Seasonal colds and that dreaded flu can sneak up on the best of us. The cold weather can wear anyone down, especially window cleaners. They have to work outdoors, in the cold. They get wet from rain, from sticking squeegees in their pockets, or from water spilling out of their Bucket-On-A-Belt. It is not an easy job by any means.
Then, there are the germs. Large, commercial buildings and retail centers, like the local gym, the mall and many grocery stores, all have dirty windows but are also infested with germs just waiting to attack the poor unsuspecting window cleaner. If you have a larger company or run a couple of crews, this can barely be a blip on your radar. If you are a one-man operation, it spells disaster.
Why? There is no one to call in sick *to*. No one to cover for you. No one to do your work for you. Basically, it stinks. You have two choices: call the customer, tell them you are sick and sound totally lame or get your butt out of bed, regardless of how sick you are. Lose-lose. And, before you contradict me, you may think that customers will understand, but you may be surprised. I once had a crew that spent a 12 hour day in 100-plus degree heat. They kept hydrated as best they could but every last one was seriously ill the next day, to the point that they probably should have gone to the ER. I only had one small residential job scheduled, so I called her to re-schedule. She had no special event planned, nothing going on. LIVID! In fact, she was so mad that she insisted they all “get out of bed” and clean her windows! Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do.
What is your plan? What *do* you do when you are a small company or a one-man operation and you get sick? Do you have a back-up plan? Are you friends with another window cleaner that could cover for you, if you got in a real jam? It is probably best to think about what you would do now, rather then as it is happening.