Handouts?

[svp07 14]

In my area all the painters and their mothers say they power wash/clean. I have just started to realize this and most home owners think you just show up and spray some pressurized water on the house and BAM it's clean. It is the same thing with decks these people love to strip the wood off their decks.

As I got to thinking about this I thought it might be good to make up a question and answer sheet that I can leave with the customer. I would would informational and describe procedures for pressure cleanning; same thing with decks. This would enable the customer to ask questions to those I am bidding against to compare procedures and compitencies.

Anyone see any problems with this except that I just gave the idea to all of you :-)

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Steve,

This is a great tool, and is in use by several companies out there that I know of. I suggest you put one together that fits your company and local area. If you like, you are welcome to email a copy to me and I would be glad to give you some feedback.

Beth :groovy3::groovy2::groovy:

[svp07 14]

Thanks Beth,

I appreciate it. I just want to set myself apart from the hackers...if you know what I mean.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Believe me, we know exactly what you mean. I think everyone faces the same challenge in that regard, regardless of where you live.

Beth

[Paul B. 523]

Ditto....

Just recently I was told by a customer that I didn't need to include stripping the stain from the deck in the estimate (just cleaning) as it could be pressure washed off. While this may be true, with high pressure you can strip just about anything.

[RyanH 14]

I have put in past flyers something to the effect of:

"Our intentions are to offer only the highest quality and integrity in pressure washing. We do not offer painting nor handyman services as part of our business as doing so would take away from the high level of focused quality and professionalism we are able to provide."

This was a footer on my newsletters and flyers. The message is subtle, but I think it gets the point across that there no such thing as a high quality "jack of all trades." You either do one thing very well, or you do many things just so-so. Consider restaraunts. If you want a good steak, you go to a *real* steak restaraunt, not "Ryan's shrimp, spaghetti, pizza, cookie, ice cream, macaroni, chicken pot pie, lasagna, roast beef, fried fish, taco, and steak house."

I would stay away from things being too lengthy in questionairres and keep it simple, but having informational points and some questions sounds like a fantastic idea. Let us know how it works out for ya!

Ryan H. (not affiliated with Ryan's chain of restaraunts)

[svp07 14]

Ryan I sent you a private message.

Beth what is your email, the handout I am working on is in Word. I'd appreciate some feedback/corrections, and will post when completed for all to see.

[staudend 14]

The new tetris score is unattainable by any man or machine!!

On a different note, I would also be interested in an educational package for homeowners. My experience is that the majority of the decking in this area is done by low-ballers who don't really know what they are doing wrong, or by the homeowner, and neither really know what the hell is going on. It would be worth it to educate an entire neighborhood and see if enough people would read it and trust you enough to call you for an estimate. Nick

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

beth@seedirtrun.com

[svp07 14]

Can we start posting some other item to put in this handout?

So far I have included areas like:

-use of pw - water can only clean so much

-detergents

-PSI used to clean

-PSI used to clean wood and the wood cleaning process

-insured to pw

please add more pertinent areas.

[RyanH 14]

Nick...amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Wife just bought me the new Spiderman 2 PS2 game so I've been slinging all over NYC....no time for flash games.

[Jesse 15]

This was a footer on my newsletters and flyers. The message is subtle, but I think it gets the point across that there no such thing as a high quality "jack of all trades." You either do one thing very well, or you do many things just so-so.

Ryan,

No disrespect intended, but I am a 3rd generation Carpenter/ Remodeler who excels at both Handyman work and Wood Restoration.

I personally believe they go hand in hand. Can a wood refinisher not replace rotten stairs, handrails and posts.....how about rotten cedar siding? Should they bring in a Union Carpenter? I can do all of the above.... including replacing a single redwood or cedar lapboard using a Dremel Tool (without destroying the brittle and neglected boards above and below).

A true “Jack of All Trades” should be respected and looked up to. I only hope to earn the title one day and to know half as much as my elders. Were I come from it is very common and is matter of integrity and pride in workmanship.

My father passed down his knowledge and taught me to learn as much as possible. No matter what the economy does there will always be work for good men who can excel in multiple trades.

Again no disrespect intended I enjoy your posts. Its just that there are low life’s in every field, but I will not allow them set the standard for the rest of us. I have heard that Leonardo da Vinci was a “Jack of All Trades”, but I am just an uneducated country boy so I cannot comment on that.

Sincerely,

Jesse R. Kirchhoff

Kirchhoff Handyman Solutions LLC

Advanced Power Washing and Restoration Services LLC

114 Forest Hill Ave. Jefferson City, Mo 65109

Local 573-635-2708 Toll Free 1-866-635-2708 Fax 573-634-8882

E-Mail jessekirchhoff@mchsi.com

[RyanH 14]

I think you misunderstand what I meant, and it may be due to what I have seen around here as opposed to how things work in your area. Around my area (Atlanta, GA), there are MANY people who drive around with signs on their trucks with signs that say something like: "Drywall*Carpentry*Painting*Pressure Washing*Decks*Plumbing"

Now, I'm not disputing that a single person can be skilled at doing all of those things. In reality, someone who is handy in general is more than capable of doing a good job at many tasks which require handywork. However, a true *professional* will generally specialize in one particular area as they will be more likely to have the appropriate tools and setup to do a specialized job. Nothing irks me more than when I see one of these guys with a beatup pressure washer and some tangles hoses thrown into the bed of their truck along with a few portable saws and some ventilation ducts and signs advertising that they are capable of doing all of these things on the side of the vehicle. Doing a professional job takes time, knowledge, focus, equipment, and experience and I find it hard to believe that someone who claims to be professional at all of these tasks will invest a significant amount of the above in any one particular area...it just wouldn't be profitable as a business.

Now, my focus was aimed primarily at the guys who paint and also "do" pressure washing (not a wood working professional). If you are a professional, you don't "do" something. You have a degree of integrity and professionalism about it that is lacking in those that are satisfied with "doing" something. You are a carpenter/remodeler...I can operate a saw and make stairs and put up walls, but if I advertised that type of a service along with pressure washing (or janitorial maintenance, which is my primary focus), I would be doing the "real" carpenters a disservice and possibly giving them a bad reputation if I do a sub-standard job. I have the utmost respect for anyone who is a professional by knowledge and experience, and I would never want to undermine their integrity by claiming that they are less that what they really are. And because I have gained the experience at pressure washing, I am completely ignorant of the practices of woodcare (like refinishing or replacing stuff). And I think that a professional should warn the unsuspecting public that people are out there without dedicated professionalism and will claim to be good at a number of things, when all they are capable of is "doing" it and not "doing it right."

Keep on doing what you do well, and nobody can take that away.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Jesse,

That's a wonderful amount of expereince. But I think you wouldn't clean a chimney or snake a drain too, right? I think that was Ryan's point...

It's not a bad thing to offer various services provided you take the time (this is just my opinion) to learn each one and make sure it is the right fit for your company.

We have areas of specialty in both residential and commercial work.

Beth

[Henry B. 4]

Hey Ryan,

Unfortuanetly most painters basically have to power wash. For the new paint to properly adhere it has to be clean first. You might want to contact the painters in your area and say HEY, I can save you a lot of time by doing your pressure washing for you. That way you can focus on what makes you the most money. Painting... Then you could give them a base price for pwing houses by style and see if they are interested. Most of the painters I know HATE power washing because it wastes their time. Now I can go out there like a week before they are planning on painting and get everything all cleaned up for them. This way by the time they are ready to go paint everything is clean and well dried for them. All they have to do is paint. You should also be able to refer them quite a bit of paiting work also if they would agree to your proposal that is..

[svp07 14]

Back to the contents in a handout....anyother suggestions of what should be in it?

[RyanH 14]

Sorry Steve.

Something else you could consider (as part of your questionairre) is to have a little section like "have you noticed:" and then you can list some of the things which are very common on most homes, but most people seriously don't even consider to be a cleanable problem, such as:

Black streaks on your gutters--we can safely make your gutters SHINE!!

Black and green algae and mildew on your roof--we can SAFELY remove it!!

Spider webs and grime on your windows--we can make them SPARKLE!!

Green stuff taking over your patio--we can make surfaces LOOK LIKE NEW!!

Worried about your flowers, plants, and grass? We take care to protect your property from damage and leave you with a fresh, clean, and sparkling home!!

According to your area's demands, you can extrapolate this to include whatever is needed, like chimneys, wood, etc.

[Mike Williamson 198]

There may be other replies to this, I haven't read that far yet...I just had to jump in here. I TOTALLY disagree with this statement, and this viewpoint. While I agree that SOME folks may not have the ability or aptitude in many different areas to do a high quality and professional job in all of them, that is certainly not the case for everyone. If I decided to pull out my carpentry tools and begin doing deck building, or pull out my paint sprayer and decide to do painting, etc, why would I not be able to do a high quality and professional job? Does being a pressurewashing contractor make me less capable as a painter?

I get what you're saying, I just don't agree with a blanket statement like "There's no such thing as a high quality jack of all trades". I've known a few. People who are very very good at many many things.

I have put in past flyers something to the effect of:

This was a footer on my newsletters and flyers. The message is subtle, but I think it gets the point across that there no such thing as a high quality "jack of all trades." You either do one thing very well, or you do many things just so-so. Consider restaraunts. If you want a good steak, you go to a *real* steak restaraunt, not "Ryan's shrimp, spaghetti, pizza, cookie, ice cream, macaroni, chicken pot pie, lasagna, roast beef, fried fish, taco, and steak house."

I would stay away from things being too lengthy in questionairres and keep it simple, but having informational points and some questions sounds like a fantastic idea. Let us know how it works out for ya!

Ryan H. (not affiliated with Ryan's chain of restaraunts)