Minimum Charge

« **on:** April 20, 2006, 07:32:43 am »

Do you set a minimum charge?

If so what is it?

« **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2006, 08:01:40 am »

Don't have one, every jobs different.

You can't fairly have one.
If an elderly lady asks me to do her 4 bungalow windows and it takes me literally 3 or 4 minutes to do, then it's going to be 2 or 3 quid.

That would still make it a far better payer than most big houses.
How could you have the heart to ask a fortune?

Rog.

« **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2006, 08:20:17 am »

Quote from: Squeaky Clean. on April 20, 2006, 08:01:40 am

Don't have one, every jobs different.

You can't fairly have one.
If an elderly lady asks me to do her 4 bungalow windows and it takes me literally 3 or 4 minutes to do, then it's going to be 2 or 3 quid.

That would still make it a far better payer than most big houses.
How could you have the heart to ask a fortune?

Rog.

£10 but as Rog says, it is sometimes OK to deviate from it.

« **Reply #3 on:** April 20, 2006, 09:16:22 am »

generally no i don't have a minimum charge you have to be flexible depends on the customer. :

« **Reply #4 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:06:25 am »

My own target minimum is £8.00
But there are always a few exceptions, though I wouldn't go below a fiver, I'd chatge even a tiny flat that much.
Which almost means that a fiver is my minimum charge doesn't it? lol.

I have 2 accounts next door to one another that I just do the fronts, 3 windows for a fiver each.
I have one house for £6.00 and another for £7.00, and after that I have nothing under £8.00.
Domestic that is!
I have lots of shops that are only £2.50

Ian

« **Reply #5 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:09:27 am »

£10 min used to do bungalows etc but not anymore

« **Reply #6 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:47:12 am »

i am s.prised by the poll

so some1 asks you to do a small house next door to 1 you do, they say "can you just do the front please" which is 3 windows and a door

and people charge 10 quid for this :

:

« **Reply #7 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:52:30 am »

Quote from: matt on April 20, 2006, 10:47:12 am

i am s.prised by the poll

so some1 asks you to do a small house next door to 1 you do, they say "can you just do the front please" which is 3 windows and a door

and people charge 10 quid for this : :

Not for the fronts only. I just wont offer a quote at all on a job that size.

« **Reply #8 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:53:26 am »

I try and get all my work above £10 i don't take on really small properties as there are to many doing them for £5 or £6.

Although i do have some under £10 but not very many and thats the way i like it.

Paul

« **Reply #9 on:** April 20, 2006, 02:48:53 pm »

I don't have a minimum charge though i have been thinking about it for a while after reading it on here. My cheapest job is £3 for 3 small downstairs windows.
I do only leaflet places that look bigger than £10 now and i also quote £10 when it would have been £9 before.
I am beginning to think more and more though about having a £10 minimum charge for any phone enquiries.
But i haven't done it yet.
I've got a soft spot for oldies though and would always be flexible with them. Depending on the job.

mark

« **Reply #10 on:** April 20, 2006, 06:45:01 pm »

it all depends on what type of area your in and how tight the customers are going to be
im in east sussex probly minimum £8-10 here

« **Reply #11 on:** April 20, 2006, 07:40:34 pm »

I have moved on from the minimum price thing...I work on a minimum hourly rate that I can achieve without breaking into a sweat...sorry, I meant my back

If I get a call from someone in an area where I know I will not get this rate or I can gather from the conversation they have a cleaner in the area who simply does not do their house, I tell them to have a word with the cleaner and offer him a couple of pound more if his books are full...If they say they have already, I tell them I can`t drive into an area for 1 house as it is not financially viable.

If it is a big house where I can get £25+ for the property, I`ll take it on.

If I got offered 20 houses in a street where I could do 4 an hour comfortably at £7-£8 an house, I`ll bite their hands off.

« **Reply #12 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:17:01 pm »

who on earth would climb a ladder for less than ten quid,or a pair of steps for less than a fiver.At the end of the day you only have to fall once,and you're either crippled for life,or dead for a very long time.Having done this job for 18 years,I've had time to work out,that its the risk factor which you are actually charging for,and remember you are very often charging the same sort of people who don't really want to pay you more than a fiver for doing something they haven't got the bottle to do,but think nothing of going out that night and paying some guy £25 in a pub to pour them a round of drinks!
Cheers Mike

« **Reply #13 on:** April 20, 2006, 10:38:23 pm »

mike those £5 jobs can make u a lot money in a day when they r next door to each other some peaople r just to greedy

« **Reply #14 on:** April 20, 2006, 11:37:17 pm »

I do the 3 top front windows of a house for £3 and then had to do the same for his mate next door but one, both are elderly and are the sort you just dont mind helping out. my minimum for front only cleans though is generally £5. minimum whole house is £7 for 2up 2downs and £7 minimum on bungalows.

« **Reply #15 on:** April 21, 2006, 07:55:55 am »

I do plenty of little bits and bobs like that Chris.
Never makes any difference to your day, and it's nice to help and have something different to do, instead of the same old jobs every time.

It seems some w/c'ers are getting a bit above their station.
Yes we're skilled workers, and it can be a bit dodgy at times, but we're not de-fusing bombs, or tackling a blazing building....... :

« **Reply #16 on:** April 21, 2006, 08:05:48 am »

It's not about greed, but moving a bussiness forward.

Thankfully there are plenty of WC who are happy to stay where they are.

Well done them!

When like myself, you have too much work, you have to find a way to filter out smaller jobs.

it may well take you 5 mins to do the job, but then collecting, asking about the cat and trying to get away can be a problem, esp. if you are a talkative WC.

« **Reply #17 on:** April 21, 2006, 01:35:26 pm »

Sqeaky,
5 years in the army...highest pay = £430 a month (left in 1988)
9 years in Merseyside Fire Brigade = £911 a month(left in 1997)
Loved both of them but couldn`t pay the bills!!!

this is a great way of exercising and admiring other peoples gardens without having to think too much while listening to my favourite music on the Ipod...and getting paid well.

Bear,
just leave an envelope for payment...don`t collect if you can avoid it.

« **Reply #18 on:** April 21, 2006, 02:35:54 pm »

in my defence,its nothing to do with greed,thats the domain of plumbers,and anyway if it was, I'd be driving a posh sign written van,not a beat up old 1994 Audi estate!
I realised long ago that hourly rates are a waste of time,you cant work at your own pace(I'm just an old hippy),counting windows is also pointless,has nothing to do with anything,the ONLY criteria for pricing are ,effort involved and risk factor.
In all the years i've bin a "ragger",more people have said "is that all?"than HOW MUCH!!,when I've given quotes,so I sleep quite easy at night!
Obviously attitudes to pricing have changed slightly,with the advent of WFP,and the risk factor element slightly reduced,but then you've still got to pay for the kit.
Anyway I'm of to join Bomb Disposal then,obviously more money in that.

« **Reply #19 on:** April 21, 2006, 03:17:30 pm »

Myself i dont really have a minimum but in the bit of Crawley i know Shinner hates its a minimum of £6-£7 but ive taken his advice recently and moved a little out of town and leafletted 400 houses which i new i would not charge less than £8 to all of them and in most cases £12+

Im very happy with this as the ones ive got so far are close(ish) together and about 20% £££'s more than i have been charging to date

That said id clean a house for £5 if i had to, i dont care if the house is worth £5 ill do it for that as long as its worth my time. Besides one of my £5 houses always gives me a tin of coke and he is a real nice bloke - in fact i went to do his house 2 weeks ago (he has it done every two weeks/ and its a fairly small house) and it really didnt need doing - he looked at me like i was an alien and let me go......i got 2 calls that week from his neighbours asking me to do their windows

My wife says its KARMA i was honest with him and he looked after me. So his house may be a fiver to me but it is fortnightly and has produced £18 of other work a month now also!

« **Reply #20 on:** April 21, 2006, 03:58:43 pm »

Quote from: Mike_Outlook on April 21, 2006, 02:35:54 pm

,more people have said "is that all?"than HOW MUCH!!,when I've given quotes,so I sleep quite easy at night!

Do you mean slept well rather than easy. All that extra work for the same cash....

This is the beauty of window cleaning. We are one of the free-est professions going and we have the flexibility to do what we want to a certain extent.
I wouldn't change for the world. I have found a niche for the 1st time in years.
I quoted a semi at £15 the other day. It had 2 2nd story windows extra but that was all. They told me they paid £10 for their last cleaner. I didn't reply. It doesn't interest me what they paid before. History.
I did it wfp and when i'd finished and the windows were still wet i could see the scepticism in their faces. I took the money told them if they come up less than perfect to call me back and left.
I went back yesterday 'cos i did underneath the gutters and fascias too and was a bit concerned about drips.
The wife said the windows were great but was a little expensive and could i "be more competitive?" I told her that she gets what she paid for and if they want a £10 cleaner i'm not their man. I do more and charge more.
She was happy with that and we had a chat for a few minutes and i left.

The point i'm trying to make is that regardless of prices, as long as you're happy and the customer gets a good clean, everything else is academic.

« **Reply #21 on:** April 21, 2006, 05:23:16 pm »

Quote

mike those £5 jobs can make u a lot money in a day when they r next door to each other some peaople r just to greedy

Greedy well what a load of twaddle.

When you became a window cleaner you done it because you like doing it...So presumably you do most of your customers free of charge...or are you greedy and charge them...

« **Reply #22 on:** April 21, 2006, 06:27:52 pm »

Quote from: David Clare on April 21, 2006, 03:17:30 pm

Myself i dont really have a minimum but in the bit of Crawley i know Shinner hates its a minimum of £6-£7 but ive taken his advice recently and moved a little out of town and leafletted 400 houses which i new i would not charge less than £8 to all of them and in most cases £12+

Im very happy with this as the ones ive got so far are close(ish) together and about 20% £££'s more than i have been charging to date

That said id clean a house for £5 if i had to, i dont care if the house is worth £5 ill do it for that as long as its worth my time. Besides one of my £5 houses always gives me a tin of coke and he is a real nice bloke - in fact i went to do his house 2 weeks ago (he has it done every two weeks/ and its a fairly small house) and it really didnt need doing - he looked at me like i was an alien and let me go......i got 2 calls that week from his neighbours asking me to do their windows

My wife says its KARMA i was honest with him and he looked after me. So his house may be a fiver to me but it is fortnightly and has produced £18 of other work a month now also!

David.
It's not so much about hating a particular area. It's more to do with the layout of the houses and poor access. I have found though that I can earn more by travelling out a bit and targetting larger properties with decent access. This is especially important now that I use WFP a lot more.
I was naughty today. I had just put all my WFP stuff away when someone new asked me to clean their windows. Slapped wrist for me as I couldn'tbe a rsed to get the hose and pole out again so I did the lot with a ladder.

« **Reply #23 on:** April 21, 2006, 06:54:56 pm »

Quote from: The Shiner on April 21, 2006, 06:27:52 pm

Quote from: David Clare on April 21, 2006, 03:17:30 pm
Myself i dont really have a minimum but in the bit of Crawley i know Shinner hates its a minimum of £6-£7 but ive taken his advice recently and moved a little out of town and leafletted 400 houses which i new i would not charge less than £8 to all of them and in most cases £12+

Im very happy with this as the ones ive got so far are close(ish) together and about 20% £££'s more than i have been charging to date

That said id clean a house for £5 if i had to, i dont care if the house is worth £5 ill do it for that as long as its worth my time. Besides one of my £5 houses always gives me a tin of coke and he is a real nice bloke - in fact i went to do his house 2 weeks ago (he has it done every two weeks/ and its a fairly small house) and it really didnt need doing - he looked at me like i was an alien and let me go......i got 2 calls that week from his neighbours asking me to do their windows

My wife says its KARMA i was honest with him and he looked after me. So his house may be a fiver to me but it is fortnightly and has produced £18 of other work a month now also!

David.
It's not so much about hating a particular area. It's more to do with the layout of the houses and poor access. I have found though that I can earn more by travelling out a bit and targetting larger properties with decent access. This is especially important now that I use WFP a lot more.
I was naughty today. I had just put all my WFP stuff away when someone new asked me to clean their windows. Slapped wrist for me as I couldn'tbe a rsed to get the hose and pole out again so I did the lot with a ladder.

I know what you mean Shinner, Im starting to get fed up of either having to call the customer before hand to gain access.

Im now looking to go out towards Haywards Heath and the surrounding area, as Ive been asked to quote on a few places there.

DC

« **Reply #24 on:** April 21, 2006, 07:23:38 pm »

Quote

I know what you mean Shinner, Im starting to get fed up of either having to call the customer before hand to gain access.

Im now looking to go out towards Haywards Heath and the surrounding area, as Ive been asked to quote on a few places there.

DC

I occasionally get enquiries from the HH/Cuckfield area. I can pass them on to you if you wish?

Poll

What is your minimum charge?