Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: cottonbud10 on December 08, 2008, 08:05:14 pm
-
things are getting bad or is it just me,lost another 3 customers in the last couple of days,i would guess that i,m about £250 down a month,it,s getting worrying for me as i,m not getting the new customers at the same rate,i was getting about 3-4 new ones every month, but i havent had any for the last 3 months,am i the only one or are there window cleaners out there prepared to tell the real truth about how things realy are
-
Lost a 12 and 8 weekly the week before last, well going to wait to resume in the spring. Picked up 3 x 8 weeklys last week. Always a lttle dubious before xmas, so book them in for Jan. Will have to wait and see if i have still got them then.
-
truth for me is this
back end of august i started reading about impending recession
many said it would not happen and was media hype ;D
just in case i started canvassing again
something i have not done for over 2 year at least
so far i have picked up enough to replace all i have lost and a bit more on top
but after xmas.........who knows :-\
-
Not yet, gaining say 4 a week.
Been asked about gutter/fascia & cons roof cleans seems lots want it done for xmas, so i might be working Sundays.. as im fully booked this Sat.
I can see Jan & Feb being slow... :-\
-
I must have lost £150 - £200 in the last 6 months, very few new customers coming in, emails and letters saying "you do a sterling job but due to market conditions (I haven't got the money any more) we'll have to cancel". However I have brought a little commercial to replace what I've lost.
Last week I lost a car dealer, did his house. The wife told me that they have to sell 13 cars a month to break even, last month he sold 3. See what happens in the new year, I don't think things will get any better for a while though.
Simon.
-
I'm not getting much new work
-
over the last year im about 30% up last 3 about evens i lose some i gain some but im ok
-
Not picking up much work down here.
To many new boys around. Will have to see how many stick the course especially in this weather! ;)
-
December is the busiest month of the whole year for me, about 1.5k more than any other month. And you have the Christmas break as well. Plus my Son is going to France for a holiday the week before the break.
So I will be going into the New Year with a huge back log of work.
Roy
-
picking up another 6-10 this week
been bad for months so a little gain is better than no gain at all
only time will tell
-
I am losing about 2 or 3 a week at the moment but so far I'm picking up the same! Im hoping that new year will be better and start gaining more than Im losing :-\
-
Think ive only lost 2 so far touch wood! and one changed to every 6 weeks, but new houses i am getting seem to be going for the 2monthly option now more than monthly.
-
December is the busiest month of the whole year for me, about 1.5k more than any other month.
1.5k "more"
Alright for some isn't it. ;D
-
Do you make any offers on the back of someone cancelling?
Some suggestions-
Change the frequency. Make monthly job 2 monthly. Helps out customer, you only lost half a job.
Make a monthly job 2 monthly but pay over 12 months. Cuts payments by half for the customer.
Everybody else is doing 0% finance, why not wc's.
You should try something like this as when times are better they will come back to you.
If you had a £200 job you would try anything to keep it, do the same with 20x£10 jobs.
-
thanks aj,,,i,ll look in to that, lost another one today,only £4.50 a month ,but they all mount up don,t they,i have tried dropping loads of leaflets over the last 2 months ,but as of yet nothing back. After reading all you replys i realy feel like crap now,,,Lets hope next year is better...???
-
Cottonbud, sorry to hearv of your woes, could I ask if you are trad or wfp- how long ? Full or Part time ? Where are you based and what sort of work you have ?
Just wondering why your losing work more than others. What do you think you have done wrong , if anything.
-
I have lost a few customers this year and each year we do lose customers and then again we replace them as well....
Just see it like cow farming....you get your cow....periodically attend to it clean it and then milk it! and repeat...after a while your cow will stop producing and you need to be aware of this and have a on goingfarming type plan to replace and cull.
From now on if anyone asks me...what I do for a living then " I'm a farmer"....
I have not been in this game long but I do not think that I will keep the customers I have at this time..until I am 65..(now 40)...I believe that I will continue to have a 'turn-over of stock' and each year will see new in and the tired/old & lame turned out.
Nothing is forever...nor are custy's.
This economic downturn has made more of us think about our business's and how we operate..if you can, see it as a good wake up call.
Dave.
-
Spot on Pingu!
Expect turnover, replace the old knackered cows.
I've lost no more this year than usual, my problem has been that I havn't taken on new customers due to having to work "part time" as my wife and son have been seriously ill for 2-3 years. now that they are stable, and I can work "full time", I run out of work too quickly.
We are picking up some but not as much as usual.
-
pingu i am all ears to your phillosophy/ philosophei/philosophie its always been like that.
for me mix and match try to get as much as you can in the summer to lose a few over winter
at the mo i can not get the time or weather to make enough
-
hi jeff,i,m full-time windowcleaner been at it 5 years last 3 wfp, live in southend-on-sea,always telling customers if there not happy please let me know and i,ll do my best to resolve problem.,,what more can i say....??,,work to high standard always polite,never miss windows out always on time,,,what more can i offer
-
Cotton bud, it's been the same for me mate, lost a lot more than I have gained. Last year I had a five week round, now I can do it in 4 weeks and two days.
Try not to leave the ones that are out till next time, Paying out for 2 or 3 cleans when I catch up with them has cost me dear. People that are asked to pay for 2 or three cleans are the most likely candidates to cancel.
-
cottonbud do you do rochford
-
??????????????????
-
Best I can come up with is that you will have to target in a 10 % loss for whatever is the true reason they are dropping you. Some you will only find out 6 months down the line. Would immagine S/end glass gets really dirty and they would need cleaning more than other areas on a regular business.
There is no such thing as loyalty but most of my custys have been through the wfp learning experience for more than 10 years now and I think we both trust each other, maybe you aint yet built that "trust thing".
I offered them all an extended cleaning period and now clean most approx 2 monthly, I am in a very rural area and they dont get too dirty, most are happy with that and compared to the 4 weekly compettitors my annual charge bill is less than the competitorsm maybe ask/offer them the choice before too many drop you, its better to keep customers than lose them in the long run. It also gives you a very strong customer base but it does take time to develop. As Stan has said we are struggling to keep up and will offer a price saving to the custy by extending to 10 week approx cleaning in the new year so that if we lose more we can regroup back to 8 weeks or even 6 temorarily.
Hope this helps. I honestly think its a glitch you are going through, you aint going to loose all your jobs so enjoy Christmas and re group in the Spring. Thats how I am thinkinking anyway. :)
-
essexwc
we cover rochford
saw your van popping into tesco a127 couple of weeks ago
hope you were working ::)
Russ
-
yes russ was that on a sunday
-
Lost a couple in October (when BBC and Daily "Wail" were highlighting every bad bit about the economy) Had a flurry of new custies in Nov. All steady now and a few more than last year.
-
hi essexwc,yes i do rochford,well as far as the ashingdon road and a couple of roads around that way,,why do you ask have you seen me old van around that way....kev
-
will email you soon cotton bud about some work ;)
-
THANKYOU JEFF,ALL THE BEST TO YOU THIS CHRISTMAS....KEV
-
thanks essexwc,that sounds like great news....merry christmas
-
don't get too excited kev
its all his old dross ::) ::) ::)
Only Joking Matey ;D ;D