I just did the first clean in a LONG TIME on my first store EVER that was 17 panes of glass. I did them inside and out. I offered to do it for $45 and 5 hours later with no breaks and some spots that were just not removable I left feeling like a whipped pup.
There were what looked like streaks of water that had run down the window and i tried multiple times from both sides to remove them but somehow it didn’t even lighten up. I have no idea what it couldve been because it looked like just a single pane plate glass window. I left what looked like streaks on some of the windows but I went back after I finished the major clean up and tried redoing them where I saw the streaks but I couldnt get them to come off or lighten up, so i dont know what was up???
It was my very first job ever and I wanted to do it PERFECTLY but I just couldn’t. Two things went wrong, one, there was so much crap to move for every window and some of it was real heavy and the second thing was I didnt have a handle that allowed me to angle my squeegee so some of the difficult windows inside over some permanent shelving that i had to reach in from the side couldn’t get cleaned well because after I washed them I couldnt squeegee. So I just bought a flat mr clean type mop with a microfiber mop head on it and windexed the mop head and scrubbed the window without squeegeeing it. I dont know if that is some sort of window cleaning sacrilege but I did it and I haven’t heard back from the manager or the DM yet of the store.
It looked like a million bucks compared to what it was but it was not perfect by any means. Hopefully I can look back at this and laugh one day when i realize I had to spend $9 of the $45 I made from the job at the actual store I was cleaning and spent 5 hours there. I think it may have been a good learning experience and Now I know to only bid the outside of windows and if I do bid insides bid WAY higher and specify they have to move all their stuff.
He wants me to do this and 8 other stores on a monthly basis and I don’t know how I should approach him about this nightmare that is totally not worth $45 in/out, any suggestions? (This store and one other are the only ones like this the rest I know are easy but these two in particular are crazy hard.)
Windex? I won’t even go there. Instead use Sprayway foam. Will solve all your problems. Just rig up something to hold a huck or microfiber, spray on fabric and clean. Drys by itself, no streaks. Also look into Unger indoor pads, etc. Same principal. You should find related posts about both. Keep up the good work.
Some first jobs or even 51st jobs can be nightmares. If a window is uncleanable, mark it as such on the quote; If equipment is in front of a window, no one is likely looking through it anyway. If it is partially covered and dirty enough to standout, enlist the assistance of someone working there to help move the heavy equipment. No shame in that. If it is just equipment you can move on your own, charge for that - let the Manager know you are going to charge for that. He can decide to have staff already being paid to move it, or pay you. Extra labor is not free. Invest in an Unger inside cleaning system when you get a chance. Problem areas like that will be easier and it makes you look more professional. 5 hours for 17 windows will be a distant memory as your skills get better. The unexpected time involved is why you charge for all of that moving of furniture, equipment, and obstacles. The question you have to ask yourself is - Would you have charge less if you didn’t need to move a thing and access was just - walk up, scrub, squeegee, next?
Onward and upward brother.
Jack you are a life saver! I found the indoor kit on amazon prime shipped to me by Monday for $71! This was a no brainer. I am wondering if I should get that spray away foam and spray it on the microfiber pads that come with that kit or should I get something else to put in that belt spray bottle that comes with the kit?
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All quotes should have the disclaimer “where accessible.”
There were what looked like streaks of water that had run down the window and i tried multiple times from both sides to remove them but somehow it didn’t even lighten up. I have no idea what it couldve been because it looked like just a single pane plate glass window. I left what looked like streaks on some of the windows but I went back after I finished the major clean up and tried redoing them where I saw the streaks but I couldnt get them to come off or lighten up, so i dont know what was up???
Are you sue these were single panes and that you didn’t just have water runs between panes? I’ve never seen single pane commercial glass, but it might be possible.
If there are hard water deposits, then that’s extra.
Two things went wrong, one, there was so much crap to move for every window and some of it was real heavy
Remember that you are a window cleaner, not a furniture mover. This is also important to remember inside houses. Don’t offer to move that baby grand unless you’re willing to buy a baby grand.
second thing was I didnt have a handle that allowed me to angle my squeegee so some of the difficult windows inside over some permanent shelving that i had to reach in from the side couldn’t get cleaned well because after I washed them I couldnt squeegee.
Sounds like it’s not accessible.
So I just bought a flat mr clean type mop with a microfiber mop head on it and windexed the mop head and scrubbed the window without squeegeeing it. I dont know if that is some sort of window cleaning sacrilege but I did it and I haven’t heard back from the manager or the DM yet of the store.
Windex is sacrilege. It leaves a mess. For unger pads use Invisible Glass or sprayaway.
It looked like a million bucks compared to what it was but it was not perfect by any means.
Do what you can in the appropriate time and make sure the customer is happy. You could allow yourself an hour for $45, but not 5 hours.
Now I know to only bid the outside of windows and if I do bid insides bid WAY higher and specify they have to move all their stuff.
Where Accessible.
He wants me to do this and 8 other stores on a monthly basis and I don’t know how I should approach him about this nightmare that is totally not worth $45 in/out, any suggestions? (This store and one other are the only ones like this the rest I know are easy but these two in particular are crazy hard.)
$45 inside and out where accessible.
With that being your first time on this filthy job combined with going back monthly and what you’ve learned, you may be able to cut it down drastically so as to make it worth it. I’d personally give it a few more months. In the meantime you will likely get some more experience on other jobs.
Yeah I think I will be Killin it with that indoor kit I just ordered because that’s what took me so long and caused the most grief. The outsides hadn’t been done since last year except someone came out and power washed them they said.
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careful with the unger indoor kit love. they are great for frequently maintained glass. but for first time cleans or heavy soiling, they won’t work. just giving you a heads up rather than have you learn by trial and error. having that kit today would have helped you, but you don’t want to get into a habit of expecting a system like that to be a heavy-use tool. it’s more of a specialty tool for difficult access skylights, mirrors, last-resort type stuff.
on another note- just remember that every time you fail you have two choices:
1)consider it a “fail” and be depressed about it, second guessing your decision to even make the attempt in the first place. this course will surely lead to an early exit from your dream business, and will likely repeat itself in every other attempt you make at business. this is where regular people end up. and that’s why they usually just settle for working for someone else forever.
2)consider it an “investment”. an investment in knowledge and experience. think of it like a long-term savings account. sure, you didn’t get to enjoy the dividends today, but down the road that investment will pay off 100 fold if you just stick with it. this is how most successful business owners have to learn to think. there are so many quotes from legendary entrepreneurs about failure- and they are always positive. failure is an asset if you allow it to be.
i’ve been in business for myself for a long time, almost half my life. and to this day, i still have frequent “fails”. thinking about those poor decisions, poor executions or dropped balls as learning moments really helps me fight through the discouragement and keep going. someone wise helped me see it that way a long time ago, or i would have quit pretty early on.
Don’t stress about the money part ($45 for 5hrs). Focus on your technique and tools. Windows and jobs that are hard to deal with now
will become easier to handle as time moves forward.
Has Caleb said the indoor kit is part of your tool arsenal it will not handle every job, it will come in handy at certain times.
Good luck out there. You will learn a great deal here on the forum, the key to this forum is implementing what you learn here into your daily
activity’s.
Someone powerwashed them? I wonder if that has something to do with your non-removable water runs. Like dried bleach or some other chem. Nobody is getting that off for $45.
Also, 5 hours and an impromptu tool purchase are signs of the kind of dedication to customer service that you’ll need to make your business succeed. So you should feel good about that.
[MENTION=40709]ace22286[/MENTION]…This thread took me back to my very first job, and it ended horribly. It was a large (6,000 sq ft) home that needed windows cleaned inside and out. I got about 2-3 hrs in and realized that I wouldn’t be able to reach a good portion of the windows. My ladders weren’t tall enough and the house was on a slope (no leg levelers either). The homeowner had left for the day and no one was there to explain my dilemma. I freaked out, packed everything up and left. I felt so discouraged and defeated leaving there. I called and left them a message (then later spoke to them over the phone) and also mailed a hand written apology. Rightfully so, they were pissed. They were also expecting people to start arriving at 4pm for a party they were having.
When I originally did the estimate I was only thinking about how much money I was going to make and not how I was going to complete the job. It’s still embarrassing to think about, but 5 yrs later I’m still in business. I learned a lot that day…my limitations, proper equipment needed, customer service and humility to name a few. There will be a lot of “firsts” and tough lessons, but that’s just part of running your own business. Just keep plugging away and reading up on this forum. There’s so much knowledge, experience and encouragement on here. I wish I knew about this site when I first started. I was running around blind trying to figure things out by myself. Ha! Good luck to you.
I started last year, and bought a bucket, dawn, mop, and 14" squeegee. I watched YouTube videos on how to straight pull and fan. The place I bought my equipment from said there was an old-timer looking for help, and did work with him for 4 months as an apprentice at $15/hr. Then combined that work with a reputable residential focused company that trained me well.
I’m now about 9 months in, and have a good number of accounts on my own and sub for a good friend when I need work.
Some windows just can’t be done. That’s quite rare though. If I can get a mop in there, one of my poles, from 3ft to 15ft will get in there with a squeegee. There’s an attachment for that’s like an alligator clamp you can buy for detailing. Use a blue huck towel.
Hope this helps. I learned years worth of experience in months starting this way. This site has been invaluable as well.
I was smiling while reading this because I think we can all relate to jobs like this getting started. When I was first starting out I bid an Auto Zone for $35 for in/out (It should have been more like $100). The manager was so thrilled with the low quote he passed it on to his district manager, and we got 10 of them monthly. As soon as i did the first two windows I realized I had way underbid it. I did the route 2 times and then raised the price and they accepted the high prices because they knew we were doing good work and they liked us. Regardless, it was a great learning experience. Also, we went way above and beyond for what they were paying (scraping tape and old stickers off) , don’t feel bad charging extra for these services, most reasonable people understand that for blading and water stain removal, they will need to pay more than for a regular clean. If they don’t understand this, you don’t want them as a customer.
As far as things being in the way on the insides: That is another thing customers will understand. They will not expect for you to move a giant cooler covering the whole window. If I am in a situation like that, I’ll just tell the customer I could not get to it, and that I don’t feel comfortable moving the object by myself. Usually, they will either help you move it, move it themselves, or say, “Don’t worry about it” A lot of times I just use a short pole and wash it with the mop, and if there is a part I can’t get the angle to squeegee, I’ll just dry it with a few towels.
Do you think you are going to take the other stores? If I were starting out, I’d probably give them a shot one or two times, and worst case, you have to tell the customer you will need to raise the price if he would like you to continue doing them.
I ended up buying the proper equipment. I got an indoor cleaning system from unger so that I didn’t have to wash them again with my strip washer and squeegee on the inside of the store. I also bought unger ergotec ninja t-bar and a Contour pro+ handle which both of these allow for pivoting whereas the equipment I started with was fixed in place and all I could do was pull straight down and so you could forget about getting into an area where I needed to angle my pole. I also bought some pump sprayers instead of filling a bucket with water and solution.
The first time through all the stores on average it took me an hour and 10 minutes per store for $25 a store but once I got all the right equipment on my second run through I was knocking them out in 35 minutes, that was also because I knew exactly what I was gonna run into at each store and this time I had a few employees that were helpful in moving stuff, plus I didn’t take down their signage like the first time through. The one store that took me 5 hours the first time took me 2 hours this time but it’s a real pain and was the only store that had gotten just as dirty on the outside as it was my first time through. I’m very happy with the account now and can’t wait to go back now that I’m in a groove and have gotten a lot more practice over the past couple months! I swear by that unger indoor system to maintain the insides after an initial deep clean. It saves so much time and there are never any streaks to worry about with my spray.
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