Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Steven Biggs on October 30, 2014, 06:20:14 am
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3 story , 5 bedroom , new build detatched house. A tenner . I'm gunna repeat that just in case anyone thought I had typed it wrong .3 STORY , 5 BEDROOM NEW BUILD DETATCHED HOUSE A TENNER . That's how much someone is charging on the new David Wilson development in wakefield . I had a nosey last week as one of my custys has moved in . I spoke to a few potential customers , 2 have already set this bloke on , they both were expecting to pay a lot more but obviously at that price are gunna give him a go .one was paying more than that at her previous 4 bed semi she told me in between laughs . So if any of the local Windys are thinking of doing a bit of canvassing . Remember to quote 1990 prices if your desperate .
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West Yorks crawling with windies at the moment hard to get good prices.
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Annoying innit? That's the drawback of being in a service that anyone can do.
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Quoted this one last week - there's another 4 windows not shown here on the dark side absolutely minging with spiders you have to go round the fence in slide 12 and crawl through the undergrowth to get at them.
Glad I didn't get it 'cos they wanted said they wanted a regular clean but I've just seen the SOLD sign yesterday!
Interested to know what others would quote in other parts of the country ;D ;D
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35068076.html
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£20 south east :)
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It is annoying , forgot to add one of those custys asked me if I would like to under cut him . ;D ;D.also he is wfp , so he is doing all 3 floors .
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I had a flyer handed to me from a custy, any 4 bedroom house £10, 3 beds £8
I was charging more than that when I started over 8 years ago,
there are always mugs out there who underprice
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Annoying innit? That's the drawback of being in a service that anyone can do.
Good post. This is exactly the case.
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How long does he spend cleaning them for that sort of money ? why I ask is a two storey
5 bedroom would be around £15 in my area, but I can do three an hour or about 18 over a day.
Even at that £10 figure he could still make £200 a day which for somebody who's just come out of a factory
paying £300 to £400 a week that would be a fortune.
I'm not saying to right or wrong or that its good or bad for window cleaning but I can see why its happening.
I had a customer ask me for a quote for a 5 bedroom a few weeks back, she had been getting them cleaned for
£5 and I know this to be true.
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Avoid new build estates. Target the big detached houses in the sticks. Hard to get into, but once you're in there, you're in there.
You just don't get this nonsense.
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I was tipped off by some customers last year that there was someone going round canvassing and quoting about half what I charge (and I am not expensive by any means).I said I wished the other chap well as we all have to make a living. You know what? I've never seen the other guy or knowingly lost any customers through undercutting.
So why not simply concentrate on providing an excellent service for a price you and your customers are happy with, and don't worry about what the 'competition' are doing.
John
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I wouldn't rule out all new build estates , you need to target new builds that attract second time buyers.
Detached types would normally fall into this category, these will be people who are further alone in their
careers and will be at the stage where money just isn't as tight.
But I do like the big detached in the sticks if you can get enough of them.
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I was tipped off by some customers last year that there was someone going round canvassing and quoting about half what I charge (and I am not expensive by any means).I said I wished the other chap well as we all have to make a living. You know what? I've never seen the other guy or knowingly lost any customers through undercutting.
So why not simply concentrate on providing an excellent service for a price you and your customers are happy with, and don't worry about what the 'competition' are doing.
John
Totally agree, the guy I mentioned in my previous post didn't fail because he was too cheap, he failed because he couldn't
get enough customers even though he was cheep.
In a street of about 30 properties he got one and she is the street messer.
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Avoid new build estates. Target the big detached houses in the sticks. Hard to get into, but once you're in there, you're in there.
You just don't get this nonsense.
+1
Parish magazines are good for getting these types of houses..
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I quoted £25 for new build 4 bedder a while back.it had four 3 storey windows and small conny.the potential customer looked annoyed as if i was trying to rip him off!!merc on the drive and a vw toureg.he said his current windy was charging him £8!!
Then he slammed the door in my face. ::)roll ;D
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I quoted £25 for new build 4 bedder a while back.it had four 3 storey windows and small conny.the potential customer looked annoyed as if i was trying to rip him off!!merc on the drive and a vw toureg.he said his current windy was charging him £8!!
Then he slammed the door in my face. ::)roll ;D
I bet you forgot to take your cap off, that's where a lot of us windys make the mistake when talking to our betters. ;D
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How long does he spend cleaning them for that sort of money ? why I ask is a two storey
5 bedroom would be around £15 in my area, but I can do three an hour or about 18 over a day.
Even at that £10 figure he could still make £200 a day which for somebody who's just come out of a factory
paying £300 to £400 a week that would be a fortune.
I'm not saying to right or wrong or that its good or bad for window cleaning but I can see why its happening.
I had a customer ask me for a quote for a 5 bedroom a few weeks back, she had been getting them cleaned for
£5 and I know this to be true.
I dont agree.you d have to bust a gut to make £200 a day and have very compact work which takes years to build up.also you would have to splash and dash a lot risking losing customers instead of working at a steady,brisk pace.
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3 story , 5 bedroom , new build detatched house. A tenner . I'm gunna repeat that just in case anyone thought I had typed it wrong .3 STORY , 5 BEDROOM NEW BUILD DETATCHED HOUSE A TENNER .
I know it's only Yorkshire but I might see about getting a mortgage for one of them.
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Ay up griff , sorry mate banks on this side of the Pennines don't take payment in pies . So that counts you out . ;D. I'm not worried about competition I am full , have been for years . But the point I'm making is this bloke could have got a much better price ,. This estate is gunna be big and take another 3 years to finish . But i know I'm not gunna bother . It will be full of windys undercutting working for messers . So I will leave well alone .
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How long does he spend cleaning them for that sort of money ? why I ask is a two storey
5 bedroom would be around £15 in my area, but I can do three an hour or about 18 over a day.
Even at that £10 figure he could still make £200 a day which for somebody who's just come out of a factory
paying £300 to £400 a week that would be a fortune.
I'm not saying to right or wrong or that its good or bad for window cleaning but I can see why its happening.
I had a customer ask me for a quote for a 5 bedroom a few weeks back, she had been getting them cleaned for
£5 and I know this to be true.
I dont agree.you d have to bust a gut to make £200 a day and have very compact work which takes years to build up.also you would have to splash and dash a lot risking losing customers instead of working at a steady,brisk pace.
What don't you agree about Dazmond, I have explained how many properties I can clean in a day, I don't bust
a gut plus I don't consider myself splash and dash.
I don't charge £10 for these type of properties but I could easily make £200 a day if I did, but even a £150 a day would be
a fortune for somebody coming from a low paid job.
Again I am not saying its the best way to work, all I'm saying is I understand why these prices might appeal to certain
people.
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Maybe we are getting our wires crossed but a 5 bed detached in my area would have maybe
12 average sized windows in total and maybe a couple of small en suite frosted.
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Ay up griff , sorry mate banks on this side of the Pennines don't take payment in pies . So that counts you out . ;D. I'm not worried about competition I am full , have been for years . But the point I'm making is this bloke could have got a much better price ,. This estate is gunna be big and take another 3 years to finish . But i know I'm not gunna bother . It will be full of windys undercutting working for messers . So I will leave well alone .
;D
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As I have said before your finding more and more people are getting in to window cleaning and things like this are going to happen.
When you read on this forum of people claiming to earn 7k a month and can't even use a blade it's no wonder people want to get into it and with wages the way they are who can blame them.
I was cleaning a recruitment office this week and they were advertising for night factory workers at £7.25 an hour for 10pm -6.15am that's £58 a night before tax,when you look at cleaning a house for a£10 some people must feel like they have won the lottery.
Don't get me wrong I think underpricing jobs is a bad thing for every one it can bring the area price down if every one starts doing it,but I can see why there doing it.
Being self employed you should always get the maximum price you can for your service just don't tell the whole world what that is.
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How long does he spend cleaning them for that sort of money ? why I ask is a two storey
5 bedroom would be around £15 in my area, but I can do three an hour or about 18 over a day.
Even at that £10 figure he could still make £200 a day which for somebody who's just come out of a factory
paying £300 to £400 a week that would be a fortune.
I'm not saying to right or wrong or that its good or bad for window cleaning but I can see why its happening.
I had a customer ask me for a quote for a 5 bedroom a few weeks back, she had been getting them cleaned for
£5 and I know this to be true.
Oi mouthy balls!
There isnt much difference at all with doing 3 5bed houses an hour to doing 6 fronts is there??? Id charge £15 also for the full house although i dont target fronts on houses with rear access as customer would always want it done!.
Why is it you can clean 3 an hour but are forever doubting me doing it??
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3 story , 5 bedroom , new build detatched house. A tenner . I'm gunna repeat that just in case anyone thought I had typed it wrong .3 STORY , 5 BEDROOM NEW BUILD DETATCHED HOUSE A TENNER . That's how much someone is charging on the new David Wilson development in wakefield . I had a nosey last week as one of my custys has moved in . I spoke to a few potential customers , 2 have already set this bloke on , they both were expecting to pay a lot more but obviously at that price are gunna give him a go .one was paying more than that at her previous 4 bed semi she told me in between laughs . So if any of the local Windys are thinking of doing a bit of canvassing . Remember to quote 1990 prices if your desperate .
That's the way things are up here.
A lot of windies are still doing 2 weekly rounds.
My dad has a large 3 bed semi £4 monthly 12 windows.
Most of my friends in the area pay similar prices.
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Where the heck are you at DG??
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I've targeted a new build, got the first 2 and the one opposite, total of £37 4 weekly, and nice and VERY compact. One of them has a friend moving in opposite at the weekend also. So that could be 4 houses within a swing of a cat and about £50 for about an hours work :)
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i charge £8 for some 4 bedroom houses but you can still hit £50 an hour on them they are due a price rise. my opinion is i couldnt give a crap what others charge and if my price happens to be cheaper or more expensive tough crap had someone ring me once a window cleaner having a go as his customers had my flyer and were on about changing to me i started of being nice saying i wouldnt worry good customers with stick with you no matter what mate if you do a good job. he started trying to kick of on the phone so i offered to meet him to sort it out lol. were window cleaners at the end of the day iv bin doing it for 6 years and if someone wants to clean one of my houses for £3 i couldnt give a crap tbh lol they wont do it for long thats for sure.
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Avoid new build estates. Target the big detached houses in the sticks. Hard to get into, but once you're in there, you're in there.
You just don't get this nonsense.
have to agree hear well said
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It isn't the way things are up here at all .like I said both these custys expected to pay a higher price . It's a lack of confidence mixed with a bit of desperation when pricing .
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3 story , 5 bedroom , new build detatched house. A tenner . I'm gunna repeat that just in case anyone thought I had typed it wrong .3 STORY , 5 BEDROOM NEW BUILD DETATCHED HOUSE A TENNER . That's how much someone is charging on the new David Wilson development in wakefield . I had a nosey last week as one of my custys has moved in . I spoke to a few potential customers , 2 have already set this bloke on , they both were expecting to pay a lot more but obviously at that price are gunna give him a go .one was paying more than that at her previous 4 bed semi she told me in between laughs . So if any of the local Windys are thinking of doing a bit of canvassing . Remember to quote 1990 prices if your desperate .
That's the way things are up here.
A lot of windies are still doing 2 weekly rounds.
My dad has a large 3 bed semi £4 monthly 12 windows.
Most of my friends in the area pay similar prices.
Those prices are stupidly ridiculous wherever you are in the country. I was charging 50% more than those prices 15 years ago. Anyone charging those prices isn't taking it seriously.
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Who's going to pay more than a fiver to clean that?
http://www.dwh.co.uk/new-homes/west-yorkshire/H489402-Silkwood-Gate,-Wakefield/plot-211/
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Who's going to pay more than a fiver to clean that?
http://www.dwh.co.uk/new-homes/west-yorkshire/H489402-Silkwood-Gate,-Wakefield/plot-211/
£400k in WAKEFIELD?
Omg
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That's the house .the fronts alone are a tenner . Yeh 400 k to live on a depressing new build estate . Go 5 miles out of wakefield and you could get a house with character and views for that pice .
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I have loads at £8 fronts only and I make £400 a day. I just drive past with the window down and squirt them as I go.
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I have loads at £8 fronts only and I make £400 a day. I just drive past with the window down and squirt them as I go.
hmmmmmmmmmm whats the point of doing that .... surely just do the ones with bird poo on instead .... really works a treat on rainy days ;)
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Newbies only see gross profit. They forget about motor and other expenses, tax, N.I. holiday pay and SICK PAY when you can't work. A bad winter sorts out the undercutters as they realise they can't live on minimum wage when they can't work as they need savings to fall back on. Profit over being a busy undercutting fool any day ;D
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Newbies only see gross profit. They forget about motor and other expenses, tax, N.I. holiday pay and SICK PAY when you can't work. A bad winter sorts out the undercutters as they realise they can't live on minimum wage when they can't work as they need savings to fall back on. Profit over being a busy undercutting fool any day ;D
Will let you into a secrete most private sector employers don't pay sick pay, you get the state sick which is just above
useless.
My mates son took a job last week working in a food processing plant, he gets £7.30 an hour and has to work until all
the raw materials are processed even if it goes beyond his normal hours, so he could be working a extra hour a day without pay.
This means that everybody works flat out just to get home on time or as in most days just to get home without spending too
much extra time without pay.
You wouldn't believe the induction speech the boss give him and the others that started, it was like something out of the Victorian
ages.
The thing is over 5000 people applied for this crappy job.
Like I have already said £10 for a 5 bed detached would be a small fortune to somebody in that position plus you can always
put your prices up as your confidence and experience grows.
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The reason there are still windies cleaning at prices from the 90s is because some chaps don`t know you can earn more working for a boss and been paid minimum wage.Which is 6 quid odd and hour and think anything more is better than a job but fail to understand cost need to be added on top of the 6 quid. etc.It is useless even trying to change that mentality.As many think been your own boss give you the right to do stupid things. But fail to realize they are part of an industry the y drag down with there ignorance. They customer think we are all dummies when pricing like this happen.
I remember a chap cleaning a house next to me charging half of what I charge and I asked him how much he was charging.He told me because he was younger it took him less time to clean. Forgetting what it cost him for his New Ionics fitted van. Now that says it all.
He would have done better taking a job with a window cleaner and invested his money else ware.
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There's a new build. Estate is Blackpool red rose are the builder they employ Chub alarms to instal alarms for the new houses the guy also cleans the windows charges £6 for 4 bed detached
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In the area where we work, there are 135,000 houses. Not properties, houses. (A windy in a local area estimated about 10 - 15,000 houses in his area. When I checked the census details, it was around 50,000.)
I've posted on here before when we got to 1,500 customers. That means we're servicing 1.1% of the houses in our catchment area. Once you realise that, you can ignore competition completely, totally and utterly. There is a simply astounding amount of work out there.
Stop worrying what the competition are doing and do your job as well as you can.
Vin
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Every house is not a potential customer.Some will never clean because they pay for houses they cannot afford.Some just don`t believe in it etc.
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It is. The fact there's someone living in it, makes that person a potential customer. You only find out if it is a custy when you knock and ask.
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Every house is not a potential customer.Some will never clean because they pay for houses they cannot afford.Some just don`t believe in it etc.
OK, so if only 50% of houses want their windows doing, my market shrinks to a mere 67,500 potential customers. Still doesn't mean I should worry about what our competition is doing.
Vin
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Every house is not a potential customer.Some will never clean because they pay for houses they cannot afford.Some just don`t believe in it etc.
OK, so if only 50% of houses want their windows doing, my market shrinks to a mere 67,500 potential customers. Still doesn't mean I should worry about what our competition is doing.
Vin
That's only 2200 a day six weekly or work for about 75 men, so out of 135000 households it only take 75 people to
take up window cleaning and its saturated.
I would worry infect stop posting on here and get out there before all the work is gone. ;D
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You've convinced me: I'm selling up. Rounds all up for grabs in the "For Sale" section.
Vin