Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Ian101 on May 18, 2011, 05:30:51 pm

Title: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Ian101 on May 18, 2011, 05:30:51 pm
Normally work stuff like this out for myself but cant decide how to handle this one.

ok not a major problem but thought be good to see what others would do :)

I do a close with 9 houses on it all monthly.

Stuck em all up by a quid last month and all fine about it.

All same price at £7 (was £6) ... was a round I bought and slowly improving it over time ..... small houses all compact.

This particular lady not near any of the others on the close so prob not a problem if she goes bi-monthly with others joining the party. (but u never know)

So at equivalent of £3.50 a month can I justify keeping her on ?

Fortunately at a stage now where it dont matter if I loose the odd one.

Leaning towards telling her that the bi-monthly option is £10
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Tom White on May 18, 2011, 05:33:57 pm

Leaning towards telling her that the bi-monthly option is £10

That's what I do; charge a little extra for bi-monthly.  Surprisingly, they don't all follow, but even if they did, you're doing the same amount of work for more money.

Most of my new work is bi-monthly; you can charge better prices that way.
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: windiewasher on May 18, 2011, 05:34:24 pm
Keep it m8 say 8.50 if you do more in the area do that aswell.
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: steven ainger on May 18, 2011, 05:34:55 pm
i,d go for the tenner per bi-month
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: LWC on May 18, 2011, 05:36:45 pm
In my opinion...it wont be that much more work, most of my work is 6 weekly and theyre not all that dirty, so your talking of 8 weeks. Really worth putting the price up by nearly half again? Let you decide.
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: DaveG on May 18, 2011, 05:37:07 pm
i,d go for the tenner per bi-month

Agree with the above
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: dave0123 on May 18, 2011, 05:49:50 pm
Go for £12.00 then she's back to paying what she was at first  ;D
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Perfect Windows on May 18, 2011, 05:58:20 pm
I charge 50% extra for twelve-weekly versus my usual six-weekly.

They are happy; they pay less over the year.  I am happy; I earn more in a day's work (the emount of work you can get through in your working day is the limiting factor in the amount you can earn).

Around a third of my customers take up the option.

Vin
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: bobby p on May 18, 2011, 06:02:02 pm
ive had 1 or 2 of these. i then "forget "to do them,and i use confusion as my get out clause once they realize the windows are still dirty . scratch my head and say," thing is m"lady  once you arent on the list  its hard for me to remember" . chances are they will fall back into line  

 i quite often find my lad says out loud to the customer  "his minds gone " , and  other times i will say the same thing about him  ,all creates a suitable  lairey image, not to be unsettled by anybody, otherwise confusion reigns!
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Ian101 on May 18, 2011, 06:06:25 pm
Go for £12.00 then she's back to paying what she was at first  ;D

why didnt i think of that  ;)
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Ian101 on May 18, 2011, 06:07:05 pm
In my opinion...it wont be that much more work, most of my work is 6 weekly and theyre not all that dirty, so your talking of 8 weeks. Really worth putting the price up by nearly half again? Let you decide.

thats the dilema
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Paul Coleman on May 18, 2011, 06:12:44 pm
Do them once a year and charge £70  ;D
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Small but perfectley formed on May 18, 2011, 06:18:31 pm
Tell her you only work on a 4 weekly cycle .
Then wait for her to respond.
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: paul saunders on May 18, 2011, 06:28:25 pm
 Tell her a tenner, but make sure you're wearing your Dick tupin mask.   ;D
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: dazmond on May 18, 2011, 06:43:37 pm
the thing is they end up more like 10 weeks as not many of us get round bang on 4 weekly.i would put em up to a tenner.

ive recently picked up 4 small 3 bed semis down a cul de sac and im charging £10 every 8 weeks.they dont mind paying the extra on longer frequencies!the crap windy that used to do them was charging a fiver but cleaning them every 4 weeks but the frames and sills he didnt touch.they were filthy!!so their paying the same for a much better service!

i think ill end up with the whole close in time! ;) ;D ;D ;D

most were relieved to get rid of the last guy!!

i have got some very compact older work where i didnt charge them any extra for 8 weekly but i do now for new work.in fact i just tend to offer 8 weekly or 6 weekly at a higher price as i have a full round.

ive never had hordes of customers changing to 8 weekly when they realise their neighbours are getting theirs cleaned every other time.it is a risk i suppose so charge more.


dazmond
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Crystal-clear on May 18, 2011, 07:22:58 pm
Yes you should up it by a little bit maybe £2.00 just explain £7 is the monthly price.
but stick to your guns if she moans ,cos if the others find out that she gets the same deal as the monthlys u could have problems,

she may be a bit out but things like street partys , ie royal wedding day all your customers could have been talkin! 
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: bobplum on May 18, 2011, 08:22:18 pm
funny i was going to ask another cleaning company how they dealt with this.
it is awkward,you do risk the chance one or two more will jump on the band wagon
i think you have to have a business plan
monthly and thats it(no exceptions) this is ok if you have a full order book
will except customers going from monthly to bi monthly at the same price (mainly because they cant understand why you need to charge more )this leads to a heated debate on the door step
charge a set rate for the change of monthly to bi monthly(still a heated debate on the door step) and do the same work at more money?
or offer to every customer the option at the beginning of monthly or bi monthly at set rates

then you have to take into account things like are they good customers,bad payers ,good payers

i think we create more problems by introducing variables in to the mix

so back to first option...........monthly and nothing else

hope that helps :o
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Pole 2 Pole on May 18, 2011, 08:38:11 pm
Dilema if thats  a dilema you need to get a life,let her go bi monthly for the same price and get on with life
Totally true  ;)
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: groundhog on May 18, 2011, 08:48:08 pm
First of all set a proper minimum price of £10, don't mess about with 6 or 7 quid!! I give all my customers the option of monthly or every other, and the really big houses I'm happy for every 3 months or even 4 monthly if its a big enough house!! I actually prefer every other month these days  :)
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Tom White on May 19, 2011, 08:26:40 am
First of all set a proper minimum price of £10, don't mess about with 6 or 7 quid!! I give all my customers the option of monthly or every other, and the really big houses I'm happy for every 3 months or even 4 monthly if its a big enough house!! I actually prefer every other month these days  :)

I'm with Groundy on this one.  If you're charging like £7.00 a house, you can go there every-four-weeks and the customer won't mind 'cos you're cheap.  But if you're a little more, and you turn up every-four-weeks, they start whining "Is it that time already?"

So charge more and be less frequent.  I think every other month is a good frequency for run-of-the-mill type work; they seem to be more pleased to see you; and I feel more comfortable turning up then.
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: EandM on May 19, 2011, 08:31:33 am
First of all set a proper minimum price of £10, don't mess about with 6 or 7 quid!! I give all my customers the option of monthly or every other, and the really big houses I'm happy for every 3 months or even 4 monthly if its a big enough house!! I actually prefer every other month these days  :)

I'd endorse this too. In twenty plus years I've never bothered with fractions. Minimum clean was £5 then and at least £10 now. Everything else runs in increments of £5 to equal nice round numbers. Easier to remember, add up etc.
Appreciate it's all down to your area and competition but seems to work in the South West.
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: Paul Coleman on May 19, 2011, 09:08:42 am
I do feel that a lower frequency should be met with a higher price.  My own experience is that if you have compact work and supply a less frequent service, it can spread like a disease.  The antidote to this is a higher price.  That way, if others do follow her, at least you have decent priced work.
Title: Re: Dilema ... customer wants to go bi-monthly
Post by: groundhog on May 19, 2011, 10:59:49 am
Another advantage of every other month is that you can cram more customers into your round, which means that if one of them cancelled it only has half the impact than if all your customers were on monthly!!  :)