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I was doing some searching about how to clean concrete or brick walkways, but I didn't really find anyones method.  So how do you guys do it? What about the plants or grass that run along the edge of the walkways?

Dan

Roof Cleaning By A&E wrote:

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Apex Roof Cleaning wrote:

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Eric you have the best pic of the AE in the concrete I love it. What % mix are you guys using? I don't have a surface cleaner, so I would probably just soft wash then rinse with a pressure washer. And how much a sqft?

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 When i do roofs and we always do free sidewalk cleaning I just shoot the roof mix down and let it set,clean the roof then go back and power washing the side walks. I always wet the grass down along the sidewalk first, never had a problem.

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 Customer satisfaction is number 1 with A&E.  This is the main reason why I am asking, my customer has a filfthy roof, and then you look down and his sidewalk had all algae, I figured we could clean it up pretty easily.

Roof Cleaning By A&E wrote:

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Apex Roof Cleaning wrote:

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Eric you have the best pic of the AE in the concrete I love it. What % mix are you guys using? I don't have a surface cleaner, so I would probably just soft wash then rinse with a pressure washer. And how much a sqft?

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 When i do roofs and we always do free sidewalk cleaning I just shoot the roof mix down and let it set,clean the roof then go back and power washing the side walks. I always wet the grass down along the sidewalk first, never had a problem.

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sweefun placeerfish wrote:

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'zactly.....plus you get the kudos for doing something "nice"!

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 Yes everyone loves the word Free.

aaron61 wrote:

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Are you serious FREE Cleaning???? You are really leaving money on the table there guys.Unless it was a very large roof with very large money I would not be giving that away.That should be a nice upsell.

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 I give a price for cleaning the sidewalk and if they decline then sometimes I do it for free. It gives me something to do while waiting to see if the first application did it's job. Really how hard is it to hook up my surface cleaner and turn a key to start the pressure washer and then walk around. Not hard at all! They will remember me for the nice extra things I do more than what they paid me to do. It is called going the extra mile.

 They can hire any fly by nite outfit to do what you did. (YOU as in not you personally Aaron)  It is all in the details that makes your company stand out. For instance you clean their siding and then you clean the mailbox post that was green and nasty. They didn't even think about that. I even carry white paint with me and if needed put a fresh coat of white paint on it. (takes 2 min.)Trust me, that will give them a warm fuzzy feeling about your company more than anything.

Two customers with Angies List coupons for deck clean & seal. They are way up in Durham. 60 Miles away. So I scheduled at least 2 up there to do at the same time. I get to the first customer and meet her at the front door. Her concrete drive and walkway were real dirty. Real DIRTY! So I ask if she wants me to do the driveway and walk way to her front door for $85. She says sure she wants it but no she can't afford it she is poor. I go back and look at deck and right a way I knew I was in trouble. Coupon is for $200/200 Sq. ft. Any thing over was $2 sq. ft. and $3 per lineal feet of hand rail. She had 400 sq. ft. and 60' of rails. Remember she said she was poor. I asked her if she read the whole coupon. She said no. OOPS! She said she couldn't afford it but would pay the $15 for my trip fee for over 40 miles from Benson. Told her I understood and Angies will refund her the $200 if she called them. She apologized for wasting my time and having to come that far for nothing. She really felt bad. I told her no biggie and that I was going to clean her concrete for free. She said no no no that isn't right don't do it. I said that I am already here and it isn't work at all. I just stand behind this cleaner and walk, it does all the work. I wouldn't take no for an answer. She said she was in awe watching how it cleaned. Some times you should do nice things for nice people. Money isn't everything.

 After I am done she forces me to take a check for $40 for the concrete. While standing out front talking she mentioned how hot it is in the summer sitting out on her deck. On her deck is 4 BIG aluminum posts holding an aluminum trellis with what is left of bamboo across the top for shade at one time. I told her to put the white vinyl privacy lattice with the small holes on top for shade. Long story short (I know to late for that) I gave her a price to install it for her and she said yes. Instead of leaving mad like I would have when I was younger. I got work out of it and she is going to give a glowing review on Angies List. WIN WIN.