Service Solutions owner Don Sweet used to be a financial director until he realized there was a need to be filled.
In 1988, vinyl siding was just becoming popular and very few people knew how to clean the material, let alone care for it on a regular basis. This is why Sweet decided to start Service Solutions, a company that provides exterior maintenance for home- and small business owners.
“It was something as simple as that,” said Sweet.
Nearly 30 years later, the business is still going strong. “We spent a lot of money on advertising in the beginning just to make people aware the service was out there,” said Sweet.
“A lot of time was spent educating people on what they had to do to take care of their siding, more-so than just selling the service,” he said.
Service Solutions, at 929 Hudson River Road in Half Moon, does pressure washing, deck and concrete cleaning, gutter and roof cleaning, and restoration, including sanding and staining.
Within the past three years, the business has begun to use a new foam filter for gutters. “When we do cleaning, a lot of people will ask about prevention,” said Sweet.
Once the gutter is clean, the foam goes inside the pipe. There, it prevents leaves, animals and debris from clogging the gutter, but allows water to get through. Sweet said it’s a better product in terms of keeping gutters clean.
Service Solutions, he said, strives on providing high quality work at a reasonable price. “We provide painting, cleaning and restoration services to the capital region at a value you can afford. That’s really what it’s about,” said Sweet.
Unlike other exterior service businesses, Service Solutions uses low-pressure, soft cleaning that relies more on detergents than high-pressure water to clean siding. Sweet said the technique, which uses brushes, is not only safer for the siding, but also does a more effective job.
“Probably 80 percent of our business is repeat, and multiple repeat, clients. That says something. We’ve got a database of clients of over 1,000 with 80 percent being repeat. That speaks to value to communication with our clients,” said Sweet.
