Gary Felten resided in Sedona for over a decade in the ‘70s and ‘80s and worked at a local radio station. He felt called to the city and returned to Sedona after retiring. He then purchased a window cleaning company back in 2014. He renamed it TLC Window Cleaning in 2015. Gary owns the company with his son, Justin Williams. “The philosophy is we want to do the best job possible. Operating on an axiom that ‘I’ is the first letter in integrity. Service, safety, satisfaction. Keeping in mind that we first do no harm, and we do not put our employees in harm’s way. We don’t use caustic chemicals,” says Gary. The company works with both commercial and residential businesses. TLC services many of Sedona’s resorts. TLC does mostly window cleaning, but also does hot water pressure washing, checks gutters, cleans solar panels and roofs.
We asked Justin what makes his company stand out from the rest, and his answer was that his team receives comprehensive training that lasts for just over a month. Justin or his top leaders train the newer members of the team. “My guys are the best. They’re absolutely the best, and I train them to be the best, and so they could go anywhere, to any company and never need to be trained in any aspect of what we do,” he says. “When people think that window cleaning is easy, it’s like Windex, but it is actually very, very difficult. In places like Sedona and just Arizona in general, depending on the weather, you usually have huge pieces of glass on huge homes that are in the incredibly hot sun. Being able to do that is actually an art.” TLC uses ladders to clean windows as opposed to a water fed pole system. TLC also uses steel wool, razors and surfactants, or specialized soaps, a degreaser, alcohol, vinegar or lime eaters intended for window cleaning. Tinted or colored glass requires special cleaners and techniques. Justin has worked as a banquet chef, held office jobs and worked in real estate. But he ultimately returned to window cleaning.
“I just love the physical aspect,” Justin says. “I love getting to talk to different people every day. It’s not boring.” Justin was born in Flagstaff and loves living in Arizona. In his free time, the single father of three daughters spends as much time as he can in the great outdoors with his daughters. “The greatest thing I’ll ever have achieved in my entire life is being a dad,” he says. “I love my girls so much.”
