Showing posts with label wcr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wcr. Show all posts

Wednesday, 27 July 2016

Blog Finished?

Chris Lambrinides taking over the window cleaning blog for a while... what have I done!!
Blog Finished? Nah... just taking some time off for moving house for a little while. Being in Spain has it's difficulties, one of them being arranging internet connection & since I'm moving slightly off grid, it's going to take me a while to organise a company capable of getting connected to the big wide web! I expect to resume blogging sometime around the middle of September, after Mark Munro's show.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Chris Lambrinides (pictured) & his team from Window Cleaning Resource. Chris is currently preparing for the biggest window cleaning show in North America - the "Huge Convention", so I'm sure he will keep you posted on what's coming up & fill you in with all of the window cleaning based news. Some UK users will recognise that some of the information is USA based, but don't worry, I'm sure the information will be very useful. Thanks window cleaning blog readers... take it easy!

Thursday, 24 December 2015

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

http://www.wagtail.com.au/
Click the logos to take you there.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year To All Readers: A special thank you to the sponsors of this blog who have supported it for so long & thank you yourselves for the readership! All the very best, Karl.


Monday, 20 April 2015

Window Cleaning Magazine UK - March 2015 Edition

March 2015 Window Cleaning Magazine, now online to read.
The March 2015 edition of the UK Window Cleaning Magazine is out now & available to download now from here. Window Cleaning magazine is the UK's digital magazine that brings you information and news articles aimed at the professional window cleaner. Each issue takes a look at various topics that affect window cleaners and their business. WCM also takes a look at new window cleaning products, and review some of the latest equipment being made available. This edition:

  • The Liquidator - Getting up close and personal
  • Want to use a canvassing company? - Top 10 tips if you want to do it yourself
  • Pure2o launches new systems - Interview with Craig Mawlam
  • Wagtail Swayless - What is it? Willie Erken of Wagtail explains all
  • The Cleaning Show 2015, London
  • Hating your competition is self defeating - Tony Evans explains why
  • & much, much more

If you've been following the window cleaning series.... check out the latest release from Window Cleaning T.V. The crew yet again, follow Peter Artusa in "After Window Wars - Episode 4." This episode follows systems & practices in the workplace. Watch the episode in high definition here.

Friday, 13 February 2015

Free Window Cleaning Magazines

Are you up to date with your window cleaning knowledge?
Window Cleaning Business Owner Magazine: All issues can now be downloaded from the window cleaning resource website. Just click this link or click the picture below to take you there. Articles are written by window cleaners for window cleaners. These magazines will take your business to the next level & feature some amazing topics, resources & know-how!

Download these magazines for free

Thursday, 20 March 2014

Window Cleaning Magazines

Window Cleaning Business Owner Issue 19, click the picture to take you there.
http://shopwindowcleaningresource.com/print/window-cleaning-business-owner-magazine/wcbo-downloadable-pdf.html
Window Cleaning Business Owner Issue 19 - Get it now here! Never a guy to shy away from the lens, Lee Burbidge gets skinned for issue 19 - Including "Confessions of a rainwater harvester." "Dressed for business." "Why save water?" "Golden Nuggets of business tips & advise." "Going social as a window cleaner," & much more.

WCBO, Issue 18. Click the picture to get it now!
Window Cleaning Business Owner 18 - Own it now! Your 2014 Map To Success - This edition is all about getting you on the road to riches in 2014. How do you do it? What steps have you taken? It's all about getting everything in order for the big rush & coming season. Do you have everything planned? Employees? Hiring? Do you have a marketing calender? Have you planned your service offerings or your operating budget? How about tools? Is your vehicle ready to go? Have you analysed your pricing structure & put together your safety calender? All this & more in this months WCBO (Window Cleaning Business Owner magazine). Did you get caught out in 2013 with your pants down? WCBO tracked & highlighted your endeavors during 2013 with Issue 17 so that you could go & make 2014 the best.

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

Window Cleaning Magazine UK is 10

A Simpsons take on window cleaning - read the story inside.
Window Cleaning magazine is a new digital magazine that brings you information and news articles aimed at the professional window cleaner. Each issue takes a look at various topics that affect window cleaners and their business. WCM also takes a look at new window cleaning products, and review some of the latest equipment being made available. Pictured is the editor, Lee Burbidge.

There are tips and advice on how to run a successful window cleaning business, plus information that will help you find new customers, new commercial contracts and build a sustainable and recession proof business. Whether you use water fed pole systems or traditional window cleaning methods Window Cleaning Magazine caters for everyone. Subscribe here.

  • The Route to Prosperity by Stuart Webster
  • The genius of Wagtail by Wagga
  • Do you own a business or a job? Matt Perry makes the leap
  • Why window cleaners die broke  Part one
  • Top Winter gloves Stephen Fox talks gloves
  • The Amazing double life of Adam Acting window cleaner
  • Parts per billion technology What the readers say
  • Reach-iT takes a shock  Erwin lives to tell the tale. Why?
Plus much, much more....

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Sponsored Window Cleaning Magazine T.V.

Lee Burbidge, behind the camera.
http://www.windowcleaningmagazine.co.uk/blog/wcm-tv-to-hit-state-side-again-in-2014/#.UoysKUEH7XB.facebook
WCM TV to hit State side again in 2014: The Window Cleaning Magazine is excited to inform that its production side WCM TV plans a trip to the US in the early part of April 2014 to film the much rumored new window cleaning show based on the life of Peter Artusa, New York. No confirmation of the title is available at this time. Sponsorship for filming has been secured by WCR and Unger and the filming schedule will coincide with Unger’s big birthday milestone. So we have planned an ‘Inside Unger’ shoot at the same time.

Lee Burbidge of WCM goes on to say, ” I am really excited by this project. We have other projects lined up too in the UK such as a job swap with a National Window Cleaning company and a smaller or ‘one man band’ business and other films such as ‘I’m a traditional window cleaner and I am going to stay that way’. I am aiming to bring the very best quality programing geared 100% for the window cleaning community.”

Q & A with Lee Burbidge

So when will WCM become WCM Video Mag? Will videos be your main focus for the future?
Good quality films for window cleaners is part of the whole WCM package. It has not been done before. We are doing ground breaking stuff on real topics that effect window cleaners. The hope is to link video into our articles too. With the Window Cleaning Magazine being in a digital format this is easy to facilitate. 

When are you going to do a window cleaning video on your own company – Highshine?
Funny you should say that. We have been talking to a guy from New York who was interested in joining us in the UK on such a project. We are still waiting for availability from him. 

Have videos always been your passion or was it born out of delivering content to window cleaners?
It was defo the second thing that came along when I started the magazine. It has grown to something massive. How many guys can say that Unger and WCR want to pay for you to film some stuff in their country. They are very generous and I am most thankful for their continued support. I guess they can see the value in WCM TV and appreciate what it stands for. 

Currently..  I am working on Working With "Wagga," aka
Chris Dawber.
Based on the success of your “Window Wars” videos – where to next?
Well we plan a Window Wars UK. Originally we were going to just do that gig in Scotland. Recently, we were thinking to extend this to the rest of the UK and maybe film in a few areas for that program. We have had OCS ( big National Window Cleaners) recently agree to a new project in the New Year where we film a smaller window cleaning business or 'one man band' working with OCS for a day and visa versa. That will be fun. 
We are currently in the selection process for the smaller window cleaner. So if you want to get involved in that project give me a shout. Then there is lots of other stuff in the pipeline such as, "I'm a traditional window cleaner and I am going to stay that way". We will film a window cleaner wanting and seeing the benefits of a wfp system and a window cleaner that will not budge to wfp. We get them to work for a day with a wfp and film their reactions and comments as a fly on the wall documentary. Currently now I am working on Working With Wagga and Perry Tait's UK Reach-iT Tour. 

Can you actually envision a whole magazine done by video?
No. But the two do go hand in hand. 

What’s your take on the new “Mole & Jersey” show?
Josh Cronin is a good friend of mine. I have never met Mr Mole ( hopefully soon), they are as cutting edge as me. Trying stuff out and being the first. Stuff like this just isn't there. They are the pioneers of our time. 

I noticed you just bought a new camera – is a studio in the works as well?
lol, not sure I need a studio. My office doubles up for that at the moment. But when I am in the States filming next year I am taking over the WCR film studio for sure. 

When your on the road filming – what’s one (or two) things you can’t do without?
OK, that's easy. Pants and electrical points, lol. 

Do you ever take a window cleaning tool on the road with you?
No. But in Window Wars USA, Peter Artusa got me doing some store fronts. It was real funny. He has had this one account for years and had hardly seen the manager and when he had seen the manager, the guy has never spoken to him (maybe a 'Hi') Well he sees my camera at first, then comes out just as I put the camera down to work on the glass. He heard my English accent and that was it, he could not stop talking to me. I even got free drinks. Peter was blown away, lol.

How do you finance your window cleaning video jaunts?
Up until now I finance the whole gig. I think sponsors are seeing WCM TV as a great asset plus what it gives to the window cleaning community.

Funniest moment in filming so far?
Jeez, there are so many of them. That's why we have made Out Takes. Think we are up to Volume 2 with Volume 3 to be released sometime next year. If I had to pick? Me surprising Perry Tait from Reach-iT to a TRX class as part of the current project I am working on connected to WCM TV following Reach-iT on its UK tour recently. 
TRX was born out of the Navy Seals and is a tough urban fitness class. To see a confident Perry wilt in front of your eyes was too funny to watch! People could hear me laughing out loud as I edited that bit together the other day.

Most cherished moment in filming so far?
I cherish every single frame that holds the souls of the people I have filmed who have since become my good friends. This would include and not by way an exhausted list of great human beings such as Peter Artusa, Stuart Webster, Chris Lambrinides, Perry Tait, Chris Dawber, Alex Lambrindes, Jorge A. and Kenny, Jeff Temperley with David and Tom and many others.... 

Where will WCM be in 5 years?
I see WCM as a leader in the industry and at the very heart beat of the industry. Manufacturers already come to WCM first with their latest innovations and industry news. I might add that some of the people I have mentioned in the previous question are manufactures or suppliers and we have become friends. They know my believe for the magazine to be on neutral ground within the industry and I know they respect that. WCM supports the entire industry. 

If you were on Mars or somehow missed the first two episodes... here they are:

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Window Cleaning Business Owner Magazine 16

Get it now free - while it's still hot!
Window Cleaning Business Owner Magazine starts shipping soon. Get yours free online. This edition features the American Window Cleaner Magazines + all the content below & more. Only from your Window Cleaning Resource providers & found no where else. back issues here.
Click here to download.
WCBO (Window Cleaning Business Owner) Issue 16 - What's in this issue?
  • Best Mustaches
  • Cool Products
  • American Window Cleaner Magazines
    Funniest Cartoons
  • To Hire or Not to Hire
  • Window Slanguage
  • Window Cleaning Blues
  • Personality Types in Customers
  • Personality Types in Window Cleaning
  • The Top 11 Best AWC Magazine Covers

Monday, 16 September 2013

Whats New & On Offer In The Window Cleaning World?

Plus much, much more - click the picture to take you there!
WCRA Payroll - Only $39.95 per month for 1-10 employees • Pricing includes • Unlimited payroll processing per month, even daily! • Direct Deposit or Self-Print Checks • Tax Pay and Tax Filing for Federal, State, and Local Taxes • Accounting Software Integration for QuickBooks and many more! • Self-Service HR Tools and Compliance Posters • Online reports, new hire reporting and account set-up • NO HIDDEN FEES • FULL Support by Paychex Employees • Annual fee is $40 per company and $4.25 per W2 or 1099

New Insurance Benefit - WCRA members we have a big surprise for you! We are super excited to annouce a partnership with Joseph D. Walters insurance agency! This top of the industry insurance company is willing to offer all WCRA members an exclusive discount on insurance. So what kind of a discount are we talking? We are glad you asked!
  
WCRA members will now get a 25% discount on their premiums. All members will get the first $2000 of equipment coverage included at no charge. Members will also get an additional 10% off if they pay their premium in one payment. Members will have access to an exclusive “All About Insurance” subforum.  This will be the place to get answers to questions about general liability, workman’s comp, commercial vehicle as well as homeowners insurance coverages and policies. Wait there's more! There is an additional 5% discount if you get a quote in the next 60 days!  


The WCRA, Window Cleaning Resource Association, offers many postcards to its WCRA Members. They come in 4 x 6 and 8.5 x 11, are completely adjustable, and can be edited to fit your business needs.  They are Photoshop files, ready for you to just plug in your information.  New cards are added on a regular basis to offer all of the members a huge selection for each season.  Best of all, they are completely free to our WCRA Members.
WCRA and PWRA Members now have the opportunity to apply for a commercial fuel card with a special cost savings rebate! Based on your location and the proximity of the closest station, you will receive an invitation to apply for one of the following brands: Shell Fleet Plus Card, ExxonMobilBusiness Card, Sunoco® Corporate Card, the Phillips 66®-Conoco®-76® CommercialCard or the 76® Commercial Card. Each credit card has a rebate offer that helps to save money and provides the tools to manage fuel expenses more effectively. Scheduled mailing will be sent out approximately three times a year to our members inviting them to take advantage of this discount. When you receive an invitation to apply, we hope you will take advantage of this added member benefit so you can experience the benefits, savings and convenience these commercial fuel cards have to offer.

WCRA - PWRA Members At Cost Printing - WCRA and PWRA members are eligible for at cost printing. We charge you what we get charged as a printer. Save up to 25% on normal printing costs. Includes Standard Business Cards 2 x 4
Postcards: 2.75 x 8.5, 3 x 6, 4 x 6, 4 x 9, 4.25 x 5.5, 5 x 7, 5.5 x 8.5, 6.5 x 9, 6.5 x 12, 8 x 6.5, 8 x 10, 8.5 x 11, 9 x 11, 9 x 12.
4.25 x 11 Door Hangers (1-sided)
4.25 x 11 Door Hangers (2-sided)
8.5 x 11 Flyers (1-sided)
8.5 x 11 Flyers (2-sided)
8.5 x 11 Brochure (Tri Fold)
8.5 x 11 Brochures (Z Fold)
8.5 x 14 Brochures (Tri Fold)

Stock up on window cleaning equipment - WCRA members get an exclusive discount when you order any products from Window Cleaning Resource.com! Once you are a WCRA member you will be able to enjoy a 5% off discount off of everything in the Window Cleaning Resource store. We wanted to say thank you for becoming a WCRA member and we know this discount will come in handy when you are making future purchases. So what exactly do we offer? 
At Window Cleaning Resource we offer window cleaning supplies, tools, equipment, an products at the guaranteed lowest prices. Shop Window Cleaning Resource has carries an enormous selection of many different products including: traditional window cleaning supplies, waterfed poles, water purification system, high-rise gear, soaps, chemicals, extension poles, sponges and brushes. Window Cleaning supplies support is available from 7AM to 8 PM east coast time for your buying convenience. All window cleaning equipment orders received before 2 PM ship the same day. Since you are a WCRA member we have you built into a special tier and your 5% discount is added automatically to each item in the store. Need help? No problem! Call 1-862-266-0677 and talk to a representative or use our live chat feature located at the store! 

The new WCR warehouse is now being fully stocked.

Thursday, 18 July 2013

Street Bidder - Flyers Are Dead

Street Bidder - the biggest thing since flyers.
Street Bidder has a new application that will finally solve the problems of service companies who want to market their services to the public. One big problem local businesses face is making flyers. They are costly and drain business finances. Street Bidder’s new application is less expensive and more effective than flyers. Lower costs and becoming more effective is every business’s goal. If you want to learn more about this exciting application keep reading below.

Street Bidder has an application for iPad and Android devices that help you advertise your services to potential customers by the click of a few buttons. Street Bidder’s app allows you to send beautiful personalized postcards to the customers of your choice. Like most businesses you want to showcase your services but hate spending a lot of money on flyers, tarpaulins and posters just to advertise. Not only do these things cost money they also take time. Year after year you have employees passing out flyers, pasting posters on walls, putting up tarpaulins. This not only wastes valuable time, you could also have neighborhoods complaining about scattered flyers in their streets. It is illegal in the US to put flyers in mailboxes. That’s where Street Bidder steps in and changes the way you do business. The Street Bidder app lets you take pictures and save the addresses of the home you may service in the future. After capturing the neighborhoods you plan to “bid” on, you simply choose the customizable template that will produce a beautiful postcard that is customized with your pricing and a picture of the customer’s home. The Street Bidder app sends a postcard that the customer will remember because their home is on it and the pricing is specific to them. You will have a higher chance of call backs with this personalized mailer not to mention, lots of extra time. The Street Bidder app helps you send a better product and stores your data forever. That means the next time you want to market to a target area all you need to do is click a few buttons and you are done. The Street Bidder app sends direct mail that is more affordable, professional and customized than any other option out there. With Street Bidder you are saving money and time.  

Street Bidder has two types of plans. The first one is the Free Plan which lets you sends Street Bidder postcards as low as $.79 each. The data is stored temporarily though in the servers for 90 days. There is the Platinum Plan though which lets send postcards as low as $.47 each. You have a monthly charge of $65 but your data is stored in their services FOREVER.
"Street Bidder is an app’ for the little guy.  Direct mail is a super expensive option for a lot of small businesses.  So how can these guys get new customers?  How can they get their phone to ring?  Until now the only option was to drive around shoving flyers into peoples mailboxes.  Its time consuming and unprofessional ....not to mention that your flyers are jammed in to the mailbox with 10 other flyers.  Street Bidder solves this problem.  It allows users to send laser focused, highly personalized postcards to prospects with no minimums. You can literally send one card or 10,000.

There are a few different phases to Street Bidder.  
Phase 1: "Capture New StreetBids"  
Phase 2: "Mail real postcards to your StreetBids"  
Phase 3:  "Field The Calls" Once you have downloaded the app’ and have registered a new account you are ready to "Capture New StreetBids". So at this point the user will drive around to all of those subdivisions where he used to put flyers except now he has Street Bidder.  
He simply uses the app to take a picture of a home from the street, enter the address, and enter a price for their service. That’s it.  He has just captured one new StreetBid.  Over the rest of the day, this guy can capture hundreds of these things.  The good news is this; Once you capture a StreetBid.. you have it forever.  Now he is ready for phase 2.  Now this user will send Street Bidder postcards to all of those houses he just captured.  He simply selects the ones he wants to send a card to, picks a template, and BOOM!  Every one of those homeowners will receive a full color, high gloss, double-sided postcard in about a week.  But the kicker is this; each postcard has a picture of the persons home on the front and a real price on the back!  
Street Bidder is the ultimate solution to sending laser focused, highly personalized direct mail to your future customers.  Imagine sending 1,000 of these cards to that exclusive subdivision in your town that doesn't allow flyers.  Street Bidder takes seconds to use and costs pennies to send.

"Street Bidder is an app’ for the little guy.  Direct mail is a super expensive option for a lot of small businesses.  So how can these guys get new customers?  How can they get their phone to ring?  Until now the only option was to drive around shoving flyers into peoples mailboxes.  Its time consuming and unprofessional ....not to mention that your flyers are jammed in to the mailbox with 10 other flyers.  Street Bidder solves this problem.  It allows users to send laser focused, highly personalized postcards to prospects with no minimums. You can literally send one card or 10,000.



Interview with Josh, creator of "Street Bidder"...

So what does a window cleaner do to come up with an idea like ‘Street Bidder?’  
I was frustrated with traditional advertising and marketing methods.

When did the whole idea occur to you? When was that Epiphany?
My company sends out a lot of postcards and we get a low but consistent response rate. We also have a very unique bid sheet where we put a picture of each residential bid's home on the front with a mobile printer in our sales guys truckStreet Bidder merges these two ideas. It came to me last August during our summer slow down.

How did you find the time to make ‘Street Bidder’ happen?  
Well, thank God I have an amazing business partner who has stepped up and taken over our window cleaning business while I dove head first into this venture.  Also, since we are in Michigan, that we run seasonally, we have very little window cleaning work from Dec-Feb.

How much time have you spent so far on ‘Street Bidder?’  
Street Bidder has morphed into something much bigger and harder than I originally thought it would be.  lol  I thought at first"Oh yeah, no problem, I'll knock this out in a couple months….. Yeah right!  This has been all day every day for 9 straight months now.

How did you come up with the initial workings & ideas?  
Street Bidder started as hand drawn sketches on blank sheets of paper.  Lots of scribbles and lots of do-overs.

Did you hire a programmer to put all this together?  
I hired a developer to write all the code for the app’ and a graphic designer to help with the wireframes (nerd term for screen design).

I suppose that your return will be much higher than the normal 1 or 2% response of normal mailed flyers?  
We always got a consistent .75% to 1% return on our traditional postcards. Street Bidder cards are WAY more personalized and more targeted than "normal" direct mail.

To read the full interview... go here.

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Window Cleaning Magazine Mash-Up

The window cleaning magazine USA/UK mash-up
The Magazine Mash-Up: WCBO (Window Cleaning Business Owner Magazine) and WCM (Window Cleaning Magazine UK), although two different magazines, see the benefits of sharing ideas to greater serve the window cleaning industry. Both magazines will continue to bring you the latest in their very unique ways. This one of a kind magazine is a very special issue. WCM has such a great relationship with WCBO, Lee Burbidge & Chris Lambrinides thought it would be kind of fun to create a magazine mash up of the two publications. Anglo-American relations between our two great countries have formed great friendships and firm Allies. WCBO and WCM, although two different magazines, see the benefits of sharing ideas to greater serve the window cleaning industry. Both magazines will continue to bring you the latest in their very unique ways. View here now! The Mash-Up edition features;
  • 2013 Marketing Plan (All County Window Cleaning)
  • Marketing a Window Cleaning Business
  • An Expert Setup
  • Embrace the Revolution
  • U.S.A. Window Cleaning Industry News
  • Thinking of Changing from Traditional Window Cleaning to a Water Fed Pole
  • Myth Busting with Perry
  • Pure Water Generation
  • Testing Surfaces with our Senses
  • All About Rubber
The Window Cleaning Magazine website has removed the old members area which was causing a few problems for some people trying to log in. So now anyone visiting the website can now freely access all pages on the site. However, they want to keep members informed of new articles, news and whenever the latest issue of Window Magazine has been published so it’s still important to keep all past members on their subscription mailing list, as well as add new subscribers as they forge into the future and make the magazine even better.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Window Cleaning Business Owner Magazine 14

The latest WCBO mag - you can't afford not to read it.
Free Window Cleaning Business Magazine Issue #14 can be yours now totally free! Go to this link to download the most read window cleaning magazine in the World. This is a huge issue, changes in the Window Cleaning World means you will fall way behind if you don't get your eyes on a copy. Brought to you by Window Cleaning Resource (WCR), the biggest window cleaning forum in the World. Featuring:
  • Street Bidder - The biggest thing to hit window cleaning this year - flyers are dead!
  • An interview with Henry Grover Jr. - The inventor/chemist talks window cleaning.
  • ServiceKick - How to make your customer testimonials count.
  • RIP AUWC - The demise of an association.
  • 5 questions to ask - Your window cleaning software.
  • Better Business Bureau, extortion or worth the money ?
  • Inside look with Jam ie from Titan Laboratories - Questions you wanted answering!
  • Understanding Glass Corrosion - Glass does corrode - educate yourself!
Issue 14 is big - Alex proves it.

Monday, 20 May 2013

Videos From Window Cleaning Magazine UK

Just one of the many topics covered by the WC magazine UK.
The Window Cleaning Magazine (WCM) is embarking on its most ambitious offering yet with great quality films covering window cleaning topics. The Window Mag is a free online magazine currently published quarterly, although there has been talk that the editions would increase to bi-monthly. You can view the magazine online in a flip page format or down load the PDF of the magazine to your desktop. Because the magazine is digital the magazine is teaming with click on links to advertisers, videos and any other relating website.

WCM has always embarked on video as a supporting tool to the main magazine and the media feeds readers throughout the period between issues as does the WCM blog. This season WCM has taken filming on window cleaning related topics to a dizzy height with soon to be released high quality programs on its YouTube channel. You can subscribe to the channel here. Lee Burbidge, editor of WCM was free to take a quick interview..

So Lee what equipment do you use for your videos, they have to be some of the best quality window cleaning videos out there?
To be honest Karl the equipment I have is very basic and costs no more than 1400 dollars. It consists of a Sony Cam a tripod and slider…… the best things are the Go-Pro cameras although I got disappointed as I am down to one now. The other just stopped working.

The production of the video is pretty cool, what editing software are you using?
Final Cut Pro £199.00 or around 300 dollars.

Why do you go to all the effort of these videos, I can see that you have toured America recently?
Yes we set out to make some film for WCM and got back some real awesome footage. Why do I do it? I just love it! Giving back is great. Im hoping that window cleaners will always find a topic that covers any solution to any problem they maybe facing.

Lee gets to go over.
What films do you have coming up?
Window Wars USA is going to be great. We follow two competitors 10 minutes apart from each other, a real David and Goliath story since one of the companies is a multi-million dollar firm.
Then we have 'High Rise With Empire.' Empire Window Cleaning Services is based in Kansas City. Here we touch on high-rise work and rope repelling. I had a go myself. It was an awesome experience!

We have other quality films coming out too that touch on usual topics such as 'Can You Clean Windows in the Rain?' In these films we try and look deeper into the subject matter and draw on science whenever we can.

We can not forget Jeff Temperley. Jeff is the Brit guy WCM has been following that sold his window cleaning business in the UK to start one up in Panama City Florida. Window Cleaning in the Redneck Riviera is a film following up that process.

In all these films we get to see what people like to do when they are not window cleaning from looking after expensive fast cars to shooting assault rifles and hunting. Its all pretty interesting stuff.

Lee gets to shoot window cleaning competitors.
What is Industry Cribbs?
Lol that’s all new. We take our cameras around the business premises of industry leaders and people in the biz such as Window Cleaning resource. I’m hoping to do this with more companies so that viewers can see the people and their factories behind the products they buy.

Whats next?
Its endless, 'how to' videos, training videos and more of the entertaining stuff. We hope to do a 'Window Wars 2' in Scotland covering the licensing of window cleaners there. That will be awesome!!




Monday, 29 April 2013

Word Of Advise From The Sparkle King

Never a truer word spoken from the Sparkle King (above).
So recently I've been going over the window cleaning forums, my favorite being Window Cleaning Resource, when I came across this post from Jesse Green of Sparkle King in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. What struck me from Jesses musings is that although being quite young, he has captured what every window cleaner has been thinking for eons, but couldn't quite put them into words. His thread was a tongue in cheek response from a newer member who exploded on to the forum to boost his ego, or maybe to sell some "how-to" DVDs. Jesse is known as "greenj26" on the WCR forum.


A so-called expert has told you that your all a bunch of bumbling fools.

Fortunately, the solution is as easy as purchasing his marketing DVDs.

“I mean imagine if the craft you are trying to learn is to be an original. How could you learn the craft of being an original?” - JonathanSafran Foer
 
Hint: the answer isn't the exclusive prize of a secret cabal of ultra-wealthy carpet cleaners.
 
The very best window cleaning companies on WCR are a mix of styles because they are scattered across the country and exist in a specific ecosystems which they have adapted to.

The problem with cookie cutter marketing approaches is that they are merely one person's success formula (unlike a online business owner community). A narrow slice of the experiential pie, if you will. The simple fact that one person has succeeded with this formula may be a testament to their own drive and perseverance more than to their magic system.

If a system is developed by a super salesman personality and you are a stay-at-home computer nerd, do you really think it will work?

Why not devote your energy to your website?

There's more ways to be successful than you can count.

Who defines success anyways?

Yesterday I came to the realization that I'm really lazy. Then I briefly thought that, maybe I'm just efficient... but I knew that wasn't true. Then it finally dawned on me that I have no self discipline because I am always doing what I want.

On occasion I feel like a failure because I don't have a level of income commensurate with my level of education... and then I roll out of my hammock and pluck a grape from my harbor and pop it in my mouth.

Thinking about creating my own free videos on here for “The Bohemian Window Cleaner.”

I don't know if I could make a million dollars (p.s. A million isn't what it used to be). I know a few millionaires, though. My uncle rose up from a pig farmer to owning a large construction company worth millions. He's had so many ulcers and surgeries - all stress related...
 
No thanks.

I've been in multi-million dollar homes where the homeowner is following me around telling me how stressful it is to be rich, how everyone is after their money.

I was in a mansion of a gentleman who retired from a high position in a computer software development company in Silicon Valley. He said he had to get out before he had a heart attack as was common for that level of responsibility.

There's no magic secrets. The age of the internet is making that abundantly clear. The same information that Scientologists paid thousands of dollars for can be found free on the web. That's unfortunately making it harder for guru types to fleece people of their money. Accountability. Remember Paul McQuillan, anyone?

Kevin Dubrosky, on the other hand, has had hundreds of testimonials from the WCR community.

As far as vehicle wraps, fancy shirts, etc etc.... do whatever works. How can someone in one part of the country - know what works across the country in all the hundreds of distinct neighborhoods.

You have to think and understand biology to survive the new modern economy. A successful organism adapts and harness it's environment. You want to live in Arizona, be a lizard. You want to live in Alaska, be a bear.

Postcards, letters, vehicle signage, websites, email, facebook, newspapers.....they are all tools. Some of them are more effective than others.

Phone book anyone?

Future: Angie's List and other review sites. Website (quality of appearance and content, SEO). Water-fed pole technology (look at the UK window cleaning industry as a guide for where we are going especially with insurance and safety). Soon, I think I may get a dragonfly or some such system for cleaning high interior windows.

Some of these strict business guys think that it's just crunching numbers and having the best equipment doesn't matter. But I find that the better equipment I have, the better and easier it is to do the job, which results in more $ per hour and more confidence in the presentation of my services to the customer. There's a psychological component to business - it's not just crunching numbers.

I have found that a lot of the secret to my own system is just that it allows me to be more confident when I talk to the customer. Knowing your stuff makes you more confident.

The gap between the social classes is widening. The middle class is disappearing – fact. Targeting the more affluent class is becoming more difficult. Many are on do-not-contact lists.

The most exclusive customers find you. You need to be able to be found.


A little about Jesse of Sparkle King Window & Gutter Cleaning who services Cape Cod, the South Shore, and the South Coast of Massachusetts: "Hi, I’m Jesse Green owner and operator of Sparkle King. I have been helping customers add that bit of sparkle to their homes since 2008. Creating my company, I imagined what kind of experience I would want as a homeowner. I wanted to have someone I trusted in my home, someone with experience and passion, and someone who can explain the process in a simple easy to understand manner. I have sought to embody those traits in my business and hope you will actually enjoy having your windows cleaned when you choose Sparkle King."

Friday, 12 April 2013

Window Cleaning News

Window Cleaning Resource brings out their latest magazine. This is the most read window cleaning magazine in the World! Free Window Cleaning Business Magazine Issue #13 can be yours now totally free! Click the picture to take you there.

Wellingtonians could face fines over use of water during ban: Wellingtonians who flout the region's outdoor water use ban are being warned for now - but fines of up to $20,000 could follow for repeat offenders. A total ban on outdoor water use was introduced two weekends ago to ease the strain on the region's dwindling water reserves. Wellington City Council spokesman Clayton Anderson said 50 warning letters had been sent to residents who had breached the ban. "All have been for outside use for washing cars, hosing paths, cleaning boats and watering plants," he said. The council had not yet issued any fines, but repeat offenders would not get off so lightly. "If they have been dobbed in again, then I'd say our guys would take it seriously and probably issue some kind of fine." The council has discretion to set the amount of smaller fines, while courts could impose a fine of up to $20,000. Mr Anderson said the council did not have a uniform fine system in place.
"We can't remember the last time that we've had to impose a fine - because we haven't really had this problem before." Capacity Infrastructure, which is responsible for water management in Wellington and the Hutt Valley, said Lower Hutt residents were also being issued with warnings. But in Upper Hutt, infringement notices are being issued in the first instance. Capacity spokesman Alex van Paassen said three infrinegment notices had been issued, but it was yet to be determined if they would result in fines.
He said there had been a good response to the water conservation message in the region. "We've been getting calls from people who are concerned when they do see people washing the car or using the hose outside, so people have got right in behind the ban, really." Businesses which needed water - such as water blasters, house cleaners, painters or window washers - had also got behind the ban. Only two days of rain are currently forecast in the next fortnight.

The fastest female window cleaner in the world just got faster: Deborah Morris, of David Morris Window Cleaning, is now the fastest female window cleaner in the world, having cleaned the requisite number and sizes of windows in just 15.32 seconds. Previously - Deborah Morris (UK) cleaned three standard 1.14 m x 1.14 m (45 x 45 in) office windows set in a frame with a 300 mm (11.75 in) long squeegee and 9 litres (2 gal; US 2.37 gal) of water in 16.28 sec at the Cleaning Show 2011 held at NEC, National Exhibition Centre, in Birmingham, UK, on 3 March 2011. A base time of 13.28 sec was achieved but 3 sec penalty was incurred. Deborah works for husband, David Morris Window Cleaning in Cornwall. She can be seen here practicing. Previous blog here.

Click picture for video.
Creeping Cleaner: Sohail Abdulla (above) adjusts his robotic glass cleaner on the ‘‘testing window’’ installed in the family’s basement. A young inventor's desire to help his ailing father clean windows has scored the pair a trip to the United States. "One day I came home from school and my dad was cleaning the windows outside and he was struggling because he has back and knee pain, so I decided to make a robot to clean the windows for him," Sohail Abdulla says. Working in a purpose-built laboratory basement of the family's Mt Roskill home Sohail constructed a robot which slowly crawls across windows squirting glass cleaner and squeegeeing it off.
The 17-year-old's ingenuity won him the American Ambassador Outstanding Award at the Genesis Energy Realise the Dream award ceremony last year. The prize includes an all-expenses paid trip to the INTEL Science & Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona in May. The fair is the biggest of its type in the world with more than 1500 participants from around the globe showcasing their science research and innovations.
For the teenager who aspires for a future in mechatronic engineering the opportunity is a boon. "I haven't been to America before so the whole experience will be quite great," he says. Despite his win Sohail's dedication to his project hasn't slumbered. Since receiving the award the inventor has worked diligently in his basement lab, creating a new and improved version which relies on microfibre cloth to clean the windows instead of wipers. "The idea is to develop it to clean high-rise buildings. I've researched it and a lot of people have lost their lives cleaning windows up high." To make that vision a reality Sohail is devising a way to get the machine to lift itself from one window to the next.
Sohail says the project wouldn't be possible without the support of his dad, who even installed a "testing window" in the basement. And because the teen's Realise the Dream chaperone can't make the overseas trip Sohail is able to take his dad to say thanks. American Ambassador to New Zealand David Huebner is thrilled Sohail received the award. "His participation in the INTEL Science & Engineering Fair will enrich the event and further deepen the relationship between young Americans and Kiwis interested in science and technology."

Over Norton runner's cleaning regime for marathon training: He may have an active day job but Jim English is hoping his work as a window cleaner around the Cotswolds will help him run a marathon.
The 33-year-old, who lives in Over Norton, near Chipping Norton, is running the Brighton Marathon on Sunday for disabled children’s charity Whizz-Kidz. He hopes to raise £1,000 for the charity, which provides children with wheelchairs and other mobility equipment.
Mr English, who set up his own window cleaning business two years ago, has been training hard since the start of the year. He said: “Hopefully, window cleaning will help the running and the running will help the window cleaning. “I’ve been trying to do one long run a week. “Every kid should be given the opportunity to be active.”
To sponsor him, go here. Whizz-Kidz aims to improve the quality of life of disabled children and young people in the UK through the provision of customised mobility equipment such as wheelchairs and tricycles.  It is dedicated to providing help and advice to the children and their families and raising awareness of mobility-related issues through national campaigning. Log onto www.whizz-kidz.org.uk for more details.

A 14.5-tonne framed window will be fitted into Christchurch's transitional cathedral next week. The coloured-glass trinity window is expected to be fitted into the southern wall of the Shigeru Ban-designed cardboard tube structure on Madras St on Wednesday. The triangular window includes 49, 1.2-metre tall panels and incorporates images from Christ Church Cathedral's original rose window. Each image comes from the same position as on the rose window. Johnny McFarlane, of project manager Beca, said the lifting plan had taken two weeks to devise. Christchurch engineers yesterday visited the build as fact-finding tour organised by the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand. Bishop Victoria Matthews said the transitional cathedral was on track to be opened in June.

Why is corporate Britain's reputation in tatters? Ian Wright, corporate relations director at British drinks firm Diageo says.. "There’s a really healthy distrust of business right now, and business has a real task on its hands to bring back the situation….But you've got to bear in mind that the British public has a massive capacity for hypocrisy. The same people who complain that multinational companies don't pay their taxes will pay their window cleaner in cash."

Here Dr Tom Manion, CEO of Irwell Valley Housing Association, analyses the effect the bedroom tax will have on the social housing sector. April Fools’ Day heralds the introduction of the ‘bedroom tax’ - or as David Cameron prefers – the ‘spare room subsidy’. Whatever the terminology, what difference will it make to relieving housing need and making savings to a nation’s £200 billion welfare tab? There are crazy reactions to this scheme including an invitation from Ealing Council to simply foster children and Frank Field’s call to a re-enactment of a 14th century response to the window tax - tear walls down inside your house and reclassify homes from 3 bed to 2 bed.

How to save for a cash ISA: Regularly saving small amounts of money can quickly add up to a substantial sum worth investing. Follow these simple tips to start saving for an easy access ISA. Now the new tax year has started, investors should be grasping the opportunity to save up to £5,760 in cash, tax-free, in an Individual Savings Account (ISA). Yet often the chance to build up a nest-egg is missed because people feel that they don’t have any spare money to set aside. The economic climate has led to a decline in savings and a rise in personal debt. Recent research by Aldermore found half of Britons (51 pc) had no money to fall back on in emergencies. One in five stated their mortgage stretched them, leaving them without the provision to save, while two-thirds said commitments to credit card, student loans and car repayments were leaving them in the red at the end of the month. Aldermore’s research found that one of the biggest drains on people’s expenses is paying for a window cleaner.

This Russian Tycoon Is All About Business: (MOSCOW) - It was a rich payday even for an oligarch. Last month, Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group collected $13.9 billion for its stake in oil giant TNK-BP, sold in one of Russia's biggest-ever takeover deals. But the 48-year-old billionaire isn't planning to spend the proceeds on yachts or sports teams, like other Russian tycoons. For him, he said, there is nothing that can match the thrill of business. "You have no idea how interesting it is to think up these operations," he said in an interview in his spartan Moscow office. "It's fun." He is already looking at expanding his group's holdings in the oil, telecommunications, retail and banking businesses where it has made billions over the last two decades. Alfa is one of a growing number of cash-rich groups that got their starts in emerging markets but are increasingly reaching beyond their home territories, creating new competition for established companies and investors. Alfa got its start as a window-washing cooperative in the collapsing Soviet Union of the late 1980s. Mr. Fridman and a few friends from Moscow's Steel and Alloys Institute, a prestigious Moscow university, tried everything from selling computers to trading oil and currencies, getting rich as Russia lurched toward capitalism.

Two years on from seeking a bailout, Portugal's austerity plan has hit the country's population hard, as AP reports: Pictured Elena Baptista, left, serves a meal to her daughter Vania, 12, left, son Joao, 7, and husband Pedro, partially seen on the right, in their house's kitchen/living room in Loures, outside Lisbon. Serving a frugal lunch in their kitchen not much bigger than a bathroom, Pedro and Elena Baptista spoon stewed chicken feet onto their boiled potatoes and leave the slightly meatier wings for their 12-year-old daughter, Vania, and 7-year-old son, Joao. The Baptista family counts itself among the casualties of an unrelenting financial crisis that is squeezing the life out of some European Union economies, including Portugal. Pedro Baptista, a stocky 37-year-old, has found work as a part-time window cleaner but his wife Elena, 35, has been on welfare for almost a year after losing her job in a school canteen. Scraping by on a monthly household income of €650 ($840) and constantly going cap-in-hand to charities and family members has sapped their confidence. But Pedro is determined to stay positive. "Ups and downs are part of life. Things will improve," he says. "We just have to hold on."Exactly how long is hard to say, however, as Portugal's prime minister warns his nation to harden itself for more austerity.

'This Bud's For You' - This week marks the passing of Michael Roarty, the legendary beer marketer and Advertising Hall of Fame member who for four decades oversaw iconic campaigns at Anheuser-Busch. Among them were the beloved "This Bud's For You" ads. The theme of this particular spot, which came out in 1979, is to serve as a salute hardworking men and women across America --including construction workers, chefs, secretaries, ship captains, and window washers. Bud is toasting them with a cold, frothy brewski at the end of a long day. The voiceover at the end is by singer Lou Rawls; using him was a milestone because he was one of the first African-Americans to lend his talents to the company, and no less remarkably, in helping to sell a beer targeted mostly at white workers. Video can be seen at the link.

One of the gifts my husband Jack gave to me this spring is he hired a company to wash the outside of the windows on our house. Oh my, that will kick into action the spring cleaning frenzy and the “to do” list will fill up in a heartbeat. Second, after the window washers are through I will be inspired to wash the inside of the windows. All that sun shining brightly through the clean windows will encourage me to deep clean the rest of the house, like baseboards, window ledges, and winter heat cobwebs in the ceiling corners. Taking control of your life is the number one priority for a happy, healthy and stress reduced life. There are many books out there, and I have a bunch of them, that help you get organized and on a positive track with your life and enjoy the things that really matter. You are in charge, get started now!

Jim Wagner of connectedcontrators.com got the idea for the business when he was considering franchising his family's window cleaning firm in Warwick. He wants to connect contractors with customers and vice versa.
Site links contractors, customers -Network helps businesses share info, too: One of the Orange County Business Accelerator's enterprises in incubation aims to spread the word about finding reliable companies for renovation and building projects. If it sounds like Angie's List, it is; consumers can also comment about their experiences on connectedcontractors.com. But it's different in that contractors can recommend companies they've done business with, too. The site also offers space for companies to showcase their history and experience in the field, as well as display coupons and advertisements.
The ideas behind the business date back more than a dozen years, when Jim Wagner looked into franchising his family's business, the Estate Window Cleaning Co., which he operates in Warwick. Along the way, Wagner said, research into business operations led to the conclusion that there was a market for another company, one dedicated to connecting contractors with customers and vice versa. "We're a home-improvement network," Wagner said, "that encompasses everything a homeowner, a property owner, needs: contractors, suppliers, retailers, professional services and financing."
Consumers use the site for free, while businesses pay rates based on the services they need and their number of employees. Services for contractors include a variety of software applications for business tasks, including a cloud-based customer-management platform, sales forecasting, project proposal writing, and work scheduling. The company has several hundred business members, and a typical month brings 800 to 1,000 unique visitors to its website.

Q: How did researching the possibility of franchising your window-cleaning business evolve into connectedcontractors.com?
A: When we started to build the infrastructure we needed, we realized pretty quickly that the tools we were building could benefit others, and it should be its own business.

Q: A dozen years is a long time spent starting a business. What's kept you at it?
A: I believe in the overall mission of what we're trying to accomplish. Time spent on account management is lost time. There's a lot you can do to reduce the day-to-day thing.

Q: Could it have gotten where it is more quickly?
A: Had we taken on an investor early on, that would have speeded up the process. But we were in a trial-and-error phase for a long time. We were constantly refining what we were doing. But there's less stress, more freedom than if you have investors. You have the freedom to go wherever the road takes you.

Q: Where do you want that road to go in five years?
A: I hope we're doing exactly what we're doing now, except instead of helping a few companies locally, we're helping many companies nationally.

Q: Any advice for prospective entrepreneurs?
A: Two words: Collect contingencies. Be ready for anything and everything, because anything and everything might just happen. 

Young businessman welcomes BFP Choices Education Fair: A young businessman has voiced his support for the BFP Choices Education Fair, which comes to Wycombe next month, calling it a welcome way for youngsters to explore the options that lie before them. The Fair, at High Wycombe Town Hall on April 26, will offer 14-16 year olds a look at what options lie before them in terms of education or career path. There will be exhibitors covering higher and further education, apprenticeships and a range of career choices, along with a host of speakers.
Mohammed Zahir (pictured), 23, a young entrepreneur and owner of High Wycombe based Domestic, Office and Window cleaning company – Sabka Cleaning, says he “welcomes events like this as they help young people explore the options available to them – both in and out of formal education – and that he wished something similar was promoted more when he was younger.
Mr Zahir said: “I strongly believe there is so much potential in the High Wycombe area, young people who do want to get into business and there are not enough events happening that could inspire young people. In addition to broadening their understanding of the options available to them, if there’s one thing which young people can take away from events like this is honing their networking skills with other individuals and organisations- which is a vital tool for success in any field.”
His firm, Sabka Cleaning now provides domestic, office, window and carpet cleaning services to number of private and commercial clients across High Wycombe and is set to grow over 2013. He founded the business while studying full time at The University of Birmingham. He said: “Although others told me I wouldn't succeed and that I have no business acumen as a young person and that I'd either fail in business or at university, I associated with other entrepreneurs, sought advice from where I could and remained passionate and dedicated to my goals of succeeding at both.”

CHINA’S service industries expanded at a faster pace last month, supporting a further acceleration of growth in the world’s second-biggest economy. The non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 55.6 from 54.5 in February, the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a statement on Wednesday. The image of a cleaning worker is reflected on the glass window of a Beijing Rural Commercial Bank Co. branch in Beijing. Service industries accounted for 45 percent of China’s gross domestic product last year, according to the statistics bureau, up from 41 percent in 2003.

City Councilor At-Large Felix Arroyo, a Jamaica Plain resident, is running for mayor. How can a school system with an $800 million budget and a high per-pupil spending rate offer nothing but an empty classroom? Arroyo said that is one of the questions he aims to answer with the City Council’s auditing powers. Government transparency is one of Arroyo’s big concerns. “Make sure you’re the window-washer, so people can see what’s going on inside,” he said of a city councilor’s role in City Hall.

Cleaning Companies Aim To Help Women Undergoing Cancer Treatments: When you're fighting cancer, you're fighting for your life and sometimes it can be tough to keep up with the every day tasks. Some local companies, however, are working to help women undergoing cancer treatment by giving them one less thing to worry about by cleaning their homes. The service is something Laura Scott, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, relies on. She currently undergoes an aggressive treatment, which she says cuts into her energy levels. "One of the things is it zaps your energy level. You just don't have the energy to do it all and you can't do it all," Scott told FOX 29's Stephanie Esposito. Thanks to companies like Cleaning For A Reason and Professional Building Services, Inc., Scott doesn't have to do it all by herself. You can watch the story in the video at the link.

Window Cleaner spotted above New York streets: A nice sunny day to be working outside, in New York Street, if you have a head for heights.

Emily Taylor's dark comedy, Cannonball. Taylor will stage the work at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, morphing into 10 characters living or working in a shopping centre. They include faux spiritual CEO David, an evil Cabbage Patch doll and the psychiatrist's receptionist, Hilda. Taylor tested the work at New Zealand's Fringe Festival where she won the best solo work award. "To play all the different characters I have to really draw on my skills as a performer," Taylor said. "I have to make my body move distinctly differently and change my voice for each character. "Miles, a rough-around-the-edges window cleaner is the most popular with the audience." Taylor said much of the humour depended on value clashes between the characters and the situations they found themselves in. "The title Cannonball refers to the fact that all the characters are hurtling towards fates they have no control over," Taylor said.

Coal dust causes concerns for some in West Elizabeth: Many West Elizabeth residents, especially those living near state Route 837, for months have complained about black coal dust on their properties and in their homes. “It feels like baby powder, but it's black,” resident James Halt said. Halt and others said they believe the dust is coming from trucks transporting coal from mines in Somerset County to RiverLift Industries at 1000 Madison Ave. in West Elizabeth. “I live on 837 and they come right past my house,” Halt said. “I've been having coal dust in my house. I could have the doors closed and it's still in my house.” He said there is residue on his patio furniture, windows, carpets and in other areas of his home. “We're concerned of what we're breathing it in,” Halt's wife Edith said. “Coal miners have to wear masks when they deal with coal dust,” Halt said.
He said the coal dust began appearing last August. “My screens are all black,” Councilwoman Janet Isaacs, who lives a few doors down from the Halts, said. “It's bad. It's never been this bad. My house used to be white.” Halt said he hasn't noticed as many trucks since he met with RiverLift Industries co-owner Bob Schaefer and borough officials last week. Councilman Daryl Celestino said he is getting an air monitor for the borough. “I'm more concerned about the health issues than the cosmetic issues,” he said. Celestino said the roof of his mother's Viola Street house is black because of the dust. “My mother's window washer came on Tuesday and washed her windows,” he said. “He asked what the heck was going on and (said) that the coal dust on her windows was horrendous.”

LAX's revamped international terminal debuts on a smaller scale: Santa Monica's Museum of Flying will display a 24-foot model of the Tom Bradley facility, which has undergone a makeover overseen by noted Denver architect Curtis W. Fentress. The terminal display is part of the Museum of Flying exhibit because it is too big to be safely shown at the existing Bradley Terminal, said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, the city's airport agency. The 1.5-million-square-foot Bradley Terminal will feature about 5,000 windows, according to Fentress' designers. "I think window cleaner is a wise investment," Lindsey joked.

Woeful Wollongong shopping: Unusual though it may be, I have always enjoyed shopping. Perhaps it is my love of gadgets and such that causes me to seek out bargains, new products and special deals. I am a sucker for buying a product that has been demonstrated in the store or a show, only to find that the product never works as well is home as it did when it was demonstrated. Knife sharpeners, magnetic window cleaners that clean both sides of the panes at once, egg slicers, pineapple peelers - you name it, I have tried it.


Unsolicited Window Cleaner Sparks Police Call: Mystery window cleaner reported - A caregiver at a Bridgeton Drive home reported that a man came to the home, cleaned some exterior windows, and then left. The homeowner does not contract for the service, the care giver reported.

Mum’s anger over fading gravestone: A grieving mother has been left outraged after lettering on her son’s headstone has started to fade. It has been less than five years since Elaine Clark’s son Graham (pictured) was buried at Harton Cemetery in South Shields. The 21-year-old died on June 4, 2008, days after falling from a ladder as he was window cleaning in the Laygate area of South Shields. A year after he was laid to rest, a headstone was placed on the graveside and paid for by his grief-stricken family. They have now been left outraged after noticing lettering on the headstone is now starting to fade and disappear – only four years after it was put in place.
The owner of Abbey Memorials in Coston Drive, South Shields, Pauline Misra, says the recent bad weather and sap from nearby trees has led to the lettering fading. As a goodwill gesture, the company has offered to pay half towards the cost of replacing the lettering. But Mrs Clark, from Biddick Hall, South Shields says the firm should foot the entire bill. She said: “It was last year when I first noticed the lettering coming off the headstone. I contacted Abbey Memorials in October. “They said the lettering was coming off because of the weather and they wouldn’t repair it, but they would if I paid half.“I know the lettering will fade as time goes on, but after only four years? “There are headstones that have been there longer than Graham’s and their lettering is fine.”
Mrs Clark claims an independent stonemason who came out to look at the headstone says it had not been done properly. The 48-year-old added: “I don’t think I should have to pay. I have already paid once for the headstone and the lettering why should I pay again? I just think it’s a disgrace.”
Mrs Misra, who has run Abbey Memorials for 17 years said: “When we were informed about the lettering, we went out to the graveside to inspect the headstone. “The lettering is fading but this is down to two recent bad weathers and sap from the nearby tree. This is something we have no control over. “We do re-guild headstone less than two years old if it does fade, but not if the position where they are situated will mean the gilding is going to continually come off.
“We have offered to pay half towards the cost of re-guilding as it’s not as simple as just coming out and re-doing it. The stone would have to be taken away and then concreted back in place. “There is a similar problem with headstones – called slopers – which the snow lies on when it falls. When it melts away, it will take some of the gold dust with it. “We are not unreasonable people and we have offered to pay half towards the cost of having the headstone re-guilded. “I am really sorry Mrs Clark and her family are dissatisfied with this offer."

Telford window cleaner given five years for burglaries: A window cleaner has been jailed for more than five years after being found guilty of burglary and perverting the course of justice. Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that Barry Gilbert entered the bedroom of one house while the owner was asleep and stole a telescope and tripod by his bed. Recorder Denis Desmond said the owner now suffered from anxiety and did not feel safe in his home.
Gilbert, 29, of Willowfield, Woodside, Telford, was on trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court having denied two counts of burglary, one count of theft and one count of perverting the course of justice. Yesterday the jury found him guilty of all the charges and Recorder Desmond sentenced him to five years and eight months in prison. The court heard that on October 10 last year two homes in Waverley, Woodside, were broken into. 
From the first home, which belonged to James Adams, car keys, an Accurist watch, tobacco, a camera and a telescope were stolen. The car keys were then used to take a Ford Focus car from the drive. From the second home, two rings and two LCD televisions were stolen. The court heard that Gilbert had also called his aunt Teresa McCollum and asked her to change her statement about the day she saw him walking with a television.
Recorder Desmond said: “You have one relative who lives with you, your Aunt Theresa. “You tried to get her to lie to help your defence. She was too strong. It upset her greatly that you tried to do that.” Recorder Desmond said that the defendant committed the burglaries while he was on bail for two offences of battery.

Acid threat robber jailed: A robber who threatened to spray terrified shop staff with acid unless they handed over cash and cigarettes has been caged for more than three years. Christopher Bowlt issued the “ugly threats” to the staff at the Premier convenience store, in Osborne Road, Hartlepool, before demanding that the money and cigarettes were put into a carrier bag. The 30-year-old, who was carrying a milkshake bottle with ‘acid’ scrawled on it in marker pen, said: “If you don’t, I’m going to squirt this bottle of acid all over you. It burns through your skin and bones in 20 seconds.”
Despite the threats, the two workers chased after the fleeing drug addict and detained him until police arrived.
Judge John Walford, sitting at Teesside Crown Court, praised the pair’s courage and blamed Bowlt’s drug addiction and debts to dealers for the crime. He told the dad-of-two: “It has blighted your life and as a result of it blighting your life, you decided to blight the lives of others. “It is a measure, perhaps, of the grip in which drugs hold people, who, when they are unaffected by them, can be decent, law-abiding and hard-working. “When they are in the grip of drugs or, as in your case, in the grip of drug dealers with their evil tentacles, then they behave in a way which is not only harmful to society, but harmful to the people directly affected by their criminal behaviour.”
The court heard that Bowlt had small amounts of amphetamine and heroin on him when he was arrested on February 12. The court heard that a short time before the crime, the unemployed window cleaner snatched a handbag from a car while its owner strapped children in the back of the vehicle. The defendant admitted charges of robbery, theft and possessing Class A and Class B drugs, and was jailed for three years and four months. Jim Withyman mitigating, described the hold-up as “amateurish” and said the bottle did not contain acid. He said: “He has in the past been a hard-working man, a family man. “He is now estranged from his family. His partner could not deal with his intermittent drug use. He knew that store had CCTV. It was a very amateur attempt by him, but that shows the state he was in.” The court heard that Bowlt, of Keswick Street, Hartlepool, paced up and down outside the shop in Osborne Road “soul-searching” about whether to raid it. Judge Walford told him: “You took the wrong decision. You had with you what might, in the cold light of day, have been an amateurish weapon. “But, confronted by someone issuing ugly threats as you did, it is hardly surprising that those young people were terrified.”

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