Pros and cons of water system in van instead of backpack

[Yogi1872]

I have a 150 litre tank, a wcw pump box, hose and reel, have receipts for all bought only last September, I also have a 25ft phantom hybrid pole with a hose less set up with univalve, and brush head. The pole is 9 months old. That's everything you need and il give it to you for £550.

Pump box was £400 odd I think, tank £180, pole £230, univalve £40, tubless kit was around £70. Hose and reel £150. Brush head £40. Not shy off £1200 worth of equipment.

 

[David K]

All Pros , no Cons! Go van Mount anyday!

 

[Clean zero]

Absolutely a no brainier!!

 

[spruce]

If you are concerned about hoses across the pavement, then get yourself a couple of small cones with "Caution, trip hard" and put them each side of the pavement next to your hose. A cone because the A Frame warning signs we originally had would get blown over by the slightest gust of wind.

Pardon our interruption...

We very really run a hose across a busy street, although we will in very quiet cul-de-sacs. If we hear the bin lorry or other heavy equipment, we will retrieve the hose before they pass. We generally park and work one side of the street, and then park the van on the other side of the street and work that side, so we don't have hoses across a busy road.

We have one street where we only have the fronts of one house on the other side of the road to do. Son usually does this with the backpack.

In some cases, our hoses run across grass pavement edges. We also did some houses behind a village green which we ran our hoses across. When we hear/heard the council's mowers, we retrieve/retrieved our hoses.

We have only had one incidence in 18 years with a blind person and her guide dog. Fortunately, I was working in the front and saw the problem beginning. The guide dog didn't want to cross over the hoses and didn't want to guide the blind lady around my van via the street.
I uncoupled the hoses from my van, put the hose reels and hose into the customer's driveway to clear the pavement, commended the dog with lots of praise and his owner gave him a treat. Not sure what would have happened if I was in the back, but have to presume the dog would have stopped and waited for a resolution.

Just a correction to this post;
Should be "Caution trip hazard" not "Caution trip hard."

 

[steve garwood]

Just a correction to this post;
Should be "Caution trip hazard" not "Caution trip hard."

The only writing on my cones is ‘property of Bromley council’ ?

 

[Clean zero]

I admit it any one else tripped over their own cone

 

[Part Timer]

I admit it any one else tripped over their own cone

All the bloody time

 

[Pjj]

I admit it any one else tripped over their own cone

On odd occasions yes , very embarrassing ???

 

[francie]

I have a 150 litre tank, a wcw pump box, hose and reel, have receipts for all bought only last September, I also have a 25ft phantom hybrid pole with a hose less set up with univalve, and brush head. The pole is 9 months old. That's everything you need and il give it to you for £550.

Pump box was £400 odd I think, tank £180, pole £230, univalve £40, tubless kit was around £70. Hose and reel £150. Brush head £40. Not shy off £1200 worth of equipment.

How come your selling up yogi?

 

[Iron Giant]

If you are concerned about hoses across the pavement, then get yourself a couple of small cones with "Caution, trip hard" and put them each side of the pavement next to your hose. A cone because the A Frame warning signs we originally had would get blown over by the slightest gust of wind.

Pardon our interruption...

We very really run a hose across a busy street, although we will in very quiet cul-de-sacs. If we hear the bin lorry or other heavy equipment, we will retrieve the hose before they pass. We generally park and work one side of the street, and then park the van on the other side of the street and work that side, so we don't have hoses across a busy road.

We have one street where we only have the fronts of one house on the other side of the road to do. Son usually does this with the backpack.

In some cases, our hoses run across grass pavement edges. We also did some houses behind a village green which we ran our hoses across. When we hear/heard the council's mowers, we retrieve/retrieved our hoses.

We have only had one incidence in 18 years with a blind person and her guide dog. Fortunately, I was working in the front and saw the problem beginning. The guide dog didn't want to cross over the hoses and didn't want to guide the blind lady around my van via the street.
I uncoupled the hoses from my van, put the hose reels and hose into the customer's driveway to clear the pavement, commended the dog with lots of praise and his owner gave him a treat. Not sure what would have happened if I was in the back, but have to presume the dog would have stopped and waited for a resolution.

I had a woman on Wednesday pretending to trip over my hose she had already walked past it by around 6ft she initially smiled and chuckled then said where there is blame there is a claim, I replied it's bright enough, bright red hose on the tarmac only option for me would be to place a cone at the front and back of the van I have 50m+ runs so not practical to be lugging cones up and down a street as they aren't lightweight and would need to carry with two hands along with my pole the chances are I'd hit a car with my pole.

 

[THL4KEL]

The cone is just another trip hazard

 

[Yogi1872]

How come your selling up yogi?

Have got rid of alot of work as I can't see the benifit of crossing the vat threshold unless I had enough work for about 5 guys, anything less than that and I don't think it's worthwhile. Whether some admit it or not, domestic window cleaning has until say 10 years ago been cash in hand paymeants alot of the time for employees, or there hours put through alot less than they actually do. So when paying an hourly rate out to the worker is all that's usually factored into costs. Holiday pay, ni contributions, sick pay etc aren't outgoings so they have never really been factored into running costs. The prices people pay for windows to get clean reflect that. This is a common thing across the board, now with people paying through the bank it's making it impossible to avoid these costs. The vast majority of window cleaners are 1 man bands who's price never reflects having that to pay out. So if you do get to vat threshold you loose 20% on top of that. So the price you gave where its based on say £12 an hour output now becomes more than double with vat and employee costs.

When the older generation die off who prefers to always pay cash then it's going to force the few left who don't do it all online to change. When that happens and they start incurring the costs everyone else is thats when prices across the board will start going up quite a bit. I know everyone says charge x y or z, but in general whatever industry your in, if your not competitive on prices then it won't end well. A few quid fair enough but most of the time people won't pay you £30 if most others charge £10. There will be exeptions to this but its not what will happen almost most of the time.

 

[Iron Giant]

if your not competitive on prices then it won't end well. A few quid fair enough but most of the time people won't pay you £30 if most others charge £10. There will be exeptions to this but its not what will happen almost most of the time.

Being competitive is out of the window these days inflation increased by 5x energy costs increased by 89% and food costs by around 30% that's on a personal levelling business some consumables have doubled or almost tripled when was a 12" carbon pre-filter anywhere near £20.

People who are charging peanuts don't do a good job and turn up when they like people are getting pushed off these days with unreliable trades across the board my view and personal experience is people will pay for an overall better service and for some who will turn up when they say they will of course also I know of trades charging top whack and people are realising they aren't delivering on the service they sold them the covid bubble that was fueled with people with more money than sense will burst and the trades will go under

 

[Yogi1872]

Being competitive is out of the window these days inflation increased by 5x energy costs increased by 89% and food costs by around 30% that's on a personal levelling business some consumables have doubled or almost tripled when was a 12" carbon pre-filter anywhere near £20.

People who are charging peanuts don't do a good job and turn up when they like people are getting pushed off these days with unreliable trades across the board my view and personal experience is people will pay for an overall better service and for some who will turn up when they say they will of course also I know of trades charging top whack and people are realising they aren't delivering on the service they sold them the covid bubble that was fueled with people with more money than sense will burst and the trades will go under

I charge more than what the others in area charge tbh, some parts of my run I can do £70 an hour, there's is one part where it's £40. From starting my run week one to finishing it at the end of week 4 it works out £50 an hour if worked out that way. Some days it could be more but there is some days it coyod be a bit less but combined that's what it comes out at. Would I like more ? Ofcourse I would, I also think I can't really have to much to grumble at either as in my opinion that's a decent enough wage. I don't get away with charging what some get on here but I wouldn't get away with it. I don't go 100% either when working, I plod away at a reasonable pace. I could shave a couple of days atleast of it if I went for it all day everyday, I don't want to work like that though.

 

[Yogi1872]

Take your public liability or motor insurance as an example, if you get a quote that you thinks a bit high and when compared it's double to what others charge, your changing that insurance as you would be daft paying that when you can get the same thing elsewhere. When it's no to much more if your anything like me you just pay it as you can't be bothered canceling etc as its no to much. There's is a couple of streets I'm in where I know I'm taking double what the other ones charge I'm not ripping them off btw, 3 bedroom detached houses and semi detached. Mines there are between £10 and £12. They are taking between £5 and £6. Although this was 2 years ago so they might have increased now but not by much I wouldn't think. I'm not sure if my customers know the difference or not tbh. If I then increase there then what logical person is going to then pay more than double to get a job done when another person doing the same job with the same results can save them more than half, you wouldn't go to a shop and buy a product for £100 if the shop next door had the same product for £50. It just doesn't make sense.

It always bamboozled me how the person in question made money as there was always 3 or 4 of them. Wasn't until I got speaking to one of them that I found out why, there all on the side and he was paying them £5.50 an hour cash in hand. It may have went up now I'm not sure. They all sign on and get miney for kids etc so working legit makes no sense.

it would be hypocritical of me to get on my high horse because he's not working by the book, we have all done it throughout the years in some capacity. There will come a day soon though where hel have to adapt to the times and start things going through the bank, the customers at the moment who he tells other people are ripping them off will be the same ones he has to dbl there prices.

 

[Part Timer]

It always bamboozled me how the person in question made money as there was always 3 or 4 of them. Wasn't until I got speaking to one of them that I found out why, there all on the side and he was paying them £5.50 an hour cash in hand. It may have went up now I'm not sure. They all sign on and get miney for kids etc so working legit makes no sense.

There is a big trad company that works all round where I live and I think he has 6 lads working for him. They're on 18 hour contracts for minimum wage and cash in hand for all the other hours, probably another 25 as they work from 7.30 till 6 when needed

 

[Yogi1872]

There is a big trad company that works all round where I live and I think he has 6 lads working for him. They're on 18 hour contracts for minimum wage and cash in hand for all the other hours, probably another 25 as they work from 7.30 till 6 when needed

I don't doubt there all over the place, if its common where I am then itl be no different elsewhere. Next year my prices are going up, I'm using an inflation calculator and comparing it back 10 years, if any prices have fallen below what the current one is that's going to be my basis on why they have went up. Although we always have that wee worry that we will loose work when we all put it up, realisticly you don't even loose a handful. If the customers knew I averaged £50 an hour at current prices, I don't think I could justify why I think they should be paying more to make it £60 an hour. Especially if they pay more than they already have to.

 

[francie]

Thank you yogi,**** this paying by card,this will be the downfall of mankind,tell your cushtys you want cash mate