05/10/2026
I walked around with the restaurant owner after the job and could tell right away: he wasn't 100% happy.
We cleaned the inside and outside windows at Sixty East in Ellenton yesterday. Around 15 large glass panels. I rushed in before he arrived because we only had a 30-minute window before the doors opened.
That's where I made the mistake.
We didn't do the walk-around together first. So when we finished, I found out what he actually wanted: all the paint off the glass and the frames. None of that was in our $115 base price, and none of it had come up on the estimate call.
Paint removal wasn't in the quote, but we did take the bigger spots off the glass while we were there. Removing every last bit the right way is a much longer job, and on commercial work, time is what costs.
One thing worth knowing about window cleaning: we'll scrape paint off glass when it's part of the scope. We don't touch paint on the frames. The blade or the chemistry that lifts paint will scratch the finish, and once that frame is marked, we own it. So we leave that work alone on purpose.
I told him we'd take the paint off for free, three panels at a time, if they keep us on as their cleaner.
Two things I'm taking out of yesterday.
The walk-around happens before the job starts. Always. Even with 30 minutes on the clock.
And the base price gets spelled out clearly in writing, so the customer knows what's in and what isn't before we ever lift a squeegee.
If you're a property manager or an owner who hires vendors, you already know the difference one conversation at the start makes.
That walk-around is the cheapest insurance in this trade.
