Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Dean ballinger on November 23, 2018, 09:46:55 pm
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Hi this is my first ever post
Ive maxed out the amount of work me and my work mate can do out of one van
We clean the round of £ 8000 every 4 weeks ,
To make room for more work and more profite I’m thinking of changing my cleans from 4 weeks to 8 weeks only and raising the prices 50%
Then getting my canvasser to fill in the free work days with 8 week only jobs at the higher rate
Has any one done this or can you fellow Windy’s find any fault ??
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Why don’t you get a second van and work separately. You’d be capable of doing 40-50% more. Other than that I think 8 weekly is better (obviously), but you may lose a few ofcourse.
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Iv had workers out in the past when we were traditional cleaners and it didn’t go well soon as there out on there own the problems start,
We work good as a team just need to find a way to
Make room for more work now and as we’re water fed pole cleaners now the windows are staying cleaner for longer, so if I can get the existing customers to have it cleaned less often at a higher rate would make room for more customers and more pay
I’m sure some would not like the change and cancelle but I’m hoping it would be worth it with the scope of growth this could achieve for 1 van
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If I could start again, I would only offer 8 weekly and 12 weekly. Go for it , you’ll make money money for less work. in fact il be offering all my customers the option to switch after Christmas
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Iv had workers out in the past when we were traditional cleaners and it didn’t go well soon as there out on there own the problems start,
We work good as a team just need to find a way to
Make room for more work now and as we’re water fed pole cleaners now the windows are staying cleaner for longer, so if I can get the existing customers to have it cleaned less often at a higher rate would make room for more customers and more pay
I’m sure some would not like the change and cancelle but I’m hoping it would be worth it with the scope of growth this could achieve for 1 van
Heres what I think you should do.
1. Keep your customers as they are but from now on offer 4 and 8 weekly option, more expensive if they choose 8. Dont think all your "existing" customers will be happy with a 50% price rise.
2. Get another van and split the work so you can do more each day as 8 weekly just said above.
3. Sorry to be blunt but do a better job of running your business with staff so you simply dont have the problems you mentioned. Put systems and rules in place for them. Works fine for me.
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Put yourself in the customers shoes.........
A £15 a month current price becomes £22.50 every time you show up, and they have to wait for about 4 weeks with dirty windows.
If it would work for you then go for it. You’d be surprised though how many people would have their windows cleaned every 2 weeks if you offered it. 8 weeks a long frequency when they have been used to 4 weeks.
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Hi this is my first ever post
Ive maxed out the amount of work me and my work mate can do out of one van
We clean the round of £ 8000 every 4 weeks ,
To make room for more work and more profite I’m thinking of changing my cleans from 4 weeks to 8 weeks only and raising the prices 50%
Then getting my canvasser to fill in the free work days with 8 week only jobs at the higher rate
Has any one done this or can you fellow Windy’s find any fault ??
Not a bad income per year, but if you divide it up I suppose it’s about £200 per man per day , two people working in one van will never be the best way of working money wise , as has already been said for maximum profit one man per van is the way to go , I would guess if you put up prices by 50% you will loose a lot of customers , we are mainly 4 weekly with some 8 weekly stuff but a lot of our work is costal and 8 weekly is to long between cleans after 4 weeks you struggle to see through a lot of them , why not try putting up your prices a bit right across the board and leave the frequency as it is
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I think I could offer the existing customers the option of the 8 weekly cleans at a hire rate and explain they would be paying less for there window cleaning yearly this way and see how many bite , and tell my canvasser only take on new work 8 weekly at higher rate and see how he does with selling that.
Then a second van is a must by the sounds of it to increase the amount we can both get done daily I’ll just have to set some rules and targets as adviced by you guys
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If I was you I would go 6 weekly it’s the perfect period, Windows are just starting to get dirty, if you have great weather you can still squeeze some in after 5 weeks and they wouldn’t notice, I pick up loads of work because I offer 6 weekly
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If I was you I would go 6 weekly it’s the perfect period, Windows are just starting to get dirty, if you have great weather you can still squeeze some in after 5 weeks and they wouldn’t notice, I pick up loads of work because I offer 6 weekly
I'm with you on that one Jonny,
People tend to like the 6 weekly interval as it saves them money long term.
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I do 4 and 8
try to charge 8s more, but its surprising how many would rather do 4 for a tenner than 8 for say 15, they just see the cheaper price.
A lot i will try to sell the 8 weekly and explain it works out cheaper but they just dont get it, they only see 10 or 15 lol
Having 4 and 8 weeklys starts to become a headache after a while, in theory they would all fall in line with the 4s in the same areas but of course if you are delayed at all with the 4s the 8s become due when not in that area.
I would, if i could start again offer 6 weekly only and price somewhere in the middle. much easier to organise
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Yes if I started again I’d go 6 and 12 weekly
For the op I would consider this and add in a 5 to 10% rise then all new customers would be at the new rate - this is based on info given
Otherwise I’d follow lee’s advice
Darran
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As I stated above I clean every 6 weeks but do need the weather on side to achieve this, all new work which is a normal 3-4 bed house I quote at £20 minimum as I’m not bothered if I get it or not, however I seem to get 90% of what I quote, once u have a good compact round the aim is to work less but earn the same money each year as u get older
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Hi this is my first ever post
Ive maxed out the amount of work me and my work mate can do out of one van
We clean the round of £ 8000 every 4 weeks ,
To make room for more work and more profite I’m thinking of changing my cleans from 4 weeks to 8 weeks only and raising the prices 50%
Then getting my canvasser to fill in the free work days with 8 week only jobs at the higher rate
Has any one done this or can you fellow Windy’s find any fault ??
its a good income...you dont split the money in half though do you?
id leave them at the same frequency...nothing wrong with 4 weekly if you making that sort of money,just only offer new work at a higher price and longer frequency (8 weekly) so you can keep up.....
id also raise prices a little...you can afford to lose a few if your crammed full with work.....
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What ever way you do it, your excising customers wont like much of an increase in price. Give the customers the option. Some will do it.
Over it for all new customers
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I agree with all the above, if it were me:
1. I'd put all my 4 weekly prices up; not a lot, just a bit, an increase for every customer. This gives you more income, but more importantly, also offers an opportunity to 'offer 8 weekly cleans', for a further slight increase. Don't go 50% more (not on existing customers) I think you're pushing it a bit. Negotiate a price that is 'fair'.
2. Look at the 'status quo'.
You may have lost some customers (due to the 4 weekly slight increase).
Most customers would have accepted the 4 weekly slight increase, and some customers will now be on 8 weekly at an even more favourable rate. If you're good then you could have converted say 40% to 8 weekly.
3. You need 2 vans. 1 man in each.
My van was in for a service yesterday, so I helped out a mate and we did 2 up on his round. You can't earn twice the money as 1 man. We did have a good laugh though!
4. Any new customers, just offer 8 weekly at a higher price, but again, a price that is fair and reasonable. You'll have a shortfall of work now, so you still need to build the round.
You will find that mixing 4 and 8 weekly will be a pain at times.
I only offer 8 weekly but have ended up doing 4, 6 and 12 also. I'm a soft touch and they are lovely people and it's only for about 20 custies. As much as they are all lovely custies, it does annoy me, trying to fit them into my 'perfectly planned schedule'! lol.
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I do every 6 wks and 12wks works well.
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You will lose work if you raise them up 50% the clean doesn’t take much longer on that frequency if at all,I would raise the price 15-20% max 2 monthly like monthly soon comes round quickly in there eyes.
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I’ve been following this thread with interest as I have a round where the majority of my customers want a 4 weekly clean. Every now and then I’ll get a customer that wants to go to a less frequent clean. My question is: How do you explain the price increase to those that want to change to a less frequent cleaning cycle?
I’ve had mixed responses from customers over the years. Some seem to understand and expect it without question. Others however, seem genuinely surprised when they request a less frequent clean, and don’t seem to get it at all when you increase the price even when you explain that overall they’re making a considerable saving.
Just wondered how some of you explain it.
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I say your windows will be dirtier so I will use more filtered water which will reflect the price but works out cheaper over the year compared to monthly.
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I’ve been following this thread with interest as I have a round where the majority of my customers want a 4 weekly clean. Every now and then I’ll get a customer that wants to go to a less frequent clean. My question is: How do you explain the price increase to those that want to change to a less frequent cleaning cycle?
I’ve had mixed responses from customers over the years. Some seem to understand and expect it without question. Others however, seem genuinely surprised when they request a less frequent clean, and don’t seem to get it at all when you increase the price even when you explain that overall they’re making a considerable saving.
Just wondered how some of you explain it.
I'm with Shrek
Just say, "the four weekly price is £18.
I can do them every 8 weeks if you fancy, but they get more dirty, take longer to clean and use more water, so the price is £22.
But that is £22 every TWO MONTHS"
I always like to reiterate the 8 weeks (2 months) bit.
If they don't understand that then bye bye!
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I always pitch it this way...
8 wky price - example £25. 4 wky price £20.
I always say the 8 week clean is standard frequency and is 25 quid however if you want 4 wky we discount the price to 20 quid
that way the customer feels they are 1 - getting a deal and 2 - if at any time they change to 8 week clean they already know the price will be more than 4 week clean
before doing it this way I used to be awkward getting the higher price when changing from 4 to 8 weeks
Darran
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I always pitch it this way...
8 wky price - example £25. 4 wky price £20.
I always say the 8 week clean is standard frequency and is 25 quid however if you want 4 wky we discount the price to 20 quid
that way the customer feels they are 1 - getting a deal and 2 - if at any time they change to 8 week clean they already know the price will be more than 4 week clean
before doing it this way I used to be awkward getting the higher price when changing from 4 to 8 weeks
Darran
Do you still get much 4 weekly work quoting this way?
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It’s a psychological thing , when someone hears that the majority of people are doing something, then the person will choose to go with the majority
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I say your windows will be dirtier so I will use more filtered water which will reflect the price but works out cheaper over the year compared to monthly.
This. Plus "they will take longer to do". So add at what you can but at least 20%.
Now some other windies may say "hardly any longer, Malc". But they do at certain times. More snail trails to get rid of, more spiders nests to get out, top frames needing to be done (with attendant dripping) every time instead of every other time, cills may need three to five wipes instead of one or two.
So in fact a 20 minute house MIGHT take 22 minutes or even 25 minutes. So you are about 10 to 20% down on what you could do. Working from £250 that means you could be "only" getting (say) £220 in a day. Over 15 days working in a month that's £450 ...
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a few years ago i had a job that needed a price rise so i put them up £2.he wasnt happy and said he wanted to go 8 weekly from 4 weekly,so i said ok but that would be £2 more on top of the £2 price rise...he slammed the door in my face and stormed off in a huff........
that was around 7 years ago.before the price rise he seemed a nice chap and always stopped to say hello and have a little chat....i still see him most months when im cleaning all his neighbours houses but he keeps his head down now and ignores me.... ::)roll
its not as if im charging rip off prices for these properties and was being totally fair with him......its as if some people dont realise that your running a business to make money,not a charity! ::)roll
thankfully these sorts of customers(or ex customers) are very few and far between......
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a few years ago i had a job that needed a price rise so i put them up £2.he wasnt happy and said he wanted to go 8 weekly from 4 weekly,so i said ok but that would be £2 more on top of the £2 price rise...he slammed the door in my face and stormed off in a huff........
that was around 7 years ago.before the price rise he seemed a nice chap and always stopped to say hello and have a little chat....i still see him most months when im cleaning all his neighbours houses but he keeps his head down now and ignores me.... ::)roll
its not as if im charging rip off prices for these properties and was being totally fair with him......its as if some people dont realise that your running a business to make money,not a charity! ::)roll
thankfully these sorts of customers(or ex customers) are very few and far between......
Yeah, I’ve had the same experience. It’s certainly helpful if they know ahead of time that the price per clean will go up if they choose a less frequent clean. What surprises me is that they don’t seem to be able to work out that they are still making a considerable saving.
I certainly appreciate the input of you all on this.
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That’s why every quote I give, I give them 3 prices from the beginning and offer them 3 frequencies. Iv had a few start off on monthly and then ask for every other month and expect the increase with no issues
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That’s why every quote I give, I give them 3 prices from the beginning and offer them 3 frequencies. Iv had a few start off on monthly and then ask for every other month and expect the increase with no issues
any new customers in certain areas of my work get the choice of 4 or 8 weekly,others its 6 weekly or 12 weekly as i offer 4 different frequencies depending on area.....
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I do 6 & 12 weekly (mainly 6). The longer interval is a a third more (rounded up to next £).
Mind you, I have had well-priced work where they change to 12 weeks and I've made the increase much smaller.
I used to add 50% if they changed but decided that was a little on the high side. A third usually keeps them onside.
There was a time I wouldn't even supply the service if they wanted to switch, unless the job was at least £50, but that was before I starting charging more for it. I decided it was silly throwing work away when I could make more money from it.