I just received a voicemail from a FISH window cleaning business in Cincinnati, Ohio about a possible job opportunity. (I assume they got my contact info from a Ziprecruiter account that I opened to apply for a different window cleaning job in the Cincinnati area)
A brief look on here seems to tell me that FISH window is kinda fishy, but my real question is whether or not you think this is something even worth pursuing or if I should stay away from FISH altogether. It can’t be always all bad, can it?
I worked for my local fish while I got my own thing going. I was an experienced window cleaner and was the only one there who knew how to clean windows properly. So they would send others to work with me so I could train them. I put a stop to that right away because when working with another person the 30% commission was cut in half and I was doing most of the work. Another thing I did was pick and choose jobs. They had so many storefronts that were underbid some would take an hour plus to clean for like $45 and then I get 30%. The ones that were bid properly I could make $30-$35 and hour. There residential was priced pretty good so I liked doing those. I started out full time then after a couple months went to 2 days a week and then spring rolled around went on my own 100%.
Okay, nice. You have no idea how helpful and insightful this is. I’ll only be able to work 2-3 afternoons a week, depending on what my school schedule looks like and what agreement I might come to with my prospective employer, so it’s encouraging to hear someone else who was working pretty light with themat one point (“them” being one franchise), which sounds like it wouldn’t be a problem with this location either. Thank you so much for the heads up and advice on what to look for and be aware of!
One more question (to you or anyone else who might see this) that I have is what the standards for their equipment is. Does it vary location to location? Or is their equipment model pretty much set across the board? (I have yet to search this out, but I’ll pose the question here in case anyone is willing to give input)
They had pretty standard equipment and if I wanted something they would get it for me. The owners of this particular franchise were also amway distributers
and they used there soap it was awful. I had to buy my own dawn. I think they used pulex and they got me ettore.
Honestly, I wouldn’t. FISH might be great for someone who is trying to learn how to do Window Cleaning and getting into the business. However, I’ve seen many reviews of employees that have worked for them, and many of them were VERY negative. Complaints about the pay, the amount of work expected, and the list goes on.
You’d be better off trying to see what you can do on your own there.
The franchise I worked at no one knew how to clean windows. Not the owner not the sales person not the techs. My experience was unless you already know what your doing you will get no help in learning the trade. The owner here went to a trade show to buy a sub shop franchise and ended up buying into Fish.
I worked for Fish for 2 months in 2005 before I went out on my own. The owner of that particular franchise was a super nice guy, but I do think he realized that his franchise wasn’t going to last. The money just wasn’t there, and the pay was a pittance. I do know that there have been at least 3 other attempts to re-open Fish in that same town.
That being said, it really depends on the franchise. Some guys know how to run their franchise like a finely tuned machine. Others, not so much. Some just open up in bad markets.
I do know that one of my best managers was a Director of Operations at a local Fishery before he came to us. 3 years on the job, and in one of the top positions there, and he was making $14 an hour.
I’ve had a half dozen guys come from that franchise who didn’t believe that I was actually starting them at $17 an hour until they got their first check. They were making $12 for essentially the same position.
Take that information however you like, and I’m sure it varies by franchise.
We don’t compete with national franchises. Yes, we have Genies and Fishies in our immediate area, but its very rare that we see or hear about them. We have 5 Fishes (used to be 7) and 2 Genies within a 25 mile radius of my house.
Cool cool. Haha. Depending on what this franchise might do for soap, if I have to buy my own I’ll be fine with that 'cause I’ll have dishes to wash. : P
Mmm. That, unfortunately, doesn’t surprise me, but so far the things I’ve heard from this franchise (which hasn’t been much) make it sound like it would work for part time. Being completely honest, it’s not my first choice as far as window washing goes, but, as of now, I’d choose this possible opportunity over working retail. I’ll only be in the area for 9 months, which would mean I’d pretty much be a bucket bob if I tried to go it alone. Which, the thought of doing something on my own did cross my mind and come up in conversation with my current boss, but I honestly don’t know where to start.
I’m planning on calling the owner in the next day or two to clarify details and get some additional information, and depending on how that goes, I might start doing some reading on legally washing windows on my own for that 9 months. I’m just not sure if trying to do that would be worth it.
Lord Willing, hopefully I wouldn’t give any of the clients I would wash for (if I were to wash at this FISH franchise) any reason to call about problems. : ) But, thanks for this and giving me more to be aware of.
Thank you so much for this and sharing some insight.
If I was looking for a career (or, at the very least, long-term work) washing windows, I’d definitely start my own business. But, since I’m only going to be able to work part time, I’m pretty sure I’d be happy with this FISH job if it had the better aspects down pat. I’m definitely going to have to be a little more intentional with finding out what it looks like as a whole.
And while money isn’t everything, that’s definitely something I’ll be looking at carefully. I’ve been getting paid, as Dave Ramsey might say, “better than I deserve” washing windows here. I’ll definitely be taking that information. : )
Wow. That’s a lot. And is also a reminder that business in a bit city is going to be waaaay different than small town Sodak. Private ownership definitely rocks. ; )
I think I could have learned a good deal by working for another company before getting into this business. The skill set comes with practice but the business side has been the most difficult for me to undertake. It is a completely different discipline.
I worked for a midwest FISH for 7 years. Great experience. I went from loving it, to hating it, to loving it.
I would expect most FISH franchises to have solid and reliable ownership. As far as I know they invest a significant amount of money to begin with. And I would imagine FISH does not give out franchises willy-nilly.
its the model of most fish franchises that most are referring to
they (FISH corp) dont want the owner to have window cleaning skills they want them to be a manager
cool,
but fast food style snippet training videos aren’t going to prepare a newbie for what’s really out there to deal with
so i think the biggest thing heard is the lack of education and training and no one to look to since the franchise owner doesn’t even know (heard over and over like a broken record from so many former employees experiences)
i get it, but it’s not like plumbing or electrical where someone ALREADY has an education and cetifications etc that someone can hire. even if apprentices are hired SOMEONE has a license and knows what they’re doing to effectively train the apprentice. unlike window cleaning which does not have a certified and experienced labor pool to hire from like the trades do
Mmm. That really resonates with me. I don’t plan on having window washing as a career, but more business experience is definitely something I’d be grateful to have. : )
That’s definitely something I’m going to be looking for when I go for an interview. Not to say I’m a pro, but I do have at least some experience, and being aware of the experience of the staff at this particular franchise isn’t probably something that I would’ve even thought to think of. It would seem like a given.
