We All Make Mistakes. Transparency.

I'm Paul. I run Oakmont High Reach Window Cleaning, and I've been cleaning windows in Edinburgh long enough to know that something will always go wrong eventually — no matter how careful you are.

This is a post I've wanted to write for a while. Not because mistakes are fun to talk about, but because I think the way a business handles them tells you more than any testimonial ever could.

Here are three that stuck with me.

The Ladder and the Brake Light

Recently, I was cleaning the windows of a house on a breezy Edinburgh day. My ladder was leaning against the balcony of the property next door — no issue, the neighbour knew what I was doing.

Then a gust came from nowhere and knocked the ladder clean over. Straight into his car. Cracked the brake light.

He wasn't even home. I waited, told him what had happened as soon as he got back, took photos of the damage, and ordered a replacement light that week. Fitted it myself.

He became a regular customer.

I'm not telling that story to sound noble — I'm telling it because what else would you do? It was my ladder. It was his car.

The Frog

A customer had a small ceramic frog mounted on the garden wall. It had clearly been there for years — the kind of thing that's just part of someone's garden.

My hose caught it. It fell. It smashed.

I went straight to the door and told him. Didn't wait until the end of the job, didn't hope he wouldn't notice. Just knocked and told him what had happened and offered to pay for a replacement.

He wouldn't take the money. So I gave him the clean for free.

He remained a customer.

The Scratch I Didn't Make

This one is harder to tell, because I'm about 99% certain it wasn't me.

A new-build property. Balcony doors. After I cleaned, the customer got in touch to say there was a scratch on the glass — and that he checked his windows every single morning, so he knew it wasn't there before.

I'll be honest: that didn't ring true to me. New-build glass, balcony doors, a scratch that appeared on clean day — I'd been doing this long enough to have a strong feeling about it. But I couldn't prove it either way.

So I paid for a professional to come out and buff the scratch out. Said nothing more about it.

He cancelled his regular clean shortly after. I don't know if he was embarrassed, or if there was something else going on. Either way, the scratch got fixed and I moved on.

I'm not going to pretend that one felt fair. But I'd rather absorb the cost and keep my reputation intact than get into a dispute with a customer over something that can't be proven.

Why I'm Writing This

Because I want the people who hire Oakmont to know what they're getting.

Not a company that disappears when something goes wrong. Not someone who deflects or argues or quietly hopes you don't notice.

If something happens at your house — whether it's my fault or not — I'll tell you, and I'll sort it.

That's the only way I know how to run this.

— Paul, Oakmont High Reach Window Cleaning