Speed on cleaning

[Davidpatrick1978]

Hello guys thanks for reply’s on aches and pains ur such a good group to have around 

my speed is not the best yet but I know it will get better with experience I’m doing around 7-8 a day plus my factory job which is 48 hours shifts days and nights 4 on 4 off to the point 

my 2 friends left we’re I work 2 years ago and went cleaning this how I got to we’re I am now cause of one of them they are doing 20 a day earning £200 or more a day at Griffth foods were hee we worked he was a QA manager and very slow like a sloth ? now he is banging 20  customers a day in it plays in my head how he can do this and he’s 53 how can I step up speed wise in April I will leave factory and go full time providing I have enough customers I now have 53 till a week or two ago nothing happened then by going out and working people are coming to me I’ve invested in £30 a month in yell advertise wish I had not bothered nothing coming from it and they say I’m stuck in a 12 month contract ******* 

anyway guys last night shift in factory tonight then few days windows any help guys u know the score as green pro say comments down below ? ? 

 

[ched999uk]

I have found speed is about procedures. 

I think it was @Davy G that replied to one of my posts on speed - Sorry if it was someone else. Basically he has a set order to clean a window. He does top of frame and glass, the side frame and then across to other side then bottom of frame/sill and lastly rinses. This is a simplification as his explanation is much better. The point is that by adopting this method I stopped trying to remember if I had rinsed a pane or deciding where to start and what order to do a window in, this saved me some time. 

Now I have few months under my belt I have learned a few things like: I start at furthest point from car and work back, this means if I need to top up backpack I am closer to the car as I will probably have got round to the front. A 20m extension hose means most of the time I can position the backpack say at the front corner of the building and not need to move it to complete the whole house or maybe move it once. I am now much better at adjusting the angle of the brush correctly to give the best angle to the glass before I extend the pole to then realise I need to adjust. I try and have one hand on the bottom of the pole if possible as it means I can't hit things with the end of the pole when watching the glass plus having the pole extended and holding the bottom means I am more often than not able to reach the top of the glass and the bottom without hitting the floor etc..

I sort of mentally rehearse each job while driving to it so I know where to start, where to position backpack, what brush I need, what pole, step for gate bolt etc. While I am filling up the backpack (12v pump) I write out the card I put through with payment details on so it's ready to go. 

If your mate is doing 20 x £10 houses then he is flying but maybe doing a poor job or just burning himself out. I would say £10 houses are too cheap - work smarter not harder. I don't know your area other than GreenProClean used to operate there and he used to say his prices were significantly higher than your mates.

At the end of the day you don't need to focus on how many houses you do but the money you earn. If I had enough customers and could do 20 a day that would be 50% more than your mate is earning and that's in Blackpool - one of the most deprived areas in the UK!

Also don't worry about what he says he can do and what he earns as there are a lot of people who exaggerate or quote their best day once a month, with the other work days significantly lower! 

PS I believe that any advertising method that ties you into a long contract without any free trial is just designed to take your money!!! Did Yell give you any marketing bull about expected enquiries as if they are not delivering you might be able to cancel the contract. There are so many BIG advertising companies, web companies, school magazine, charity mag etc that target a new business it's silly. If you get a phone call about a company looking for a single window cleaner to exclusively advertise in a magazine that goes out to X schools, hospital, parents etc think very very carefully about it as 9 out of 10 times they earn a lot more out of the advert than you do!!!!

 

[Pjj]

Hello guys thanks for reply’s on aches and pains ur such a good group to have around 

my speed is not the best yet but I know it will get better with experience I’m doing around 7-8 a day plus my factory job which is 48 hours shifts days and nights 4 on 4 off to the point 

my 2 friends left we’re I work 2 years ago and went cleaning this how I got to we’re I am now cause of one of them they are doing 20 a day earning £200 or more a day at Griffth foods were hee we worked he was a QA manager and very slow like a sloth ? now he is banging 20  customers a day in it plays in my head how he can do this and he’s 53 how can I step up speed wise in April I will leave factory and go full time providing I have enough customers I now have 53 till a week or two ago nothing happened then by going out and working people are coming to me I’ve invested in £30 a month in yell advertise wish I had not bothered nothing coming from it and they say I’m stuck in a 12 month contract ******* 

anyway guys last night shift in factory tonight then few days windows any help guys u know the score as green pro say comments down below ? ? 

Don’t worry about speed that will come with time what is important starting   out is quality work each and every time , first cleans  will take a fair bit longer but view it as an investment next clean will be less than half the time technique is key to a good clean different windows need a different approach in cleaning method if you can go out for a day with someone experienced and learn from them , you are welcome to come out with us any time if you like we have had quite a few from the forum do that , just seen you are in Nottingham so that’s a bit of a long way but the offers there . Focus on each window and re check once you have finished the whole house , it’s the only way to get it right .

 

[Davidpatrick1978]

Don’t worry about speed that will come with time what is important starting   out is quality work each and every time , first cleans  will take a fair bit longer but view it as an investment next clean will be less than half the time technique is key to a good clean different windows need a different approach in cleaning method if you can go out for a day with someone experienced and learn from them , you are welcome to come out with us any time if you like we have had quite a few from the forum do that , just seen you are in Nottingham so that’s a bit of a long way but the offers there . Focus on each window and re check once you have finished the whole house , it’s the only way to get it right .

Thankyou very much very kind and appreciate it

I have found speed is about procedures. 

I think it was @Davy G that replied to one of my posts on speed - Sorry if it was someone else. Basically he has a set order to clean a window. He does top of frame and glass, the side frame and then across to other side then bottom of frame/sill and lastly rinses. This is a simplification as his explanation is much better. The point is that by adopting this method I stopped trying to remember if I had rinsed a pane or deciding where to start and what order to do a window in, this saved me some time. 

Now I have few months under my belt I have learned a few things like: I start at furthest point from car and work back, this means if I need to top up backpack I am closer to the car as I will probably have got round to the front. A 20m extension hose means most of the time I can position the backpack say at the front corner of the building and not need to move it to complete the whole house or maybe move it once. I am now much better at adjusting the angle of the brush correctly to give the best angle to the glass before I extend the pole to then realise I need to adjust. I try and have one hand on the bottom of the pole if possible as it means I can't hit things with the end of the pole when watching the glass plus having the pole extended and holding the bottom means I am more often than not able to reach the top of the glass and the bottom without hitting the floor etc..

I sort of mentally rehearse each job while driving to it so I know where to start, where to position backpack, what brush I need, what pole, step for gate bolt etc. While I am filling up the backpack (12v pump) I write out the card I put through with payment details on so it's ready to go. 

If your mate is doing 20 x £10 houses then he is flying but maybe doing a poor job or just burning himself out. I would say £10 houses are too cheap - work smarter not harder. I don't know your area other than GreenProClean used to operate there and he used to say his prices were significantly higher than your mates.

At the end of the day you don't need to focus on how many houses you do but the money you earn. If I had enough customers and could do 20 a day that would be 50% more than your mate is earning and that's in Blackpool - one of the most deprived areas in the UK!

Also don't worry about what he says he can do and what he earns as there are a lot of people who exaggerate or quote their best day once a month, with the other work days significantly lower! 

PS I believe that any advertising method that ties you into a long contract without any free trial is just designed to take your money!!! Did Yell give you any marketing bull about expected enquiries as if they are not delivering you might be able to cancel the contract. There are so many BIG advertising companies, web companies, school magazine, charity mag etc that target a new business it's silly. If you get a phone call about a company looking for a single window cleaner to exclusively advertise in a magazine that goes out to X schools, hospital, parents etc think very very carefully about it as 9 out of 10 times they earn a lot more out of the advert than you do!!!!

Brilliant thanks u guys are the BEST FRIENDS 

 

[Jaygti]

Keep practicing on your own home, go as fast as you can , and see where the problems are. 
A high flow rate helps, as does working in an efficient way. 
Being fit will help too. 

 

[Part Timer]

Can you not go out with your mate to see how he operates and learn from there.

 

[Davy G]

I have found speed is about procedures. 

I think it was @Davy G that replied to one of my posts on speed - Sorry if it was someone else. Basically he has a set order to clean a window. He does top of frame and glass, the side frame and then across to other side then bottom of frame/sill and lastly rinses. This is a simplification as his explanation is much better. The point is that by adopting this method I stopped trying to remember if I had rinsed a pane or deciding where to start and what order to do a window in, this saved me some time. 

Now I have few months under my belt I have learned a few things like: I start at furthest point from car and work back, this means if I need to top up backpack I am closer to the car as I will probably have got round to the front. A 20m extension hose means most of the time I can position the backpack say at the front corner of the building and not need to move it to complete the whole house or maybe move it once. I am now much better at adjusting the angle of the brush correctly to give the best angle to the glass before I extend the pole to then realise I need to adjust. I try and have one hand on the bottom of the pole if possible as it means I can't hit things with the end of the pole when watching the glass plus having the pole extended and holding the bottom means I am more often than not able to reach the top of the glass and the bottom without hitting the floor etc..

I sort of mentally rehearse each job while driving to it so I know where to start, where to position backpack, what brush I need, what pole, step for gate bolt etc. While I am filling up the backpack (12v pump) I write out the card I put through with payment details on so it's ready to go. 

If your mate is doing 20 x £10 houses then he is flying but maybe doing a poor job or just burning himself out. I would say £10 houses are too cheap - work smarter not harder. I don't know your area other than GreenProClean used to operate there and he used to say his prices were significantly higher than your mates.

At the end of the day you don't need to focus on how many houses you do but the money you earn. If I had enough customers and could do 20 a day that would be 50% more than your mate is earning and that's in Blackpool - one of the most deprived areas in the UK!

Also don't worry about what he says he can do and what he earns as there are a lot of people who exaggerate or quote their best day once a month, with the other work days significantly lower! 

PS I believe that any advertising method that ties you into a long contract without any free trial is just designed to take your money!!! Did Yell give you any marketing bull about expected enquiries as if they are not delivering you might be able to cancel the contract. There are so many BIG advertising companies, web companies, school magazine, charity mag etc that target a new business it's silly. If you get a phone call about a company looking for a single window cleaner to exclusively advertise in a magazine that goes out to X schools, hospital, parents etc think very very carefully about it as 9 out of 10 times they earn a lot more out of the advert than you do!!!!

It was me who described my technique in detail ?. It's all in the archives through the search bar. My aim with my technique is to be almost as tight and efficient as a martial arts pattern or a military arms drill.
With this comes reliable results, energy saving and speed.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Hello guys thanks for reply’s on aches and pains ur such a good group to have around 

my speed is not the best yet but I know it will get better with experience I’m doing around 7-8 a day plus my factory job which is 48 hours shifts days and nights 4 on 4 off to the point 

my 2 friends left we’re I work 2 years ago and went cleaning this how I got to we’re I am now cause of one of them they are doing 20 a day earning £200 or more a day at Griffth foods were hee we worked he was a QA manager and very slow like a sloth ? now he is banging 20  customers a day in it plays in my head how he can do this and he’s 53 how can I step up speed wise in April I will leave factory and go full time providing I have enough customers I now have 53 till a week or two ago nothing happened then by going out and working people are coming to me I’ve invested in £30 a month in yell advertise wish I had not bothered nothing coming from it and they say I’m stuck in a 12 month contract ******* 

anyway guys last night shift in factory tonight then few days windows any help guys u know the score as green pro say comments down below ? ? 

Replace the word speed with quality 

Have I done enough 

Is the customer going to be happy 

Will I get paid 

Will they have me back 

Focus on the core basics and Improve as you go. 

It's easy to clean one window and get it right when using the correct technique 

Do that to all the windows and you'll progress and shorten the time at the property 

 

[Tango]

I'm not exactly quick but i've found a few shortcuts..

If using a hosereel. (eg van mount) start at the front of the property and work towards the back. If you start at the back then as you come round the hose gets snagged on things as it loops. If you work towards the back then when you're done, disconnect the hose,, head for the reel and start winding it in (or yanking it back if using a BP). Job done. Also start with the trickiest parts of the house and get that done first. 

Faster water flow rate. This is daunting on a backpack but it does mean you get the window cleaned quicker. You MUST use a univalve like this though or you'll waste loads of water and need frequent refills.

Swivelling head - means you can get into tight corners of awkward windows. £7 from Gardiner (plus p&p).

If you use a ladder, make sure it's a nice light and easy one to use. I was using a 5m telescopic which doubles as an A-Frame ladder. Heavy, cumbersome, pain to put up and fold down.. I've now got a second hand 4 section folding ladder. It's much lighter and quicker to put up and take down.

Prepare invoices the night before. Don't do it on the job after the clean, it's too time consuming.

If you're using a tank in a van and want to fill up a back pack, make sure you use a fast pump like a bilge pump. I was letting mine gravity feed the back pack via the valve and a short length of hose. It was taking 5mins to fill it. The pump does it in 30 seconds tops.

Biggest tip is the actual cleaning. I still scrub every window to within an inch of it's life expecting to see some super big difference. The reality is that most of the time you won't see a difference and you can get away with two sweeps of the brush and then a rinse. My window cleaner literally just drags the brush down the glass and rinses - one pass of the brush! I've had to learn to stop scrubbing as much - i still do it instinctively though and i often feel guilty if i don't but ultimately, the more you scrub the glass the longer it takes.

 

[mike007]

Firstly doing shift work and  window cleaning on your days off is hard work but bills need to be paid. Just how it is. That will tire you anyway, but you will find the more you do existing customers your speed will increase . This is natural as your technique improves, you find the best locations to park, the order to do the windows of the property etc etc. 

 

[Davidpatrick1978]

I'm not exactly quick but i've found a few shortcuts..

If using a hosereel. (eg van mount) start at the front of the property and work towards the back. If you start at the back then as you come round the hose gets snagged on things as it loops. If you work towards the back then when you're done, disconnect the hose,, head for the reel and start winding it in (or yanking it back if using a BP). Job done. Also start with the trickiest parts of the house and get that done first. 

Faster water flow rate. This is daunting on a backpack but it does mean you get the window cleaned quicker. You MUST use a univalve like this though or you'll waste loads of water and need frequent refills.

Swivelling head - means you can get into tight corners of awkward windows. £7 from Gardiner (plus p&p).

If you use a ladder, make sure it's a nice light and easy one to use. I was using a 5m telescopic which doubles as an A-Frame ladder. Heavy, cumbersome, pain to put up and fold down.. I've now got a second hand 4 section folding ladder. It's much lighter and quicker to put up and take down.

Prepare invoices the night before. Don't do it on the job after the clean, it's too time consuming.

If you're using a tank in a van and want to fill up a back pack, make sure you use a fast pump like a bilge pump. I was letting mine gravity feed the back pack via the valve and a short length of hose. It was taking 5mins to fill it. The pump does it in 30 seconds tops.

Biggest tip is the actual cleaning. I still scrub every window to within an inch of it's life expecting to see some super big difference. The reality is that most of the time you won't see a difference and you can get away with two sweeps of the brush and then a rinse. My window cleaner literally just drags the brush down the glass and rinses - one pass of the brush! I've had to learn to stop scrubbing as much - i still do it instinctively though and i often feel guilty if i don't but ultimately, the more you scrub the glass the longer it takes.

Thankyou so much this has helped me out lots thanks for good advice