I love the way the hydrophobic glass sheets. This combo is a winner for me, absolutely love it! Effortless cleaning with perfect results, I put it through it some work over the last couple of days and the results were spot on. Easy fast and great quality.

So she had a decent window cleaner who has the integrity to organise and pay for some damage (that there was no proof was was theirs) then cancels you! You'd think this would be the kind of situation that shows the customer that you are a professional who can be trusted.

Thanks mate.

Us windies should be sticking together and helping each other out not stealing work. I’m all for advertising your business as on many occasions my custys show me leaflets that have been dropped etc and i never bat an eyelid. If your doing a good job then you’ve nothing to worry about and if your not and lose work due to this then it’s fairgame. Patches died long ago but this is something different and is taking the p1ss.

If you have a good relationship with your customers & provide a good, reliable service this is absolutely nothing to worry about. If some of your customers go for this kind of marketing & cancel your services they're probably doing you a favour TBH. You don't want customers like this!

I see what you are saying but, all my customers are generally very good, I clean 8 weekly and (i've got rid of all the timewasters), so if they leave a gate locked it is because they have forgotten. We all forget stuff, it happens. We're probably talking 1 or 2 a month, over a whole round. If I can't fit it in somewhere else, then I'll charge half price and do the front only. I think that's fair and reasonable. I text the customer to let them know and I've never had a single problem; they are very apologetic and it generally never happens again. I can earn good money doing the fronts only for half price; no going round the side, no conservatory to clean and I'll just fit another job in if I want to make up the time. Personally, I would love a 'fronts only' round.

Hi Jjs Answer 1 - Yes the current SLX Extension #6 that you have will fit on to the handle of the Xtreme25 - however it will be about 6" shorter than the rest of the sections. Answer 2 - The Uni-valve can be used with the Xtreme poles - it is the older Aquadapter that we do not recommend using on these poles. 😊

Nope, but always good to have spares so you can swap or fix something on the spot at work, I helped out someone yesterday who had no spares but was a little surprised when I got a toolbox out of the van with all I needed.

Not a great video but it gives you an idea of how to use the rinse bar if your not sure.

I could see his mentality from the initial post, got called a hater because of my reply.

You dealt with it well and even if they did contact you to go ahead you can just say sorry that slot has now been filled 😁 It's funny cos in my area a few quotes I have done for polish and eastern European families they just want it for next to free but equally 2 of my best customers one is a polish guy who does decorating always leaves gate open and as soon as I pull up the wife brings me out £15 and never wants her 2 pound change and they give me nice polish buiscits! Another Bulgarian family same deal always tip always polite and gate open. Just shows no matter what background you get good and bad

People like that will make problematic customers , I would have just walked away and suggested that they look for someone else , as green pro would say they don’t fit our customer profile . People like that will always try and find fault, , quibble about price, claim that you haven’t done the windows or missed one , alarm bells should be ringing loudly avoid this type of person at all cost .

Easy to clean windows ? Don’t think so , you need customers todo that, that also takes time and hard work to get the customers over the line

Enquiry: Ohh... that's too expensive Me: No problem luv, we appreciate not everyone can afford to pay for a quality service. 😏😉 Enquiries this week? Bonkers (but that's thanks to our other company of course) sign ups = 34 but that is across 4 franchises. Me = 7 more from a couple of hours door knock on Tuesday. The work is there for anyone that wants it. Some quick points on getting customers. And I write this bearing in mind that some will argue that it shouldn't be all work and there has to be a quality of life etc........ and they are right, but when starting out you need to live and breathe this business to get the customers coming. 1: Directories like Yell are free but you will get pestered with loads of calls from there sales team to sell you the 'premium' packages (waste of time) I don't recall last customer we got from the likes of Yell 2: A good website with good S.E.O. will pay for itself many times over but can be costly to start. However even a basic website is better than no website. 3: A few business cards and some good footwear is the fastest way to get customers. Go chap those doors and ask 'hello, just wondering if you need a regular window cleaner?' Bad days are rough but good days are worth their weight in gold, literally. 4: You ordered 50'000 leaflets, they're sitting in boxes in your living room...... well they aren't going to get you any customers there are they? Boots on and start stuffing letter boxes. The return on leaflet drops is about 1% so dropping 100 leaflets and wondering why you don't have a business yet is common place. You literally need to drop tens of thousands. 5: Ahh it's 1pm i've finished last job, i'll go home and wait for phone to ring! (Give up now and sell your gear on ebay) 6: Got your vehicle signed? No good parked on your drive. Prime time as close to the doors as possible at your local supermarket or other place of high traffic footfall. If you got the time see if you can park up as a stall on market day and hand out leaflets. We done this before to great success. 7: Got your work shirts printed up? Wear them everywhere, I even put mine on for a slow roll around the supermarket when Mrs Green Pro does the weekly shop. Yep I get at least 1 person ask per week. Best result was 4 enquiries in an hours shop 😁 Just cause a windy (and not all that claim to be are serious window cleaners, plenty of buck bob dole boys out there) lives on a street doesn't mean a thing. They probably don't even have a single customer on that street. The minute you stop caring about non existent competition the sooner you'll start to grow. The competition to watch are not the ones that answer the door 'yeah i'm a windy' blah blah..... but the ones you see REPEATEDLY out and about working hard at it... and what you'll find with these guys is they are going to be a gold mine of useful local information for you as I never met a 'professional' window cleaner that wouldn't take a few minutes to chat to a noob an help out with advice. Not competition at all but a wealth of mentors. (Just don't ask me any questions)

I am no good at guessing just tell me 😀 but seriously you can't just expect for people to be signing up every day, I have been established over 19 years and I consider myself to be the most visible windy in my local area as in signed van, website and FB page which others don't have but I don't get droves of people signing up every day or every week You have done really well to do 5 hrs canvassing keep it up and don't lose heart we are now at a time of the year were more people are looking for a windy, so just keep on pushing on and you will succeed

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48125181 well done good man. We need to see more people giving back some time and effort to society. It was only a few months back I was wondering wether the council's outsourced cleaning of road signs. I guess by this man volunteering that is a no.

Totally agree with @steve garwood I'm sure half my customers use me as a therapist rather than a cleaner 😂

Why not simply RO - Di in garage and simply transfer pure to van? Much simpler.

I'd certainly give it a go. I mix wfp & trad and have to say that on some jobs, trad is quicker. I'll always do tops wfp, but then mix & match downstairs depending which will be quicker. I find I can trad faster on very hydrophobic glass than I can wfp.

Little update , tuck me 2hours , wasnt a builders clean , somebody has just bought it, Velux windows turned inside , no issues, new home owner was moving stuff in as I was cleaning , he wants me back 4weekly at price £40 outside every 12 weeks inside - £ 60 cash was waiting on aide table for me guy from estate agent rang me before thanking me and from now on I will be there goto guy, very pleased with the outcome , May let it continue That’s what I thought when I first seen photos , hoped that the apex windows wasn’t size of the room , that wasn’t the case , house had 3 levels

Well done Andy, that's some achievement that, 100 customers. I'd certainly echo what you've said. On Thursday I had a big all day job and got 3 pieces of cake, endless tea and a bag of tomatoes : ) Very rare that you get so many people willing to share how to make serious money openly, usually in other businesses, people keep everything secret, on here it's the opposite, almost like everyone is begging you to become a window cleaner to take up some of the work load : ) Think the best for me so far was a first clean where the customers car had to be moved off the drive as it was in the way, she had a 14 week old baby in one of those chest baby carriers, she said 'can you just hold her for a minute while I move the car', ha ha, I was stood there holding this little baby, I'd only met the lady for a few minutes, I was stood there with this baby thinking to myself 'I didn't expect to be signed up to this', ha ha. For somebody to be trusting like that though did make me feel good. It is true though, there are windows everywhere, tonnes of opportunities. Loads of added extras, so many conservatories. The biggest problem is other cleaners charging too little, I stick to my price. If you have a higher price then you need less customers to break even, that's less customers who cancel and less customers who you have to keep track of, this gives more time to offer a higher level of service. For instance, I've been going 3 months, now got 17 regulars but this month I'm on target to turn over £1,000+ , it's the extra's that I've been making good money on, real hard graft but it's bringing in the money. Each week I seem to be getting phone calls asking for extra's and I'm quoting high based on the sound advice I've been getting on here. There was one job 2 weeks ago, £230, customer was so happy he gave me a £20 tip, For me this is life changing, I've spent all my life grafting on minimum wage cleaning work, trying to work up to 15 hours per day at times to try and earn enough, it's taken me time to be comfortable asking for £35 p/h windows and £50 p/h rates for extra's but I've just kept my head down and followed the advice on here. It only seems onwards and upwards from here : )

Felt like you the other day. A trad windae gave me some high work, he is 65 n the windows are too high now. The old guy of the house is rather rude n dismissive, as i use wfp n charged them extra £5, decent sized victorian house,8 weekly clean at £25, so thinking of speaking to him the next time, he went of to do his 3d printing in shed, my wife heard him mumbling to his wife about price. But will drop him if he decides to not be happy with my service, affects your mood too much,got enough work with plenty of nice custys.

I still do a row of terraces front onlys for £7 each, all right next to each other. 10 of them, all been with us since the start. It can be done in an hour,max hour and a half. £70 cleared in that time. All spot on payers every time no nonsense off them, youngest is late 60’s majority of them are well in to their 80’s and 90’s. I just haven’t had it in me to put the prices up for these guys. They’re gems. Half a mile from where i live. they don’t make people like this anymore. They have respect. the days of offering those prices to new custys are long gone of course. Someones asked me to do a patio wash for a lady a few houses up. She turned 100 in march. Willing to wait 3-4 weeks or however long it takes me to get there. Its straightforward large slabbed area no problems with drainage all flat. 4 hours i reckon. i’m gonna do it for her as a belated birthday present. I haven't told anyone this yet i want to make it a surprise for her. This ladys generation saw us through ww2 and built the country to what it is today. and i just haven't got in me to charge £160 to a 100 year old lady. Time she had something back in my eyes. Not all about the money sometimes. id rather give something back to someone who’s done her bit for the country 100 times over and who has a lot more respect for people than many of younger generations do, so i’m gonna try and give up my next bank holiday or other day that works for me, to get it done for her. Fingers crossed.

Deffo. Too many like that would make your day miserable. Reason a lot of us do this job is to have no one bitchin or giving grief like in a workplace with a lot of employees. Vast majority of customers are great.

Another issue I sometimes have as others have described, is with splashback from some ledges. Gets on the pole and runs down the outside and wets your hands. The way I've dealt with this is to make a 'washer' widget (for want of a better word) out of some butyl rubber I had knocking about from a pond project some years ago and fitted it over the pole just below the clamp on section #2 of the pole. Any water running down the pole drips off when it reaches the 'washer.' You do however, have to make sure the hole you cut in it is a good fit to the pole otherwise the water will run under it. It's simple but effective.

Most likely cause is that the pole hose or the gooseneck hose (Orange) is not fully pushed into the push fit connector inside the pole. When extended and with the weight of the pole hose pulling on it, it may then leak. Solution is to check that both are fully pushed into the connector - these need a double push, first to locate the hose in the fitting and second to fully seal it.

On starting to make an IBC full of water I checked my TDS after DI. It had crept up to 005. The last time I changed the resin in my 11 litre vessel was.... wait for it.... November....2017 😜😎👍

I certainly wouldn’t be told by any management company how to clean anything , you are the expert and they have asked you to do it so it’s your terms not there’s I would politely tell them the best thing they can do as they are so knowledge is do it them selves then , also that’s a specialist job so price will be high not everyone will be able to do a job like that , I would walk away personally

Onwards and upwards. I'd always charge a lot more for six monthly. 2/3 to double. Here's the thing. A lot of the people in the huge houses are bosses, people in power, who are used to calling the shots. Most that I deal with are fine. The other ones who try to take charge of me are very quickly and politely put straight. Stand your ground, you are your boss, no one else.

Remember not just a window cleaner a friend..

Apparently a failed lnb, the engineer said. Nothing to do with the window cleaner.

A lovely message from a customer of mine that I did a gutter clean and windows clean including all the upvc and restoration where the upvc had faded and was marked. "Hi John, house looks fab thanks, walked up the drive with Madison (my daughter) and she said oh my god mummy look the door is so white" 🤣🤣 Thanks so much

Bang on mate. Never understood this ‘oh I’m 5 days of schedule’. Or those who have set dates for cleaning. I personally think it’s unnecessary and just puts pressure on yourself

Why does everyone worry so much and faff about with first cleans? If it's got green frames etc a little spray of chemical on the brush will take it off, if it's just dirt then don't bother and just scrub it well Takes me the same time as a normal clean plus a few extra seconds per window to rinse it well Done it this way for about 3 years now and never had an issue I work on a high flow anyway and just give them a good clean Stop over thinking things Give a price and clean the windows Charge a decent price per house and you won't need to charge first clean prices as you will be earning well anyway

Whatever it takes to be honest mate. I connect the pole up to the outside tap to start with if they're that bogging. No point wasting pure water to start with. I use normal water & de-grease, rinse, then i switch to purified water, do a standard wfp clean, then i get up the ladder, have a butchers for stubborn stains, soap up & blade scrape anything the de-greaser hasn't removed, check sills & frames, get rid of all the greys if i can with magic sponges and pink stuff, micro fibre cloth any loose dirt left on the sills. Happy days. You wont need the ladder again for a good 6 months i’d say if you do everything right the first time. Twice a year its worth getting up there to check that alage and lichen arent colonizing on the sills. Tends to be yellow and green lichen that build up on window sills. 25% extra is not a lot for a first clean, i quote between £60-£100 or even more if its a lot of glass/frames etc. a few will pay it, many wont, if they dont like the price i just say well i can do you a basic de-grease and wfp clean for lets say 1/3 of that price, some then take me up on that offer. Some will want the first clean for the price of a maintenance clean but this just destroys the market and puts every other window cleaner out of work, its likely they wont get them done again for a blue moon so they’ve gained and we’ve all lost. Its hard trying to break in to the market but try to charge a jobs worth once you’re experienced. I spend 2-3 hours on a first clean sometimes. When you can clear gutters for £60 a pop or an average driveway and take 2-3 hours at £150 a pop then i dont see the bother doing windows for less when youre taking the same amount of time and effort. Its a massively under valued industry and only we as window cleaners can change this. Hope this helps dude

I while back I used to work as a pair. We used to do a shop front, I did outside wfp and he did inside trad. I was naturally a faster worker than he was but he always finished before me. Every tool has its place with each giving better and more profitable results on certain jobs. I’ll never get rid of my ladder, pad and blade because sometimes it’s just better.

Take your business elsewhere if they can't be arsed to reply to you.

I have had magnetic signs on my motors in the past and and only had them on the tailgate of my truck and paid over £80 and I now have my van fully signed and it only cost £187 so not that expensive. I would ditch the call for a free quote it's totally outdated and not needed use the space for something else.

The only way to get acceptable results inside that I have found is mop and squeegee , theses Viking easy shine things are a complete waist of time from my experience unless you are doing them every day the slightest bit of dirt and they smear like mad

No the prices I have told you above should be your starting prices. If I was charging your prices around Nottingham I would be getting 50 new customers every couple of days. Honestly you are too cheap. Round building is mostly what I do all day long you may not know me from Adam but I can promise you as lads on this forum will agree with me you are far too cheap right now.