This is exactly why I’ll only do it in obscure places where nobody’s looking or noticing. It’s not like I’d skip the most important window on the job. I’ve learned to prioritize to keep price down and margins up. Lol
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Anybody ever give a window at an indoor mall a hair cut. Same thing. Looks like someone is cheating the customer because they’re to lazy to clean the whole window. It is what it is. 
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Not sure if I understand your post?
Did you just say you only cheat a customer when you’re absolutely sure you’ll get away with it? That’s how it sounds. 
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The difference being that a water fed pole set up is a proven window cleaning method, dry wiping a window is not.
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Only thing is, I don’t consider it cheating. I consider it prioritizing.
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Wow, I’m glad I started this thread. I didn’t expect that something so simple could be viewed so negatively, so that does give me something to think about.
I do want to say this, and not beat a dead horse. I’m also not married to the method. However, think about this: Sometimes steel wool is necessary to get a window clean. Sometimes a razor is necessary to get a window clean. Sometimes a magic eraser is necessary to get a window clean. Sometimes a scrub pad is necessary to get the window clean. But you will readily skip any of those methods if they are not necessary and you still get the window clean. So, sometimes (read usually) water is necessary to get a window clean. But if it’s not, then why use it?
I was about to say that as long as the customer sees me wetting windows and squeegeeing, then I think there should be no issue with the windows that I’m dusting and essentially polishing. But, honestly, if I could do the outsides dry as well and the result was still perfectly clear windows, I just don’t see how the customer could feel cheated. They are paying me to clean their windows. They are not paying me to mop and squeegee. If I mop and squeegee and the windows still aren’t clean, I’m fired. If I dry mop and the windows are clean, they should be happy.
Either way, we are speculating on customer perception, and maybe you are right. Perhaps, customers just think mop and squeegee and need to see that to feel satisfied. Realistically, the only way to know is field-testing. Otherwise, we are all just guessing based on what we imagine a customer thinks. Taking my argument ad absurdum, you are also essentially saying that if I somehow invented a window cleaning laser that allowed me to clean the window perfectly just by pointing at it, that the customer would be unhappy with their perfectly clean windows because they didn’t like how I got the result they are paying me for. By that same reasoning, I should be upset with my mechanic for using air tools rather than unscrewing every bolt by hand. I really don’t care. Is the car fixed? Good. Did you do it in an hour instead of four? Even better. I got my car back quicker. Now let me get out of my customer’s way quicker by not over-cleaning their windows.
See what happens when I get stuck at home doing accounting on a rainy day? I’m grumpy and have too much time to argue stuff on the forum. 
Anyway, thanks everyone for all your feedback. I honestly do appreciate the counter-arguments because they’ve broadened my viewpoint on what I thought was a harmless idea. 
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What the customer thinks is the only thing that matters. If it looks like cheating it’s cheating to them. 
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I agree, perception is reality. Customers are going to assume it isn’t “really” clean until you’ve mopped and squeegeed it. Your going through 80% of the motions already if you have the fliq pad on a pole already, why risk 100% of that customers continued business buy saving 20% of effort? For 20% of only a few windows at most to boot.
Second thought you keep doing that, I can use more storefront.
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Depends on how you present it to the customers in the beginning. Are you pricing to clean every window? Then clean every window. Are you pricing them to maintain? Then do what is necessary to keep them clean.
I just took over a job from the local franchise. I had left a card and quote, not knowing who currently looked after them. Apparently, my bid was significantly lower. After bidding, I saw the franchise employee come and do the windows a couple of times. When I quoted them, I explained that they had 80 windows, but majority are high up and covered by blinds. I would maintain them as necessary, but not every time to keep the price reasonable. No problem for them. When I did the job first time, I did everything to make sure we started off right. I found to my surprise, that the franchise guy wasn’t cleaning but half of them - fly poop, dust on ledges was all there.
So, they were charging full fare and only doing a shoddy maintenance job. Had they explained and and priced accordingly, they might not have lost the job.
Ironic thing is that it still only took an hour and half to do the whole thing by myself. They were absolutely killing the customer on price vs their work.
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My experience exactly. Although we may skip a pane here or there our windows keep a better appearance than most cleaners. I consider myself one of the better cleaners in my area yet I will skip a window here and there if the opportunity presents itself.
Keep in mind, aside from today being a total washout, I clean glass all day every day. If I skip 3-4 windows out of a day of maybe 400-500 is it really such a large number? We’re talking less than 1%. I’ll admit it. I’ll skip one here and there. Lol.
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That’s why they call it maintance cleaning
Shave , touch up insides always.
Just keep them clean !!!
Outsides always top to bottom.
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Always, I’ve been doing this 20 years. I think I know when a window can An can’t be shaved.
My weeklies that I do in/out. Get shaved 2x An tip to bottom 2 x. On the inside.
Been doing that way since I started. Every time I’m done they look just as good as each An every time I’m done.
Call it what ya want don’t bother me. 
I call it maintance cleaning. Maintaining the windows to look clean.
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Same. I can’t think of any outside windows that I’ve ever been able to skip. They need it every time. Insides - different story.
Besides that, if I have a customer that itemizes every window that I do, they will likely nit pick themselves out of my route.
At the end of the day, it’s about trust. Do they trust me, as a professional to clean their windows and keep them clean? I’ve met very few micro managers that are happy in life.
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Sounds like they know all about it. It’s an agreement. You’re not going through a mall hitting the bottom half of all your clients windows before they open because you can get away with it.
What you’re doing doesn’t sound sketchy at all
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I think we all do.
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why not use the Unger indoor kit with distilled water and alcohol
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Simply cause that’s a tool I haven’t yet explored…but I’m interested. Worth it?
I like it better than the stingray for sure. We use it on a weekly clean and twice a month clean. It can be attached to a WFP as well.
Daniel,
it is so worth it. It definitely increases your productivity. This what we all strive for. Less time on the job more money we make per hour. It does a fine job. Check out the unger kit.
Blessings,
Tom
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Thanks for the tip, Tom. Will definitely investigate!
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