Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: AuRavelling79 on April 12, 2024, 10:17:32 am
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I have been increasing my prices.
This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.
It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.
In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.
I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.
His maths is a fraction off but close enough.
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Dear Malcolm
Thank you for your note advising us of your increase in charges.
Based on an eight-week cycle we calculate that our annual average spend on window cleaning will now go beyond two hundred pounds a year to £214.50. Not only does this break the £200 “barrier”, but it is also beyond the budget we had set for ourselves for window cleaning.
However, for the time being, we would like you to continue to clean our windows and we are prepared to agree to the proposed price increase.
Going forward we shall review market rates and may need to consider taking on this job for ourselves.
This is probably unwelcome news to you, but our thinking is based entirely on the cost implications and not a reflection on the quality of the service you have provided to us.
Regards
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See what happens. They haven’t binned you and if they’re old codgers will probably struggle to do it themselves especially if it involves first floor work.
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His divulging all these percentages and cost barriers your charges have crossed are all fluff. He’s being an old fart there.
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I lost a 75 quidder yesterday. Funny they said the exact same about it not being to do with quality of work or cost. Perhaps AI is now compiling these cancellations emails.
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Just keep turning up every eight weeks when due until he tells you to stop.
If he has not been cleaning his own windows in the past i cant see him starting now.
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Definitely keep doing them, it's new news for them today so they've given it due consideration, it'll be old news very shortly and just become the norm, and probably won't give it another thought.
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Likewise - carry on and be polite it’s amazing how much effort of thought is put into a simple service and cost - when did he set his budget 1996?
I often the ‘I’m only a pensioner’ line as they polish a new car in their paid for house 🤪
Pensions have gone up 18% over the last 2 years!
Personally I don’t care if they have a 5 Bed-mansion cars etc.. I price to the job - either pay it or go elsewhere - let him do the windows you’ll be getting a call in a few months 😀
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Of course if your stoots then you just won’t go back 🤣🤣
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Just remind the old codger that the state pension has went up by 20% in two years😁
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just carry on with your usual frequency and new price and see what happens.
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A bit more detail and my response - sent last evening.
I actually cleaned on 20th March (and will call again mid-late May) and left a price increase note with his wife who said she would pass it on to her husband but to carry on unless I heard otherwise. (Which is pretty much what he has written too!)
Dear X & Y,
Thank you for your e-mail advising me of your deliberations and qualified acceptance of the new rate of £33.00 per 'clean'. On the note I left I think I wrote that it has been over four years since a price increase - indeed upon checking my records it will have been five years this month.
In these inflationary times I hope upon reflection that you find the uplift reasonable and agree that I have tried to ameliorate the situation by raising prices 10% in a period where the cost of living index has risen by a fraction over 20%. (according to my interpretation of the ONS statistics over the past five years or so)
However, if you should decide to go elsewhere or take on the task yourselves, I shall understand completely your desire for budgetary prudence; but I do hope that you will continue with my service.
Best wishes,
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I'd not have responded. If they want to dump they will, if not, I'd just have carried on.
We put something about inflation in our last price increase letters. Using Word we merged in the date of their last increase, the CPI increase since that date and the percentage we were increasing the price. Forestalled problems, as they all knew we weren't quite keeping up with inflation (this time).
Vin
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I have been increasing my prices.
This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.
It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.
In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.
I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.
His maths is a fraction off but close enough.
A Porsche you say? Can I have a photo of it please?
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Is their surname Chromosome?
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I have never ever had an email like this in 31 years of window cleaning(and I have some very well off customers)....
The reality is they have no idea what your inflationary business costs are year on year (or even when you last increased their price in a lot of cases).
Accept the price increase or its goodbye 👋
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I'd have ignored it.
Btw 52/8 = 6.5
6.5 X 33 = 214.5
His maths is bang on.
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I have been increasing my prices.
This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.
It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.
In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.
I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.
His maths is a fraction off but close enough.
A Porsche you say? Can I have a photo of it please?
I’ll give you a photo of mine when I collect it tomorrow 😁
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I have been increasing my prices.
This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.
It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.
In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.
I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.
His maths is a fraction off but close enough.
A Porsche you say? Can I have a photo of it please?
I’ll give you a photo of mine when I collect it tomorrow 😁
Just make sure you don't leave any tell tale signs in your pic or else I'll be thinking you're bull💩ing me 😉
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If I liked the job I'd just ignore him and carry on.
If I didn't like it I'd just block hos number and not go back.
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;D A pound a minute job? Greedy barsteward!
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My Porche went back today 😢 The roofrack was at a funny angle for the ladders.
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I'd have ignored it.
Btw 52/8 = 6.5
6.5 X 33 = 214.5
His maths is bang on.
It's not. An 8 weekly cycle is 6 times (with 4 weeks and a day or two left over for a calendar year dependant upon whether it is a 365 or 366 day year)
52 x 7 = 364
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;D A pound a minute job? Greedy barsteward!
It's my go to price. ;D
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I'd have ignored it.
Btw 52/8 = 6.5
6.5 X 33 = 214.5
His maths is bang on.
It's not. An 8 weekly cycle is 6 times (with 4 weeks and a day or two left over for a calendar year dependant upon whether it is a 365 or 366 day year)
52 x 7 = 364
That's not an 8 week cycle.
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Yep his maths is pretty accurate
It's actually 6.52218525 cleans a year based on the real length of a year.
£215.23 per annum
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I'd have ignored it.
Btw 52/8 = 6.5
6.5 X 33 = 214.5
His maths is bang on.
It's not. An 8 weekly cycle is 6 times (with 4 weeks and a day or two left over for a calendar year dependant upon whether it is a 365 or 366 day year)
52 x 7 = 364
That's not an 8 week cycle.
What's not an 8 week cycle?
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Yep his maths is pretty accurate
It's actually 6.52218525 cleans a year based on the real length of a year.
£215.23 per annum
I said it was 'a fraction off but close enough'.
;D
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Market rates means find someone cheaper than you
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Market rates means find someone cheaper than you
What are 'market rates'?
And will they pre notify and turn up at 8.00 am every time?
Maybe. Good luck to them. If I lose it then every other price increase this year has far outweighed the loss.
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I'd not have responded. If they want to dump they will, if not, I'd just have carried on.
We put something about inflation in our last price increase letters. Using Word we merged in the date of their last increase, the CPI increase since that date and the percentage we were increasing the price. Forestalled problems, as they all knew we weren't quite keeping up with inflation (this time).
Vin
I did it the old fashioned way when I was there to clean. Pre printed slip with reference to time since last increase and general reference to inflation. Worked over the last 12 months without question - until this one.
Over all my time window cleaning I reckon I have had less than five cancel in response to a price increase note.
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A bit more detail and my response - sent last evening.
I actually cleaned on 20th March (and will call again mid-late May) and left a price increase note with his wife who said she would pass it on to her husband but to carry on unless I heard otherwise. (Which is pretty much what he has written too!)
Dear X & Y,
Thank you for your e-mail advising me of your deliberations and qualified acceptance of the new rate of £33.00 per 'clean'. On the note I left I think I wrote that it has been over four years since a price increase - indeed upon checking my records it will have been five years this month.
In these inflationary times I hope upon reflection that you find the uplift reasonable and agree that I have tried to ameliorate the situation by raising prices 10% in a period where the cost of living index has risen by a fraction over 20%. (according to my interpretation of the ONS statistics over the past five years or so)
However, if you should decide to go elsewhere or take on the task yourselves, I shall understand completely your desire for budgetary prudence; but I do hope that you will continue with my service.
Best wishes,
It's interesting how we sometimes have to justify a price increase to our customers. My wife receives price increase letters and emails every day she goes to work as a buyer.
These letters are direct and straight to the point. No niceties and no trying to soften the price increase blow. Then a couple of months later she receives another letter advising of a further price increase from the same supplier.
If she phones up to query a price, it's a take it or go somewhere else attitude.
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Think I made a point a few weeks back that Martin Lewis asked folk to look deep into their monthly costs and to times them by 12 for a realistic look at it's value. All the skinflints are are at it 🤣.
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Someone messaged me today to cancel . someone local is going to be doing his much cheaper.
It's a 3 bed detached I'm not sure how much lower than the £14 I'm charging someone was prepared to go but more fool them.
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Someone messaged me today to cancel . someone local is going to be doing his much cheaper.
It's a 3 bed detached I'm not sure how much lower than the £14 I'm charging someone was prepared to go but more fool them.
How did you 'get on' with this customer prior to being dropped?
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From my point of view, the old guy is being perfectly responsible and polite with it, He clearly has a lot of time on his hands and most of us have "budget challenges" he has ever so slightly over rated the £21 per annum increase, and in the cold light of day it looks a bit petty, in an attempt to justify his objections he has "shown you his workings out", The response is worded so that its not an outright "Dont come again" letter ,nor a complaint about the service, more a " I have been a good customer can we just remain at the old price" notice, Even if this tactic didn't work and he had to accept the price rise it had the secondary effect of making you more cautious putting him up in the future,
In the past when he was more busy. I am sure the price rise, would have just been something he accepted without concern, now retired he is more concerned with the house outgoings.
FWIW. I think your response pretty much nailed it, you couldn't just back down, so you gave him the same "Show me your workings out" respect that he offered you and with the length of it, he would be assured you have considered all the options,
Thus respectfully, letting him know the price is the price for the service and IYHO a fair price at that.
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Someone messaged me today to cancel . someone local is going to be doing his much cheaper.
It's a 3 bed detached I'm not sure how much lower than the £14 I'm charging someone was prepared to go but more fool them.
How did you 'get on' with this customer prior to being dropped?
Been cleaning it about 5 years, i did put the price up in Jan this year. Never seen or spoke to them, job is cleaned and a note posted. Just the way i like it to be fair.
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I dont think I would respond......... but that email would have grated a little
some people can be obsurd .
these are the type that can cancel, then try and do it themselves, only to find out that your service was well worth the money.
Then they feel silly, so to save face they go with someone else and end up paying more .
he is obviously an intelligent man , and knows everything is going up... why he expects the window cleaner to be different is silly
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I've only been going 6 years and gradually built up good customers. What I have realised is there seems to be no loyalty in window cleaning no matter how hard one try's. I do like putting up the price on the jobs I don't like doing because they take too long or the customer doesn't appreciate my work. Usually when I lose a customer, I get a new one on the same week. I can't advertise now because I get too much work due to add-ons that I do. Gutter clears, roof spraying, PVC Cleans, PW, Softwashing, External Painting and External Property Maintenance. If one only undertakes windy cleaning then you don't have much "Margin of Safety"
but if you are flexible and invest in Gutter Vacs, Pressure Washer, Spraying Pole then multi streams of income comes in. 👍👍👍
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I dropped a customer I've had for 30 years today....she basically said "its not worth cleaning them in this weather" even though it was dry and sunny when I turned up.she said it was forecast rain again later...dumped!
I only want customers who will have them cleaned in the rain(on the odd occasion)....these days it's almost impossible to clean the windows when it's bone dry with no chance of rain for a few days....
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I dropped a customer I've had for 30 years today....she basically said "its not worth cleaning them in this weather" even though it was dry and sunny when I turned up.she said it was forecast rain again later...dumped!
I only want customers who will have them cleaned in the rain(on the odd occasion)....these days it's almost impossible to clean the windows when it's bone dry with no chance of rain for a few days....
Its not very often I see eye to eye with Dazzler but on this occasion I agree wholeheartedly, If they only want the service when the weathers fine then they need someone else to do them, fair weather window cleaners cant exist or provide a regular, reliable, professional service, if they only work when its clement weather, Sometimes custies have to take the rough with the smooth.
Dont like to suggest which one of these is Daz, I will let others decide ;D ;D
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I have a rehearsed sentence when I get the old 'it's hardly worth doing with all the rain'.
'I understand why people think that, but I work on the basis that I am removing 8 weeks worth of muck and dirt, it's very unusual for one small shower to effect the cleaning; if you wake up tomorrow and some of the windows don't dry well call me back and I'll redo them f-o-c."
It usually gets shortened to the 8 week bit. But if they don't accept that they are history.
It probably happens one or twice a month outside of summer someone says it and about once or twice a year someone gets dumped.
I sometimes get the dual edged sword of the sympathy card as in 'I bet it's tough in all this weather' but I come back with 'it's ok if it's showers or drizzle but I don't work in heavy downpours and it's rarely like that all day...'
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I've only been going 6 years and gradually built up good customers. What I have realised is there seems to be no loyalty in window cleaning no matter how hard one try's. I do like putting up the price on the jobs I don't like doing because they take too long or the customer doesn't appreciate my work. Usually when I lose a customer, I get a new one on the same week. I can't advertise now because I get too much work due to add-ons that I do. Gutter clears, roof spraying, PVC Cleans, PW, Softwashing, External Painting and External Property Maintenance. If one only undertakes windy cleaning then you don't have much "Margin of Safety"
but if you are flexible and invest in Gutter Vacs, Pressure Washer, Spraying Pole then multi streams of income comes in. 👍👍👍
I dont think thats true tbh. All the add on work is ad-hoc. Ive never been short of work in the 10 years ive been at it and i clean only windows, ive dabbled in other bits but for 99.9% of the time ive only done windows.
You simply give yourself a buffer, have more work than you need and always be behind. Once my work drops below a certain level i will actively seek more.
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In these days of climate change customers have to be prepared for me to clean in the rain occasionally or it would be impossible for me to run a regular,reliable window cleaning service and make a half decent living...
Some of my long standing customers have had a very good deal for many years,often the job is underpriced and I'll even throw in the inside kitchen window if they ask but when they start to skip for no good reason (and especially for inclement weather when it's currently dry)then it's time to get rid.
No matter what you say some customers will just not tolerate you cleaning in the rain.these are customers I don't want on my books.👍
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I would not have replied, but I thought your response was polite and to the point.
I think this joke sums up my attitude to 'interesting' customers...
Two women in a maternity ward, just had their babies and are chatting.
The first woman (posh speaking) says 'My husband bought me a car when we had our first child'
The second woman (common speaking) says 'that's nice'
The first woman continues 'My husband is treating me to an expensive holiday, now we've just had our second child'
The second woman says 'that's nice'
The first woman says 'did your husband buy you anything?'
The second woman says 'yes he bought me elocution lessons'
The first woman says 'really, they haven't worked very well'!
The second woman says 'actually they have...I used to tell people to F-OFF but now I say...that's nice!
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I dropped a customer I've had for 30 years today....she basically said "its not worth cleaning them in this weather" even though it was dry and sunny when I turned up.she said it was forecast rain again later...dumped!
I only want customers who will have them cleaned in the rain(on the odd occasion)....these days it's almost impossible to clean the windows when it's bone dry with no chance of rain for a few days....
I've noticed that many long-term customers who suddenly start worrying about weather and window cleaning turn out to be in the early stages of dementia. Not an insult; a genuine observation.
Vin
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I dropped a customer I've had for 30 years today....she basically said "its not worth cleaning them in this weather" even though it was dry and sunny when I turned up.she said it was forecast rain again later...dumped!
I only want customers who will have them cleaned in the rain(on the odd occasion)....these days it's almost impossible to clean the windows when it's bone dry with no chance of rain for a few days....
I've noticed that many long-term customers who suddenly start worrying about weather and window cleaning turn out to be in the early stages of dementia. Not an insult; a genuine observation.
Vin
It could be argued that those who prefer not to have their windows cleaned in the peeing rain are totally sane!
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Prices need to go up from time to time to keep up with inflation and rising costs. If they don't go up then I'm basically taking a pay cut, this is the reason some window cleaners stop calling as they are picking up newer work at sensible prices.
Leave it up to them to decide if they wish to switch and go elsewhere.
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I dropped a customer I've had for 30 years today....she basically said "its not worth cleaning them in this weather" even though it was dry and sunny when I turned up.she said it was forecast rain again later...dumped!
I only want customers who will have them cleaned in the rain(on the odd occasion)....these days it's almost impossible to clean the windows when it's bone dry with no chance of rain for a few days....
I've noticed that many long-term customers who suddenly start worrying about weather and window cleaning turn out to be in the early stages of dementia. Not an insult; a genuine observation.
Vin
No their not.its both of them don't see the point of cleaning windows when it's due to rain later.....
I don't see the point in trying to clean their windows anymore!👍😄