Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: lee_dewing on August 05, 2015, 09:07:36 am
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putting prices up mostly a pound or two but have got around 15 custies that need a £5 price rise and two custies ear marked for £10.
I have more than enough work and website generating intrest so gonna be brave.
Anyone done this recently?
And how did you get on.
oh a lot of custies have not had price rise in 3+ years some 5 years
thanks lee
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All mine have gone up by an average of £2 recently. Only lost one customer, already replaced with some much better work.
If you have a good relationship with your customers then most won't bat an eyelid.
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:owow if I mention 50p increase they have heart attacks n say someone else will do them cheaper . Let me know how you get on because I think I'm gonna do an increase
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We had some we just didn't want to clean as they were out of the way, so put em up loads . . . .and we still kept em :o
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😊best way
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Putting about 30% of mine up ... so far so good ... biggest one was from £90 to £210 I did expect to loose it and yes was massively under priced but stuck to it for 2 years and just explained their job had to now match the rest of the round or they would need to find another window cleaner ... part of my cock up was didn't take into account the time wasted walking around the house ... yes its that big :o
so my advice ... re price em as if you was quoting for the job from where you're at today otherwise your loosing potential income.
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I've been putting some up recently.
Lost three tight wads, my new website has replaced those in one week.
One OAP ( nice lady) said she needed to cancel me as I got undercut.
She asked me to drop my price from £15 to £11, my reply was polite but firm.
No need to tell you what I said.
Every customers circumstances are different, some of mine don't like the fact that I have a new van and think I'm earning too much, I say goodbye to those.
Keep pace with cost of living I say.
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Hi Ian.
Good advice that's how I'm going to do.
I'm a bit scared as I'm the sole bread winner of the family.
I'm gonna send a letter to most of my customers that are £2+
Feel that I can get my points across without interruption.
Renforcing all the positives.
I.e same trusted face at the door every month.
Fully insured.
Reliable service.
Having my full contact details
Phone number, address.
(Window cleaner used to work for never gave his details to custy)
Also put my website address on letter as gives em something to look at.
Thanks for info Ian and Chris.
Things feel more prosperous now than a few years ago where I wouldn't of dared alter prices.
Lots of loft extenensions and building works going on.
Hopefully I won't lose more than 20% of my work.
Samson typical work you don't want and they all give you the thumbs up
:-)
Jk I'l post on here what happens.
Probably won't be til end of September til I know where I stand.
Ps Chris.
I do think I have a good relationship with my customers but time will tell.
:-D.
Off to work.
Thanks lee.
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Jon.
I need a new van.
I'm sure that will be remarked on when it happens ::)roll
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Some have commented that my van reflects well on my small business.
Not all are petty jealous people😃
If you've not put prices up for years you shouldn't lose hardly any.
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I do something like this if they're not home to tell them face to face and leave it with their your windows were cleaned slip
Dear ................
Like all businesses we need to review our prices from time to time.
We haven't increased our prices since 2011.
As from your next clean the increase will be £1.
Remember we clean the frames, sills, glass and any UPVC doors so hopefully you will agree we still offer value for money.
Thanks for your custom.
Ian & Karen
H2o Proclean.
We never say from £14 to £15 as sounds a lot more than "an extra £1"
I always say "Ian & Karen" to reinforce family run business
In 5 years of doing this lost 1 customer who was no loss at all :)
The big increase had a different letter than the above.
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This was my take it or leave it email ... not worded smoothly but it did the job :)
Hi XXXXXXXX
Like all businesses from time to time we review our prices as we only have so many hours per day to create our turnover.
Since we started cleaning your windows back in early 2013 the demand for our services have increased dramatically and now it’s at a level where we can no longer service all of our customers unless we are achieving a turnover rate per hour that is achievable with our other work.
Unfortunately this means that we will no longer be able to clean the windows at XXXXXX XXXXX at the current price of £90.
To bring your price up to our current levels would see a required increase of £120 making a new price of £210.
Obviously in percentage terms this is a huge increase - however it reflects, that in May 2013 I under-priced the job but have stuck to my price for over 2 years whilst I could afford to, it brings it in line with what we charge our other customers and means no further price increases for at least 2 years.
You may like to seek another quote and possibly go with another window cleaning company ( obviously I hope not) so I will wait to hear confirmation from you if you would still like us to clean your windows.
Thank you for you past custom.
Best Wishes
Ian H
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Thanks for your posts Ian.
Gives me some help with what I will type up this weekend.
I'l post it on here see what you guys think.
Thanks
Lee.
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My advice dont go to greedy like the rest of them or you will end up with nothing
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But keep pace with rising prices!!!!
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My advice dont go to greedy like the rest of them or you will end up with nothing
Btw, who exactly is, the rest of them???
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Thanks for your posts Ian.
Gives me some help with what I will type up this weekend.
I'l post it on here see what you guys think.
Thanks
Lee.
Hi lee.
Was in the same boat with with my dads round. He needed to put his work up. Well I told him.
One price rise in 14 years
I have a decent letter. Gave out to a
Few and all have thanked me for letter.
So must have done something right lol
Sortedrst @ hotmail.com no gaps
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lee this is a long time coming for you.in the 6 years since i registered back in 2009 ive put hundreds of accounts up TWICE now.ive never lost more than 2-3 accounts each time.i never even thought of the 2008 recession.
most a quid or two,some £5.one £8(from £52 to £60)
i also put off price rises for years before joining this forum.a mixture of lack of confidence in my service and fear of losing customers in droves.TBH back then i didnt clean frames or doors(trad only)and could be unreliable at times(due to a drink problem).
as i sorted myself out and started providing a more professional service coupled with a new fresh outlook and attitude to life and business in general i started to realise i wanted more money for lots of jobs.
ive never typed up a letter, just told them face to face the month(or two)before the new price comes into force or text/phone them or a little note on their invoice.
the large price rises should be on jobs your really not bothered if you lose them or were gonna dump anyway.
IMO you dont need a long winded letter explaining yourself just tell them face to face or phone/text them
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Any losses will be made up by the price rise. You will wonder why you hadn't done it sooner ;D
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I prefer face to face. But I have customers who I have never EVER met.
Pay online. Done.
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I put up a small dental surgery that I have been cleaning for about 5 years the other month by £3 and lost the job.
For years they had been great payers but since they changed receptionist they have been very slow at paying , went from paying after every clean to waiting 6-8 weeks for money.
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Good posts Daz..no 23...Samson.
I have told some face to face on smaller rises but £3 upwards will post letter I'm a cowardy custard ;D
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"But keep pace with rising prices!!!!"
Trouble is... we havnt really got any rising prices. Inflation is nothing and hasnt moved much in years, fuels coming down.. . You must put them up now and again but wouldnt push your luck too much, its very difficult to justify when conditons are as they are.
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Try not to over think it Lee i understand your apprehension the less you think it over the easier it is , Just put up each one to what you think it should be DONE ;) .
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Jon.
I need a new van.
I'm sure that will be remarked on when it happens ::)roll
I'm about to do this too, so might get some comments. Oddly enough, it was being skint that triggered getting a new one because I needed at least 20% deposit on a used one but a balloon payment is OK for a new one - so I will have 5 years to save for that.
The other daft thing is that when I calculated the repair bills, costs of van hire, down time on the old one and tax break on a new one, the difference is only about £130 a month. I'm sure I can go out there and get a bit more work to cover it if need be. There's enough room in my schedule to take on another £1k a month if I price new work properly.
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The rising costs I have noticed is my food bill and stuff like virgin media prices and the cost of business insurance.
Spares for wfp cost as well, all these things have influenced me to put prices up a bit.
Also having a reliable van is important to me.
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The rising costs I have noticed is my food bill and stuff like virgin media prices and the cost of business insurance.
Spares for wfp cost as well, all these things have influenced me to put prices up a bit.
Also having a reliable van is important to me.
That is a good point, our van is 5 yr old now and we are trying to save some money each month so when it dies will have enough for another ;D
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just sorted out my letter will give to custies or put in with invoice, took my contact details off the bottom as I get enough sales calls.
Price increase. (From Lee your window cleaner).
Dear _______________________,
The new price of cleaning your windows from my next visit onwards is £___________.
I have not increased most of my customer`s prices for 6+ years on my round, those that have had an increase has been small.
This has caused a two tier system of newer work being higher priced and a lot of my longer served customers clean prices falling behind; some considerably so with the rates I now charge.
Therefore I have had to review all of my customer`s clean prices and make adjustments to everyone.
I hope you understand and I am confident that your new clean price is very competitive against other quotes you may decide to get.
Please remember.
I clean the whole window pane, frame and sill.
I do not insist on cash like many other window cleaners and offer various payment methods,
cheque / by post, cash, online payment and standing order.
I am regular, every month all year round.
I take care working on my customer`s properties being careful not to damage lawns, flower beds and of course your Home!
Unlike others I DO NOT subcontract my customer`s window cleaning out to others.
It is always me cleaning your windows every time, no unfamiliar faces.
I have liability insurance of over £1 million for my customer`s and my piece of mind.
I take pride in my work and strive to do my best every working day.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Your window cleaner:
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Far too wordy, the more you explain, the more it looks like you're desperate. Also the bit about them getting another quote . . . . .whats that about ? You are planting the idea in their heads to look for cheaper !
From September our prices will be increasing to £..... Thank you.
Grow some Cojones ;D
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How about dropping a slip through each door simply saying:
With effect from (date), my new price will be £ xx.xx.
Kind regards.
That's what I do. Why make it any more complicated than that?
John
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Hi Samson, Johnny.
Understand what your saying for £1-2 price rises but when you're sticking the price up £5 - £10 I think it deserves some justification.
The letter has the important bit the price near the top they don't have to read the rest if they don't want too.
I think people will realise there are other windies out there I'm just stating the fact that there are many draw backs with these others.
I always remember my mrs car got scraped on front bumper.
I called chips away a mobile car sprayer.
The 1st guy I spoke to had a take it or leave it attitude towards the price.
The second chips away guy was the same price but explained why it was dearer than I expected.
That extra bit of customer care got him my custom.
I couldn't get rid of the other guy quick enough.
Thanks lee
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To be honest mate you sound like you are a bit low in confidence, I can relate to that. Remember you are the one providing the service, you do a good job, turn up on time, and they are lucky to have you.
You will always get the complainer, but you can dump them and get another better customer. I struggle with depresssion, and the thing that has helped me the most in this job, is all our customers are nice, I ditched all the idiots ;D
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Hi Samson.
Yep I do lack confidence at times :)
I know what you mean about the moaners I have outed all the unpleasant ones from my round and bad payers.
Agree custies are lucky to have us. ;D
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Lee, I think your letter is excellent for large percentage increases. Very nicely put and I'm certain that all but customers you're better off without would understand.
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thanks 8 weekly :)
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Hi Samson, Johnny.
Understand what your saying for £1-2 price rises but when you're sticking the price up £5 - £10 I think it deserves some justification.
The letter has the important bit the price near the top they don't have to read the rest if they don't want too.
I think people will realise there are other windies out there I'm just stating the fact that there are many draw backs with these others.
I always remember my mrs car got scraped on front bumper.
I called chips away a mobile car sprayer.
The 1st guy I spoke to had a take it or leave it attitude towards the price.
The second chips away guy was the same price but explained why it was dearer than I expected.
That extra bit of customer care got him my custom.
I couldn't get rid of the other guy quick enough.
Thanks lee
I understand what you are saying, Lee, as I too lack self-confidence at times.
However, I still keep it short and sweet when upping my prices. If the price hike is larger than the norm, the customer can always ask for an explanation, which I am always happy to give.
Your customers should know you well enough by now to know how you operate, and so again, not everyone will demand an explanation, but be ready to offer one if required.
Best wishes,
John
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just sorted out my letter will give to custies or put in with invoice, took my contact details off the bottom as I get enough sales calls.
Price increase. (From Lee your window cleaner).
Dear _______________________,
The new price of cleaning your windows from my next visit onwards is £___________.
I have not increased most of my customer`s prices for 6+ years on my round, those that have had an increase has been small.
This has caused a two tier system of newer work being higher priced and a lot of my longer served customers clean prices falling behind; some considerably so with the rates I now charge.
Therefore I have had to review all of my customer`s clean prices and make adjustments to everyone.
I hope you understand and I am confident that your new clean price is very competitive against other quotes you may decide to get.
Please remember.
I clean the whole window pane, frame and sill.
I do not insist on cash like many other window cleaners and offer various payment methods,
cheque / by post, cash, online payment and standing order.
I am regular, every month all year round.
I take care working on my customer`s properties being careful not to damage lawns, flower beds and of course your Home!
Unlike others I DO NOT subcontract my customer`s window cleaning out to others.
It is always me cleaning your windows every time, no unfamiliar faces.
I have liability insurance of over £1 million for my customer`s and my piece of mind.
I take pride in my work and strive to do my best every working day.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Your window cleaner:
I think that's too wordy. Even if you decide to keep it pretty much as it is, I suggest you delete "... you may decide to get... " (after other quotes). It's one of the nuances of language that a reader's subconscious would interpret this as you giving permission or encouraging them to get other quotes.
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Jon.
I need a new van.
I'm sure that will be remarked on when it happens ::)roll
I'm about to do this too, so might get some comments. Oddly enough, it was being skint that triggered getting a new one because I needed at least 20% deposit on a used one but a balloon payment is OK for a new one - so I will have 5 years to save for that.
The other daft thing is that when I calculated the repair bills, costs of van hire, down time on the old one and tax break on a new one, the difference is only about £130 a month. I'm sure I can go out there and get a bit more work to cover it if need be. There's enough room in my schedule to take on another £1k a month if I price new work properly.
I take it you are going to pay the van over 5 years? Have you looked at the figures thoroughly? paying it over 5 years coupled with arrangement fee and settlement fee means you are going to be paying a lot of money for the van. It may be worth looking at a bank loan, you will get a lower interest rate with no additional fees. Depending on your circumstances you can get a loan of 10K over 2 years and you will only pay around £350 in interest, of course the monthly payment will be a lot but you are always better taking as short a loan term as you possibly can.