window cleaner

cleaning technician

laborer

outside sales representative

office administrator

Fish Window Cleaning

When I first started my job at Fish, I was told it would be commission based pay. Sometimes you use the company provided vehicles and other time use your own, thats okay. 
A basic summary of the work you do is, grab your pack of invoices for the day, go to the place, clean the windows, and leave. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the job, but with this kind of work thats par for course.
Commission at my location was 30% of the amount paid for windows cleaning, but they word it when you are hired as, “you make 27% commission and the extra 3% is always there just in case you are using your own vehicle.” I learned later on that 30% is all the cleaners here have ever made, and they altered the ratio to give you “compensation” for gas and vehicle expenses, presumably when they found they needed to provide that compensation. Generally you will clean $400 in windows every day, based on the work provided, that averages out to around 15/hr. Some days you might make double that or even half that, as sometimes you will get old bids on jobs that haven’t been raised to match company policies or bids that are very high and take not as much time as expected. 
Not any real benefits to speak of, there was word of a health insurance package, but haven’t heard more about it for a few months.
You are the face of the company when you go out on these jobs, and sometimes customers either don’t understand what we can and cannot do, or are very picky, but when you pay to have your windows cleaned, it’s understandable to expect crystal clear windows.
There is a bonus system based on the amount of windows you clean in a week, but that can be forfeited if a customer complains about the quality of work you produced. The company needs a better callback system, as occasionally customers will call a month after their windows were cleaned complaining about dirty windows. You would expect the managers to not really accept this as fact, windows naturally get dirty over the course of a few weeks, but (this never personally happened to me, but to a coworker) they sent a new team out to clean the windows again (for free essentially), and took a coworkers bonus from them. The management will tell you they are on your side in these debacles, but understand that at the end of the day, they are a business, and if their choice is between losing a valued customer or losing an employee, they will choose the former.

I worked for the Chandler, AZ franchise about 3 years and loved it. The first few months are kind of discouraging because you're still learning your pace and that means you also earn less since it's commission based. You will be given lower ticket mom and pop commercial routes to prove yourself, everybody in the company has done it so don't think you're being treated unfairly. I would recommend getting a small income supplement for the first few months if money is really an issue. Since the work is mostly done by 2 pm, you can easily work another job. I saw many people coming in with big financial responsibilities already (child support, car payment, etc) and just got upset because they expected an entry pay that wasn't feasible for their experience. Though there are company trucks, you will often use your own vehicle for transport so be aware of that and keep up with maintenance. Also summers are brutal, both in temperature and work tapers off. However, once you develop a routine, prove yourself, and know what work you're good at, you can pull in a substantial weekly income and work less hours. You will get better jobs and therefore better income by sticking with it. You also get little perks like tips or sometimes shops will throw you free stuff. Management is very understanding and frequently accommodates schedules, recognizes employees, and gives them many chances to improve. However, sometimes one bitter employee can upset the whole pot because the office is so small. 

If you're a self-starter who likes to work at their own pace, don't mind a little sweat and sun, and can take responsibility and pride in your work, this is a great job. If you want a 9-5 schedule making a stable check in climate controlled buildings to pay off your gambling debt, look somewhere else.

I’d advise anyone considering employment at Fish Window Cleaning to reconsider. At first glance, the job is marketed as straightforward and flexible, but in reality, the expectations are completely unrealistic.

** Commision Model Misrepresented**
I was told I’d earn a fair commission—or even hourly pay—but what I didn’t learn until I was deep into the role was that commissions were often split with a partner. That meant the “fair” commission quickly evaporated to 30% of the job when working with a partner—something management failed to clearly communicate upfront 
Glassdoor
. Additionally, some workers report making as little as $4.90 pre‑tax for 20–30 minutes of work


** Pressure to Take Extra Work, No Respect for Boundaries**
Despite promises of an “8-hour day” and flexible scheduling, managers consistently pushed extra work on you—especially if you finished your assigned route early. Finishing early was seen as a prompt to take on more jobs, often without compensation for overtime 

** Ownership vs. Reality—High Misleading Expectations, No Support**
Management pressured us to hit daily income goals without providing proper resources or fair compensation. Many commissions didn’t even cover mileage or wear-and-tear on our own vehicles, yet we were expected to keep going steady—even when the work was dangerous or underpaid 


** No Transparency, No Accountability**
Overall, the communication felt misleading. Pay structure and expectations were never made transparent. Instead, it felt like franchise locations operated differently, leaving employees in the dark with little support or guidance

A typical day at Fish Window Cleaning is easy to follow. Once your foot's through the door, you get your gear ready and loaded onto your assigned vehicle. From there you're assigned a workload in a slip of jobs typically situated in a general area so that it's easy to get from place to place.

Learning is simple and easy, you'll get the opportunity to learn how to properly clean windows in a timely and efficient manner. 

The people I've worked with are nice, no one particularly bad. Talking with a co-worker while working on a lengthy job can help pass the time.

Management was very nice and understanding, stellar compared to most other companies I've worked with before. 

The hard part is grinding out through a particularly slow or difficult day, as sometimes you're solo cleaning the windows of an entire restaurant while put on a time limit. The work is very simple and repetitive, and becomes very boring after a while. If you're slow, it can be particularly discouraging as your pay is made on commission. 

Being able to travel around the general area is nice however, and it opens up future possibilities of where you'd might want to go out and experience life. I've personally found many good restaurants and sights to find in the towns I've gone to clean in, and it's nice to get more situated with your area.

A typical work day would begin at 8 a.m. To start off the day I would review my route and load the work van with the tools required for the days work. Usually the day would be loaded with commercial store fronts with the occasional house in between. The jobs were often over 10 miles apart. The pay is strictly commission based, therefore employees are at the mercy of the management for a route that involves jobs that are not under bid. The sales manager had no experience cleaning windows and did not understand how much work the jobs would entail. Everybody works off of commission so usually the window cleaners would make very little money. However I learned a great deal about managing crews, staging ladders safely and efficiently, and cleaning a wide variety of windows. Other employees were often under trained, making them very difficult and often dangerous to work with. The hardest aspect of the job was making money. A full-time work week would often pay under $300 because the jobs were so under priced. The boss had no idea what he was doing when it came to field work making it up to me to run crews and get the jobs done safely and efficiently. The most enjoyable aspect was the client relationships. People loved the work I would do and that I only clean their windows going forward. This was because I have been cleaning windows for years and new the tricks and techniques not taught by the Fish company. Overall my experience at Fish Window Cleaning was very poor.

There are many different locations all run by their own franchise owners. It really depends on who you get as the franchise owner, if the work environment will be similar to the one I experienced. I think that everyone I have ever come into contact with that worked there, were nice and friendly people. I enjoyed my position at the location I worked at. The owner was friendly and the staff was great once I came in and cleaned house and hired a new crew, which the owner fully backed. I would definitely recommend working here if given the opportunity. I would go back to work there if given the same position again. When working for other companies the owners usually have the way they do things and that is it, they don't want to hear about what you think they should change and what not. When I worked at FISH the owner was great, he listened to all the ideas and recommendations I had and allowed me to pursue any idea I had that I thought would benfit the company. This is very rare to find an owner who has the ability to be able to realize that sometimes others ideas can take the company to new heights, but George did understand this. He was a great boss he was very friendly and kind and he truly truly cared for his employees almost like a big family. I would give 5 stars for this job if the pay was better.

This job is excellent for someone with good work ethic and can manage themselves and their time well. There's lots of solo/duo work without management looking over your shoulder, so it's important to manage your time well. Pay is commission based (starts around 30%) so the faster you clean, the more you make. Some of my coworkers have made as much as $1500 on a single two week paycheck. It's reasonable to expect to average between $8-$12 if you work quickly. Part of the commission is intended to be used for gasoline in the event that you have to take a personal vehicle, which doesn't happen often. Most of the time, you're in a company van working with someone else. Management is very good and answers questions and will help out at a job if you're stuck in a pickle. The most important thing is to use COMMON SENSE. Lots of my coworkers had issues with this job before quitting, and it was because they just weren't listening or thinking hard enough. Overall, this is the job for people who don't mind being outside in any temperature and are capable of being their own manager.

Overall decent place. Work/life balance is the best from a company. But can be very hypocritical at times. You definitely can spend more time at home and with family which is awesome. No weekends, maybe 3 times a year if that. The pay is inconsistent due to weather and some of the customers being very aware of their cleaning. Sometimes the office managers don’t understand that. Depending on the day office managers definitely take things out of context. Definitely make sure to have roommates and/ or a partner that does make decent money as the pay isn’t the best. But that’s the price you pay for being at home more. Sometimes when you’re caught up on work, they don’t have more ready so you miss a day and there’s no pay on days you miss. You don’t work and you don’t get paid. But then when you take your time with the work they’re telling you, you need to hurry. So it can be confusing at what they want and what they don’t, as well as having to deal with the customers explaining why you’re there early. Besides the inconsistency of pay and little hypocritical behavior, it’s definitely a great place to be if you’re family oriented.

They wanted me to use my car every other week with no gas or mileage comp, and like 12 stops a day all over tower. It's bologna. Also jobs were very small paying, or had too much additional work that was not necessary. For example, to only way to get the $16 they claim on avg to is skip a bunch of stuff, and do half effort work. The windows look alright, but why rush around? And why do jobs for $20? Could have easily gotten more. And it's all the more frustrating because sometimes customers aren't home or have furniture in the way. I was expected to walk on an icy roof in October. They say you don't have to but then you end up wasting time driving, especially your own vehicle, when you don't get compensated for gas for mileage. Their excuse was that they just didn't have enough trucks. Ok, well then why not compensate?? It just didn't make sense. I was trying to be reasonable because I really needed work but I'm not using up my car's life for this low paying job where you feel rushed and the need to skip things or do half effort work just to make decent wage. The coworkers were all very friendly and pleasant, just the nature of the set up and the customers were fail.

I liked the job. It was 7-3, boss was pretty fair. Minimum wage with optional tip compensation. He stayed out of your hair and left out the corporate b.s.  The training was very efficient. I learned alot from this job.  Sadly, he took his life, resulting in the death of my job with  other staff of 6.  
No benefits, and no advancement.  With the 7-3 schedule, and him being lenient, my work/life balance was well.  He said, "as long as you finish your route and keep a honest track record of hours, I will compensate you right if u supply me with the right details. He didn't even care if someone got their hair cut, as long as they wrote it down they did it. lol
He also let me do sales when my asthma was acting up, (Window Cleaning can be labor and physically intensive)so he was caring as well.  Rich made sure I was well supplied. \
Rest in Peace Rich, hoping you are happy and at peace in whatever ideal place is paradise in your mind seeing your life on earth was hell.
He made a big deal over little things...like, non capped pens.  I miss that  nutjob.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Window cleaner 61 salaries reported	$20.04 per hour
Cleaning technician 41 salaries reported	$20.91 per hour
Laborer 3 salaries reported	$15.83 per hour
Outside sales representative 4 salaries reported	$44,500 per year
Office administrator 2 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour

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