The customers are a coming

[Craigmac]

Getting messages for quotes already only advertised our window cleaning this afternoon.

We do have the added perk of already being a cleaning company.

But I must say I am sh**ing myself when it comes to going out and quoting for Windows.

We have been cleaning properties for just short of a year and we know what to charge and how long the job will take. BUT windows is a new chapter for us and with zero experience I am worried that we advertised to soon.

One of the quotes is what looks like a farmhouse from Google maps, cannot see the property as it is up a private road. We are told it has 17 windows. 

Another worry is that we are not up to standard  our property cleans are very meticulous with attention to detail. I do not want to be producing sub standard work when it comes to the windows. 

Any advise will be gratefully accepted 

 

[Craigmac]

As a side note 

And I will probably get roasted for this.

I am thinking of just going to the quotes and get the job done. I will not tell them before hand but if they are not happy with the job then I will not charge them. This will only stand until I believe we are proficient with the wfp.

The way I see it yes we are performing a service for them but we are also training.

I can see Darren from Nottinghamshire spitting his tea out reading this ?

 

[THL4KEL]

Good luck mate, just keep practising on your own and your familes windows. You will be fine.

 

[Clisty1989]

Getting messages for quotes already only advertised our window cleaning this afternoon.

We do have the added perk of already being a cleaning company.

But I must say I am sh**ing myself when it comes to going out and quoting for Windows.

We have been cleaning properties for just short of a year and we know what to charge and how long the job will take. BUT windows is a new chapter for us and with zero experience I am worried that we advertised to soon.

One of the quotes is what looks like a farmhouse from Google maps, cannot see the property as it is up a private road. We are told it has 17 windows. 

Another worry is that we are not up to standard  our property cleans are very meticulous with attention to detail. I do not want to be producing sub standard work when it comes to the windows. 

Any advise will be gratefully accepted 

 Done a few jobs like the farmhouse, odds are either the windows are huge, or there are more than they say, or they've "forgotten" about the conservatory. Never do freebies under any circumstances, just redo the bits you need to. Otherwise either word will get around and people will say they not happy so they don't pay, or other windys will find that's what the customer expects. Many a time when I started as a tradder I spend ages redoing Windows I ballsed up, part of the learning curve, plus 80% of the time the dirt is on the inside.

Prime example...

New custy (8 weeks ago) 2 bed council house, not been done in years. £20 1st clean £10 after. Done them all, they'd gone out by time I'd finished but had paid upfront, packed up and went. Following month said t had left streaks everywhere, not happy but put it down to how bad they were, did them again and said I'd be back to check tomorrow. Went back, not happy, said upstairs back looks dreadful and front not great. Had look from inside, inside fronts filthy inside, told her this didn't believe me. Got trad gear from car, cleaned living room window, proved outside spotless. Went up to back bedroom, glass blown. Explained this, tried to blame me, no chance. Windows 20 years old, end if there life, finally accepted it. If youd not taken payment on that job you would have lost the money through no fault of your own, she would have called another windy and situation would have repeated itself. Have confidence in the system and take your time.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Aye, I was the same. I just practiced on my own windows and watched utube and away I went. Took 30mins to do my first £5 clean but after a year you settle down with your favourite squeegee. Once you get confident then you know instantly how difficult it will be and charge accordingly. The customer may say they can get it done for half the price you quote and you reply "you better go with him then" and walk away.

 

[Suhrly]

Kind of the same as me. I cleaned my own windows ONCE before heading out to start my customers with WFP haha coming from 4 years tradtional. My first job was a Vicarage property where I knew beforehand there would be no one home while I was there so I could just take my time and feel things out. Just take your time at first you'll soon get the hang of it.

 

[Iron Giant]

Aye, I was the same. I just practiced on my own windows and watched utube and away I went. Took 30mins to do my first £5 clean but after a year you settle down with your favourite squeegee. 

Their is no squeegee in wfp, Just try and tell UK Cleaning and Duncan Bannatyne ?

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

1:  ALWAYS QUOTE only what you see with your own two eyes... never quote or even 'GUESSTIMATE' on line.  

2: NEVER even 'SUGGEST' they don't pay... everyone pays. 

3: WHEN you balls it up.... apologize briefly.. analyse why and how (so you dont balls it up again) and redo them

4: This SCARES you?  HA you could be a @steve garwood (Natural born ginger)

5: What tea?  Go fetch me another Cider! 

 

[Iron Giant]

@Craigmac Just remember any first clean will take 2-3 times longer than a regular clean this is were some mess up in terms of getting the best results first time and continuing to maintain the high standard at each following regular clean and price accordingly. 

 

 

[Iron Giant]

1:  ALWAYS QUOTE only what you see with your own two eyes... never quote or even 'GUESSTIMATE' on line.  

2: NEVER even 'SUGGEST' they don't pay... everyone pays. 

3: WHEN you balls it up.... apologize briefly.. analyse why and how (so you dont balls it up again) and redo them

4: This SCARES you?  HA you could be a @steve garwood (Natural born ginger)

5: What tea?  Go fetch me another Cider! 

Best off drinking coffee it lowers the blood pressure ?, I drink a  litre every morning before work. 

 

[spruce]

1:  ALWAYS QUOTE only what you see with your own two eyes... never quote or even 'GUESSTIMATE' on line.  This is the verse chapter and verse in the window cleaners handbook.

2: NEVER even 'SUGGEST' they don't pay... everyone pays. This is the second verse of the first chapter. There is no need to justify water fed pole window cleaning. It is a recognised cleaning method and recommended by H&S. (In the early days we did this once when we were new to wfp 13 years ago. It was a new round and our new customers didn't know who we were. We were also foreigners, so were viewed very suspiciously by the mainly Yorkshire born and bred residents. We made this offer on the first day, but once those customers saw the results we didn't offer it from day 2 - but we didn't take any money until we were satisfied with the job quality.)

3: WHEN you balls it up.... apologize briefly.. analyse why and how (so you dont balls it up again) and redo them Nothing wrong with going cap in hand and saying that you misquoted. But you still owe it to yourself and your customer to finish the first job at the agreed and quoted price. If you can't agree a new price then you haven't sullied your reputation. I've had to go cap in hand to a number of customers in the early days and ask for more. But on one job I did reduce the price slightly as the job went much easier than I thought. There will always be something you haven't taken into consideration when quoting a job. Sometimes you win a bit and sometimes you loose a bit, but the small losses can always be recified further down the line with a price increase.

4: This SCARES you?  HA you could be a @steve garwood (Natural born ginger)

5: What tea?  Go fetch me another Cider! 

As per notes in @Green Pro Clean Ltdpost @Craigmac

There is the old saying that "calm seas don't make good sailors". This is true with window cleaning. The more you take quoting by the scruff of the neck, the more experience you gain. You can't buy experience.

.

 

[Craigmac]

Dont want to start a new thread so will ask here.

What would you experienced lot recommend as a first clean brush?

Currently have the Gardiners Sill brush, medium mixed bristles. 

Am i right in thinking a stiffer brush would be better for the first cleans?

 

[Iron Giant]

Be warned a farmhouse will be like a first clean every single time even on the a regular 4-6 weekly basis

County Durham Lad

 

[spruce]

Dont want to start a new thread so will ask here.

What would you experienced lot recommend as a first clean brush?

Currently have the Gardiners Sill brush, medium mixed bristles. 

Am i right in thinking a stiffer brush would be better for the first cleans?

No one will be able to answer this as its down to personal preference. There is no 'one brush fits all.'

I hate a stiff brush but son uses his as an everyday brush. But its a brush that works for well for first cleans, especially if they are on a farm - see @Iron Giant's post above.

I love the sill brush you've got and will use it on the occassional first clean we do. Its also a little heavier than the Ultimate medium bristles (the yellow ones) so I alternate between the two depending on how I feel. (I get very tired these days from about lunch time so having a slightly lighter brush does help on those not so good days.)

We also have a soft flocked brush for leaded. It has a splay which isn't perfect but I prefer a splayed brush rather than a non splayed brush. A non splayed brush is best for leaded windows. Thats on a separate pole.

I had a stiff Extreme on my 40' pole but I found the soft flocked Supreme, although heavier, does a better job.

But someone else may have advise which is opposite to this. But that doesn't mean one is right and the other wrong.

So IMO, you need a few different brushes and swap between them as go.

 

[Clisty1989]

Dont want to start a new thread so will ask here.

What would you experienced lot recommend as a first clean brush?

Currently have the Gardiners Sill brush, medium mixed bristles. 

Am i right in thinking a stiffer brush would be better for the first cleans?

I prefer the sill brush, especially for 1st cleans, easier to clean the sills up well, another tip is get a cheap sprayer and some degreaser. I prefer the screwfix no nonsense degreaser, but others on here prefer ubik or virosol. Spray on brush, scrub into frames, leave 5 mins scrub rinse off thoroughly then redo just the glass.

 

[Craigmac]

I prefer the sill brush, especially for 1st cleans, easier to clean the sills up well, another tip is get a cheap sprayer and some degreaser. I prefer the screwfix no nonsense degreaser, but others on here prefer ubik or virosol. Spray on brush, scrub into frames, leave 5 mins scrub rinse off thoroughly then redo just the glass.

Thanks Clisty 

I have picked up the screwfix no nonsense degreaser, i did ask on an older thread for advice on what type of mix to use. from memory the container shows 1 cap per litre of water. 

when you say cheap sprayer do you mean a hand held sprayer or one of the gardening ones that you pump for pressure. I asked on another thread if spraying the brush with the degreaser would be sufficient for the tops, but have had no reply yet.   

 

[Clisty1989]

Thanks Clisty 

I have picked up the screwfix no nonsense degreaser, i did ask on an older thread for advice on what type of mix to use. from memory the container shows 1 cap per litre of water. 

when you say cheap sprayer do you mean a hand held sprayer or one of the gardening ones that you pump for pressure. I asked on another thread if spraying the brush with the degreaser would be sufficient for the tops, but have had no reply yet.   

Mix 10:1, any garden type sprayer will do, don't need huge amount then as it's strong, soak the brush and turn pump on as low as possible, just to keep it wet, should have enough on it to do 3-4 windows. Don't use it on composite doors as can stain them, just do them with pure.

 

[paul alan]

Best off drinking coffee it lowers the blood pressure ?, I drink a  litre every morning before work. 

coffee increases blood pressure.

 

[Iron Giant]

coffee increases blood pressure.

I must got that mixed up with beer ? I spoke to a client the other day and I swore she said it lowered blood pressure, The only thing that increases my blood pressure is my wifes nagging ?

 

[Iron Giant]

No one will be able to answer this as its down to personal preference. There is no 'one brush fits all.'

I hate a stiff brush but son uses his as an everyday brush. But its a brush that works for well for first cleans, especially if they are on a farm - see @Iron Giant's post above.

I love the sill brush you've got and will use it on the occassional first clean we do. Its also a little heavier than the Ultimate medium bristles (the yellow ones) so I alternate between the two depending on how I feel. (I get very tired these days from about lunch time so having a slightly lighter brush does help on those not so good days.)

We also have a soft flocked brush for leaded. It has a splay which isn't perfect but I prefer a splayed brush rather than a non splayed brush. A non splayed brush is best for leaded windows. Thats on a separate pole.

I had a stiff Extreme on my 40' pole but I found the soft flocked Supreme, although heavier, does a better job.

But someone else may have advise which is opposite to this. But that doesn't mean one is right and the other wrong.

So IMO, you need a few different brushes and swap between them as go.

Gardiner Ultimate with dupont bristles, Top brush deals with all windows easily and easily cleans sills very well on leaded, farms and new builds, I don't even bother swapping brushes now for first cleans as their isn't any point 

 

[spruce]

Gardiner Ultimate with dupont bristles, Top brush deals with all windows easily and easily cleans sills very well on leaded, farms and new builds, I don't even bother swapping brushes now for first cleans as their isn't any point 

I haven't ordered a dupond bristle brush as yet.

I still have an assortment of brushes that I need to wear out first.?