Wand "streaks"

[bonofre]

Hey guys,

A restaurant called and wanted me to do some gum removal, dumpster pad, drive thru, and oil spots in a few parking places and random areas in the parking lot. I do not have a surface cleaner so when I hit the gum and oil spots that area of the concrete is obviously much lighter and cleaner than the surrounding areas, even after a rinse. Any suggestions on how to get around this? Or is this just something that is going to be? Thanks for any input!

 

[bighals]

I personally have a real problem with doing spot cleanings. I try to talk people out of doing spot cleanings for 2 reasons - 1) It makes their lot look ugly and like they're too darn cheap to do the whole thing. And 2) It's MY NAME on the work. Anyone that sees your rig parked there and then sees the finished product subconsciously decides that your a joke.
Talk them out of it by giving them a good deal on a maintenance program. Sell the benefits well enough and you'll cover both your backsides.
And get a surface cleaner as soon as the budget will allow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bonofre]

Thanks for the feedback, but with the maintenance program there will still be lots of marks from the gum and random spots... A surface cleaner is the only way?

 

[johnnyb]

Hot water is safest way to remove gum, unless they don't mind damage. Just like the greasy dumpster pad in the other thread, if you want to do the job right for them, gotta get heat.

I'm getting my heater soon, and the picture attached is going to be one of the first local restaurants I go talk to about not getting any more damage to their concrete by choosing me.

I feel you'll do better in the long haul selling services that your equipment excels at, and educating the customer on the value of the right tools for the job.

I turned down stripping several painted driveways just because I was not setup to handle the job properly. On the upside the person I spoke with really appreciated knowing the safe ways to go about having it done, and (may, probably not) call me for building washes when they're done.