Do you have a "My Former Window Cleaner" story?

I had a conversation with an Athens entrepreneur last week and here is how he described a former window cleaner, "He wasn't predictable. He didn't come back every two weeks like I kept asking him to."

I hear the "my former window cleaner" refrain frequently. Sadly, many of my residential and commercial clients have an unfavorable impression of the job done, or the professionalism witnessed in other window cleaning companies.

Now, in all fairness, we are fortunate here in Athens, GA to have a few good window cleaning companies from which to choose. And the entrepreneur mentioned above admitted that he had just hired a guy who cleaned windows for cash. I call these guys 'off the grid' workers.

We hope that your story will become a positive "my current window cleaner" story and that you will tell people about Hardwick Window Cleaning. We are not perfect, but we have a long list of clients who love our work and our professionalism.

(Sidebar)
After writing this post I had a not-so-great situation come up. Yesterday I went to clean a local restaurant that we clean every other week. I received a funny look from the assistant manager when I came in and he commented that they had not seen me in a while. This disturbed me so I cleaned the windows then hustled to my truck and checked my books. In fact, he was correct. I had missed a cleaning. It came down to a scheduling issue with my software that had been corrected that morning.

I had two choices. Clean the windows, smile, and pretend that nothing happened, or fess up. I chose the latter and apologized verbally and in a written apology note.

Listen, mistakes happen, but is there anything more frustrating than being treated poorly by a company and the company refusing to admit that a mistake was made? I never want to personally or professionally be accused of glossing over a glaring mistake.
(End Sidebar)

Got a "My Former Window Cleaner" story you want to share? Post your comments here.

Dirty Windows or Just Double-Paned Glass?

On occasion a window still looks murky even after it has been cleaned. But hold on a minute. The problem may be in the glass itself . . . Well, maybe not "in" the glass . . . Rather, the problem may lie between the panes of glass.

You see, the energy efficient windows in many homes are two panes of glass separated by a little space. Manufacturers remove some of the air between the panes or put an inert gas like argon or krypton between them and the energy efficiency of the window goes way up.

The problem arises if the seal on the panes in compromised. This lets in a bit of moisture. At first the window is still clear, but after a while it may get increasingly cloudy. The wetter conditions are the more moisture can collect between the panes. On occasion I've even seen a small amount of mold between the panes.

This sounds like a horror story, but most of the time a home or business will have very few affected windows, if any at all. So there is no reason to panic. If you do have an affected window and it becomes a big deal to you, simply have the window replaced.

Creepy Or Not? Hmmmm.

Quick diversion from the normal post here for a true story.

A new client last month got our name by asking a business neighbor to suggest a window cleaner. She received this response from her neighbor; "Ok, I have two window cleaner suggestions. One is creepy and the other is not."

(Sidebar)
Now hold on a minute. I had to ask myself why my new client was telling me this. It turns out that she is delightful with a quick sense of humor. She enjoyed telling me the story and watching my reaction.

I really need to work on my poker face.
(End Sidebar)

Recommendations are how I find the majority of products and services I use personally and professionally. Let me know if you need recommendations for good service professionals in the area and I'll give you some great names of people and businesses whom I trust. Of course you never know, I may give you two suggestions . . . a good one and a creepy one.

Is there room in your market? There is at the top!

A few years ago a friend decided to venture into selling real estate. She expressed concern at her prospects because there were already thousands of realtors in the area. (Remember the housing boom when it seemed like everyone either was a realtor or was thinking about becoming one?) I had to agree with her, yet I was sure that she was thinking about things wrong. My response to her was, "You're right. There are tons of realtors around here, but there will always be room for a 'good' realtor."

Perhaps I can boil the concept down like this: There is always room at the top.

Let's take this concept out for a little test ride. Is "There is always room at the top" an accurate way to think about your industry? (Hey, I think this would be a great learning experience if we collaborated. Give your input to this idea by commenting on this blog post.) Here are a few examples to get the ideas flowing. What do you think?

• No matter how packed the marketplace is . . . There is always room at the top.
• Your competition is undercutting you, but . . . There is always room at the top.
• You need to decide whether to bring your low-priced services into the marketplace or your high-priced services . . . There is always room at the top.

Those are a few to start the conversation.

As it happens, despite the number of other realtors around, my friend still chose to jump into real estate. She has worked hard, studied hard, and now she is recognized as one of the best around. My wife and I have used her, and so have hundreds of others. Interestingly, in the last several years "tons of realtors around here" have disappeared. But our friend is constantly expanding her busines. She is living proof that There is always room at the top.

How is (or isn't) There is always room at the top applicable to your industry, market, business, or situation? Post your comments here.

A Green Time Was Had By All!

Last week Hardwick Window Cleaning cleaned Earth Fare in Athens, GA. You may know that Earth Fare is a natural grocery store, so chemicals are not allowed. We cleaned the windows using green methods.

Here are some links to other green posts on this blog.

- When to green clean
- It's not easy being green
Swing by Earth Fare and see their shiny, clean windows.

Why do we love Spring Cleaning?

So many emotions are conjured up by the phrase "Spring Cleaning". I can still see my mom's Spring Cleaning face with a little dust on it and a "glow"; women in Hahira (that's in South Georgia for the uninitiated) do not sweat.

I recall her beauty, and her religious fervor against uncleanliness and sloth; this fervor rose to a fever pitch in Spring. So, I became an expert cleaner at an early age.

I know I've told you this before, Mom, but thanks for teaching me how to clean. Next time we visit I'll bring my squeegees and you can make the sweet tea.

Ladders

Ok, this blog entry is only for the men. No offense to the women, but today I have a message just for the men.

Gentlemen, I know you can handle that ladder. You have the skills and experience to place it safely against the side of the house, level it out, and climb is like it like a flight of stairs. In fact, your wives, girlfriends, neighbors, significant others, and children already know that you are manly enough to suspend off of the highest reaches of your ladder and clean the furthermost windows on your own. They also know that the cleaning job you do will be superior to any service you could purchase.

Heights? You ain't afraid of heights. Safety? Pshaw, you've never had an accident before. Besides, all those safety rules are for stupid people.

(Sidebar)

Ladies, I know you are still reading . . . Let him know you don't question his manliness. Tell him that the neighbors don't question it either, and in fact the kids admire his machismo. He is strong enough, has great ladder and squeegee skills, etc. Just tell him how you think that his precious time is of greater value doing other things. (You know, things that don't involve ladders and cleaning.) Relay to your man that if you happen to call schedule Hardwick Window Cleaning to tackle the windows at your home, well it is not an insult to his male ego or his testosterone-laden thought process.

(End Sidebar)

Anyway, men, you don't need it, but if you are too bored or otherwise preoccupied to clean the windows, you can call. 706 - oh heck, nevermind. . . Well, wait. Dad always said I should finish what I started, so here's the number, 706.248.7051.

Your Friend,
Steve

Look at your windows at night (I'm serious.)

I ate dinner tonight at one of the restaurants that has me clean its windows once a week. This downtown Athens, GA restaurant has very large windows. Some of the largest windows in Athens.

I tried to hide my glances, but I peered up periodically to see if I could locate any areas that required a touch-up. I couldn't find any, but I digress. How can you test to:

A) see if your window is already really clean, or
B) determine if your windows need a good cleaning.

The test of a really clean window is to look through it at night. Look from both sides of the window (the inside and the outside . . . but you knew that). When it is dark outside, the inside lighting will often reveal any marks or dirt on the windows. Simply move window treatments out of the way and look at your windows. You may see plenty of things that don't belong there. Then walk outside when it is still dark and look into the lighted windows. Any smudges or dirty build-up on either side of the glass should be easily seen.

Homemade Cleaning Wipes

Here is an article about how to make your own cleaning wipes that we are going to try out over the next week or so and see how it works.

I want to make both a general cleaning wipe and a window cleaning wipe (since my job is cleaning windows I am a bit skeptical about this last one). Hmmm. Wonder if I can make one to clean our little girl still in diapers - or am I being crazy?

Stay tuned to see how these wipes turn out.

Try it and let me know how it works for you, then post your thoughts here.

Got a make-your-own recipe to share? (It doesn't even need to be original to you.) Post it here.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Soon after starting my window cleaning business my wife decided we should make our own clothes washing detergent. I wash a heap of very dirty towels every evening, and often they are heavily soiled or even worse . . . greasy. These towels require a little something extra to get really clean, and the store-bought detergent was only doing an mediocre job removing the stains.

My wife found a homemade laundry detergent recipe on a blog (click here) and whipped up a 5 gallon batch super cheap. Result? Towels cleaner than I had gotten them in months, and after a few washes even some of the old stains started to fade. It was inexpensive and easy to make. The cost savings is a bonus, but the job this detergent does on all our clothes is what gets me excited.

Try it and let me know how it works for you, then post your thoughts here.

Got a homemade cleaning 'recipe' to share? (It doesn't even need to be original to you.) Post it here.