window cleaners (merged threads)

The_Window_Cleaner

Dora_the_Explorer wrote:

Quite a blanket statement - charges are very much dependant on location, like house prices.
If my chap attempted to charge £1 a window he'd be out of business and on benefits and struggling to to buy food for his kids, pay his mortgage etc.
He's insured, employs two other chaps ( all non-smoking, non-cap wearing and with a logo'd company uniform) and calls every other week.
So I'm very happy with my 'proper Cleaning Company'.

Have you seen a copy of his EMPLOYERS and PUBLIC liabilty Insurance?

Employers liability insurance is virtually non-existant in our trade but the one or two companies that do supply cover are far from cheap.

This forces a lot of companies to "SUB-CONTRACT" the work out to other window cleaners, whom are probably in the eyes of the law should actually be classed as "EMPLOYEES".

GIBBO UK has stated the facts to you all, take heid.

BY the way in Scotland all window cleaners must be licensed with the local authority and have a criminal records check carried out on them, if they do have insurance but do not hold a valid license and have an accident on your property, then the insurance will not pay out on any claims.

windowstuart

smartiepants wrote:

£10 per month for 11 very large windows 2 small windows and 1 huge conservatory, rural location, you may think this is cheap, and yes I agree, but they do a very poor job, only the glass gets cleaned, the ledges are left with dirty puddles and to be honest, I would be prepared to pay quite a bit more for a decent job where the ledges are at least wiped over, but window cleaners are rare where I live, In fact I am going to look in Yellow pages to try and find someone decent, this has made my mind up. Thanks for that everyone. xxxxx

silly question...ever thoght of asking them to give the sills a wipe afterward?! i only used to do them when asked to. i now use a pole system with brushes, so the frames are cleaned at the same time as the glass:j

windowstuart

smartiepants wrote:

Dukebof69
I think the term proper is probably being used instead of good quality, it certainly was in my posting above, when I said I was going to try and find a "decent" w/c what I actually meant was someone who was good at thier job, not like the people who "clean" my windows, they really do make a lousy job, so therefore even though they are cheap, and I agreed that they were, they are not worth the lousy job they do, its like any profession you get some people who are good at thier job and some that aren't so good, the price is actually relative, the people who are not so good at thier job will probably be sacked and replaced with someone who can do a decent job for a decent salary. I hope that this explains my position better.

when you say decent you obviously mean one that does the job properly...all window cleaners should be using water fed pole systems now. any one using a ladder without considering all alternatives these days is liable to prosecution! one chap was fined £6500 for using ladders (no accident, he was just vaught using ladders) without considering the alternatives! water fed pole cleaners are the only form of window cleaning tools alllowed to be used!

the HSE website gives very stringent regulations as to the use of ladders, stating that `wherever is reasonably practicable, an alternative to ladders must be used'. so unless you want scaffolding erected around your property, you should be happy to have your window cleaner invest his time and money in such a device. all my customers agree that it is a far superior method of cleaning windows compared to the old method of mop and bucket. i have found that many customers scrutinise the cleaning more now, because they are interested in the effects of the window cleaning tools.

put it this way...you look THROUGH the glass, not AT it!! `spotting' on the glass is very rare and only noticeable when looked at closely. its down to bad rinsing, or poor water quality. the water must be 100% purified to be effective. when it is, damn is it good!!!

Nile

I didn't know that, so thanks for sharing the information with us windowstuart.

The window cleaner in my area is still using a ladder. I can't comment on his prices because we do our own windows..............ahem, cough, using ladders.:o

sooz

well, i'm still trying to find someone to clean 2 first floor windows for me [others not my mine, and the rest of the building don't want to have theirs done]....just got a quote in today, and am still trying to get over the shock of it - £50 plus vat!!

smartiepants

Thanks Windowsstuart for your input, yes my window cleaners are still using ladders. I suspect, but don't know, that they are not declaring thier income to the appropriate authorities, to be honest I would much rather pay a little more, get a decent job done and one which is not breaking any laws, I don't know anything of the water fed pole system that you talk about, other than what has been mentioned on this thread. As stated before, the price is relative to the job done.

windowstuart

sooz wrote:

well, i'm still trying to find someone to clean 2 first floor windows for me [others not my mine, and the rest of the building don't want to have theirs done]....just got a quote in today, and am still trying to get over the shock of it - £50 plus vat!!

oooooooohhhhhhhhh!!!! thats painful! don't suppose they gold plate the frames for you too? the `plus vat' says it all. the vat freshhold is about 50K per year, so unless they're employing a couple of guys (probably gold plated too) i think they're a little steep! i know i said in a previous comment i've invested heavily in WFP system, but that doesn't constitute a reason for extortion!if its on their regular route, it should only cost a couple of quid for 2 windows. I have a minmum charge of £4.00 for a 1st floor flat...not quite £50!!!

you'll probably find they gave you the quote to keep you happy, but they don't need the work! supply and demand seems to be in favour of us window cleaners at the moment i'm afraid. current regulations say all 1st floor and above windows should all have the ability to turn in on themselves. (new houses and developments/replacement windows). if it is recently built/developed, could you not do them yourself?

The_Shiner

windowstuart wrote:

when you say decent you obviously mean one that does the job properly...all window cleaners should be using water fed pole systems now. any one using a ladder without considering all alternatives these days is liable to prosecution! one chap was fined £6500 for using ladders (no accident, he was just vaught using ladders) without considering the alternatives! water fed pole cleaners are the only form of window cleaning tools alllowed to be used!

the HSE website gives very stringent regulations as to the use of ladders, stating that `wherever is reasonably practicable, an alternative to ladders must be used'. so unless you want scaffolding erected around your property, you should be happy to have your window cleaner invest his time and money in such a device. all my customers agree that it is a far superior method of cleaning windows compared to the old method of mop and bucket. i have found that many customers scrutinise the cleaning more now, because they are interested in the effects of the window cleaning tools.

put it this way...you look THROUGH the glass, not AT it!! `spotting' on the glass is very rare and only noticeable when looked at closely. its down to bad rinsing, or poor water quality. the water must be 100% purified to be effective. when it is, damn is it good!!!

Stuart. I haven't been able to verify it but apparently the HSE have given the window cleaning industry until April 2007 to comply with the law change of April 2005. The exception to this are new startups who have to go straight in with the pole.

The_Window_Cleaning_Man

Let’s turn this post on its head?

Firstly this forum is about money saving? And the great British public has a bargain hunt mentality which is evident on this forum and the general public, OK yes that is not a problem, but the public most wake up and smell the coffee? Window Cleaning is a service industry and NOT the retail industry where they mark up raw goods to the tune of 50 to 100%, a service industry like Window Cleaning as fixed cost like fuel (on the rise all the time) insurance very hard to get as window cleaners are class as a very high risk http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=130290

Secondly, let me give anyone on here some good advice about employing a window.

Window cleaning in the UK is going through big changes, WHY? In April of last year we had new working at height regulations written into UK law, if you employ a window cleaner and you permitted him to work on your property and god for bid something happen, this will throw up a lot of legal issues? Only this year we have lost 3 window cleaners (god rest there souls) so anyone employing a window cleaner, get this bargain hunting mentality out of our industry because not only is it killing are industry but also us window cleaners

Dukebof69

hmmm, food for thought...