3 Window Cleaning Operations

Greg Guetlin is seen on the job in downtown Vancouver. Guetlin is employed washing windows as well as the exteriors of buildings, including many multistory structures.

Working in Clark County: Greg Guetlin, Window Cleaner:  Rappelling off the roof of a multistory building is not for everyone, certainly not the faint of heart. But for Greg Guetlin, a maintenance technician for A-1 Integrity, it’s just a routine part of his work. “I really do enjoy my job and my co-workers, talking with my customers, and listening to podcasts on my headphones while I work. It’s not too stressful.”

Name: Greg Guetlin, window cleaner. Residence city: Kelso. Employer name: A-1 Integrity Inc., 360-254-3554, a1integrity.com Age: 31.

Educational/professional background: I graduated from Mark Morris High School in Longview. In 2004, I was having a hard time finding an entry-level job and decided to look for a one with a small business. I called A-1 Integrity on a Friday and they asked me if I could come in for an interview. The interview went very well and they asked me if I could start that Monday, and I’ve been working there to this day.

Personal/business philosophy: I feel that human beings are meant to be active and outside. Along with that, we desire seeing our hard work result in something tangible that gives us a sense of achievement.

Most rewarding part of job: The most rewarding part of my job is meeting new people and frequently traveling to new places.

Most challenging part of job: Making sure I have all the equipment and information about my customers and the work I’m going to conduct, because we provide a wide range of services.

Something surprising about your work: The range of people who are my customer base. I deal with all people, from the very rich to the very poor. Sometimes I will be doing work for very wealthy people at their almost unimaginable homes. At other times I am working on commercial jobs dealing with people who are just customers of the place where I’m working, people who are struggling and are in need of help from the rest of society. So, being around a very wide range of people gives me perspective of how we are all different and the same.

About going over the edge: The first time I went over, I was really nervous, but the guy who trained me was right next to me. When I train people, all I worry about is if they know 100 percent what they’re going to do once they get over the side. I don’t overwhelm them because that’s where something could go wrong. Once you’re over the side, you don’t really think about it too much.

Your favorite travel destination: I don’t have a favorite travel destination in particular. No matter where you are, your experience is determined by the people who surround you.

Best feature of your Clark County community: Clark County is just another reason why the Northwest is the best place to be. We have access to everything here, big cities, small towns, forests, rivers and lakes, wildlife, and a diverse population.

What would make your community a better place: I’m not sure, but I think people relating to one another and looking at things from other people’s perspective.

Favorite restaurant/pub/coffee shop/store: I don’t have any favorites, because there is so much to choose from, but I do enjoy locally owned places more than large chain stores and restaurants.

Hobbies: All my hobbies include being around other people: Playing in a band with my good friends, going on bike rides, walking the dog and swimming with my daughter, playing tabletop games and video games, and watching Netflix.

Most enjoyable recent book/play/movie/arts event: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was amazing! I got to go with my 9-year-old daughter along with my dad, who saw the original “Star Wars” movie when it first came out. I think we all loved it equally.

Something you’d like to do this year/within five years: Take my daughter on a vacation outside of the United States so I can show her other cultures.

One word to describe yourself: Unpredictable.

Person you’d most like to meet: Dan Carlin or Scarlett Johansson, both for different reasons.

Launch your startup with some bubbly.

Trust Your Gut, Take A Risk: Notes From A Startup Launchpad - As a serial entrepreneur, people come to me with business ideas all the time. Sometimes they’re awesome. Other times, they’re – well, not. Usually I’m too busy to even think about taking on a new project. So with three companies to run, I initially refused the pitch for Shack Shine when it came to me last year.

I could see that beyond the catchy name, it was a brilliant idea: creating a house-detailing service (windows, gutters, and power washing) built on providing an exceptional customer experience. It perfectly complemented the companies that make up the O2E Brands family. And I knew the industry didn’t have a recognizable category leader.

Despite the brand fit, I initially went against my gut and said ‘no’. So why am I writing today about the launch of our fourth brand, Shack Shine?

Dave Notte came up with the idea for Shack Shine after building a multi-million dollar commercial painting business. He felt ready to devote his energy to his next successful venture and having run service companies his entire life, wanted to “stick to his knitting”.

“I wanted to find a service no one wanted to do,” he told me. “Maybe even one that people looked down their noses at.”

He’d been mentoring two young entrepreneurs with small window cleaning companies and the elements of a great business were there: the industry was fragmented; the margins were high; the recurring revenue was solid. After some recon at one of North America’s largest window cleaning trade shows – and meeting the unimpressive competition – Dave knew he’d found a diamond in the rough. He said, “I was sure I was sitting on the next 1-800-GOT-JUNK?”

SPEAKING OF BUSINESS with Delightful Cleaning and Maintenance Services LLC -Owners: Drew Daniel - Location: Freeport - Number of employees: 5

What is the history of your business? Since 2013, we have served hundreds of clients. Attention to detail, thoroughness and quality of service at a reasonable price – that’s what you can expect from Delightful Cleaning and Maintenance.

What does Delightful Cleaning and Maintenance offer? We offer maintenance and cleaning services for homes and commercial buildings, including: general repair, pressure washing, interior/exterior painting, professional window cleaning, garden maintenance and landscaping. We also offer regular or one-time cleaning services.

How has business been going the past year? We are constantly improving.

What does it take to be successful? Being honest, fair and professional.

Why is Northwest Florida a good place to do business? It’s a great community with a lot of opportunities for small businesses.

What are your plans for the future? We hope to be leading provider in the South Walton area.

High Rise Stories USA

Mark Rutkowsky, above, and Eric Katzer hang off a building at Rock Pointe. The two regularly rappel off the roofs of buildings to clean windows around Spokane.

One thing is for certain: High-rise window washing is not a job for everyone. Eric Katzer said he can tell by the way job candidates walk across a roof whether they are cut out for it or not. Katzer owns and operates WestCoast Window Cleaning, a window washing company that cleans windows on tall downtown buildings like the U.S. Courthouse, the downtown post office, the Spokane Arena and on this particular day, Rock Pointe Corporate Center. “And some applicants just kind of go wobbly when they get up here,” Katzer said, while standing on the roof of Rock Pointe. “The worst thing that can happen is that they don’t tell us how scared they are before they go over the side of the building.”

Katzer got into the business when he was about 16 because he needed work and a friend’s father owned a window washing company. And today, roughly 30 years later, it’s still what he does for a living. “There’s nothing better than hanging off a building, washing windows,” Katzer said with a big smile. Katzer has rappelled down nearly every tall building in Spokane, and many in Seattle and other Northwest cities. 

He’s donned superhero costumes while washing the windows at Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital, to the delight of the young patients there. Office workers may be momentarily startled as the washers swing down in front of a window pane, but most continue with their tasks. If he’s ever come across any sort of unusual behavior in an office, Katzer is not saying. “We just do our job,” he said.

The equipment he uses is pretty simple: He sits on a platform that looks like a sturdy backyard swing, with a tall bucket of window washing water dangling below it. Rags, squeegees, suction cups to hold him up against slippery glass façades and anything else he needs to do the window job is somehow attached to him.

And over the rim he goes. “I hang the platform over the edge of the building and just slide down and sit down on it,” Katzer said. The platform ropes and Katzer’s safety harness are, of course, attached to the building. Sometimes there are special attachment points on a roof. Other times Katzer runs ropes around a structure – like a huge air-conditioning unit or a ventilation tower of some sort – then attaches his ropes to that. “We know the buildings we work on very well,” Katzer said. “All the ropes and straps we use are tested on a regular basis.”

Spend a morning with Katzer and his crew and it’s very obvious he doesn’t rely on luck to keep him safe. Everything the crew does is methodical, organized and done in the safest possible manner. During an ordinary workday the biggest crisis they encounter is yellow jackets. “You see the nest and they just come at you, and you have to decide whether it’s worth it,” said Mark Rutkowsky. “The best way is usually to come back later when the bees are all in there and spray them.”

The two joke and chat as they work their way down the building, quickly and efficiently, before heading off to the next job. Do any of them climb mountains for fun? Both shake their heads no. “Climbing is for work,” Katzer said. “I can’t imagine doing it in my spare time.”

Entry level window cleaners start at $12 an hour. Pay increases with experience. As for Donahue, he says he makes enough to be a stay-at-home dad during the winter months.

It's a job that starts 85 feet in the air (Montpelier, Vt.) "Check that everything is locked, safety's on, pins, pins, pins. And you go over," Matt Donahue said. Donahue has no problem rappelling off the roof of the National Life Building in Montpelier. "And you descend down," he said. He's a high-rise window washer. In fact, he and his wife run the family business. It's an idea Donahue got from his dad. "He figured out that he could make as much money with a $20 squeegee, than he could with a $20,000 backhoe," Donahue said.

He grew up learning the business. "When I was 14 years old I did my first drop at the McClure building at Fletcher Allen when it was new," he said. "And every summer since then, I've been washing windows." In 1995, he started Donahue Window Cleaning. He only had four contracts that year. Now he has 88 clients and got so busy he had to quit being a Montpelier volunteer firefighter.

"Everyone is always happy to see the window cleaners show up. They're going to have clean windows," Donahue said. "It's a very satisfying job knowing that at the end of the drop, I look up and say, 'Wow, we just cleaned all those windows.'"

He and his team specialize in office buildings, colleges, hospitals and high-rise condos in Vermont, New Hampshire and upstate New York. They see most clients twice a year, in the spring and fall. Besides sudsing, they also caulk, reglaze windows and fix leaks.

Reporter Jennifer Reading: Is your job dangerous?

Matt Donahue: No, it's not... You check your knots, make sure your setup is proper, check the machines. It's really safe. Weather and slippery roofs are the biggest pitfalls. But he says in his 25 years he's never had a rope break. "If you asked me if I was afraid of heights, I would say yes. But it's a healthy respect that I have for it. You can't ever forget where you are and what you're doing to be safe," he explained.

Remaining injury-free is definitely a team effort. They work in pairs. One dangles from the ropes, squeegee and mop in hand, while the other monitors the progress from above, slowly moving their partner across the massive buildings using a machine called a wall walker. "If I tell someone I'm a window cleaner they think, yeah, well anyone can do that," Donahue said.

A theory I decided to put to the test. For safety reasons, I went up from the bottom rather than over the top with my bucket, seat and squeegee. And it wasn't exactly pretty. It's harder than it looks; Donahue and his team make it look really easy. With each mop swipe, gravity swung me away from the building, resulting in an accessory casualty-- my necklace broke. OK, so I'm slightly less graceful than the pros, but I sure put on a show for everyone inside.

"When they see the ropes dangle in front of the windows they go, 'Oh, the window cleaners are coming.' But once in a while you really do scare somebody and they just 'BAHHHHH!' Some people actually get up and leave office. They can't deal with someone hanging out their window," Donahue said. He admits the gig's not for everyone and, at times, struggles to fill his crew.

"Spiders. Spiders love the sides buildings. If you don't like heights, you don't like spiders, it's not the job for you," he said. But for this Charlotte dad, the nine-month work schedule and a love of Mother Nature make this Odd Job a perfect fit.

Matt Donahue: What scares me the most is looking in the windows at the people working in cubicles. I wouldn't want to do that.

Jennifer Reading: Do you think you have an odd job?

Matthew Donahue: No... I can't see myself doing anything else, honestly. I really enjoy it.
So now the million dollar question: what's the secret to squeaky clean windows? Donahue says it's all about what's in the bucket and spills that the odd ingredient behind his success is laundry detergent. Entry level window cleaners start at $12 an hour. Pay increases with experience. As for Donahue, he says he makes enough to be a stay-at-home dad during the winter months.

Ned Harris considers himself lucky to be alive, surviving a 20-story fall as a high rise window cleaner in Hawaii in 1978.

Not ready to hang it up, Kelso man, 88, opens dry cleaning business: “My whole family thinks I’m nutty for doing this, but I need something to do,” says 88-year-old Kelso resident Ned Harris. After owning many businesses throughout his life, the Kelso native decided to open Discount Dry Cleaners at 1146 15th Avenue in Longview to keep himself busy. He considers himself lucky to even be alive after surviving a 20-story fall as a high rise window cleaner in Hawaii in 1978.

“Today I feel lucky because I don’t know how the hell I made it to 88, but I did. All my friends ... are dying on me and it’s really sad,” he said, adding that he also lost his wife three years ago. “I don’t like being a bachelor.” The 88-year-old World War II veteran has lived in Hawaii, Alaska and other places, but he’s always returned to Kelso. “This is home for me,” he said. “My family thinks I am too damn old and their probably right. How I made it to this point after my big fall is luck. But now I’m 88 and I know damn well I’m lucky.”