Twenty Questions with Oregon's Tim Hunter of "Gleaming the View."

Tim Hunter from Oregon of "Gleaming the view" window cleaning & our second sponsor of the blog. He gets asked 20 odd questions for today's edition. Tim is quite active in the on-line window cleaning community, he has recently started his own blog & added some videos too! Go here to see the blog. Tim is pictured above, holding the worlds largest squeegee - "the Slayer." Normal, ordinary guys can also buy them here. Tim has also been featured before in the blog here.

1.How long have you been window cleaning & what circumstances led you to start in the first instance?

I've been cleaning windows for just over 10 years. I believe it all started by reading a magazine article about some self made millionaire cleaning windows!

2. Which is more lucrative for Oregon window cleaning? Commercial or Residential?

Our most lucrative service is our residential window cleaning. It far surpasses our commercial accounts.

3. Have any favourite tools?

I have a particular screen popper I’m quite fond of. Her name is Betsy and she has been with me a long time...LOL

4. What’s your newest tool & was it worth buying?

I have just invested in water fed poles. They have been a huge success for us with a few pretty upset customers going through our learning curve, I think we got a grasp of it now.

5. Ever tried a Wagtail?

I did get to use a Wagtail. I believe the guys at WCR provided it for the North-West Window Cleaners BBQ in 2008. I thought it was a great tool, that would compliment any window cleaners tool box! Wish I had been the one to keep it! LOL.

6. What do you do to calm down on the job? Or do you just go all "John Mcenroe?

I take great pride in keeping my cool on the job. Things can really build up on me real quick. I usually take it out on my poor steering wheel though.

7. Are you in a trade association? Which one & why is it so good?

Yes, I’m currently in Master Window Cleaners of America. My home group I call it! LOL. I’ve been a member over there for this past 3 or 4 years. I am also a current member of the AUWC, although I don’t participate as much as I want. Masters keeps me pretty busy and the pressure washing and roof cleaning groups I participate in.

8. Who makes the best squeegees?

Lately I’ve been a huge fan of THE SLAYERS.

9. What possessed you to advertise on this blog?

Karlos, you have a great blog! I don’t know how you get this information but its always a great read.

10. Fabrication debris - it's a big topic in the USA. What do ya reckon?

I’m comfortable with our association’s stance on the matter. There are groups amongst the associations tackling GANA head on with our issues. I firmly believe though, if more of us window cleaners take action and join the associations - we have a lot better chance of getting our voice heard to make change and make GANA pull there head out of there ass! Until then I highly recommend getting a waiver signed before those blades come out!

11. How many current employees do you have?

I’ve been affected quite a bit with the real estate market being slow this past year. Typically about 80% of my business is getting homes ready for sale. I currently have 2 employees.

12. Your most hated chore in your work services?

Making phone calls! I wish I had every one’s e-mails...LOL

13. Which Disney character would you be & why?

Owe, I’m a Goofy guy!!!

14. If you weren't doing the best job in the world, what would you be doing?

Fishing

15. Are you going green or is it all a con?

Hmmm. I guess I haven’t heard anything about cons with the green move. Living in Oregon we have a huge majority here that are earth friendly. We get asked all the time if we use green products, I laugh and tell them "I think its blue" LOL. I honestly make many efforts in doing my part in taking care of the environment.

16. Favourite team?

Seattle Seahawks!!! Looks like another year going in the dumps though!

17. How many squeegees do you actually own?

In my possession? Or how many are in my customers bushes and trees? I think around 40 or so!

18. Why did you buy the biggest squeegee in existence? Have you ever used it?

I’m glad you asked Karlos. I’m not trying to compensate for something honestly! It is a real eye catcher though and I just wanted to say my squeegee is bigger than yours! LOL.

I found some windows the other day at a shopping mall that the squeegee would work on… I got all set up, bright and early in the morning, if I may add. The video camera was just set to record and a very young security guard with a badge bigger than he was made me stop. I asked what the problem was and he insisted I get permission before cleaning those few windows. I looked at him like he’s crazy, I’m cleaning there windows for free, you think there going to say no! LOL. I haven’t gone back!

19. Are you friendly with the other local window cleaners?

I better be! I host the Northwest Window Cleaners BBQ. We’re making it an annual event here. Window cleaners are far fewer here being there’s so much rain I guess. I think we get left out a lot of the bigger events and trade shows for our industry. So bringing us together once a year is a start. I have hopes a chapter may form here with our associations in time. I have personally invited every window cleaner within a hundred miles from me. It’s funny the different responses I get when talking to them about it. I’ve been amongst the groups online and have attended a few seminars so I’m more use to talking to fellow window cleaners. The Northwest is the home of the most versatile window cleaners in the world. A lot of great people earning an honest living! There are those few, you know who you are. Just play a fair game, bad mouthing the competition just makes you look bad!

20. How often do you change your squeegee rubber?

Once a month maybe, that’s about how often I put my belt on. My guys go through a lot. We change them up daily.

21. Which soap do you use? Have you tried any others?

GG4 & I am a fan of a product made by Coast wide labs. 64/1 concentrate with a floral scent my customers love. I often just crack the bottle to smell! Works good too!!

22. What’s the best thing about trade shows?

Trade shows are a lot of fun and educational, I’m lucky to take home a small fraction of everything that can be passed to you there.

23. When will you retire & on what terms?

I will retire when I get my Bass boat to join the B.A.S.S fishing circuit!

23. What is the next biggest expense you'll have to pay?

Trailer mounted hot water pressure washer!

24. If you were going to go for the humorous side of window cleaning - what would you have called your company?

“Peeking window cleaners” or maybe “I C U” I don’t know, both of those sound kind of creepy actually.

25. What’s next for Gleaming the View?

Opening a remote office at the beach and taking our roof cleaning business to another level by joining a certification program. I highly recommend roof and gutter cleaning as an add on service.

Window Cleaning BBQ + Other News

THIS SATURDAY Aug 15th 2009: Hillsboro, Oregon: The North West Window Cleaners BBQ is the gathering place for all window cleaners in the North west territory. This is the place where we get together leaving the competitive edge behind, discuss current events and the window cleaning industry. Its my belief by helping one another we grow and better our trade as a whole. Tim Hunter of "Gleaming the View" will showcase Networking, Demos, a Swap-meet & a BBQ. Click here for more details.

A Janesville window cleaning company donates its time and services to area non-profit organizations. The Association of United Window Cleaners, (AUWC) a national organization, encourages members to take part in its two weeks of charitable service. So that's what Xtreme Cleaning is doing. Workers spent the day at Rock Assembly of God Church in Janesville, making sure all of the windows were squeaky clean. "I think it's very important in the struggling economy that we have that we don't forget about the non-profit organizations and the people in need," said Xtreme Cleaning Owner Troy Nelson. Next week Xtreme Cleaning will be in Beloit, cleaning windows at the Hands of Faith Homeless Shelter.

Learning the ropes paves way for new jobs: There was a time when the only people who knew how to abseil down ropes were climbers, cavers and the SAS. However, all that is changing. 'Offshore' industries such as shipping and oil production have realised a trained abseiler can save them an enormous amount of money in regard to inspections and maintenance, and so the demand for high altitude workers has rocketed. Rather than construct costly scaffolding to get up to the area, a trained abseiler can do the job in a fraction of the time. And as the credit crunch has taken hold, more and more workers are seeing the attraction of this kind of work.
With rope access operatives able to earn up to £48,000 for working just six months of the year offshore, it's little wonder there's also been a surge in applications to get that all important qualification. Asked what sort of jobs are available to graduates of the course, Mark replied: "Now there's a lot of wind turbines being built, and there is a new initiative on the Tyne to build more. "People also want to go offshore such as on service maintenance, inspection work and NDT. "There are jobs onshore too; window cleaners, on wind turbines, scaffolders, painters. Anything at height, they could do this course."

Nevada JobConnect launches employment quest: Job seekers in Las Vegas are about to get a burst of new opportunities. The state agency in charge of helping people find employment has launched a major new offensive or, as they call it, a job "quest." It's like a military surge with an army of agents out all around Las Vegas, calling and meeting employers over the next two weeks. The goal of this quest is to add hundreds of new job listings to the JobConnect system. Every day, hopeful job seekers study the listings. But for most of the year, the pickings have been slim: window cleaner, part-time cook, and the occasional skilled position like MRI technician. What the JobConnect office needs is more - a whole lot more - opportunities for the unemployed to get their lives back in business. There are currently 540 job orders posted at the JobConnect office; the goal is to have nearly double that inventory by the end of the week.
But job counselors know that is a tall order. In some cases, a single job listing will generate 500 applications - not good odds at all. But with more postings, the hope is that applicants will start seeing better results. The Nevada JobConnect listings can be accessed in person at the office across from the Boulevard Mall or around the clock via the Internet at the Nevada JobConnect web site. Nevada currently has the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country at 12 percent. Michigan, home of the auto industry, is number one with 15 percent.

MPs' expenses - they just don’t get it! Letters/ Sir, I have just read the letter from my MP Barbara Follett addressing her reasons for claiming, and now paying back, those expenses. I would like to know in view of her explanation, how £1,600 for window cleaning could be considered a justifiable parliamentary expense? Does serving as an MP make one's windows somehow more grubby? Well it certainly appears to make their view on financial morality a tad obscure. Oh dear, they still don't get it, do they?
J Cooper,
Stevenage.

Ever done this? The window-washing mix has a great ad on TV about two crows sitting on a line laughing at the guy who runs into a very clean patio glass door. Of course, it has been cleaned with Windex. Ever seen it? Well, last week I felt really stupid, again, and I would have fit right in if that pair of crows was sitting on a nearby utility line. I happened to be at the Rocky Mount water treatment, or filtration if you like that word, plant. There are two large, heavy plate glass doors at the entrance to the building. On one side, there is an equally as large heavy plate glass window. Turning on my heels and sorta talking back to Bob, I headed out the door in great haste!
I was suddenly stopped when I walked head-on into the big plate glass window with a loud thud! I was reaching to push the door open with my left hand and, of course, I was more than a "shade" off my target. My right hand slammed into the glass, knuckles first as my left hand reached part of the door where the hinges are located. Also hitting the heavy glass was my head! That brought a loud thump. Most of the time I wear a Crooked Road pin at the bottom of my News-Post hat. Well, the pin smacked the glass and the little round back that holds it in place drove a little round hole into my forehead! I reeled backward from the impact to Bob's instant question, "Are you okay?" Still a little stunned from the blows, I assured him I was as I cleared the cobwebs out of my head and looked at my red, aching knuckles. Then it dawned on me that my forehead also was hurting. I checked under the cap but found no blood! I did feel a tiny knot left by the pin's backing. I walked out to where I had parked Goldie, checking my knuckles and sorting out everything. Returning to the building, I thought about the commercial and glanced over at a nearby telephone line. Thank goodness I didn't see a pair of crows sitting there laughing their heads off at what I had just done As I walked back inside, I stopped long enough to check just how clean the glass really was. It sparkled. No fingerprints, smudges or anything else. It would have made an excellent commercial if a crew had been set up ready to roll. The first "take" would have been perfect. It would have to be because I sure wouldn't go for a second take. The next morning, my knuckles were still red and a little swollen. And my head still bore the little broken mark in my skin and the area was sore.

Manufacturers Look for Creative Ways to Climb Back: More than half of respondents to a recent survey said they plan to identify new market segments and jumpstart aggressive sales and marketing efforts when asked what changes their company would likely make over the next 12 months. The unscientific poll taken of Manufacturing and Technology eJournal readers from July 22 through July 28 drew more than 350 responses. Readers were asked to choose more as many answers that applied to their situation. Other top answers include expanding territory to look for new business wherever it may be (more than 36 percent), looking to existing vendors for cost reductions (32 percent) and eliminating underperforming products and services to conserve capital (24 percent). Less than 24 percent said they plan to layoff employees. Other answers include reducing salaries or days worked to cut costs and save jobs (21 percent); staying closer to home for business to cut costs (12.5 percent); asking creditors for extended payment terms and/or grace period (9 percent); selling company assets (9 percent); applying for a business loan (6 percent); and pursuing other options (6 percent). David Velie, managing partner of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Amend Consulting/Techsolve, says there is still time to take meaningful action to stay competitive. When the CEO of one of Velie's clients asked his team to cut budgets, for example, the move meant eliminating the window cleaning service. To set an example, the CEO stuck around after work and cleaned windows himself.

Master Window Cleaner 2009 - Tim Hunter - Gleaming the View

The Master Window Cleaners of America is a Window Cleaning Association for Residential and Route Window Cleaners founded in 2004 by Jack Nelson. Their primary goal is to elevate the public status of experienced Professional Residential and Route (UK round ) Window Cleaners.
Master Window Cleaners of America is an Association run by the Members who decide together what the future will be and as a Member your vote counts. Started by 5 Window Cleaners from 5 different areas of the United States, their window cleaning experience totals over a 100 years.
By Associating with other experienced Professional Window Cleaners across the country, you will be better able to serve your customers needs, being a member. MWCoA gathers and provides helpful information to its Members in all aspects of Window Cleaning and especially in the area of advertising. They also encourage a wide range of Memberships in Window Cleaning organizations.

Each year the MWCoA take time to award one of its members as the Window Cleaner of the year. This year that vote was won by Tim Hunter by a narrow margin over Dwight Rowe & Rob Young. Tim runs "Gleaming the view" window cleaning from Beaverton, Oregon. You may remember this picture of Tim from the 2008 IWCA convention in San Diego above. "Gleaming the view" is actively looking for career-minded individuals to open branches of "Gleaming the View" in the following areas: Salem, Seaside & Lincoln City. Tim will receive a truckful of prizes & also receive the distinction of being MWCoA window cleaner of the year for 2009. Well done Tim.

The MWCoA welcomes all window cleaners new & old to join the association & there's no better time to sign up. For $50 you receive the equivalent in value just in window cleaning tools. Why not try it? With over 300 members in America & Internationally, you have nothing to loose & you may even get to stay! I know I did!

Window Cleaner of the Month

Tim Hunter, of Gleaming the View window cleaning, was named Window Cleaner of the Month for March by the Master Window Cleaners of America. The award, with its associated prizes worth about $350, puts Hunter in line to compete for Window Cleaner of the Year.

Jeremiah Hickey - featured previously has made headlines again:
It’s been called the Olympics of window cleaning — an international competition to determine the speediest window washer and one local man is a medalist. Competitors travel from around the globe some dressed in jumpsuits in their country’s colours to compete for the best score in the International Window Cleaners Association event and to earn the coveted glass trophy. Jeremiah Hickey of Grover Beach came close, placing third at the competition in February in San Diego. He considers himself America’s fastest window washer. The first and second-place finishers were from Japan. “We take it seriously, to the extent that we want to win,” Hickey said Thursday. “But it still is mostly friendly.” Competitors must clean three 45-inch square glass panes with a mop and squeegee in a matter of seconds. Hickey did it in 13. He said he actually had the best time but was penalized for a couple of drips of water left on the clear glass.