First Customers!

[wax_addict]

Just popped out for an hour knocking doors for the first time, pretty daunting but went alright.

Didn't knock many but picked up my first 2 customers, happy days.

3rd gonna ring, she was wfp but she prefers trad cos water leaks in and her frames are a bit naffed so she's gonna cancel her wfp guy and give me a ring hopefully.

Pricing, clueless. Counted windows but there were like 19 long and thins, figured its a bit high so went probably a bit low at 11 quid.

Other custy was a guy who just wanted the ones above his garage done cos he couldn't get there, I'mma have to Harris pole them, (any advice? Harder than I thought!), he actudlly priced the two big ones at a fiver which seemed good.

Didn't knock many or more challenging houses, figure I don't wanna run before I can walk. Went knocking more as practice at canvassing ready for when I drop leaflets and have some experience.

Any advice for first customers?

Only been cleaning my own windows for practice, kinda dreading something going wrong!

 

[OoO]

Bless ya lol. As long as you don't fall of the ladder you will be fine.

Just make sure you scrim everywhere and check for smears.

Most people go on a £1 a window. I go on time. So I work out how long each window will take. As its a bit different when you are WFP

Make sure the want a window a window cleaner as well.

As they may use for one clean and that's it.

 

[wax_addict]

Cheers. Yeah I figure pricing will come over time.

Is there a tried and tested method for squeegee on a Harris pole? Was a nightmare tryna get it right when I had a practice, mainly keeping it at a good angle throughout the pull down. Worth investing in a wagtail for pole work you reckon or can you get a good job without with a bit of practice? Angle adapter at the least?

If I don't report back tomorrow I've taken a fall off me ladder!

 

[OoO]

Can't help on that as I'm WFP /emoticons/sad.png

 

[Smurf]

Nice one! Just practise, practise, practise or go wfp as is easier and safer to do on tops & awkward jobs.

Just popped out for an hour knocking doors for the first time, pretty daunting but went alright.

Didn't knock many but picked up my first 2 customers, happy days.

3rd gonna ring, she was wfp but she prefers trad cos water leaks in and her frames are a bit naffed so she's gonna cancel her wfp guy and give me a ring hopefully.

Pricing, clueless. Counted windows but there were like 19 long and thins, figured its a bit high so went probably a bit low at 11 quid.

Other custy was a guy who just wanted the ones above his garage done cos he couldn't get there, I'mma have to Harris pole them, (any advice? Harder than I thought!), he actudlly priced the two big ones at a fiver which seemed good.

Didn't knock many or more challenging houses, figure I don't wanna run before I can walk. Went knocking more as practice at canvassing ready for when I drop leaflets and have some experience.

Any advice for first customers?

Only been cleaning my own windows for practice, kinda dreading something going wrong!

 

[Posh]

Takes a lot of of practice with the wagtail on a pole. Check yer windows as coming down the laser. Take yer time. To many people worry more how much they can make then doing a good job. Don't worry about speed that will come. Make sure yer ladder is safe. Just don't rush. Get it right. Don't run before you can walk. All the best.

 

[Mart1001]

You'll be ok Wax aslong as you take your time. I know what you mean about canvassing those challenging houses, I've only being going three months and I found it best to try to focus on those simple box houses without sloping roofs under top windows or garages or tall bay windows etc. I would pick an area to canvas and then the night before, I would do aload of work on google maps, running the little man around the streets trying to find those houses to target.

Don't hold too much hope on the woman that said she'd ring, they rarely do. I've given out tons of cards to people that reckon they'd probably phone me soon but, have only had one carry out the threat /emoticons/smile.png

Pricing will come but, as I said above, the googleman can help you to view your potential houses prior to door knocking which, can give you some time to think about it.

Don't worry if you're taking an hour or even longer on an house, that's natural and you can ease your customers patience when you knock for the money by simply saying 'sorry it took so long', they usually start replying with 'that's ok', but you can then continue with 'that's the problem with first cleans you know, cleaning the sills and frames and that....next time it should be quicker'. This will leave them feeling satisfied that you're interested in doing a good job.

Be careful with your ladders and never take chances. Never step up them if you're not confident about the footing of the ladder. I found ladder mitts to be a big help because they allow you to rest the top of the ladder against the sill which gives you a few more inches away from the glass, so you don't feel limited for space up there and, your ladder angle will be better, giving you a more secure footing too. If I'm a little unsure of how well my ladder is footed or, sometimes just for the heack of it, I will step infront of the ladder, rest my foot against the bottom rung and, give it a shove....it of course, shouldn't move.

A Wagtail is best for pole work as, just a simple twist of your pole will allow you to get that perfect angle on the squeegee for the downswipe. A zero degree squeegee is best when you need to clean a window over a sloping roof though because, if you try to get the angle with a wagtail or regular squeegee, the bottom of your angle adapter tends to hit the sill and, you leave the bottom of the pane in a mess. Oh yea, an angle adapter is a must have for pole work.

You can use a regular squeegee for pole work but, it's a harder job, more fiddly and, takes more experience and skill.

Keep smiling and take your time, don't try to look like a pro too soon with fancy fanning etc, you'll just make a mess. Stick with the '7' shaped technique, cut in on the top left. swipe across the top and then straight down...wipe your squeegee with finger an thumb and then, swipe down again.

Hope some of this helps you mate...

Mart.

 

[Belfastcleaning]

Well done wax.. Canvassing get easier, the more you knock the better it gets, I haven't done a proper knocking night in ages, but I always seem to have a laugh with people..

There's a book called winning at window cleaning, many will say you don't need a book, but I can guarantee you will learn from it, and if I had that book when starting, my round would be completely different..

 

[wax_addict]

Cheers guys, much appreciated.

Just got back, was a learning experience! Took me over 3 hours and even then it wasn't a full job. Lovely old lady took pity on me and made it alright though.

My main, pretty much only problem, is reaching windows. If I can get in front of a window and reach corner to corner then I can clean it pretty well, for a beginner, But, getting in front of a window, nightmare!

Started round back, top windows, tall, one on top of the other. Ladder just under sill, could reach the first and about 1/3 of the top. Figured I'd have to pole it. Come down the ladder, mess about setting pole up, wash, squeegee, streaky. Can't pole for ****, need more practice. Fashioned a long handle so I could reach the top, washed, squeegee, impossible. Can't get any movement using what's basically a small pole. Stright pulls leave streaks. Still barely reaching. Back down, tried pole again. Got it ok, back up, did the window I could reach, noticed mark on top window. Down, pole, streaks, pole, ok, up, clean bottom window. Repeat. Took about half hour messing about changing techniques to try and get the reach.

Lady comes out, 'you just starting out my love? You're taking far too long'.

Tell her yeah, sorry, I wanna get it perfect see. Had a chat, lovely lady, said 'you'll never make any money like this!, had to agree.

Same for front top windows, just couldn't get to them.

Standard problem I'm sure but it took so much time and messing about trying.

Said to the lady, I won't take full price, I've only done half a job without those tops properly done, but she insisted and gave me a bit of encouragement which was nice.

So, investing in step ladder. Had small steps but too small.

If I get a stand off, does that give you extra reach on a ladder? If the standoff is under the sill for example then you've got a few more rungs than without yes?

Solving this problem is it really, my technique was alright when I could reach a window.

Any advice? (Aside from give up now?)

I didn't fall off the ladder at least, coulda been worse!

 

[Mart1001]

My problem when I started was, that feeling of being pressed too close against the window which affected my reach and made it difficult to swap tools from one hand to the other etc. I always felt like I needed to step up one more rung but then, would feel unbalanced and that ain't good. Once I bought my ladder mitts, that changed. Being able to rest the ladder on the windowsill gives you that little bit more room aswell as a few inches extra height.

I'm quite tall but even so, I still sometimes struggle to reach the very top of and upstair window. The mop and squeegee isn't the problem it's, detailing the top. What I do in that situation is, throw my cloth over the end of my squeegee blade and use it as an extension which works a treat.

Leaving smears or water after squeegeeing is almost certainly down to your technique. If you're struggling up there, it ain't gonna be right whether it be the angle of the blade on the glass or, too much pressure on the glass. That will come and only practise will help you. Practise more on your own windows, on windows you're comfortable with and try to deliberately leave smears, find out why it goes wrong. A good tip for pressure applying is, squeegee a window and if you do a good job, do it again with half the pressure....still good, then do it again with even less pressure.

Remember when pole-ing, let the weight of the pole apply the pressure, it's easy to push a little which is then amplified at the tip of the pole. Practise more on your own windows. It's no good doing it once and thinking 'that's it', because things work differently when working on a customers house....just the added pressure and the feeling of being watched can be enough to turn a good job into a disaster. Once you do a good job on your own, know that that can be used to put the sparkle back after but then, set out trying to deliberately make a bad job and teach learn what causes it.

Mart.

 

[Smurf]

Trad methods can take years of pratice to perfect with either ladders or pole so fare play to you not bad first attempt. :Image9:

Thats why most trad guys also start to use wfp on domestic tops as much less hassle and a darn lot safer too.

 

[Tuffers]

Just a thought, you say you're too close to the glass. Try setting the ladder above the window if poss and not below it. This gives you a lot more room to work with. Also learn to blade with your other hand. This will save you time running up and down the ladder and you'll be able to reach a lot more glass without having to move.

For really tall glass that's out of reach I used to use a cut off broom stale (about 4 inches) and stick it in the blade handle.

Get an 'A' frame too, worth their weight in gold.

 

[Posh]

Some gd tips there.

1 ladder above window if poss.

2 scrim,micro ect around squeegee to detail

3 blade left & right handed.

I use ladder mits. Wouldn't be without them. With these you can also put them on the facia halfway up the window say where they have a little window lay them just below it. Only problem with resting the ladder on the window seal is after wiping seal when you take ladder away you can see two stripes where yer ladders been. I just quickly put a cloth on my pole & wipe them.

 

[Tuffers]

Some gd tips there.1 ladder above window if poss.

2 scrim,micro ect around squeegee to detail

3 blade left & right handed.

I use ladder mits. Wouldn't be without them. With these you can also put them on the facia halfway up the window say where they have a little window lay them just below it. Only problem with resting the ladder on the window seal is after wiping seal when you take ladder away you can see two stripes where yer ladders been. I just quickly put a cloth on my pole & wipe them.

Smurph won't like this but when I'm parked on a sill and need to wipe it, I bump the ladder off the sill and wipe it when the ladder is in mid air. There's a knack to it ;-)

 

[adyspurs]

I use to train people up when worked on firm and can take up to 6 months so get to a good standard so hang in there mate and keep at it,even if you go wfp still learn to use the squeegee.

 

[Posh]

So do I but didn't want to say lol

 

[harunh]

Well done keep at it /emoticons/smile.png

 

[wax_addict]

Cheers guys, loads of good advice.

Got some ladder mitts on, haven't tried them out yet though. Touch loose since they're on the second ladder bit which has smaller ends but they're snug enough.

Did two more houses yesterday that went a lot faster without any problems, normal size semis which had easy access.

After a while the squeegee left faint steaks as I fanned across, rubber went I figured so turned it and all was fine, didn't notice any nicks or anything but they musta been tiny. The streaks went after a few seconds though, and were invisible, completely gone, so I figured it was no big deal anyway. Turned the rubber to see if they was the cause though.

Have some above obstacles pole windows to do next day or two but can't seem to get the 7 method down without leaving vertical streaks on the right side. Any advice or good videos of the method out there? I'm pulling across at the top, down, so it's a backwards r. Then cutting across the top and slightly out of the wet and down. Going off a YouTube vid I found a while back but it was just a guy doing it and no instructions/up close so it was guess work on my part. Got a swivel loc handle if that helps and opens up another method.

Cheers.

 

[Tuffers]

Wipe the blade dry between straight pulls.

 

[charlie]

good for u mate

 

[Mart1001]

Just a word of warning when using the ladder mitts with the ladder on soft ground ie. grass. Ensure that you have plenty of the mitt on the window sill because, there's a danger that the bottom of the ladder can sink abit, causing the top of the ladder to slide out of the mitts and off the window sill. I'm sure you know what I mean and have probably already thought about that possibility. Just make sure you allow for that when positioning the ladder.

If you're leaving lines with your squeegee, give it a wash in the bucket first just to make sure you remove any small bits of grit that could be causing the issue rather than the rubber itself. It's possible for a small bit to sit between the rubber and the top side of the channel itself, resulting in an uneven pressure on the rubber, bowing it sort of thing. If not, then turn it over or swap it.

The lines you're leaving are excess water coming off the edge of the rubber. Wiping the blade between pulls is one way but, that's not really viable when you're pole-ing top windows. After your first initial pull down, tap the squeegee rubber on the wet un-swiped part of the glass or, even on the window next to the one you're doing(obviously not a clean window) before you cut in. Once you get to the final downpull, you can tap the rubber on the top of the window frame before cutting in. This tapping will remove most of the excess water. Always tilt your leadng edge downwards so that as the water is being removed, it runs down the rubber and not along it. So, assuming you're right handed, after cutting in along the top and during your first pull on the right side of the glass, tilt the squeegee so that the left side of it is tilting downwards towards the centre of the glass. Keep the same tilt for the next pull etc.

I'm a big fan of Mark Henderson, check out his youtube channel here:-

https://www.youtube.com/user/m4rkhenderson/videos

You can also see more of him if you check the 'window cleaning tutorials' on the Unger channel here:-

https://www.youtube.com/user/UNGEReurope/videos?view=0&flow=grid

There's also Wagga's video's that aim more at wagtail on a pole. You'll have to scroll to the bottom video's to find um though, since he eventually whimped out and turned wfp /emoticons/smile.png

https://www.youtube.com/user/MyWagga/videos

If you're seriouls about pole work though, you should really invest in a wagtail.

Also, that swivel loc you have, is it the normal type or, the zero degree version ?

Mart.