Use Coupons To Help Your Window Cleaning Business

One sunny afternoon as I was standing outside a movie theater, a man in an apron came passing around coupons for his small ice cream shop across the street – A free scoop of ice cream when you buy two scoops at the regular store price. I immediately knew I was going to pay them a visit when the movie was over (true story).

That coupon for a free scoop of ice cream brought me into their ice cream shop for the very first time (and it definitely wasn’t the last). So what does this have to do with your window cleaning business? Coupons are a excellent way of attracting new AND life-time customers! They’re very practical because of being cheap to print and easy to distribute. If your not thinking of going all out you can print them on your own computer at home, maybe even pay to have them put in your local newspaper or the penny saver. You can have them delivered to local (high end) households through the post office. Put them under windshield wipers of parked cars (although this might seem annoying at times it’s good for local promotion), or pass them out to local storefronts.

Passing out coupons is one thing, but making a coupon that ACTUALLY WORKS is another. Before you start ordering coupons or using up all your printer ink think of an appealing offer. Why should they call you? What benefits come from having their windows cleaned? You DON’T want a coupon that just tells the public what you do for a living, you want a coupon that will give them a reason to pick up there phone and call you. Make your add stand out from the competition. For example almost all Temecula window cleaners in my area offer free screen washing, who REALLY cares? You’re trying to STAND OUT and be noticed (don’t get me wrong free screen cleaning is a good bait, BUT you have to admit its getting old), how about free hard water removal? Obviously not on all the windows, but why not the first one or two? How many window cleaners do you know of that make that kind of offer?? EXACTLY… You might have lost the twenty/maybe thirty dollars clearing up hard water spots on two windows but what could you have gained? The profit from the rest of the house? A referral from a very happy customer? A LIFE-LONG customer?

Don’t trick yourself into thinking the only way you’ll make money is to be stingy with your pricing, offers, and coupons. Think outside the box with your offers, and you’ll end up with a foot in over all your commercial window cleaning competition.

Source:http://www.articlesbook.com/use-coupons-to-help-your-window-cleaning-business/

Nicholas Genovese Window Washer Doing Well (Survives 33K Volt Shock (video)

Nicholas Genovese sat in his hospital room, his hands and feet still bandaged, and called his survival a "miracle."

"I am not the best Catholic," the Staten Island window washer admitted.  "But I am going to start going to church again this Sunday."

Genovese, 58, survived a jolt of thirty-three thousand volts of electricity while cleaning the windows of a Lynbrook office building Saturday.

He and partner Alan Weinberg, 64, of Long Beach, apparently lost control of their forty feet long cleaning pole in the high winds, according to Lynbrook fire department spokesman Steve Grogan.

Both window washers were on the sidewalk outside the building, maneuvering the aluminum instrument toward the windows above, when it was blown onto high tension wires near the building.

"They probably shouldn't have been attempting that in those conditions," Grogan said.

Both window washers were immediately knocked to the ground.

"I blacked out for a second," said Genovese. "Then I felt the electricity run through my body."

Genovese suffered third degree burns on his hands and feet but may have survived, said Grogan, because he did not have a firm grip on the pole.

Weinberg, however, WAS holding it firmly in both hands and was badly injured.

"He had no vital signs for nearly twenty minutes," said Grogan.

Lynbrook volunteer firefighters refused to give up their battle to save him and, with help from Lynbrook and Nassau police officers, finally restored Weinberg's pulse after three jolts from a defibrillator.

Weinberg remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, according to a spokesperson for Nassau University Medical Center. Both window washers are now being treated there.

Genovese, a father of three, usually serves as a window washer for NYRA; but was on this job as a way to make extra money this holiday season.

He promised to be back out there as soon as he is healed; but will forever count his blessings.

"I am very lucky," Genovese said. "You never expect something like this to happen to you."

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/SI-Windown-Washer-Survives-Huge-Shock-110984204.html 

 

Nicholas Genovese (Photo/Mona Rivera)

From mzielinska

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/CBS 2) – Staten Island resident Nicholas Genovese says he is happy to be alive after nearly being electrocuted over the weekend.
“I just got the shock of my life,” Genovese said.
1010 WINS’ Mona Rivera reports Genovese and Alan Weinberg, 64, of Long Beach, were preparing to wash the windows at a Bank of America branch on Merrick Road in Lynbrook using a telescoping 40-foot washing pole on Saturday.
Genovese was holding the pole at the top of a ladder while Weinberg stood on the ground holding the bottom of the pole, detectives said. At that time, a gust of wind blew the pole into a power line.
“The voltage went through me and everything went black for a second,” Genovese said. “The next thing I knew I just hit the ground.”
Police said that by the time officers arrived, Weinberg was in cardiac arrest. They performed CPR, and paramedics from the Lynbrook Fire Department continued treatment.
Weinberg was stabilized at South Nassau Communities Hospital and was then transfered to Nassau University Medical Center Burn Unit for treatment of second and third degree burns to his hands and feet. He was in critical condition.
Genovese suffered second and third degree burns on his hands and feet. He was in stable condition at Nassau University Medical Center.
“I thought I got struck by lightning,” Genovese said. “I thought I was dying but thank God I’m still here.”
Genovese said he will keep washing windows but never near power lines. His wife, Joanna, said he will not need skin grafts and will be released from the hospital on Tuesday.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/29/s-i-window-washer-survives-shock-of-his-life/