Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: simon spencer on September 17, 2007, 12:13:45 pm
-
Ive been window cleaning now for 11 years, 3 years ago I sold alot of my work off, the reason for this was rubbish prices, average hourly rate earned was £10- £15. Now ive built up a decent round were im cleaning an average of £25- £30 per hour. The problem Ive always found is with most jobs I quote for I dont get, the client says Im to expensive. Do you think my hourly rate is to much. I am based in the midlands.
Many thanks
Simon
-
I always find that quoting this time of year is difficult. This is because there are lots of startups who charge low (either to get the job, or though lack of experience), and there are also a lot of "beer money" window cleaners around.
In the autum/winter months I would say I get about 90% of jobs that I quote for... This time of year its about 60/65%.
Andy (not Trevor :))
-
Hi Trevor,
Ive been window cleaning now for 11 years, 3 years ago I sold alot of my work off, the reason for this was rubbish prices, average hourly rate earned was £10- £15. Now ive built up a decent round were im cleaning an average of £25- £30 per hour. The problem Ive always found is with most jobs I quote for I dont get, the client says Im to expensive. Do you think my hourly rate is to much. I am based in the midlands.
Many thanks
Simon
I think your current hourly rate is reasonable. In fact, I would say that it is possible to go higher on many jobs. A lot can depend on what area you work in though. I'm in the southeast so can probably manage to charge more than someone in the northeast for instance.
I assume you quote for the job rather than by the hour?
-
Hi Shiner,
I do quote per job, never by the hour. My quotes are based on cleaning £25- £30 per hour.
The last few months have been the worst. Quoted a porsche showroom the other day, £95 for the ouside every week and the same for the inside every 4 weeks. There was a company willing to do inside & out for £100, I just carnt compete with that. I had 4 cancellations last week based on price, somebody half the price as me. It really p.sses me off.
-
Fly by night window cleaners are the expensive ones, I am cheap in my eyes and we charge about the £30 mark or more sometimes
-
I only started up my WFP business last month and I quoted a couple of houses at £25 each and another at £20 some people think im too expensive and some not, but I have had to cut my prices down a bit to get the business built up and my name around, Im not into stealing work because I dont agree with it and wouldn't like it if it was done to me - at the moment im a bit slow with the WFP because still getting used to it and a lot of custies are first cleans - the bigger houses take me about 45mins - 1hr slow I know but I like to do a proper job. The ones I qouted £25 I have now dropped to £20 in the hope that they will pass my name on as they do know a lot of people, Do you think im right in cutting my prices down to get the work in? In the Midlands area also.
Thanks
Andy
-
Hi Shiner,
I do quote per job, never by the hour. My quotes are based on cleaning £25- £30 per hour.
The last few months have been the worst. Quoted a porsche showroom the other day, £95 for the ouside every week and the same for the inside every 4 weeks. There was a company willing to do inside & out for £100, I just carnt compete with that. I had 4 cancellations last week based on price, somebody half the price as me. It really p.sses me off.
I'm glad to hear that you do quote by the job rather than by the hour.
It sounds very competitive where you are. What area do you work in?
Something that needs to be borne in mind is that some of these companies who quote cheap don't necessarily do the job properly. It can end up with doing a full clean one visit in three and spot cleaning the rest of the time. I could quote like that too but I would rather quote for a reasonable job. I suppose another possibility could be your working speed. If you are quoting per hour (in your head rather than to the customer) and your work speed is lower than average, that could make your quotation higher. I'm well aware that I'm not exactly the fastest thing on two legs myself and wonder if I have failed to get some jobs because of that.
Personally, I don't have to work for silly money, nor do I have to skimp a job to keep the price down and I hope I never have to. In the long term, I believe that doing a reasonable job for a decent price will carry you further than quoting low, rushing a job, and letting the quality suffer. It's just that when you lose jobs to companies charging silly money, it doesn't feel that way.
-
It depends how much you can do in an hour I suppose, if you take an hour to do a 2 bed semi at £25 then your expensive, if your taking an hour to clean a 5 bed house at £25 then your cheap, if you see what I mean!
I live in the south, but have priced up for a few people who have moved down here from the midlands, and have never got any of them as they say I'm too expensive, one lived in a four bed house which I priced at £25, the lady said that back in the midlands she had a bigger house and her window cleaner charged £4!!!! ???
-
Sure is difficult to price around here - I was pricing at £1 per window but that seems too much to most - £25 quid for 25 windows - I have tried to cut em down to £20 etc - £15 to £12.50 and so on to try n get the work in.
-
I charge the same, £1 per window. Im not slow either.
Over the years Ive employed at least 20 experienced window cleaners from other companys and to be fair most of them are not as quick as me.
It seems to me that there is a lot of window cleaners setting up in the area at the moment, hence it being very competitive.
Quoted a job the other day, just the fronts & sides (building work going off at the back), on the ground there was a porch way 3 sides to it, 1 bay window, 2 small windows down the side, on the 1st floor there was 1 bay window & a small window. Quoted £8.00, lady said no chance I paid £6.00 for the whole house. How can you compete with that, you carnt, well I carnt.
-
im in the birmingham area i would of quoted £6_£8 dont
think that is expensive 99 times out of a hundred i get the work
i think you should stick to your guns. :)
-
u should be getting £30-40 per hour
-
I quoted a job at 55 quid, she nearly dropped down dead!!!!
Then she said- "my last w/c only took 15 quid"
So i asked where was he then?
she said "he just stopped coming"
"That's why" i said, laughed at her , "not to worry" & walked away. ::)
some ya win, some ya don't.
-
I quoted a job at 55 quid, she nearly dropped down dead!!!!
Then she said- "my last w/c only took 15 quid"
So i asked where was he then?
she said "he just stopped coming"
"That's why" i said, laughed at her , "not to worry" & walked away. ::)
some ya win, some ya don't.
Experienced that myself, almost rang the ambulance for them ;D, end of the day a customer who drops you for price isn't a customer worth having, their loyalty is to the purse/wallet and don't appreciate what we put up with to do a job we enjoy.
I'm worth what I'm worth and stick to it.
Rob.
-
I charge the same, £1 per window. Im not slow either.
Over the years Ive employed at least 20 experienced window cleaners from other companys and to be fair most of them are not as quick as me.
It seems to me that there is a lot of window cleaners setting up in the area at the moment, hence it being very competitive.
Quoted a job the other day, just the fronts & sides (building work going off at the back), on the ground there was a porch way 3 sides to it, 1 bay window, 2 small windows down the side, on the 1st floor there was 1 bay window & a small window. Quoted £8.00, lady said no chance I paid £6.00 for the whole house. How can you compete with that, you carnt, well I carnt.
Your price seems spot on. I would have charged £15.00 for 1st clean and the £7.00 per clean, if she wanted the back done, then it would have been £25.00 1st clean and £10.00 there after.
-
you may be at the high end of pricing .but if your still pulling in jobs dont worry about it .if you dont have enough wk then think again
-
People do pay for a quality service, when people say about price straight away I say I cost more than most window cleaners (and say I am reliable as I price my work so I will never let you down) I had a phone call 5 mins ago and a lady asked if she could get on our rounds, I said yes no problem what was you paying before she said £10, my reply was it will be £12.50 to £15 I understand this is more than you used to pay but I will not let you down, her reply to that was "I would pay £20 if i new you you would always come back (missed that one lol) a good price for a good job
-
I think that given the job/risks involved...esp for trad...£25ph is about right.
But assuming an 8 hr day I suspect that few of us who charge £25ph come home 5 days a week with £200 in their pockets...although reading various posts I understand that £2000 per week is, for some, a rightly earned figure.
Truth-be-known window cleaning came as a saviour for most people as few people left school thinking: "I'm becoming a w/c..."
...in fact w/c was a way most people who couldn't/wouldn't be employed elsewhere found a way to stay solvent and pay their bills...and here I include myself!!!
But I'm becoming heartily sick of people asking/stating how much their largely unskilled efforts are worth...just be humbly grateful that you have a means of putting bread on the table for the time being.
And believe me when your scummy clients find their mortgage repayments double when their fixed-term comes to an end you'll be the first "luxury" to be canned!
Sorry guys but I feel that some of you over-estimate/value your importance/skills.
-
And believe me when your scummy clients find their mortgage repayments double when their fixed-term comes to an end you'll be the first "luxury" to be canned!
Sorry guys but I feel that some of you over-estimate/value your importance/skills.
Spot on.
Window cleaners are always the first thing people cut out.
-
Simon you obviously have a very low opinion of yourself, your fellow window cleaners and your customers!! :(
-
No Sir I'm realistic!...and it's not 3pm...why are you not working?
-
I think that given the job/risks involved...esp for trad...£25ph is about right.
But assuming an 8 hr day I suspect that few of us who charge £25ph come home 5 days a week with £200 in their pockets...although reading various posts I understand that £2000 per week is, for some, a rightly earned figure.
Truth-be-known window cleaning came as a saviour for most people as few people left school thinking: "I'm becoming a w/c..."
...in fact w/c was a way most people who couldn't/wouldn't be employed elsewhere found a way to stay solvent and pay their bills...and here I include myself!!!
But I'm becoming heartily sick of people asking/stating how much their largely unskilled efforts are worth...just be humbly grateful that you have a means of putting bread on the table for the time being.
And believe me when your scummy clients find their mortgage repayments double when their fixed-term comes to an end you'll be the first "luxury" to be canned!
Sorry guys but I feel that some of you over-estimate/value your importance/skills.
Simon, that is a bit harsh there, cleaning is not a luxury and to be honest I do not have any as you say"scummy clients" I feel by the comments made you do not vaule the improtance in window cleaning and the services provided,
I had a very good job, before window cleaning, and I choose it, maybe many many moons ago it was for mainly unskilled people that could not find a job or where un emplyable "things change"
so to all that read this carry on doing the great jobs, and new people in the window cleaning field speak to me I can fill you full of confidence that you are valued ;D
p.s this is not a personal attack in anyway, is only IMO
-
Windowwashers, of course we are valued..when times are good!
But please don't tell me that when Mrs Smith has to find an extra £170 per month (from God only knows where) she'll not start looking at her out-goings and think that maybe her windows being pristine are not as important as keeping a roof over her head.
And as for paying £50ph for the luxury.....!!!!!!!!!
-
Windowwashers, of course we are valued..when times are good!
But please don't tell me that when Mrs Smith has to find an extra £170 per month (from God only knows where) she'll not start looking at her out-goings and think that maybe her windows being pristine are not as important as keeping a roof over her head.
And as for paying £50ph for the luxury.....!!!!!!!!!
True in a way, but from what I have leant over the years this will only affect a very small minority, they would rather stop having there rubbish bin washed and paper delivered, the odds few will cancel so the point is valid, if you have been doing this a long time you will already no it does not happen to often and when it does you just pick up another. Some people look at having their windows cleaned like they do washing there car it is a thing that needs to be done unless they like it looking dirty. alot of the older folk see this as a priority.
-
Have you never heard of the saying 'make hay while the sun shines', in other words make the most of your opportunities during good times, if the worst happens then we will have to deal with it. That is one of the reasons I stay away from the Smiths and Jones, and target the more exclusive Ponsonby's and Smythes, as they tend not to have mortgages! ;)
-
Have you never heard of the saying 'make hay while the sun shines', in other words make the most of your opportunities during good times, if the worst happens then we will have to deal with it. That is one of the reasons I stay away from the Smiths and Jones, and target the more exclusive Ponsonby's and Smythes, as they tend not to have mortgages! ;)
Good point groundhog ;)
-
Guys...don't get me wrong here...I'm not saying that £25/£50ph is silly. I mean, if you can get way with more...power to your elbow.
All I'm asking for is a bit of realism:
Please don't pretend that North of £25ph is in any way a true reflection on the skills you've acquired in your Doctorate in w/c..." Me?...Dr. Groundhog in window cleaning...I've spent 5 years in university studying trad and wfp methods..."
Oh come on....!!!
-
If you are a competent solicitor you will charge £150 - £250 ph to cover your overheads, offices, equipt, salaries, car, pension, holidays etc.
A high street accountant will charge £100 per hour.
These are the guys and gals with the degrees and training.
A competent self employed window cleaner has to cover his equipt, vehicle, wages, holidays, sickness etc.
Charging £30 per hour does not average £240 a day - by the time you take driving between jobs that may drop to £150 - £200 and every day off eats into that at 20%.
Look at your income at the year end and I reckon that someone charging £30 per hour, averaging 4 to 5 days a week at 6 earning hours per day will have an income around £30K at the end of the year when holidays, sickness and other time off come into the equation.
Thats before you reduce it for running costs too!
-
Guys...don't get me wrong here...I'm not saying that £25/£50ph is silly. I mean, if you can get way with more...power to your elbow.
All I'm asking for is a bit of realism:
Please don't pretend that North of £25ph is in any way a true reflection on the skills you've acquired in your Doctorate in w/c..." Me?...Dr. Groundhog in window cleaning...I've spent 5 years in university studying trad and wfp methods..."
Oh come on....!!!
As a newbie reading these posts about hourly rates and pricing etc it strikes me that there is alot of inconsistency in the rates being quoted.
EG Average time taken to do an average 3 bed semi WFP about 20 mins... most people are pricing at £10 a semi ( goodish rate as others charge less £6-£8. So if you dont stop to collect money , drink tea, smoke eat drink move to the house next door or 5 mins down the road then you can earn £30 an hour on decently priced work. If ur working on £30 an hour knock a third off for the total hours worked over the week . I think thats a more realistic figure of whats being earnt out there on "the streets".
Dont think Im being rude there are exceptions to every rule but Ive clocked a couple of good grafting window cleaners in my area the age of the van private car how many how much the house is worth, and IMO they have a £600 a week lifestyle, Dont think theyre earning £1000 per week. (Blackpool Area)
-
Thanks for all your imput guys, its made feel alot better.
Regards
Simon
-
If you are a competent solicitor you will charge £150 - £250 ph to cover your overheads, offices, equipt, salaries, car, pension, holidays etc.
A high street accountant will charge £100 per hour.
These are the guys and gals with the degrees and training.
A competent self employed window cleaner has to cover his equipt, vehicle, wages, holidays, sickness etc.
Charging £30 per hour does not average £240 a day - by the time you take driving between jobs that may drop to £150 - £200 and every day off eats into that at 20%.
Look at your income at the year end and I reckon that someone charging £30 per hour, averaging 4 to 5 days a week at 6 earning hours per day will have an income around £30K at the end of the year when holidays, sickness and other time off come into the equation.
Thats before you reduce it for running costs too!
Malc. coming from thw w/c perspective everything you say is valid. But looking at things from the customers view point is where our services can in some instances look overpriced.
Eg: Clean Mrs Smiths 3 bed semi, take 1/2 hr and charge £25 is to her too expensive, It'll fall on deaf ears to say " Oh my next job is 10 miles away and isn't for another hour...so in reality I'm only earning £15 ph"...Mrs Smith doesn't care how we schedule our daily routine or what tax we have to pay. All she cares about is she having to stump up £25 for 1/2 hrs work.
I charge £25 ph.... and that's time actually spent cleaning a customers windows. The fact that often there's a delay of 15-20 mins before I move onto the next is my problem and I can't expect my customers to pay for my lack of back to back jobs.
-
Half the people i know with degrees do unskilled jobs or have gone on to do something totally irrelevant
You work up to a certain standard over a certain period of time and charge for that standard just like any other tradesmen
-
I think too many w/cleaners judge what others make at w/cleaning purely on their own limitations and perspectives as to what is a fair price.
For me your own round will inform you better then any other person as to weather you are ripping customers off, being too cheap or having your prices just right.
If you have a very poor customer base due to frequent cancellations which are due to the cost of cleaning only, then you are too expensive for your chosen cliental.
But if your customer base is mainly old people and the unemployed then your on an hiding to nothing. You will never get a good rate per hour if thats where you are building your round.
You have too target the wealthy areas. A freind of mine as moved to Manchester about a year ago and as been building a new round in Manchester,He has kept his old round going and traveled the 60 miles, 120miles round trip. He is now looking to sell his old round as he now as enough work in Manchester.
Now reading Simons posts he should charge £25.00 an hour or there abouts.
Well he has priced all his new work at £50.00 an hour or more then that.
Now if hes ripping customers off his round will collapse. But if that does not happen and the customer is happy paying it, How can you say its a rip off?
I do not earn below £30 an hour. I also know in certain areas I could not get increase my average price to £50 an hour without loseing a lot of my customer base. But I do price higher for new work.
Its not ripping customers off. I have had customers who have been with me for nearly 30 years. If I went to a pub and got charged £10.00 for a pint,he would not see me again because I know its not a fair price, Hes ripping me off.
But when you price a job up and you tell the customer the price and they say clean them on a regualer basis you cannot say its a rip off.
If you charge £20 an hour, and someone comes into w,cleaning and charges £10 an hour. Are you then at £20 an hour ripping the customer off? Or is the other chap too cheap? Then someone says they will clean for £7 an hour.
I know someone who has worked for a local w/cleaning firm for 12 years. He earns £6.50 an hour doing 50hours a week. Now is his Boss ripping him off?
Priceing is down to a matter of Perspective,But making statements like Rippoff shows your lack of understanding on priceing. :o
Nel.
-
Ive been window cleaning now for 11 years, 3 years ago I sold alot of my work off, the reason for this was rubbish prices, average hourly rate earned was £10- £15. Now ive built up a decent round were im cleaning an average of £25- £30 per hour. The problem Ive always found is with most jobs I quote for I dont get, the client says Im to expensive. Do you think my hourly rate is to much. I am based in the midlands.
Many thanks
Simon
I'm in North Birmingham and my rock bottom price for a bog-standard three bed semi is £8. Take on the skinflint and whinging £3 brigade and give them what they deserve, the rag - and bump every other clean.
-
If you are a competent solicitor you will charge £150 - £250 ph to cover your overheads, offices, equipt, salaries, car, pension, holidays etc.
A high street accountant will charge £100 per hour.
These are the guys and gals with the degrees and training.
A competent self employed window cleaner has to cover his equipt, vehicle, wages, holidays, sickness etc.
Charging £30 per hour does not average £240 a day - by the time you take driving between jobs that may drop to £150 - £200 and every day off eats into that at 20%.
Look at your income at the year end and I reckon that someone charging £30 per hour, averaging 4 to 5 days a week at 6 earning hours per day will have an income around £30K at the end of the year when holidays, sickness and other time off come into the equation.
Thats before you reduce it for running costs too!
Malc. coming from thw w/c perspective everything you say is valid. But looking at things from the customers view point is where our services can in some instances look overpriced.
Eg: Clean Mrs Smiths 3 bed semi, take 1/2 hr and charge £25 is to her too expensive, It'll fall on deaf ears to say " Oh my next job is 10 miles away and isn't for another hour...so in reality I'm only earning £15 ph"...Mrs Smith doesn't care how we schedule our daily routine or what tax we have to pay. All she cares about is she having to stump up £25 for 1/2 hrs work.
I charge £25 ph.... and that's time actually spent cleaning a customers windows. The fact that often there's a delay of 15-20 mins before I move onto the next is my problem and I can't expect my customers to pay for my lack of back to back jobs.
I would factor the travel in with the price because if you have not been doing you are not earning £25 at all it would be more like £15 if that, and to be honest the beer money window cleaners earn more than that ;)
-
Hi I am friend visit of Pj. My name doesnt matter. I am fron other country. Maybe Baltic state, maybe...
I work in my Country as Pharmacy researcher, I have Degree in Science and Maths. 15 years experience work. Family wife 3 children. I get paid same as £3.50p an hour for 30 hours week. I have £105 a week with 3 hours to travel day. My rent is good at same as £20 a week. My tax is about same as you. I drive sometimes very old car. My food for family is same as £40 week. I save for family £5 week.
I work here maybe for cleaning I not mind it. I work for by myself maybe get £6 hour for 30 hours week.
I have £180 a week boss pick up lift My rent £80 a week for 1 room. My food is £40 a week for me.and
I aboutsave £50 a week send to family my wife
10 times more than they imagine!!! I get be with them soon. I ham not afraid work hard, I read all prices bigger biggest but I do good job same who cares more money
greedy I get house and job and family look after very cheep easy than home
-
Hi I am friend visit of Pj. My name doesnt matter. I am fron other country. Maybe Baltic state, maybe...
I work in my Country as Pharmacy researcher, I have Degree in Science and Maths. 15 years experience work. Family wife 3 children. I get paid same as £3.50p an hour for 30 hours week. I have £105 a week with 3 hours to travel day. My rent is good at same as £20 a week. My tax is about same as you. I drive sometimes very old car. My food for family is same as £40 week. I save for family £5 week.
I work here maybe for cleaning I not mind it. I work for by myself maybe get £6 hour for 30 hours week.
I have £180 a week boss pick up lift My rent £80 a week for 1 room. My food is £40 a week for me.and
I aboutsave £50 a week send to family my wife
10 times more than they imagine!!! I get be with them soon. I ham not afraid work hard, I read all prices bigger biggest but I do good job same who cares more money
greedy I get house and job and family look after very cheep easy than home
LOL ;)
-
Hi I am friend visit of Pj. My name doesnt matter. I am fron other country. Maybe Baltic state, maybe...
I work in my Country as Pharmacy researcher, I have Degree in Science and Maths. 15 years experience work. Family wife 3 children. I get paid same as £3.50p an hour for 30 hours week. I have £105 a week with 3 hours to travel day. My rent is good at same as £20 a week. My tax is about same as you. I drive sometimes very old car. My food for family is same as £40 week. I save for family £5 week.
I work here maybe for cleaning I not mind it. I work for by myself maybe get £6 hour for 30 hours week.
I have £180 a week boss pick up lift My rent £80 a week for 1 room. My food is £40 a week for me.and
I aboutsave £50 a week send to family my wife
10 times more than they imagine!!! I get be with them soon. I ham not afraid work hard, I read all prices bigger biggest but I do good job same who cares more money
greedy I get house and job and family look after very cheep easy than home
LOL ;)
Oh my god!!
-
I pay a traditional window cleaner (i expect one of the beer money brigade) £6 to do 12 of my 13 windows and doors. He set the price at that and i agreed. I think thats cheap.
He doesnt do a bad job BUT (and this is the thing that irkes me) he only ever turns up when he feels like it. It used to be every four weeks -regular as clockwork- and always on a sunday (dont know why he works sundays but it suited me perfectly as i'm always in and can pay him/open garage door so he can clean back of house).
He takes about 10 minutes to do the job and he does several other houses round here.
He didnt come for weeks and weeks, in fact I asked another window cleaner to do them (thankfully he was too busy and i say 'thankfully' 'cos after talking to him briefly i decided i didnt want him looking through me windows as he looked WELL dodgy) and begger me if the other guy didnt show up a day or two later. I had no cash on me at all so said he'd have to have it next time.......that was more than 6 weeks ago.
I can do downstairs myself (though i choose not to, not for what he charges), but its the upstairs that suffer.
That said, i do find it ironic that i often have to clean the outside of a window in a house i'm cleaning and yet i have someone to do mine. I clean some huge houses in some very well-to-do areas but they all say that the window cleaners just stop coming after a while. ::)
-
I quoted a job at 55 quid, she nearly dropped down dead!!!!
Then she said- "my last w/c only took 15 quid"
So i asked where was he then?
she said "he just stopped coming"
"That's why" i said, laughed at her , "not to worry" & walked away. ::)
some ya win, some ya don't.
i love that quote, my last cleaner only charged x amount, yeah where is he now you muppet! i think some people would only be happy if you paid them to clean their windows!
-
mine is about 15 a hour,3bed semi 5 quid,earn a very good living,carnt brumbble,if i charged even 6quid i wouild be turned down flat,i have tried putting prices up on new quotes but they wont have it
-
i quoted for a lady yesterday she said she sacked the last w/c off because he was untrustworthy been seen looking thru customers garages, he charged £6 ev month i quoted her £15 8 weekly n she said know your too expensive i said im respectable trustworthy gave her my card with adress etc and was £3 dearer wfp too she wants to pay peanuts she can expect monkeys that will steal off her.
-
i quoted for a lady yesterday she said she sacked the last w/c off because he was untrustworthy been seen looking thru customers garages, he charged £6 ev month i quoted her £15 8 weekly n she said know your too expensive i said im respectable trustworthy gave her my card with adress etc and was £3 dearer wfp too she wants to pay peanuts she can expect monkeys that will steal off her.
But this isn't always the case, there are some window cleaners doing a thoroughly good job for £10 an hour.
The secret of a successful round is having the balls to ask the price, and customers that are happy to pay it.
I don't have either.
I don't work for £10 an hour, but on the bread and butter stuff, by the time i'v added an hour and a half travelling time, and an hour for my Mrs filling my containers for the next day, I'm lucky to average £15.
My first job in the morning is a small community centre £20, and four small windows at a newsagent next door £4.
I do the two jobs with one backpack full and it takes 25 mins. Does that mean I'm earning over £50 an hour? I wish.
-
The secret to decent prices is to pick the right areas, right customers, get a full round and always increase your previous quotes on new work of the same value and to maintain a full round.
-
You can`t compare prices it`s all down to the area you live and the work you have,some earn 15k-25k-50k-75k and some earn in excess of 250k.
-
Ive been window cleaning now for 11 years, 3 years ago I sold alot of my work off, the reason for this was rubbish prices, average hourly rate earned was £10- £15. Now ive built up a decent round were im cleaning an average of £25- £30 per hour. The problem Ive always found is with most jobs I quote for I dont get, the client says Im to expensive. Do you think my hourly rate is to much. I am based in the midlands.
Many thanks
Simon
Youve done the right thing getting rid of all your low priced work thats exactly what i did
i wouldnt say your expensive your just running a profitable business to make a living
i also dont get every job i quote for these days its easy to pick up all cheap jobs but its better to pick up less jobs but for more money
where abouts are you based in the midlands
regards
Brett
-
if you feel you are worth what you are charging and you are providing value for money then no if however you are not getting the jobs that you are quoting and the clients are having someone else do their work then yes
if you are charging high and offering a tiered level of service with reflective pricing for less service and you are still not getting the work then yes
if you offer a gold service say glass /frames and internals
silver service glass and frames
bronze service glass only
maybe this is a way forward if you present 3 prices for different levels of service one will fit with your clients budget
hope this helps
-
i earn around 12 quid an hour and that is because maybe i am a bit of a perfectionist. my minimum charge is 6 quid for a standard semi, i might be cheap but i have quoted now about 200 jobs and only not got 1 of them .
there are others i know that if they only charged 1 quid to do my house i would still not have them .
unfortunately the more you charge it does not make you a better window cleaner and visa versa.
-
i earn around 12 quid an hour and that is because maybe i am a bit of a perfectionist. my minimum charge is 6 quid for a standard semi, i might be cheap but i have quoted now about 200 jobs and only not got 1 of them .
there are others i know that if they only charged 1 quid to do my house i would still not have them .
unfortunately the more you charge it does not make you a better window cleaner and visa versa.
The reason you`ve got all those jobs is because like you say you are cheap,you need to be somewhere in the middle or you`ll end up being a busy fool, and although you might be pleased at the moment you have enough work once things pick up again and work starts to flood in you will see your present prices in a different light maybe.
-
im in the same boat people will not pay anymore,all my custies home owners very nice area 200k plus houses
-
im in the same boat people will not pay anymore,all my custies home owners very nice area 200k plus houses
50 pence a year up, or .25 p a year otherwise inflation will take you over mate, but if you are employing and doing loads of work then fair enough, i couldnt live on 15ph when i had that work, but i was travelling 25 mile to do it so it worked out dear, especially of if you got rained off, i sold the work, and have replaced it with a quarter of houses i was doing for the same or more money monthly, maybe start travelling to areas that people will pay it
-
Keep canvassing, do a good job, and always charge more for new work than a piece of work that you already have. Over time you will earn what you need/want.
It's true there is always a hedgehog (has spikey hair, hibernates in winter) who's cheaper but if they want their lawnmower/garden furniture nicked that's up to them.
Once you have enough work to fill your time keep canvassing and drop all the tightwads and moaners.
You don't always get what you pay for, but you don't get what you don't pay for :)
-
im in the same boat people will not pay anymore,all my custies home owners very nice area 200k plus houses
Thats the difference in a nutshell. Round here you can't buy any house for 200K not even a run down ex council house on a rough estate. When house prices are so different you must expect window cleaning to follow the same price trends.
-
Ive been a window cleaner for 23 years and I am happy with 6.50 to 7 pound :)s a hour
-
im in the same boat people will not pay anymore,all my custies home owners very nice area 200k plus houses
Thats the difference in a nutshell. Round here you can't buy any house for 200K not even a run down ex council house on a rough estate. When house prices are so different you must expect window cleaning to follow the same price trends.
wont be like that for long :), they are gonna come tumbling, plus where do you live? downing street, i doubt theres many areas of they country you cant get a house with 200k, even if its a 2 up 2 down or an apartment bedsit or 1 bed ....