[Steve Mac]

 My round's due a price increase, but like many of you out there, i'm **** scared of hiking a street up a little too much and having them all ditch me for some wc doing them at 4 quid a pop.

Alot of the threads on this forum have motivated me enough to do put all my jobs up. Mainly cos it seems i'm slightly under-priced compared to alot of you. Now i realize this is to do with the north / south divide. I wouldn't DREAAAM of charging a tenner for a normal 3 bed semi, as i know that at least a few are charging 4 quid.

My question is to anyone roughly from my area (scottish borders) What are the going rates round where you are? I'd love nothing more than to be getting 6 quid a pop. 

[callum macleod]

hi i would increase them by £1 some will moan some won't even notice if they ask you why you can always say your expenses have gone up fuel etc.

[Steve Mac]

 Yeah, that seems fair to me. I know i'll lose a few customers here and there, I just want to keep the number down to a minimum. Where about are you Callum?

[callum macleod]

Yeah, that seems fair to me. I know i'll lose a few customers here and there, I just want to keep the number down to a minimum. Where about are you Callum?

hi somewhat south of the border newark-on-trent near nottingham from edinburgh originally! go home fairly often so i don't get too english!!

So not really local but i know what they charge around edinburgh.

[callum macleod]

Its funny actually i was talking to my mum who lives in edinburgh said she paid her window cleaner about £4 i said to her i would charge £6 for this size of house she thought that too expensive!! so i suppose you'll have to tread carefully how you introduce the increase!!

There not Tight there just carefull!!

I think window cleaner do seem to charge more down here !

 

Yeah, that seems fair to me. I know i'll lose a few customers here and there, I just want to keep the number down to a minimum. Where about are you Callum?

hi somewhat south of the border newark-on-trent near nottingham from edinburgh originally! go home fairly often so i don't get too english!!

[Steve Mac]

 I suppose the standard of living must be more expensive down there too, no?

[Steve Mac]

 I live outside Kelso, on the river tweed. Most of my work hasn't been put up for 4 years at least, but like you say, there's always the poss that they'll find some cowboy who can do it a little cheaper.

I personally wouldn't miss an extra quid a month, would you? Sometimes it's as if you're emptying their wallet!

 I currently have most of my semi's at 4 quid, some at 5. Looking tp put them all up by a pound soon. That's not too cheeky, surely? 

[bumper]

I put my houses up from £3.80 to £4.30 so 50p most moaned about it ,a few customers were on about inflation you put them up 13% inflation rates only 3%  how you justified that,my pensions only gone up 3%.One or  two finnished yet again what i lost i picked up.Mostly are fornight.bumper stockport

[callum macleod]

hope you don't mind me asking ! why do you have your prices at £3.80?? i always price work at £1 increments never less. it makes a change nightmare when you price less than a £1?

I put my houses up from £3.80 to £4.30 so 50p most moaned about it ,a few customers were on about inflation you put them up 13% inflation rates only 3%  how you justified that,my pensions only gone up 3%.One or  two finnished yet again what i lost i picked up.Mostly are fornight.bumper stockport

[bumper]

Ive been puting them up 30p a year, last year put them up 50p, try and put the prices  up 25% and you have a load of moaners, can you do them every 2 months or can you leave them this time,my sons doing them now,my husbands bought a ladder and doing them himself,ive got someone else now,can you leave them till spring love,the list is endless you are left with houses dotted about the street which is no good.

[spotless2000]

i'm **** scared of hiking a street up a little too much and having them all ditch me for some wc doing them at 4 quid a pop.

I would suggest you give all your customers a letter explaining the price increase but also confirming the benefits of your service e.g. you’re regular and clean all year; you clean the frames and the corners; your friendly etc.  Will they want to take on someone new who they don’t know just to save a pound? 

Some will, but hopefully not many!

Good luck!

[DASERVICES]

  Steve,

  Put them up, min I charge is £5. If your customers are willing to pay for it
  they will.

  Don't forget you have to pay your bills, not showing loyalty to your customers.

  Doug

[Steve Mac]

i'm **** scared of hiking a street up a little too much and having them all ditch me for some wc doing them at 4 quid a pop.

I would suggest you give all your customers a letter explaining the price increase but also confirming the benefits of your service e.g. you’re regular and clean all year; you clean the frames and the corners; your friendly etc. Will they want to take on someone new who they don’t know just to save a pound?

Some will, but hopefully not many!

Good luck!

I've seen a few examples of letters in the archives. Sounds like the best way of going about it. Then they have a chance to cool down b4 i go back! 

I do admit that i'm too much of a soft touch mind. I'm on such a friendly basis with some customers that i'll find it awkward when their's go up. All my new customers get the mandatory weather small talk now. No more!

[spotless2000]

If you get on that well with them, then I'm sure they'll stick with you!

With a friendly, professional, polite and confident approach - you’ve got everything to go for!

Let us know how you get on.

Steve

[jon adams]

 Blimey, i know its a different country but it sounds like another planet, i consider myself cheap charging £10 for a new 3 bed terrace 3 windows an a door at front same at back and no quibbles, but also have some moaners not too many who live in 4 bed detached and pay £12 for twice the amount of windows. Us soft southerners have it cushy.

[Steve Mac]

Will do, spotless! Now i just need to figure out how to work down south and live up here. Best of both worlds then. 

[bumper]

Is there no window cleaners on this forum who clean near me, like moss side,levenshulme,rushulme,salford,bolton, dean road area,sounds like they are all from down south, not many in the hard areas  and working classes.

[bumper]

I take it nobody on the forum cleans round these areas,prices are very tight,and you wornt get £10 a house

[geoffreyspecht]

i live in n wales prices r tight round here but i still get £10 for a three bedroom house

[ducky]

i live in kirkcaldy.fife.work in glenrothes.2 bed and 3 bed.4.50  for a council house.

[Rob Tonks]

bumper
 I work rochdale, oldham areas not that far from u. £10 for a 3 bed house i wish    I would charge £10 if they wanted frames doing every time but not many do up here in my areas. I clean every 2 weeks but most on here clean every 4 weeks so they get more cash for monthly and frames. 

[bumper]

hi rob ,
       sorry to here you work round rochdale and oldham      lol
but us tough northerners have to work twice has hard to make a living up here ,where its always raining,windy and dull.

[Londoner]

Area is important to what you can charge but don't go running away with the idea its easy down here in the South.

It is easier if you can, and not everyone can, to go and find new customers rather than put up your prices.
I have always found that once you have established a price its virtually impossible to get any meaninful increase out of those customers. You will get a cost of living increase in line with inflation but nothing much more than that.

On the other hand when you go out canvassing you can be a lot cheekier. The higher the price you say then the more knockbacks you will get - obviously. But you will also get takers willing to pay the higher prices.

Over time, and I do stress its not a quick fix the value of your book will get better and you will be able to risk losing  a few of the old customers when you put their prices up.

Another trick is to give the old customers to a friend. Tell them a new window cleaner is taking over. "he's very good missus but I think he charges a bit more than me"

[zeusjazmin]

i am in ayrshire and know i would not get £5 for a 3bed semi,but 13 miles away in ayr it would be no problem

[DASERVICES]

  Sorry guys but you are wasting your time on Council houses, there is no money
  in doing them. Best advise is go and find 10 private houses and you will then
  be able to dump 20 council houses.

  That's one area I do not touch as I have heard to many moans and groans
  from fellow window cleaners.

  Doug

[dai]

I don't know if you still have coal fires up there in scotland, I do and had to have my chimney swept recently. A mate got his done too in order to make it worthwhile him coming. He came and was gone in 30mins, he charges £40 a pop.
A decent WFP system costs more than a chimney vac. The point I'm making is that it's all about how our customers percieve us. People espeacially the older ones still think in terms of Half a crown merchants. They don't think of chimney sweeps like that any more, they come with fancy machines these days, not a brush to stick up the chimney.
It's a choice we have to make. Charge less and have a compact round or charge double and have a scattered one, and spend more time travelling.
The first thing we need to do is get rid of the £30 a day cash in hand benefit cheats.
It's the guys that employ them, that keep the prices down. Dai

[Steve Mac]

Well said Dai.

[shammy davis jnr]

hi all new to the forum i come from lanark  i have put my prices up to around the fiver
a quid increase and lost no one  the way i sell it is if it were your relation doing them if he smoked you would give him at least a packet off fAgs,now you tell me where you could buy a packet off fAgs for a fiver ,they cant answer you  if there loaded say a bottel of whiskey ,then hike it to a tenner  lol    but  i find if you stick with the fAgs they then relise how little they are actualy paying ya good luck and take no s,,t  as you have to eat  at the end off the week

[lippy]

davis jnr do you use wfp

[ducky]

t.w.c. what company are u.

[Moderator David@stives]

The worst thing you can do is look  at the prices other window cleaners are charging,that in turn can keep your prices down.

The best thing to do is work out what you want to earn per hour and charge accordingly.

There will always be them that just work for beer money and you will never compete with them on price.

Most customers will have nothing to compare you to ,if you do a goood job they will be happy to pay you what you are worth

just bite the bullet and put them all up by a substantial increase, you wont regret it.
My hourly rate as more than double in the last 4 years because i got brave.

Dave

[shammy davis jnr]

hi lippy i am thinking on wfp but need a decent contract to even the cost of buying one ,going on a course for one nxt week actualy to see what its all about ,looking in it is difficult enough to cut through the bull of each wfp company so what i know it uses clear water this bit i do get ,but the resin,ros,what pole,what size of tank for which size of job wich company to buy from ,hard soft water ,brush heads snaked our straight ,carbon ,glass fiber ,dont mean to go on but where do u begin ...honestly  so i booked a course to find out all about this ..hope fully i will see the light                  and make a purchase soon  wish me luck