Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: nathankaye on March 29, 2017, 10:46:57 am
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As title thread says, a bit of a "rant!"
Prices n price increases. I hope people will start to learn how to price up work with a business head on and not that of customers as its driving prices down. All this talk of market saturated and others with cheap work..bla bka bla rubbish. As its driving prices down.
Im in south yorkshire, good old sunny doncaster and we have our hits with oit closures and recession etc etc but you can still charge accordingly.
Ive recently taken over two friends rounds. One migrated onto wfp and i helped him on these rounds for 14yrs before ive now taken over. The other, was trad.
My friend on trad thinks im expensive because i do a quick job in comparison to trad. Which yes we all know wfp is quicker but that doesnt mean we//you should be cheaper. That mentality is really annoying me today, hence the rant.
Weve paid alot of money for this equipment and alot of work sorting fhe water out etc etc to make it quicker at the brush end because its a "BUSINESS!!!"
So the work ive taken over that ive also been cleaning for 15yrs, ive recently told them or posted flyers telling them of some price increases. Because it was my friends first round from leaving school at 16yrs and now hes 40. Prices have gone up maybe twice in all that time. So ive put prices up by min of 5. This area is an expensive area to live and part of it is nicknamed snobs hill. People who live there have chains of businesses etc etc.
Yet their prices are lower than my not so expensive areas to live. And just round corner is a council estate where a £10min charge i have. Yet snobs hill are only a couple of quid more expensive. So you can see how poor these prices are.
Ive had 2 so far cancel because of a 5quid increase taking some from 9 to 14 or some from 13 fo 18. Which is nore than fair!!
This is the point: the longer you keep poor prices or the longer you are too scared to put prices up. The longer the customer thinks this is the going rate and long term you will shoot yourself in the foot because they will not be used to price increases and will end the work. So your not doing yourself any favours as my friend hasnt for me now that i have to adjust prices.
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Your doing the right thing Nathan, My dad used to have a window cleaner who charged him £5 for 13 years and never put it up. Every April I will be increasing the new jobs by £1 and increasing older work to the new rates or drop them . My ultimate goal is to have a small round with high prices
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Putting jobs up by a fiver in one year tends to have that effect on custards that are tight or are struggling money wise..
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
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Calm down Nathan and stop worrying what others are changing, plus how is a sold trader cleaning windows as long as you have been cleaning windows and also power washing able to take on two extra rounds ?
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
To make you fell better I charge a min of £65 for an end of tenancy one-off exterior window clean, 65 min for a gutter check & clear, 65 for a fsg clean, 600 min for a render clean, 250 min for a driveway clean etc. That's the main reason why I chose not to have a large window cleaning round. Not only that I would hate having to just clean glass all day long and have no spare time for anything else more profitable..
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This reminds me of some canvassing I did a couple of years or so ago. I quoted £12 for a small bungalow with a small conservatory at the back and a UPVC porch (I'd walked through the house to look at the conservatory at the back). The lady I quoted for thought this was extortionate and she literally chased me out of the house explaining that she knew more about window cleaning pricing than I did!
She'd recently moved into the area from Gloucestershire where she'd obviously had a window cleaner charging her an absolute pittance.
I think customers can get into the habit of timing how long you take to clean the windows and work out an hourly rate. What they don't realise is that this has to cover van, equipment, holidays, sick pay, bank holidays, days when you can't get out because of torrential rain etc.. etc... Also, even when you factor in your hourly rate I don't think it's unreasonable to add an element of 'profit' - after all this what we're in business for....
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
To make you fell better I charge a min of £65 for an end of tenancy one-off exterior window clean, 65 min for a gutter check & clear, 65 for a fsg clean, 600 min for a render clean, 250 min for a driveway clean.. That's the main reason why I chose not to have a large window cleaning round.
I bet Nathans cheap silly prices aren't driving you mad.
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
To make you fell better I charge a min of £65 for an end of tenancy one-off exterior window clean, 65 min for a gutter check & clear, 65min for a fsg clean, 600 min for a render clean, 250 min for a driveway clean.. That's the main reason why I chose not to have a large window cleaning round.
I bet Nathans cheap silly prices aren't driving you mad.
I better not mention the prices I charge for regular window cleaning work as that would really p him off. lol
Anyhow I'm in the position that I can pick & choose what work I take on unlike some.
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Its not just window cleaners, I had a painter and decorator doing work in my house a while back who done a first class job
for around £30 an hour, if I was now after a window cleaner I would be shocked if he was looking £20 for a 15min clean and it
would certainly drive me to shop around.
I think property management is the future, looking after the whole property, gardens, windows, gutters, fascia's drives and so on
where you can put it a decent yearly price for the lot which doesn't focus on one thing.
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That is why I went down the one-off route as can charge a lot more for less work.
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Like i said, i dont call this work as its a doddle now. More so with hot water and electric reel. Hiw can i fit 2 more rounds in, very easily, as what might take 2 days trad can get done in one day on wfp.
Also to stop any boredom yep i do exterior cleaning; gutters fascia conny roof cleans and soft washing or pressure washing.
But not falling behind on work because its raining certainly helps now.
Ps, im not overly worried what others charge, that isnt the point of this rant or thread. Its about collectively driving prices up and not down as alot seem to want to do and give every excuse possible for doing so that makes me mad
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Ive made my mistakes in pricing over the many years and ive learnt from it. Its only been in last couple or so years that i can say i run a business now. Whereas before it was more like a charity at the silly prices i had. But ive learnt and adapted and now i run a business and efficiently. Thats why i can fit it all in and feel that i can a have a say to perhaps give a little advice or encouragement after taking that learning curve
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You might think your customers are happy about price increase but your wrong this is to the ones that do it every year .a mate of mine keeps putting his prices up but one of his customers have told me that she isn't happy about it and the next increase he's down the road and it's not just her it's most of the customers in the same area
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You might think your customers are happy about price increase but your wrong this is to the ones that do it every year .a mate of mine keeps putting his prices up but one of his customers have told me that she isn't happy about it and the next increase he's down the road and it's not just her it's most of the customers in the same area
Why do you speak to all of your mates customers? Bit weird
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The guys a busy fool who's knocking out 35 properties a day or 45 now that he's using hot, he hasn't even got time to keep his hoses clear of the properties he doesn't clean, price well take your time and do a job that warrants the price, that way you will never need to worry about anybody undercutting your price.
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The guys a busy fool who's knocking out 35 properties a day or 45 now that he's using hot, he hasn't even got time to keep his hoses clear of the properties he doesn't clean, price well take your time and do a job that warrants the price, that way you will never need to worry about anybody undercutting your price.
If you pay attention to my other comments on other threads dry clean rather than spend your time criticising. You will know that with hot im not doing any more in a day but finishing quite early instead.
Oh and i take my time with a good breakfast in a morning and enjoy my coffee breaks during the day and taking it easy or even a toby's calvery 😁
I dont worry about being undercut because its not always about the cost. I have built trust n more with my customers and that counts sometimes more than someone undercutting by a couple of quid.
The ones that do go, so be it. I simply replace....its not hard to do buddy. Think on another thread someone has recommend to Daz, whos turning away alot of work per day to simply replace rubbish work or low paid jobs with newer higher price jobs. Recycle your work........
Whats the saying now........
" its nothing personal, its business 😂😂"
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(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1490790972_Screenshot_2017-03-29-13-34-45.png)
A quote from my web site, so people who contact me via web page will at least know the price will be £10 or higher.
Another section from my facebook page;
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1490791205_Screenshot_2017-03-29-13-38-20.png)
And the work still comes in. So i really dont understand why people feel the need to run prices down inorder to get work.
(Yet some my feel my prices are low, depending which areas you clean obviously)
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I suggest you take a look at the website of Vin from Perfect Windows it will soon bring you back down to earth and
less inclined to lecture others on how to price.
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I suggest you take a look at the website of Vin from Perfect Windows it will soon bring you back down to earth and
less inclined to lecture others on how to price.
Again there you go.
My thread is to encourage ones to periodically put prices up so customers are aware of at least the going rates of window cleaners. To get a good price because it can be done even when the market is saturated or in poorer economical towns/villages. I even acknowledge different pricing structures depending where you are, as in southampton in vins case that you point out. I would however dry clean point out somebody else's prices who isnt 180 odd miles away from where im based.
As in my last quote " its business not personal" why do you seem to take this personal Dry clean
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I suggest you take a look at the website of Vin from Perfect Windows it will soon bring you back down to earth and
less inclined to lecture others on how to price.
Again there you go.
My thread is to encourage ones to periodically put prices up so customers are aware of at least the going rates of window cleaners. To get a good price because it can be done even when the market is saturated or in poorer economical towns/villages. I even acknowledge different pricing structures depending where you are, as in southampton in vins case that you point out. I would however dry clean point out somebody else's prices who isnt 180 odd miles away from where im based.
As in my last quote " its business not personal" why do you seem to take this personal Dry clean
No Nathan its not personal its a discussion on a forum, your accusing other shiners of keeping the prices low and ruining the
business in your area to the point where it angers you, my point is how do you know you couldn't be getting Vin's prices or at least better than your getting, if so are you not just another low priced shiner ruining the prices for somebody else ?
Yes you have upped your prices and improved your business, excellent but don't let it go to your head.
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I suggest you take a look at the website of Vin from Perfect Windows it will soon bring you back down to earth and
less inclined to lecture others on how to price.
Again there you go.
My thread is to encourage ones to periodically put prices up so customers are aware of at least the going rates of window cleaners. To get a good price because it can be done even when the market is saturated or in poorer economical towns/villages. I even acknowledge different pricing structures depending where you are, as in southampton in vins case that you point out. I would however dry clean point out somebody else's prices who isnt 180 odd miles away from where im based.
As in my last quote " its business not personal" why do you seem to take this personal Dry clean
No Nathan its not personal its a discussion on a forum, your accusing other shiners of keeping the prices low and ruining the
business in your area to the point where it angers you, my point is how do you know you couldn't be getting Vin's prices or at least better than your getting, if so are you not just another low priced shiner ruining the prices for somebody else ?
Yes you have upped your prices and improved your business, excellent but don't let it go to your head.
Fair comment.....
Just like to add though, alot of my taking more of a business stance on my work is to a certain degree, partly down to discussions on here. I may be lower compared to someone else, thats a fair point and perhaps next price increase or new work i might have to go even higher if its possible. 😁😁
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Everytime you get better paying work drop the dross or say to the lower paying one it'll be X now even if it means doubling it,I wouldn't become sentimental about it like you say your trying to improve things. No loyalty in business they'll lose no sleep if they just want a cheap job,imo there's more to it than price trust and whether they like having you round there property goes a lot further than being a few quid cheaper than the local tracksuit wearing shiner.
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Woah...
OK I'm going to add my little thing here and put some figures up...oh no wait for the abuse..
Nathan, stop.worrying about what other window cleaners are charging. Let them drive each others prices down, try to separate yourself from them by keeping to your word, doing a thorough job, and make it as easy as possible for your customers to use the service. Now is not time for complacency.
1. Be polite and smile
2. Do the job on time
3. Leave your bill (I don't take cash from customers, I let them settle online even if they are in) I have recently set up a merchant account and card reader so I can take credit card payments if they want.
4 return on the agreed date.
These are all good ways to lock your customer into your service, and setup a direct debit with those busy types.
I also have a number of customers who pay me upfront for the year, that's a good lock in and I just subtract the labour from the balance.
It its pretty cutthroatat the moment, but you know Nathan it's like this everywhere. Even estate agents are getting a hammering with the advent of fixed price advertising for property sales.
My prices are a bit on the high side, but my min price is £20 for regular work, and £50 for one offs; that's quite competitive, yet not low like £8 a chap that charges round the corner from me and he is really busy off his feet.
Me I can do 12 jobs on a day and clear more than 300 leptons as they are all 20 30 40 or 50 lepton jobs, usually large houses.
OK here come the bs callers... ::)roll
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At last someone speaks sense,couldn't agree more.
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Ok now im confused ;D ;D
Where on this thread have i said im worried about competitors or loosing work that im worried about or how to keep hold of customers etc.
This forum is about discussions and help i thought. Every time price gets brought into the mix it explodes on here! Yet ones have said so so many times that they have low prices due to competition or this excuse or that excuse. If we show on here that, that is rubbish and you can aim higher it might stop ones from being scared or apprehensive about doing so.
If we dont and stay quiet, it be like the supermarket wars with the likes of aldi and pound stretchers taking over the market. Yes its good for competition but would you like to see them eventually take over
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Why would it be weird talking to my mates customers just because my mate cleans houses I don't I still know a lot of folks that a few of my windy mates do .but for your info I didn't know this customer I was doing windows on my local Ford garage and this lady started ranting on about my mate I didn't tell her I new him because she would have stopped talking about it .I got as much info as I could so I could let my mate know the situation
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Why would it be weird talking to my mates customers just because my mate cleans houses I don't I still know a lot of folks that a few of my windy mates do .but for your info I didn't know this customer I was doing windows on my local Ford garage and this lady started ranting on about my mate I didn't tell her I new him because she would have stopped talking about it .I got as much info as I could so I could let my mate know the situation
Eh?.
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Eh what
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
To make you fell better I charge a min of £65 for an end of tenancy one-off exterior window clean, 65 min for a gutter check & clear, 65 for a fsg clean, 600 min for a render clean, 250 min for a driveway clean etc. That's the main reason why I chose not to have a large window cleaning round. Not only that I would hate having to just clean glass all day long and have no spare time for anything else more profitable..
Do you get all the jobs you quote for smurf?
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It's up to you to sort out your prices, Nathan, not other wc'ers.
If you're taking over another round you should be prepared for it.
If someone wants to charge a fiver then it's nowt to do with you. You're not ranting for their benefit, it's to make your life easier.
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you cant expect customers to just swallow a £5 price rise nathan.your bound to get cancellations.i know another window cleaner who also lost quite a few upping them so much as he moaned to me about it! ;D
my price rises this year have been £1-£2 increases on around 200 mainly 4 weekly accounts.had one go to 8 weekly but otherwise no problems.my other work stays at the same price.this is ok as this rise was purely to cover my van lease payments every month.
my customers who ve been with me for a long time have seen a steady rise in me getting better vans,equipment,stationary,logo d uniform etc,etc and i think most are glad that im doing ok as some remember me driving rusty old bangers,holes in my shoes and well worn cloth pockets! ;D
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Eh what
Eh Awww
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you cant expect customers to just swallow a £5 price rise nathan.your bound to get cancellations.i know another window cleaner who also lost quite a few upping them so much as he moaned to me about it! ;D
my price rises this year have been £1-£2 increases on around 200 mainly 4 weekly accounts.had one go to 8 weekly but otherwise no problems.my other work stays at the same price.this is ok as this rise was purely to cover my van lease payments every month.
my customers who ve been with me for a long time have seen a steady rise in me getting better vans,equipment,stationary,logo d uniform etc,etc and i think most are glad that im doing ok as some remember me driving rusty old bangers,holes in my shoes and well worn cloth pockets! ;D
I do have to admit Nathan £5 price rise is a bug wack in one go
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A minimum of a fiver.
Bigger than a 50% increase by my reckoning.
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If prices are that bad you have just got to explain why the price needs to go up so much I had 3 or 4 exactly the same I put them up by £5 and they are all tight fisted ones , when I explained why they all accepted it , however if they haddent I was quite happy to loose them and get better paying jobs . as I canvass new work at better prices I try and put up the cheaper jobs or just dump them bad payers , dog poo , difficult access etc
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I was on a toilet cleaners forum earlier - it's the same over there, prices have gone down the pan, it's crap!
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If prices are that bad you have just got to explain why the price needs to go up so much I had 3 or 4 exactly the same I put them up by £5 and they are all tight fisted ones , when I explained why they all accepted it , however if they haddent I was quite happy to loose them and get better paying jobs . as I canvass new work at better prices I try and put up the cheaper jobs or just dump them bad payers , dog poo , difficult access etc
Thats exactly right, hence my flyers that i posted on another thread to explain my price increase.
Yes be prepared to loose some, ss ive said soo many times now. Im guessing people are not reading all the other posts.
Yes put prices up gradually each year, thats the point because if not they the customers get used to such low prices that in the end, if your not brave to increase them n maybe loose some, then you are stuck!!
Yes a 5 pound increase is steep, but in 20 years these people have had only 2 price increases and so its more of a shock to them. I understand that obviously and if i loose ones than good because they are cheap skates. But i cannot justify cleaning a house as shown in the picture for 15 and in a posh area a house 3 times the size for about the same price. So would you rather me lower the 15 to justify it or increase the posh ones, by 1 or 2 quid,,,, now your having a laugh
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I had a customer who cancelled, £35 8 weekly. Including two rear roof velux windows, approx 20min job. We had been doing them for about 3 years.
Email sample as follows:
"Hi Tom,
I hope you are well! We have just received your messages (we were on holiday) and indeed your email actually landed in my junk folder! Please accept my apologies for this huge delay in payment.I also would like to cancel your services going forwards, as a family member of one of my colleagues has offered me a great quote of £15 per cleaning session which also includes cleaning the gutters."
My reply
"Hello Mr Customer
Thank you for the email. Yes they are the correct bank details.
I would question how someone could work so cheaply though? Over the 10 years I have been in business the cheap window cleaners don't normally hang around.. It may be worth checking he has adequate insurance for the services he provides and also the correct equipment to do the job properly, including cleaning the velux windows on the rear roof of your house - if in the event of an accident or something being broken is he covered? With prices as low as his I wonder if he can pay for insurance and the correct equipment to do a professional job.
Thank you for your custom over the years, it has been a please to deal with you."
I still can't believe someone could charge that small amount for the work including the gutters! However, they are probably earning more now than they were before. Maybe in a while it will be one of those jobs he hates doing, if he's still about.
I didn't get angry though. What I did do was go canvassing one afternoon and got one recommendation: 6 jobs at an average of £41.83 per clean all 8 weekly. 4 signed up to GoCardless, one old couple cheque and one BACS. I could have thought 'crap there's cheaper window cleaners about I need to quote lower' but I quoted higher, there's a market for it it just takes persistence and professionalism. Some cheaper ones come and go like they always have. Some cheaper ones stay and are happy with what they've got. Others will stack out loads of work at cheaper prices because they need to keep employees busy all the time. Each to their own. My customers are always getting leaflets/cards through from other window cleaners, if they go then so be it, I'll go canvassing again.
Don't worry about what others are doing.
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Didn't realise how long that post was until I posted it - sorry got lost in my head for a while - keyboard warrior!
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If I took on a customer from some crap window cleaner I still wouldn't do it for the old price he charged, I have a minimum pricing I adhere to and refuse to do any new customers below that price and in return I'm reliable, regular, leave a bill to get paid online unless they insist on paying cash there and then and turn up regular and almost to the same time of day as before, so they are expecting me on a regular basis and are happy recommending me to friends and family, works for me :) Haven't advertised for about fifteen years and wouldn't want to as that's when you pick up all the crap customers from dropped accounts.
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Good posts.
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
To make you fell better I charge a min of £65 for an end of tenancy one-off exterior window clean, 65 min for a gutter check & clear, 65 for a fsg clean, 600 min for a render clean, 250 min for a driveway clean etc. That's the main reason why I chose not to have a large window cleaning round. Not only that I would hate having to just clean glass all day long and have no spare time for anything else more profitable..
Do you get all the jobs you quote for smurf?
Currently works out about 90%.
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Does anybody on here go for the more expensive van insurance, and when they put your premiums up, say "fair enough, they've got costs and it's just business"..?
If customers want or are used to cheaper prices then it's fair enough, and if a w/c is happy at doing jobs for a fiver then it's fair enough imo
There's chaps around here that a way cheaper than me but they're happy at what they get. On the flip side there's also a w/c' on one specific estate I work on where he's charging around £10 more per house than me (he's got next to no work on the estate mind)
As long as the individuals happy then do what? All been going long enough now to know what they're doing
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lots of window cleaners just about scratch a living together doing this job.i know as i was one of them for many years! ;D
i do a little bit better these days because im not the cheapest window cleaner in town anymore! ;)
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If someone cancels I let them walk with no explanation about why the other guy might be cheaper. It's all second guessing anyway, and comes across as sour grapes.
Let em go.
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If someone cancels I let them walk with no explanation about why the other guy might be cheaper. It's all second guessing anyway, and comes across as sour grapes.
Let em go.
yep i agree and its not very professional IMO.
remember customers have no obligation to you at all.they can cancel at any time.i try and price fair for both me and the customer(without ripping them off!)but they still sometimes switch to another cleaner whos cheaper.(or just not bother having a window cleaner at all).
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If someone cancels I let them walk with no explanation about why the other guy might be cheaper. It's all second guessing anyway, and comes across as sour grapes.
Let em go.
yep i agree and its not very professional IMO.
remember customers have no obligation to you at all.they can cancel at any time.i try and price fair for both me and the customer(without ripping them off!)but they still sometimes switch to another cleaner whos cheaper.(or just not bother having a window cleaner at all).
I agree and normally just leave it and move on, but that was so cheap for all the work that I wanted to make him think if he will actually get a decent job by someone who is insured.
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I've said the same hang on to your jewellery I hope he comes back at that price is he insured the lost goes on,sometimes you just feel you want to get your point across.
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Regards to pricing what some custards may think is cheap others may think it's expensive so you can't bloody win. lol
If you have pre-conceived ideas of what custards are willing to pay because of what others charge then you are not really doing yourself any favours.
I never prejudge and go in what I want for the job and not what I think they are willing to pay. After saying that on what grounds do you base a so say "reasonable price" as many will be willing to pay more but if you don't ask how will you ever know.
It also winds me up if you happen to be more expensive than others you are then so say "ripping people off". To give a higher quote for a job peeps can either say yes or no without twisting their arm surely?
Selling on price alone is no good for anyone apart for those custards that want a cheap job done.
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I've said the same hang on to your jewellery I hope he comes back at that price is he insured the lost goes on,sometimes you just feel you want to get your point across.
That's not getting your point across that just making a fool out of yourself, if I was the customer I would be thinking well rid,
plus if I was the other shiner hearing that you were spreading rumours and lies about my character then I wouldn't be long
doing the same to yours, others may take a more violent approach. (roll eyes)
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I've said the same hang on to your jewellery I hope he comes back at that price is he insured the lost goes on,sometimes you just feel you want to get your point across.
That's not getting your point across that just making a fool out of yourself, if I was the customer I would be thinking well rid,
plus if I was the other shiner hearing that you were spreading rumours and lies about my character then I wouldn't be long
doing the same to yours, others may take a more violent approach. (roll eyes)
I can understand it can be frustrating at times dealing with jo public but I would never slag anyone off as just makes you look like a plonker. If you cant win the work by selling yourself as someone wants to get it done cheaper then best to thank them for their time and just walk away.
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I know someone who when he went onto wfp actually reduced his prices because he was quicker at doing the job. HE reduced them, not the customers. I personnally dont understand that mentality. I wish car companies did same when they became automated and increased their productivity. But funny thing is,,,,they didnt.
I saw a white van other day with a sign in windows.
"Please dont break in and steal my tools. I need them to make my living and to pay for your benefits!!"
Made me chuckle and thought i might adapt that somehow.....perhaps along lines of "i have a minimum charge of £x because this is my livelihood and not charging you double in way of you oaying for my dole money or benefits"
They may like my price increases then perhaps ;D ;D ;D
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Car companies did reduce price when they became automated that's why they are cheaper now than the have ever been, in business its known as reducing price to sell more making bigger profits with more sales, many companies have to reduce prices to compete, fortunately for most of us in window cleaning at this moment in time that isn't the case.
Nathan I'm going to let you in on a secrete, most if not all shiners have a minimum price, its not because they need it to make a living its there to cover the costs and minimum work you have to do with every job.
For instance yours is a tenner, another guy who doesn't need a web site, hot water, nuclear resin, Vision, PPB filtering, customer texting, monthly paid software to keep track of a few hundred customers, every new gadget that enters the market and so on may only need a £7 minimum charge and could still have more in the hip pocket at the end of the year.
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Another way of looking at it I suppose is say for example you have 300 at 7 a pop on your books. I'm sure most would rather have 150 at 14 a pop instead and do half the work for the same reward.
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And so the tide changes again
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Tell us how many you have lost by the end of next month and we shall see if the tide has changed or not.
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Another way of looking at it I suppose is say for example you have 300 at 7 a pop on your books. I'm sure most would rather have 150 at 14 a pop instead and do half the work for the same reward.
Exactly, that's the problem with pricing it doesn't matter what we charge there's always that doubt, could I get more.
I'm sure we have all had them, customers who look at you as if you're Dick Turpin and others that accept your offer as if they have just got the bargain of the year, its not easy to work out if have got it right on price or not.
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Best ones are when you don't really want the job for whatever reason so put in a silly high price thinking that would put them off.
Next thing you know they are snapping your bloody hand off...Oh ffs I should have quoted more. lol
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The trick is to ignore what the customer gives off be it good or bad you need to get what you want for the job your pricing,we've all done those jobs that you think i should be getting another 10-20 quid for this. You'll end up having to do another job to make up the loss on the previous one you've just cleaned,this is why i have said in the past about the fact i don't mind doing those double doors in and out for nothing or cleaning half a dozen roof panels while up there for nothing etc,if you get what you want for each job your attitude changes slightly. Your ideal work should be not having to rush in and out of the van from job to job be able to not have to bother working in the rain,it's true if you get all jobs you quote your to cheap or your prices have remained stagnant.
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It's really funny. I had a chap approach me today asking for my details.
He couldn't get any window cleaners to even call him back. Either they are so busy they simply cannot do it, or they just can't be bothered. And these were ones that were put through his door.
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You often here WCs say I'm getting loads of enquiries I've got so much work I haven't the time to do it all,I wonder if you sit down and see how much of the work is at the price you think it should be. I find I get the most calls and stops in the street from now end of march through till the end of July,most of these people either want it done once or twice a year or want a one off.
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You often here WCs say I'm getting loads of enquiries I've got so much work I haven't the time to do it all,I wonder if you sit down and see how much of the work is at the price you think it should be. I find I get the most calls and stops in the street from now end of march through till the end of July,most of these people either want it done once or twice a year or want a one off.
Yeah that's right.
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A recommendation is different they will already know your reliable and that you'll be wanting to do it on a regular basis,I don't know any established WCs that do one offs what's the point if you have regular good paying work,if I see sign writing on a WCs van that says one offs to me it says it all I'll clean anything or I could do with the work.
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It's really funny. I had a chap approach me today asking for my details.
He couldn't get any window cleaners to even call him back. Either they are so busy they simply cannot do it, or they just can't be bothered. And these were ones that were put through his door.
That's the type of story you usually get from a messer, in other words he now finding it hard to find a shiner that doesn't
know him.
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
To make you fell better I charge a min of £65 for an end of tenancy one-off exterior window clean, 65 min for a gutter check & clear, 65 for a fsg clean, 600 min for a render clean, 250 min for a driveway clean etc. That's the main reason why I chose not to have a large window cleaning round. Not only that I would hate having to just clean glass all day long and have no spare time for anything else more profitable..
Do you get all the jobs you quote for smurf?
Currently works out about 90%.
You're too cheap then
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Whatever price I charge in each street, every time I lose one and replace it I always charge them an extra quid, do it every time :) I look at it is a natural pay rise :)
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For instance this house im just cleaning, the front has four windows and the back you can see.
Its in a little village thats been hit with pit closures and the like but this house is £15.
The snobby tight peoples houses are twice if not 3 times the size and are paying roughly the same if not less.
But explaining that logic to them doesnt work or the fact that some are paying less than what i charge a cleaning a dingy community hut in the same area for.
It drives me mad how some people charge silly silly prices. Arrrrrhhhh
To make you fell better I charge a min of £65 for an end of tenancy one-off exterior window clean, 65 min for a gutter check & clear, 65 for a fsg clean, 600 min for a render clean, 250 min for a driveway clean etc. That's the main reason why I chose not to have a large window cleaning round. Not only that I would hate having to just clean glass all day long and have no spare time for anything else more profitable..
Do you get all the jobs you quote for smurf?
Currently works out about 90%.
You're too cheap then
Could well be who knows. lol
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makes me laugh all this talk of "your too cheap". ;D
at the end of the day you can charge what you like its your business!no one elses!if you want to charge cheaper prices in certain areas to gain a monopoly in an area then so be it.i do this on my ultra compact work to stop other window cleaners gaining more work on them.2 estates i clean nearly every house(85+ on one and 70+ on the other).there is still 4 OTHER WINDOW CLEANERS CLEANING ON THERE.one has got a large house i used to clean (then new owners moved in and "imported" their last WC).the other 3 companies have picked up 3 or 4 houses each from either not liking wfp or ive dumped them for messing me about.
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True you can charge what you like but when you say your doing them cheaper than other WCs or doing them cheaper so they don't muscle in you are doing them for less than you usually would do,like you say that's up to you it's your work although it's not something I would do. I do 4 houses in a road I clean them for 2 1/2 times the other WCs charge they still stick with me,they even say I wouldn't expect him to do a proper job for that price they know how much he charges he's canvassed them but they won't switch,price isn't everything you get what you pay for.
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You might think your customers are happy about price increase but your wrong this is to the ones that do it every year .a mate of mine keeps putting his prices up but one of his customers have told me that she isn't happy about it and the next increase he's down the road and it's not just her it's most of the customers in the same area
`Don't focus your business to please the one moaner, gear it the to please the 99.9% who will pay for a good job.
Focus on moaners and you will soon have a book full and a pee`d off work life. If you want to help moaner give them a tenner each and see if this makes you feel any better.
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I put mine up every few years who puts there's up every year on here then.
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True you can charge what you like but when you say your doing them cheaper than other WCs or doing them cheaper so they don't muscle in you are doing them for less than you usually would do,like you say that's up to you it's your work although it's not something I would do. I do 4 houses in a road I clean them for 2 1/2 times the other WCs charge they still stick with me,they even say I wouldn't expect him to do a proper job for that price they know how much he charges he's canvassed them but they won't switch,price isn't everything you get what you pay for.
what im saying mate is the very compact estate work is slightly cheaper than other work in other areas because i literally hardly move the van for 4 days on each.most of this work is 4 weekly and yes it keeps other window cleaners from gaining any other work on there.i pick up quite a lot of add ons on these estates too which is extra income in spring/summer. :)
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True you can charge what you like but when you say your doing them cheaper than other WCs or doing them cheaper so they don't muscle in you are doing them for less than you usually would do,like you say that's up to you it's your work although it's not something I would do. I do 4 houses in a road I clean them for 2 1/2 times the other WCs charge they still stick with me,they even say I wouldn't expect him to do a proper job for that price they know how much he charges he's canvassed them but they won't switch,price isn't everything you get what you pay for.
Exactly. Im fortunate as two sections of my round i have the monopoly yet unlike daz im the highest priced worker to what im aware off. But im also the longest running cleaner there as well and they all know me quite well and i have a very good reputation. (Not blowing my own trumpet), so by offering a cheap price and thinking no one else can muscle in, doesnt always work
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True you can charge what you like but when you say your doing them cheaper than other WCs or doing them cheaper so they don't muscle in you are doing them for less than you usually would do,like you say that's up to you it's your work although it's not something I would do. I do 4 houses in a road I clean them for 2 1/2 times the other WCs charge they still stick with me,they even say I wouldn't expect him to do a proper job for that price they know how much he charges he's canvassed them but they won't switch,price isn't everything you get what you pay for.
Exactly. Im fortunate as two sections of my round i have the monopoly yet unlike daz im the highest priced worker to what im aware off. But im also the longest running cleaner there as well and they all know me quite well and i have a very good reputation. (Not blowing my own trumpet), so by offering a cheap price and thinking no one else can muscle in, doesnt always work
i bet you re still not turning over £40k+ a year like me though working virtually part time hours. :)
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True you can charge what you like but when you say your doing them cheaper than other WCs or doing them cheaper so they don't muscle in you are doing them for less than you usually would do,like you say that's up to you it's your work although it's not something I would do. I do 4 houses in a road I clean them for 2 1/2 times the other WCs charge they still stick with me,they even say I wouldn't expect him to do a proper job for that price they know how much he charges he's canvassed them but they won't switch,price isn't everything you get what you pay for.
Exactly. Im fortunate as two sections of my round i have the monopoly yet unlike daz im the highest priced worker to what im aware off. But im also the longest running cleaner there as well and they all know me quite well and i have a very good reputation. (Not blowing my own trumpet), so by offering a cheap price and thinking no one else can muscle in, doesnt always work
i bet you re still not turning over £40k+ a year like me though working virtually part time hours. :)
Kinda do work part time buddy and turnover is interesting, as its the net im more fussed about as in how low i can get my turnover from having to pay taxman my easy.....i mean hard earnt money 😉😉
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we all still work hard for our money though nathan.the actual window cleaning hours might be shorter than a lot of jobs but then theres the unpaid stuff(admin,water production,chasing debts,sorting van out etc).no holiday/sick pay etc.
have a good weekend mate. :)
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we all still work hard for our money though nathan.the actual window cleaning hours might be shorter than a lot of jobs but then theres the unpaid stuff(admin,water production,chasing debts,sorting van out etc).no holiday/sick pay etc.
have a good weekend mate. :)
Yep, all the downsides of being self employed. Now thats the hard work of our jobs, especially paper/electronic work.
As much as i love how i work now, its taken a good many years to get to this point and plenty of hard work as well. I have well established rounds and built a healthy reputation and i consider myself lucky in doing so. For anyone starting off i appreciate it will or can be much much harder, but thats why i feel ones shouldnt let pride perhaps stop them from taking the advice on this thread and the forum (esp on pricing) on board. And not to take it too personnally. Ive adapted and said many a times that ive done so due to reading/contributing on this forum.
Ditto, have a good wknd to one n all.
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Word has it that the new pound coin is shaped so you can use a spanner to get it out of a Yorkshireman's hand. ;D