The Process For Addressing Window Cleaning Complaints

Window cleaning. All buildings require it, it happens at least once per year, and the service gets done with everyone hoping for one thing: no complaints.

However, no matter who you hire or how they clean the windows, there are bound to be people who just aren’t happy with something. So it is in everyone’s best interest to work together to see what the issue is, solve it quickly, and leave everyone feeling good about the service.

Unfortunately, the biggest impediment is often getting the three parties involved to co-operate in the process to solve these problems smoothly and efficiently.

1) Clear communication about the problem between the resident, property manager, contractor.

2) Identifying the problem. The contractor must figure out where the issue is and what precisely is causing the complaint.
This involves either
A) See from inside the suite, or
B) identify through markers on the glass (Stickie notes, etc).
Ideally both A & B are involved.

3) Re-Clean the glazing, or report necessary fixes required to property manager to resolve the issue.

Part 1) Communication about the problem.

“Strata is not happy with the service.”

This is great to communicate that a problem exists, but not what the issue is. Why is the strata unhappy? Most times, I then receive more specific information. For example:

“Unit 709’s bedroom window is still dirty. It must have been missed.”

This is a large assumption.

Consider for a moment; what is this actually telling me? There is a resident who is unhappy with the clarity of their vision when looking through their bedroom window — and they live in unit 709.
This is enough to prompt the contractor to take action to resolve the issue, but leads us to our next and often biggest challenge – where is it?

Part 2) Find the problem.

Using the picture below as a reference, perhaps you can engage in an exercise we are often asked to undertake. In this example, where is unit 709, and where is their bedroom window?
What if their bedroom has several windows?

Better yet, what if we were asked to find a problem with unit 1503’s living room window? If we were told to count up from the ground, is there a 13th floor with the way the floors are numbered. Is the 1st floor on the ground floor, or the second? Each living room in this example seems to have several windows, and which pane or panes of glass have an issue?

Further to communicating that there is a problem, we now have to find the glazing with the reported issue from outside the building. There are no unit numbers outside, so unless there is some identifier we are dealing with a ‘best guess’ scenario. For this reason, we ask for 2 things: to meet with the resident to both identify the problem (more on that below), but also to figure out where on the building the issue is and what it looks like.

If someone cannot meet us to show us from inside their suite where this is, we ask that a stickie note or piece of paper be put up on the inside surface of the glass so we have a visual clue as to what to look for from outside.

A visual marker gives the contractor something to look for, allowing the worker to set up ropes or access to exactly the right spot, and address the pane of glass with the reported issue.

Now’s we’ve found the area with the issue.

Step 3) Re-clean the glazing, or report fixes necessary to the property manager.

If we have gotten to this step, we can clean the exterior surface of the glass again.

But what if the cause of the complaint isn’t actually related to window cleaning? What if this problem can’t be solved by cleaning the outside of the glass with soap and water?

Glass is glass. We look through it, usually not at it. If our focus moves from the view looking through it to looking at the glass, then there is a problem. People consider their view through their windows right after a window cleaning service is performed. If they look through clear glass with no impediments, they usually are happy. If something impairs their view, the usual instant response is: something’s wrong. Therefore the windows must not have been cleaned correctly. Therefore I must complain and get this corrected, it is the window cleaners fault.

In many cases, this assumption is correct. Mistakes can be made, windows can be missed during a cleaning service, and sometimes a window cleaner going back to fix this oversight or mistake is the quick and easy answer. The problem is, in many other cases, there is more to it than that.

This is where it gets challenging, and why the process must exist.

What is actually the problem? This is the primary reason we ask to see the issue from inside the suite. It allows us to speak with the resident, and to see the issue from their point of view.

Problems Encountered – New Windows

-scratches in the glass hidden under the dirt, revealed when windows are cleaned. Often from construction process.

-construction materials hidden under the dirt, revealed when cleaned: silicone, paint spatter, concrete spatter, glue from protective blue plastic, etc.

-bits of blue plastic still stuck to corners of windows not having been removed properly during the construction clean

Problems Encountered – Old Windows

-glass ‘running’ (with certain types of very old glass, vision will be distorted as it will eventually begin to flow downward. Granted, that could take 30-40 years, but it isn’t something that can be corrected with cleaning)

-broken window seals between panes of glass leading to: condensation between glass panes, mold between glass panes, dirt, etc.

-mineral deposit staining (minerals from concrete and other building structure leached out by rainwater, deposited upon glass, leaving a milky film that grows steadily more visible – unable to be removed without chemicals and razors).

-cracks, holes, bubbles: these have been found in old glazing, and cannot be removed with soap and water.

Misc. Common Issues – Not Valid

-dirt on the inside (look through the glass and the view still looks dirty after the service, often times the inside surface of the glass needs to be cleaned, often difficult to tell especially if the window is difficult to reach)

-not included in the agreed-upon scope of work (window is accessible to resident, and strata didn’t agree to pay to have those windows included in the scope)

-spider web nests in the corner of the windows. (spider web is still there, so my window must have been cleaned. Strange logic; especially when the glazing is clean. Spiders can rebuild their webs within 24 hrs.)

-a bird defecated on the window again (is there a nest on the building above this unit? Is there a bird defecating on it every other day? The contactor is only obligated to clean it once, they can’t come back once a week to address a recurring soiling issue as part of the scope)

Misc. Common Issues – Valid

-‘blips’ or squeegee marks: these can be hard to see when doing the job

-dirty water running down over the glass after service is complete

-window missed, still dirty on the outside.

To read about a nightmare window cleaning issue which caused me to change my approach to dealing with window cleaning complaints or deficiencies, you can click here to read that. I hope this helps demonstrate some of the challenges present in dealing with these issues as they arise for the contractor. There often isn’t one simple answer, and just going back and cleaning the glass again can lead to frustration on all sides if that doesn’t address the problem. So everyone understanding and engaging in the process – to get great results – benefits everyone, and should be encouraged by all.

A True Story: Window Cleaning Complaint Nightmare

True Story: Several years ago, I received a request from a property manager to address a window cleaning complaint for a resident in a strata. She was quite upset that her windows were still dirty; complaining that the work was not done well, there were still streaks and marks from the squeegee.

Wanting to ensure we did a good job and had satisfied customers, I told the worker about the complaint, and informed him he would have to go back, set up his ropes, and re-clean this lady’s living room window.

Now this worker did excellent work. We rarely got complaints when he did a job, but it happens to everyone eventually, so I figured it was just his time. Being a great guy and willing to stand behind the quality of his work, he took a few hours out of his day, met the building manager to get access to the roof, dragged up his ropes and bosun chair, and re-cleaned the window.

The next day, I got another phone call from the tenant. She was furious. The window cleaning was still not done right! She insisted we do it again.

At this point, I politely requested I visit her suite to see the issue from the inside. I let her know this would help me determine what the issue was, we would know what to look for when going back again, and we could all learn something from the situation. She flatly denied me, stating she was too busy, her time was valuable, it was not her problem if my people were incompetent, and so why should she waste any time out of her day. We needed to do this again.

Wow.

Okay.

I phoned my worker, explained there was still an issue. He wanted to make sure that he had cleaned the right window. He explained that he took his time, made sure there were no drips or marks, the window should look fine. Knowing the quality of his work, I believed him.

This was where I made my mistake.

I sent him back again. I apologized, I sided with the customer, I pleaded customer service quality, and so on and so on.

So he went back. He re-cleaned the window again. This was the third time this window had been cleaned, and the second instance where he had to take a few hours out of his day – at his cost – to do this.

He wasn’t making money while he was going back to fix ‘mistakes’. We were concerned because we wanted to be sure the company looked good for the customers, and had an interest in repeat business with the strata. We wanted to ensure this went well.

But it didn’t. This lady’s next few phone calls were even more abrasive. She was furious, often shouting at me on the phone.

I tried my best to keep my cool.

We cleaned the window again. I insisted this would be the last unless we saw the issue from inside her suite. She still refused, and continued to send communications to the strata and property manager about what a horrible company we were.

My worker quit weeks later. He was very frustrated. I hadn’t stood up for him enough, which, I suppose, is true. But before he did, I managed to insist with this tenant that we would not be back for a 5th time unless she showed us this concern from the inside.

Why, she demanded?

I explained yet again, it could be a blown window seal causing problems, or mineral deposit staining, or dirt on the inside surface of the glass.

Well, she was really mad that I would insult her intelligence by thinking it might be dirt on the inside. She would know that! She has checked for that! She went on and on about how this was our fault and we were just sloppy workers and didn’t know how to do our job. But finally she agreed to let me see this from inside, because, as she insisted, she was not crazy.

So I went to her building, and took the worker who had performed the work with me. We said hello politely to her, standing there with her hands on her hips. Her irate husband stood, arms crossed, glaring threateningly at us as we entered the room.

“See!” She exclaimed. “Right there! And there!” She was pointing to some drips and dirty smudges on the glass on the upper right side of the window over her couch.

I took my chamois, walked up to the couch, stood on it, used the cloth and wiped away the dirt from the inside surface of the glass.

“Let’s go.” I told my worker.

We left.

I had sent a guy back to re-clean that window four times after the original service. I’d been screamed at, belittled, threatened with loss of future work, had the company name smeared, and on and on, all because this person would not check the inside surface of her glass for dirt.

That is why I insist on following the process. (Re-clean from outside no more than once unless we go inside to investigate).

She wasn’t crazy, she insisted! She would know if it was dirt on the inside!

Weeks and weeks of communication, frustration, everyone getting angry, everyone wasting time.

This incident is why I insist on the process of investigation for deficiencies being followed. I will only every ask a person to go back and re-clean a window once if we haven’t seen it from inside the suite. If there is still an issue, seeing from inside is mandatory.

In the years that have followed, I have found through investigating from inside the suite, several of the following issues:

-Dirty glass inside
-tape on the inside surface of glass (from someone putting up Christmas cards or decorations or something)
-Blown window seal allowing condensation between panes of glass
-Blown window seal with black mold spots between panes of glass
-paint specks on the inside of the glass from someone repainting their room
-legitimate complaints.

If we can’t check, we just don’t know what is really going on.