Celeste

We're over 80% consistently for the last two years - with price increases. Roger can sell a ketchup popsicle in July to a woman wearing white gloves.

I love it - we actually do a good bit of "interviewing our potential customer" over the phone :) It's a wonderful thing to be able to pick your customers rather than panic over them not picking you! Celeste

I didn't really want to poke myself into this thread, but there may be a need for the view of the "housewife" type here. As a woman/homeowner, I'll shed that spin on this. I would NOT hire any contractor that carries little regard for his appearance, both personal & automotive. If you or your vehicle look remotely scary - I'm not answering the door. If you show for an estimate looking all neat & clean - that will factor in HOWEVER - if you show up after being contracted looking nasty - You're NOT starting the job. If you have a creepy looking truck - and this is where differing opinions are - an old black windowless van is creepy to me - I'm not answering the door. If you look like a "budget" company - I'm not going to assume that you're going to save me money - I'm going to assume that you can't manage yourself well enough to give a rat's tail about what I - me - your potential customer may be thinking of you and call it snobby or not, I am the checkwriter and it just matters how you handle my feelings and perceptions. Just a little peek into the average female thinking. Celeste PS - We have black vehicles - but they're not creepy.

I nearly spewed my coffee when I read that. Seriously John - let's just enjoy Christmas :)

Mike, Go to your User CP - there is a place there to send a private message :)

Mike - you have one of the most knowledgeable brick restorers on the planet right there in Pittsburgh. His name is Bob Port and he distributes many of the restoration lines available. Super nice gentleman - pm me if you want his phone number :) Celeste

We probably have some of the same list :)

You can get mortar off at 4 months - it's just going to take more product and more patience. We use NMD80 from EacoChem exclusively for construction cleaning. One thing to consider - temperatures will affect your cleaning process as well so time the job accordingly.

In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving celebration and our industry's current strife, I thought now would be a really appropriate time to consider what we all have to be thankful for. Not discounting our lives, families and health one bit, I would like to focus on what our profession has to be very thankful for. We should all take a moment to appreciate and be thankful for the actions and efforts of everyone who has made a difference, be it by way of an encouraging phone call, a post on a forum, at round table, a convention, with a new network or a new org and even an old org coming back together........ It is distressing to see lines being drawn in the sand over the weekend when in another place, deep lines were erased and a new vision was coming to light. Look at the things that have been accomplished in the past 5-6 years! We are more widely recognized as professionals - we have all learned the power of networking - we communicate more with each other as opposed to blindly competing. Truly there is more encouragement and sharing with other companies than blindsiding or bashing. Mistakes are made and fixed and the industry as a whole has grown stronger. And even though it's probably the same 150 or so people, we're all doing it together, for better or for worse. Even with the monthly histrionics that happen - we're all still here and the fact that we're succeeding in spite of ourselves is something to be thankful for, don't you think? We can all reflect on where we are now and be thankful that somebody in our odd little world helped us somehow and then we were able to help someone else. Even when we feel wronged, we grow from it and it betters us. If you imagine how it would be if we weren't all here for each other in some way or another, suddenly this strange pressure washing family is something to be thankful for. Just a thought before I log off for the evening - C

Congrats!!! I voted for you guys :)

Kook Deck isn't a paint - it's a spray down/knock down concrete product. Painting concrete is scary at best. Concrete stains are available which will produce a much better finish then seal.

Did it :) Also added as favorite pages for PWNC & ***!

336-270-4598

My CELL phone doesn't get faxes!!!

May I add :) 1/2 Boy 1/2 Man The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either. He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away ' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. When you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan , sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those in Iraq , Afghanistan and all foreign countries. Prayer Wheel 'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'

Scott - are we sending pics to you or linking to the gallery there or what? I've forgotten my login :(

Ewww fly poop! Well, at least that washes off pretty easily or at worst needs a brushing :)

I love how he wants to "not do the floor"........hellloooooo people - remember gravity? Really? What is the likelihood of you washing the ceiling and walls "only" and not rinsing the floor! You'll rinse the floor just so you can walk through! I'm all for doing the extra step by rinsing but your customer is not stupid. He knows you're going to have to rinse your own mess and by saying "not the floor", has just secured a free floor :( With THAT said, it seems that the most disgusting part is the floor which would require the soap or disinfectant....wouldn't the ceiling and walls be mostly hair and bedding dust with maybe a section of just dirt where some bovine rubbed against the wall? Have you considered using a "baby shampoo" or even a puppy/kitten shampoo as the soap? Those it would seem would be safe for a baby moo.

That is moisture trapped underneath the sealer. Lightly wipe the affected areas with a rag moistened with zylene/xylene - this will emulsify the sealer just enough to let the trapped moisture escape then the sealer will settle back out properly. USE the proper PPE - this is not a applicator friendly product! It's not difficult to perform, however, it can be time consuming, even tedious. Price appropriately!

Just my .02.....does Mr. Flipper want the total profit or is he willing to risk having to really cut into the profit to replace/repair what the $125 guy does? SELL HIM ON YOUR PROFESSIONALISM - as he uses you more and more often, maybe you can cut him some slack every 5th or 10th house or so but never on the first one! You'll never hear from him again.

Okay folks - this idea has been touched upon in another thread and given the number of guys who have gone fulltime, either by choice or circumstance, I think that this may be a forum worth pursuing. A support system for wives of power washers - this would be a forum where the women in the business could support one another. Many of us have to deal with "stuff" that you busy fellows may not realize. It would also provide a place where we can share tips and tricks of how to manage business & personal lives without wanting to kill the other :) Please vote!

We have been involved with Kopper Top for over 10 years - they have done absolutely amazing things! Please go give them a vote! They are the epitomy of what a non-profit organization is :) The Christie Cookie Company is doing a $25,000 Charity Giveaway! There are ONLY 15 DAYS LEFT TO VOTE! Thanks to everyone who has already participated in the Christie Cookie Charity Giveaway. The deadline is only two weeks away, so keep encouraging your friends and family to nominate Kopper Top! Remember, the charitable organization with the most nominations wins $10,000. One vote per email address, so be sure to get yours in for Kopper Top! To nonimate Kopper Top, go to: Contest There is a drop down list (alphabetical). You will find Kopper Top in the "K" area. Please vote!

I just think that the term Southern Hospitality didn't originate up north. Ya'll all better be watchin' yurselfs when the south rises again :) Celeste......OUT!

NO - he means if the gutters aren't clean, you get called back because the job isn't done. Demographics play a HUGE part in this. Yankees and Southerners just do things differently, that's all.