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UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: dave0123 on September 29, 2008, 07:14:38 pm

Title: What you rekon on this?
Post by: dave0123 on September 29, 2008, 07:14:38 pm
I was having a dicussion today with another window cleaner and wonderd what he would charge for this building.


windows same as front at the back, 6 small bathroom windows on each side .


dave
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: SherwoodCleaningSe on September 29, 2008, 07:18:08 pm
65 quid just for the outs.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: alanwilson on September 29, 2008, 07:19:44 pm
around £60
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Chris Galloway on September 29, 2008, 07:20:28 pm
Yeah about £50-60 external only.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: LWC on September 29, 2008, 07:20:43 pm
£40 monthly

you mad?

at least £70

theres over 100 windows there with 3 storys involved
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: m.b.s. on September 29, 2008, 07:22:34 pm
i would say 66
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: LWC on September 29, 2008, 07:27:07 pm
counted that wrong, but still 62 windows some 3 story and £40?

you can have that one then  :P
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Chris Galloway on September 29, 2008, 07:28:50 pm
£40 monthly

you mad?

at least £70

theres over 100 windows there with 3 storys involved
maybe but i can count 62 windows

Didn't read the side windows bit, yeah 60 ish windows £60-70 :P
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 29, 2008, 07:30:12 pm
£65 i thought before i checked you guys comments....ballpark it seems :)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Window Cleaning Services on September 29, 2008, 07:31:10 pm
75-80 outs only. 8)syd
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ronnie paton on September 29, 2008, 07:33:11 pm
£65 three storey is no more difficult than 2 storey 2 people will do this in  45min WFP
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 29, 2008, 07:34:17 pm
£40 monthly

you mad?

at least £70

theres over 100 windows there with 3 storys involved
maybe but i can count 62 windows

Didn't read the side windows bit, yeah 60 ish windows £60-70 :P

100 panes you mean?? Not window case......and i think stan is pricing on .60p a window :) whereas every one else is £2 for top row, and £1 for the rest if im not mistaken...thats pretty much what i did anyway and figures are similar
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: TDS-London on September 29, 2008, 07:39:31 pm
Wouldn't touch it for less than £120. Not being a smart alec just being honest!
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 29, 2008, 07:39:59 pm
I would say at the VERY VERY least £70, if not quite a bit more.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 29, 2008, 07:43:29 pm
Wouldn't touch it for less than £120. Not being a smart alec just being honest!

thats alot though innit for a job that someone else will no doubt quote almost half for, and do a good job at that rate as it is no more than 1 hr work easy, id do it on ladders in an hr
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 29, 2008, 07:46:43 pm
Quote
id do it on ladders in an hr

can you explain how you would do that alone? Because if you can, I think I may be dumping my wfp!!!
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 29, 2008, 07:48:32 pm
theres 62 windows all together, so you could do all 62 in less than a minute off a ladder on a 2 story building?
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: dave0123 on September 29, 2008, 07:51:20 pm
On laders i would estimated just over 2 hours includings sides maybe 2 n half hours good job allround on ladders.


it would take me longer with wfp thought  ::) i dont know why it takes so long. i would of said 60-70 the other fella said 50.00
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 29, 2008, 07:56:01 pm
longer?? really? you are rinsing waaaay to much..
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ok cleaning on September 29, 2008, 08:05:41 pm
if you wonna make good living no less than £100
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: dave0123 on September 29, 2008, 08:06:18 pm
Proberly am, if i dont rinse as much they come up spotty. it could be the brush is it inportant to get the brush fully splayed all time? because mine is quite stiff.


dave
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: LWC on September 29, 2008, 08:07:40 pm
fully splayed? what you going on about? scrub the window...rinse...move on ;)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Slash on September 29, 2008, 08:08:38 pm
About  £140.00,reading some of these responces you guys are doing it for peanuts,£60-£70 ???,are you mad!!!!!!!!!I would do the front for that,you guys are far too cheap,cowboy prices! ;D
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: dave0123 on September 29, 2008, 08:11:37 pm
Quote
fully splayed? what you going on about? scrub the window...rinse...move on

Im going on about the brush, the bristles being flat on the window
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: LWC on September 29, 2008, 08:13:35 pm
Quote
fully splayed? what you going on about? scrub the window...rinse...move on

Im going on about the brush, the bristles being flat on the window

think you worrying too much dude

just scrub window, you dont have to splay the brush across the window fella ;)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: SherwoodCleaningSe on September 29, 2008, 08:17:43 pm
If you didn't have to drive far for this job, I would say it will take 2 people well less than 1hr, probably 40 mins tops for 2 men using a van mount system.  It's not even worth considering the ladder.  I'm thinking £65 for well under an hours work is nearly a pound a minuet between 2 people.  I don't see that 80p - £1/min is bad income.  You could price it higher say 120 or 150 but then you run the risk of only having the job for a few months and then being undercut.

Simon.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: cherubs cleaning on September 29, 2008, 08:21:14 pm
how long do u pros think that job will take you






jerry
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Mike 108 on September 29, 2008, 08:34:54 pm
£65 three storey is no more difficult than 2 storey 2 people will do this in  45min WFP

That's approximately 70 windows each in 45 mins - about 40 seconds per window!

I haven't been WFP for long, but that seems mighty fast!

Anybody else think the same?

Mike
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Rogue Trader on September 29, 2008, 08:44:31 pm
at £1.50 per window unit and a tenner for side windows i make it £90 (and that is not adding extra for the fact that it is 3 storey.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 29, 2008, 08:50:21 pm
Actually, a splayed brush will cover glass MUCH quicker,
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: LWC on September 29, 2008, 08:55:32 pm
Actually, a splayed brush will cover glass MUCH quicker,

its hardly something that crosses my mind whilst cleaning though dude
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ronnie paton on September 29, 2008, 09:12:03 pm
sean i think you need to rethink that, im sure you dont thik you could do it all in a hour with ladders
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ronnie paton on September 29, 2008, 09:16:53 pm
mike how is it 70 windows each there isnt 140 windows on this building?????

I would be able to do this on my own in under 2 hours 2 of us in under 1 there easy windows no messing about with openers.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 29, 2008, 09:49:20 pm
sean i think you need to rethink that, im sure you dont thik you could do it all in a hour with ladders
maybe that was a bit giddy, more like just under 2, but my point is that 70 for wfp is good price, because definitely not much more than 1hr - 1.5 on wfp... so thats nearly 50-70 an hr
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Big Dave @ CWC on September 29, 2008, 09:53:58 pm
£55 wfp for me......... ;)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: peter holley on September 29, 2008, 09:59:06 pm
£60 for prompt payment ...ie 7 days ..... otherwise  £70
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Mike 108 on September 29, 2008, 10:30:06 pm
mike how is it 70 windows each there isnt 140 windows on this building?????

I would be able to do this on my own in under 2 hours 2 of us in under 1 there easy windows no messing about with openers.

Sorry, Ronnie,

I was looking at my own 'workings out' which were done using 'panes of glass'

So I've mixed myself up and my reply was a 'ba**s up'

Apologies.

Mike
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: groundhog on September 29, 2008, 10:33:15 pm
£100  ;)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: vision tech on September 29, 2008, 10:55:52 pm
looking at that picture if you where doing it with ladders you would need someone to foot the ladder as you would need to slope the ladder out past the
plants at the front ,also the side looks a bit inacessable from what i can see ,
its a wfp job not a trad one, so £60
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Wayne Thomas on September 29, 2008, 11:55:58 pm
Actually, a splayed brush will cover glass MUCH quicker,

Actually hot water will sheet faster than a splayed brush, try it sometime if you can. A good scrub and a high flow of hot water will rinse faster than a splayed brush
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: S.A.J on September 30, 2008, 07:38:51 am
£70 hour & half to clean, easy job!
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 30, 2008, 07:42:36 am
Actually, a splayed brush will cover glass MUCH quicker,

Actually hot water will sheet faster than a splayed brush, try it sometime if you can. A good scrub and a high flow of hot water will rinse faster than a splayed brush


you got a diy hot system wayne?? i am getting a bigger system in van next year about march and wondered whther to do hot water whilst im at it :)?
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: pingu on September 30, 2008, 07:47:42 am
£75 + the VAT, 8 weekly.

Here in Holland all work is subject to the VAT (BTW as it is called here).

Cheers
Dave.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: gary999 on September 30, 2008, 08:13:49 am
£60-£80 2hours first clean make sure it was done right then 1 1/2 hours
after that
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: RO-Sheen on September 30, 2008, 08:53:52 am
£75 outs only.

Thats £1 a window for Ground and 1st floor and £1.50 for 2nd floor
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: steve a on September 30, 2008, 02:10:09 pm
£70 monthly, hour and half to do. inc setting up and packing away.

Stevea
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Ian_Giles on September 30, 2008, 02:57:12 pm
Streuth! Some of you are soooo cheap! :o

My own price would be around the £100 mark and about an hour or so's work at the most for one person.

It's 3 storey so you have to price accordingly, off a ladder it would be a hard 2 hour job, 3rd floors are always hard work, the ladder is heavy to lug around for a start (well, a decent one is) and even though the windows are easy to clean it'll still take it out of you.
Some of you are pricing so cheaply you really are shooting yourselves in the foot.

If you are working off ladders then your hard work (and risk) deserve to be far better rewarded, if you are WFP then what is the point of all that investment and increased running costs if you have lowered your relative price to the same level as before!!
Some of you are setting your sights far too low.

My target rate is to work at an average of £1.00 per minute worked (£60.00 per hour) But to average that there has to be times when you far exceed that target, and hopefully not too many when you dip below it.
But this doesn't mean you earn £60.00 an hour for 8 hours a day, every day, far from it, but if you want to 'EARN' 25k a year - and by 'EARN' I mean your wage and not your turnover, then you really do need to think along those lines...unless of course you are happy with banking somewhere around 17-18k per year and settling for a wage of under £300 a week....


Ian
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Roy Harding on September 30, 2008, 03:33:28 pm
Totally agree with Ian on this one, was shocked how cheap you boys are saying.

I would charge £120 per 4wk clean or £140 every 8wks

Roy
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Dean Aspects on September 30, 2008, 04:08:21 pm
If i wanted the job then i would charge £75 and it should only take an hour to do it
As i have a full round though i would say £100 and either figure is a good hourly rate
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 30, 2008, 05:53:27 pm
i would price around £140 on an 8 week too. I cant believe so many people shoot themselves in the foot and put themselves out of a good wage!!
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ronnie paton on September 30, 2008, 06:08:04 pm
so some of you could sub to me and we would both make ££££££ any one in the north west
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: gerard mcmanus on September 30, 2008, 06:49:19 pm
I get it at £45 and think it would take me two hours, I know very cheap complared to most but there is no way I would what some of you guys would ask for that up here in scotland.

Also, one question. A few mentioned £1 per window, so would you charge the toiet windows at the side the same as the main window above the entrance?

gerard  ;D
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: JSMC on September 30, 2008, 06:59:32 pm
i reckon 60 quid. i too also live in scotland. ye wid get yer ham haws toed for ripping folk aff up here.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on September 30, 2008, 07:10:02 pm
£150 allday long,some of the prices posted on this thread tell you a lot about what work some have and there prices.It looks like everyone`s stopped pricing from a ladder these days,i said pricing like this will eventually kill commercial and it is.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: gerard mcmanus on September 30, 2008, 07:20:33 pm
£150 allday long,some of the prices posted on this thread tell you a lot about what work some have and there prices.It looks like everyone`s stopped pricing from a ladder these days,i said pricing like this will eventually kill commercial and it is.

My qoute of £45 was from a ladder, and based on how long it would take, thats £75+ per hour that you charge, I couldn't justify that to my customers. My overheads aren't that high.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on September 30, 2008, 07:22:31 pm
£150 allday long,some of the prices posted on this thread tell you a lot about what work some have and there prices.It looks like everyone`s stopped pricing from a ladder these days,i said pricing like this will eventually kill commercial and it is.

My qoute of £45 was from a ladder, and based on how long it would take, thats £75+ per hour that you charge, I couldn't justify that to my customers. My overheads aren't that high.
£45 is a joke you are not a proper WC running a proper business if that is true what you say about your price,i couldn`t have done it for that 20 years ago.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: gerard mcmanus on September 30, 2008, 07:31:49 pm
£150 allday long,some of the prices posted on this thread tell you a lot about what work some have and there prices.It looks like everyone`s stopped pricing from a ladder these days,i said pricing like this will eventually kill commercial and it is.

My qoute of £45 was from a ladder, and based on how long it would take, thats £75+ per hour that you charge, I couldn't justify that to my customers. My overheads aren't that high.
£45 is a joke you are not a proper WC running a proper business if that is true what you say about your price,i couldn`t have done it for that 20 years ago.

Quote
you are not a proper WC running a proper business

you shouldnt declare things like that as a statement of fact, when it is clearly your opinion.

I pay tax, licences and insurance cost of car, accountant fee's, equipement etc just like you, and am regestered with HMRC, I have a business account etc. So I am definately a proper business and window cleaner.

I am not wanting to argue here, I would just charge less.

Gerard  :)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: dave0123 on September 30, 2008, 07:43:28 pm
Well the person i was having the discussion with has most of the commercial around here and his price is 50.00 and got the job i think.

he does tuns of work like this has 3 vans on the road and about 8 staff  :-\ dont no how he does it for that price but he does... his work is good too as i used to work for him.


dave
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on September 30, 2008, 07:57:01 pm
He has 3 staff that do it for him you sumed it up in 1 foul swoop,this is the way this kind of work is going driving prices down to the point it`s not worth having.If the person organising the WC said to me theres a firm that will do it for £50 i wouldn`t even waste my time looking round it.That guy that has 3 blokes working for him i`ll bet would never entertain doing it for £50 unless he seriously needed the work in order to pay them,most people would bite your hand off at £50 and i don`t blame them but as for the quality of work well that`s another thing.I`d like to be a fly on the wall in the office looking at quotes for 40 and £50,they won`t beleive there luck.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: dave0123 on September 30, 2008, 08:20:50 pm
He has 8 staff and 3 vans,


he doenst need anymore work he has tuns n tuns of commerical 100% commercial obv thats how he gets all the work me must be making about a tenner out of that 50 quid.. i can understand they fact that he is not cleaning the job and so on but 50 pound is seriously low thats why my prices would have to be around 60 70 to get a look in  ::)



nevermind
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: gordonswindows on September 30, 2008, 08:37:09 pm
Really it seems like we all go round and around yet never get anywhere

Some of these fantastic prices are what they would charge, but never can because they can't get that job.

Charging £60 per hour is fine but you are not going to get much regular work that way, sure you will get one off's but what happens when one week you don't get any.

Stop playing for the quick buck and start building up a good fair priced regular portfolio.

Me? we would do that job for £50 + vat and none of this 8 week faffing about it would be £50 a month every month for years. That adds up to a lot more than a one off high price

One person one van two hours and w/c makes £20 we make £20 with a tenner for costs. Now we have enough work at present for 2.5 w/c forty hours a week, that's every week so without leaving the office it is a pretty decent wage. We have many clients that have been with us for over five years, work out that "hourly rate"

Stop looking for a quick killing and build a solid client base at fair prices, regular work either fortnightly or monthly forget the 8 week thing charge less but more often.

Offer excellent service with a fair price and no-one will take it away from you and then build in gutter cleaning, power washing, office cleaning carpet cleaning, supply them with cleaning products and disposables too.

Unless you just want to pop up as a w/c for a short while make a bundle and then do something else do it slowly.

C'mon now stop physically working hard and use your minds to work smarter

If we all stop blowing our trumpets and competing with each other we could share all the good ideas and all of us would benefit. My business plan is to join up with other w/c across the country and take on the big nationals at their own game. We could offer quality, experience and best practice. Can you imagine Tesco's choosing between us or Mitie wow we would wipe the floor with them. But only if we stop pushing and shoving each other.

cheers

Gordon
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Tim82 on September 30, 2008, 09:11:10 pm
 Definitely over £50. £60 0r £70?
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Tim82 on September 30, 2008, 09:11:48 pm
£40 monthly

 :-X :-X :-X
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Tim82 on September 30, 2008, 09:16:18 pm
 I felt like your avatar when I read that, Stan!!  ;)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ronnie paton on September 30, 2008, 09:45:39 pm
two will do this in less than a hour £25 per man if he pays 10 per hour he gets 30 per hour, take out vat and out goings he prob makes £15 per hour for each team of two x 4 teams(8 staff) thats £60 a hour for doing not much!!

My point is the more staff you have the less you can do the work for
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 30, 2008, 09:59:06 pm
Well the person i was having the discussion with has most of the commercial around here and his price is 50.00 and got the job i think.

he does tuns of work like this has 3 vans on the road and about 8 staff  :-\ dont no how he does it for that price but he does... his work is good too as i used to work for him.


dave

If its £50 for an hour half, whats the big problem, sure we all want to milk it for as much as poss but if hes getting the work and running a successful business then theres no problem, most commercial jobs ive been in for ive been to dear, most are cheap!! but have alot of work!
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 30, 2008, 10:03:43 pm
not only do you ruin it for yourself but also everybody else pricing so low. You get less than you deserve. If everybody charged high, people would have no choice.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on September 30, 2008, 10:06:59 pm
not only do you ruin it for yourself but also everybody else pricing so low. You get less than you deserve. If everybody charged high, people would have no choice.
At last sense and someone who see`s it,i`ve changed my mind i`ll do it for a fiver. ::)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ronnie paton on September 30, 2008, 10:07:13 pm

not only do you ruin it for yourself but also everybody else pricing so low. You get less than you deserve. If everybody charged high, people would have no choice.
this is why we get overpriced and ripped off on everythin
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ftp on September 30, 2008, 10:09:16 pm
What makes me laugh is that the guys who quoted the highest (one in particular) and likes to think of himself as an expert would be earning somewhere in the realms of close to five hundred pounds a day yet is he or are they vat registered? Are they investing heavily in their business? Do they run the latest equipment and new vans? No? why is that? - Billy Ballpoopters most of them. One or two exeptions granted.  ::)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on September 30, 2008, 10:11:31 pm
It`s not a case of ripping people off it`s a case of doing the job at the right price or rightish,someone goes along and gets to know that mr X is quoting X and so on,4-5 quotes down the line what started off as a good job ends up being not worth doing.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 30, 2008, 10:12:37 pm
I would go for £140-150 and if they said no, well what have i got to loose, nothing. Because a very important lesson my dad taught me was theres always somebody round the corner who will be willing to pay more for a "proper" service.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 30, 2008, 10:15:56 pm
I dont clean many of the large prominent buildings in my area, these jobs have been taken up by companies who in some cases are willing to do the job for half the price I am, and Im even quicker than many of them too. But I have smaller jobs that pay double or if not more. I used to get frustrated that I couldnt get some of the larger jobs but I soon learnt that these werent the types of jobs I wanted because somebody round the corner would accept my "higher" prices.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on September 30, 2008, 10:19:24 pm
What makes me laugh is that the guys who quoted the highest (one in particular) and likes to think of himself as an expert would be earning somewhere in the realms of close to five hundred pounds a day yet is he or are they vat registered? Are they investing heavily in their business? Do they run the latest equipment and new vans? No? why is that? - Billy Ballpoopters most of them. One or two exeptions granted.  ::)
I do and have done these kind of jobs for years so i know what i`m on about,if i quoted 40-£50 they simply would not take the quote or they wouldn`t give me the job they would think i was having a laugh and i`m not lying think what you like.I don`t know where you live i couldn`t be bothered to look but where i work the price i would quote would be average,most quotes would be higher.You have to understand that there is a big difference in prices in different parts of the country £40 regardless of time taken to clean that building is ridiculous.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ftp on September 30, 2008, 10:42:45 pm
I would agree £40 is low but i feel the other end of the scale is high. As a maintenance clean you would be on something like eighty pounds an hour. I have work at fifty pounds an hour but only one job. If every job was at those top end prices then you would be way above the vat threshold you could average fifty pounds an hour all day long. Do you average that?
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on September 30, 2008, 10:45:33 pm
Lol there`s more than 1 way to skin the VAT,i mean cat lol. ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: gordonswindows on September 30, 2008, 11:14:45 pm
riahehttrepuR

i love this attitude...........what have i got to loose?

your income your home your car your etc etc

it is great to say " i won't do this job for less than £100" i will price high and if i get it i get it  and if i don't what have i lost? nothing.

you lose the work and work is the same as when you are looking for a new job.It is easier to get a job if you are already working but if you are sitting at home scratching your behind you struggle. If you are out cleaning windows other people see you or hear about your good work and then they want you and it all begins to snowball.I am not suggesting you do a "loss leader" no ,make a profit of course but even a small profit is a gain.
A small profit can go towards paying bills or buying food , sitting on your behind hiding behind your pride pays for nothing.

With regards to the others who think if we all price high the client will have no choice but to pay these prices i have news for you, they either will not have their windows cleaned at all or they will do their domestic windows themselves or they will teach their own staff to do the job and there will be no such thing as window cleaners, just a few specialist firms.

The point made by somebodies Father while valid is rare if at all. To pay for a more costly service is only for the have's not for the average have nots. Or to put another way why are most of the excellent customer service local shops all closing down yet the self service CHEAP supermarkets are booming.

Where do you shop?
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: ftp on September 30, 2008, 11:24:36 pm
What facilities manager in his/her right mind is going to laugh at a low quote? I can't see the logic in that. My son is an electrician, they quoted a job at £1100 Someones undercut them - £400 for the job. Guess who got the job?
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: dave0123 on September 30, 2008, 11:46:01 pm
the 400 quid fella  :D


and thats for electrics  ::) something you want done right not on the cheap.. not saying the 400 pound job wont be as good as the 1100 pound one but in window cleaning there just going to go for the lowest prices management companies etc
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Captain Scarlet on September 30, 2008, 11:48:01 pm
Quote
i love this attitude...........what have i got to loose?

your income your home your car your etc etc

no this attitude means you dont risk them things because you earn more. Anyway Im 18 so I dont have a home!!! but my dad can worry about that stuff!!!
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Wayne Thomas on October 01, 2008, 05:30:29 am
In an ideal world, window cleaners would love to have the monopoly on customers just like the water boards. Unfortunately we don't.
Newer window cleaners (those who have just lost their jobs, or are tired of their old jobs), seasonal workers, benefit cheats are all competing against us professionals who have been doing it all year round whilst declaring it to the taxman and remaining insured.
The competition and our locality sets our potential prices.
You can aim as high as you like with quotes. The majority of customers are always looking to economise. The only thing that allows us to price higher than our market rivals is our reputation and believement in ourselves that we can offer a better service to justfy our higher prices.
Everyone has their set price they are willing to do a job for, anything above that is a bonus.
Newer window cleaners with less experience will offer the same service for much less as they are inexperienced with pricing and need the work to build up their rounds.
One frightening thing is no matter how well you look after your customers, eventually they will die or move/sell house, go to a cheaper window cleaner or simply cancel because they can't afford it any longer because of economic times. You have to keep looking for new work and can't always rely on your old customers to keep recommending you. Unless you are very lucky you will eventually have to lower your prices in time owing to competion from your fellow window cleaners who are all in the same boat of keeping busy looking for new work or because you are too afraid of raising your prices to keep in line with inflation.
It's the customer and competition which are lowering the prices we charge.
Window cleaning forums are a double edge sword. In the beginning they are helping us to improve the way we work to potentially earn more money and it is us ourselves who are welcoming new members and making it attractive to join our ever increasing competing workforce.
WFP competition is what's lowering our prices as new w/c's are coming into this as an easy set up without the fear of having to climb ladders and balance like circus performers or acquire the skill to clean traditionally.
IMO credit crunch, depression to follow shortly, ease of wfp and the increasing competition will eventually lower our prices as we find it harder to attract new customers to stay busy in business just like all the other businesses out there in the real world.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: trevor perry on October 01, 2008, 09:56:07 am
Really it seems like we all go round and around yet never get anywhere

Some of these fantastic prices are what they would charge, but never can because they can't get that job.

Charging £60 per hour is fine but you are not going to get much regular work that way, sure you will get one off's but what happens when one week you don't get any.

Stop playing for the quick buck and start building up a good fair priced regular portfolio.

Me? we would do that job for £50 + vat and none of this 8 week faffing about it would be £50 a month every month for years. That adds up to a lot more than a one off high price

One person one van two hours and w/c makes £20 we make £20 with a tenner for costs. Now we have enough work at present for 2.5 w/c forty hours a week, that's every week so without leaving the office it is a pretty decent wage. We have many clients that have been with us for over five years, work out that "hourly rate"

Stop looking for a quick killing and build a solid client base at fair prices, regular work either fortnightly or monthly forget the 8 week thing charge less but more often.

Offer excellent service with a fair price and no-one will take it away from you and then build in gutter cleaning, power washing, office cleaning carpet cleaning, supply them with cleaning products and disposables too.

Unless you just want to pop up as a w/c for a short while make a bundle and then do something else do it slowly.

C'mon now stop physically working hard and use your minds to work smarter

If we all stop blowing our trumpets and competing with each other we could share all the good ideas and all of us would benefit. My business plan is to join up with other w/c across the country and take on the big nationals at their own game. We could offer quality, experience and best practice. Can you imagine Tesco's choosing between us or Mitie wow we would wipe the floor with them. But only if we stop pushing and shoving each other.

cheers

Gordon
great post a bit of reality at last
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Ian_Giles on October 01, 2008, 05:19:23 pm
I have quite a few accounts of the kind of size showing on the photo's, and all are priced very well indeed.
I have quite a lot of residential work that is also on the large size, priced between £50 and £200 and some of this work I have had for a long time too, some of the commercials I've had for over 20 years.

But some of you just don't get it; I don't earn £60 an hour...but my 'rate per minute worked' is £1.00 per minute or thereabouts.

I make nothing like £500 a day, though over the last couple of years I have had several days when I have cleared that amount.
There have also been a great many days when I have made sod all! And they equate to far more than the days I made £500!!

Price cheaply and you are going to have to work flat out day after day after day.

I'm not talking about those who have several working for them, I am talking about the sole traders...though those who have employees also have far greater overheads and commitments...employers liability, sick pay, holiday pay and so on.

but if you want an income of about 25k a year, and that isn't a big income, you need to be banking 30k+ a year, and if you want to earn that in a standard week then you need to be charging a darn sight more than £50 for a job of this size!! Added to which, these jobs are usually drive between types, so traveling has to be factored in as well.

And no matter how much work you have, unless you start to employ, one person can only do so much a day...

Ian
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: windolene on October 01, 2008, 05:25:31 pm
Hi,

£80.00 outsides traditionial with the top floor cleaned from the inside.

Kevin WINDOLENE.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: trike on October 01, 2008, 05:27:38 pm
the wfp in pic looks a bit small
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: [GQC] Tim on October 01, 2008, 05:33:01 pm
£108 at least. If they are very dirty, a fair bit more, say £180 if it would be a dirty one off.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: [GQC] Tim on October 01, 2008, 05:34:53 pm
oh ps. everyone under a £100 is an undercutting cowboy! (Just kidding!  ;D )

Fully agree with Ian Giles on this one, he's got the point, take notice.

Oh, and sometimes it isn't about the lowest price, I'm cleaning a massive massive school, and they absolutely wanted to keep the business in the town where I live, and I price £60 an hour worked, so that's inline with Ian's £1 a minute worked. I take off faffing about off of that. After I did part of the school for the first time, they said, do you just want to give us the price after you've done it? We can see that you are spot on with your quotes, and know what you are doing. I said, yes that would be best for the both of us, so I can give you the most accurate price possible. They were over the moon with the work, and so was I. Even the headmistress said it looks fantastic, the site manager was pleased, because it made the both of us look good! :)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Wayne Thomas on October 01, 2008, 05:46:57 pm
£60 ph is a good wage. Let's invite more competition as if we haven't got enough already. Soon the out of work bankers will be joining us ;D
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Sir Squeaky on October 01, 2008, 05:52:36 pm
I'm a bit late on this, but I'd probably ask about £60-70, then wish I'd asked more. ;D

Ian, you're extortionate!

£100 for an hour's work? ???
Dick Turpin or what?
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: [GQC] Tim on October 01, 2008, 05:58:59 pm
I'm a bit late on this, but I'd probably ask about £60-70, then wish I'd asked more. ;D

Ian, you're extortionate!

£100 for an hour's work? ???
Dick Turpin or what?

Extortionate? No, well priced up yes, and it's certainly not an hours work, I'd say more then that, of course depending on how dirty they are.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Sir Squeaky on October 01, 2008, 06:02:27 pm
I'm a bit late on this, but I'd probably ask about £60-70, then wish I'd asked more. ;D

Ian, you're extortionate!

£100 for an hour's work? ???
Dick Turpin or what?

Extortionate? No, well priced up yes, and it's certainly not an hours work, I'd say more then that, of course depending on how dirty they are.
I think it's more than an hour too, but he was basing his £100 on an hour.

Of course it's extortion!
£100 an hour to have your windows cleaned? ::)
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: [GQC] Tim on October 01, 2008, 06:14:43 pm
Ey? I'm sure he wasn't? He said this :

Quote
But some of you just don't get it; I don't earn £60 an hour...but my 'rate per minute worked' is £1.00 per minute or thereabouts.

So if he would work on that job for an hour, it would be £60?

£100 would be extortionate yes haha.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: macmac on October 01, 2008, 06:24:31 pm
95 quid I would charge. ;)

Tony
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Sir Squeaky on October 01, 2008, 08:12:25 pm
Ey? I'm sure he wasn't? He said this :

Quote
But some of you just don't get it; I don't earn £60 an hour...but my 'rate per minute worked' is £1.00 per minute or thereabouts.

So if he would work on that job for an hour, it would be £60?

£100 would be extortionate yes haha.
Yes, but he said this...

My own price would be around the £100 mark and about an hour or so's work at the most for one person.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: jefftemperley on October 02, 2008, 05:26:37 pm
Id charge £120-£150 for a job that size.

really surprised how cheap a lot of you guys are you could all be earning a lot more money
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: Jago on October 02, 2008, 08:48:19 pm
I have one house that is £160 and do it every 16 weeks it is 3 storey and I have to do it inside and out
 
seems expensive now
but it takes me 5 - 6 hours and I do a good Job

I loved Gordons Post and that to me seems to sum it all up really

for this job in the picture I would have to say £50  for Monthly £80 for Quartly

J
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: EVER CLEAN on October 02, 2008, 08:58:48 pm
doing this job trad would take no longer than 1 hour for 1 man, so how can you justify charging more than £40
any tradesman worth his salt would be happy working for 40 quid an hour, i quickly browsed through all the responses and was amazed to see some silly prices £120 ! whats all that about? that sort of price is not justifiable, its 1 hours work, and if you couldnt do it in an hour then thats your problem, not the paying customers fault.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: NWH on October 02, 2008, 09:04:34 pm
People saying £40 for jobs like this i can honestly say i give up on threads like this.
Title: Re: What you rekon on this?
Post by: gerard mcmanus on October 02, 2008, 09:14:58 pm
doing this job trad would take no longer than 1 hour for 1 man, so how can you justify charging more than £40
any tradesman worth his salt would be happy working for 40 quid an hour, i quickly browsed through all the responses and was amazed to see some silly prices £120 ! whats all that about? that sort of price is not justifiable, its 1 hours work, and if you couldnt do it in an hour then thats your problem, not the paying customers fault.

I agree with your post, allot of them were prob WFP and doing it in 30 mins, but not the time.

They said 62 windows, thats 1 minute per window. Time climbing a ladder, setting it, leveling it if needed, then some are three pains of glass, two are six pains. I hours trad on that job is unlikely.

gerard  ;)