Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Sir Squeaky on April 04, 2008, 05:54:44 pm
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I picked up a job today (which may lead to more) because someone was charging too much.
I was asked to call on a lady who was a potential customer.
When I got there I had a look and decided on £9.
I tend to say £10 minimum now, but I'm doing next door for £10, and they have a small porch.
Seemed only fair, and it was actually only 7 windows, so I'd be done in under 10 minutes.
She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! :o
Now if it had been the same or a pound more I may have said I didn't want to stick my nose in.
But if he's trying to rip people off on a 10 minute job, then I had no hesitation in saying give me a ring when you've spoken to him.
I wouldn't intentionally undercut, and I gave my price before I knew his.
But beware...those with daft prices, there's always someone who'll quote less and you'll lose out.
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I picked up a job today (which may lead to more) because someone was charging too much.
I was asked to call on a lady who was a potential customer.
When I got there I had a look and decided on £9.
I tend to say £10 minimum now, but I'm doing next door for £10, and they have a small porch.
Seemed only fair, and it was actually only 7 windows, so I'd be done in under 10 minutes.
She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! Shocked
Now if it had been the same or a pound more I may have said I didn't want to stick my nose in.
But if he's trying to rip people off on a 10 minute job, then I had no hesitation in saying give me a ring when you've spoken to him.
I wouldn't intentionally undercut, and I gave my price before I knew his.
But beware...those with daft prices, there's always someone who'll quote less and you'll lose out.
Perhaps you are underpricing?
Andy
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he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work, i would of said a tenner but hey whats a quid! ;)
i tend to be fair with my pricing, i don't like being undercut and you could quite easily at £14, knock 5/6 of them out in an hour your on good money
well done squeeks!! ;D ;D
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Thats business ...
Darren
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he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work, i would of said a tenner but hey whats a quid! ;)
Ha ha!
I would have said a tenner too, but I didn't want her saying "why am I paying the same as next door?!"
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I started a post much the same as this and got attacked left right and centre, got accused of undercutting, selling myself short and much more. :o
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I started a post much the same as this and got attacked left right and centre, got accused of undercutting, selling myself short and much more. :o
I know, but it made me happy, and besides, I wondered how many replies it would get. ;D
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he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work, i would of said a tenner but hey whats a quid! ;)
Ha ha!
I would have said a tenner too, but I didn't want her saying "why am I paying the same as next door?!"
i would of said a tenner as that is my minimum bottom flat charge ;D ;D nothing worse than recieving a cheque under a tenner...ain't i a snob??!! ;D ;D
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That's not undercutting...just charging a sensible price for the job, good luck to you!
Can't quite understand though why she's got a guy coming next week and is now checking out prices ???
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I started a post much the same as this and got attacked left right and centre, got accused of undercutting, selling myself short and much more. :o
yes but sol has gone and maybe "davo" is offline,get ready to be lectured on how crap a business man you are when he cottons on ;D ;)
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That's not undercutting...just charging a sensible price for the job, good luck to you!
Can't quite understand though why she's got a guy coming next week and is now checking out prices ???
The other way around really.
She asked to her neighbour to get me to call, but got someone else before I turned up.
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That's not undercutting...just charging a sensible price for the job, good luck to you!
Can't quite understand though why she's got a guy coming next week and is now checking out prices ???
The other way around really.
She asked to her neighbour to get me to call, but got someone else before I turned up.
Oh I see. Anyway I personally don't deliberately undercut...EXCEPT when the current w/c is charging way way over the odds.
As an example: A job i picked up last year. Big house with lots of glass, but all very accessable. Current w/c charging.....wait for it.......
..............wait for it............
.......£140...........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is 2 hours top whack. She saw me over the road doing a similar house and came over and asked how much I charged for it.
£50 I said. Obviously her then current w/c got the old tin tack and I took the thieving rascals place.
Do I feel guilty?....Do I heck 8)
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Thanks for the back-up Simon! ;)
That's exactly the point I was making.
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he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work
Yes he is.
No matter what price is being charged by the other guy it is NOT a rip off.
The customer knew the price in advance, and they knew what they would be getting for the money, so how is that a rip off?
Now she has later decided that this isnt good value for money, fair enough thats her perogative, but nobody has been ripped off.
I'd say, more fool you for doing a house for £9 that someone else managed to get £14 for.
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I'm with tuppence on this one, squeaks
tony
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exactly! . If the customer knows the price and agrees it how can that be ripping people off??. The question is why are you under cutting the last window cleaner
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he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work
Yes he is.
No matter what price is being charged by the other guy it is NOT a rip off.
The customer knew the price in advance, and they knew what they would be getting for the money, so how is that a rip off?
Now she has later decided that this isnt good value for money, fair enough thats her perogative, but nobody has been ripped off.
I'd say, more fool you for doing a house for £9 that someone else managed to get £14 for.
what cr-ap!! ::) lets all stand here stroking our ego's £9 is a fair price for the amount of work. if the guy charges that amount of £14 he is open to be undercut. while he is sitting at home wondering why he had a few cancellations, there is someone else out there earning a decent living off his ex customers!! there is no loyalty in this business. charge sensible prices or risk losing them...simple really!!!!
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he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work
Yes he is.
No matter what price is being charged by the other guy it is NOT a rip off.
The customer knew the price in advance, and they knew what they would be getting for the money, so how is that a rip off?
Now she has later decided that this isnt good value for money, fair enough thats her perogative, but nobody has been ripped off.
I'd say, more fool you for doing a house for £9 that someone else managed to get £14 for.
Silly man
Good on you squeeks, it's your business, charge what you want. Idiots like tuppeny are always left hanging out to be undercut.
I personally would undercut anyone i didn't know who was over my hourly rate. business & my family's income come before any boasting bravado! ;)
Charge silly money- expect to be under-cut, on your shoulders be it ::)
Tony
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Tennet and steve m, whilst I agree that rip-off is possibly not the right word, the guy was trying to charge over-the-odds IMO.
In no way is 10 mins of work worth £14...not even in affluent Putney where i work and live.
£14? He's way overpriced and should be aware that sooner rather than later somebody will come along and charge more sensible money.
Again, well done Squeaks ;)
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I would agree that the customer knew the price and accepted it so in my opinion thats fair. Just because you believe they are charging too high, does not make it right to undercut. Undercutting (intentionaly) will drive prices down and down. Surely the idea is for us to be paid for a proffessional service. We should also bear in mind whats 10 mins work to one person is possibly 15 to another - not everybody works at the same speed, were window cleaners not robots.
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Yet another thread that should be made sticky as a warning of some of the rubbish advice given on this forum
there is no loyalty in this business
If thats what your experiencing then you are doing something seriously wrong matey. I am at least a 2x or 3x more expensive than other window cleaners in my area and yet my customers would never change me for a cheaper guy, ever.
The reason is that they know and trust me and I have built my entire business on loyalty.
Sure there are customers out there who will choose on price alone, and you are welcome to them. Price shoppers are quite possibly the worst customers to have, and if you havent worked that out by now then my advice is to give up window cleaning and go stacking shelves in asda instead.
The customers I target view price as a secondary consideration. They appreciate the fact that I turn up looking smart, am polite and friendly, do a good job and am professonal in everything I do.
I find it hilarious that people on here go "ah it doens matter what you do we al clean windows everythings the same in the end" and then here is a prime example of a guy able to charge a third more than you for exactly the same work and you cant understand it. In fact you somehow think that you've been clever to do the same work for less money. LOL good luck to him.
He wont care less about that rubbish customer, he'll get another one tomorrow that appreciates a good professional service, leaving you to scrabble about for the dregs.
If you ever wondered why there are some window cleaners driving jaguars and some driving fiestas - even though they do the same job - this thread tells you all you need to know.
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I picked up a job today (which may lead to more) because someone was charging too much.
I was asked to call on a lady who was a potential customer.
When I got there I had a look and decided on £9.
I tend to say £10 minimum now, but I'm doing next door for £10, and they have a small porch.
Seemed only fair, and it was actually only 7 windows, so I'd be done in under 10 minutes.
She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! :o
Now if it had been the same or a pound more I may have said I didn't want to stick my nose in.
But if he's trying to rip people off on a 10 minute job, then I had no hesitation in saying give me a ring when you've spoken to him.
I wouldn't intentionally undercut, and I gave my price before I knew his.
But beware...those with daft prices, there's always someone who'll quote less and you'll lose out.
squeaky what was you actually doing for a £9.00..ie traditional way ie windows and cills OR wfp all frames?
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She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! :o
Hey,
I reckon that's me! I quoted £14.00 for a place this morning; and a tenner for her daughter who lives just round the corner; neither are big places.
Was this in Tutshill?
(If it is the same place, I honestly don't mind, I'm cleaning similar properties for much more than you ;D).
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I think Tennetclean makes perfect sense. Here here!
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...and then here is a prime example of a guy able to charge a third more than you for exactly the same work
Well obviously he can't can he?
He didn't get the job. Doh! ;D
If you ever wondered why there are some window cleaners driving jaguars and some driving fiestas - even though they do the same job - this thread tells you all you need to know.
I drive a brand new van that costs as much as a 3 year old Jag actually.
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oh i miss mr sol
he would have made some posts on this thread ;D ;D
my opinion, 10 mins work for 9 quid, its not bad is it for a un / semi-skilled job
but then again, you will never make your 1K a day with prices like that :P
Squeaky is happy with the 9 quid, he priced the job and got it, thats life
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She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! :o
Hey,
I reckon that's me! I quoted £14.00 for a place this morning; and a tenner for her daughter who lives just round the corner; neither are big places.
Was this in Tutshill?
(If it is the same place, I honestly don't mind, I'm cleaning similar properties for much more than you ;D).
No, nowhere near.
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Yet another thread that should be made sticky as a warning of some of the rubbish advice given on this forum
there is no loyalty in this business
If thats what your experiencing then you are doing something seriously wrong matey. I am at least a 2x or 3x more expensive than other window cleaners in my area and yet my customers would never change me for a cheaper guy, ever.
The reason is that they know and trust me and I have built my entire business on loyalty.
Sure there are customers out there who will choose on price alone, and you are welcome to them. Price shoppers are quite possibly the worst customers to have, and if you havent worked that out by now then my advice is to give up window cleaning and go stacking shelves in asda instead.
The customers I target view price as a secondary consideration. They appreciate the fact that I turn up looking smart, am polite and friendly, do a good job and am professonal in everything I do.
I find it hilarious that people on here go "ah it doens matter what you do we al clean windows everythings the same in the end" and then here is a prime example of a guy able to charge a third more than you for exactly the same work and you cant understand it. In fact you somehow think that you've been clever to do the same work for less money. LOL good luck to him.
He wont care less about that rubbish customer, he'll get another one tomorrow that appreciates a good professional service, leaving you to scrabble about for the dregs.
If you ever wondered why there are some window cleaners driving jaguars and some driving fiestas - even though they do the same job - this thread tells you all you need to know.
Have no fear, I'll certainly do as good a job as you...I'm punctual. turn up looking as smart as a window cleaner needs to look..ie: I shave, brush teeth and use deodorant. I'm polite and trustworthy (natch!). And I don't ever lose customers to somebody who's an undercutter! Why? Because i charge realistic money to begin with.
For the passed 18 months ...all...but all of my new biz has been from recs...speaks volumes I'd say!
And what's wrong with Fiestas anyway...my wife drives one!
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If thats what your experiencing then you are doing something seriously wrong matey. I am at least a 2x or 3x more expensive than other window cleaners in my area and yet my customers would never change me for a cheaper guy, ever.
The reason is that they know and trust me and I have built my entire business on loyalty.
Sure there are customers out there who will choose on price alone, and you are welcome to them. Price shoppers are quite possibly the worst customers to have, and if you havent worked that out by now then my advice is to give up window cleaning and go stacking shelves in asda instead.
The customers I target view price as a secondary consideration. They appreciate the fact that I turn up looking smart, am polite and friendly, do a good job and am professonal in everything I do.
I find it hilarious that people on here go "ah it doens matter what you do we al clean windows everythings the same in the end" and then here is a prime example of a guy able to charge a third more than you for exactly the same work and you cant understand it. In fact you somehow think that you've been clever to do the same work for less money. LOL good luck to him.
He wont care less about that rubbish customer, he'll get another one tomorrow that appreciates a good professional service, leaving you to scrabble about for the dregs.
If you ever wondered why there are some window cleaners driving jaguars and some driving fiestas - even though they do the same job - this thread tells you all you need to know.
I actually agree with this post from Tennet!
Squeaky - Time and time again you have moaned about the kind of customers you have - And now it looks like you've taken another one on!
If another window cleaner knocks on her door next month and offers to do it for £7, then I bet she would take them on and dump you!
Then you would be moaning about another one of your customers!
Andy
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Well obviously he can't can he?
He didn't get the job. Doh! Grin
Not THIS job maybe, but do you think he decided to raise his prices just for this house? No. I bet that guy has a whole round full of similarly priced work. So whose the numpty then? Which one of you is doing the same work for less money?
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She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! :o
Hey,
I reckon that's me! I quoted £14.00 for a place this morning; and a tenner for her daughter who lives just round the corner; neither are big places.
Was this in Tutshill?
(If it is the same place, I honestly don't mind, I'm cleaning similar properties for much more than you ;D).
No, nowhere near.
Squeaks,
I'm still cleaning those four - or was it five - properties you used to charge £6.00 each; in Hardwick Avenue; but then dropped; and I took over charging the same customers £12.00 each (and I tussled with myself; I really wanted to charge them £15 each, but didn't 'cos I knew their previous window cleaner was really cheap).
They all love me too.
There's a lesson to be learnt here somewhere!
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I'm with tennet on this one. How else would I keep a close of 5 house priced at £35 each if the customers weren't showing loyalty for my good service. They know me and trust me which is why I've had them for 3 years now. There must of been others who canvassed in that time.
Besides they are all muti millionaire solicitors etc on £500ph so its probably underpriced if anything!
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She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! :o
Hey,
I reckon that's me! I quoted £14.00 for a place this morning; and a tenner for her daughter who lives just round the corner; neither are big places.
Was this in Tutshill?
(If it is the same place, I honestly don't mind, I'm cleaning similar properties for much more than you ;D).
No, nowhere near.
Squeaks,
I'm still cleaning those four - or was it five - properties you used to charge £6.00 each; in Hardwick Avenue; but then dropped; and I took over charging the same customers £12.00 each (and I tussled with myself; I really wanted to charge them £15 each, but didn't 'cos I knew their previous window cleaner was really cheap).
They all love me too.
There's a lesson to be learnt here somewhere!
Yep, that you're rip off and going to lose them anyway. ;D
Why do they keep pestering me to do them again then?
They're trying to find someone else, honestly.
You WILL lose them. And why? Because you charged too much. ::)
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If another window cleaner knocks on her door next month and offers to do it for £7, then I bet she would take them on and dump you!
No she won't, because she hadn't even had this guy do them yet, and besides the neighbours are very happy.
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Some of you guys make me laugh. You really don't seem to be reading off the same page as me and Squeaks.
Neither of us are saying charge way way too little...we're saying charge a sensible price!
And to those who spout on about customer loyalty I'll say this:
IT DOES NOT EXIST!
You charge £25 for 1/2 hours work....somebody comes along and says £15 and he's given a chance and does as good a job.... :(
Then it's "sorry Mr (ex) window cleaner....in Alan Sugar's words...You're Fired!"
You think they're friends?....you're just their window cleaner and mean zip to them!
Get real!
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Yep, that you're rip off and going to lose them anyway. ;D
Why do they keep pestering me to do them again then?
They're trying to find someone else, honestly.
You WILL lose them. And why? Because you charged too much. ::)
Squeaks,
I'm no rip off; you know that. You also know I don't earn nearly as much as what many other guys here reckon they earn.
I also won't lose them; I do all that part of the street; PARKING IS A NIGHMARE; using ladders is really difficult; we fill a niche there with a backpack and we have £160 quids worth of work in that small area that we can do in three hours; I even do the Charity Home (Hill House (aka Hell House)).
Any window cleaner who'd do the odd house there, for less than £12, would have to be really desperate!
Why did you drop them in the first place? It's backpack territory; you can't get a van in; ladders would be hard work.
C'mon, wise up; as they say in Belfast!
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You charge £25 for 1/2 hours work....somebody comes along and says £15 and he's given a chance and does as good a job....
This exact situation happens to me on a regular basis, the areas I work in are much sought after, only the outcome is different.
Its quite often that a customer tells me another window cleaner called wanting to do them for £10 when I charge £30, "But I told them to clear off" is what the customers say to me. Usually followed by "Don't ever give up will you? We've never known a window cleaner as good as you"
Whats interesting to me is what they mean by "good".
I dont clean the windows any better than the next window cleaner. A clean window is a clean window.
It is the other stuff that makes me "good" in their eyes, the stuff that you are obviously lacking. (And dont ask what that is, because you cant teach professionalism, you either have it or you dont)
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Yep, that you're rip off and going to lose them anyway. ;D
Why do they keep pestering me to do them again then?
They're trying to find someone else, honestly.
You WILL lose them. And why? Because you charged too much. ::)
Squeaks,
I'm no rip off; you know that. You also know I don't earn nearly as much as what many other guys here reckon they earn.
I also won't lose them...etc.
Honestly they are REALLY not happy. :-\
There's plenty of people who will do 15 minutes (maximum) for less than £12.
Yes, my prices were old at £7, but I'd happily spend that time working for £8-10.
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It is the other stuff that makes me "good" in their eyes, the stuff that you are obviously lacking. (And dont ask what that is, because you cant teach professionalism, you either have it or you dont)
You don't half spout some tripe ToiletClean. ;D
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If you were as brilliant as me you could charge what you like, my customers love me, my work is second to none i'm just so great. I'm the best salesman that ever lived.
God, how many times have i read posts like that on here? Windowcleaners must have the worlds biggest egos. We are just taking dirt of glass - hardly the most highly skilled occupation in the world is it?
Well done Squeeks if your happy with your price then that's all that matters.
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£25 per hour is what I charge....anybody charging more in my area is fair game as far as I'm concerned and I'll snaffle their customer as soon as blink.
Don't care: I'm looking out for me and family!
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She then tells me she's got someone else coming next week, but he wanted £14! :o
Hey,
I reckon that's me! I quoted £14.00 for a place this morning; and a tenner for her daughter who lives just round the corner; neither are big places.
Was this in Tutshill?
(If it is the same place, I honestly don't mind, I'm cleaning similar properties for much more than you ;D).
No, nowhere near.
Squeaks,
I'm still cleaning those four - or was it five - properties you used to charge £6.00 each; in Hardwick Avenue; but then dropped; and I took over charging the same customers £12.00 each (and I tussled with myself; I really wanted to charge them £15 each, but didn't 'cos I knew their previous window cleaner was really cheap).
They all love me too.
There's a lesson to be learnt here somewhere!
Yeah, the lesson is, you love your self! ;D
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Hey listen, please don't stop doing whatever it is you are doing.
It is only because of being able to be compared to window cleaners like your good self that others like me can rise above and hence charge the higher prices. I actually have a lot to thank you (and those like you) for.
You say tripe, but again, which one of us is earning 2/3rd the price of someone else in the same area for exactly the same work?
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Hey listen, please don't stop doing whatever it is you are doing.
It is only because of being able to be compared to window cleaners like your good self that others like me can rise above and hence charge the higher prices. I actually have a lot to thank you (and those like you) for.
You say tripe, but again, which one of us is earning 2/3rd the price of someone else in the same area for exactly the same work?
Not me.
He charges too much and doesn't get it. ;D
I expect the next one he prices will be a bit cheaper. ;)
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at the end of the day its each to their own. whether your earning £10 hour or £150 hour as long as your happy thats the main thing. there is valid points for all sides,
i thought we were all here to help eachother ???
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at the end of the day its each to their own. whether your earning £10 hour or £150 hour as long as your happy thats the main thing. there is valid points for all sides,
i thought we were all here to help eachother ???
Yeah, I just had to mention it because there's so much talk of I charge lots etc...
I wanted to point out that it can backfire, and see what people's reaction was.
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Usually followed by "Don't ever give up will you?
I'd be quite spooked if a customer said that to me ;D
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That's not undercutting...just charging a sensible price for the job, good luck to you!
Can't quite understand though why she's got a guy coming next week and is now checking out prices ???
The other way around really.
She asked to her neighbour to get me to call, but got someone else before I turned up.
Oh I see. Anyway I personally don't deliberately undercut...EXCEPT when the current w/c is charging way way over the odds.
As an example: A job i picked up last year. Big house with lots of glass, but all very accessable. Current w/c charging.....wait for it.......
..............wait for it............
.......£140...........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is 2 hours top whack. She saw me over the road doing a similar house and came over and asked how much I charged for it.
£50 I said. Obviously her then current w/c got the old tin tack and I took the thieving rascals place.
Do I feel guilty?....Do I heck 8)
I do a job for £28 that someone else quoted at about £120. I do it in half an hour so it's not as if I am selling myself short. I was unaware of the other quotation until I had cleaned several times.
I know the other guy works trad ands it would be a bit more fiddly working that way but I find it hard to see how £120 can be justified.
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Shiner, how the other w/c chose to do it and how long it takes him is his concern. All customer wants is shiny windows.
If he's trad and takes 3 hours...yeah i can see £120 (well almost ::))
You wfp 1/2 hour....yeah £28
You've invested in the technology....perhaps £28 might be a tad cheap?
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Lets change the title of this post to
Lets all have another go at Squeaky ::)
Get a life guys, it was a simple honest post.
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Shiner, how the other w/c chose to do it and how long it takes him is his concern. All customer wants is shiny windows.
If he's trad and takes 3 hours...yeah i can see £120 (well almost ::))
You wfp 1/2 hour....yeah £28
You've invested in the technology....perhaps £28 might be a tad cheap?
Maybe I could have squeezed a little more out of it but I'm OK with £28 for a half hour job. Anyway, the next clean is the last one for that job as they are moving to Italy - so there's not much point increasing it now :). There is no way that the other guy would have taken 3 hours to do the job. He's an experienced W/C. Maybe an hour at most if he was picky but no more than that. But as you say, that's not my concern. I got the job. I earn quite well out of it and I'm fine with that. Hope I don't get paid in euros next time though.
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Good weekend mate ;D
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It might have been a case of the other wc not having any work in that area and being asked to quote and so thinking he'll say £14 to make it worthwhile.
I can see the point of trying to look as professional as you can to try and charge a little more. You just build the illusion of being the best window cleaner, but if it keeps you customers sweet then fair enough.
I don't really see a problem in taking a customer off of another window cleaner who has a higher price. I wouldn't deliberately do it, but if you put in your quote and it's cheaper then it would be silly to turn down the job if you've priced it at a rate you feel happy with.
I also think that there are very few loyal customers out there, and that some create the illusion of being loyal the same way that we do of being a good wc. We've been dropped from so called loyal customers for minor reasons like price increases.
I also think £9 for 10 mins is a good rate especially if you are there all ready.
Simon.
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It might have been a case of the other wc not having any work in that area and being asked to quote and so thinking he'll say £14 to make it worthwhile.
I can see the point of trying to look as professional as you can to try and charge a little more. You just build the illusion of being the best window cleaner, but if it keeps you customers sweet then fair enough.
I don't really see a problem in taking a customer off of another window cleaner who has a higher price. I wouldn't deliberately do it, but if you put in your quote and it's cheaper then it would be silly to turn down the job if you've priced it at a rate you feel happy with.
I also think that there are very few loyal customers out there, and that some create the illusion of being loyal the same way that we do of being a good wc. We've been dropped from so called loyal customers for minor reasons like price increases.
I also think £9 for 10 mins is a good rate especially if you are there all ready.
Simon.
spot on post,particularly the bit about "loyal" customers
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You want a new pole
GARDINERS are selling them at 300 quid
CLEANTECH are selling them at 900 quid
Who do you buy from :-\
Now, am i a hypocrite, a mad man, an idiot, what do i do :'( It's such a difficult decission :-\ I'll go with cleantech, why not ;D
Idiots breeding idiots.
Tony
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It might have been a case of the other wc not having any work in that area and being asked to quote and so thinking he'll say £14 to make it worthwhile.
I can see the point of trying to look as professional as you can to try and charge a little more. You just build the illusion of being the best window cleaner, but if it keeps you customers sweet then fair enough.
I don't really see a problem in taking a customer off of another window cleaner who has a higher price. I wouldn't deliberately do it, but if you put in your quote and it's cheaper then it would be silly to turn down the job if you've priced it at a rate you feel happy with.
I also think that there are very few loyal customers out there, and that some create the illusion of being loyal the same way that we do of being a good wc. We've been dropped from so called loyal customers for minor reasons like price increases.
I also think £9 for 10 mins is a good rate especially if you are there all ready.
Simon.
spot on post,particularly the bit about "loyal" customers
Exactly so why do some go in so cheap,most of us have come to the conclusion that there`s no loyalty anyway so why the cheap prices.
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i dont go in cheap i just give my price
plenty round here are cheaper,but several are more expensive
i know how much i want and thats good enough for me ;D
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When I give a quote to a new customer I submit a price I'm happy to do the work for regardless of how cheap or expensive the previous window cleaner was before me.
I'm happy picking up 1 in every 2 or 3 quotes I give because that's the ratio I gain according to my prices.
I'm not interested whether I'm undercutting or overcharging. I just want to be happy to earn what I feel I can achieve.
Who doesn't want to earn more today than they did last year, it's only natural. If you lose some customers to some other window cleaner, all it means is that they haven't reached the stage where you are at in relation to pricing, it's life, live with it and move on.
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LOL I love you too, but flattery will get you nowhere.
(i didnt say they saw me as a friend, they see me as an unusually professional window cleaner. If i was their friend I'd do them for nothing, which I don't)
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actually flattery gets you most places ;D
bottom line is squeeks was happy with his price
i dont know how long you have been cleaning windows but i am sure you know what you want to earn
i have picked up work because i was cheaper
i have picked up work despite being more expensive
i dont over analyze why i got the job,i just get on with it
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actually flattery gets you most places ;D
bottom line is squeeks was happy with his price
i dont know how long you have been cleaning windows but i am sure you know what you want to earn
i have picked up work because i was cheaper
i have picked up work despite being more expensive
i dont over analyze why i got the job,i just get on with it
Spot on. ;)
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I'm happy picking up 1 in every 2 or 3 quotes I give because that's the ratio I gain according to my prices.
You must charge some good prices then. Fair play to you. I get the majority of my quotes which according to people on here means i'm too cheap. But i still price by window and not per time and therefore i have got alot of my jobs that will earn that and more. I do this because i prefer to price by amount of work rather than by time. And i don't want the customer to think of me as possibly earning £80+ per hour.
I don't consider myself ripping people off because i only charge as little as 80 per standard window or smaller and that is comparable to many others around here, but there are plenty working for a fiver per house still. I just work very quick nowadays on my regular work. That is where i make my money.
But how many windows squeaky??
Then we will have a better idea if he was expensive or just quick?
You were happy with your price squeaky and that is the main thing. You have picked up instead of lost a customer which is a bonus.
Another bonus for you is that you have the opportunity when people phone you about a quote, to say you have a £10 minimum charge so there are no suprises for them when you arrive.
Over the year, that's a bumper payrise for you if/when you decide to do it. I know we are different areas and i get knocked back on quotes as well. But suprisingly i have never had a new customer question my minimum charge of £10. I think people half expect it nowadays anyway.
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It might have been a case of the other wc not having any work in that area and being asked to quote and so thinking he'll say £14 to make it worthwhile.
I can see the point of trying to look as professional as you can to try and charge a little more. You just build the illusion of being the best window cleaner, but if it keeps you customers sweet then fair enough.
I don't really see a problem in taking a customer off of another window cleaner who has a higher price. I wouldn't deliberately do it, but if you put in your quote and it's cheaper then it would be silly to turn down the job if you've priced it at a rate you feel happy with.
I also think that there are very few loyal customers out there, and that some create the illusion of being loyal the same way that we do of being a good wc. We've been dropped from so called loyal customers for minor reasons like price increases.
I also think £9 for 10 mins is a good rate especially if you are there all ready.
Simon.
Not sure there is such a thing as a "loyal" customer any more. There are customers who won't leave for a cheaper price because they know how unreliable W/Cs can be and they prefer to stick with the devil they know. If they go for a cheaper quote, they might end up with one who drops them after a couple of cleans - a common complaint. Most don't care who cleans their windows so long as it's affordable, they get a reasonably reliable service, and they feel they can trust the W/C's honesty as well as work quality.
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But how many windows squeaky??
Then we will have a better idea if he was expensive or just quick?
Thought I said? ???
2 bed semi.
3 windows on the front, 3 on the back, 1 door on the side.
All simple panes, no opening lights, brown upvc frames, all done wfp.
Absolute doddle.
Very quick job.
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You will never be rich squeaky but at least you will sleep well at night.
I know an old lady who was quoted £80 to have her council house windows cleaned although I think he was a con man preying on the old girl rather than a serious window cleaner.
I have heard of £35 being quoted on several different occasions for 3 bed semis. Of course you are going to undercut those sort of prices. Wouldn't think twice
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54 quid an hour sounds ok to me :D
Tony
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Were I in Squeaks shoes I'd be kicking myself because I could have got a couple more quid for the job and the customer would still have been chuffed to get it a little cheaper than the other window cleaner >:(
Having said that I think he was wrong not to charge the same as the house next door, I know it has a couple of windows extra on a porch, but he should stick with his minimum price.
The type of job he is talking about will be knocked out in little more than 5 minutes, read his description of the job, brown UPVC windows and all simple and straight forward, he'll fly through the job without even trying.
I have one account I know is underpriced, it is a 3 bed semi with 9 windows and 2 doors.
I charge a paltry £7.00....but I still do it from pulling up to packing away in 7 & 1/2 minutes...and the frames on the front have oxidised too!
As I am still on the £1.00 per minute worked I am happy enough with it.
If I were to price that house up now I would charge £11.00 for it...that's £4.00 more than I do now, almost the same kind of price difference that Squeaky is talking about....but at £11.00 I don't believe I'd be ripping off the customer.
Just because I'm quick and efficient on this job doesn't mean that someone else would be.
Maybe the window cleaner that Squeaks took the job off comes from miles away? Perhaps he has to go out of his way to do this job?
Maybe he slapped in a high price, not caring if he got the job or not.
Or then again of course that might be just how he values the service he provides.
This is going to be a really good little job for Squeaks, 6 or 7 minutes from start to finish - so long as he doesn't start farting around 'blading off' the downstairs windows!!
I just think he should have held his nerve and stayed at his minimum charge
Ian
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This cleaner might be a newbie, and is trying to find the right level he should be pricing, at least he is starting high, much better than underpricing and hating the job.
Or he charges what he thinks the job is worth and what he needs to earn to have a standard of living that he wants, this is not "ripping people off" its good business sense.
Squeeky you were wrong to charge less than your minimum charge, what happens if you come across across another customer who has less glass to clean, do you drop your minimum charge again.
I know of one cleaner who charges £5 for a house, I clean many of his customers neighbours for double that at least, I think that he is mad for charging what he does and have told him so, buts he quite content with it, he earns what he want.
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Theres a guy near me who is happy with £10.00 an hour
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Theres a guy near me who is happy with £10.00 an hour
I have one of them near me too Dave.
I recently lost 4 customers of 12 years standing, when I put their price up from £5.00 to £5.50.
I'm not at all bothered, they were well under priced anyway.
There are a hell of a lot of older customers that still don't like their windows being left wet, I lost them to a new trad guy who subsequently failed to turn up.
I was asked by one of the customers if I would do them again, I told her to go whistle Dixie.
I DO A LOT OF HOUSES AT £5 A GO, and I do 25 of them on a good day, the ones with cons get charged more.
If I had a minimum £10 charge, I would be on £250 every day. The problem is that I wouldn't, because I would lose them to the £10 an hour merchants.
If I have to drive to a job, it has to be worth at least a tenner, but highly compact work, on open plan
estates is what I have, and what all the other guys are after.
Good on you Squeaks, we all have to live with the competition in our own areas. Dai
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he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work
Yes he is.
No matter what price is being charged by the other guy it is NOT a rip off.
The customer knew the price in advance, and they knew what they would be getting for the money, so how is that a rip off?
Now she has later decided that this isnt good value for money, fair enough thats her perogative, but nobody has been ripped off.
I'd say, more fool you for doing a house for £9 that someone else managed to get £14 for.
only he didn't get it for £14 did he?
but squeaky added to his round in that area, and will keep it!
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the higher the price ... the higher the cancelation rate....(being too greedy)
the higher the price normaly means spread out work...
i'm not cheap, but my goal has always been condensed work. .. in my area i know of another company with a hot wfp set up... they charge about 40% more.... but my takings , or hourly rate is more.... and my expenses are less...
i have no rigid rule...i price jobs according to what i feel i can get and keep, although i have a minimum charge of £10...
HOW DO I KNOW I'M DOING WELL?
i quetly read all the cocky posts and the braggarts and the critics on the forum...
no names!... and i know that i'm heading the right way ;)
and i have no doubt that those who declare what they charge although critisised for being too cheap are probably earning more than their critics ;)
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the higher the price ... the higher the cancelation rate....(being too greedy)
the higher the price normaly means spread out work...
i'm not cheap, but my goal has always been condensed work. .. in my area i know of another company with a hot wfp set up... they charge about 40% more.... but my takings , or hourly rate is more.... and my expenses are less...
i have no rigid rule...i price jobs according to what i feel i can get and keep, although i have a minimum charge of £10...
HOW DO I KNOW I'M DOING WELL?
i quetly read all the cocky posts and the braggarts and the critics on the forum...
no names!... and i know that i'm heading the right way ;)
and i have no doubt that those who declare what they charge although critisised for being too cheap are probably earning more than their critics ;)
I like that post ;)
Tony
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just saying how i see (read it ) :D
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Theres a guy near me who is happy with £10.00 an hour
There will always be these people and why not? Its a lot better than stacking shelves in Tescos or driving a Council Minibus. The lack of decent jobs round here is becoming really scarey.
When they introduced the minimum wage they created a benchmark. Employers know they don't have to go above it to get staff. The minimum wage has become the standard wage.
People are queuing up for jobs even at those wages because there is no choice.
Prices are like water, they find their own level over time. If you charge more than the "going rate", and I certainly try to, you will always have to keep one eye over your shoulder.
A lot of my customers are retired people who are quite well off. They bought their houses for a song and have retired on good company pensions. The next generation below them are not so well off, most were forced to retire early and their pensions have taken a hammering.
I think I am living in a bit of a time warp from that point of view.
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Theres alot of talk about getting the maximum price for a job and by the description of the house it sounds like the maximum has been attained the price of £14 was rejected as being too much while £9 was accepted maybe that is the level for the area and job type
I know we all like to make the most we possibly can but maybe just maybe on this job it is the maximum
Dean
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converslely, i went to price a job, current window cleaner charges 7.50 every 4 weeks, my price is 15.00 every 8 weeks, he does a crap job, i do a good job, picked up her neighbour aswell.... yes i'm open to undercutting, but there are always people prepared to pay for a job well done and they are the people i want as customers...... what happens when squeaks new customer can get the job done by a polish immigrant for 5.00 as he is just looking after his family and is happy to earn 5.00 for ten minutes work instead of the 5.60 an hour he is earning picking veg or working in a factory!!
just my opinion
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most customers worth having just want a fair price and a good job done.....
i have had someone canvassing my areas at half the price...but i havn't lost any work.....
but if i were to start putting my prices up by £1 annualy, as a rigid rule....i would have a few cancelations....
i put my prices up in line with what i know i can get away with....
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the higher the price ... the higher the cancelation rate....(being too greedy)
the higher the price normaly means spread out work...
i'm not cheap, but my goal has always been condensed work. .. in my area i know of another company with a hot wfp set up... they charge about 40% more.... but my takings , or hourly rate is more.... and my expenses are less...
i have no rigid rule...i price jobs according to what i feel i can get and keep, although i have a minimum charge of £10...
HOW DO I KNOW I'M DOING WELL?
i quetly read all the cocky posts and the braggarts and the critics on the forum...
no names!... and i know that i'm heading the right way ;)
and i have no doubt that those who declare what they charge although critisised for being too cheap are probably earning more than their critics ;)
I don't like my work to be too compact as it can make it trickier to ditch a troublesome customer. By pricing cheaper because work is more compact (or having compact work because the price is cheaper) it means that I would be paid for window cleaning rather than driving. But the main reason I have against pricing compact work more cheaply is because of something that happened to me in several areas. It ended up with me losing a fair bit of work due to people moving, cancellations (even though I was cheap), or people just not likingh WFP (at the start). It meant I was charging "compact" rates for spread out work. Mistake made and learned from. I now treat a quotation as if it's my only job in that immediate area. Another thing about compact work is that you are more likely to fall foul of the "not today" brigade because they know you will be back in the area to service other customers in a few weeks. When one or two start the "not today" stuff, it can become an epidemic quite easily.
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yes ... i understand that , but i'm not cheap..... if i get the "not today" for no valid reason , i don't do them again...
i have a minimum charhe of £10 ...i don't do council estates..my condensed is mainly 4 bed detached...i still have to move my van from one drive to next doors drive...
i'v been doing this type of work for 15 yrs, my cancelation rate is very low....but i still go for condensed
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i have a minimum charhe of £10 ...i don't do council estates...but i still go for condensed
Is that just a personal dislike? We do several council estates, the houses don't come much more condensed than that, and the people seem to fall into two categories: those who would always try to avoid paying, and those who can't bear the thought of owing money. If you have an area of the latter type, and you stick to your £10 minimum, you won't get any better work than that ;)
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Where was this customer?
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I was asked to quote for a basic job last week.
Gave a price of £8. She replied that the other wc charged £10.
My immediate thought was that I had screwed myself there.
This Lady gave me a real pull up because She said, 'I know there is not much difference in price but everything has become so expensive and we are looking to cut back.
My feeling now is that people will be looking to see where they can save.
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Theres over 30 million properties in this country, there not all looking to cut back.
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Although having condensed work is ideal, in reality I don't mind packing away and driving for 15 mins to the next job...gives the feet and legs a break.
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Although condensed work is more economical, I personally like the break of driving from one job to the other.
At the end of the day it doesnt feel like I have done a shift in a grotty factory.
Another good point of pricing high and delivering a high standard of work is that I don't have to work to many hours.
I can now spend more of my time relaxing and enjoying my life.
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what a load of ball locks. well done squeeky, you're the one with the customer, not the other guy - £14 for 7 windows?? £9 is more than fair.
all these guys on here blowing their trumpet that they charge £25 for this that and the other, making £60 an hr blah blah, what do they drive? why are they working??!!
It seems funny to me that the ones making all the 'money' are the same ones who don't drive a new van, who don't employ, and who seem to post threads such as ' where's the cheapest place to buy .....'
Its really isn't hard to see who's talking bull around here.
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where is this house by the way?
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what a load of ball locks. well done squeeky, you're the one with the customer, not the other guy - £14 for 7 windows?? £9 is more than fair.
all these guys on here blowing their trumpet that they charge £25 for this that and the other, making £60 an hr blah blah, what do they drive? why are they working??!!
It seems funny to me that the ones making all the 'money' are the same ones who don't drive a new van, who don't employ, and who seem to post threads such as ' where's the cheapest place to buy .....'
Its really isn't hard to see who's talking bull around here.
Not sure what you are on about Alan. You slag off £60 an hour yet praise Squeaky for getting a £9 job that takes him "under ten minutes" (which breaks down to about £60 an hour). So it's OK if Squeaky does it but not OK if anyone else does it?
It's got me wondering precisely who is talking "ball locks".
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Can I just make a few point here about pricing:
There are many variables when it comes to pricing a job.
For example, the ones I do that Squeaky dropped, I charge each of them £12.00 where-as he used to charge them £6.00; so I effectively doubled the price.
I've been doing them for at least a year, and although I do believe these customers moaned about the 'doubling of their price', they're all very nice to my face - top customers - I'm normally paid straight away, since they're retired types.
Anyway, how did I get away with doubling their price and retaining these customers?
No other window cleaner would want to go there:
Parking is almost non-existant; definately not suitable for a van-mount (pefect for a backpack).
There's plenty of awkward windows for ladders, especially when they park their cars right in front of
their house.
I dominate the area; I clean every house that wants a window cleaner; no other window cleaner
(that I know of) goes in this part of the street (and not many go into the area either; the whole place, pretty
much has awkward parking, and is difficult to do with ladders).
So, given that I know that there's a lack of supply of window cleaners to fill the demand of wanting on, I know I could charge good prices for all the houses in that small place.
It's one of our top residential areas, with all my prices ranging from £27 to £12; most of which I've been doing for quite a few years now.
I also think that once Squeaky has more work than he can handle (he's only been window cleaning for about 12 years now and still hasn't got a full round!!!???), he'll get braver and charge better prices and won't be struggling to pay his tax bill, like he has in recent years.
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what a load of ball locks. well done squeeky, you're the one with the customer, not the other guy - £14 for 7 windows?? £9 is more than fair.
all these guys on here blowing their trumpet that they charge £25 for this that and the other, making £60 an hr blah blah, what do they drive? why are they working??!!
It seems funny to me that the ones making all the 'money' are the same ones who don't drive a new van, who don't employ, and who seem to post threads such as ' where's the cheapest place to buy .....'
Its really isn't hard to see who's talking bull around here.
Alan
What do you think is an acceptable amount that a window cleaner should earn per hour?
As for those who shop around for the cheapest price, when they are buying anything, isn't that sensible, or should they only buy the most expensive.
For example I need to buy a carpet cleaning wand, every supplier in the UK are charging £275 plus delivery and vat for one.
All of these suppliers get this wand from a company in the USA, this company are willing to sell me one direct for £97 plus £55 delivery and custom charges of £12.54, who do you think I should buy one from?
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For example I need to buy a carpet cleaning wand, every supplier in the UK are charging £275 plus delivery and vat for one.
All of these suppliers get this wand from a company in the USA, this company are willing to sell me one direct for £97 plus £55 delivery and custom charges of £12.54, who do you think I should buy one from?
But that's not always a good analogy when you compare it to window cleaning.
For example, Squeaky doesn't advertise; you won't find him in any of the books (Yellow Pages, Local Pages, etc); which is similar to many many other window cleaners. So while he maybe cheaper than other window cleaners, how can potential customers find him?
Then, he's limited to finite number of houses he can clean.
For many potential residential customers - not all I know - they're severley limited to who they can 'choose' to clean their windows. Or at least they may peceive themselves to be restricted.
Customers - I guess - at least the brighter ones, normally resign themselves to the 'Devil they know', and would prefer to pay a bit extra, to retain a proven good service, or at least one that doesn't burgle them, or let them down.
The nature of our business differs from many others; what I'm saying is customers can't usually 'pick and choose' by price; you won't find window cleaning on any web price comparison site!
Don't undercharge, overprice if anything, and that way you can guarantee a good service to your customers.
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what a load of ball locks. well done squeeky, you're the one with the customer, not the other guy - £14 for 7 windows?? £9 is more than fair.
all these guys on here blowing their trumpet that they charge £25 for this that and the other, making £60 an hr blah blah, what do they drive? why are they working??!!
It seems funny to me that the ones making all the 'money' are the same ones who don't drive a new van, who don't employ, and who seem to post threads such as ' where's the cheapest place to buy .....'
Its really isn't hard to see who's talking bull around here.
Here, here, you're right Alan, it's not very hard at all, they're usually the ones to give the worst advise too ;)
Tony
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To be honest, I charge what I believe I can get, and the customers pay the least they can for a good job.
Money is something we could all do with more of, including most of our customers.
With me, people get the service they pay for, if it's a five pound job, I'm not going to hang around for ages waiting for all the drips to fall. If they are terrace houses with long back gardens, the bottoms get done when I finish the tops.
If it's a well priced job I'll wait until the drips finish, and do all of the frames including the tops.
We charge what we can but still have to compete.
When I was a lad chimney sweeps were 10 a penny, not any more, now they are hard to come by.
The prices they charge reflects this, in my area they charge upwards of £30 a pot and they won't even come for one job. Last time my chimney was done was with 4 of my neighbour's, he had done the four of us in an hour and a half, he had earned £1.33 for every one of those 90 minutes.
Competition is what keeps prices down, and that's why I try and guide every window cleaner I see to this site. It's the one positive thing that comes out of the earnings threads, they get to read what others say they are earning.
The negative thing about this forum is, many of us were perfectly happy with our lot until the high earning posters told us what they were earning. Of course this has a negative affect on the self esteem of many cleaners who charge what they believe to be reasonable prices, this is the source of many arguments.
The" I do a better job than the other guys and charge accordingly" posts are irritating to say the least,
We all have to clean windows to a standard that will keep our customers happy.
I would have to wheel meknackers round in a barrow to ask for £20 for a council house. Dai
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The negative thing about this forum is, many of us were perfectly happy with our lot until the high earning posters told us what they were earning.
Too true Dai.
Until I found this forum, I regarded £15 an hour as just about acceptable, £20 an hour as reasonably OK, and £25 an hour as a good top whack - and I'm in southeast England which would normally be regarded as a fairly well off part of the UK. This was working off a ladder BTW. OK, so the hourly rate had to rise a fair bit when I went for WFP to offset the higher outgoings but this hourly rate rose because I could work faster rather than by increasing prices. This forum has raised my income and my expectations. It hasn't actually raised my standard of living because it just means that I am repaying my debts a bit more quickly. I still do have patches of work where I turn over in the low 20s per hour but I now regard this work as ripe for a big increase or ripe for passing on once I've replaced it. I realise that it's not practical in some parts of the country but I do not regard a £10 minimum as excessive. I think it's a pity that some on here seem to get the hump about it and for that reason, I think it's better not to say too much on earnings threads.
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ok
shiner - squeeky never lets on that he's making £60 an hour, no, in fact common sense would tell you that overall squeeky earns much less than that.
Is it ok to earn £60 an hour? I think its fine to earn £600 an hour but when people on here break their earnings down to base it on what they earn while they are working then it never gives a true account of what they earn - for example I did a job on my own last week, took me 4mins to do and its £8 - am I making £120 an hour then? No chance.
Try and look at the issue in a logical fashion in future please.
williamx - as for looking around, thats fine - I'm scottish after all!! however when its something so puny as a 17ft xtel or some fittings or something then its not worth considering. I made a point on another thread to Dave St Ives about resin use - he uses loads of it and I suggested going for an ro to save money, but it was as much about consistantly producing high quality water. Dave's response about not really caring about the cost so much (even though I didn't necessarily agree 100% with it) really just proved a point about how the bigger outfits (and I believe Dave is not a one man band) just get what they need and get on with it. After all, we're all earning £40/hr - £1600 week so what point is there in trying to save a fiver?
Shiner - wfp debts? did you buy an off the shelf system? How much did you spend?
Dai - I couldn't agree more, I hate people posting and saying they wouldn't do a 15min job for less than x amount - I just think it demoralises those with less established businesses.
macmac - ta pal.
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ok
shiner - squeeky never lets on that he's making £60 an hour, no, in fact common sense would tell you that overall squeeky earns much less than that.
Is it ok to earn £60 an hour? I think its fine to earn £600 an hour but when people on here break their earnings down to base it on what they earn while they are working then it never gives a true account of what they earn - for example I did a job on my own last week, took me 4mins to do and its £8 - am I making £120 an hour then? No chance.
Try and look at the issue in a logical fashion in future please.
williamx - as for looking around, thats fine - I'm scottish after all!! however when its something so puny as a 17ft xtel or some fittings or something then its not worth considering. I made a point on another thread to Dave St Ives about resin use - he uses loads of it and I suggested going for an ro to save money, but it was as much about consistantly producing high quality water. Dave's response about not really caring about the cost so much (even though I didn't necessarily agree 100% with it) really just proved a point about how the bigger outfits (and I believe Dave is not a one man band) just get what they need and get on with it. After all, we're all earning £40/hr - £1600 week so what point is there in trying to save a fiver?
Shiner - wfp debts? did you buy an off the shelf system? How much did you spend?
Dai - I couldn't agree more, I hate people posting and saying they wouldn't do a 15min job for less than x amount - I just think it demoralises those with less established businesses.
macmac - ta pal.
I'll respond to the bits you've posted to myself.
I'm sure Squeaky does make less than £60 an hour. I do too. Not sure what your point is. I have some jobs that would project to maybe £80 or even £90 an hour if they were to take an hour. I also have work that would project to low £20s per hour. I'm OK with logic. Not sure why you would question that.
As for debts, I had some big personal debts that built up before WFP. I made a few mistakes - mainly around a relationship that didn't work out and then I had a major illness that made working very difficult for a while. It became pretty clear that I was struggling to repay the debts while working from a ladder. I saw how fast WFP could be once I got used to it so I took a calculated gamble - and believe me, it was calculated too (because I used logic). I worked out how much per month the loan would cost, how much extra I could expect to profit, and how long it would take to reach that point. I got it about right but it took me a bit longer to get to that point than I allowed for. To get me started, I borrowed about £14,000 which meant higher outgoings of about £300 a month PLUS using a larger van than I previously had means higher running costs on that. Also, it needs to be factored in that I got £1,675 for the van that I previously used for trad cleaning.
I suppose that my outgoings are around an extra £370 a month with everything but my extra turnover far exceeds that amount.
I realise it can be bad form to borrow more money when already struggling with debt but occasionally, there are situations where it is the best option. One such situatuion is when you borrow money in order to vastly increase your income.
Not much problem with logic there I suppose.
Of course it could all go pear shaped if I get sick or injured but there has been no trace of the hepatitis since '04 and, apparently, my liver has been functioning normally for quite a while (marvellous things livers as they regenerate themselves.)
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shiner
sorry about the illness - really sucks.
the big personal debt is bad though, having ran up debts when I was younger (like most of us) it can be hard to repay, my debts reached £42000 in 1987!
I don't know if I would have taken the route you have taken regards borrowing so much from the bank but clearly you did the numbers and that was the best option for you.
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Glad you've all had a nice chat about me. ;D
I'll catch up later...can't be arsed now.
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Hes Exactly what he calls himself! 'SQUEEKY'
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???
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ok
williamx - as for looking around, thats fine - I'm scottish after all!! however when its something so puny as a 17ft xtel or some fittings or something then its not worth considering. I made a point on another thread to Dave St Ives about resin use - he uses loads of it and I suggested going for an ro to save money, but it was as much about consistantly producing high quality water. Dave's response about not really caring about the cost so much (even though I didn't necessarily agree 100% with it) really just proved a point about how the bigger outfits (and I believe Dave is not a one man band) just get what they need and get on with it. After all, we're all earning £40/hr - £1600 week so what point is there in trying to save a fiver?
When I want to buy anything, I always look at the price factor first, if I can get the same product at a cheaper price then all well and good, but price is not the be all and end all.
Other factors have to be considered as well such as customer aftercare.
For example the garage who I use to repair my van are very expensive compared to others in my area, but their customer care is priceless, if my van breaks down they will send a mechanic straight out to access and repair it. If it does need a repair they charge me the hourly rate it should normally take to repair, but if they take longer than normal, they don't charge any extra.
Their are many cleaners and other tradesmen who price the job up on what they think the customer is worth not what the works worth, this I consider "ripping people off".
Their are also many cleaners who only clean the glass and not the frames, if the customers wants the frames cleaned then they want more money for the job, why? a window is the hole in the wall and everything that fills it should be cleaned.
Many customers think the same as well, they are willing to pay higher prices because they believe that they are getting good value for their money.
Any tradesmen should price their work at what they consider is fair and reasonable, if they are more expensive or cheaper than others, so what.
And as for them telling others what they earn, this is a good thing, because there are no set rates for the job, how do newbies and older cleaners know what is possible to achieve.
I also do carpet cleaning, I am still charging the same price per room that I was charging 20 years ago, but I earn more per hour than I was then, mainly because of the improvements in the equipment and chemicals that are available now.
I don't feel guilty earning more per hour for the same amount of work than I use to do.
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shiner
sorry about the illness - really sucks.
the big personal debt is bad though, having ran up debts when I was younger (like most of us) it can be hard to repay, my debts reached £42000 in 1987!
I don't know if I would have taken the route you have taken regards borrowing so much from the bank but clearly you did the numbers and that was the best option for you.
I did my sums very carefully on this one Alan. If I had allowed things to stay the way they were, I could have been looking at making special arrangements with creditors, IVA, or bankruptcy. As a single person with no dependants, I would miss all the safety nets concerning homelessness etc. By borrowing so much money, I actually bought myself some time which I badly needed. It's starting to look like it's paying off. I'm not out of the wood yet but it's quite a bit easier than it was. As my health returned, I was able to step up my workload more. This is one reason I have reservations about "loyal" customers. Although many were fine with me providing a skeleton service for some months, others dropped me like a hot potato. It's not like I just stopped calling either. I did a mailshot to everyone and just said that if they wished to go elsewhere, just to let me know. That mailshot cost me money I could ill afford and still quite a few of them just went elsewhere and said nothing. So I can feel quite cynical when some W/Cers say that their customers all love them and that they would never go elsewhere.
If it weren't for the fact that I will be fighting for my financial life over the next few years, I would be quite happy to work for a bit less. As things stand, I could be Mr Niceguy to my customers and end up with nowhere to live. I don't intend that to happen.
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I do a job for £28 that someone else quoted at about £120. I do it in half an hour so it's not as if I am selling myself short. I was unaware of the other quotation until I had cleaned several times.
I know the other guy works trad ands it would be a bit more fiddly working that way but I find it hard to see how £120 can be justified.
who was is?
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I do a job for £28 that someone else quoted at about £120. I do it in half an hour so it's not as if I am selling myself short. I was unaware of the other quotation until I had cleaned several times.
I know the other guy works trad ands it would be a bit more fiddly working that way but I find it hard to see how £120 can be justified.
who was is?
Not naming on here. It wasn't anyone who comes on here.
It wasn't Mike though, so I think you can already guess who it was (begins with B.).
I think I should also say that this is what the customer told me. No reason for them to lie about it but who knows?
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haha,
you know what at first i thought mike, and then no, hes not that crazy, and then the big B pooped into mind,
Paul can you imagine what he would earn if he was WFP, and it all worked out, haha,
have you heard some of his stories?
Mike used to say working with B should be part of the nation curriculum
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haha,
you know what at first i thought mike, and then no, hes not that crazy, and then the big B pooped into mind,
Paul can you imagine what he would earn if he was WFP, and it all worked out, haha,
have you heard some of his stories?
Mike used to say working with B should be part of the nation curriculum
I've not really had any lengthy conversations with B. Just a few minutes here and there when our paths have crossed. I did discuss WFP with him quite a while back. He said that his main reason for not switching was because it did not remove "fly poo" - a view with which I do have some sympathy. Maybe hot water would work on it better. I suspect that the day will come when he at least has to use WFP on some of his work as I think he has a fair bit of commercial and the customers may force the issue. Personally, I would hate to go back to ladders again now I'vew grown used to WFP.
I do wish I had the balls to ask some of his prices but charging so much can leave you very vulnerable to losing loads. I've had a number of requests to quote for his work down the years. As you know, I'm not really into doing things that way. I have had a little bit of his work come my way but wasn't aware that they already had a W/C till some time after.
The prices I mentioned above aren't typical though. Usually it sounds like he is between 50% and 100% dearer than me.
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you could fill a book with stories about him, one involving a piggy bank, and another a squirrel, i could go on,
his prices are nuts, and i dont know why his customers pay him, but they do, its great if you can get it i suppose, i dont think i could ever charge a customer as much as he does, but he does, so good for him,
i saw you the other day in buckswood i think,
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you could fill a book with stories about him, one involving a piggy bank, and another a squirrel, i could go on,
his prices are nuts, and i dont know why his customers pay him, but they do, its great if you can get it i suppose, i dont think i could ever charge a customer as much as he does, but he does, so good for him,
i saw you the other day in buckswood i think,
I have not really heard much about him so can't really comment.
As for Buckswood - yes I do have a job at the Horsham Road end of it (bottom of the hill). Anyway, off to bed now. Feel free to stop for a natter if you see me around.