Mike Williamson

That was going to be my suggestion also...have a place to price EACH service...This way, the customer knows what he's paying for, and you have a place to add things they didn't request, but you see need attention. I've sold plenty of roof and driveway cleanings to people who just wanted their house washed.

I imagine you could stack them as high as you wanted, as long as the stacking structure was built properly. They don't come stacked, I assume Dave either built that frame, or had it built.

Ummm....I don't see Orlando on the list. What's up? That'd be GREAT! And all you northerners can see how we actually DO a Florida roof! I'm sure Don can find one that needs to be cleaned down there! Take a long weekend and come enjoy the heat and humidity (and the beaches). Orlando isn't more than an hour or two from the beach!

Yep, those are the challengers. I have one of those outside ready to install on the trailer. Huge reel, bigger than I thought!

Hmmm..interesting. I got a call from them about 3 months back, left a message on my voicemail, which I returned. I got the guy's voicemail, so I left a message asking what it was about, and if it was a sales call, don't bother calling back. I never heard from him.

Absolutely, but that works with customers who come from any means of advertising.

The better Cox reels (I think it is the Challenger series) have a solid inner core, as opposed to the open core that the cheaper cox reels have. I have two cheaper cox reels that were both crushed...then again, they still work. I have three of the higher end cox reels and they are tough reels...on par with anything Hannay or Rapid Reel has. I have a ReelCraft also (another SOLID reel) and the Cox is very similar to that reel.

Well, not so much against the idea, but not knowing it would work. And hey, thanks for shoving me in the right direction! I still battle the tendency to low-bid a job to get the work. Had one a month ago that would have been a NICE job. I bid it higher than I would have last year, maybe too high, but it would have been a pretty full day's work for me and a helper...I think I came in at $780, minus 10% if they went with the whole package...so $700.00. She went with someone cheaper. So I kick myself saying if I'd bid it at, say, $550.00, I'd have had work that day. Maybe wouldn't have made as much as I'd have liked, but I didn't make anything that day. Then again, I've had jobs very similar to this where I was sure the customer was balk at the price, and they just said "Ok, when can you do it" I just have to get used to the idea that the higher I set my prices, the lower my close ratio is going to be. The hard part of that is when the flow of incoming calls/job opportunities slows, you can't always afford to have a low close ratio! And for those of us who are horrible salesmen, it's harder still.

Speaking of lowballing, I was laying there last night thinking of the prices I charged the first year...Man, I was crazy. $210.00 for a house, roof, and driveway on a 2000sf ranch style home, and that included blowing the roof and gutters off if needed. I still kept it around $50.00/hour, but still...Same job now I'm getting anywhere between $350.00 and $450.00. I know that's low for some of you guys, but any higher and I'll have NO response. I've noticed a decrease in calls when I raised prices, but still enough to keep busy, just have to do more marketing to make up for it.

How does a yellow page ad from this year pay off next year, 2-3 years down the road???

Yep, us too. Things here slow down in July, and that's what's happening now. This being our 3rd year, we're starting to get more repeat business. Yellow pages aren't doing crap this year, I may very well drop them next year. I can do a LOT of direct mail for $850/month, on top of what I already do. I had hoped it would be a good source of commercial leads, but it hasn't. May be the ads, may be the area.

$200????? Man! I'd have charged at LEAST $225.00, or $250.00 if I had to clean out the gutters.

What's that supposed to mean? I think the guy came here for help, not sarcasm!

My suggestion is to work for someone else for a bit rather than spending a lot of money for equipment, OR going the cheap route and wasting money on low-end equipment that's not going to be efficient. Even if you have to go rent a pressure washer for a few days and wash your house and a few friends' houses, better that than spending money to do something you're not going to like, or frustrating yourself with inadequate tools.

Of course you are... :rolleyes:

I answered what I could...some don't apply, others I just don't have the info avail.

Hmmm...37 people responded to the poll so far, but only 26 are insured! Why don't the other 11 of you have insurance? This is year 3 for me, it has been a blast!

What makes you think you'll even like the work? My advice, don't jump into it so suddenly without at least knowing you're cut out for it. If you don't like it, you'll hate every minute of washing, and that will definitely impact your ability and motivation to sell your services. Don't jump into it just because you can get in fairly cheap. Even if you have to go find a job for a while and better prepare yourself.

Sounds like Landa isn't the way to go, contrary to the opinion of some! If they aren't willing to warranty something with this little use, that'd be the last Landa product I ever bought. I LOVE my Big Guy. If I had to order another, I'd get it at www.higherpowersupplies.com Free shipping, and one of the lowest prices out there. No tax either, if you're outside Washington State. I have two, and no problems out of either after many hours on each. Had to replace the spray bar on the oldest one, and the skirting. The bar was worn pretty badly (which will happen regardless of the brand) but hadn't started leaking yet. The skirting was coming loose because of the way I take it out of the side door of the trailer. When the day comes that I have to replace the older machine, I'll get another Big Guy.

The tips should give you about 3000psi at 5.5gpm. Have you checked for leaks underneath, as Don suggested?

It sounds like someone screwed up and put in two 5's rather than two 2.5's Check them.

You're kidding, right? No, it isn't cut in half because there are two tips. Likely his tips are either way worn, he has a leak, or the tips are oversized. On a surface cleaner (two bar) you have two tips. Each should be sized at 1/2 of what your normal full pressure tip size is. If your normal, full pressure tip is a 5, then use two 2.5 tips on the surfacer. 2.5+2.5=5

If I need it, I'll get it. My customers don't care. And as pointed out, having it doesn't do a dang thing for me, or the customer. I have an exempt status, which also protects the property owner. I fail to see where I"m disadvantaged. If I deal with jobs and/or contracts where I need it, I'll deal with it at that time.

I've thought of that...I don't know if they're illegal, but there are some trailers down the road from me that are full of mexicans. Most of them work for a local roofing company.

Contract labor. I pay her by the day, no taxes, no WC insurance, no payroll taxes. She's a good friend of the family. I wouldn't try that type of setup with someone I didn't know well, or someone who was working the roofs. She washes houses, flatwork, and rinses for me on roof jobs. Her last day was last Friday, so I'm not sure what I'm doing yet as far as a replacement. I know of one company that will handle payroll for a small (1 or more employees) company. If I wind up hiring someone, that's likely the route I'll go.