I didn’t come on this board to be berated and talked down to. I know what was involved, worked out very well for both of us, and yes I got paid handsomely for the work. He did his own deck 5 years ago with his machine and wanted the same thing done again. He insisted on using the 10% oxalic at 1:4 dilution and I wasn’t going to sit there and argue with him. He tried it, didn’t get 5 years of buildup off so he tried the green tip and was quite happy with it. I simply did the labor.
My company is NOT new, over two decades of experience with customer relations. I do NOT need lecturing how to handle this.
What IS appreciated is how to handle certain PW situations such as the black spot problem, and I thank everyone that attempted to help with that. This board has helped me tremendously with adding power washing to my window cleaning offering, and I hope to continue the relationship.
It’s funny that I’m reading this because I was going to create a thread concerning a similar situation. I just never got around to typing it up.
“What not to do”
Take on a customer that was a retired pressure washer. When he called he asked me if I had one of those circle things for even coverage. I’ve only been doing this for a little less then a year. I guess 15 years ago they didn’t have surface cleaners or they were referred to as round things.
I washed his house, roof, and a good bit of horrible concrete. About 20% of the time he was telling me how they did it back then and that I should overlap more on my passes to go over everything twice. I tell him about post treatment and he says that’s just turning everything white and it will be back in two months. I politely listen and asked him to please call me back in two months. Super smart guy in many of things. We talked quite a bit. Not that smart in washing. One of those jobs. At one point of listening politely I was thinking is this worth the money. I decided yes it is and proceeded as normal.
At the end of the job he was happy, I was paid, and life goes on.
I really do remember when there were no surface cleaners. Back in the back in the 90s I had several Walmart and Kmart around Selma Alabama Montgomery Alabama and the guy I bought my Farley from was in Montgomery. He asked if I wanted to buy a Surface Cleaner he said they had just gotten them in and that was the first batch I told him no. He said he said just take it out and try it and let let him know what I thought. I called him the next day and told him I would bring him a check.
18 years ago I worked as a 1099 for a great guy that was a window cleaner and deck pressure washer. He did everything with a 25 degree tip and made a LOT of money doing so. People in northern VA really make sure their houses look good.
Obviously things have changed since then but I remember exactly how it was done and applied it to the deck I did yesterday. Old school but effective if done properly.
Things have changed and I like most of the new technology as far as tools and chems go. It’s like I’m starting from scratch sometimes with all the new terminology. But there’s systems that make it so much easier. I’m realizing though that even though I had success doing things a certain way 20 years ago there are better ways to do it that can save me time and money. I’ve been using a crm for scheduling and accounting. It’s been good but I think I like my paper planner system better so January I’ll probably go back to it
I had an older guy in his 70s that wanted his driveway washed. He proceeded to tell me he was an expert with pressure washers since he’s had them for decades. I noticed a little green machine electric 1.2gpm PW in his garage. He showed me how he tried to clean the driveway but his didn’t have enough power He then recommended how I should go about cleaning it. I but my lip most of the time because he was old enough to be my father but I finally said…why don’t you leave the cleaning up to me since I do this for a living. He watched…didn’t say much or complement…just that “it looks good” afterwards…it was still wet with post treatment so didn’t look awesome yet. I sent him a before/after pic once dried and he then raved about how great it looked.
Yes things have changed a lot in PW. Ten years ago I washed people’s houses on the side here and there for extra cash…on ladders, using a green tip, and extension poles. I took oxidation off houses and had to go back the next day and redo that side…several times…and each 2 story house took about 5 hours. Then I saw some idiot washing my neighbors house with a gun with no wand with what looked like no pressure…and no ladders. He wasn’t there but 45 minutes. I laughed at him. Then I went over to look at the house and it was spotless. A lot has changed since the green tip…which can splinter and fir wood (I’ve done it and learned). The low rinse tip on the jrod can do wonders for a deck after applying the correct detergents…but a customer should never tell you how to do your job.
A clarification…we weren’t just removing dirt and algae. He wanted the old stain stripped off so the new stain waould ‘take’ better. Maybe there are some crazy chems available to do that but I wasn’t going to wait around for them and try to convince a PhD they would work better than water pressure.
A Phd means nothing. Jerry Clower once said that some people are educated beyond their intelligence. He was so right. It’s your business but I’m just saying friends will usually be the first to burn you on a business deal. I don’t do a lot of wood nor do I want to so I can’t help much there other than pressure does not seem to be the best option.
Just make sure he’s paying you for your time and not your results. If he wants to pay for your results, he needs to step out of the way and let you work.
Anybody who quotes Jerry Clower is all right in my book!
Fair enough. Your time is his for the duration of the contract. You might ask him to read this thread, and my message to him is “Sir, if you’re tired of throwing your money away, step out of the way and let him work. He has one of the best support teams on the planet in hgis back pocket.”
I wouldn’t show this forum to mi clients.
I never mention this association by name, i just tell them I’m part of a cleaning association.
The less people that know about the gold within this forum the better for me
Maybe you should alter your perceptions. I am eager to share what my mentors here have shared with me, even with my competition. You see, I would rather my competition do the job right and charge a fair price than continue on as a bucket bob half-■■■ splash and dasher giving what we do a bad rap.
Don’t be miserly, become an authority. I have encouraged my customers and competition alike to come to this forum and learn. I will continue to do so. There’s a great deal more business to be gained than lost with a bountiful mindset, and of that I AM an authority!
