Why We Don’t Bid Power Washing Over The Phone

We got a call for sidewalk power washing from a commercial property manager.

It was for the sidewalks of one building in a multiple unit complex with up-scale tenants. Each unit has it’s own separate entrance and many of the units are used as offices for doctor’s, dentists, lawyers, etc.

The property manager didn’t work onsite so she hadn’t seen the sidewalks herself. Her onsite maintenance man told her there were about 40 linear feet of sidewalks to be cleaned.

The sidewalks had paint markings that she described as graffiti and she needed a quote so she could get the job approved with the owners. We gave her a rough estimate based on what she told us but we made it clear we would have to look at the job before we could make it a firm quote. She understood and said she would see if the owners would approve the estimate.

She called a few days later and said they had approved the rough estimate. We told her we would get one of our managers over to look at the job and make sure we could do the work the way we estimated based on her description.

When our manager arrived, he found the description we received didn’t accurately reflect the work needed to get the job done right. While the markings were paint, they weren’t graffiti. They were the marks made to identify where the utility lines run.

And while there may have been 40 linear feet, they were spread out in different locations over 400-500 feet of sidewalk. And since there was a gutter and a pond next to many of the sidewalks, water recovery would be needed.

Its clear the description their maintenance man gave the property manager wasn’t communicated clearly to us. This job would take far more time than it would if we just set up and washed one 40 foot sidewalk.

It’s important to know what the job looks like from someone who knows what it will take to do the power-washing job the right way. If you bid a job without knowing exactly what you’re getting into, you might be putting yourself in a position where you have to choose between standing behind your work or losing money. That’s not the position a professional company wants to be in.

For professional power washing services, call us at 303-937-7181 or email us at info@washonwheels.net.