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Monday, November 23, 2015
Question Semi-newbie Introduction ... Help gathering the "essentials" in equipment
Short history on myself, My name is Wills and i started "cleaning windows" for summer money as a teenager on houses thanks to my mom (she has her own cleaning business and would often have house sales prep jobs).
Our (me and my sister) reputation grew in a decently sized retirement community and we'd get a decent amount of repeat jobs almost every winter (snowbirds would come back in town :) ) However, at this time we developed a passion for auto detailing and well...long story short, became very good at auto detailing ( Thus the name Windows and Wheels) and recently opened up our own shop after having detailed mobile for several years (I'm now 29). This did draw us away from doing any advertising or growing the window side of our business though.
Well, now that im in a fixed location i find myself looking more into how to continue to build revenue and when looking at my hourly for doing windows....i find it crazy to not pursue it.
Ive only done single story residential my whole "window washing career"...i know, spoiled. That being said...i need to go about building my arsenal of window cleaning tools and then go about building my client base to use those tools on and learn more on pricing and technique (as well as build employees...but first things first...equipment).
I only have the basics...a couple of Sorbo quick release squeegees with 12" and 18" blades..a small 4" cheap squeegee, a couple of microfiber mops, extension pole, 3 pump sprayers and a window washer bucket. And of course a ton of microfiber towels.
If I could get some suggested equipment set ups (and how many of each piece its suggested i buy) I'd truly appreciate it. I like going into things prepared and already this forum has proved to be a great resource. I'm enjoying reading and studying the threads and hope to continue to learn more.
Thank you all in advance and sorry for the lengthy post.
Our (me and my sister) reputation grew in a decently sized retirement community and we'd get a decent amount of repeat jobs almost every winter (snowbirds would come back in town :) ) However, at this time we developed a passion for auto detailing and well...long story short, became very good at auto detailing ( Thus the name Windows and Wheels) and recently opened up our own shop after having detailed mobile for several years (I'm now 29). This did draw us away from doing any advertising or growing the window side of our business though.
Well, now that im in a fixed location i find myself looking more into how to continue to build revenue and when looking at my hourly for doing windows....i find it crazy to not pursue it.
Ive only done single story residential my whole "window washing career"...i know, spoiled. That being said...i need to go about building my arsenal of window cleaning tools and then go about building my client base to use those tools on and learn more on pricing and technique (as well as build employees...but first things first...equipment).
I only have the basics...a couple of Sorbo quick release squeegees with 12" and 18" blades..a small 4" cheap squeegee, a couple of microfiber mops, extension pole, 3 pump sprayers and a window washer bucket. And of course a ton of microfiber towels.
If I could get some suggested equipment set ups (and how many of each piece its suggested i buy) I'd truly appreciate it. I like going into things prepared and already this forum has proved to be a great resource. I'm enjoying reading and studying the threads and hope to continue to learn more.
Thank you all in advance and sorry for the lengthy post.
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Sunday, November 22, 2015
Need some help presenting a price I tend to think my prices are low but many say...
Many are saying our prices are expensive. Cost helper and home advisor and angies list all have the same generic answer saying that window cleaning is $2-7$ per pane inside/out and should include tracks and frames. Screens .50 to $5 each. This is old information I hope because we charge in that case $3-$25 per pane for inside and out depending on the size.
How do I show this prospect tomorrow that even though my prices are double or triple what he has been paying its actually a fair price( he was paying $62 for the exterior windows and he has about 60 windows and half of them require a step-ladder or pole. I know what I will say, I'm wondering if there is something other than these three outdated sites where I can get a current print out. (I really want to retain him as he is a existing client from a competitor we just bought out)
I would say I charge $6/Window int and ext, or $4 ext only (up to two panes for sliding windows) [extra-large and hard water additional; $5 and $3 for quarterly discount] if every window is single paned I will usually discount to $5/pane inside out. *Is ^^this expensive, cheap or just right?
PS
(We include screen clean with soap and water and 5 day rain guarantee plus we w-2 our employees.)
IMO The COST HELPER ESTIMATE SHOULD READ SOMETHING LIKE $1.5-$4 for exterior only price up to $12/pane for extra large windows and up to $20/pane for removing hard water deposits. We charge $3-4 per track so it should not say that all window cleaners should include the track because what if your doing the exterior only. Its definitely flawed I can not understand who gave them this information in the first place because I don't know anyone who includes windows and tracks for $2/pane that is a flat out lie or outdated.
How Much Does Window Cleaning Cost? | Angies List
Window cleaning prices - estimates and recommended window pros - Kudzu.com This one pisses me off because it says should include interior and exterior
How do I show this prospect tomorrow that even though my prices are double or triple what he has been paying its actually a fair price( he was paying $62 for the exterior windows and he has about 60 windows and half of them require a step-ladder or pole. I know what I will say, I'm wondering if there is something other than these three outdated sites where I can get a current print out. (I really want to retain him as he is a existing client from a competitor we just bought out)
I would say I charge $6/Window int and ext, or $4 ext only (up to two panes for sliding windows) [extra-large and hard water additional; $5 and $3 for quarterly discount] if every window is single paned I will usually discount to $5/pane inside out. *Is ^^this expensive, cheap or just right?
PS
(We include screen clean with soap and water and 5 day rain guarantee plus we w-2 our employees.)
IMO The COST HELPER ESTIMATE SHOULD READ SOMETHING LIKE $1.5-$4 for exterior only price up to $12/pane for extra large windows and up to $20/pane for removing hard water deposits. We charge $3-4 per track so it should not say that all window cleaners should include the track because what if your doing the exterior only. Its definitely flawed I can not understand who gave them this information in the first place because I don't know anyone who includes windows and tracks for $2/pane that is a flat out lie or outdated.
How Much Does Window Cleaning Cost? | Angies List
Window cleaning prices - estimates and recommended window pros - Kudzu.com This one pisses me off because it says should include interior and exterior
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12" of snow: Robbing Peter to pay Paul
so we literally got a foot of snow yesterday. it was 65 last wednesday, and now it's like the middle of january.
there's a thaw coming on Wednesday through Friday. we're committed to about 20 gutter jobs that still haven't been done. I've already pushed all of monday and tuesday's jobs to friday, which was already booked solid. i'm thinking of offering my team a big bonus day if they work thanksgiving, just because it will be prime gutter cleaning weather, and we'll be able to get caught up. so two point one questions:
1. do you think it's a bad look to schedule work on thanksgiving, ie. customers will think i'm a crazy money grabbing jerk who forces his team to work a holiday?
2.0 we may have decent weather in december that will comfortably allow us to get caught up. so working on thanksgiving may not be necessary. but it's a bit of a gamble, because what if this week is the last significant thaw we get this winter?
2.1 if i pay time and a half plus a bonus for working an unscheduled holiday, that will eat into my margins pretty good. is it worth risking putting off the jobs and maybe not being able to do them till spring (bad look for realz) in order to maybe be able to do them on regular time in a couple of weeks and therefore preserve my margins, or would it be smarter to just get them done no matter what and eat the additional labor cost?
i'm curious what you guys would do.
there's a thaw coming on Wednesday through Friday. we're committed to about 20 gutter jobs that still haven't been done. I've already pushed all of monday and tuesday's jobs to friday, which was already booked solid. i'm thinking of offering my team a big bonus day if they work thanksgiving, just because it will be prime gutter cleaning weather, and we'll be able to get caught up. so two point one questions:
1. do you think it's a bad look to schedule work on thanksgiving, ie. customers will think i'm a crazy money grabbing jerk who forces his team to work a holiday?
2.0 we may have decent weather in december that will comfortably allow us to get caught up. so working on thanksgiving may not be necessary. but it's a bit of a gamble, because what if this week is the last significant thaw we get this winter?
2.1 if i pay time and a half plus a bonus for working an unscheduled holiday, that will eat into my margins pretty good. is it worth risking putting off the jobs and maybe not being able to do them till spring (bad look for realz) in order to maybe be able to do them on regular time in a couple of weeks and therefore preserve my margins, or would it be smarter to just get them done no matter what and eat the additional labor cost?
i'm curious what you guys would do.
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Desperate for help starting up again.
It's been a long time since I have been on this forum. I have been on my own cleaning in NY for the past 2+ years. I built up a route of commercial and store front work. Then life happened and I had sell the route and move to Florida. Now, I am having a hard time breaking back into the business due to the Bucket Bob's charging pennies on the dollar. Further, many of the places that I have gone to say that they are already locked into year long contracts. That is not something I faced in NY. Florida is a very different animal.
I am just about at the point of being desperate for work. But, I know better than to settle for cheap stops. ANY good advice for cold calling of store front and small commercial would be greatly appreciated. I am rusty with the sales pitch at this point.
If I can't get work in the next few weeks I am going to have to hang up the squeegee and look for a real job. But, just the thought of working for someone else again makes me sick! :(
Thanks in advance for helping a brother out.
And no, the info below is not the correct contact info anymore. I am in the process of changing the websites over to the new company.
I am just about at the point of being desperate for work. But, I know better than to settle for cheap stops. ANY good advice for cold calling of store front and small commercial would be greatly appreciated. I am rusty with the sales pitch at this point.
If I can't get work in the next few weeks I am going to have to hang up the squeegee and look for a real job. But, just the thought of working for someone else again makes me sick! :(
Thanks in advance for helping a brother out.
And no, the info below is not the correct contact info anymore. I am in the process of changing the websites over to the new company.
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Condensation repair ?
Does anyone do work like this?
Sent from my SM-N920P using Window Cleaning Resource mobile app
Sent from my SM-N920P using Window Cleaning Resource mobile app
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Saturday, November 21, 2015
Cleaning twice?
Mornin everyone! I just rescheduled my appointment today. We have 35 mph winds and it was a two story. I love this forum because I did a search on "wind" and it made me more confident in my decision! Thank you all who share your knowledge! I hope I can give back when I have more experience one day.
Anyways, I did a smaller home yesterday, and tried something new. I did a quick scrub and squeegee of the windows on each side of the house when I arrived there. I used a pole and went pretty quick as some of the windows were just out of reach, and I got the a-frame out for the second go-over. Once I did that, I had a second bucket and scrubber and did my second clean. Almost no detailing was required. I loved it.
My reasoning was this:
-The windows were pretty dusty and I've been finding that as my scrubber and water get more dirty, my detail work goes up considerably. Going over the windows with my soapy solution got a lot of the dust off and kept the dirt on 1 scrubber.
AND
- It gave a chance to see what cleaning was still needed (i.e. Scraper and/or steel wool.)
I believe that it may have saved me time or, at worst, taken the same amount of time when considering the detail. I'm wondering if anyone does something similar or if there may be a better way.
Anyways, I did a smaller home yesterday, and tried something new. I did a quick scrub and squeegee of the windows on each side of the house when I arrived there. I used a pole and went pretty quick as some of the windows were just out of reach, and I got the a-frame out for the second go-over. Once I did that, I had a second bucket and scrubber and did my second clean. Almost no detailing was required. I loved it.
My reasoning was this:
-The windows were pretty dusty and I've been finding that as my scrubber and water get more dirty, my detail work goes up considerably. Going over the windows with my soapy solution got a lot of the dust off and kept the dirt on 1 scrubber.
AND
- It gave a chance to see what cleaning was still needed (i.e. Scraper and/or steel wool.)
I believe that it may have saved me time or, at worst, taken the same amount of time when considering the detail. I'm wondering if anyone does something similar or if there may be a better way.
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