So I have this customer who is preparing her house to go up for sale. Last week I was there and I could only do the outside windows because she was having the floors done.
I went back to finish the inside windows 4 days later and they were trashed! (the outsides). The only thing that happened is we had a small thunderstorm.
We have had a very cool spring and pollen has not even started… I was blown away. The windows looked at least as bad as they did before I did them 4 days prior.
I was amazed and now I can’t ethically use the “rain does not dirty windows” theory on people because it may.
Maybe it was a fluke, who knows. Pretty weird
I don’t think I have come back to a job that soon after a rain, maybe it happens more than I know :eek:
Hey Paul i dont use the rain thing anymore because of the same reason. Had a huge job and was only able to finish the exterior, came back 2 days later because of rain and the windows were trashed. Busted out the WFP and redid a bunch of windows. I dont know if it was a fluke either, but i will not use that rain doesnt excuse either. Id hate to promise that to a customer and have them be bummed on me when the rain cleared. Now my commercial accounts on the other hand, ill still work even in the pouring rain.
I don’t think the rain water itself can mess the windows up but if there is a lot of loose debris (dust, dirt, pollen, etc.) above the windows and you get wind and rain then the debris can transfer to the clean glass. Maybe a heavy rain will wash the dirt completely off of the house whereas a small storm will just move the dirt from the house down onto the windows.
I never mention a rain guarantee. It’s not my fault that the customer did not clean (power wash) his house before having his/her windows cleaned.
I try to nip it in the bud by offering power washing and gutter cleaning services and let the potential customer know that this needs to be done before window cleaning.
If they forgo the power washing and/or gutter cleaning then I cannot take responsibility for the debris from their house running down onto their windows during a rain storm. That’s simply not my fault and I’m not getting paid to clean the windows twice.
I think the problem lies in high winds. I was wfping a house today and most of the way thru high winds kicked in and on a few that hadn’t dried completely their was spotting. Strange thing is I didn’t notice alot of stuff floating around.
I tell all of my customers about our 7 Day Rain Guarantee. In fact, it is one of my best selling persuasion techniques. I have never been called back on it for a house. I have been offering it for over 3 years now. I have been called back by one particular storefront, but he is just that kind of customer.
If I were in this same scenario, and I thought that the mucked up windows were due to the rain, and if I thought that the rain caused the loose dirt on the exterior of the home to wash down to the windows, I would break my back trying to up-sell a house wash. I’d use the rain, that messed up my previous work, and therefore shows a problem that a customer has, as a perfect example of how we can make the customers home that much nicer by offering a solution to their problem. As for the rain guarantee, well, I’d just chalk that up to having a huge chance to gain a customer for life, and possibly multiple referrals. Even if I didn’t up sell them on gutters or house washing, it wouldn’t take nearly as long to touch-up the exteriors.
I can’t help but think how my customers would call their friends and tell them what kind of customer service my business offers if I were in the same boat.
I had the same thing happen to me like 3 months ago,
My clients sprinklers did not hit the windows, but when the sprinklers were on the wind carried the hard water to the glass, plus the window frames were oxidized(Aluminum Frames)
Wind is normally the issue down here. We don’t get much rain so when it does I worry about the wind after. 1-2 feet between drops and a little breeze after brings up the sand and dust.
I’ve noticed the same thing here. Has happened 2 times after I clean the screens I go back around to make sure there are no spots. Not sure but I think it is the wind as well.
