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UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Roberto Smith on July 31, 2016, 10:08:10 am

Title: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Roberto Smith on July 31, 2016, 10:08:10 am
Hi, I've decided to target larger more exclusive houses. How much do you think I could charge for the property below once every 8 weeks?

Most of my work is the standard 3-bed semi type houses around £15 so it's hard to judge.

(http://tinyurl.com/ho6j6lm)

(http://tinyurl.com/zlmpvp5)

I live in the south-east this property is just outside of Tonbridge. I'm thinking around £60?
Thanks
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Matt. on July 31, 2016, 10:13:01 am
£60 as a minimum mate
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: W.booler on July 31, 2016, 10:15:10 am
You've started something now!  ::)roll
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Roberto Smith on July 31, 2016, 10:17:26 am
£60 as a minimum mate

Yeah I definitely wouldn't do it for less than that  8)
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Roberto Smith on July 31, 2016, 10:20:41 am
You've started something now!  ::)roll

Sorry  :-\ I don't have much experience with these type of houses (customers). Really want to take my business in a totally different direction. I'll have to canvas these houses, flying dropping won't do. So I want to have a good idea of what to charge
 8)
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: sunshine windows on July 31, 2016, 11:13:58 am
Depends on travel time
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: slap bash on July 31, 2016, 11:17:30 am
I would charge 65 quid if its regular  85 if its a one off.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Shrek on July 31, 2016, 11:18:05 am
£60
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tosh on July 31, 2016, 12:13:37 pm
£85.00
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: richard groves on July 31, 2016, 12:24:52 pm
I made a point of looking at the pics before scrolling down to replies. You say £15 for reg 3 bed semis, I worked it out on one of these taking you approx 4 times longer and so also arrived at £60 +.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: matty72 on July 31, 2016, 12:28:03 pm
I reckon 40 to 60 would be ok, once windows are clean how long would it really take
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Shrek on July 31, 2016, 12:44:54 pm
I don't do any 8 week work but I reckon 40 mins-1hr
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Ian101 on July 31, 2016, 01:17:27 pm
I started getting more jobs like this and tbh first few I under-priced as didn't take into account the physical size of some of these properties I now do ... had to increase one from £120 to £210 which actually stayed as a customer.

Only thing I can add to what others have said is to charge loads more per hour as they feel comfortable with high prices as this is linked to quality in their head - obviously u need to be perfect with your cleaning and sometimes go the extra mile with scheduling but that's what they're paying for.

Any that want to penny pinch get rid / don't take on.

That house in pictures I would price and get at £95 on a quarterly basis @ £60 too cheap .. maybe even push it to £120
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: lal on July 31, 2016, 01:37:03 pm


  90 pounds minimum
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Roberto Smith on July 31, 2016, 01:41:41 pm
I started getting more jobs like this and tbh first few I under-priced as didn't take into account the physical size of some of these properties I now do ... had to increase one from £120 to £210 which actually stayed as a customer.

Only thing I can add to what others have said is to charge loads more per hour as they feel comfortable with high prices as this is linked to quality in their head - obviously u need to be perfect with your cleaning and sometimes go the extra mile with scheduling but that's what they're paying for.

Any that want to penny pinch get rid / don't take on.

That house in pictures I would price and get at £95 on a quarterly basis @ £60 too cheap .. maybe even push it to £120

Thanks, that's a real eye opener.

Your right, need to make these places pay or there's no point going for them over ordinary houses.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tom-01 on July 31, 2016, 01:45:20 pm
We've got one pretty similar to that, a couple more windows and two dormers, but no actual window sills which is surprising how much quicker the clean is. Its £110 8 weekly. For that one you should go £90 minimum IMO.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: matty72 on July 31, 2016, 01:53:23 pm
so how does everyone work out there price nowadays, do you go by how long you think it takes you, or as i do go by the number of windows, it just seems to me if that house took say 30 to 60 mins to clean and you charge say £100, five of them and your on £500 a day, does anyone charge per window and how much, i still say pound for most windows and very big windows 2 or 3.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: SeanK on July 31, 2016, 02:13:37 pm
£300 for that they get a written guarantee that I wont pee in the pool.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tom-01 on July 31, 2016, 02:25:14 pm
so how does everyone work out there price nowadays, do you go by how long you think it takes you, or as i do go by the number of windows, it just seems to me if that house took say 30 to 60 mins to clean and you charge say £100, five of them and your on £500 a day, does anyone charge per window and how much, i still say pound for most windows and very big windows 2 or 3.

That's a good question Matty, I'm sure we all do it slightly differently... To try and get 5 houses like that day in day out is practically impossible I think (I may be wrong). Bigger houses will drop you, move or be a pain just as much as the 15 quidders. A mix of GOOD customers across different price ranges is fine I think.

For me I don't have a set way of pricing.. Any job is minimum £20, so a one bed flat could be the same as a two bed house. I also take into consideration having to get the ladder off the van if needed to get onto flat roofs (generally now and extra £5 if we need to do that). For smaller jobs quoted via our website its £1.60 per 'window or door hole' - this works out pretty good for regular houses, 3 bedders etc. We have a disclaimer which states its subject to a survey.

I actually prefer to go and look at jobs still because I can charge more as opposed to going off of a price menu. I also take into consideration the area, the house, the person and yes what cars are on the drive - I want us to earn maximum for our time so if they can afford it I will quote it - if reasonable and I can justify my price to the customer and to myself, leave cheaper prices to others. There's an amount in turnover I feel we can achieve minimum each day with quality jobs, thats what I price according to. There's someone selling some work I know of, turnover is impressive on paper. However when delving a bit deeper into figures (Dragons Den type) it transpired he had double the work we have, effectively half price each job, to me it doesn't make sense.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tom-01 on July 31, 2016, 02:25:35 pm
£300 for that they get a written guarantee that I wont pee in the pool.

What about leaving a floater??
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Dave Willis on July 31, 2016, 02:49:28 pm
I do a whole cu-de-sac of them - don't need to move the van either. Get about ten done before lunch time. £180 every half hour.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Shrek on July 31, 2016, 02:52:40 pm
I do a whole cu-de-sac of them - don't need to move the van either. Get about ten done before lunch time. £180 every half hour.

Bet you couldn't hit those figures if you ate a proper breakfast instead of skipping meals so you can work more!  :P
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: matty72 on July 31, 2016, 03:47:15 pm
Tom, £20 min a job , do u mean that, wouldn't that mean you cant do alot or do you just concentrate on large houses.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tosh on July 31, 2016, 05:21:47 pm
£300 for that they get a written guarantee that I wont pee in the pool.

What about leaving a floater??

Floaters, that's another 20. Notes.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: johnny bravo on July 31, 2016, 05:43:02 pm
£80 an hour,     if they made there money legit they will not want to be over charged for the time it will take to do.   if you keep your price good then you can use them as a refference for neighbours in that area,   Id say £50.  dont rush it, may have cctv.   explain to them if you are wfp.   no ladder marks on walls or sills,  enhance your pure water tech. cleaning. 
then skinny dipping after on a hot day.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: johnny bravo on July 31, 2016, 05:45:06 pm
wfp, should take 30-45 minutes
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tom-01 on July 31, 2016, 06:07:22 pm
Tom, £20 min a job , do u mean that, wouldn't that mean you cant do alot or do you just concentrate on large houses.

Yep I mean that. I have older work that is less than £20, but not much anymore. £20 has been the minimum for quite a while now and we get lots of work - most work is more than £20 anyway.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on July 31, 2016, 06:44:25 pm
I would just pass it on to my mate lance as can't be arsed with regular window cleaning anymore.
That's after I take my cut on every clean of course  ;D ;D

Quartly -   £208
Bi monthly - £170
Monthly     - £ 97

Or whatever I fancy charging at the time not forgetting to add arsehole tax and travel time too if required.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: JandS on July 31, 2016, 07:08:43 pm
Some strange prices...why not price it for monthly at £35 per hour then see how long it takes you...some of the prices on here are not real......some of the work I have been picking up round here as been overpriced and run by what I can only describe as bully boy tactics...the customer did not want them because they did a crap job for a high price but we're too scared to say no....until one did.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tom-01 on July 31, 2016, 07:58:34 pm
Some strange prices...why not price it for monthly at £35 per hour then see how long it takes you...some of the prices on here are not real......some of the work I have been picking up round here as been overpriced and run by what I can only describe as bully boy tactics...the customer did not want them because they did a crap job for a high price but we're too scared to say no....until one did.

They should have done a great job at a high price and not been bully's then  :)
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Stoots on July 31, 2016, 09:51:10 pm
£40 would be fine, if can get more great...an hour tops?
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on July 31, 2016, 09:53:57 pm
40 squid you must be having a laugh  :o
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tosh on July 31, 2016, 09:55:45 pm
40 squid you must be having a laugh  :o

It's a race to the bottom for some.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on July 31, 2016, 10:02:07 pm
40 squid you must be having a laugh  :o

It's a race to the bottom for some.

Seems that way for sure but I'm betting the local old school trad guy in the village would do it cheaper still   ;D
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: SeanK on July 31, 2016, 10:12:25 pm
40 squid you must be having a laugh  :o

It's a race to the bottom for some.

Seems that way for sure but I'm betting the local old school trad guy in the village would do it cheaper still   ;D

I cant figure out where its a race to, you have guys pricing a property on another post that's at least five times smaller than this one for £35 to £40 and the same guys pricing this property at around £90 to £110.
Something doesn't add up. lol.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: nathankaye on July 31, 2016, 10:24:29 pm
How confident are you?
How professional looking are you and your set up?
Do you have a quality web page to refer to?
I ask these, as you said you havent ventured into the higher end of the game yet with these types of property. You have to look the part and then prove that you can deliver. So your price needs to reflect these things. As someones earlier post mentioned, people who live in those properties are used to paying more, ie ultility bills, council tax etc etc. They also pay for quality and expect both and also have an image to upkeep so would want professional looking people at their property.
Sell yourself and the high quality and advantages of wfp to them.  The price then reflects this. I would go in no less than 90.

How many of those semi at £15 a pot do you clean in an hr? If they are in the same street as most of mine are, im guessing within around 12/15mins finished one and starting next. So if averaging 60 quid in mediocre areas within the hr can you not understand how in a much nicer area and different style windows that you need to be charging way higher than £60.

(A major silly comparison, a 1ltr bottle of water from your supermarket cost how much? Then price it up from say a local chippy, then a restaurant and finally a posh restaurant!  Same water, but slightly different factors and the price can double, tripple or more!!)
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on July 31, 2016, 10:32:16 pm
40 squid you must be having a laugh  :o

It's a race to the bottom for some.

Seems that way for sure but I'm betting the local old school trad guy in the village would do it cheaper still   ;D

I cant figure out where its a race to, you have guys pricing a property on another post that's at least five times smaller than this one for £35 to £40 and the same guys pricing this property at around £90 to £110.
Something doesn't add up. lol.

Well we have to remain competitive I guess or have less chance of gaining other properties that size nearby. Good priced compact work is the key I suppose rather than spending all hours godsend travelling. 

Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on July 31, 2016, 10:41:08 pm
Oh I forgot to mention some that live in posh houses are tight arses when it comes to spending money on the likes of window cleaning but will think nothing of spending thousands on themselves.  ;D
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: nathankaye on July 31, 2016, 10:50:56 pm
Perhaps a side point but perhaps relative as well (maybe)

Have you noticed how, ones who consider themselves living in a posh area are arrogant bleeeps! (Lol, no swearing policy esp on here) yet ones who are trully wealthy are really down to earth nice people.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: SeanK on July 31, 2016, 11:05:17 pm
Oh I forgot to mention some that live in posh houses are tight arses when it comes to spending money on the likes of window cleaning but will think nothing of spending thousands on themselves.  ;D

A lot of its down to how they got/ earned their money, a factory owner paying their staff minimum wage isn't going to
see paying a window cleaner £50 an hour as value for money, while a banker making money for old rope isn't going to think
much off it.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: sunshine windows on August 01, 2016, 06:56:20 am
Quote
I would just pass it on to my mate lance as can't be arsed with regular window cleaning anymore.
That's after I take my cut on every clean of course  ;D ;D

Quartly -   £208
Bi monthly - £170
Monthly     - £ 97

Or whatever I fancy charging at the time not forgetting to add arsehole tax and travel time too if required.

😂😂😂😂
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: tlwcs on August 01, 2016, 07:28:21 am
40 squid you must be having a laugh  :o

It's a race to the bottom for some.
Some just bounce along it 😃
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on August 01, 2016, 07:44:25 am
Quote
I would just pass it on to my mate lance as can't be arsed with regular window cleaning anymore.
That's after I take my cut on every clean of course  ;D ;D

Quartly -   £208
Bi monthly - £170
Monthly     - £ 97

Or whatever I fancy charging at the time not forgetting to add arsehole tax and travel time too if required.



Just to clarify arsehole tax would be charged on top if I think the customer is an arsehole not meaning Lance   ;D
Lance you may get  call from a chap from Osterly road as I passed your name on  ;)
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tosh on August 01, 2016, 01:49:59 pm
Oh I forgot to mention some that live in posh houses are tight arses when it comes to spending money on the likes of window cleaning but will think nothing of spending thousands on themselves.  ;D

A lot of its down to how they got/ earned their money, a factory owner paying their staff minimum wage isn't going to
see paying a window cleaner £50 an hour as value for money, while a banker making money for old rope isn't going to think
much off it.

There used to be a property developer that lived round here til he was killed in a light aircraft he was piloting about 20 years or more ago. Anyway, I clean the windows of his wife house, a 12 bed place out in the sticks in its own grounds. She's loaded, but didn't make the money herself, her old man did.

Anyway, she's as tight as a ducks ass and everyone who works for her will tell you the same thing.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on August 01, 2016, 05:11:33 pm
Some wealthy people are slap dash as they don't like spending it unless its on themselves ;D
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: johnny bravo on August 01, 2016, 05:47:48 pm
do chip shops actually sell bottled water,   you must have a posh chippy ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: sunshine windows on August 02, 2016, 11:39:17 am
Cheers Alan  ;D
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Bryan_Dolby on August 02, 2016, 06:22:34 pm
Hi
I see it could be  old leaded windows
 please check water does not go through before pricing?

Bryan
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: aztec on August 02, 2016, 08:01:57 pm
£40 and i am  from maidstone, how can you possibly charge more than that for 20 mins pole work!
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Shrek on August 02, 2016, 08:12:24 pm
£40 and i am  from maidstone, how can you possibly charge more than that for 20 mins pole work!

20 minutes work   ??? Are we all looking at the same picture  ???
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Tosh on August 02, 2016, 10:38:51 pm
£40 and i am  from maidstone, how can you possibly charge more than that for 20 mins pole work!

20 minutes work   ??? Are we all looking at the same picture  ???

Some people clean windows and others 'clean' windows.
Title: Re: How much would you charge for this?
Post by: Smurf on August 02, 2016, 11:20:54 pm
£40 and i am  from maidstone, how can you possibly charge more than that for 20 mins pole work!

The question begs have you tried charging more?