Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Clean Cloth on April 24, 2020, 04:15:26 pm
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I used to have 15 four weekly residential jobs on this Monday coming.
Only 10 left now.
3 sent texts saying their businesses have come to a halt and husband furloughed, strapped for cash.
2 bungalows in the same road cancelled, I think from fear of catching Covid19.
With the lost commercial work things are looking grim right now.
Even if I am invited to apply for the grant it wont come close to lost earnings.
My business is only 2 years old and not as established as a lot of posters on here.
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You need a more diverse customer base and always fill your work diary with more than you can handle so your bursting at the seams. This way your less likely to lose certain types of window cleaning work and if you do lose a portion your over subscribed and won't feel the loss anyway
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look for ways you can upsell and make more money out of your existing customer base whether it be f/s/g cleans,conny roofs,solar panels,etc.......look out for them next time you clean their windows if you need the work....
i had my worst day since the lockdown for skipped cleans yesterday but today has been great,customers really pleased to see me plus i picked up 2 new regular window cleaning jobs......
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If i found myself in that position i would be:
Trying to get more customers
Up selling other cleaning services (conservatory roofs, upvc gutter/fascia/soffits, solar panels) to current customer base
Diversifying into other exterior maintenance such as grass cutting, hedge trimming, gutter clearing, gutter repairs, garden furniture cleaning, patio and drive way cleaning etc. etc.
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He's trad, I think.
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Even if I am invited to apply for the grant it wont come close to lost earnings.
You're saying you've lost 80% of your profit? Because thats what the Govt will be giving you.
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Even if I am invited to apply for the grant it wont come close to lost earnings.
You're saying you've lost 80% of your profit? Because thats what the Govt will be giving you.
In fairness, if he’s only two years in then there is a big chance his second year profits heavily out weigh his first years (the year they’ll work it out on)
There again, everyone will suffer in some way during this so I’m not sure (most) people can/should complain about getting a grant, it could be worse...it is for some.
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Yes I am Trad.
I have some nice business cards that state I also clean out gutters, conservatory roofs and FSG.
Normally I would have had a few of those jobs by this time of year.
I did cut a lawn and painted a shed for someone this week. I know this can look bad, jack of all trades etc but hoping it will lead to more window cleaning customers.
I live in a small village and also have dropped leaflets in the surrounding villages but this area is saturated with window cleaners from here and the surrounding areas. Most new customers are either new to the area or messers than nobody else wants. I have dropped whole villages before and not got 1 call. I picked up a few where one had retired last year. Just lucky timing.
Correct Don Kee
1st year profits were 1500 ish (3 months)
2nd year profits were 6500 ish
So 4000 ish 80% 3200 266 a month.
2019/2020 profits were higher but they don't count towards the grant.
The grant would help cover the lost commercial work and inside work so yes I am grateful for that but just concerned that the longer this goes on the more will drop out.
I know it can always be worse and some are a lot worse off than me.
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Ask can you be put on hold rather than cancelled.
Maybe do a free clean or two (or upstairs, fronts etc) to maintain some contact and build some goodwill?
Maybe get a part-time/temporary job to tide you over?
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Just finished my 5th week and to be honest probably had about ten cancelled till this is all over but in all honesty i think it depends on what part of country you live in if i lived down London honestly i wouldn't even go out to work with it being worst affected area
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Free clean why would you do that with the current situation everyone s in ??? ???
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You need a more diverse customer base and always fill your work diary with more than you can handle so your bursting at the seams. This way your less likely to lose certain types of window cleaning work and if you do lose a portion your over subscribed and won't feel the loss anyway
What would he do though if he did this and then there ended up being no cancellations and they all wanted it done? Probably wouldn't matter too much in summer when you can work later but in winter when it gets dark early it could be a problem.
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Free clean why would you do that with the current situation everyone s in ??? ???
To keep a valued customer on the books? As long as you've got the time.
Look at it as furloughing a customer (http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1587756307_smiley[1].gif).
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You need a more diverse customer base and always fill your work diary with more than you can handle so your bursting at the seams. This way your less likely to lose certain types of window cleaning work and if you do lose a portion your over subscribed and won't feel the loss anyway
What would he do though if he did this and then there ended up being no cancellations and they all wanted it done? Probably wouldn't matter too much in summer when you can work later but in winter when it gets dark early it could be a problem.
Work your socks off and graft. Take on an employee and expand perhaps
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
I wasn't suggesting that you do it.
It was for Clean Cloth who has lost some work in a small village due to the pandemic.
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Ive lost about £1K for each cycle of the round so far, there'll probably be more to go, it would foolish to think otherwise; I'll happily take what the Govt is offering and work at the same time.
When Im asked by punters 'hows it going with all this thats going on', I grimace and reply 'I'll get by, thanks for asking....' and traipse off looking dejected.
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
I cleaned 2 elderly customers houses for free last week.......it made me feel good.......these have been on my books for over 25 years......👍
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Looks like I'm down around £150 a month at the moment from skipped/suspended cleans but I've also put up lots of prices in March so this coupled with some new regular jobs as well as a few one off add ons I'm not losing out on any income......
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We are down about 2:5 k per month on commercial stuff we will get it all back once this is over but but they are hotels and have said they don’t plan to reopen this year , no domestic work affected
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
I cleaned 2 elderly customers houses for free last week.......it made me feel good.......these have been on my books for over 25 years......👍
Was that before or after you increased their price? 😂
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
I cleaned 2 elderly customers houses for free last week.......it made me feel good.......these have been on my books for over 25 years......👍
why would you clean there windows free of charge . As there income been affected. Pensioners?
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Pensioners should be the safest customers at the moment Daz , they won’t be any shorter of money , doing them free is daft !
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Pensioners should be the safest customers at the moment Daz , they won’t be any shorter of money , doing them free is daft !
The two I did for free have been in hospital for other health problems and are very frail.....they've been good,solid customers for many years.......
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
I cleaned 2 elderly customers houses for free last week.......it made me feel good.......these have been on my books for over 25 years......👍
why would you clean there windows free of charge . As there income been affected. Pensioners?
Have you not done anything for free in your life as a window cleaner then mate?
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Don't judge your entire business on a bad couple of days.
I had 2 cancels and about 6 skips in the first week of lockdown. I thought it would get worse but in the 3 weeks since I've only had 1 more cancel and maybe a other half a dozen skips.
I've picked up at least 5 new custs in that time plus had someone one off stuff come in that tbh I didn't really want.
Funny thing is a lot of the ones who skipped cleans are flakey customers anyway, the ones who in the past have a habit of skipping and late paying etc. I've taken the opportunity to remove a few of these from my round. My more established cream work has been very supportive.
If you are that worried just advertise, loads of work out there, social media is king ive picked up another just this morning.
Another thing I would say is in future get more work than you need. I'm never short of work because I'm always behind schedule.
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Don't judge your entire business on a bad couple of days.
I had 2 cancels and about 6 skips in the first week of lockdown. I thought it would get worse but in the 3 weeks since I've only had 1 more cancel and maybe a other half a dozen skips.
I've picked up at least 5 new custs in that time plus had someone one off stuff come in that tbh I didn't really want.
Funny thing is a lot of the ones who skipped cleans are flakey customers anyway, the ones who in the past have a habit of skipping and late paying etc. I've taken the opportunity to remove a few of these from my round. My more established cream work has been very supportive.
If you are that worried just advertise, loads of work out there, social media is king ive picked up another just this morning.
Another thing I would say is in future get more work than you need. I'm never short of work because I'm always behind schedule.
My last few weeks mirrors this too. A couple cancellations, one was flakey anyway. Picked up a handful of new regulars and one offs.
Most of my commercial is starting to come to life now aswell. 2 quite large offices want external only cleans ready for reopening in early May, management company work has carried on anyway and my showhomes work looks to be kicking off again in a couple of weeks. My retail work still on hold but that’s only a tiny amount these days.
My phones still deadly quiet though for new enquiries, usually getting 3-4 enquiries a day at this time of year but phone hasn’t rang for a couple of weeks. Is this what others are experiencing too?
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good stuff danny....so this lockdown hasnt been as bad for business has first feared then mate?.......the thing is even if you lost say 20% of your income i guess your not spending as much on stuff like eating out,days out with the kids and holidays(and haircuts!)........
my missus has just got a 3 month mortgage holiday so thats given her a bit of extra money for a few months...it was really easy.....i think she ll be itching to get back to work within the next few weeks though as shes done most of the jobs around the house and garden.......i dont know whether she will be allowed to open the shop by then or not..... ::)roll
i was going to have a week off at the start of may(i would of been on holiday in greece anyway)but ive changed my mind...im just gonna work through this whole pandemic by the looks of it! ;D
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good stuff danny....so this lockdown hasnt been as bad for business has first feared then mate?.......the thing is even if you lost say 20% of your income i guess your not spending as much on stuff like eating out,days out with the kids and holidays(and haircuts!)........
my missus has just got a 3 month mortgage holiday so thats given her a bit of extra money for a few months...it was really easy.....i think she ll be itching to get back to work within the next few weeks though as shes done most of the jobs around the house and garden.......i dont know whether she will be allowed to open the shop by then or not..... ::)roll
i was going to have a week off at the start of may(i would of been on holiday in greece anyway)but ive changed my mind...im just gonna work through this whole pandemic by the looks of it! ;D
Things are definitely looking more promising than I first feared. I’ll be down a few thousand on missed commercial work but I’m more concerned about getting it back long term which has always been my main concern.
It’s been quite difficult to spend money these last few weeks hasn’t it which has been a nice change. I’ve spent a fair whack on materials for the garden though, Indian sandstone patio, new shed etc. All cash which would otherwise no doubt been spent on days out, meals out, weekends away etc.
I must admit Ive also enjoyed the change of pace, slowing everything down. It feels like I’ve stepped out of the rat race for the last 4 weeks and spent loads more time with my wife and kids and refocused on what is really important.
I’m sure your mrs will be allowed to reopen her shop quite soon Daz, the building sites are getting back to work this week and next, plenty will follow after that.
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I hardly ever get phone calls despite having decent Google rankings.
95% of my work comes through fb with the odd email and walk up.
I've spent loads of money since this lockdown. I bought a new PC, desk and chair. Made an office in the spare room, only problem is I'm getting told off for spending too much time in it :D. I bought a load of painting gear and resprayed my old car.
Been having a clear out and sold quite a bit of stuff on ebay though, tablet, pc, bike, xbox.
It's frustrating having to order everything and waiting a week for deliverys rather than being able to nip to the shop.
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I’m full commercial to start with I had loads of cancel cleans and jobs to be put on hold.
They are now starting to come back apart from the retail and pub/resturaunt work and a couple of offices.
I’m still down quite a lot but I was surprised at how much I actually turned over in April for very little work.
Not massive money but still ok.
like others I have spent very little.I don’t think I’ve put fuel in my van for aleast 5 weeks.
The retail work will be the last to come back and some I am struggling to get money out of so out of my own choice even if they come back some are getting dropped.
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Talking about fuel I’ve used far less fuel not sitting in traffic,really noticeable tbh I reckon the roads being quieter has saved me £20 a week on fuel.
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Pensioners should be the safest customers at the moment Daz , they won’t be any shorter of money , doing them free is daft !
I agree but they are also the most vulnerable to this pandemic as I am due to age and health.
I've had a couple of elderly ones asking me if I'm working. They were doing their best to convince me that I didn't have to come anywhere near them but they needed their windows cleaned.
Apparently the gardeners are still working. The one customer told me they arrived in different vehicles; one did the back and the other the front and they never spoke to each other.
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I haven’t kept count, but we’ve not lost a fraction of what I expected. With new customers coming in (no marketing going on) I reckon we’re slightly up. It’s early days yet though.
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I’m full commercial to start with I had loads of cancel cleans and jobs to be put on hold.
They are now starting to come back apart from the retail and pub/resturaunt work and a couple of offices.
I’m still down quite a lot but I was surprised at how much I actually turned over in April for very little work.
Not massive money but still ok.
like others I have spent very little.I don’t think I’ve put fuel in my van for aleast 5 weeks.
The retail work will be the last to come back and some I am struggling to get money out of so out of my own choice even if they come back some are getting dropped.
We did a previously cancelled commercial clean this morning. He jumped on it when I suggested Saturday as no staff are around which fitted his company's Health and Safety plan.
This line has been adopted by a few business as an excuse to cancel/suspend our business relationship. Payment for previous work is still outstanding.
We consider that a force majeure event has occurred for the purposes of our contract with you and accordingly we would like to suspend our service with you effective immediately.
Our holiday was cancelled by Tui the evening before we were due to fly out the next morning. They have used this same excuse for stalling on a refund payment.
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Talking about fuel I’ve used far less fuel not sitting in traffic,really noticeable tbh I reckon the roads being quieter has saved me £20 a week on fuel.
I never encounter traffic, maybe 10/15 mins to where im starting on a morning then 30 secs between most jobs, home well before rush hour.
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Yes I am Trad.
I have some nice business cards that state I also clean out gutters, conservatory roofs and FSG.
Normally I would have had a few of those jobs by this time of year.
I did cut a lawn and painted a shed for someone this week. I know this can look bad, jack of all trades etc but hoping it will lead to more window cleaning customers.
I live in a small village and also have dropped leaflets in the surrounding villages but this area is saturated with window cleaners from here and the surrounding areas. Most new customers are either new to the area or messers than nobody else wants. I have dropped whole villages before and not got 1 call. I picked up a few where one had retired last year. Just lucky timing.
Correct Don Kee
1st year profits were 1500 ish (3 months)
2nd year profits were 6500 ish
So 4000 ish 80% 3200 266 a month.
2019/2020 profits were higher but they don't count towards the grant.
The grant would help cover the lost commercial work and inside work so yes I am grateful for that but just concerned that the longer this goes on the more will drop out.
I know it can always be worse and some are a lot worse off than me.
Do you advertise your addons other than just on business cards and try and push these too. And do you have a website targetting your local areas for window cleaning and additional services?
I know some people don't rate websites as source of new work enquiries but that could be for any number of reasons. The chances are there are hundreds of searches every month in your location made by people looking for the local services you offer.
It can only help you if you're able to put your company into a prominent position on search results pages. Also use and optimise your Google My Business page and try and rank in the local pack - the box of 3 taht appears at the top of page 1 for most local service searches on Google. GMB listings are free and receive a high percentage of clicks. And don't forget these are people specifically looking for a particular local service and so close to making a decision on hiring / buying.
And don't forget Bing Places as another free business listing and an alternative to Google. .https://www.bingplaces.com/ (https://www.bingplaces.com/)
And a facebook page is another free platform.
These are all ways to improve your online presence and possibly / probably generate work. The only cost involved is for a domain name, website and hosting but if you're able to do a site yourself, you can buy a domain name and make and host a WordPress website (amongst others) very cheaply with companies such as 1&1.
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I mean during the day in general driving from job to job hardly any traffic at all mainly lorries or delivery vans.
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
I cleaned 2 elderly customers houses for free last week.......it made me feel good.......these have been on my books for over 25 years......👍
why would you clean there windows free of charge . As there income been affected. Pensioners?
Have you not done anything for free in your life as a window cleaner then mate?
Doubt it.
Steven Biggs
My sons are thinking of employing in the near future . So I said I would help them leaflet and canvas on Monday . There’s a large nice estate where they have a few houses . But they have been told there is 2 windys who are not working for the foreseeable . Might pay off for em .
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Pensioners should be the safest customers at the moment Daz , they won’t be any shorter of money , doing them free is daft !
The two I did for free have been in hospital for other health problems and are very frail.....they've been good,solid customers for many years.......
😁so that means they have even more money . No food or minor expenses while in there . More fool you .
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I dont offer free cleans dont need to been i game to long i would rather them sit the clean out
I cleaned 2 elderly customers houses for free last week.......it made me feel good.......these have been on my books for over 25 years......👍
why would you clean there windows free of charge . As there income been affected. Pensioners?
Have you not done anything for free in your life as a window cleaner then mate?
Doubt it.
Steven Biggs
My sons are thinking of employing in the near future . So I said I would help them leaflet and canvas on Monday . There’s a large nice estate where they have a few houses . But they have been told there is 2 windys who are not working for the foreseeable . Might pay off for em .
already paying off for em . I have passed 27 custys on to em since lockdown . And they have picked up about 50 between em . They are now virtually full . Next step for em is employ , or cull and keep the cream .