Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: david mark on November 15, 2019, 03:22:37 pm
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Lost a customer today semi detached houses I charge £11.00 takes 20 minutes to clean had a letter from the owner had a quote for £7.00 which is much cheaper and to stop service this is the second house I've lost. I'm based in Lytham St Anne's Lancashire .
I don't mind competion but underpricing is well out of order
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Could not agree more.
Just let the customer know you focus on a quality job offering value for money. I bet they will be back by spring
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Lost a customer today semi detached houses I charge £11.00 takes 20 minutes to clean had a letter from the owner had a quote for £7.00 which is much cheaper and to stop service this is the second house I've lost. I'm based in Lytham St Anne's Lancashire .
I don't mind competion but underpricing is well out of order
i lost a £40 job to a guy a while back who ll clean it for £25...its just business it happens...he has quite a lot of work in that area so he probably makes it pay but it was a stand alone for me with a 10 min drive so i wasnt willing to match it! ;D
i also had a guy canvassing and offering to clean three 4 bed detached houses i clean down a cul de sac for £8 each!(i charge £15/£16/£20)and i complete them in an hour.....luckily my customers said no!they didnt take him seriously!..... :)
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theres no right or wrong mate.......a window cleaner can charge as low as he wants but he ll be running around like a headless chicken hardly making any money(i know ive been there myself years ago)...
how do you know he undercut you?£7 might just be his price! ;D....he might actually have no idea how much you were charging!your jumping to conclusions IMO.....
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If he's 30 odd percent cheaper than you he either won't last long or you are borderline billionaire with your prices.
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Customers who jump ship like that ain't worth having anyway, dont worry about it and crack on son ;)
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Should’ve been £20 in the 1st place! Your too cheap
lytham st annes and blackpool are notorious for cheap window cleaning prices,just like bolton and some parts of scotland and the north east..... :(
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He asked the customer what I charged
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He asked the customer what I charged
C u next Tuesday
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We have just had a letter through the door from the local council warning people to be on their guard against unscrupulous traders offering goods or services for prices too good to be true.
They warn that these are often a rouse to check your property out - case the joint as we once expressed it.
Some of our customer were offered window cleaning very cheaply. I just asked the customer what the real reason was that they knocked on their door.
All you have to do is just stir up an element of doubt in your customer's mind.
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I would 100% blame the customer it’s not all about the money in this job,they might just learn that too.
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Let him have it. Just think when he's got a full round full of 7 quidders who's the mug.
I gave 2 quotes last week.
1 came back with, never mind I've just found someone for £6.
The other said, I was expecting to pay between £5 and £7.
I couldn't care less, i like the fact that I'm earning more than these idiots.
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Lost a customer today semi detached houses I charge £11.00 takes 20 minutes to clean had a letter from the owner had a quote for £7.00 which is much cheaper and to stop service this is the second house I've lost. I'm based in Lytham St Anne's Lancashire .
I don't mind competion but underpricing is well out of order
how many have you lost that you can remember in the last few years mate?ive lost 3 jobs to cheaper window cleaners in the last few years.....most decent customers WILL NOT jump ship to save a few quid...they dont know these guys like they know you......they know your regular and reliable and do a good job so most will instantly dismiss them when they go knocking on their doors...esp if their a lot cheaper than you......
the 3 i lost....
1.didnt like wfp..
2.didnt like wfp....
3.new customer who didnt like my price
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Some window cleaner s do take the mick with high prices aswell ,hes only to do twenty houses a day at £7 per house five days a week work it out not a bad weeks earning s
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Some window cleaner s do take the mick with high prices aswell ,hes only to do twenty houses a day at £7 per house five days a week work it out not a bad weeks earning s
It’s a bit different when you’ve got tax, N.I. + advertising/expenses to pay 🙄
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Get a job in a supermarket and see the difference in wages 😁👍
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Some window cleaner s do take the mick with high prices aswell ,hes only to do twenty houses a day at £7 per house five days a week work it out not a bad weeks earning s
it just depends how high you set the bar....the original poster said it took him 20 mins to clean a house for £11,if he had 3 in a row at the same price..thats £33 for an hours work,that would be underpriced to me,id be disappointed....if the new guy does the same 3 houses at £7 thats £21....even if he squeezed in another its only £28 an hour......id be gutted!my work has to be a CONSISTENT £40+ EVERY HOUR im on the glass or i dont take it on......the reason being is i only want to window clean short hours( 20-25 hours a week)so i need to maximize them hours.....
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Get a job in a supermarket and see the difference in wages 😁👍
Is that how you price your jobs? You compare them to supermarket pay? Why the hell would I want to do that - earn as little as possible 🙄. I work part time and earn as much as I possibly can, if iv got a book full of people paying it then I’m doing something right surely? A lot of my competitors are around 50% cheaper than me too
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Lost a customer today semi detached houses I charge £11.00 takes 20 minutes to clean had a letter from the owner had a quote for £7.00 which is much cheaper and to stop service this is the second house I've lost. I'm based in Lytham St Anne's Lancashire .
I don't mind competion but underpricing is well out of order
In all honesty I think you’re needing to speed up a bit if it’s taking 20 minutes for an £11 house.
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No im quite happy with what i earn been in business 36 years and earn a decent living out off it ,my point was where we live in Yorkshire average price for houses are around £ 8 mark but new guys just starting up are trying to get £15 an house customers dont want to pay so they take them on till a better price comes along outprice yourself and your gonna lose customers
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I know people who have been doing this for 30 + years and they’ve got a different mind set to me. They say they can’t charge more than £7/8 per house because they’re old school 🤨. I come along and charge £15 no problem. Iv just picked up 2 neighbours that used to pay £10 each (detached) , iv got 1 at £30 & 1 at £25 once every 2 months no problem at all 🤷♂️
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No im quite happy with what i earn been in business 36 years and earn a decent living out off it ,my point was where we live in Yorkshire average price for houses are around £ 8 mark but new guys just starting up are trying to get £15 an house customers dont want to pay so they take them on till a better price comes along outprice yourself and your gonna lose customers
It’s only me that holds me back ☹️😁
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No im quite happy with what i earn been in business 36 years and earn a decent living out off it ,my point was where we live in Yorkshire average price for houses are around £ 8 mark but new guys just starting up are trying to get £15 an house customers dont want to pay so they take them on till a better price comes along outprice yourself and your gonna lose customers
;D
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I’m more than happy to plod along slowly at 36 an hour for 5 hours a day , I am not greedy or looking to build bigger , been there done it and fluffed it ;D
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There is no rule in my eyes, if you want to charge big then don’t be shocked when another comes in at half the price , it happens all the time whatever part of world you live!
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No im quite happy with what i earn been in business 36 years and earn a decent living out off it ,my point was where we live in Yorkshire average price for houses are around £ 8 mark but new guys just starting up are trying to get £15 an house customers dont want to pay so they take them on till a better price comes along outprice yourself and your gonna lose customers
I'm in Yorkshire and I agree with you average price is about £8 a house.
It's certainly not easy getting half decent prices when that's what you are up against.
You might have been in business 36 years but if you are charging £8 a house then you are missing a trick.
If you charged £12 a house you might get less quotes accepted however once full you would be £400 a week better off doing 100 houses a week! £1600 a month!
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No im quite happy with what i earn been in business 36 years and earn a decent living out off it ,my point was where we live in Yorkshire average price for houses are around £ 8 mark but new guys just starting up are trying to get £15 an house customers dont want to pay so they take them on till a better price comes along outprice yourself and your gonna lose customers
I'm in Yorkshire and I agree with you average price is about £8 a house.
It's certainly not easy getting half decent prices when that's what you are up against.
You might have been in business 36 years but if you are charging £8 a house then you are missing a trick.
If you charged £12 a house you might get less quotes accepted however once full you would be £400 a week better off doing 100 houses a week! £1600 a month!
I agree. For years I had the same mind set and charged an average of 8 per house and thankfully ive now come to my senses. 😂😂 on a yorkshire facebook window cleaning page, I have often got myself in debates on pricing and the amount of old school boys on there, who insist that its being greedy asking for more, is unbelievable!. They use the same excuse that they only take you on whilst they wait for a cheaper cleaners to come along! What utter nonsense!
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1573863320_aviary-image-1573863287828.jpeg)
(This customer pays over £30 and others on same street charge £13)
Too many people have a mind set of a customer when pricing and therefore dont ask / dare not ask what they trully want for the job and therefore are convinced you should not / can not do so!
It is frustrating and annoying (dont lie ;D and say its not) but its up to you if you allow it to effect you or not. Now a days Im glad i get a lucky escape on these scenarios because i dont want those types of customers who jump ship every time a couple of quid cheaper cleaner comes along.
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Same old same old, its starts of with Dazmond harping on about how he couldn't work for anything less than x per hour, it goes up with every new pricing thread, and finishes off with NK who mistakenly posted a 5 cleans for £25 invoice making a fool of himself by wibbling on about mindset.
I charge what I need to charge to keep me washing glass and I suspect that most who last longer than a year in this game do the same.
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I priced a commercial job in London a couple of weeks ago. Was walked around the site by the custard. He told me what he thought it would be moneywise, saying as a company we needed to make money.
He was probably twice what I wouldve charged. So i went in at 80% what he said, thus about 65% more than I would’ve gone in at. I got the job. And the opportunity to price up a big project they have in the pipe line.
Sometimes the custard is beneficial in these circumstances.
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When it comes to saving money we all shop around so why should window cleaning be any different, thing is if you have a decent reliable shiner who you trust then for the sake of a few quid it would be foolish to get rid and risk not getting as good a service from the next guy, problem is some people are that tight with their money they cant see this.
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Why charge £15 when you can be perfectly happy with £8? Capitalism at its very worst. 🤔
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I was under charging a house by 20 some years ago and did it for 15 odd years so when you look at it like that it’s a lot of money,every 6 weeks so about 8 times a year.
I only lost about 2 and a half grand in just 1 job lol,price is very important on every single job no matter how small,and if you don’t stick em up every couple of years you could be losing 1000s over a long period.
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When it comes to saving money we all shop around so why should window cleaning be any different, thing is if you have a decent reliable shiner who you trust then for the sake of a few quid it would be foolish to get rid and risk not getting as good a service from the next guy, problem is some people are that tight with their money they cant see this.
thats the thing. we dont all shop around.
if i am buying a new car or new TV, i shop around. christ, even I just bought a new TV and dont even know how much it was. i dont want the cheapest, i dont want to spend over £500. and i want to go to a shop where they are good if there's a problem, and one that easy to get to and to do business with. we chose John Lewis for these reasons
if I want my car washed , or a coffee, or something below about £20 I dont think about it. i just want the pain sorting.
people have different levels of cash they are sensitive to. some people watch every penny and want the cheapest price every time. some people just want a problem solved for them.
i had a milk man recently. one was the cheapest but was a real pain in the A to deal with as sometimes they wouldn't come on the day arranged, and want ed me to pay cash or by BACs. the one i switched to comes on the day agreed and i pay by DD. i dont want to speak to my milkman, i dont want to deal with them really. i just want milk in the morning for the kids breakfast and my cuppa.
its ridiculous that we even have this debate again and again. you can buy a cup of coffee for 50p from a cafe in a polsyrene cup or you can pay £3 in starbucks. my own window cleaners go to starbucks because its convenient and its a better coffee
the other thing i have found in all my cleaning businesses is that the customers who want the cheapest price are usually the worst customers to have. they are more likely to complain, more likely to cancel, more likely to defer cleans, everything... and they are paying the least.
the customers who pay the most often are ideal customers. they are happy to pay by DD, they dont complain, they just want the problem (feeling unhappy their windows aren't cleansed) sorted for them. even paying more for the service is reassuring for them. they think because they are paying more they all be dealing with Pros. to be fair they are!
charge whatever prices you want to charge. whatever works for you. but dont back up you decision with made up reasons. if you've been in business this long you should be smarter than that
the bind you are in now if you charge low prices is that if you put your prices up lots of your customers may well cancel. that is because you have got those customers by charging low rates. you have attracted price sensitive customers.
if you have decent prices from the start you attract customers who are happy to pay that price because they either dont worry about £5 extra a clean, or they want a better service.
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All depends on the particular customer and there generation some people find different things more important than price alone,them liking you is top of the list not just them saving a few pounds.
If they take a dislike to you it doesn’t matter if you say you’ll clean there windows for a cup of coffee if they don’t want you round there house on a regular basis your knackered,so many times I’ve heard and it’s probably the main comment I hear,I didn’t like the bloke in all honesty couldn’t take to him. A little chat to them every now and again letting them know a little bit about you goes a long way in my experience,all recommendations come from people who like and trust you.
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All depends on the particular customer and there generation some people find different things more important than price alone,them liking you is top of the list not just them saving a few pounds.
If they take a dislike to you it doesn’t matter if you say you’ll clean there windows for a cup of coffee if they don’t want you round there house on a regular basis your knackered,so many times I’ve heard and it’s probably the main comment I hear,I didn’t like the bloke in all honesty couldn’t take to him. A little chat to them every now and again letting them know a little bit about you goes a long way in my experience,all recommendations come from people who like and trust you.
yep this too nigel......i try and look smart and professional at all times(plus im vain like most of us),clean shaven,smart haircut,logo d uniform,clean,tidy,sign written van and im naturally friendly and open to anybody i see when im out and about working but i also know when to just nod and say hello and leave it at that if their busy.......
lots of window cleaners let themselves down with sub standard cleans,unreliability,bad attitude to the job/customers,old,scruffy cars/vans and wearing football shirts/tracksuit pants for work...i know 2 window cleaners that have been going longer than me and their always just about getting by,on their arse financially charging £6-50 for houses.......there slowly dying out though as more and more new window cleaners are coming into the trade with a more professional approach and attitude....
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Why charge £15 when you can be perfectly happy with £8? Capitalism at its very worst. 🤔
Why charge £15 when there's a chance you could get £20 or even £30, the problem with these pointless threads is nobody knows what its truly possible to get which is why it always ends up with the nonsense I mentioned in my post above.
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Not a pointless thread at all. Always good to listen to others experience before making your business decisions.
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
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if you have never lost a customer you are doing too much for them.
you must be bending over backwards to keep them.
that's nothing to be proud of TBH
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
This is the attitude i refer to. That if people dare charge more than them and gain the work, others think they are taking the p@#$ out of the customer ::)roll
On the last point, if I have two separate customers on an 8 wkly basis and charge £35 ( which I have) and i clean one in one month and the second the month after. In two months thats £70 for 2 cleans.
Or
I could have two customers on a 4 wkly basis, say £15 per clean. In two months, that equals four cleans and £60.
Which one is more stupid a set up?
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We all lose customers for whatever reason but I would say it’s not money most of the time,no one really wants to clean there own windows if you don’t do it day in day out it can seem hard work cleaning all the windows on your house.
If you are getting every job you quote you are to cheap imo.
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣your thoughts are your thoughts to be honest i dont realy care to be honest
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No im quite happy with what i earn been in business 36 years and earn a decent living out off it ,my point was where we live in Yorkshire average price for houses are around £ 8 mark but new guys just starting up are trying to get £15 an house customers dont want to pay so they take them on till a better price comes along outprice yourself and your gonna lose customers
nothing wrong with £8 houses on a 4 weekly basis..... as long as i can splash and dash 5 or 6 of them in an hour im happy....👍
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Doing a spot on job doesn’t always keep customers always too,I know a trad guy he does an awful job but his customers love him and he never hardly loses work with his regulars.
I would think that the turnover of work with some of the bigger companies out there is colossal at times,big spells of losing customers as well as gaining them through website etc.
If you have no sort of relationship with your customers at all it’s a lot easier for them to cancel the window cleaner.
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But that somewhat contradicts what you said before,it’s much easier to do 1 £40 house at a plod.
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But that somewhat contradicts what you said before,it’s much easier to do 1 £40 house at a plod.
yep i do that too nigel...the majority of my round isnt made up of £8 houses but i have a couple of runs of them...as long as im hitting my hourly rate i dont care tbh....a bit of variety.....
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If you were to lose 2 of them 8 quid jobs you’d be travelling to the same place for half the money.
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If you were to lose 2 of them 8 quid jobs you’d be travelling to the same place for half the money.
no i wouldnt because they are on an estate i clean 90+houses on(the rest of them are higher priced as they are bigger with connys or extensions added to them)
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
This is the attitude i refer to. That if people dare charge more than them and gain the work, others think they are taking the p@#$ out of the customer ::)roll
On the last point, if I have two separate customers on an 8 wkly basis and charge £35 ( which I have) and i clean one in one month and the second the month after. In two months thats £70 for 2 cleans.
Or
I could have two customers on a 4 wkly basis, say £15 per clean. In two months, that equals four cleans and £60.
Which one is more stupid a set up?
Sorry Nathan, the example you have given isn’t really a direct comparison tho is it? For all we know the £35 houses could take an hour each, the £15 houses could take 15 mins each. So to answer your question...with the info you’ve given I don’t have a clue which is the more stupid set up!
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
C’mon jk, 36 years window cleaning and you’ve never lost a customer unless they move or pass away??? You should really get a mention in the Guiness book of world records for that😂😂
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
This is the attitude i refer to. That if people dare charge more than them and gain the work, others think they are taking the p@#$ out of the customer ::)roll
On the last point, if I have two separate customers on an 8 wkly basis and charge £35 ( which I have) and i clean one in one month and the second the month after. In two months thats £70 for 2 cleans.
Or
I could have two customers on a 4 wkly basis, say £15 per clean. In two months, that equals four cleans and £60.
Which one is more stupid a set up?
Sorry Nathan, the example you have given isn’t really a direct comparison tho is it? For all we know the £35 houses could take an hour each, the £15 houses could take 15 mins each. So to answer your question...with the info you’ve given I don’t have a clue which is the more stupid set up!
Perhaps true, but would you charge only £35 for a house that takes an hour to clean. I know i wouldnt!
(Added text)
I also spelt it out in that manner as once not too long ago on a facebook group + messenger, some did not see the point nor the difference of 8 weekly work compared to 4 weekly work. The example I mentioned here, helped some to grasp the concept. Some felt there was no difference in cleaning one 4 weekly house over 8 weeks, to that of one 8 wkly clean and they are better off on 4 wkly instead. Yet explaining in month one you clean mr smith at say £35 and month 2 you clean mr brown @ £35 a clean. Then thats £70 over two months. Now compare that to cleaning mrs smiths at £20 per clean in month one and then month two. Which gives a total of £40 over the same time period!!
;D ;D perhaps this explanation makes more sense than trying to complicate it with time management!
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No I definitely wouldn’t either you can clean loads of windows in an hour WFP,a lot more than 35 quids worth that’s for sure.
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
This is the attitude i refer to. That if people dare charge more than them and gain the work, others think they are taking the p@#$ out of the customer ::)roll
On the last point, if I have two separate customers on an 8 wkly basis and charge £35 ( which I have) and i clean one in one month and the second the month after. In two months thats £70 for 2 cleans.
Or
I could have two customers on a 4 wkly basis, say £15 per clean. In two months, that equals four cleans and £60.
Which one is more stupid a set up?
Sorry Nathan, the example you have given isn’t really a direct comparison tho is it? For all we know the £35 houses could take an hour each, the £15 houses could take 15 mins each. So to answer your question...with the info you’ve given I don’t have a clue which is the more stupid set up!
Perhaps true, but would you charge only £35 for a house that takes an hour to clean. I know i wouldnt!
(Added text)
I also spelt it out in that manner as once not too long ago on a facebook group + messenger, some did not see the point nor the difference of 8 weekly work compared to 4 weekly work. The example I mentioned here, helped some to grasp the concept. Some felt there was no difference in cleaning one 4 weekly house over 8 weeks, to that of one 8 wkly clean and they are better off on 4 wkly instead. Yet explaining in month one you clean mr smith at say £35 and month 2 you clean mr brown @ £35 a clean. Then thats £70 over two months. Now compare that to cleaning mrs smiths at £20 per clean in month one and then month two. Which gives a total of £40 over the same time period!!
;D ;D perhaps this explanation makes more sense than trying to complicate it with time management!
Are you saying you get £35 for a house on 8 weekly, and the same style of house is £20 on 4 weekly?
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
This is the attitude i refer to. That if people dare charge more than them and gain the work, others think they are taking the p@#$ out of the customer ::)roll
On the last point, if I have two separate customers on an 8 wkly basis and charge £35 ( which I have) and i clean one in one month and the second the month after. In two months thats £70 for 2 cleans.
Or
I could have two customers on a 4 wkly basis, say £15 per clean. In two months, that equals four cleans and £60.
Which one is more stupid a set up?
Sorry Nathan, the example you have given isn’t really a direct comparison tho is it? For all we know the £35 houses could take an hour each, the £15 houses could take 15 mins each. So to answer your question...with the info you’ve given I don’t have a clue which is the more stupid set up!
Perhaps true, but would you charge only £35 for a house that takes an hour to clean. I know i wouldnt!
(Added text)
I also spelt it out in that manner as once not too long ago on a facebook group + messenger, some did not see the point nor the difference of 8 weekly work compared to 4 weekly work. The example I mentioned here, helped some to grasp the concept. Some felt there was no difference in cleaning one 4 weekly house over 8 weeks, to that of one 8 wkly clean and they are better off on 4 wkly instead. Yet explaining in month one you clean mr smith at say £35 and month 2 you clean mr brown @ £35 a clean. Then thats £70 over two months. Now compare that to cleaning mrs smiths at £20 per clean in month one and then month two. Which gives a total of £40 over the same time period!!
;D ;D perhaps this explanation makes more sense than trying to complicate it with time management!
Are you saying you get £35 for a house on 8 weekly, and the same style of house is £20 on 4 weekly?
FFS! If i said a house for £10 or £15 someone on here would moan that their 4 weekly average clean is more. So i went with an average price of a 4 weekly clean at £20 and people still moan.
So lets take an average price of your own 4 wkly clean house and an average price of yours for an 8 weekly clean and see which is more viable.
Oh and remember guys its sunday today so dont burden your brains with over thinking this OK.....
;D
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NK , it might have been an easier example to include jk999 prices.
Jk999 has 100 custards @ £8 . 12 cleans a year earning them £9600 p/a
NK has 100 custards @ £15 . 6 cleans a year earning them £9000 p/a
NK is doing 50% less work than jk999 but earning nearly as much
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
This is the attitude i refer to. That if people dare charge more than them and gain the work, others think they are taking the p@#$ out of the customer ::)roll
On the last point, if I have two separate customers on an 8 wkly basis and charge £35 ( which I have) and i clean one in one month and the second the month after. In two months thats £70 for 2 cleans.
Or
I could have two customers on a 4 wkly basis, say £15 per clean. In two months, that equals four cleans and £60.
Which one is more stupid a set up?
Had to laugh at your need to point out that you have 2 customers at £35, (Blue Peter badge on the way) but in reply to your point, its the amount of work that you need to do to get both amounts that counts.
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NK , it might have been an easier example to include jk999 prices.
Jk999 has 100 custards @ £8 . 12 cleans a year earning them £9600 p/a
NK has 100 custards @ £15 . 6 cleans a year earning them £9000 p/a
NK is doing 50% less work than jk999 but earning nearly as much
If everything that came out of NK's mouth where true he would be the first one man band million quid turnover shiner, the problem with your example is how to find a customer who is prepared to lose 6 cleans to save £6, even if you where to double both amounts it still only a £12 a year saving for the customer.
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NK , it might have been an easier example to include jk999 prices.
Jk999 has 100 custards @ £8 . 12 cleans a year earning them £9600 p/a
NK has 100 custards @ £15 . 6 cleans a year earning them £9000 p/a
NK is doing 50% less work than jk999 but earning nearly as much
If everything that came out of NK's mouth where true he would be the first one man band million quid turnover shiner, the problem with your example is how to find a customer who is prepared to lose 6 cleans to save £6, even if you where to double both amounts it still only a £12 a year saving for the customer.
I see what your saying but if you don’t offer 4 weekly cleans then the customers don’t know they are only saving £12 a year.
On top of this , it’s 2019 , a house shouldn’t cost £8 to clean , it should be a minimum of £12. So in this example the customer is saving £54 a year which is more attractive to a potential customer imo .
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Remember this thread is about customers who will drop their shiners for small amounts of money I would say customers who would drop cleans for small amounts of money would make equally as bad a customer.
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happens all the time, you wish you dumped them before they dumped you. lots of competition in north east, lots of new housing estates being built, every ones after a piece. some over pricing some offering lower prices to suck them in.
I offer my price but I have lots of good reviews on my website , from local residents in that area.
it helps persuade them
I can make £35 / £50 per hr, different areas bring in different ££s per hour. But it all adds up at the end of the day.
Better to have some lower priced than letting your competition get in
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Theres so many new houses being built now I have to stop canvassing them, its like a drug, you want the Yes answer from them. just to know you have got them.
Honestly though some on here say £15 / £30 a house. Would you Pay that to your Window Cleaner if you had one , if you didn't do it as a job. Some must think people shxt money. most are paying high morgages, both have to work, .
This is why Online payments are better than collecting. They don't hand you Cash so it is easier.
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Then go after customers that S£££T money that’s what I’ve always done,who can you pick the phone up to and say I want you to come round my house and do a job for me for under £30.
You’ve got to get to the place of work and you should have all the other expenses that go with running a business no matter how small,if someone enquires about a job and its not worth my while or they don’t S£££T cash I move on to someone that does,if you don’t ask you don’t get in this life.
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I must be one of those one off decent guys, who is glad of the position im in, 3 /4 holidays abroad a year, buying my council house , no other debt, money in the bank, pocket never empty. above all happy decent customers every week. Not over charged, honest and reliable. I offer a fair priced window cleaning service.
If you are happy with your income , and out of debt just go with it, no need to change. This day and age toooo many people are being laid off or busineses closing down.
I appreciate what I have now. Still building my workload up. as I suppose a lot of us are on this site.
This is not a job now to be embarresed about when people ask what do you do. as it used to be.
WFP has now taken us to the next level. of decent earners .
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Right this is getting annoying i dont clean £8 houses i said thats what you get in Yorkshire, i have been in this game 36 years so had enough time to adapt my round so nk if your still working full days then lol 😁i only work four days a week and only half days at that and before everyone pitches in an says why dont you only work 2 days its because i like to get out off the house ,👍😁so good look guys in busting your butt for the next twenty years to catch up NK
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I didn't say i got £8 an house i have been lucky with my work i do a good job and never lost a customer yet unless they move out of area or pass away ,i have been fortunate to build my round with good prices without taking the p@#$ out of the customers, i would rather have regular 3 to 4 week cleans than stupid 6 weekly plus
This is the attitude i refer to. That if people dare charge more than them and gain the work, others think they are taking the p@#$ out of the customer ::)roll
On the last point, if I have two separate customers on an 8 wkly basis and charge £35 ( which I have) and i clean one in one month and the second the month after. In two months thats £70 for 2 cleans.
Or
I could have two customers on a 4 wkly basis, say £15 per clean. In two months, that equals four cleans and £60.
Which one is more stupid a set up?
Sorry Nathan, the example you have given isn’t really a direct comparison tho is it? For all we know the £35 houses could take an hour each, the £15 houses could take 15 mins each. So to answer your question...with the info you’ve given I don’t have a clue which is the more stupid set up!
Perhaps true, but would you charge only £35 for a house that takes an hour to clean. I know i wouldnt!
(Added text)
I also spelt it out in that manner as once not too long ago on a facebook group + messenger, some did not see the point nor the difference of 8 weekly work compared to 4 weekly work. The example I mentioned here, helped some to grasp the concept. Some felt there was no difference in cleaning one 4 weekly house over 8 weeks, to that of one 8 wkly clean and they are better off on 4 wkly instead. Yet explaining in month one you clean mr smith at say £35 and month 2 you clean mr brown @ £35 a clean. Then thats £70 over two months. Now compare that to cleaning mrs smiths at £20 per clean in month one and then month two. Which gives a total of £40 over the same time period!!
;D ;D perhaps this explanation makes more sense than trying to complicate it with time management!
Are you saying you get £35 for a house on 8 weekly, and the same style of house is £20 on 4 weekly?
FFS! If i said a house for £10 or £15 someone on here would moan that their 4 weekly average clean is more. So i went with an average price of a 4 weekly clean at £20 and people still moan.
So lets take an average price of your own 4 wkly clean house and an average price of yours for an 8 weekly clean and see which is more viable.
Oh and remember guys its sunday today so dont burden your brains with over thinking this OK.....
;D
I’ll make it easy for you Nathan, I charge about 25% more for 8 weekly.................there, that was simple enough eh?...........no need to over think it with Mr Smith, Mr Brown, Mrs Smith, bla bla bla😂
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Right this is getting annoying i dont clean £8 houses i said thats what you get in Yorkshire, i have been in this game 36 years so had enough time to adapt my round so nk if your still working full days then lol 😁i only work four days a week and only half days at that and before everyone pitches in an says why dont you only work 2 days its because i like to get out off the house ,👍😁so good look guys in busting your butt for the next twenty years to catch up NK
how do you manage that on £8 houses?
😁😁😁
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NK , it might have been an easier example to include jk999 prices.
Jk999 has 100 custards @ £8 . 12 cleans a year earning them £9600 p/a
NK has 100 custards @ £15 . 6 cleans a year earning them £9000 p/a
NK is doing 50% less work than jk999 but earning nearly as much
If everything that came out of NK's mouth where true he would be the first one man band million quid turnover shiner, the problem with your example is how to find a customer who is prepared to lose 6 cleans to save £6, even if you where to double both amounts it still only a £12 a year saving for the customer.
First, i dont lie mate, theres no need to do so.
2nd, its not about how much a customer may save by going 8 weekly over 4, its about how much work is involved to earn X amount.
Like most on here, i have days where im ran of my feet and other days where I can take my time. This is why I dont mind working in the rain to maintain my schedule, because I like what I have now. The more larger, 8weekly work I have, then the less I need to work and given my wife is ill and I have three young kids to pick up from school n watch etc etc, then this suits me very well.
Yes I waffle on here and yes I say some of my prices but that isnt half of my situation. However ones want to speculate and can do so.
Sure! My example could have been easier but like I said, from conversations on other groups and ones personally direct messaging me, dont seem to grasp it unless its spelt out like that.
However, your right and those examples would have been enough.
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Right this is getting annoying i dont clean £8 houses i said thats what you get in Yorkshire, i have been in this game 36 years so had enough time to adapt my round so nk if your still working full days then lol 😁i only work four days a week and only half days at that and before everyone pitches in an says why dont you only work 2 days its because i like to get out off the house ,👍😁so good look guys in busting your butt for the next twenty years to catch up NK
Mate, ive been doing this for over 20 yrs. However the longer in the game doesnt mean that its been done right does it.
I was happy n plodding on for many years and then later I realised I had more potential and started to operate my business as a business and stepped things up a little. (Sure i was swapping the dross for better work from day one, but again that doesnt mean too much on face value).
Theres chaps near me, who have been window cleaning for near on 40 yrs and over the years have had numerous of lads working with them. Yet they would be the first to say, that they have just plodded on the same way since day one. (They are nice lads as well, so im not belittling them).
So the longer someone has been in the game is no reflection upon them doing it right, sorry to say.
(Again, not saying you are or are not! Simply stating that if a person has been in a trade for x number of years does not necessarily mean they have done it right business wise or not)
In addition, im not the one saying you charge £8 per house. I also dont care how much you charge. My example didnt touch on your figure but touched on the point how you think 6 or longer durations is silly, when the fact of the matter is, that it isnt and makes sound business sense to do so.
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Ladies! Please put the handbags down and step away from the knitting needles.
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Ive recently had customers ask me , Can you clean them every 2 months now, There face when you give them a different price is laughable, I say if everyone did this there would be a big gap in my work especially if they think there will be no difference in Price.
Some have asked if I stop in winter, I says they can stop getting them cleaned but I will not be going back to clean them when they want them cleaning again in Spring time
I says it in my income. it is a yearly job.
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Ive recently had customers ask me , Can you clean them every 2 months now, There face when you give them a different price is laughable, I say if everyone did this there would be a big gap in my work especially if they think there will be no difference in Price.
Some have asked if I stop in winter, I says they can stop getting them cleaned but I will not be going back to clean them when they want them cleaning again in Spring time
I says it in my income. it is a yearly job.
Absolutely agree. I have some newer customers who ask what I do in winter. They ask if I leave it or continue. I simply let them know this is my professional business and as such it continues as normal. That seems to be enough for the vast majority as ive only every had 2 customers who stop for winter and I dont mind doing so (for reasons that are mine). Thats 2 cusyomers in all the years in working as a window cleaner.
One reason why I now offer 8 weekly cleans is because to be fair, im half waiting for all my 4 weekly to ask for it. They havent dome so in the 4 yrs since switching over and so Im probably in the clear but im cleaning virtually clean windows. If anything, its dirty window sills im mostly cleaning ;D.
The areas where I work, i would dare say that by week 7 you begin to notice the windows getting slightly dirty / covered in dust etc
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Right this is getting annoying i dont clean £8 houses i said thats what you get in Yorkshire, i have been in this game 36 years so had enough time to adapt my round so nk if your still working full days then lol 😁i only work four days a week and only half days at that and before everyone pitches in an says why dont you only work 2 days its because i like to get out off the house ,👍😁so good look guys in busting your butt for the next twenty years to catch up NK
how do you manage that on £8 houses?
😁😁😁
As long as they are compact, handy to clean and not overly big then there's nothing wrong with £8 houses, a small semi in my area can be priced from £8 to £12 but its a lot easier to build a compact round with an £8 price, there's more to making money in this game than the price alone.
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Spot on dry clean ,i will put my hand bag down if nk does 😁😁😁
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if you are stopping / starting your van to do 1 or 2 houses then yes charge extra, but I park up and do from 5 / 10 houses in one run, one after the other.
After the new year I will be printing a letter bringing in a price increase, around £1 per house, this will bring in an extra 2/£300 a month extra.
Don't like to increase prices as some may hum and arrr. what the hek. lots of new work about
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Theres two window cleaners working on the one street. However one charges between £10 n £15 and the second cleaner charges between £6 - £8.
It turns out that the first cleaner however, cleans more on the street than the latter!
Which would you prefer to be?? This is my point, as its regardless if your in n out of the van a lot or wfp or trad. For me, if i know another cleaner works the sane street and I definately know his or hers prices are higher. Then I would seriously think about increasing my prices and yet it seems many wouldnt?? I dont understand that.
In the above example, thats me and a fellow shiner and we get on ok with each other, hes a lovely chap. Often pass work between each other and so im not attacking him or jealous b4 the moaning start lol.
He feels I need to charge more due to having higher overhead chargers n equipment. However, i feel he should still be charging more as hes slower and uses a ladder. Thats our running debate, as hes come off his ladder and had a bad knee injury due to it, but insists trad is better.
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Ive recently had customers ask me , Can you clean them every 2 months now, There face when you give them a different price is laughable, I say if everyone did this there would be a big gap in my work especially if they think there will be no difference in Price.
Some have asked if I stop in winter, I says they can stop getting them cleaned but I will not be going back to clean them when they want them cleaning again in Spring time
I says it in my income. it is a yearly job.
Absolutely agree. I have some newer customers who ask what I do in winter. They ask if I leave it or continue. I simply let them know this is my professional business and as such it continues as normal. That seems to be enough for the vast majority as ive only every had 2 customers who stop for winter and I dont mind doing so (for reasons that are mine). Thats 2 cusyomers in all the years in working as a window cleaner.
One reason why I now offer 8 weekly cleans is because to be fair, im half waiting for all my 4 weekly to ask for it. They havent dome so in the 4 yrs since switching over and so Im probably in the clear but im cleaning virtually clean windows. If anything, its dirty window sills im mostly cleaning ;D.
The areas where I work, i would dare say that by week 7 you begin to notice the windows getting slightly dirty / covered in dust etc
That's why I've always gone 6 & 12 weekly Nathan. Who wants their windows cleaned every 4 weeks? They need to get a life unless they're getting them cleaned for a pittance.
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Ive recently had customers ask me , Can you clean them every 2 months now, There face when you give them a different price is laughable, I say if everyone did this there would be a big gap in my work especially if they think there will be no difference in Price.
Some have asked if I stop in winter, I says they can stop getting them cleaned but I will not be going back to clean them when they want them cleaning again in Spring time
I says it in my income. it is a yearly job.
Absolutely agree. I have some newer customers who ask what I do in winter. They ask if I leave it or continue. I simply let them know this is my professional business and as such it continues as normal. That seems to be enough for the vast majority as ive only every had 2 customers who stop for winter and I dont mind doing so (for reasons that are mine). Thats 2 cusyomers in all the years in working as a window cleaner.
One reason why I now offer 8 weekly cleans is because to be fair, im half waiting for all my 4 weekly to ask for it. They havent dome so in the 4 yrs since switching over and so Im probably in the clear but im cleaning virtually clean windows. If anything, its dirty window sills im mostly cleaning ;D.
The areas where I work, i would dare say that by week 7 you begin to notice the windows getting slightly dirty / covered in dust etc
That's why I've always gone 6 & 12 weekly Nathan. Who wants their windows cleaned every 4 weeks? They need to get a life unless they're getting them cleaned for a pittance.
it just depends...i have lots of 4 weekly cleans...... most are fairly dirty after 4 weeks due to being semi rural/backing onto farmers fields/loads of large trees around......some are cheap yes and others are paying over £20 per clean each month......
at one time most smaller domestic jobs were cleaned on a fortnightly basis 15 years ago.....
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My trad work was all 4 weekly and so when i switched to wfp, they simply stayed 4 weekly.
My 4 weekly prices are between £10 - 25
Whereas my 8 weekly are £30 - £70
I have quoted way above that for some lovely large mansion style houses but they look horrified when ive handed them the quote. One recently said it was too much (£100 on a longer duration) as the previous cleaner only charged £30. Then I looked horrified right back at her 😂😂
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if You go longer between cleans you’ll do better imo,I do a handful that are monthly but they are 40-50 quiders that take 15-20 minutes.
I prefer to clean windows when they need cleaning they don’t mind paying when they can see you’ve been lol.
When I first started years ago I was cleaning on a monthly basis I was running round like a mad person to not only get it all done but to earn half decent money,I’d rather clean 6-8 houses a day with 6-8 tea breaks and still catch the end of loose women lol
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when you have been cleaning customers at a price for a few years they seem gobsmacked that you are putting a price increase on there bill.
they become too use to a price. if you can replace them that's ok, if you have a lot of work that's ok to loose a few. do not just put a big price increase because someone says you should be charging this. if you are making over £150 / £200 a day for 6 hrs all depending what part of the country you are in. north east that's decent income for a window cleaner. you are still making more than some trades men
Lots of Competition up here.
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My trad work was all 4 weekly and so when i switched to wfp, they simply stayed 4 weekly.
My 4 weekly prices are between £10 - 25
Whereas my 8 weekly are £30 - £70
I have quoted way above that for some lovely large mansion style houses but they look horrified when ive handed them the quote. One recently said it was too much (£100 on a longer duration) as the previous cleaner only charged £30. Then I looked horrified right back at her 😂😂
At those prices and the fact you can clean 35 houses per day, I’m struggling to understand why you’re running around in a clapped out van🤔
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My trad work was all 4 weekly and so when i switched to wfp, they simply stayed 4 weekly.
My 4 weekly prices are between £10 - 25
Whereas my 8 weekly are £30 - £70
I have quoted way above that for some lovely large mansion style houses but they look horrified when ive handed them the quote. One recently said it was too much (£100 on a longer duration) as the previous cleaner only charged £30. Then I looked horrified right back at her 😂😂
you ll be able to afford a decent van with proper sign writing soon at this rate.........
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My trad work was all 4 weekly and so when i switched to wfp, they simply stayed 4 weekly.
My 4 weekly prices are between £10 - 25
Whereas my 8 weekly are £30 - £70
I have quoted way above that for some lovely large mansion style houses but they look horrified when ive handed them the quote. One recently said it was too much (£100 on a longer duration) as the previous cleaner only charged £30. Then I looked horrified right back at her 😂😂
you ll be able to afford a decent van with proper sign writing soon at this rate.........
Nah im saving for a diesel heater to give me 30 degrees at brush in winter 😂
Sorry daz, that was a cheap shot.
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Im happy with my little van and just need it to last a couple more years to fit in with my plans before I see a new one yet. Lol, i know your all dying for me to do a vid when I do as well 😁
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Even down south fully qualified carpenters bricklayers electricians are only on 200 a day,it’s completely flipped on it’s head where earnings are concerned.
The look you used to get as a window cleaner has gone when there working on a house and the customer asks remind me what i owe you I’ll pay it in later when you’ve been there an hour lol