Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Davo on January 04, 2008, 07:32:36 am
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Carrying on from the perception thread.
I can understand fully some cleaners being unable to justify in their own minds charging high rates for conservatory cleans. Afterall it only takes an hour and the custy could do it themselves if they werent so lazy. So the service you offer isnt worth THAT MUCH.
Well if you turn up with a ladder a bucket and some rags and just scrub then I dont think your too far wrong.
But how would the customer value your cleaning service if you Specialised in conservatory renovation.
And as a specialist you use the latest cleaning technology to provide a 6 stage cleaning and protection method which will leave the conservatory as close to the condition as the day it was installed.
You even use the latest eco friendly chemicals which wont harm your plants or pets. The process even uses a uv filter sealant to protect your uPVC from the harmful effects of the sun and it keeps it looking in pristine condition for longer.
Now which one would you expect to pay good money for?
Which service would you feel confident in asking the customer to pay good money for?
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY WHICH ONE WOULD THE CUSTOMER EXPECT TO PAY GOOD MONEY FOR?
Its a no brainer.
Adding value and changing the customers perception of the service you offer WILL BRING YOU HIGH PAYING WORK.
Mark
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I like all that, would sound great on a leaflet.
Any ideas on the 6 stage cleaning? Or did you just make that up? What chemicals to use to get the long lasting clean?
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Trouble is Davo is that this takes skill in selling, and I don't think there are many great salesmen in the cleaning trades - those that exist run big cleaning supplies companies etc, so have something a bit extra/special going for them.
I couldn't agree more with what you say, though. But look, how many of our custies are watching the pennies? Not just in recession times but in the good, as they dont see keeping the car clean/windows clean etc clean at the best of times.
I dont think that what you're talking about, the upper-end of property maintenance, is going to be gained by anything other than serious selling - bigger, brighter, more convinving/enticing that just knocking on someone's door and grunting, ' do ya want yer windows cleaned mate/love/darling? Dead cheap.'
I'm not knocking what your saying, I would just like to know what idea there are for flogging this level of service.
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I like all that, would sound great on a leaflet.
Any ideas on the 6 stage cleaning? Or did you just make that up? What chemicals to use to get the long lasting clean?
You were typing same time as me, gqc... I don't think it sounds great ON A LEAFLET at all. Really. Pictures or anything planting ideas in people's heads .... that kind of thing...
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Trouble is Davo is that this takes skill in selling, and I don't think there are many great salesmen in the cleaning trades - those that exist run big cleaning supplies companies etc, so have something a bit extra/special going for them.
I couldn't agree more with what you say, though. But look, how many of our custies are watching the pennies? Not just in recession times but in the good, as they dont see keeping the car clean/windows clean etc clean at the best of times.
I dont think that what you're talking about, the upper-end of property maintenance, is going to be gained by anything other than serious selling - bigger, brighter, more convinving/enticing that just knocking on someone's door and grunting, ' do ya want yer windows cleaned mate/love/darling? Dead cheap.'
I'm not knocking what your saying, I would just like to know what idea there are for flogging this level of service.
Now from that description youve priced yourself out of it. Top end property maintenance, nah just added value. Ill tell you the 6 stage process later on in the thread. You dont know what it is at the moment and neither does the customer. But youve formed an opinion as to the price, and thats high.(which is good) its alot easier coming down than going up in price.
Its altering the customers perception and giving you the chance to earn good money.
As to watching the money, yes people watch their pennies, some will pay the price others wont. But its about giving yourself a chance.
Mark
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But its about giving yourself a chance.
Wrong, it's about giving yourself a better chance than the next guy (isn't it?).
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You were typing same time as me, gqc... I don't think it sounds great ON A LEAFLET at all. Really. Pictures or anything planting ideas in people's heads .... that kind of thing...
Well then you don't have the selling skill then. ;D :P j/k
If you word it correctly it will come over well. Yes pictures are much better, but pictures on a leaflet ups the price for printing considerably
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I just have big doubts about leaflets.... I think cold calling might be a better use of time (although none really enjoys doing that). I think people (us) hide behind leaflets.
I'd go for local church magazines that sort of thing, maybe Thompsons directory?
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OK trying to keep this centred on the topic of perception.
Given that the first cleaning description cost the customer £40 (an hours work)
How much do YOU think the second option would cost and how long do you think the job would take?
Mark
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I managed to get hold of a "kit", which after cleaning the conservatory, you apply the contents, and it leaves a seal all over the cons.
Problem is, it would take a day to do cost about £85 to buy, and they advise you charge around £600 for doing it :o :o :o
And to make it even worse, each year it has to be re applied, at a cost of £250 per year!!
I put a post on here a month or so ago re., pvcu cleaning products, and this is one of them which i'm trying to get together with a manufacturer.
To make it work it would have to be cheaper and take less time, otherwise it just wouldnt be cost effective!!
Would be very interested if you know of anything Davo???
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This is more a debate about how you build your business and we all differ in how we view ourselves and our business's.
We all want to be paid more for what we do but many of us are afraid of losing the job by over pricing so we sell ourselves and the service we offer short. I am guilty of it every day even though I know That I am doing it.
I see my business as providing a service, I like to provide that service to as many customers as possible because that is how I judge the success of my branding, marketing, customer service etc.......but many people in business judge the value of their business on the mighty dollar and their bottom line.
As a businessman I would like to clean one window every day for €250.00 and man would that window be the cleanest f###in' window you ever saw. For this to work I just need 1 very fusy customer with loads a lolly.
As a person I want my business to clean 1000 windows every day for €2 €3 €4 per window and that all of those people value the service that I provide and help me to build my business by refering me to others.
The only difference between the two is how you percieve yourself and your business................now if I could just find a healthy balance :)
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In this instance its about changing the customers perception of the service you provide. About moving it up to another level. Obviously the 2 examples were extremes.
But adding value to what you offer will help you achieve the rates you want.I like all that, would sound great on a leaflet.
Any ideas on the 6 stage cleaning? Or did you just make that up? What chemicals to use to get the long lasting clean?
6 Stage Cleaning
1) Pre soak
2) Apply Traffic Film Remover
3) Water Fed Pole
4)Chemical On Stubborn
5)Solvent on stubborn
6)Finish with Glaze
Most posts regarding conservatory cleaning on here use a 4 stage process and they dont believe their service is worth much money.
Look at your competition, the specialist pvcu cleaners are charging plenty.
Mark
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Tell me more about stages 4, 5 & 6. ie what chemicals & solvents are good?
Stages 1 - 3 do it for me & I wouldn't do it cheap either, nobody else offers it so I don't do it for peanuts, I've found it to be a nice earner I intend to advertise in the coming weeks.
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stage 1, drive there
stage2 get out of van when getting there
stage 3 get out wfp gear and ladder
stage 3.1 go back to van to turn water on ::)
stage 4 apply tfr
stage 5 get a cup of coffee or wash van whilst waiting for tfr to saok a bit
stage 6 water con roof with hose if available
stage 7 wfp it all
stage 7 go back to start and do again.
stage 8 get payment
stage 9 give card to customer and say if you know anyone that needs this service I will give you 10% off any cleaning I do for you next time.
stage 10 back in van and drive to next job.
always charge good money for a job that is not done often and do a good job.
I need a coffee now.
Ian
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I hadn't seen this topic, but I'm listening now and ready to learn.
My impressions so far are that a six stage process is great and I do know exactly what chemicals I would involve. As with my hot system, it's very often potent enought just to have the capability. Bluez made some good points but if you feel the job slipping away the custie can have the silver or bronze service instead of the gold.
In addition there is something else underlying all this, and that is that a new social trend is emerging. Instead of having homes painted every three years, upvc home owners now want their cons gutters facias and frames brought up like new every single year.Traditional wc's don't address this, even ones that have gone over to WFP, and the reason I know is that I often get asked for this service by people who already have a wc.
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I hadn't seen this topic, but I'm listening now and ready to learn.
My impressions so far are that a six stage process is great and I do know exactly what chemicals I would involve. As with my hot system, it's very often potent enought just to have the capability. Bluez made some good points but if you feel the job slipping away the custie can have the silver or bronze service instead of the gold.
In addition there is something else underlying all this, and that is that a new social trend is emerging. Instead of having homes painted every three years, upvc home owners now want their cons gutters facias and frames brought up like new every single year.Traditional wc's don't address this, even ones that have gone over to WFP, and the reason I know is that I often get asked for this service by people who already have a wc.
Exactly right, you can offer various levels of service to match their level of affordability, build the top service up to create the perception of a premium service and price it as such ie Normally £599 we charge £499 because we are so busy and buy the specialist chemicals in bulk etc etc. and then remove various stages and come down in price to find their level of affordability.
PVCu means they dont need to spend money every 5 years on having their extreriors painted. But PVCu IS NOT maintenance free. It requires maintenance to prolong its life.
Most customers however wouldnt expect their window cleaner to provide this level of expertise. Back to perception post, move your business UP away from the competition.
Mark
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Not meaning to demean anything thats been said in this thread, but some custys also just want a 'can you give the uPVC a once over?'
Some might view all the blinding you with science talk as bull$h1t
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Not meaning to demean anything thats been said in this thread, but some custys also just want a 'can you give the uPVC a once over?'
Some might view all the blinding you with science talk as bull$h1t
I agree , some customers might want a quick cheap service, if you want to provide that then great. But theres a great deal more potential out there if you want it.
It really does depend on where you see yourself and the service you provide.
Mark
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Also if you are able to provide different standards of clean at different price points, you shouldnt miss very much work.
The conservatory cleaners wont be pricing anywhere near your money.(they will be alot dearer)
But the idea is you want to move up, earn more money.
If its not, then as long as your happy , carry on.
Mark
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xxmattxx
A woman stopped me at work yesterday walking past with her dog. She lived nearby in a similar house how much would I charge just to do her front?; probably about once every two months. Not wishing to be unkind I said £5 and thought that I had lumbered myself with a chore, but then I saw from her face that it was too much and she said that she had my number.
Is this the sort of person that you mean that wants a quick wipe over?How much would have been okay,£2?
I'll stick with the bul===it taa.
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so are we going to be let in with the seret of the chemicals used???
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xxmattxx
A woman stopped me at work yesterday walking past with her dog. She lived nearby in a similar house how much would I charge just to do her front?; probably about once every two months. Not wishing to be unkind I said £5 and thought that I had lumbered myself with a chore, but then I saw from her face that it was too much and she said that she had my number.
Is this the sort of person that you mean that wants a quick wipe over?How much would have been okay,£2?
I'll stick with the bul===it taa.
Ah but you should have offered her a six stage windowclean for fifty quid and she would have bitten your hand off - you need to move on upwards away from the competition. Yor perception is all wrong.
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I got my chemical info off Jeff1, he has to be missed on here .That was before the embroidery debacle.
DJW, watch and learn. ;D
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Yes master ;D
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mr solubility can you not let me in with your secrets??
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xxmattxx
A woman stopped me at work yesterday walking past with her dog. She lived nearby in a similar house how much would I charge just to do her front?; probably about once every two months. Not wishing to be unkind I said £5 and thought that I had lumbered myself with a chore, but then I saw from her face that it was too much and she said that she had my number.
Is this the sort of person that you mean that wants a quick wipe over?How much would have been okay,£2?
I'll stick with the bul===it taa.
Sorry, I dont know what your trying to get at.
All I know is that most people when they want their uPVC cleaned up, they just want it cleaned, nothing fancy, nothing special, just cleaned. I think most of my customers when they want that done expect a bit of elbow grease, the odd cloth, maybe a brush or two, a dab of fairy liquid, but thats all. Its not rocket science. Its cleaning.
Matt
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Whats the best squeegee to use on a conversatory?
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This is more a debate about how you build your business and we all differ in how we view ourselves and our business's.
No its not a topic on business building at all. Its a topic that tries to demonstrate the way in which you can change the customers perception of you as just a window cleaner to somene a bit more specialist, and whos expertise is WORTH PAYING FOR.
And the topic centres on the cleaning of the PVCu more than the glass. You can add value to the service you provide by distinguishing it from a run of the mill clean with some scourer to something much much more.
Interesting comment made recently in a post
" I feel that charging the customer £8 for 10 minutes work is a bit of a rip off".....NO ITS NOT., its called earning a living.
If the customer is happy with the price they pay THEN ITS CALLED VALUE FOR MONEY NO MATTER WHAT THE HOURLY RATE WORKS OUT AT.
Mark
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Not posted for 120 days who cares,all you need is a good platform ladder to work off ,very good cleaning solution, that will do all the work for you,rinse off solids with low pressure on m/c,dip pole and soft brush in solution and wash away,might have to go over more than once,use machine to rinse off soap,left nice-n-white and shiny like the day fitted. My customers always say,my window cleaners never got them that clean before ,and this tells me something,stick to windows and leave the frames to get dirty as usual.