the £5 brigade

« **on:** July 04, 2006, 11:59:43 pm »

Once again i have been out knocking,and come across many propertys that needed a window cleaner.Unfortunately it seems the last window cleaner was charging £5,compared to my £12.This happened about 10 times,needless to say i got nothing.Words cant describe how much these people **** me off.They honestly must be earning about £60 before tax(which they probably dont pay)a day.They must be on the dole.People like this are devaluing window cleaning,and keeping its reputation in the gutter.I personally think they should introduce some sort of regulations to keep these fools away.******s

« **Reply #1 on:** July 05, 2006, 12:19:11 am »

Quote from: FAST ONE on July 04, 2006, 11:59:43 pm

Once again i have been out knocking,and come across many propertys that needed a window cleaner.Unfortunately it seems the last window cleaner was charging £5,compared to my £12.This happened about 10 times,needless to say i got nothing.Words cant describe how much these people **** me off.They honestly must be earning about £60 before tax(which they probably dont pay)a day.They must be on the dole.People like this are devaluing window cleaning,and keeping its reputation in the gutter.I personally think they should introduce some sort of regulations to keep these fools away.******s

Stick with it. It'll come right. I had a lot of that at first. It takes time to build a full business with all well priced work.

« **Reply #2 on:** July 05, 2006, 12:23:10 am »

hopefully

« **Reply #3 on:** July 05, 2006, 01:30:56 am »

Hey FAST ONE
£5.00 i wish in the northeast its hard to get over £5.00. I charge around that but today lost a customer to a dole boy who charged her £3.00. But regions apart, stick at it, be regular, on time, smart, sober & get the windows clean and the business will come via word of mouth.
Regards mal

« **Reply #4 on:** July 05, 2006, 05:46:57 am »

Wish i could get £12.00 a house i charge £5.00 per house and im one of the dearest up here in manchester,and they still grumble at that.

« **Reply #5 on:** July 05, 2006, 08:02:50 am »

Hmmmmm.
Sounds like your prices take the p1ss.

£5 for the last guy, and you want £12?
I've never been more than £2.00 more expensive than any previous w/c.

On that basis it's probably a 7-8 pound job.

« **Reply #6 on:** July 05, 2006, 09:27:13 am »

I suppose it depends on regional differences in cost of living / employment / wealth etc.

Average 3 bed terrace (all windows but no extra glasswork ie conservatory etc) is around 10-12 quid in my area, and scaleable either way from that point.

« **Reply #7 on:** July 05, 2006, 09:40:21 am »

I charge £1 a window with a minimum price of £10 per house here in Oxfordshire. Average price for a house is about £14. I get about 75% of the houses I quote for.

« **Reply #8 on:** July 05, 2006, 09:58:55 am »

Quote from: Squeaky Clean. on July 05, 2006, 08:02:50 am

Hmmmmm.
Sounds like your prices take the p1ss.

£5 for the last guy, and you want £12?
I've never been more than £2.00 more expensive than any previous w/c.

On that basis it's probably a 7-8 pound job.

You do brighten up my day squeaky

As for the cheap prices, like everyone has said, stick at it and you will soon get what your business up and running.

I often find when I am charging so much more than the previous cleaner that he is a Dole dodger and just getting a few pennines together. you will never compete aginst that, you just have to ask the customer why he hasn't come back??

Stick at it

Trev

« **Reply #9 on:** July 05, 2006, 10:08:17 am »

I am having the same experience, Window cleaner before me charged £4.
I priced the job at 50p per window, price came to £9.
Lady comment was that i must live a expensive life.
Also another lady where i charged more than the previous cleaner said ok, but because you are expensive do them every 3 months till i find a cheaper cleaner.
These 2 ladys have not had a cleaner for a year.

« **Reply #10 on:** July 05, 2006, 11:16:28 am »

I often find I'm more expensive than the previous window cleaner aswell, but I just let the customer know,
unlike her previous window cleaner, I'm not here today and gone tomorrow.

as for 50p a window, were do you get those prices from?

I charge minimum of a pound a window, then I do an assesment of the area, and if its full of items in my way, I add more on.

I always do the frames, god it only takes a couple of seconds after the first clean to wipe frames, it always looks nicer, customers happy, I'm happy, they tell there friends were all happy.

« **Reply #11 on:** July 05, 2006, 11:37:24 am »

I have 6 days work on one estate of starter homes. I charge £5 if they don't have a conservatory. These are by far the best paying area of my round. I don't move the van all day and just do house, after house, after house, in the same close.
I am not some fly by night, having done the job for the last 12 years, and even had a spell at it back in the 1950's. I charge what my customers will pay. Conwy has the lowest per capital income in the UK. I know there are some wealthy people round here too, but they are the tightest of all.
Compactness is the key, and if you can get a fiver for 6 windows and a patio door, for houses on open plan estates that are all next door to each other you will do OK.
I'm a very happy member of the fiver brigade. Dai

« **Reply #12 on:** July 05, 2006, 11:44:24 am »

Hi. The reason we come accross these £5 nerds is because most of the time they are on the dole, every bennifit coming in, no council tax, no rent, presciptions & dentist free & pay no tax.

Where as we have all these to pay plus all the other costs of running the show.

I had this the other week, I had polite words with him but basically told him to p*** off or i would report him on the fraud help line. We came to an agreement if he stayed away i would be happy & leave it at that. He was happy with that cause he didnt wont hassel from them. :

My problem sorted.

Macc

« **Reply #13 on:** July 05, 2006, 12:21:21 pm »

If you charged £12.00 per house up here in manchester it wouldent be long before you was on the dole,and and for saying we £5.00 pound nerds are on the dole, you to would be taking a visit to the dentist
problem sorted

« **Reply #14 on:** July 05, 2006, 01:15:01 pm »

Im in Surrey, and I charge a Tenner for a standard 3 bed terrace with no extra glassworks (conservatory etc)

I then scale up or down from there for the rest of my customers depending on house size and... in certain cases. I tend not to penalise for hard to get ats, or Leaded, because as far as my customers are concerned windows are windows, and mrs B talks to everyone else about how much she is charged, if you see what i mean.

I can average 10 a day at the average price at the mo, but i expect as speed and experience come my way to double this in a day. is that realistic?

Grant
Newbie whos getting there slowly!

« **Reply #15 on:** July 05, 2006, 02:01:07 pm »

It is frustrating when you try and put your prices up or give a quote only to be told that other window cleaners, or their last one were much cheaper than you.

This never bothers me though; if they don't like the quote/price increase I'll just move on. There's loads of work out there.

However, I think it's wrong to generally classify all window cleaners who price cheaply as dole-scrounging tax-dodgers.

I can think of three local window cleaners who charge a low price and appear to be happy with their income. One of them is a JW, a great bloke, who advised me not to charge to cheaply when I first introduced myself to him!

I pretty much work side-by-side with one mature fellow, in one area I/we do; a cracking-bloke (he gives me free fish he catches); who charges a fair bit less than me. I keep encoraging him to put up his prices, he keeps saying he will, but he hasn't; yet.

I think he's just happy with what he's charging, and there's nowt wrong with that.

My advice would be to advertise this forum to your fellow window cleaners, since what some lads are earning here is a real eye-opener! That'll encourage them to put their prices up!

« **Reply #16 on:** July 05, 2006, 02:28:50 pm »

Quote from: bumper on July 05, 2006, 12:21:21 pm

If you charged £12.00 per house up here in manchester it wouldent be long before you was on the dole,and and for saying we £5.00 pound nerds are on the dole, you to would be taking a visit to the dentist
problem sorted

Bumper. I live in Sussex & was refering to my area, sorry if you took as in general, WAS NOT. A 3 bed house is £8-£10 down here. I was not refering to wc charging £5 a nerd, down here if you charge £5 a pop you have to be on the dole cause theres no way the bills would be paid.

Macc

« **Reply #17 on:** July 05, 2006, 02:57:17 pm »

Quote from: macc on July 05, 2006, 02:28:50 pm

Quote from: bumper on July 05, 2006, 12:21:21 pm
If you charged £12.00 per house up here in manchester it wouldent be long before you was on the dole,and and for saying we £5.00 pound nerds are on the dole, you to would be taking a visit to the dentist
problem sorted

Bumper. I live in Sussex & was refering to my area, sorry if you took as in general, WAS NOT. A 3 bed house is £8-£10 down here. I was not refering to wc charging £5 a nerd, down here if you charge £5 a pop you have to be on the dole cause theres no way the bills would be paid.

Macc

I'm in Sussex too and mostly have work at £10 plus. As you say Macc, the cost of living is, quite simply, higher down here. Around my way I am on the doorstep of an international airport. That bumps up the cost of living substantially too. Not only does that airport mean that unemployment has traditionally been very low around here, but many of the jobs are reasonably well paid too. All this means that the local economy is a bit inflated. Additionally, we are within driving distance of Brighton where the pink pound has an inflationary value too.
Over all, I believe that if you are employed in a reasonable paying job in the northeast, you are probably better off than in the southeast.

« **Reply #18 on:** July 05, 2006, 03:07:27 pm »

No offence taken macc,it seems to me that all the window cleaners on this forum come from the south or south of birmingham, meaning the north and south divide,

« **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2006, 03:24:18 pm »

At the end of the day,it is a business we are running.I can fully understand the £5 price up north,that is not the issue.the issue is that i priced a job up at £12,which included a very small conservatory,and in order for me to do a descent job,that was a reasonable price.People that say a fiver are fools to themself.I worked on site as a bricklayer before this,earning about £120 a day.I did not intend to have my own business and earn less than when i was working for someone else.Its no wonder window cleaners are looked at like scum,half of them bring it on themselves.By the way,this is not intended as a dig to the plenty of descent people on this forum,some of whom seem great fellas.

« **Reply #20 on:** July 05, 2006, 04:25:50 pm »

Quote from: FAST ONE on July 05, 2006, 03:24:18 pm

At the end of the day,it is a business we are running.I can fully understand the £5 price up north,that is not the issue.the issue is that i priced a job up at £12,which included a very small conservatory,and in order for me to do a descent job,that was a reasonable price.People that say a fiver are fools to themself.I worked on site as a bricklayer before this,earning about £120 a day.I did not intend to have my own business and earn less than when i was working for someone else.Its no wonder window cleaners are looked at like scum,half of them bring it on themselves.By the way,this is not intended as a dig to the plenty of descent people on this forum,some of whom seem great fellas.

I do have a couple of £5 jobs left over from the bad old days but we are talking about bungalows that take no more than 10 minutes so I don't mind too much.

« **Reply #21 on:** July 05, 2006, 05:20:36 pm »

I do some OAP flats for £5 but I do them all togeather.

Now if you want to talk prices listen to this. My mate lives in Harwoods Road Watford. Its right opposite Watford Football ground so some of you may have visited the area in the past. They are 3bed victorian semis and terraces. What I call "square windows" if you know what I mean.

He found out his next door neighbour was paying £25 (yes thats right £25 ) to have her windows cleaned.

He said you should talk to my mate, he does window but she said no she was happy with the WC she had got.

Now I think thats unbelievable but I promise you its true.

On of my newish customers was quoted £30 by another cleaner for a bigish semi but she declined it. ( I charge her £12 )

The whole thing about prices seem to me its how much front you have got. If you have confidence, and you don't need the work, you stand to get more.

On the other hand my friend John has been paying £4 to the same old bloke for twenty years.

« **Reply #22 on:** July 05, 2006, 05:26:06 pm »

We have a min price of 15 pounds maybe I am a "Southern Rip Off Merchant" :

Andy

« **Reply #23 on:** July 05, 2006, 06:13:31 pm »

whats wrong with 5 quid jobs

as i can afford to have the week off shock horror

4th week off this year (1 in center parc, 2 weeks down the coast and this week enjoying a few days off sun and going to see the red hot chillie peppers in reading)

Post edited by moderator

« **Reply #24 on:** July 05, 2006, 07:43:45 pm »

We have a min price of £25 and have work coming out our ears. We are going to have a 3rd van on the go in next month or so.

« **Reply #25 on:** July 05, 2006, 08:09:50 pm »

Did not know it was you Tam, I would agree with you, what with the low prices in scotland

Andy

Post edited by moderator

« **Reply #26 on:** July 05, 2006, 08:25:59 pm »

£5 to clean a house of windows. Bargain! Though the local window cleaner here charges £4.50. I chose a WFP guy who charges £10. I'm more than happy to pay that too.

Each to their own, I say. Live and let live. Charge what you like & whatever makes you happy & earns you a decent living.

« **Reply #27 on:** July 05, 2006, 08:27:02 pm »

Quote from: busydaffodil on July 05, 2006, 08:25:59 pm

Each to their own, I say. Live and let live. Charge what you like & whatever makes you happy & earns you a decent living.

well said

« **Reply #28 on:** July 05, 2006, 08:56:01 pm »

We charge good prices for our work. When we started we charged £5 for a semi but things progress. Now the same job would be £12 - £15.

Sometimes we give a quote and the person recoils in shock and horror but there always people prepared to pay and it's case of finding them.

I know I'm lucky to live in a reasonably affluent area and as The Shiner says, the Pink Pound around here (in the Brighton area) is worth a bomb but I cannot believe that there are not well of people up North or anywhere else come to that.

What is odd that I have a window cleaner do my windows. He charges me £4 which is ridiculous. I've offered him more but he won't take it as he charges everyone else around here the same and 'that is it'.

What is odder is that we also do a number of houses around here. The same type and size of houses that he does. We use them as time fillers if we finish early and we charge £12 without a conservatory and £16 with.

I spoke to him about his prices and I think that he is scared to ask for more and I also think that because of his posture, he probably would loose jobs if he put his prices up.

The point I'm making about prices etc is that sometimes there is more to getting good priced jobs that simply asking a decent price. I don't know what it is though.

Cheers

« **Reply #29 on:** July 05, 2006, 09:13:28 pm »

Tell the customer what you are willing to clean their windows for and as long as your happy with the price then thats all that matters, if the customer thinks your to expensive then let them ring somebody else.
At the end of the day the cheapest is always the cheapest but not nessacarily the best.
Round here most of us wc,s have a set price as we all no each other near enough and this helps keep the price up and we,re always smiling/

« **Reply #30 on:** July 05, 2006, 09:59:51 pm »

Quote from: ronaldo on July 05, 2006, 09:13:28 pm

Tell the customer what you are willing to clean their windows for and as long as your happy with the price then thats all that matters, if the customer thinks your to expensive then let them ring somebody else.
At the end of the day the cheapest is always the cheapest but not nessacarily the best.
Round here most of us wc,s have a set price as we all no each other near enough and this helps keep the price up and we,re always smiling/

same here

on the new estates most know the going price, and that keeps them ok, if you get asked you normally get the job, if they ask some1 else its allways about the same price

« **Reply #31 on:** July 05, 2006, 10:47:18 pm »

Customers will pay if they get there moneys worth, Ive got alot of work just by saying "of course I wipe the cill's. would be stupid not too" Cant belive how many so called shiners out there dont wipe the cill's or a quick wipe around the frames, it ant hard come on.....

« **Reply #32 on:** July 05, 2006, 11:09:39 pm »

I have been pushing the boundaries a bit on prices recently. I dislike being that way but my financial situation from past mistakes isn't leaving me much choice. I can live with getting 1 in 3 of the jobs I quote for. My view of work is more like Matt's inasmuch that it is part of my life but not my life. In some respects, I believe that I am getting the best of both worlds because of my situation. I am getting new work now at some pretty good prices but I also have a set of priorities that I am happy with.
No-one ever laid on their deathbed wishing they had done more overtime.

« **Reply #33 on:** July 05, 2006, 11:20:17 pm »

Quote from: The Shiner on July 05, 2006, 11:09:39 pm

I have been pushing the boundaries a bit on prices recently. I dislike being that way but my financial situation from past mistakes isn't leaving me much choice. I can live with getting 1 in 3 of the jobs I quote for. My view of work is more like Matt's inasmuch that it is part of my life but not my life. In some respects, I believe that I am getting the best of both worlds because of my situation. I am getting new work now at some pretty good prices but I also have a set of priorities that I am happy with.
No-one ever laid on their deathbed wishing they had done more overtime.

when you biz gets to a point when you can take or leave new work, then you can afford to "push them a little" , im lucky i can do that, and yes sure new houses i pick up are a few quid more than the same of my old work

« **Reply #34 on:** July 06, 2006, 12:06:36 am »

the estate i just moved from had a load of 2&3 bed houses A few flats & afew bungalows all housing association types i charged all the houses £3 & 2.50 for flats & bungalows it took me 2 6hr days to do £180 id of lost them all if id gone to a fiver, i used to labour for 6.50hr who needs a fiver a house???

« **Reply #35 on:** July 06, 2006, 07:30:27 am »

Quote from: beefy on July 06, 2006, 12:06:36 am

the estate i just moved from had a load of 2&3 bed houses A few flats & afew bungalows all housing association types i charged all the houses £3 & 2.50 for flats & bungalows it took me 2 6hr days to do £180 id of lost them all if id gone to a fiver, i used to labour for 6.50hr who needs a fiver a house???

Yes it definitely depends where you live (I see you are in the Lake District). I was visiting a friend who lived near the S. Yorkshire/Notts border some years ago. While I was there the window cleaners called. They charged £3 for a job that I would have priced at £6 in the south. Part of that £3 was going to the local round landlord (maybe we should call them roundlords

) as they were renting the round.

I believe there are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the local economies are less inflated in the North due to lower housing costs etc. Secondly, due to the traditionally higher unemployment in the North, W/Cing has more often been done by people who are signing on and can afford to work cheaper.
Don't jump down my throat and accuse me of stereotyping northern window cleaners of all being dole cheats. That's not what I've just said.

« **Reply #36 on:** July 06, 2006, 08:23:10 am »

Hi,

Rosskesava,

In your posting you said.........

I spoke to him about his prices and I think that he is scared to ask for more and I also think that because of his posture, he probably would loose jobs if he put his prices up.

I take it that you refer to his general appearance, track suit bottom's, string t-shirt & the like.

Be smart for smart prices say I who is just off to work in my pressed blue shirt.

Kevin WINDOLENE

« **Reply #37 on:** July 06, 2006, 08:37:06 am »

Quote from: windolene on July 06, 2006, 08:23:10 am

Hi,

Rosskesava,

In your posting you said.........

I spoke to him about his prices and I think that he is scared to ask for more and I also think that because of his posture, he probably would loose jobs if he put his prices up.

I take it that you refer to his general appearance, track suit bottom's, string t-shirt & the like.

Be smart for smart prices say I who is just off to work in my pressed blue shirt.

Kevin WINDOLENE

You make a good point about posture. Making decent eye contact and sounding confident can get you a job at a certain price sometimes (though not others). I used to stare down at my shoes almost with a begging tone while pricing a job. No wonder I ended up with lots of lowish paid work and had customers taking liberties with me. When I realised where I was going wrong, I had to put on a confident act for quite a while. These days, it's not usually an act (except on an occasional bad day). I reckon I used to go around with a sign on my head that read "Please abuse me".

« **Reply #38 on:** July 06, 2006, 09:16:50 am »

Just want to say that I am also only referring to my local area where our average job price is around £10 + for a 3 bed semi.

Apologies to anyone if offended.

Trev

« **Reply #39 on:** July 06, 2006, 11:48:33 am »

around here in NNottm you pay£5/6 to have your car cleaned to ride down the road annd 10mins its filthy,and it only takes a few minutes to clean,and most return before a month is out,so Ive decided to put ny prices up cus my windows last a month or more

gaza

« **Reply #40 on:** July 06, 2006, 03:30:05 pm »

the more people that charge more,the better it will be all round for every one.

« **Reply #41 on:** July 06, 2006, 06:44:17 pm »

I've started saying "....and with this system your windows stay clean longer".
Thats not a lie, they really do. The idea is to try and get my new customers on a six week cycle for £15 instead of a four week cycle for £10.
That way they pay me the same money per year but I do their windows less often.
The trick is to make it sound like they are getting a real bargain. I am still working on that bit but its coming.

Remember - If they don't flinch you could have got more. When you get every job you quote for something is wrong.

« **Reply #42 on:** July 06, 2006, 07:04:16 pm »

You've got no money in your pocket, your kids are hungry, and you can only do one Job today because its P*****g down, are you going to blow that £5 job out because of pride?

I know what I would do, and my kids would'nt have gone hungry.

« **Reply #43 on:** July 06, 2006, 07:06:21 pm »

If i had kids,i would do whatever it took

« **Reply #44 on:** July 07, 2006, 12:17:32 am »

ive got full streets of £5 houses 50 houses in a row and im not complaining , but i live i south yorkshire

gary

« **Reply #45 on:** July 07, 2006, 09:17:32 am »

Vince,
you do the same as me and have picked up loads recently, many people do not want 4 weekly and that suits me fine as i do less houses per day and make more money and because its 6 weekly the customer can really tell that you have been, nice shiny frames and panes everybody happy and i would never risk breaking my neck for a measly fiver i get 8 for bungalow and ten for terrace or it don't get done by me
cheers simb0

« **Reply #46 on:** July 07, 2006, 10:33:55 am »

i would prefer if the customer really noticed.I currently do every 4 weeks,and alot of the time they dont even notice.This is why you get alot of "not this month"people.If i had enough work,i would do every 6 weeks.

« **Reply #47 on:** July 07, 2006, 10:35:14 am »

Quote from: G,L,R Window Cleaning Services on July 07, 2006, 12:17:32 am

ive got full streets of £5 houses 50 houses in a row and im not complaining , but i live i south yorkshire

gary

Nothing wrong with that in certain areas if the work is compact like that. I find that the problem with this sort of work though is that there will always be a couple of bad apples amongst the customers or there will always be a few with poor access that slow me down. It's a lot harder to ditch the bad apples when doing so much other work close by. The other issue is getting paid. The actual window cleaning is fine but it's the access issues or loads of people all wanting conversations when they pay. If they want to pay someone to listen to them, they can always hire a counsellor. Say an average of ninety seconds lost per house while doing these fifty houses. That comes to seventy five minutes. So how much is that taking up in pure money terms? £25? £35? £40. I know this sounds mercenary and I'm not like this naturally but I have reached the point where my finances mean that I must think like this more and more.

« **Reply #48 on:** July 07, 2006, 07:03:25 pm »

I am surrounded here by the so called £5.00 brigade.

However many of them are good people who do a good job and are legitimate. They are happy with what they earn and a few of them have turned into good friends. Our problem is more the SUB £5.00 brigade.. and there are plenty of those as well. I dont let them bother me. I just get on with the job in hand.

Someone mentioned "posture" This is a very good point. Its not "front" but the ability to present yourself and work in a professional manner. I convert around 65% of my quotes into customers. I am never less than 50% dearer than the so called going rate in any area. Some areas worked by the legit guys I dont stand a chance of taking their work.. not that I would try to. However their really is a market out there that will stand realistic prices. All you have to do is find it.

To my mind posture means wearing a uniform.. being confident and polite and turning up with professional looking equipment when you have the work. This all installs confidence into the customer. Not only in your ability to do a good job but also in trutworthiness. I run a business. I am proud of it and that fact is carried over to the customer. Also I believe a by-product of this is that I have very little trouble with bad or late payers. Its all a total package that is seen by the customer.

There is a variation in prices with area.. of that there is no doubt. If I were to charge £12.00 for a semi I would starve. This area just wont stand it.

Live and let live I say.. as long as they are legitimate. We all have different expectations and needs regarding income. If I needed more then I would get out there and make sure I got it somehow. As it is I am very happy with my lot from window cleaning.

Cheers

Andrew

« **Reply #49 on:** July 07, 2006, 11:31:55 pm »

I agree

« **Reply #50 on:** July 07, 2006, 11:43:25 pm »

i was speaking to some1 today about this thread

now he is a local bloke to me

he does a row of small semi's and charges 5 or 6 quid each, they take him 5 mins each

so he earns good money

the people who say "min charge of 10 quid" etc etc, you just wouldnt get the houses

« **Reply #51 on:** July 08, 2006, 12:51:57 am »

Quote from: matt on July 07, 2006, 11:43:25 pm

i was speaking to some1 today about this thread

now he is a local bloke to me

he does a row of small semi's and charges 5 or 6 quid each, they take him 5 mins each

so he earns good money

the people who say "min charge of 10 quid" etc etc, you just wouldnt get the houses

As stated, it depends where you are located Matt. Here in the southeast, enough people would be satisfied with such a deal to make it worthwhile.

« **Reply #52 on:** July 08, 2006, 08:06:40 pm »

hi its not so much £10 per month but per visit, if your work is close you get a good price per visit and they get a top job as often as suits them, many people will not want to pay £10 per month but quite happy to pay every 8 weeks so why not take them on and be flexible with your round to accomadate these, works for me
simb0

« **Reply #53 on:** July 09, 2006, 09:14:48 am »

I'm with Simbo on this one. Lots of people don't want 4 weekly visits.

« **Reply #54 on:** July 09, 2006, 09:30:37 am »

Quote from: Vince Green on July 09, 2006, 09:14:48 am

I'm with Simbo on this one. Lots of people don't want 4 weekly visits.

This is why I have been offering a 6 weekly service for some years now. It brings the "every other month" brigade onside. When I used to offer an every other visit service, unless I checked my records that day, I would struggle to remember if I had cleaned the previous month or the one before. Under my current system, I do offer a service at intervals other than 6 weeks, but only where the job size/location could justify my making a visit especially to to that job alone.

« **Reply #55 on:** July 09, 2006, 10:23:24 am »

Quote from: Vince Green on July 09, 2006, 09:14:48 am

I'm with Simbo on this one. Lots of people don't want 4 weekly visits.

i would say allmost NONE of mine would want 4 weeks, most are happy with 6 ish

esp with WFP upstairs, they are still clean

when i change to downstairs aswell, they will not see any dirty windows

« **Reply #56 on:** July 09, 2006, 12:31:39 pm »

For the past nine years I have given a six weeks service,and I have found that customers are very happy with a six weeks clean rather than a four week/monthly clean.

I picked up a new one on friday, and the first thing she asked was how often do you turn up, when I told her six weeks, her reply was good my last window cleaner was every four weeks and they were quite often still clean.

If you want to build up a round, then the best way is to convert to six weeks. this gives you more customers and more income.

« **Reply #57 on:** July 10, 2006, 11:01:57 pm »

when i said in my earlier post that i did 50 houses in a street at about £5 each i forgot to say that i cleaned them on a fortnightly basis as i do with 80% of my work ,and with all my work i have not got a single access issue i just wizz through them as after 2 weeks there is hardly any dirt on them and my customers want them doing every 2 weeks so who am i to complain.
i have got 400 customers in all ,
Happy Days

gary

« **Reply #58 on:** July 18, 2006, 01:18:01 am »

I work in the north east and up here we cant get the prices some of you lads manage,I only started in March on small semis and went in at £3 a house, was tempted to try £4 but we worried people wouldnt take us on as in the past these houses were cleaned at £2 or £2-50.Have 70 plus now on a compact route,anything with a conservatory is a fiver like.
A customer told me to canvass a certain street half a mile away which they said had no cleaner, checked it out,the houses were small council semis so decided to go in at £3 or £5 for a conservatory,soon realised there was an existing WC charging £4-50 and backed off,my info was bad .But the pricing opened my eyes a little.Went into another street last week and got some work but dont want a lot there because accces is difficult to the rear of some of the properties etc,its taking more time and I wont get a price to make it worthwhile,want to find half a dozen to ten easy cleans in the street and leave it there really.
Today I went to price 2 houses in a 'posh' estate .Both had had recent extensions put on and the houses there are a lot more expensive than my usual houses.Had a look,one had two bay windows to the front,one ground floor - one first floor and 3 awkward windows above a big garage as well as large panes on the front doors and 2 ground floor windows,to the back was 2 sets of patio doors and 2 sets of windows upstairs and down,I quoted £6-50 for that house and £8 for the house next door which was the same at the front but had a large arched window to the side and a conservatory.I put a written quote in and have heard nowt so despite the fact they havent had a cleaner for a year and I think I have probably underpriced I am wondering if they think I have been a bit expensive.I am a solo trad cleaner.I thought dont be greedy as well as I thought if I can get a presence on this close I could get a lot more cleans but at the minute think I blew it but if I had gone in any cheaper I would have been taking the p*ss out of myself so if there is no call its there loss,I have 4 large streets to canvass and am going to leaflet their close anyway.

« **Reply #59 on:** July 18, 2006, 05:56:59 pm »

Not sure if im right, but it seems up north quite a few wc's have rounds every 2 weeks,

is this true.

Macc

« **Reply #60 on:** July 18, 2006, 08:26:21 pm »

I am just setting up but I have about 11 fortnightly customers,in the winter I might have to move everyone onto 6 or 8 weeks possibly including the fortnightlies.
Still no word from the two houses I gave written quotes to and to be honest they are really fair prices I feel but just goes to show.I put handwritten quotes in but now think I should have come home and typed something up and maybe pressed me case more,emphasising frames/sills cleamed,regular,insured etc-maybe next time-never mind.

« **Reply #61 on:** July 19, 2006, 11:26:01 pm »

One of the two quotes came back to me tonight and wants the job done monthly-hooray,am going to canvass the street now,if I can get some more customers here my earnings will improve significantly!!From what she said her neighbour who I also quoted for should be getting back to me as well-great stuff,was really thinking I had blown it with them .

« **Reply #62 on:** July 19, 2006, 11:37:42 pm »

Macc your right, but most of those who do turn up every fortnight belong to the filthy rag brigade. They don't clean the window they just move the dirt around a bit.

« **Reply #63 on:** July 19, 2006, 11:42:13 pm »

Fast One said -

Quote

Once again i have been out knocking,and come across many propertys that needed a window cleaner.Unfortunately it seems the last window cleaner was charging £5,compared to my £12.This happened about 10 times,needless to say i got nothing.

I had a lot of that and still do and im only just up the road from you.
Charge a descent price i do and you will get the work at the price you want although it will take a bit longer.
I price one up monday she collard me whilst i was cleaning.
She wanted a quote so i looked and told her £15 her jaw nearly dropped.
She then goes well how much for the tops only ( i dont take on tops only) so i said £15 and explained why.
my last window cleaner was charging me £6.50 for the whole house.
So i said you should have kept him because i doubt you will get anyone else as cheap as that.
She said well he stopped comming round.
So i told her that is because he was to cheap.
I will let you know she said

Then an a couple of hours later someone else stopped me asking if i was cleaning windows on my house with that (WFP) so i said sorry it's not my house but my customers and yes i am cleaning her windows with it.
She said can i have a quote i live over the road.
Over i went and told her £20 yes she said straight away no questions asked and she even gave me a £2 tip as she said i have done a really good job.
Just goes to show you

Paul

« **Reply #64 on:** July 21, 2006, 08:32:23 pm »

Quote from: paul mather on July 19, 2006, 11:37:42 pm

Macc your right, but most of those who do turn up every fortnight belong to the filthy rag brigade. They don't clean the window they just move the dirt around a bit.

ive got to say that i dont agree , i have spent around £10000-£12000 within the last year on wfp and me and my son do a good job we are always getting compliments off of our customers £5 a house is a good price if you can do 4-5 per hour and we dont find that difficult as they are all next door to each other

gary

« **Reply #65 on:** July 22, 2006, 01:56:25 am »

I try and earn £25 to £30 an hour.I also dont want to be rushing to the extent that i do a bad job,or resent an under priced job.There is nothing worse than working hard,for little reward.window cleaners across the board need to up their prices.Im not greedy,im fair.Ive got bills to pay,a business to run,and a life to lead.im not in this for peanuts

« **Reply #66 on:** July 22, 2006, 02:00:21 am »

we also try to work above £20 per hour, normally around £30 to £35 an hour. Problem is some people watch, then work out how much you make and automatically think you're conning them. Its a business, and as such has costs, like changing prefilters and resin, oh and tax, insurance, fuel, sandwiches (which have gotten really expensive)

« **Reply #67 on:** July 22, 2006, 07:47:37 am »

Quote from: JM123 on July 22, 2006, 02:00:21 am

we also try to work above £20 per hour, normally around £30 to £35 an hour. Problem is some people watch, then work out how much you make and automatically think you're conning them. Its a business, and as such has costs, like changing prefilters and resin, oh and tax, insurance, fuel, sandwiches (which have gotten really expensive)

I have just signed a lease for a new business unit and the solicitor charged me £600 for the pleasure. Two documents and no doubt less than an hours work!!

Thats when you know you're being ripped off!!

Trev