Good Morning Everyone !!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful, prosperous week. Ours started out a little slow but things are really picking up. Plus as my title suggests The Man isn't here. He went to the Window Cleaning Convention down in Atlanta along with Mr. Fancy Pants and Negative Nancy. So as the saying goes When the cats away the mice will play. Just like a dad this is exactly what he thinks is happening and although the thought is in my head flashing slack off, party just like a teenager; I have to say honestly I feel we are all being really responsible and getting a lot done around here.
We sent out our mailers again this week to remind customers that spring is coming and even though it's not here yet we are still working. We incorporated some cool specials on window cleaning, chandelier cleaning and some other services that even in this economy can't be turned down. I'm noticing a pretty decent response from these mailings especially this week. We were able to send out several trucks with full tracks of work and the phone is ringing steadily for power washings and window cleanings in the spring months coming up. I'm so excited; I love to be busy and see results when I look at reports, it gives me a sense of accomplishment.
I also have another reason to be excited. We are actually almost ready to get a new family member in here just in time for spring fever. Interviews are in place, going along smoothly for the most part. Hey don't you ever wish you could do an interview process like this for your own family? I guess that would be fine if you like to live life in a neat little box but at the same time it would take the surprise out of life. Hmmmmm......
Well I actually have to get back to work but I will definitely keep you posted on the status of our new family member coming soon. Have a great week, talk to you all next time.
Bye for now,
The Appointed One
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Spring into Action
Good Morning Window Cleaning World,
I am very happy to say that we are having some very awesome weather today and for the rest of the week it looks like. It is going to be in the mid 50's today. There will be some rain but hey I can deal with that. I have everything crossed that I can possibly cross, praying that this holds out and the cold stays away.
Spring is almost here whether it feels like it or not where you are. This means we need to be ready to deal with spring fever and the craziness that comes with it. This year may seem a little more crazy than normal because we have some members leaving temporarily. Missy is leaving to have her little Rambo which is very exciting, The Don is taking off to south of the border for some marital bliss time and The Marketeer is not coming back to us. This makes things challenging for me and Money Bags for a little while.
On the bright side we are getting a new member of the family soon; which is exciting. I can't wait to be able to introduce them. Mr. Fancy Pants has put together a brand new sales program for our commercial department and The Man is putting together some new sales goals for the residential department as well. Everyone is still working very closely together to ensure that spring starts off running smoothly and the benefits are evenly spread across the board. We in the office are also going to get to spend a few days out in the field with our techs so we experience exactly what it's like to be in their shoes. This is a great attempt to thin out that line that divides techs and office staff at times. I can't wait!!
Maybe I am over excited about the nice weather we are having, maybe I'm delirious; who knows or cares. At this point I am just so excited to get spring going and I'm not the only one getting excited; I got two calls for power washing already this morning.
So buckle down and get ready for some serious window cleaning world action because spring is coming ready or not.
Have a Great Week,
The Appointed One
I am very happy to say that we are having some very awesome weather today and for the rest of the week it looks like. It is going to be in the mid 50's today. There will be some rain but hey I can deal with that. I have everything crossed that I can possibly cross, praying that this holds out and the cold stays away.
Spring is almost here whether it feels like it or not where you are. This means we need to be ready to deal with spring fever and the craziness that comes with it. This year may seem a little more crazy than normal because we have some members leaving temporarily. Missy is leaving to have her little Rambo which is very exciting, The Don is taking off to south of the border for some marital bliss time and The Marketeer is not coming back to us. This makes things challenging for me and Money Bags for a little while.
On the bright side we are getting a new member of the family soon; which is exciting. I can't wait to be able to introduce them. Mr. Fancy Pants has put together a brand new sales program for our commercial department and The Man is putting together some new sales goals for the residential department as well. Everyone is still working very closely together to ensure that spring starts off running smoothly and the benefits are evenly spread across the board. We in the office are also going to get to spend a few days out in the field with our techs so we experience exactly what it's like to be in their shoes. This is a great attempt to thin out that line that divides techs and office staff at times. I can't wait!!
Maybe I am over excited about the nice weather we are having, maybe I'm delirious; who knows or cares. At this point I am just so excited to get spring going and I'm not the only one getting excited; I got two calls for power washing already this morning.
So buckle down and get ready for some serious window cleaning world action because spring is coming ready or not.
Have a Great Week,
The Appointed One
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Snow Snow Go Away
Good Morning Window Cleaning World. Did everyone enjoy the snow day last week and the wonderful commutes yesterday as well?
I do not like the snow especially when I have to drive in it. I know our crews don't like it either. Snow makes things difficult all around. Yea it's pretty to look at and fun for all the kids to sleigh ride and let's not forget the die hard snow boarders and skiers. For me and many other people like me snow means cold, yucky weather and bad driving conditions.
I know I know I'm being a negative Nancy but I am more of a spring, summer, fall kinda person. Winter is dull, dreary and seems to drag on. Customers notice this too which is why window cleaning is good to have all year round. A lot of people get bummed in the winter so a clean, bright atmosphere helps their mental state.
Some people just choose to ignore the winter by preparing for spring projects, clean ups, vacations, etc. In this business that is a good thing. We are already getting calls about power washing, window cleaning, gutter whitening and other services that are generally done in warmer weather. Even in this economy right now sanity needs to be placed above savings.
So my wish for this week is snow snow go away don't come back another day. Keep plugging through the cold, dress warm, work fast and plan for the spring fever.
Thanks for Tuning In,
The Appointed One
I do not like the snow especially when I have to drive in it. I know our crews don't like it either. Snow makes things difficult all around. Yea it's pretty to look at and fun for all the kids to sleigh ride and let's not forget the die hard snow boarders and skiers. For me and many other people like me snow means cold, yucky weather and bad driving conditions.
I know I know I'm being a negative Nancy but I am more of a spring, summer, fall kinda person. Winter is dull, dreary and seems to drag on. Customers notice this too which is why window cleaning is good to have all year round. A lot of people get bummed in the winter so a clean, bright atmosphere helps their mental state.
Some people just choose to ignore the winter by preparing for spring projects, clean ups, vacations, etc. In this business that is a good thing. We are already getting calls about power washing, window cleaning, gutter whitening and other services that are generally done in warmer weather. Even in this economy right now sanity needs to be placed above savings.
So my wish for this week is snow snow go away don't come back another day. Keep plugging through the cold, dress warm, work fast and plan for the spring fever.
Thanks for Tuning In,
The Appointed One
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
What a Difference
Good Morning Window Cleaning World !!
I hope all is well with the window cleaning world as well as the rest of the world today. Well we have a new president officially in office. Hopefully that will start to help calm the financial panic everyone seems to be in. I know I sound selfish but I really like my job and would like to keep it while making sure of course that The Man stays in business for a long time to come.
Anyhow enough about politics and onto what's going on in our little world. We seem to be streaming along quite smoothly which is surprising to me. I can't really explain why this is so surprising considering this is how it should be but I guess I always try to prepare for the worst this way there aren't any surprises later on.
I had talked about communication a while back in my blogs acknowledging that it was definitely something we had to work on in here just like siblings do at home. We all definitely seem to be on the same page thus far which is a great thing. I personally thought that by now someone would be in an uproar about something based on past experiences; I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop..... and........ NOTHING!! YAY!!
Maybe I'm being too optimistic and this is only a short term thing, maybe we haven't had enough time to get on each others nerves yet. Hopefully and sadly to say maybe there was only one real thorn in this rose bush and it has been broken off; so this will last forever (haha).
We lost one member of our family over the last month shortly before our winter break. They are fine don't worry; they just moved on to another phase of their life. Tensions seem to be less since we came back minus one and shed a lot of light on some of our own issues and faults. We also make sure that we communicate openly a lot more about our plans, goals, likes and dislikes as well as share tasks at hand. One person is designated head of the project and the rest of us chip in ideas, connections, or just assistance where needed.
This is quite an awesome accomplishment for any business. A happy work place makes a productive work place right?! (I'm sure there's some savvy saying for this just as I'm sure I butchered this one). Follow in our footsteps, communicate openly & civilly, Grow up a little and weed out those thorns if necessary.
Have a Great Week
The Appointed One
I hope all is well with the window cleaning world as well as the rest of the world today. Well we have a new president officially in office. Hopefully that will start to help calm the financial panic everyone seems to be in. I know I sound selfish but I really like my job and would like to keep it while making sure of course that The Man stays in business for a long time to come.
Anyhow enough about politics and onto what's going on in our little world. We seem to be streaming along quite smoothly which is surprising to me. I can't really explain why this is so surprising considering this is how it should be but I guess I always try to prepare for the worst this way there aren't any surprises later on.
I had talked about communication a while back in my blogs acknowledging that it was definitely something we had to work on in here just like siblings do at home. We all definitely seem to be on the same page thus far which is a great thing. I personally thought that by now someone would be in an uproar about something based on past experiences; I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop..... and........ NOTHING!! YAY!!
Maybe I'm being too optimistic and this is only a short term thing, maybe we haven't had enough time to get on each others nerves yet. Hopefully and sadly to say maybe there was only one real thorn in this rose bush and it has been broken off; so this will last forever (haha).
We lost one member of our family over the last month shortly before our winter break. They are fine don't worry; they just moved on to another phase of their life. Tensions seem to be less since we came back minus one and shed a lot of light on some of our own issues and faults. We also make sure that we communicate openly a lot more about our plans, goals, likes and dislikes as well as share tasks at hand. One person is designated head of the project and the rest of us chip in ideas, connections, or just assistance where needed.
This is quite an awesome accomplishment for any business. A happy work place makes a productive work place right?! (I'm sure there's some savvy saying for this just as I'm sure I butchered this one). Follow in our footsteps, communicate openly & civilly, Grow up a little and weed out those thorns if necessary.
Have a Great Week
The Appointed One
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Happy New Year
Happy New Year Everyone!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful and fulfilling holiday. I had a great holiday except for being sick for a little bit it was relaxing.
Now we are back feeling refreshed and we all seem to be getting along remarkably well so far. Well everyone except The Man who did not return from the holiday yet.
As I have told you about in previous posts this is the time of year we all reflect on our previous actions and find ways to better them for the new year to come. We are starting that now even without The Man being present. How dedicated are we now I mean come on we could act like wild teenagers who throw parties when the parents are away but no we are grown adults who are being responsible and keeping things going on point. (shhh most of us are most of the time anyway). Seriously though in this time of economic turmoil our main focus should be and is how to keep things going in a positive direction for everyone.
Well since it's so new being back I will have to wait a few days at least for the dramas to start so I have something exciting to report to you guys. So until then have a great week and enjoy the quiet while you can.
See you next week
The Appointed One
I hope everyone had a wonderful and fulfilling holiday. I had a great holiday except for being sick for a little bit it was relaxing.
Now we are back feeling refreshed and we all seem to be getting along remarkably well so far. Well everyone except The Man who did not return from the holiday yet.
As I have told you about in previous posts this is the time of year we all reflect on our previous actions and find ways to better them for the new year to come. We are starting that now even without The Man being present. How dedicated are we now I mean come on we could act like wild teenagers who throw parties when the parents are away but no we are grown adults who are being responsible and keeping things going on point. (shhh most of us are most of the time anyway). Seriously though in this time of economic turmoil our main focus should be and is how to keep things going in a positive direction for everyone.
Well since it's so new being back I will have to wait a few days at least for the dramas to start so I have something exciting to report to you guys. So until then have a great week and enjoy the quiet while you can.
See you next week
The Appointed One
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Winter Wonderland
Hello everyone,
Winter is upon us although for us today it's rainy but temps are like 56. Shocking for December in New Jersey but we like it; makes for a good work day; no icicles on our crews today.
Anyhow winter is the time when you kind of get to wipe the slate clean and start fresh in a new year. We get to make promises to change things about ourselves personally and professionally. Everyone knows that theses promises usually last about a week maybe two if you have a lot of will power which I have none of. I didn't inherit that gene.
This time of year also keeps us in Wonderland for at least a week or so. I bet you are curious as to what I mean by this and if you're not I'm gonna tell you anyway. Every year we as a company take this time to make changes in the company. We all sit down and go over what has worked well for us and what hasn't. We also get to come up with some creative ways to expand on what we do have and make it better. Sounds great so far right. Well this all usually starts when we get back from our short holiday break this way everyone has a chance to regroup and come back refreshed, ready to spring back into creativeness.
The only thing is until we get back from break we all spend the time prior wondering what will go on, in our land of window cleaning. See we (and yes I mean even me) don't get an inside peek on what THE MAN has in store for any of us until the very last possible second. I'm convinced that he handles it this way because he can't make up his mind until the very last second. I'm sure he comes up with different ways to handle the winter and new year at least 100 times before he presents it to us plus he gets a kick out of leaving us in our state of wonderland.
I hope everyone enjoyed my little blog today. I know I enjoy doing them. Have a great week.
The Appointed One
Winter is upon us although for us today it's rainy but temps are like 56. Shocking for December in New Jersey but we like it; makes for a good work day; no icicles on our crews today.
Anyhow winter is the time when you kind of get to wipe the slate clean and start fresh in a new year. We get to make promises to change things about ourselves personally and professionally. Everyone knows that theses promises usually last about a week maybe two if you have a lot of will power which I have none of. I didn't inherit that gene.
This time of year also keeps us in Wonderland for at least a week or so. I bet you are curious as to what I mean by this and if you're not I'm gonna tell you anyway. Every year we as a company take this time to make changes in the company. We all sit down and go over what has worked well for us and what hasn't. We also get to come up with some creative ways to expand on what we do have and make it better. Sounds great so far right. Well this all usually starts when we get back from our short holiday break this way everyone has a chance to regroup and come back refreshed, ready to spring back into creativeness.
The only thing is until we get back from break we all spend the time prior wondering what will go on, in our land of window cleaning. See we (and yes I mean even me) don't get an inside peek on what THE MAN has in store for any of us until the very last possible second. I'm convinced that he handles it this way because he can't make up his mind until the very last second. I'm sure he comes up with different ways to handle the winter and new year at least 100 times before he presents it to us plus he gets a kick out of leaving us in our state of wonderland.
I hope everyone enjoyed my little blog today. I know I enjoy doing them. Have a great week.
The Appointed One
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Name Game
Good Morning Everyone. I hope your Thanksgiving was great.
I have kind of a weird situation that comes up in spurts here. We service a large area within 3 states and have a pretty common name so I guess this was bound to come up sooner or later.
We get calls from time to time asking if we are either the Septic Company or the Landscaping Company. This is all understandable to a point. However our company name is All County Window Cleaning; the septic company is All County Septic and the landscaping company is All American Landscaping. I can still after pointing out the difference totally see how we can all be confused with each other; Hey it happens to the best of us which is why I love that Bill Engvall. He is the guy who does the redneck comedy with Jeff Foxworthy, He does a bit called "Here's Your Sign" for those of you who don't know who he is. Very Funny Stuff !!
Anyway the one name game I don't like playing all the time is the one where we are confused with another window cleaning company who actually has the same name as us. This is a good thing and bad thing at times. Before I go on I must point out that this other company with the same name services some areas south of us that we don't service BUT he also services a few of the same areas we do as well. Let's start with the downside. We call a potential customer who we have never serviced before trying to gain their business and we are shot down right away because this customer has used All County Window Cleaning and was not happy. The other instance is where they insist that we already service them and we know that we don't. We really want to but we don't. All of this is usually fixable if not right then and there usually within a short period of time.
OK now for the upside. Once we put the knowledge into potential clients brains that we are another company totally separate from the other All County Window Cleaning and we prove what type of services and standards we offer to our customers we end up with the business we wanted to obtain in the first place and even better than that we are able to completely change a persons attitude toward the service industry which helps everyone all around. Plus between you and I making a new relationship with a customer and changing someones idea of us is a personal victory is my eyes. Nothing makes my day at work more than nabbing that big sale or hearing back from a customer how wonderful we were and how they are so glad they gave us the chance to work with them.
That's my story this week. Words of wisdom to go with it... If you have a similar situation out there turn it to your advantage. Offer customers your version of the service, direct them to your website if they appear skeptical of who you really are. Offer to send them literature on your company to spark a recognition and always always offer the perks of your service BUT never never down talk another company. This can and will always come back to bite you later. Karma is wonderful thing trust me.
Until Next Week Have a Prosperous One,
The Appointed One
I have kind of a weird situation that comes up in spurts here. We service a large area within 3 states and have a pretty common name so I guess this was bound to come up sooner or later.
We get calls from time to time asking if we are either the Septic Company or the Landscaping Company. This is all understandable to a point. However our company name is All County Window Cleaning; the septic company is All County Septic and the landscaping company is All American Landscaping. I can still after pointing out the difference totally see how we can all be confused with each other; Hey it happens to the best of us which is why I love that Bill Engvall. He is the guy who does the redneck comedy with Jeff Foxworthy, He does a bit called "Here's Your Sign" for those of you who don't know who he is. Very Funny Stuff !!
Anyway the one name game I don't like playing all the time is the one where we are confused with another window cleaning company who actually has the same name as us. This is a good thing and bad thing at times. Before I go on I must point out that this other company with the same name services some areas south of us that we don't service BUT he also services a few of the same areas we do as well. Let's start with the downside. We call a potential customer who we have never serviced before trying to gain their business and we are shot down right away because this customer has used All County Window Cleaning and was not happy. The other instance is where they insist that we already service them and we know that we don't. We really want to but we don't. All of this is usually fixable if not right then and there usually within a short period of time.
OK now for the upside. Once we put the knowledge into potential clients brains that we are another company totally separate from the other All County Window Cleaning and we prove what type of services and standards we offer to our customers we end up with the business we wanted to obtain in the first place and even better than that we are able to completely change a persons attitude toward the service industry which helps everyone all around. Plus between you and I making a new relationship with a customer and changing someones idea of us is a personal victory is my eyes. Nothing makes my day at work more than nabbing that big sale or hearing back from a customer how wonderful we were and how they are so glad they gave us the chance to work with them.
That's my story this week. Words of wisdom to go with it... If you have a similar situation out there turn it to your advantage. Offer customers your version of the service, direct them to your website if they appear skeptical of who you really are. Offer to send them literature on your company to spark a recognition and always always offer the perks of your service BUT never never down talk another company. This can and will always come back to bite you later. Karma is wonderful thing trust me.
Until Next Week Have a Prosperous One,
The Appointed One
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