Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: geefree on December 07, 2007, 12:15:37 am
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Hi All,
The economy seems to be on a downward turn at the moment,
with even talk of a recession in the near future,
Im relatively new to w/c but i guess we could be one of the first luxuries to be cancelled in the homes of our customers,
I was wondering how many of you can remember the last economic slump ? and did it seriously affect your business?
Cheers
Gary.
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I've noticed already that the christmas tips are smaller this year...
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I was a window cleaner in the last recession (houses only) home owners was more careful with there money but my business did not fall apart, but might have been different if I was just a commercial window cleaner
Andy
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Hi All,
The economy seems to be on a downward turn at the moment,
with even talk of a recession in the near future,
Im relatively new to w/c but i guess we could be one of the first luxuries to be cancelled in the homes of our customers,
I was wondering how many of you can remember the last economic slump ? and did it seriously affect your business?
Cheers
Gary.
The last economic slump (if you are referring to the early 90s) got me started with window cleaning in the first place. There weren't any jobs around here so it was ladder and bucket time.
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Last one didn't affect us at all. What I have noticed though recently is commercial contracts looking to cut down on frequency of cleans.
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Don't remember it causing me many problems. No mass exodus of custies cancelling or cutting down - no more than usual anyway.
Peter
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Lets face it we are not exactly essencial are we? Most people can live with dirty windows for quite a long time.
Its Shiners comment we should be more concerned about. People start window cleaning in a recession. Its the traditional fall back job for loads of blokes who are struggling in their present line of work. The trouble is they go round offering silly prices because they don't know any better and because they are only after quick money and then when their normal work picks up they are gone.
I know a bloke who is a tiler, he hasn't had any work for two weeks now and is driving a cab instead. At least he's not window cleaning - yet!
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Vince, that's true mate. I just lost a long standing customer - 4 bed detached with cons on end of house. large windows. £26. Phone call cancelling - new bloke doing for £14!!
Haven't charged her that for years!!
Peter
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Well I dont live in a rich area but we charge "Southern" prices so to speak. Now people realise the service they are getting, and we explain we are not the cheapest but we do a brilliant job. We don't get tips because we explain that we already charge a decent and fair price and we would rather they gave it to a charity of their choice. We have never lost a job and nobody has ever cancelled, Luke
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Although at the moment people may be a little tight for money ( though compared to the rest of the world it is nothing ) Britain is the richest it has ever been and the Service industry is the best it has ever been. A recent Which survey says that Window Cleaners are one of the most wanted services at the moment because people are richer than they ever have been, but because they are richer they are working more which means they have less time for cleaning, Luke
ps. But anything is possible. The stock market crash! We can't actually be certain of anything where man is involved.
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What recession its all b-s8* been there done that for the last 30 years, pannick not oh ye of little faith.
Good on you Luke do say were not the cheapest but we are "competitive"
They are not all working-we are, governments got everybody over a barrel. :'(
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What recession its all b-s8* been there done that for the last 30 years, pannick not oh ye of little faith.
Good on you Luke do say were not the cheapest but we are "competitive"
They are not all working-we are, governments got everybody over a barrel. :'(
Well, its not a recession for starters as we do not satisfy the criterai that defines what a recession is.
In macroeconomics, a recession is a decline in any country's gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year.
However, some sections of the economy might be feeling a pinch or two, housebuilding is for sure, but we've just had an interest rate cut, this is surely a signal of more to come, quite possibly 3 more before the middle of next year.
That'll help stave off a recession if theres any likelihood of one, but we have nothing really to worry about, do a good job, be reliable, charge fair prices, work hard, canvass, advertise, smile and ask how people are.
Some may go if things get tighter but not enough to hurt dramatically.
Matt
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Well I dont live in a rich area but we charge "Southern" prices so to speak. Now people realise the service they are getting, and we explain we are not the cheapest but we do a brilliant job. We don't get tips because we explain that we already charge a decent and fair price and we would rather they gave it to a charity of their choice. We have never lost a job and nobody has ever cancelled, Luke
Sry to say that will happen is a fact of life.
I think I have lost one or 2 because money is tight so far, but have picked up far more, I charge a fair price for the work I do.
The interest rate drop will help people, I cant see why as I said earlier that everyone jumps on the recession bandwagon, maybe they want it to happen.
Ian
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Vince, that's true mate. I just lost a long standing customer - 4 bed detached with cons on end of house. large windows. £26. Phone call cancelling - new bloke doing for £14!!
Haven't charged her that for years!!
Peter
I picked up a new customer the other day in the Blackbushe area...
4 bed detached with cons on end of house. large windows. Her last window cleaner charged her £26, so I quoted her £14... She took me on and said she would phone the other window cleaner and cancel him.
;)
Andy
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Britain is the richest it has ever been
Wrong!
More people in Britain are in debt than they ever have been!
Andy
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I for one have been waiting for the so-called credit crunch. I have nothing on credit apart from my mortgage which is unavoidable. Looking at greedy friends and neighbours splashing money they don't have on cars, huge tv's, expensive holidays etc. I got to the stage where i thought that my policy was wrong (if i didn't have the money then i couldn't have it) and pehaps they were right. Now having listened to several stories of people we know who are in irreversable debt i know i was right. Still my phone keeps ringing with some indian gentleman offering me credit every week from several different companies. They just won't have it when i tell them i don't want a credit card.
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Britain is the richest it has ever been
Wrong!
More people in Britain are in debt than they ever have been!
Andy
Debt only becomes A PROBLEM IF YOU CANT MANAGE IT.
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Debt only becomes A PROBLEM IF YOU CANT MANAGE IT.
I didn't say debt was a problem... Although on a whole it is for people in our country now.
I was just saying that Britain is not the richest it ever has been... It might just look like that because so many people have been splashing the cash, without really having it to splash in the first place.
Andy
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Britain is not the great rich nation it's made out to be, if it is why does our government every year borrow extra billions.
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so it seems we have little to worry about if IF we have a recession,
i didnt say we were in a recession, i was merely curious wether or not you were affected by the last one, as a guide .... should we fall into one.
Thanks for all your comments.
;)
Gary.
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Lets face it we are not exactly essencial are we? Most people can live with dirty windows for quite a long time.
Its Shiners comment we should be more concerned about. People start window cleaning in a recession. Its the traditional fall back job for loads of blokes who are struggling in their present line of work. The trouble is they go round offering silly prices because they don't know any better and because they are only after quick money and then when their normal work picks up they are gone.
I know a bloke who is a tiler, he hasn't had any work for two weeks now and is driving a cab instead. At least he's not window cleaning - yet!
That's quite right Vince. There are always more window cleaners around in a recession. I only intended to do it until I got a job as well. Eventually I was offered a job and turned it down :) . By the time I had an offer I had built what I then regarded as half a window cleaning round so I just carried on.
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All you need to do in such times is just get more work,enough so your not doing them so often.People are always going to want them done but maybe there not going to want them done so often,by increasing customer base it will enable you to stretch it between cleans,i`m never ever on time anyway only with certain work so it won`t effect me,stay 1 step ahead of the game.
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I for one have been waiting for the so-called credit crunch. I have nothing on credit apart from my mortgage which is unavoidable. Looking at greedy friends and neighbours splashing money they don't have on cars, huge tv's, expensive holidays etc. I got to the stage where i thought that my policy was wrong (if i didn't have the money then i couldn't have it) and pehaps they were right. Now having listened to several stories of people we know who are in irreversable debt i know i was right. Still my phone keeps ringing with some indian gentleman offering me credit every week from several different companies. They just won't have it when i tell them i don't want a credit card.
Surely it's useful though to have a bit of access to credit in case something big goes wrong with your vehicle - unless of course you carry sufficient spare funds to cover such an eventuality.
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OK - who are your most loyal customers?
The early retired for me - late fifties upwards - mortgage paid or low and on a decent pension - savings go up more as interest rates increase - they are pretty much recession proof and want to keep you.
The ones who find it tough when interest rates climb are those in their thirties, kids, mortgage, credit cards etc.
I half expect commercials to ask to reduce frequency, but not yet so far.
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Good idea Malc,
Maybe we should go through our list and work out how many we think are at risk of losing, then go and canvas to replace them but then you end up with too much work again ?
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Andy, don't you go pinching anymore of my custies!!
Regards
Peter
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Its the old "keeping up appearences thing". Loads of people are struggling for a whole load of reasons but its not visible to others.
One of our customers yesterday phoned up and spoke to my wife, she asked if we could put her off till the new year only her husband is self employed and money was tight. No problem, we all know that feeling, been there. A lot of people would be too proud to come out and say it like that.
There are some deep cracks forming in the economy which loads of people, including the politicians, are in denial about.
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Agree with that, my wife works with many younger generation people who have been brought up on credit. Some of their debts are eye wateringly bad! They get to the point where they have to "consolidate" their loans which really means remortgage the house and extend the terms. Then the daft thing is they see their monthly outgoings have reduced so they borrow some more and buy a flash car. I am convinced there will be a meltdown at some point. No doubt the taxpayer will then come in and help out. ::)
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Andy, don't you go pinching anymore of my custies!!
Regards
Peter
Hi Peter,
Hope you're well?
I was only joking! I didn't really steal them.
Andy