Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: herbiefatboy on December 13, 2008, 09:16:18 am
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when you need to employ 2 people is it best to send them out together or let them have a van each .which way is the most productive any thoughts would be great thanks darren
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van each all the way !!
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Why you say each van?
I have no experiance of sending 2 people out together as im not that big but through my caculations i would make more profit sending them out in a team of too than sending 1 out each van with the cost of 2 vans?
Dave
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dave one person works quicker two people together do not do double one persons work.
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I have run a 2 man set up .
I now run seperate 1 man vans .
Yes there are extra costs van/kit/etc.
Suffice to say having tried both my view
is 1 man vans work better.
Russ
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Can u expand on that russ, i,m thinking of selling a van & loosing an employee at moment through lack of work.
Would prefer to keep van if viable.
I always send 2 to a van & know a lot of the time its not turning over much, realy, for 2 blokes.
gary
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van each all the way !!
id second that i always work one van two people but any time i go out on my own i can make the same money 2 or 2 and half hours earlier , the same money as i make in a day that is not our combined wage
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gary send me an email
and i will try and help mate
Russ
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russ
email down at minute, (tiscali again)
Gary
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Surely it would be possible to give the two man unit enough work to make it pay. I normally book in my work the night before and know roughly how much the day is worth. I operate as a two man unit and if possible next year will get another man and that is how I planned on operating.
Two guys in one van and myself in the other. Set wage and bonuses for reaching targets. After all there is no point in having employees if they don't pay their way. If I was to have one man per van I couldn't see it paying.
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You would think that having 2 men working from 1 van would mean they are cable of doing twice as much work as a 1 man set up.
For some unknown reason this is not the case, althought 2 men can complete more propertys in 1 day than 2, they never do double the amount of work.
The reason this happens, I think, is because when you turn up you spend a great deal of time setting up, this is where most of the cleaning time goes, once you have set up the cleaning of the windows don't take that long.
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I dont expect 2 working from one van would be half the time because it just doesnt work like that.
I just thought it would be better for them working in 2's and not having to go the expense of 2 insurances for vans and fuel for both maintaince and so on.
dave
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Hi Nathanael, that's true but I can still do better having a man with me than not depending on having enough work organisied. I believe sending out two men without you should bring in at least 75% of what you and a man bring in, otherwise its a waste of time. There is a lot of expense in having staff such as public liabality insurance, van, p.r.s.i, holiday pay. The extra van alone will mean lots of expense such as insurance, tyres, maintenance, mot etc etc.
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If you charge £10 per house as a going rate.
Your cleaner will be able to clean 3 houses per hour, times this by 7 hours a day by 5 days a week.
Your cleaner will gross you £1050 per week or £54600 per year.
What do you reckon your profit will be?
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after wages with no finace on the equipment i would say between 20-25 k but it would all depend on wages
????
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always always always always aways alwaysalways always always always always always always always always
always always always always aways alwaysalways always always always always always always always always
always always always always aways alwaysalways always always always always always always always always
always always always always aways alwaysalways always always always always always always always always
ONE MAN PER VAN
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great replies thanks very much
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Always 1 man per van and you should make at least what your paying him.
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I agree in general with the posts that say 1 man 1 van but there are always exceptions. I try to have 1 full time worker on each van and a part time side kick who I can bring on when the work requires it. Some times it is for safety reasons and sometimes for speed reasons.
If you have commercial work you are going to have need of the 2nd man for footing ladders, for traffic management, for cherry picker work and for hose and trip hazard management.
If you do a lot of insides 2 men works better than if it is all outsides. My rule of thumb is to try to keep my plans fluid and change them the night before if necessary.
Another way of working this is to pay by production based on percentages, but it only really works if you have a well developed round mainly small commercial and domestic.
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I was told some years ago by an established business man to either stay small or go big don`t try to be in between cos that`s what will finish you,you can get to a point in this business when you can make as much by staying smaller than the man that seems to be bigger than you and employing a couple more men.
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always
ONE MAN PER VAN
Depends on the men!! Two men working effectively as a team, and who can motivate each other will get far more work done in a day, compared with two men in seperate vans working alone! I know this because I occaissionally have my brother working with me, and we work very well together and really motivate one another to keep going, and I take much more than double of what I would do alone!! I just wish that I could persuade him to work with me full time!!! :)
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2 men one van
jerry
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Hi All
Thanks for some of them comments, it seems both ways is best for who ever. I usually have 2, but, with current climate & lack of work was looking at selling van. My van is very good & very cheap for whats included, if, i sell then pick up work it would cost £10k + vat to replace with similar.
I am tightening where i can & if van does not sell will set it up as 1 man operated. I currently only do about 10 houses, & feel this is where to go for work as the commercial is getting ridiculous. i know from my prices that domestics are double what we charge on commercial & feel i could offer a good service at the right price.
Gary
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Hi All
Thanks for some of them comments, it seems both ways is best for who ever. I usually have 2, but, with current climate & lack of work was looking at selling van. My van is very good & very cheap for whats included, if, i sell then pick up work it would cost £10k + vat to replace with similar.
I am tightening where i can & if van does not sell will set it up as 1 man operated. I currently only do about 10 houses, & feel this is where to go for work as the commercial is getting ridiculous. i know from my prices that domestics are double what we charge on commercial & feel i could offer a good service at the right price.
Gary
Not trying to be funny here Gary...but you say that your domestic prices are twice that what you charge on commercials (i presume you mean an hourly rate)....so why do you do commercials only (except 10 house) ???
I have seen many wc's think that commercial is the way to go,and i do believe that the correct commercial work can be lucrative,but if you struggle to get work at a good price (and commercial at half the price of domestics is struggling in my eyes) then why do it.
As i say i am not trying to make a mokery of your business,just an honest question.
:)
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I know the average commercial metre is from 30p to 60p dependant on frequency. I do large properties where this is worked out. For example i have 1 job which is 4ft sq windows with top opener & these work out at 25p.
I ahve spoke to & read on here of a £1 per window average on domestics, but, i,ve always done mainly commercial. I never stop for weather & dont have to collect, these were the things i hated when 1 stopped doing mainly houses about 8 to 9 years ago.
I love doing commercial 1 big job & that can be your day, we in early & finish early, no hassles.
But, reading the way other people run domestics on here i feel that they have very good business,s & will try to set mine up similar. The ones i have if they are not in i invoice them by post & this works well. There are other things also the way people do there,s which are also good 7 will be looking to implement.
I am not knocking commercial just pointing out what i see & read on here.
I recently priced up a large job at a realistic price a comb of 40 to 50p per window which came to £150, looking at previous comments on here of other peoples working out it would have been between £300 & £500. The actual job has gone to the lowest bid of £100.
I have many others i.e a school for £25.00 a massive job which would take a min of 4 men 2 days possibly longer went for £500.00 (ocs). a college 1 quoted £1200.00 which was even bigger than previous i was told that i was nearly double. Lokking at other peoples price structure it would have been£3k +
Gary