Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Ian101 on October 10, 2014, 12:34:59 pm

Title: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Ian101 on October 10, 2014, 12:34:59 pm
Today is gutter / UPVC day just popped home as in-between jobs and little peed off as a job scheduled for this afternoon has cancelled as husband said "too expensive"  ::)roll ..... fortunately got another job I managed to slot in.

Job was to empty gutters and then give them and the fascia / soffits a clean ... 3 lengths of gutters each about 6m so 18 metres total ... house in question has 2 lengths downstairs and 1 upstairs which would have to be done from a flat roof (no guttervac all done by hand) .... I thought 2 hours or so and quoted £80 all in.

Photo below is not the actual house but so you can see type of property.

What would you have quoted .... lead came off facebook which tbh I have found most ... not all but most want cheap so at £80 I though I was working cheap  ::)roll


https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Circular+Dr,+Ewloe,+Deeside,+Flintshire+CH5+3DA/@53.1934571,-3.0586536,3a,75y,28.53h,71.95t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s5WbXmaxR1HIGcBFKsOOsuw!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x487adab96951a745:0x7526f92b5a0f37d8
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: 8weekly on October 10, 2014, 12:43:23 pm
I don't bother with Facebook and have asked my daughters to not mention me when the chavs post "need windows doing. Cash waitin' call and ask for chantelle".
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Ian101 on October 10, 2014, 01:05:45 pm
I don't bother with Facebook and have asked my daughters to not mention me when the chavs post "need windows doing. Cash waitin' call and ask for chantelle".

Chantelle .... isn't that Chardonays sister ?  ;D
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: mick hay on October 10, 2014, 02:01:14 pm
For an empty and roofline clean i have a minimum charge of £95.

It keeps me nice and busy! I also up sell them....connies frames doors etc.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: tonycarr on October 10, 2014, 02:13:59 pm
hi ian i think thats quite cheap

ive done similar for £140, thats with windows cleaned afterwards aswell

tony
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Jim Waugh(Albright & Shiny) on October 10, 2014, 02:53:21 pm
Id be around the same as you for that job..
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Plankton on October 10, 2014, 03:04:07 pm
Gutters £40
UPVC £60
Windows £7.50
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: EandM on October 10, 2014, 03:07:36 pm
Today is gutter / UPVC day just popped home as in-between jobs and little peed off as a job scheduled for this afternoon has cancelled as husband said "too expensive"  ::)roll ..... fortunately got another job I managed to slot in.

Job was to empty gutters and then give them and the fascia / soffits a clean ... 3 lengths of gutters each about 6m so 18 metres total ... house in question has 2 lengths downstairs and 1 upstairs which would have to be done from a flat roof (no guttervac all done by hand) .... I thought 2 hours or so and quoted £80 all in.

Photo below is not the actual house but so you can see type of property.

What would you have quoted .... lead came off facebook which tbh I have found most ... not all but most want cheap so at £80 I though I was working cheap  ::)roll


https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Circular+Dr,+Ewloe,+Deeside,+Flintshire+CH5+3DA/@53.1934571,-3.0586536,3a,75y,28.53h,71.95t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s5WbXmaxR1HIGcBFKsOOsuw!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x487adab96951a745:0x7526f92b5a0f37d8

I think the price sounds perfectly reasonable. Is the customer happy to risk climbing up a ladder and rummaging through their gutters themselves for less than £80 ? Doubt it.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: deeege on October 10, 2014, 03:33:38 pm
Id have charged a little more, £110 or so.

Facebook doesn't half bring out the messers and cheapo brigade, for that reason i havn't pushed my FB page for a couple of years now. I feel for the guys who advertise on the 'buy it sell it swap it' sites, must be here, there and everywhere doing one offs for crap money in crap areas.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Ian101 on October 10, 2014, 03:56:46 pm
thanks fellas kinda makes me thing im about right ... was doing it for £80 as would have finished day nicely earnings wise as 1st job was a good un this morning.

Think I picked this up on here

Empty only £3 a metre
Wash FSG only £3 a metre

Both at same time £5 a metre

but with am min charge as per Mick
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Mick Kent on October 10, 2014, 04:01:47 pm
I only charge £30 a side for gutters. Well cheap compared you some of you guys on here.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Mike #1 on October 10, 2014, 04:23:37 pm
Ian that is a bargain price , I am finding people just dont want to pay even reasonable prices , Despite advertising i only get 1-2 enquires a year and none of them turn into jobs .

Their are a few estates in my area with all white pvc or should i say black and green , Looks horrible but clearly people do not want to pay to have them cleaned .
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: 8weekly on October 10, 2014, 05:01:47 pm
thanks fellas kinda makes me thing im about right ... was doing it for £80 as would have finished day nicely earnings wise as 1st job was a good un this morning.

Think I picked this up on here

Empty only £3 a metre
Wash FSG only £3 a metre

Both at same time £5 a metre

but with am min charge as per Mick
Would you have cleaned then whilst up there? Besides, the £3 a metre thing is flawed. If the UPVC is minging they take longer. Also, soffits are different shapes, sizes & depths.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: gary999 on October 10, 2014, 05:21:42 pm
£25 a side for fascia clean with gable end=£75
gutter empty front and back £40
Throw the window clean in free
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: wpclean on October 10, 2014, 05:29:39 pm
The cleaning of the outsides, and barge boards takes me twice as long as the inside cleaning, so charge double if they want the outsides doing.   
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: colin purewater on October 10, 2014, 06:30:44 pm
£80 is bang on what I would charge for that house Ian
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Plankton on October 10, 2014, 06:47:55 pm
Good to see some sensible prices compared to some other posts. Although some folks just don't want to spend £70 for FSG. Wednesday custie says I'm wanting that cleaned up there I've done that bit myself... £70 for 4 sides thought I was going in cheap to fill a Saturday. His reaction was "what just for that" huff and put "I'll do it myself thought you would just do it with that" as he points to the SLX. That costs money! Ya Dick ( said to myself)
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: dazmond on October 10, 2014, 07:36:36 pm
ive got two small 3 bed semis on very compact estate work(90+ accounts)to clean on monday(f/s/g cleans)no gutter clearing as i dont offer this service.i fit them in on my normal run of regular window cleaning.

£50 each for f/s/g clean and £9 each for regular window clean.they are attached to each other so will take around 2 hours for both with hot water and sill brush.

£118-00 for 2 hours work.im happy with that then ill crack on with my normal window cleaning on this estate. 8)

ian i dont think your too expensive at all.£40 an hour for risking your neck up a ladder?you win some and you lose some.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: lal on October 11, 2014, 09:15:16 am
 
 I think when pricing for gutter clearing or cleaning FSG, you have to price it well or whats the point, unless you
 like being a Busy Fool, I've underpriced these jobs in the past and vowed never again, especially when they have
 not been cleared or cleaned in years they can be bloody hard work and take  hours to bring to a decent standard.
 These days i take my time when pricing up these add on jobs as i don't plan on getting stung ever again, if the
 customer is happy with the price i do the job, if not i just say thanks for your time and goodbye, simples.

 Best regards
 Lal
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: SeanK on October 11, 2014, 11:07:58 am

 I think when pricing for gutter clearing or cleaning FSG, you have to price it well or whats the point, unless you
 like being a Busy Fool, I've underpriced these jobs in the past and vowed never again, especially when they have
 not been cleared or cleaned in years they can be bloody hard work and take  hours to bring to a decent standard.
 These days i take my time when pricing up these add on jobs as i don't plan on getting stung ever again, if the
 customer is happy with the price i do the job, if not i just say thanks for your time and goodbye, simples.

 Best regards
 Lal

Couldn't agree more, they are a lot harder work than cleaning windows so the price should reflect this.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Perfect Windows on October 11, 2014, 02:29:33 pm
For washing outsides of GFS only, we charge £4 a metre first floor, £2 a metre ground floor plus £5 per downpipe and £10 for turning up if they aren't a regular customer, so we're probably about the same price as you would charge for clearing insides and washing outsides.

I used to hate doing gutters until we got onto this price system.  Now I love them.  Anyone who doesn't want them done at that price simply doesn't bother me.  Plenty of people do pay that much.

Vin
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Tom-01 on October 11, 2014, 06:15:00 pm

 I think when pricing for gutter clearing or cleaning FSG, you have to price it well or whats the point, unless you
 like being a Busy Fool, I've underpriced these jobs in the past and vowed never again, especially when they have
 not been cleared or cleaned in years they can be bloody hard work and take  hours to bring to a decent standard.
 These days i take my time when pricing up these add on jobs as i don't plan on getting stung ever again, if the
 customer is happy with the price i do the job, if not i just say thanks for your time and goodbye, simples.

 Best regards
 Lal

Couldn't agree more, they are a lot harder work than cleaning windows so the price should reflect this.

Definitely agree. As an example we were clearing gutters and washing down a small industrial unit and a bigger warehouse opposite asked for a quote to clear their gutters. 80m in total, nice and wide, two long runs, fair bit of growth in one small section. Normal price would be around £3 per metre = £240. But I doubled that price and added £50 to cover fuel and still got the job, half a days work easy peasy. Suddenly it makes it even more worthwhile to get out of bed on Saturday morning to go and do it as a nice bonus for the week. Don't undersell yourself.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: lee_dewing on October 13, 2014, 09:27:44 am
Maybe I'm greedy but I would say Ian from your description.

Gutter clearing 3 sides £60-£75 that's with a gutter vac.

f/s/g clean just upstairs 3 sides £90.

So altogether £150.

When you break it down £20-£25 per side clearing the gutters out.

Then £30 per side for f/s/g.

I've not got a gutter vac yet and wouldn't go up a ladder for this.

But surely £50 minimum to clear gutters.
£75 min cleaning f/s/g.

Ian not being sarcastic but as mentioned busy fool scenario.

I would rather do a days window cleaning than do that work especially for low prices.

To me that's add on work; if the customer won't pay then why interrupt your round to work harder for less.

If I can't make a better hourly/daily rate with add ons I can't see the point.
Good luck Ian.
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Ian101 on October 13, 2014, 09:45:36 am
Maybe I'm greedy but I would say Ian from your description.

Gutter clearing 3 sides £60-£75 that's with a gutter vac.

f/s/g clean just upstairs 3 sides £90.

So altogether £150.

When you break it down £20-£25 per side clearing the gutters out.

Then £30 per side for f/s/g.

I've not got a gutter vac yet and wouldn't go up a ladder for this.

But surely £50 minimum to clear gutters.
£75 min cleaning f/s/g.

Ian not being sarcastic but as mentioned busy fool scenario.

I would rather do a days window cleaning than do that work especially for low prices.

To me that's add on work; if the customer won't pay then why interrupt your round to work harder for less.

If I can't make a better hourly/daily rate with add ons I can't see the point.
Good luck Ian.


yup I do agree about busy fool etc ... only priced it this low as nice finish to week on top of good job in morning plus with it being facebook knew price would need to be keen ... prob not the most business wise way to price it but I did it and do occasionally especially if it gets me seen in a new area but even at £80 to dear so would love to know what the guy thought it was going to be £40 ????  ::)roll ::)roll ::)roll
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: lee_dewing on October 13, 2014, 10:28:38 am
Fair play Ian.

I'm sure you're alot more experienced at this work than me.

But it's sods law you give a keen price and the jobs a pig.

I.e roof tiles over hang guttering making it a tight squeeze to get your hand in.

I'm more happy to quote higher and get 1 in 4 of these type jobs.

I had a website done in may by Nat, very pleased with but at the moment majority of inquiries are for upvc cleaning.
Now only quote local and when convenient to me as majority of the time don't get.

Just think there's a lot of people out there wanting something for nothing or just want a price over the phone which indicates not too serious.

Recently went and quoted  f/s/g and connie roof clean on a bungalow.
£150 customer then they got back in touch week later saying her husband was going to do all his self but couldn't reach a length of gutter over connie roof; "how much would that be?"

Turned that down ;D

Unfortunately people think window cleaner think CHEAP!

Tell em to get 3 quotes and if someone can do the job cheaper and better than you and has liability insurance then grab them with both arms.

Ps hope rain eases today this weeks weather not looking great.
Not a work in all weather's gortex clad windie who's trained his customers to have their windows cleaned in pouring rain.
 :D
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: Ian101 on October 13, 2014, 01:55:03 pm
Fair play Ian.


Recently went and quoted  f/s/g and connie roof clean on a bungalow.
£150 customer then they got back in touch week later saying her husband was going to do all his self but couldn't reach a length of gutter over connie roof; "how much would that be?"



were you not tempted to quote £149  ;D
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: lee_dewing on October 13, 2014, 10:15:02 pm
 ;D tempted to tell custie something.

But instead kept it civil ::)roll
Title: Re: Gutter empty and clean price ... am I too expensive ?
Post by: lal on October 14, 2014, 07:21:20 am
Maybe I'm greedy but I would say Ian from your description.

Gutter clearing 3 sides £60-£75 that's with a gutter vac.

f/s/g clean just upstairs 3 sides £90.

So altogether £150.

When you break it down £20-£25 per side clearing the gutters out.

Then £30 per side for f/s/g.

I've not got a gutter vac yet and wouldn't go up a ladder for this.

But surely £50 minimum to clear gutters.
£75 min cleaning f/s/g.

Ian not being sarcastic but as mentioned busy fool scenario.

I would rather do a days window cleaning than do that work especially for low prices.

To me that's add on work; if the customer won't pay then why interrupt your round to work harder for less.

If I can't make a better hourly/daily rate with add ons I can't see the point.
Good luck Ian.

+1  Ian you've taken the words right out of my mouth, agree with you entirely.
 Lal