"Cold As Ice"

Wow. This cold is serious. My crew has tried to convince me to move the business to a warmer climate, but that is a rather extreme way to respond to the cold.
So do we clean windows in the cold? The answer in short is, sure. We can clean into the low 20s. Well, we can do that if there is no wind. Warm water and gloves for our hands are a good start, then we add a little something to the water to keep it from freezing on the windows
So don't worry. We will bundle up with t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, and hoodies (with the Hardwick Window Cleaning logo on them). Of course, if you want to serve some coffee or hot chocolate to warm us up while we clean your windows . . . (smile).

2010 Athens Banner Herald Reader’s Awards

Congratulations to all of our business clients who were chosen for the 2010 Athens Banner Herald Reader’s Awards:

Trappeze – beer selection

Last Resort – atmosphere

Last Resort – Sunday brunch

Hugh Acheson, 5 & 10 – chef

5 & 10 – upscale dining

Earthfare – healthy eating

Earthfare – vegetarian food

Earthfare – Five Points shop

Earthfare – health food store

DePalma’s Italian Café – Italian food

Hodgson’s Pharmacy – ice cream shop

Taqueria La Parilla – Mexican food

Tires Plus Total Car Care – lube, oil and filter shop

Verizon Wireless – cellular phone service

George Gibson’s Men’s Wear – menswear store

Masada Leather and Outdoor – shoe store

 

I wonder how a child sees my business . . .

My kids tend to get very excited about my job. I guess they are feeding off of the energy I get from what I do. Sometimes I am intrigued by the ways they show this excitement.

My son has a bit of an artistic - or creative - or expressive - side. I came home one day last summer and was presented with this creation by my fourth grade son.

Allow me to explain the intricacies you see above. The roof is made of shingles from a dollhouse my wife had as a child - or maybe they were some of the new ones we got to replace a few of her busted shingles. The door is made of popsicle sticks. Now, in order to understand the picture as the artist intended it you have to view it one side at a time. Imagine the picture divided in half from the top to the bottom in the middle of the door. The right hand side, as described on the post-it note is "other co.s" or other companies. The left is Hardwick Window Cleaning (the H is made of yarn or a pipe cleaner taped to the post-it).

On the right we see that the "other co.s" have broken a window (symbolized by the jagged lines). The quote says "Sorry, we have to leave." The company broke a window and is now abandoning the job site. Yuo can see a very unhappy home owner in the top right window.

On the left side, the Hardwick Window Cleaning side, the quote says "Your windows will stand out." Notice the left top window. My son made this window "stand out" about half an inch from the surface of the paper. Not really sure whose legs those are dangling, but you have a 3D window, so why not some legs sticking out?
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My first grade daughter in May or June of this year drew me this beauty.

This home or business has dirty windows, no; make that filthy, black windows. The little girl with pig tails and a squeegee in her hand is helping her daddy clean the windows. She informed me that this is a self-portrait. She is standing in the basket of a boom lift like the one she saw when we cleaned the windows of a couple very large office buildings off of Hwy 316 in Athens by using an 80 foot boom lift.

The little yellow bird reminds me of how happy my little girl is all of the time. She has lots of hugs and kisses for her daddy.

"I want to see myself"

Short blog post today.

Each month we clean the windows at a men's clothing store in Athens. One of the managers loves to see me come in and always says, "Hey. I want to see myself in those windows." I love that. I assure her that indeed she will be able to see herself in the windows is just a few minutes when I finish.

CJ&L reaction to my blog post

A few months ago I posted a story about a local realtor who found room "at the top", even in a crowded marketplace. The realtor is Ceci Churchwell with Chastain, Jenkins and Leathers. Read CJ&L's reaction to my post below.

"Ceci Churchwell is a top agent in our office, and we are so thrilled to have her as part of our team. Read the blog below written by one of her clients, Steve Hardwick with Hardwick Window Cleaning Services (who we also think does a great job and is at the top of his field as well!). You can contact Ceci at 706-247-2682 or 706-559-4520 or ceci@cjandl.com."

Here's the link to my original blog post. http://hardwickwindowcleaning.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-there-room-in-your-market-there-is.html

Check out http://cjandl.wordpress.com/ for CJ&L's blog and poke around a bit.

Beautiful building, beautiful couple, but . . .

This afternoon the love of my life and I attended a wedding in Athens, GA. The location was a chapel, rather than a church, and it was beautiful. Well, let me be a little more clear, the wedding ceremony was beautiful, and so was the bride, but if I may be so bold, I am referring to the building itself. The building was created from wood and stone native to Georgia. Top quality craftsmanship was evident and the emotion I felt simply from being inside the chapel made me feel close to heaven. The windows were not clean.

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Oops, did I say that out loud? It seems that all of the air just got sucked out of the room. Guess I have some explaining to do.

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The windows were structurally appealing. Nonetheless cobwebs, smudges, and that almost foggy look that windows get when not maintained regularly were evident. I am a fan of wasp nests as much as the next guy but the largest wasp nest I have ever seen was outside of the window calling my name and distracting me during the service. The wedding service went off without a hitch. However, now I feel obliged to figure out with whom to speak and offer to help this chapel maintain the look and cleanliness of the windows.

Private Gallery - New women's store in Athens

A few months ago Athens got a new women's clothing store on Clayton Street. In the space previously occupied by a shop called Mary, Private Gallery opened. Fran Hughes is the manager. This link is the writeup from the Athens Banner Herald article.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/041110/bus_604493607.shtml

The cobbler's children have no shoes

Early on in my business I sat down with a VP at a chain of banks in this region. Scant minutes into our conversation she stopped me and said . . . "I'm sorry (to interrupt) but I have to ask you this." I replied, "Absolutely. What is it?" To which she voiced "Are your windows at home clean?"

Now, I know I need to work on my poker face, but this comment came out of left field somewhere and whapped me right in the middle of my chest. All I could do in this stunned moment was make the best of it. I just smiled, hung my head in shame and implored, "Oh, please don't look at the windows at my house. My wife would love it if I would do our windows, but right now they are pretty disgusting."

I used to hear my parents use the old adage "The cobbler's children have no shoes". Now I am living proof. In case you need extra convincing just look at the auto mechanic's personal cars. Do they run well? Probably not. What about the house painter? Bet you his home needs paint on the inside and out.

Yep, I should probably hire someone to clean my windows at home. Of course, the best window cleaner I know is enjoying a rather tight schedule these days and I'll just bet I can't get my house on his list . . . at least not yet.

Six truisms about tape on your windows

When hanging a sign or announcement on your business windows here are a six things to keep in mind.

1. Less is more. Use only as much tape as you need. I know it is fun to completely seal a piece of paper onto a window such that it will withstand an alien invasion, but perhaps using a couple of small pieces of tape will suffice.
2. If the tape is strong enough to rip off your skin . . . you might want to think twice using it on your windows. Duct tape, packing tape, and stranded tape have very strong adhesives. Try to keep them away from your windows. 
3. Masking tape is better than strong adhesive tape, but it still leaves a heavy residue. Actually it is not too hard to clean off, but it is messy enough that you may want to choose a different kind of tape.

This is the window of one of the Downtown Athens restaurants we clean . . . covered with event flyers and tape.
4. Never use tape on windows with an adhesive tint. The tape adheres too well, and you can't scrape it off the tint without damaging it. (See this blog posting from April, 2010 on "4 things to keep in mind when considering tinting your windows" for further explanation.)
5. Whenever possible use suction cups and/or a clear plastic sheath to hold your sign.
6. Use a clear and mildly adhesive tape, like Scotch tape, when needed. It is still not super easy to get off, but it seems to be an acceptable alternative.

If you have other ideas that work share them here with others.

The Royal Peasant

First of all let me say that I love the name, The Royal Peasant. The juxtaposition of those two words makes me laugh.

Secondly, it is the name of a pub in Five Points on Lumpkin St. in Athens. You may or may not know that I lived in London, England for a while in the early '90s. In this comfortable locale surrounded by British paraphernalia and football on the telly (sure you can call it soccer, but this is my memory) I felt transported back to a little part of London that I knew well.

On a recent date with the Hardwick Window Cleaning scheduler, accountant, and mother of my children we visited the Royal Peasant. The food was great. I had fish and chips (how did you guess?). The fish tasted authentic and I can't recall eating chips that were tastier. My wife had the special, a burger with bleu cheese and bacon that was simply amazing.

On the wall is a map of the London Underground - the subway system commonly referred to as the Tube. On the map I showed Michael White, the proprietor, where I used to live between Earlsfield and Wandsworth proper. To get around the city I often walked to the Wimbledon Tube station at the end of the District Line.

I could go on and tell other memories . . . but a better idea is for you to head over to the Royal Peasant and try it out. Take a friend - or three - soak in the snugness - tell Michael I said "awright".