Automobile-less Window Cleaning

Driving and traffic has become a real problem in North American city centers. Several companies in our service area are adopting the European and Asian concept of small vehicles for the delivery and service industries.

The benefits of getting really creative and thinking outside of the box for my small company have been tremendous in the last 4 months. I’ve fueled up my vehicle only once in the last 8 weeks. I haven’t even needed it in the last 5 days. Traffic is no longer an issue. You go straight to the front of the queue at lights and intersections. It’s literally twice the speed of driving.

In my city 30% of fuel and time driving accounts for circulating and finding a parking spot. Parking spots, fees, tickets, transporting equipment to the job from the truck, etc. no longer exist. The time and money savings has proven the concept over and over and has paid for itself in a matter of hours.

My sleep and energy has greatly increased in quality. I’ve lost 15 pounds down from 245 and find myself stopping at the gym for more action. I haven’t dedicated a single minute of my workouts to cardio in 4 months. It’s included in my commute now. That’s a time savings of hours each week that I put back into life.

The advertising factor is also huge. People love different. They love innovation. They also appreciate environmentally conscious companies.

Does anyone here in small geographic service areas NOT use a vehicle for their window cleaning company? Would you consider it given the many benefits.

Below are a couple photos of my work vehicle. The first shows a small 2 hour job that usually requires walking in equipment because of strict parking restrictions. I shaved off a half hour or so of setup and break down time plus a potential parking ticket of $50+.

The second shows my competition working on a building in the background that could easily be cleaned via wfp and one operator at the same or faster efficiency. They need 3+ workers, a huge crane truck, a work truck, permits to block the street, permits to block the sidewalk, etc… The same could be done by much much simpler means and the unneeded overhead put back into the company.

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Congratulations that sounds awesome!

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I have said from day one “I LOVE your setup Joshua!”

Its a smart idea.

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What kind of bike do you use?

Looks like a single speed with a front brake. I’d probably use a Surly LHT.

Awesome setup for sure though.

My town is too small for a bike op, though I see them! I drive a lot for my work… Maybe 1/4 of my day on a storefront line because it’s so random and competitive in my area.

I use a large frame (58 cm) single speed with a fixed gear drive train. I have a large 19 tooth cog on the back with a 46 tooth crank so it’s a bit easier to start and stop than traditional fixed gear torque ratio.

John Deere colors, naturally. I’m originally from Vermont. What can I say.

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I wish I could do that here but it wouldn’t work. Everything here is soo spread out and the roads and traffic aren’t conducive to bikers… At least not the pedal kind.

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I love bicycles.

It’s culturaly unacceptable here in America to be a cyclist.

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That building in the second picture looks 8-10 stories tall. How are you going to WFP that?

The building directly behind the trailer is 4 commercial stories, or about 60 feet. You can see there’s a crane chair up against it with two guys cleaning windows from it.

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That’s very sad and pathetic but very true. I’ve seen it.

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Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

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Past years cleaning this building I’d have to fight for parking a couple blocks away and then move the truck several times during the day because parking is so regulated and restricted in our city. It also saves time when I go out for lunch and have to come back and fight for another stop. I knocked this job from 6.5 hours down to 5.5 hours.

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Quick question Joshua…

What will you do during rain and snow fall or when the snow is knee deep, I think I know the answer thought I would ask anyway. :wink:

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… If that fails… :wink: :wink:

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Yes i agree to a certain extent, I think its all about how you design your look and the way you present yourself and your company. Like Joshua setup is slick looking then you have those that have bucket(s) and tools hanging every where.

Me to!

Last bits of warmth this fall…

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do have any trouble in windy conditions? it looks a bit unstable.