Texting the night before……

[Part Timer]

If you have alot of employees then texting doesn't work, people get sick and take days off, also where I used to work after you have done your 43 quote, you could work on bonus, you used to get half whatever the house was worth. It would be impossible to know if someone was going to work on bonus the previous night.if 2 workers didn't show up that's 86 customers worth of work that wouldn't be done because of less staff that day.

Obviously with your type of work / business model it wouldn't work but the vast majority on here are 1 or 2 man bands where they don't have to set such extreme numbers.
We would be VAT registered if we did that number of properties day in day out and would also be in an early grave.
We however can compete against the cheap and cheerful crowd because we offer a different level of service, part of this service is letting our customers know we will be washing their windows the next day via a text message.

 

[Chris34]

If you have alot of employees then texting doesn't work, people get sick and take days off, also where I used to work after you have done your 43 quote, you could work on bonus, you used to get half whatever the house was worth. It would be impossible to know if someone was going to work on bonus the previous night.if 2 workers didn't show up that's 86 customers worth of work that wouldn't be done because of less staff that day.

You make a good point, I hadn't thought of what it would be like if employing people. I think anything more than employing say 3 people and texting would start to get to a point where it's no longer feasible and you cannot realistically provide that service without employing someone to manage it all. I suppose that's where the one / two man bands can compete on a better level of service that a larger operation would struggle to match.

 

[Iron Giant]

We however can compete against the cheap and cheerful crowd because we offer a different level of service, part of this service is letting our customers know we will be washing their windows the next day via a text message.

You'll need to swill that rear courtyard with bleach at the job you were quoting yesterday

 

[Iron Giant]

Ultimately it's a bit of a marmite thing as long as you ain't sexting your customer's then it will all be fine I get enough dirty texts off @Part Timer

 

[Part Timer]

You'll need to swill that rear courtyard with bleach at the job you were quoting yesterday

I won't as my son will be doing it

 

[AllGleam]

If I was a customer and had a choice between a window cleaner like that and someone who asked me for a key to my back garden…I know which one I’d pick! But it’s horses for courses at the end of the day.

The landline older ones had requested a call to say when I'll be cleaning as some leave money out. I don't reply to and don't get loads of replies i book in the days work i use a pre-written quick response text one sent.to group

 

[Yogi1872]

Obviously with your type of work / business model it wouldn't work but the vast majority on here are 1 or 2 man bands where they don't have to set such extreme numbers.
We would be VAT registered if we did that number of properties day in day out and would also be in an early grave.
We however can compete against the cheap and cheerful crowd because we offer a different level of service, part of this service is letting our customers know we will be washing their windows the next day via a text message.

It is a ltd company, tbh the guy who owns it although he doesn't clean windows, he drops people off in the morning in the big van at 8am, at around 10 to 10.30 he's back up giving the 8 to 10 people clean scrims, he's then back up at 12.00 to take them for there lunch, he's then back up around 14.00 to 14.30 giving them fresh scrims, then up collecting them at 16.30. In between that he's getting all the sheets marked off and sorted from the people cleaning miney the night before. He has around 5 to 8 people collecting money from half 4 until half 7 every night, 5 nights a week. It's the biggest set up for domestic work I know off but there must be similar elsewhere, he's been going over 40 years and talks about having to wash and dry the windows before the squeegee was invented. Although he will be busy he's had a very good standard of life out of window cleaning. 100k car and a very big house etc. He seems like the type of person who would have made something of himself regardless of what he done though, when he started way back he drove taxis at night etc to make extra money, he's down to earth and a nice guy tbh, there's not much people who's worked for him has a bad word to say about him. His head must be fried though trying to keep on top of everything.

He's all traditional still, always wondered how it would work trying to change that over to wfp , he'd need more vans I'd imagine as the 10 people or so who he drops off everyday would have to be split into 5 pairs of 2 people really meaning another 5 vans. The other 4 vans could be done easily.

 

[Part Timer]

It is a ltd company, tbh the guy who owns it although he doesn't clean windows, he drops people off in the morning in the big van at 8am, at around 10 to 10.30 he's back up giving the 8 to 10 people clean scrims, he's then back up at 12.00 to take them for there lunch, he's then back up around 14.00 to 14.30 giving them fresh scrims, then up collecting them at 16.30. In between that he's getting all the sheets marked off and sorted from the people cleaning miney the night before. He has around 5 to 8 people collecting money from half 4 until half 7 every night, 5 nights a week. It's the biggest set up for domestic work I know off but there must be similar elsewhere, he's been going over 40 years and talks about having to wash and dry the windows before the squeegee was invented. Although he will be busy he's had a very good standard of life out of window cleaning. 100k car and a very big house etc. He seems like the type of person who would have made something of himself regardless of what he done though, when he started way back he drove taxis at night etc to make extra money, he's down to earth and a nice guy tbh, there's not much people who's worked for him has a bad word to say about him. His head must be fried though trying to keep on top of everything.

He's all traditional still, always wondered how it would work trying to change that over to wfp , he'd need more vans I'd imagine as the 10 people or so who he drops off everyday would have to be split into 5 pairs of 2 people really meaning another 5 vans. The other 4 vans could be done easily.

To be brutally honest if he has that big of a round, established for that long, he should be sitting somewhere warm getting other people to do what he does.
£100k car and big house means nothing if you can't enjoy life and are tied to work.

 

[DS WC west midlands]

Well i text my customers in the morning on the day, then i rebook them in the evening after the clean. I never text the night before as it gives them a chance to cancel last minute, you get two chances in my book, if a customer wants to rebook they should do it within one week before the clean, as they have been informed a whole month in advance, "oh i forgot" not acceptable, only time i let them off is if they are sick or on holiday that might happen once or twice a year if that. As soon as i hear the words "oh can you leave it this month" i kick them off the list...

I don't do messer's or cheap as chips cleans, i come every month to clean they know i am coming... i am out every spare minute i can looking for new customers to replace the ones i don't want.. Yes i know that's strict but it keeps the messer's away and the cheap cleans off my back

 

[Yogi1872]

To be brutally honest if he has that big of a round, established for that long, he should be sitting somewhere warm getting other people to do what he does.
£100k car and big house means nothing if you can't enjoy life and are tied to work.

He's a millionare, although he won't really tell you that he doesn't deny it either. I think he likes being kept busy in a way, he must be on close to 10k profit on a good week. His brother runs his own company too. He has 5 guys who works for him. His set up is alot better though. He doesn't drop anyone off etc. His wife's brother is a gaffer really, he just gives him the work sheets for the next day when the money is handed into him at the end of the day. They used to do it together but the one with 5 workers was always away on holidays etc. I'm not sure if it's caused by having to much to do over the years but he struggles to sleep. 4 hours does him and he functions fine.

 

[matt1458]

Always automatic text. With a link to manage their booking, if they choose to cancel short notice they’re billed a proportion of the fee if they want to keep their slot in the round.

I’ll always take knowing they don’t want the clean in advance over sending us to the job and wasting the time and fuel to find out the hard way

 

[matt1458]

He's a millionare, although he won't really tell you that he doesn't deny it either. I think he likes being kept busy in a way, he must be on close to 10k profit on a good week. His brother runs his own company too. He has 5 guys who works for him. His set up is alot better though. He doesn't drop anyone off etc. His wife's brother is a gaffer really, he just gives him the work sheets for the next day when the money is handed into him at the end of the day. They used to do it together but the one with 5 workers was always away on holidays etc. I'm not sure if it's caused by having to much to do over the years but he struggles to sleep. 4 hours does him and he functions fine

It is a ltd company, tbh the guy who owns it although he doesn't clean windows, he drops people off in the morning in the big van at 8am, at around 10 to 10.30 he's back up giving the 8 to 10 people clean scrims, he's then back up at 12.00 to take them for there lunch, he's then back up around 14.00 to 14.30 giving them fresh scrims, then up collecting them at 16.30. In between that he's getting all the sheets marked off and sorted from the people cleaning miney the night before. He has around 5 to 8 people collecting money from half 4 until half 7 every night, 5 nights a week. It's the biggest set up for domestic work I know off but there must be similar elsewhere, he's been going over 40 years and talks about having to wash and dry the windows before the squeegee was invented. Although he will be busy he's had a very good standard of life out of window cleaning. 100k car and a very big house etc. He seems like the type of person who would have made something of himself regardless of what he done though, when he started way back he drove taxis at night etc to make extra money, he's down to earth and a nice guy tbh, there's not much people who's worked for him has a bad word to say about him. His head must be fried though trying to keep on top of everything.

He's all traditional still, always wondered how it would work trying to change that over to wfp , he'd need more vans I'd imagine as the 10 people or so who he drops off everyday would have to be split into 5 pairs of 2 people really meaning another 5 vans. The other 4 vans could be done easily.

Oh god I just realised what I’ve stumbled into. Does he have a chain of supermarket car washes as well? If your mate is doing 10k a week and thinks the only option for texting is to send each message individually and wait for the reply then he has my sympathy. Sounds like you should set up on your own Yogi. This time next year you’ll be a miwilionare

 

[Yogi1872]

Oh god I just realised what I’ve stumbled into. Does he have a chain of supermarket car washes as well? If your mate is doing 10k a week and thinks the only option for texting is to send each message individually and wait for the reply then he has my sympathy. Sounds like you should set up on your own Yogi. This time next year you’ll be

He doesn't own any car washes no, he's got some houses he let's out but I think the letting agent takes care of that. it would be non workable texting as he doesn't know what work will get done. It would be impossible to predict.

 

[adamangler]

I text everyone. Lots ha e locked gates that would make the job a longer process either by having to knock for access or climb.

But more than that I want people to know I am going to be on their property then I can turn up and clean without frightening anyone make it more comfortable for me and the customer saves any awkwardness of waltzing in to someone back garden in the middle of a kids birthday party.

I don't worry about giving people the opportunity to cancel because they very rarely do and if they do they want removing from the round anyway and if someone wants to skip because there's building work going on well it saves me wasting my time.

It takes 10 seconds to text the next day's worksheet on cleaner planner, one click and its done.