Women in the Window Cleaning Industry 2011

I recently read an article in “Professional Window Cleaner” magazine regarding women in the window cleaning profession.  Most of that particular article dealt with women as business owners or women working in the high-rise window cleaning industry which we don’t do.  So I searched and found the below article from a different window cleaning publication.

Women in the Window Cleaning Industry 2011.

I found it very interesting, as recently, Blue Sky Window Cleaners has been hiring more and more women.  Blue Sky has found our “girls” to be exceptional workers for the following reasons and more:

1. They are very kind in our customers’ homes.  Women instinctively know how a home can be a reflection of ourselves, so being respectful and conscientiousness in our clients’ homes comes naturally to them!
2. Their work is exceptional!  Although all our employees do a fantastic job, it seems we are less concerned about our female employees’ work quality.  They can’t leave a job until the job is done well!
3. They are so kind!  Commonly known as the gentler sex, girls are just naturally more relational.  Even our female employees that are rough and tough workers tend to relate easily to our customers.

So although I love the loyalty and hard work that our male employees have provided over the years, including awesome customer service, it has been surprisingly refreshing to have some females enter the company as window cleaners.  Next time you call to schedule, don’t be frustrated by the female window cleaner showing up at your door.  I promise that she is more than capable of handling the work load and she will be truly kind, a pleasure to have in your home.

How to Beat the Summer Break Challenge – daveramsey.com

How to Beat the Summer Break Challenge – daveramsey.com.  The owners of Blue Sky Window Cleaners are big Dave Ramsey fans.  We just thought this article was timely and interesting, so we are passing it on to you!

Service Employees in YOUR home.

What kind of service employees do you like to invite into your home? Have you ever been deceived by advertising showing an employee in a clean uniform, a clean shaven, gentle-looking guy, only to schedule with the company and someone completely different is at your door? As a stay-at-home mom myself, that at the very least makes me nervous. I really do not want a less-than-safe looking man in my house with my children and I while my husband is away at work. Therefore, over the years, with my company, Blue Sky Window Cleaners, I have learned to hire and price in the way I would like to be treated by other service companies.
So who exactly would I like at my door and in my home? Well, I would like a clean-cut person, who has been background checked, who knows their job well, and who doesn’t overcharge. Blue Sky Window Cleaners follows all of these guidelines. In our initial interview, appearance matters. We look for clean-cut employees who come to their interview in clean cloths, with clean, neatly-styled hair, and either clean-shaven, or a nicely trimmed beard. If their interview goes well, we run a background check which we actually use to make hiring decisions. (Some companies run background checks, then knowingly hire the felon anyway.) (Ex-felons definitely have the right to meaningful work, but as a company who places people in YOUR home, we have to say no to those with police records.)
After making the right hire, Blue Sky trains our employees properly (you can see our other blogs which address this issue of training.) When you have questions, our employees will either already know, or know where to find a great answer for you. They know their company!
Lastly, I always fear being over charged for services. Blue Sky is an ethical company that is not interested in price gouging our customers. We are always revisiting our pricing to make sure it is in line with industry standards, and to make sure that you, the consumer, can understand our charges. Fair pricing is a promise.
As not only the owner, but also a peer-consumer, I am confident that Blue Sky Window cleaners is a service company that you can trust to have in your home.

Blue Sky Window Cleaners is a member of the IWCA

Yes, we are members of the IWCA, the International Window Cleaning Association.  To learn more about this great organization, follow this link:  Welcome to IWCA: The International Window Cleaning Association | Find a Window Cleaner.

So why has Blue Sky chosen to join the IWCA?  We have signed up for several reasons.  Firstly, the IWCA has a mission to raise the standards of professionalism and safety in the window cleaning industry.  They have raised industry professionalism by promoting companies that adhere to the IWCA’s hiring practices, pricing ideas, and safety standards.  IWCA member companies can be trusted to keep ethical industry standards.

Secondly, the IWCA has really helped Blue Sky with our safety training.  They not only offer  many safety materials and ideas to purchase, but they will train our employees for us if we so choose.  The owners of Blue Sky have gone through the IWCA’s safety training course twice, have sent a managerial employee to the training, and have implemented many of the IWCA’s ideas into our own safety training manuals.

Another reason that Blue Sky has joined the IWCA is that this organization keeps us updated on the latest window cleaning news.  We follow their quarterly publication closely, getting prompt information on new products and other great window cleaning companies. They also inform all members of changes within our industry, such as new OSHA laws.  In fact, the IWCA works closely with OSHA to develop all window cleaning regulations.

Lastly, Blue Sky really appreciates the conventions and trade shows offered annually by the IWCA.  We have attended two of them, and hope to go to more in the future.  There we learn of the latest safety and professional standards, get information on the latest tools available to window cleaners (and actually get to try them out!), and gain knowledge on industry trends, such as the “GREEN” movement.

Blue Sky Window Cleaners, therefore, is a member of the IWCA (as well as the Better Business Bureau) and will continue to support this great association in the years to come.

TOP 5 REASONS TO GET YOUR WINDOWS PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED!

1. Brighten your home!  Clean windows give your home an aesthetically pleasing ambiance.   When homeowners put their homes on the market, one of the first thing Realtors do is to call window cleaner companies to create the atmosphere that appeals to home buyers.
2. Stay Safe!  Consider your long term health and enjoyable life style.  Call a professional window cleaner who is trained to minimize the risks of working off a ladder.  According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, about 165,000 Americans require medical treatment for ladder-related injuries each year. Based on a 1990-2005 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, that number is escalating. During the course of the study, from beginning to end, the number of reported cases in which Americans were hurt in incidents involving ladders climbed by more than 50 percent.
   • More than 2.1 million people sought emergency treatment in the United States for ladder-related injuries.
   • Of those injuries, almost 10 percent resulted in hospitalization or transfer to another hospital.
   • The most frequently reported injuries were fractures.
   • In cases in which the location where the injury took place was recorded, 97 percent happened at home.
   • In nearly 77 percent of the cases, the injured party was male.
   • (The above ladder statistics were taken from www.articlebase.com, an article on 2010 Ladder Safety Statistics.)
3. Protect window longevity!  Keeping up with hard water build-up keeps your glass from breaking down.  Getting rid of the dirt and grime cuts down on the wear-and-tear to your frames and glass.
4. Storm windows!   Professional window cleaners are used to dealing with these heavy, cumbersome, and sometimes ill-fitting additions to your home.  Save yourself the aggravation of removing those storm windows and let us pull our hair out instead.
5. Let’s go GREEN!  With our techniques and training, professional window cleaners can avoid the harsh over-the-counter glass-cleaning products that typical home owners use.  It’s our techniques that clean your windows, not the chemicals.  Let us use our green practices (reusable towels, child- and pet-safe products, water and not chemicals) to shine up your home.

Meet our Cleaners

At Blue Sky we continually strive to provide you with exceptional service, and our first class employees are an important part of providing an excellent experience and quality cleaning. We have come to know many of you, our customers, over the years, and we would like to tell you a little about our top-notch team.

Michael

Originally from Glendale,CA, Michael is currently pursuing a Masters in Christian Studies at Denver Seminary. He is also Director of Small Group Ministries at the Dwelling Place, an Englewood church plant. He would eventually like to work as a high school teacher and coach volleyball, or possibly create fine cuisine in the restaurant industry. He would also like to work in some capacity for a church, to advance the Kingdom of God and to help people understand the Christian faith.

In his free time, Michael enjoys playing volleyball, backpacking, photography, church, and cooking for friends. He also enjoys a good book and has recently read War of Words by David Tripp and The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller.

Michael enjoys cleaning windows for Blue Sky because he understands that people spend a lot of time in their homes, and he gets to brighten them up, making homes a more enjoyable place to live. He also enjoys the flexible schedule that works with his school schedule.

Luke

Originally from California, Luke moved to Colorado to attend Denver Seminary to study Counseling Ministries. He would like to continue growing in generosity and would eventually like to work with kids in a youth ministry setting. He enjoys music, soccer, and other sports. He recently enjoyed the movie Like Dandelion Dust. He enjoys working for Blue Sky because he likes seeing clean windows.  Don’t we all!

Alan

Originally from East Texas, Alan moved to Colorado to pursue a Masters in Christian Studies at Denver Seminary. He would eventually like to work for a church and teach people more about Jesus. He enjoys making art, hiking, fishing, and reading while enjoying a good cup of coffee. He would also like to travel and see different parts of America like the Redwood Forest, parts of Montana and Wyoming, and Zion National Park. He recently read and really enjoyed The Hunger Games. Alan enjoys working for Blue Sky because of the great employees, getting to be outside, and seeing really clean windows.

Kelsey

Kelsey grew up in Seattle, but always loved Colorado and eventually moved to Denver. She has a variety of interests including practicing and writing music, working on her house, knitting, and playing sports. She would eventually like to perform music in some capacity. Kelsey enjoys working at Blue Sky because she likes doing quality work and making people happy. She is also glad to have a good boss.

90 Years and Going Strong!

So this is where we enter into the social network age: our first blog. It is very enjoyable to look back and see how far this company has come. To be part of something that was started in 1920 is so amazing to me. Take a moment to reminisce about what has occurred in this country alone since 1920. Ponder the Depression, several wars, the civil rights movement. Think of the famous people who have used their God-given talents to shape our lives as we know them: Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Owens, George Herman “Babe Ruth”, Leonard Bernstein, Neil Armstrong, Vince Lombardi, Billy Graham, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and many others.
Related to Blue Sky Window Cleaners, consider how many employees/students/former firemen this company has provided work for over the years. We still receive calls from some of these window cleaner frontiersmen from time to time checking in to see how things are going. It is also an incredible privilege for us to continue to serve many of the families that have been with the company from the beginning. I know some view this as just another window cleaning company, but to our family, our employees, and the many hundreds before us, it is so much more.
We are a locally owned company that prides itself on taking care of our customers. All of our service is 100% guaranteed and we know that you will be pleased, with the results after working with our company. We have over 90 years’ worth of customers that back us up on this. So please give us a try us if you haven’t before. Or if you are a regular customer, thank-you for your continued loyalty, and please “like us” on our Facebook page. (By the way, we are offering a 20% discount coupon on Facebook to the first 100 people who “like us”.)