Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: vivaro 013 on July 01, 2006, 09:11:13 am
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customer rang me up telling me he was not happy with my window cleaning.
He was happy with the glass ive cleaned , but not happy with white upvc windows frames muck left on them , this chap had never had a window cleaner before, he cancelled the work i did for him , only charged him £9.00 for 11 windows and 1 bay. This chap thought i would clean down all windows frames as well, any body had this problem
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Do what I do, always give them two prices,
one for just the windows, and the other for windows and frames, they mostly go for frames aswell, this way you can earn more money, and at least everyone knows what is included in the price.
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customer rang me up telling me he was not happy with my window cleaning.
He was happy with the glass ive cleaned , but not happy with white upvc windows frames muck left on them , this chap had never had a window cleaner before, he cancelled the work i did for him , only charged him £9.00 for 11 windows and 1 bay. This chap thought i would clean down all windows frames as well, any body had this problem
It sounds like he was getting a good deal to me. To be on the safe side, I always quoted for frames and glass on a first clean and told them that on future cleans, a full frame clean is an extra item. Many customers opted for glass only or had the frames cleaned once or twice a year.
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Jeff, what % extra do you normally put on for frames as well, mate?
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Frames ? extra cost ???
Glass only ? save a bit ???
good god why oh why make life difficult. price high and do the lot
you're happy , customers happy
:) :) :) :)
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i try to include all frames and doors in the quote ie if it was £15 house i would offer all frames for that if they just wanted glass i would charge £10 but let them know that the £5 for the frames was an offer to do them regularly if they wanted them doing in the future it would be a lot dearer ie
prices start at
£ 2 frame
£ 4 bay frame
£ 5 each door
+ the price for the glass
gary
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When working 'trad', frames always seem such a chore to me and some of them are dangerous to reach without moving your ladder.
You can get them with your tools, but sometimes, wiping them down is often a 'reach to far'.
Maybe I'd clean the frames on a first clean if I thought the customer was 'fussy'; but usually on maintenance cleans I'd do glass and sills only, unless specifically asked and then I would charge extra.
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I HATE ENGLAND
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I HATE ENGLAND
Paul,
Are you upset that we were beaten by the 'Wops' again per chance?
If so, don't worry yourself. I've a Wop neighbor from Portugal and I'm just waiting for 'Sanchez' to return home from work so I can give him a good kicking. He's a 'slop jockey' in some hotel and doesn't get home till after 11.00 pm.
Rather than being upset with England, I think it's 'Ug' (Rooney) that we should direct our anger at (Sanchez too).
Do I make sense?
I'm thinking of becomming a Samaritan's counceller!
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Not had that so far but had some asking for the frames to be cleaned as well which would allways be extra, I wouldnt worry about the one you have lost there are aways awkward customers but several better ones around the corner
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Forgive me for being picky here but i thought a window cleaner cleaned the windows , windows being glass and frame , what about giving your customers a bit of value for their money ?
I suppose you get away with doing as little as you can , but after reading this post it seems i can now see where all the "IM GETTING SPOTS THREADS" come from !
Not meant to get anybodys back up , just saying what i see .
Rich P @ F
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Rich,
According to my Oxford English Dictionary a window is:
An opening in a wall or roof fitted with glass.
There's a few other meanings; but that's the one relevant to us.
My experience is that 99% of customers are happy with clean glass and sills.
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If you are wfp you tend to do most of the frames anyway - while avoiding the masonry and vents. If you're traditional then the top frame and corners can be difficult to reach sometimes and need pricing in.
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Come on Tosh , we are not all that bad hearted are we ?
I just cant see myself giving a price for glass or glass and frames , people in my area would think i was takin the p**s out of them !
Typical 3 bed semi , 8 windows 2 doors , my price for glass and frames £8
Whats yours , i want 2 prices , half a job , and proper job !
Rich P @ F ;D
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Hi Malc , i thought you had fallen off that cliff in your avitar !
Same Q to you .
Rich P @ F
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Come on Tosh , we are not all that bad hearted are we ?
I just cant see myself giving a price for glass or glass and frames , people in my area would think i was takin the p**s out of them !
Typical 3 bed semi , 8 windows 2 doors , my price for glass and frames £8
Whats yours , i want 2 prices , half a job , and proper job !
Rich P @ F ;D
Rich,
My prices are exactly the same give or take 50p.
I try to avoid frames with WFP, but to be honest if they look really dirty I clean them; but that's maybe once a year.
We trad the bottoms, but still avoid the frames; usually.
I clean frames on a first clean, and they don't really need cleaning much after that; just once a year or so.
I've only ever lost (when trad) one customer because I didn't clean her frames; she was rude; so I never even explained that frames weren't in the price for the job.
Usually when asked to do them regularly, I increase the price a little, say £1 or £2 if it's just a regular house, as I know they don't need cleaned every month; not really.
Regards,
Tosh,
PS. Don't trust me when I quote stuff; even from a dictionary. 'Frames' are included too when it comes to windows! ;)
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Im the same as rich glass and frames and always have done.
If a jobs worth doing it worth doing it properly.
Rich i would have price the 3 bed semi you said about at £10 thats for glass and frames.
I can't see how someone with WFP could get away with glass only like rich said.
This can only lead to problems
Paul
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PG , was it your old man that instilled the "jobs worth doing "bit into you ?
My old man has a lot to answer for !
Saying that though , i gotta look up to him for it , it has stood me in good stead , hence my company name "PANES & FRAMES"
Rich P @ F
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Glass and frames is fair enough. You're good honest window cleaners! No sarcasm intended, but think about this...
Trevor Knight recently posted his method on how he gains BIG commercial work.
It followed a post I made about what happened when a friend and I quoted for a large golf club and hotel complex.
We quoted £1,800 per month to clean this place. The current window cleaners charged £1000 and then dropped their price to £800 (I had inside info) and asked how this could be possible.
Trevor said the company would do the same as his company. Basically, they'd clean everything 'in and out' on the first two times and then start working on a 'rotational basis', ensuring that one of the priorities were the management's windows. They check areas and if they're not too bad, they get left.
He did say this wasn't professional, nor was it honest, but it's how it's done.
I do take short cuts; anything possible; it's in my nature, but I have a good customer base who seem to like me. I get plenty of referals and I'm happy with the way my business is developing.
It may sound like I do a 'shoddy job'; I don't, I just do the minimum I think will keep the customer happy.
On the rare occasion I/we get it wrong and lose an account, I think that's worth it.
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For me it seems some of you want to make extra work, A window cleaner would usually be expected to clean the glass only, its all I expected when I had one, customers want to look out the windows not the frames If they want the frames done its extra, Paul if you want to provide a top service and charge accordingly then good for you but I feel clean glass is what is wanted by most.
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Its OK Tosh , you can blame your missus !
No mate , i hear what your saying , i wish i could be a bit more like it at times , i like you have lost very few till now , and the business is really taking off now and i dont want to fall into the same trap as the other w/c's that i have won the work off .
Value for money and Quality are what im about , it will bite me in the arse in the expansion area but i do ok at the moment and i will worry about it later .
Rich P @ F
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p@f
i am exactly the same as you, a window to me is the whole thing frame and pane and that is why i am constantly picking up work now, without advertising anymore. Seems like we just take more pride in our work, enjoying the fact that customer gets home and knows that i have been for all the right reasons. I actively encourage all new customers to have a full pvc clean first, i then just maintain, no pint in having a nice house with clean windows and green or black s**t all over the frames as i know i would not be happy if they were my windows.
just to point out all new customer are £10 or over as i do not need them really and all 5 weekly and i am passing cheaper work to someone else all the time
good luck simb0
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I can't see how someone with WFP could get away with glass only like rich said.
This can only lead to problems
Paul
Paul,
Last September I started using a WFP with a backpack. The ground floor is usually done traditional by my partner.
And when I first started I scrubbed and washed the frames and glass like a lunatic.
I've calmed down a bit since then; and now generally do the glass only.
Maybe I do leave spots on the first floor windows, but my customers don't seem to mind; maybe I don't leave spots either!
I honestly don't know about 'spots' and stuff apart from the jobs I do inside and out; and in that case the standard of work I see is more than acceptable, so I guess this is our standard.
When I first started using a WFP, I used a numptyised version of David@St Ives's letter from the document to upload section; so my customers are generally health and safety aware.
The ground floor has no spots mind. We trad them; usually.
Maybe we just manage our customer's expectations well?
I'm happy as long my customer's perception is that we do a good job and they cough up the cash and are regular clients!
I don't think this as a case of 'ripping off my customers', since I've never told any of them I clean their frames; apart from the rare one whose asked me too.
If this wasn't the case, I'd change our working practises.
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That semi? I've got existing stuff that I charge £8 done like Tosh does 'em.
Becsause my round is full then new customers will get charged £10/11.
(Add another couple of quid if the house has got bay windows.)
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we went down this thread some months ago and all with the same reasons for not doing the frames but I still believe in giving a fair price for a fair job and still do the frames
JohnL
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we went down this thread some months ago and all with the same reasons for not doing the frames but I still believe in giving a fair price for a fair job and still do the frames
JohnL
John,
Do you think that PVC frames need cleaning every month?
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So most of us want want to do a good job , which i for one like to hear , most of our prices seem to be in line , all replies so far anyway .
Tosh , do you still do all your stuff with BP only ?
Rich P @ F
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Tosh , do you still do all your stuff with BP only ?
Rich P @ F
I suspect I'm lining myself up for a joke here!
What's 'BP'?
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Come on Tosh , Back Pack , i cant believe you thought i was going to be sarcastic !
Rich P @ F
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This is not a question that would arise with WFP because you can't help claning both. I am often amazed how much better the whole lot looks when the frames have had a good scrub.
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John,
Do you think that PVC frames need cleaning every month?
Yes I do. Lets face it after the first clean most only need a good wipe down with a wet rag - it only takes a minute or two and lifts the look and that includes the wooden ones.
Where I live on the coast spiders webs, dust and all sorts of c**p seem to stick to PVC on the sea salt which is in the air and when you walk away from a cleaned window - including the frame it looks b****y good! Some are on main roads and get covered in road dust and grit. You cant walk away from a window and leave a dirty frame because a lot of customers look at their cleaned windows from the outside not just the inside.
I smile when walking along a road and thinking shall I canvas that because from here those windows look pretty shoddy only to find when you get up close the glass is clean but the overall impression is they look dirty cus of the lack of attention to the frame.
I am picking up work from customers who quite obviously dont get the frames done.
I think another point is the perception of the job. Most of my jobs are on 'pretty' houses, some large, a few small but most have painted walls, well maintained, some with a gardener once a week and the owners like to think they have to drink their Earl Grey out of china cups with their pinkies curled just as the rule book of etiquette tells them to. The same book tells them to hang on to every penny and although wealthy in my terms are still as tight as you know what.
At the end of the day I can walk away knowing '' the window'' looks as though its been cleaned and the customer has had the job they paid for which is what this is about and I can feel a job well done.
However I have picked up a couple recently which are terraced in a pretty poor area and a pretty poor condition. Some cannot be wiped because I might take the wood with it.
So 98% of my work is cleaned but its horses for courses according to your area I suppose but as I said I feel good knowing I have done a good job and of course when the WFP is up and running it should get better and quicker in time :)
Johnl
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When I first cleaned windows back in the 1950's, we didn't even have sqeegies.
We would never do the frames with our camoise mops, and our nice clean scrims.
No plastic windows in them days though. Now I do the frames on first cleans, and as much of the frames as I have to, to avoid spotting with WFP on subsequent cleans. I would do the lot if they were prepared to pay for it. Dai