Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Ep. #76 Revolutionizing Window Cleaning with Bold Branding and Innovation
Ready to uncover the secret behind a brand that's turning heads in South Charlotte? Join me, Regina League, as I engage with Bryant Cohen, the entrepreneurial force behind Pink's Windows, a business that's shaking up the traditionally staid window cleaning industry with its bold branding and innovative approach. Brian reveals his fascinating transition from a career in management consulting and private equity to becoming a business owner, sparked by a serendipitous suggestion from a trusted advisor. Discover how Pink's Windows, born in Austin during the COVID era, is infused with a unique backstory and a mission to professionalize a blue-collar industry while staying true to quality service and thoughtfulness.
Brian shares the intriguing origins of Pink's Windows and its distinctive branding, which brings a touch of mid-century charm to their service ethos. From eye-catching uniforms to their memorable name, there's a clever strategy behind this attention-grabbing aesthetic. But it's more than just a pretty face; Pink's Windows offers a diverse array of services for both residential and commercial customers, all while maintaining an unwavering commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. Don't miss this episode as we explore how Pink's Windows is redefining expectations in their industry with creativity and a commitment to their core values.
Pink’s Windows South Charlotte Ballantyne
Bryant Cohen
(704) 448-9061
pinkswindows.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina League.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. My name is Regina and I interview local businesses in the South Charlotte area so our listeners can get to know them better. Today I am chatting with Brian Cohen. He is the owner of Pink's Windows and he works the South Charlotte area. Welcome, brian.
Speaker 3:Gina, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I have seen you guys all over Facebook and I was like, okay, I've got to find out who these guys are. You've got a very, very catchy brand, but let's first start Tell us a bit about you and then how you got into this.
Speaker 3:Sure, absolutely so. Originally I'm from Durham, north Carolina, so I was born and raised there, went to school in Winston-Salem, winston-salem State major and so been a North Carolinian through and through. And I moved to Charlotte a little over 10 years ago after I graduated school and at the time I was actually in management consulting. After I graduated school, and at the time I was actually in management consulting and throughout my career kind of moved from consulting into private equity and ultimately wanted to kind of get more into operating a business. That I found interesting, still being able to keep some good relationships and network in the investment space, especially here in Charlotte, but beyond that, like really fund and operate an opportunity that's just really interesting and we can provide a quality service to people that we're interested in and that we love to serve.
Speaker 3:And so and that's kind of how I ended up stumbling upon P's and actually at the time I was looking to do more small business and I had a trusted advisor who said, hey, you should really take a look at this company. In fact the founders are a bit similar to you in the fact that they were kind of similar ages, but they were based in Austin, texas, and during COVID got laid off of corporate jobs and wanted to make a difference and find a way also to make money while doing so. And that's how kind of Pinks was born. And, knowing that story and that background, and just looking at the business as a whole and an industry that could be innovated and professionalized, it just looked like the perfect opportunity. So here we are.
Speaker 2:Well, it's quite a brand for our listeners, if you can look on their website, pink's Window Services. Why pink? I mean these, you know macho guys and they're all wearing pink. Is there a story behind the name?
Speaker 3:When you look at the industry and it's no disrespect to a lot of the companies that are in the space and have been in the space, especially on the window cleaning side when you look at a lot of other industries and how they diversify, there's just this common thread in window cleaning where it's like, hey, it's something about a squeegee or a window or window bros and it was like, well, how do we kind of bring sort of what we would say has been lacking in blue collar over the past, you know few decades, this quality of service and that just thoughtfulness, that kind of we're used to like sort of back in the mid-century days, that kind of we're used to like sort of back in the mid-century days.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so if you look at our uniforms and if you look at our aesthetic, it'll kind of give you some reminiscent feels of that time period and us doing. You know what we say we're going to do and all of that is just huge. And it was like Pink's literally was just like an intuitive name that just came and it stuck and it was able to kind of inform the brand aesthetic but it just matched what we were looking to achieve and you know how we wanted the brand to show up in the industry.
Speaker 2:Well, it's fun. It makes you smile when you say it. For some reason, I don't know, why? But these guys are quite clever, so you do a lot more than just window cleaning. Take us through all the things you guys can do at a home or a business, I see.
Speaker 3:Oh, yes, absolutely so. We do residential or commercial. We do love window cleaning. You know that's our bread and butter, that you know we love to offer, but we also love to offer some add on services. Since we're there and we're building this relationship, there are quite a few things that we're able to offer some add-on services.
Speaker 3:Since we're there and we're building this relationship, there are quite a few things that we're able to take care of and take care of at a high level, and that goes into gutter cleaning. We do screen cleaning. So if you have a windows with tons of screens, we take them off and clean those for you as well. We also do, you know, high dusting for light fixtures. You know, especially when some of these beautiful homes, your lights are pretty high up and they're hard to reach, we're able to kind of bring our ladder and equipment in and take care of that for you as well. Even when it comes to roof washing, which we don't do a ton of, to be transparent, just out of just pure safety for our team, just out of just pure safety for our team, but we do offer that in some scenarios as well. And so so, yeah, we offer quite a bit. It's almost any problem that you have that's hard to reach in your home. We have something for it and we can do our best to solve that for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, anything that requires a ladder is what I'm guessing here, yeah, so tell us about your team, because I think, like you pointed out earlier, you know there are people everywhere that'll come and wash your windows. So what do you look for? What kind of requirements, what kind of vetting do you do?
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and this is actually a favorite part of the process for me, because even myself, if you look at the founder of Pink's and looking at myself, like we're typically not the individuals you expect to be your window cleaner or come in and take care type of service being that we have more white-collar backgrounds.
Speaker 3:But one thing we do love to look at, number one is clearly the background check. Like we're going to be in and close to homes and so we want to make sure that our customers feel safe and know that we're sending reputable individuals to their home that you know have integrity and just great character. Character is always number one. And then, beyond that, we love to look at individuals who have experience in hospitality, because one thing we love more than anything is emphasizing customer journey, emphasizing customer service, and so individuals who've had some experience maybe they worked at a hotel, maybe they worked at a country club loving to bring that type of individual, or they've been in a white collar space and want to be more active, want more autonomy. So we love to offer those opportunities to individuals who are professionals or have a very, very short learning curve to become great professionals, because that's one of our biggest separators is just how we treat our customers, how we take care of their property, and so that that's a huge part of how we look at our team.
Speaker 2:Well, I can see. That's what sets you apart. You know your guys are in uniform, I'm assuming branded trucks, the whole thing. So is there anything else that sets you all apart? You know cause. You obviously were very drawn to this brand to hang your hat here. Is there anything else?
Speaker 3:Yes, I would say.
Speaker 3:I think one of the biggest things is you know, we, when you look at what makes a great business, if you look across several industries, whether it's hotels or in a product space with water, you can see a ton of brands, you can see a ton of offerings in so many different spaces.
Speaker 3:But when it comes to pinks, what I feel has been done successfully is being able to innovate an industry through like the true basics of hey, we're going to show up on time, there's no large arrival window, we're not going to take three hours out of your day for you to anticipate our arrival. We're going to arrive when we say we're going to arrive. We're going to do what we say we're going to do and we're going to treat your property with the utmost respect and care, which sounds very simple, but especially in these industries, that is very, very underappreciated, and from our customers we get so many horror stories, and so it's beautiful when we're able to give them an experience that you know just gets them to fall in love with this process and fall in love with allowing us to take care of their property.
Speaker 2:So I absolutely love that Once you think of the things you can do inside the home. I never thought about that. Who does clean those big you?
Speaker 1:know we've got a lot of high, high ceilings in homes.
Speaker 2:Here On your website, you talk about the quick estimate, so what is your quoting process?
Speaker 3:Yes, so it's funny because we used to well, not used to we've made attempts, and we still make attempts to provide estimates digitally.
Speaker 3:So once you request an estimate, whether that's via phone or through our actual web form on our website, then at that point, with Business day, will get you either scheduled for us to come out and do an estimate or get in quote over. The challenge is, it does require us to come out and take a look at the property, simply because windows are very nuanced, and more nuanced than you could imagine, because you know there are different panes, different shapes, different sizes, and because of that it takes different amounts of time, shapes, their different sizes, and because of that it takes, you know, different amounts of time. And so we do need to get out and sort of get some eyes on the property so we can give it a proper quote. And so that's typically what happens. Whether you use the work form or call in, within one business day we'll either schedule to come out and do an estimate or, if we have enough from our software to be able to see the home and you land in a nice price range, we can send it out to you digitally as well.
Speaker 2:I love that. I would assume I know the answer. But are you guys bonded and fully insured?
Speaker 3:Oh, absolutely, absolutely, 100%. We're fully insured, from general liability to workers' comp to auto, yes, yes, and our coverage is a bit boosted. It's at a million per occurrence. So definitely not a light insurance policy, but I mean it's necessary for us and for our team and for the customers as well. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Right. What are you most proud of in this journey of an entrepreneur and a business owner?
Speaker 3:Honestly it's. It's been a lot different because I've been in finance more recently, especially as being in private equity and spending some time even as a CFO one of the operating companies and there's something very different about making a physical change to something and seeing it physically improve, like there's an instant gratification that comes from taking care of a customer taking care of their property and seeing them glow.
Speaker 3:I haven't had that experience much in my entire career and like when we go out on a job and we experience that from a customer, that is like a level of joy. I didn't anticipate I knew it would be there, but it really does feel good and it makes me proud to see that our team they share that feeling as well. Like this, they feel like there's nothing I can do Bonus, tip, commission. That makes them feel better than when a customer said they did a good job and I absolutely love that.
Speaker 2:So I can see you're going to be this is going to be so successful and, again, I think it's a very, very fun and clever brand and you're pretty amazing, brian. Well, tell us how our listeners can find Pink's Windows.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, absolutely. So. You can find Pink's Windows online. I think the easiest way to find us is kind of at the website, which is wwwpinkswindowscom, and if you want to look for our location specifically, we are Pink's Windows South Charlotte, ballantyne. We are on Facebook, so find us on Facebook. We communicate there. We are also on Instagram. We are. We are on Facebook, so find us on Facebook. We communicate there. We are also on Instagram. We are on the Internet. If you Google us, we'll come up and, honestly, a Web form or a phone call. Well, we'll be able to get to you pretty quickly.
Speaker 2:Well, I love it. And again, you're residential and commercial and just do about everything that requires a ladder and the things none of us want to do, absolutely, absolutely Right. Well, brian it's a pleasure getting to know you. I'm very happy, excited for the future of Pink's here in South Charlotte. Thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 3:No problem. Thank you so much, Regina.
Speaker 1:Thank you for much, Regina.