Who's tired of hearing retailers whinge about poor sales and a decrease in consumer spending? I am ! They have been ripping us off for years and years with their inflated margins and now they're sobbing that consumers have finally caught on to their rip off tactics.  I have a solution. How about changing your business model, sell quality products and improve your sloppy customer service and maybe you'll see some improvement.  I've targeted the retailers because when things get tough their instant response is to cry poor. Services like window cleaning are finding this current economic environment challenging as well, but we don't start whinging about it we take a step back evaluate our business model and make changes where necessary.  At Sunstruck Window Cleaning Sydney we are doing just that.  Consumers now want to know what they are getting for their hard earned money. They want to know whether the cost is competitive, they want to know details about my business i.e insurance and they want to know whether we deliver on our promises.  Like Sunstruck Window Cleaning Sydney, businesses should be changing their ways to meet customer/clients satisfaction and if it means cutting your costs and doing extra duties for that cost then so be it. One thing I have to mention talking about business models and meeting consumers expectations and that is the release of the iphone4S.  I feel that this round of hype is starting to show signs of wear. I feel that Apple has used the same hype marketing that their good at but delivered the same phone with some small extras. Apple has portrayed itself as an innovating Tech company yet they have delivered very little in that department and not really met market expectations. I feel the iphone5 won't be much different if it's in the pipeline for production as the media things 

It has come to my attention that in 2011 window cleaners are working harder, cleaning more difficult windows and earning far less than they did 5-10 years ago.  This is becoming the case as more and more window cleaners surface and then battle for the customers business with the only tool they have and that is under quoting each other. I feel that if this continues window cleaners will be working for peanuts if some aren't already. Having clean windows is for a lot of people a privilege and if anyone has cleaned their own windows they will know that it is difficult and time consuming which is why window cleaners charge their prices. It is clear to me that if something is not done or changed window cleaners will not be able to support their business which in turn will not be able to support themselves particularly in Sydney. As a business owner I completely understand from the business point of view when petrol companies are accused of colluding.  If they are and I suspect they are the petrol companies are only protecting their businesses and their earnings.  Let's admit it people are becoming more and more spending savvy. Majority of people want value for money and will seek out the cheapest quote regardless of whether the clean meets their expectations because cheaper cleaning proceeds quality as a general consumer rule. So believe me when I say that the day is coming when window cleaners won't be able to sustain their business and if we don't unite and plan for the future window cleaning will dissipate into oblivion. 

This is the question I get asked regularly and my instead response is "Oh, I have been using  green products for many years now" in my delightful tone.  Most window cleaners have been green before green knew it was going to be the next colour for discussions and debate. We have all been using the same agent for many years and that is dishwashing liquid. Soapy water with mild agents. Vast amounts of chemicals go into our oceans and environment  some bad, most worse but nothing could be more non threatening to our oceans and environment than soapy water. When was the last time you threw some left over car washing water onto the grass or into your garden to find that that bit of grass is now dead and the plants were dying. NOT ME. So don't worry too much about whether your window cleaner has gone green because the only place the soapy water is going after it leaves your window is into your garden or drying up on your hot floor. If your a worrier than worry that he or she is not using bleach or ammonium or even meth spirits on your windows otherwise sit back and enjoy your clean windows.

If it was not for the Brits window cleaning in this country would not be a provided service. The British are the leaders in having their windows cleaned. In Britain, the households/tenants have their windows cleaned on a weekly basis. A window cleaner would clean an entire street or parts of a suburb and only charges approx per home $25-30 for external window cleaning. I must say most of my customers are of english decent/background and they use our services to clean their windows.  If it wasn't for their need to clean windows I think window cleaners would not exist.  So I thank you Brits. 

At Sunstruck Window Cleaning Sydney we place a high priority on customer satisfaction by doing the job right.  Most customers appreciate our efforts and become returning customers year after year.  But every now and then and I must say it's a rare occasion a customer will complain about our cleaning methods and quality of work.  I refer to these people as RUTBAFOM, (Reality use to be a friend of mine). Recently, I received a call from a Real Estate customer (Hamilton & Co) in Lane Cove about a job that was cleaned 4 weeks ago. Her complaint was that the agent was showing the house today and noticed cobwebs on the corners of the windows. HELLO!! She also expected me to go back and remove the cobwebs free of charge. SERIOUS HELLO!! Now I'm a reasonable window cleaner and in normal situations I would probably go back and remove the cobwebs but her attitude was demanding and threatening. She would say "if you don't go and clean the cobwebs I won't recommend your services to other clients or use you for future cleans". I was pretty fine with her angling argument as this was the first time i've dealt with them in 11 years of cleaning windows and experience told me that these kind of agents rarely use window cleaners on a regular basis. I informed her that unless spiders are terminated they will rebuild their webs over night and I was more than happy to return to clean the webs for a small charge but she was not interested and so the conversation ended. 

I have also mention customers that follow you around as you clean and inspect every speck on the windows. Again, these kind of customers are rare but they are out there. This one gentleman would watch over my shoulder as I was cleaning his windows and then preceded to inspect the window after I had finished cleaning it. This behaviour continued for a while until I politely said to him that he was making me feel uncomfortable and if he would mind inspecting the windows once I had finished the entire job. He gave me this strange look as though I had asked him to jump in front of a truck. He reluctantly removed himself and stopped following me but was paying close attention from a distant.  I have to mention that he was of Indian background and my understanding is that the majority of Indians as part of their culture categorise people into classes. Servants (window cleaners) are of the lower class and so are treated as such. Anyway, he was quietly satisfied with the work and I was paid.  Mind due he's still probably walking around the house inspecting every speck on his windows.

As a window cleaner I drive around Sydney a lot going from suburb to suburb offering my services.  One thing that bugs me is the amount of petrol my vehicle requires and my need to fill up on regularly. A few months ago I began monitoring the kms and the amount and type of petrol that was in my vehicle.  I tried premium unleaded, unleaded and E10. What I discovered was not some extraordinary discovery that I didn't already realise. I got more Kms (545kms) on a full Premium Unleaded petrol, (532Kms) on Unleaded and (522Kms) on E10. The conclusion was obvious, E10 is cheaper but burns quicker. Remember your High School class experiments whereby you learned that Ethanol (alcohol) burned quicker when heat was applied.  Well, the same works for Ethanol. The 10% Ethanol will burn up first leaving you with only 90% petrol. So even though it's cheaper you will find that you are filling up more frequently forking out more money to those money hungry Oil/Petrol companies. It's a devilish way of making money and Governments and Petrol Companies have spun this feel good story that you are saving the planet by using Ethanol Petrol. So saving the planet equals ethanol fuel which equals more money in their pockets. Seems like a fair trade. WRONG!!!!!! If you believe this well thought up scheme that the planet is in danger then please continue using ethanol fuels. If you are like me an enormous skeptic you will realise that you the driver are still pumping 90% of pollution into the atmosphere. But have no fear as I have come up with my own scheme on how to give less money back to the petrol companies. First of all never let the car go entirely empty before filling up. This is where they make their money. I never allow my fuel to go below half.  When filling up and I advise on filling up with the non ethanol fuels fill up only $30 worth of fuel.  The cheaper to expensive cycle days does not really matter to much but be wise and try to fill on the decreasing in price days. Now fill up again only $30 on the most cheapest fuel day which these days is difficult to predict as the Petrol companies are keeping us guessing. What you will find is that your tank remains almost full and you are spending less on fuel. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself you will be surprised.

Here is something that may interest you.  If a window cleaner or for that matter any trades person who is working on your property falls and injury's themselves you the property owner is liable for their injury. Why? Because by law you the customer have agreed to a service provided by that person so you (customer) are their employer. As an employer you (customer) need have various insurances in place one being workcover.  It is the responsibility of the employer to make sure that they have all the necessary insurance to cover such an incident. However, it is also the responsibility of the employer to ask and see whether the tradesperson has their own insurance ie Public liability, workcover if there are 2 or more workers in that organisation/business. Sole traders are exempt from workcover. You will be surprised to know that most trades people including don't have insurance or not complete insurance.  Window Cleaners climb ladders, walk on roofs with no safety equipment and place themselves in high risk situations.  So just beware and ask to see their insurance papers.

The cost with window cleaning will vary from business to business and in most cases it will depend on many factors.  The size of your house and the amount of windows you have will vary the price. The style of windows will also vary the price. Whether you want internal/external cleaned, whether you have flyscreens on your windows etc etc.  One major factor in price is the difficulty cleaning those windows. I have come across some windows which were in an awkward position and cleaning them was a nightmare.  So obviously, the cost was higher.  Some window cleaners work in pairs so reducing the time they spent on a house, unit, townhouse etc etc. These team window cleaners depend on fast cleaning in an attempt to clean as many homes in a day so increasing their profit/income. What you will find is they normally will charge you less than single window cleaners but quality is where they lack. Since speed and time are a big factor in their cleaning method quality of their clean is not a consideration. When I started Sunstruck Window Cleaning many years ago I had a team of 5 window cleaners.  During this time I learned that the majority of them were purely motivated by money and my task as their boss was to change their attitude and explain that the quality of work was what counts and brings back business but it became a challenge that I was to battle with for a long time.  Now, after over 11 years of cleaning windows I do all the work myself because as a business owner I know what customers want.  Personally, in any trade I always go with the sole trader rather than the 

Every window cleaner likes to think they use the ultimate window cleaning agent and most will tell you an exaggerated story about how they have discovered an agent which cleans your windows brighter and cleaner than any agent on the market. The truth is most window cleaners use a dish washing liquid like Morning Fresh or Palmolive.  These two agents work really great on glass because they have a degreaser property which assists in the cleaning method.  The trick with cleaning windows is time of day.  Early morning is the preferred time.  Mid afternoon during the spring and summer months is not preferred. The reason is that heated glass is difficult to work with and cooler glass easier.  Glass is a byproduct of sand.  Sand becomes hot during warm/hot days and unbearable to walk on. The same applies to glass.  So if your going to wash your windows wash them in the morning or late in the afternoon.

I'm not going to tell you anything that you don't already know about window cleaning other than it's a crappy job, it takes most of your valuable time, using your everyday products like windex are useless and never does the quality job you expect, if you don't use the right tools you risk wasting a days effort and part of your life and how the hell do you get to those really high or difficult windows?  Well, at Sunstruck Window Cleaning we will not only clean your windows but tell you all the little secrets about how to stay on top of your windows in keeping them clean and sparkling. A great deal of window cleaning businesses won't reveal these secrets because they want to keep making money from you. I use to be part of that large group of money making window cleaners but these days I've taken the initiative to begin educating and teaching customers how a simple thing like window cleaning can be taught and shown i