Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: vt on September 28, 2006, 02:42:39 pm
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Hello all. Just picked up a new round that's mainly terraced houses. Two windows and fanlight at front, two maybe three windows at the back. Price is about £2.00 to £2.70 per house. I think this is cheap and the lad I took over from has obviously never done the frames unless asked to, I'm also told that he was never that regular. Would you carry on just cleaning the glass at this price or try and start the frames and put the price up? I find myself doing the frames out of habit but I'm basically robbing myself and running out of clean cloths very early in the day!
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Crikey Vt,£2 to £2.70. ???
Thats what we charge on top just for wiping the frames.
If you dont put the prices up you will struggle to make a living. ::)
At the moment you will need to clean 10 per hour to make £25 per hour. >:(
Hope you didnt pay much for it. :'(
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Those prices must increase ! try it a few at a time , and maybe youre right to offer to do there frames on a regular basis. Try and get new ones in these roads aswell at what you consider the right price , then it will start to even out price wise ! good luck
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Hi,
£2.00 PER WINDOW down in surrey for this type of house.
WINDOLENE.
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HEY
I would ask for a refund
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dont know where your from but that is to cheap for anywhere.
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Where you from coze thats real cheap
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wot???????????
£2-00 per house?
is it the 1st april already?
i wouldn't even open the van door for that amount let alone getting the gear out
this has to be a windup?
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No wind up, was supposed to be £2.20 but the old girl insisted it's always been £2.00. Northwest manchester. Have I been done. I know the price hasn't gone up for about 4 years!
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vt
If it is a case of them all stacked up like dominoes you will make good money even at them prices.
Dont lose heart yet , report back next week when you have done a few days and you will be able to assess what you can make an hour, after a month or so you will be faster.
You have to go on the charm offensive with your customers , just play the poverty card and you will do OK, you will find most customers will be sympathetic to your cause if you are noy making any money.
Something like this "Sorry love but i can not carry on at these prices, no wonder the last guy sold up , he must of seen me coming a mile off"
It worked for me , i very rarely get refused a price increase,
Dave
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when i started cleaning windows 15 years ago, i was charging 1.50 a terised house. The last time i did some terised houses was about 2 years ago and was charging 5.00, so prices have gone up a bit since then, so if i was you i wouldn't charge anything less then a fiver.
Plus the more you do at 2.20 the harder you got to work and also the more collecting you have to do.
Regards
Brett.
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Quadruple those prices!! I charge more than that for an average sized bay window!!! :o
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VT,
In South-East Wales the going rate for a small terraced house is 5 to 7 pounds. (Three windows front and rear with a door front and rear).
Do you know what your local competitors charge?
I clean many terraced houses, and since I've priced them correctly; they're a good part of my round.
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I'm like Tosh, i've got just over 50 town houses (blocks of 4) in one road. They're a good little earner if you get the prices right.
I've only just got the road after i bought it off another w/c for £200, i've cleaned them twice and then put the prices up - they range from between £6 - £10 now and i can do roughly 3 to 4 in an hour but 4 to 5 if i really push it, which i don't very often - lol ;)
I've picked up a few new ones in the last couple of months but i priced those at £8 from the start, no complaints yet.
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Explain to all your new customers that you have taken over from the previous window cleaner and that the prices are very underpriced. Ask them if they would like to continue having their windows cleaned on a 'regular' (emphasise the regular) basis BUT at a realistic price to include the frames and sills as well (empasising again that the previous window cleaner had to MISS these because of the VERY LOW prices). If they are not really prepared to meet you at a sensible price then offer a 'Glass Only' price which you can fly through which will raise your price (because of the lack of time required to clean). Also push your customers for REFERALS so that you get sensible prices on new work.
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do them ONCE
then explain you cannot do them fo that money, put them up a little, then in 6 months put them up again
you will get to a point where you will earn what you want
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Don't mess about with the prices just tell your customers that the other cleaner charge to little and that's the reason he never came often, explain that you are a PROFESSIONAL window cleaner who charges the correct rate which is at least £7.00.
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The way I see it is if you doubled the cost to the customer and lost 50% of them, you would still be earning the same money for half the work, chances are they would come back to you later once they relised you do a good job and are regular.
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i have got about 50-60 houses at 2.50-3.00 each all old back to backs all with two upstairs and two downstairs windows all next door to each other in 5 difrent streets.one days work every two weeks. them 2.50s soon add up ;D
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them 2.50s soon add up ;D
But at 5.00 pounds each, they'd add up to double what you've got now.
2.50 just about buys you a pint of lager; those prices need to go up to AT LEAST to five pounds each.
I'd draft a well-worded letter of explanation, telling the customer why you're doubling the price and that unless you hear otherwise, you'll be cleaning their house at the new price as normal. Give them a week-or-two-notice.
If you stay at 2.50 each, I'll give you three-months before you drop the lot, and then some other window cleaner will come along and pick them all up at a better price.
If writing letters isn't your forte; post your draft on this forum; and I'm sure we'll help improve upon it.
Also, do a search on this site for 'price increases'; it's been done to death, and I'm sure you'll formulate the best method for getting those houses up to a more realistic level of pricing.
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50-60 houses per day. That might end up good money but 50-60 times you have to pick up the money, be polite, talk about the weather etc etc. That would send me nuts.
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I wouldn't bother, I could earn the same amount doing just 12 of my average priced terraced houses, get your prices right!!!
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I wouldn't bother, I could earn the same amount doing just 12 of my average priced terraced houses, get your prices right!!!
Good God !! We actually agree on something. :)
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Of course Shiner, the Groundhog is always right! ;D
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Thanks a lot. I'm thinking about the letter approach but it's a bit demoralising when you've got old people arguing over 10p. If they were 40 years younger, you'd just tell them thats the price take it or leave it, but it's the old pensioners joker coming out again that messes with your head.
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vt,
Id just put the prices upto £5 no arguments
Why not say you'll clean the frames and switch to monthly cleans so in reality its not costing them any more, but at least your not working as hard for the money and it'll give you more time to find some better paying work.
Im based not to far from you being in Warrington and I charge £2 for cleaning a front door!!
Alistair
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Vt if you feel for the old age pensioners why not raise everybodys price to whatever is a good no. for you and then offer the pensioners a discount off that, this way you can justify your price to the non pensioners and as they move on the new customers that move in will pay your regular price. say 5 quid regular price 4 quid oaps if half cancel you still make the same money for less work
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I'll go to the shop, collect prescriptions and change light-bulbs and stuff for OAPs.
I wouldn't give them a discount though.
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Your running a business, not a charity. Put the prices up, if they don't like it dump them and get some decent customers, theres plenty of them out there! ;)
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hi,
just to say that i have been operating in the manchester area for 18 years & i charge £4.00 to clean a terraced house , so if your charging £2.00 - £2.70 i would seriously put them up , without a doubt. i charge £2.50 for anybody who wants fronts or tops to be cleaned .add on another £1.00 to wipe the sills down.
Obviously customers complain & some will cancel , but in my experiance i explain to them that i am running a business , pay tax,insurance etc , so £2.00 - £2.50 is for the window cleaners who are undercutting the legitimate window cleaners & thats why they can charge & undercut the rest of us . Also a good one to point out is that if the window cleaners who are charging less & maybe signing on or doing it as a secondary job , that if they fell off or had an accident on their premises then they could be held responsible ,as they could be classed as the employer & therefore should ask if you are insured , because i GUARENTEE that if you damaged any item of theirs they would want it replacing or compensation ............
THINK OF IT THIS WAY , IF I HAD 100 HOUSES @ £2.00 , I WOULD RATHER EXPLAIN & PUT THEM UP TO £4.00 AND ONLY CLEAN 50 = EXACTLY THE SAME MONEY & LESS WORK .. SOME CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE CANCELLED WILL COME BACK , BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO CLEAN WELL , POLITE,RELIABLE,HONEST = THEY WILL THEN SEE YOUR TRUSTWORTHY & BEFORE LONG YOU WILL HAVE LOADS OF CUSTOMERS PREPARED TO PAY MORE THAN £4.00........ CHRIS.
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Great post Chris,had never thought of the insurance angle you mention.