5 Questions to Ask Your Commercial Window Cleaner

It is still surprising how many companies misrepresent their Worker’s Compensation status. Some companies will say things like ‘We are fully covered!’ but fail to mention that the majority of the worker’s going onto a job site is not a full time employee, but an uninsured subcontractor. 

What does this mean to you? If an uninsured subcontractor gets hurt while cleaning your gutters, you can be held liable. Don’t forget to ask the company you are hiring if ALL technicians under them are full time employees covered under Worker’s Compensation or if some are uninsured subcontractors. 

2.⁠ ⁠Choose a company with Liability Insurance

Let’s say someone comes over to clean your property and accidentally causes damage. Who is responsible? A company without Liability Insurance might just say ‘Sorry about that’ and go ghost. Now who is carrying the burden of fixing that damage? Unfortunately, it would be the property owner if the company does not have Liability Insurance. 

Hiring a company with Liability Insurance ensures that their insurance company is responsible for damages caused by the company. No guesswork! You can rest easy knowing you are insured in case anything goes wrong.

How do you verify this? Just ask the company to email a copy of their Liability Insurance! It’s that easy!

3.⁠ ⁠Subcontractor vs Employee

What is the difference and how does it affect you? A subcontractor is usually someone who provides their own tools, vehicle and expertise to complete a job. They do not go through any company specific training, are not insured and ultimately, it is hard for a company to hold them accountable if anything goes wrong on a jobsite because they go home and do not need to return.

A full time employee is hired by a company, provided with training specific to the company’s specifications, provided with tools and a vehicle to complete a job, and held accountable to the company. A full time employee, though they may come with previous experience, goes through training on how that particular company wants the job done for their clients, usually a higher standard than a subcontractor.

If something isn’t done properly, we can return to get it done properly, in a timely fashion and work on retraining the employee to ensure it doesn’t happen again. It’s worth noting that there are lots of great technicians out there that due to their personal situations get taken advantage of and are given the responsibility of full time employees (without the benefits) while being subcontractors or paid under the table. 

Not all cleaning companies that mislabel their workers or pay workers under the table have bad bosses. From what I’ve heard, their point of view is that they can’t afford to stay in business and have employees, or all the red tape and regulations is too time consuming and confusing to deal with. 

When you are looking to hire a company, there is no way to distinguish which law breaking companies might actually be a good company. That is why we recommend going with a company that is dotting all of their i’s and crossing all of their t’s. 

4. Razor Blade Litmus Test

If they use razor blades, stay away! There is no safe way to use razor blades on modern tempered glass. No amount of wetness and technique that can avoid scratching. When glass is tempered or baked, it is common for small glass particles to bond to the glass during the heating process. These baked-on particles turn into scratches when contacted by a razor blade.

In my 30 years of experience, I have yet to talk to a window cleaning manufacturer that says it’s safe to use razor blades on their windows.

5. Owner involvement and accessibility

I love my clients and greatly value their feedback. Hearing what my customers have to say and, if needing, addressing any issues or concerns is an essential part of my business. We are only as good as our technicians, and they can only succeed with proper training and support.

Let’s say you’ve found a company that checks all the boxes, you make your appointment, and you’re disappointed in your service. Now what? You call the company, but they aren’t as nice as they were when you were booking the appointment. 

You ask to speak to a supervisor or office manager, but it seems you aren’t getting very far. The subcontractors have disappeared and don’t want to return since they aren’t getting paid twice. Now what? 

I can’t count the number of clients who have reached out to me over the years after they paid another company and were disappointed with results and are asking us to step in to do a job right. Here at Streakless, we reach out to every client after their service and ask how their service went to ensure we met and hopefully exceeded their expectations.

In the rare occurrence that something went wrong, I am immediately looped in by our office manager and we get to work on rectifying the issue, no matter how small.

The RunDown:

Window cleaning is an investment in your property! It is important you hire the right company. Worker’s Compensation, Liability Insurance, full time employees, razor blades and owner involvement are all key factors that play into choosing the right company for your investment.

Here at Streakless, we pride ourselves in caring about the integrity of your building. This means we keep an eye out for all the small details that can affect your experience as well as the health and look of your building. 

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