Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: sparklebright on January 24, 2009, 07:11:36 pm

Title: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: sparklebright on January 24, 2009, 07:11:36 pm
Had to cut the price on a large retail contract by 40% to keep it  :o

The main contractor was given a kick-in by the store over it's national contract.
They got their floor cleaning staff to price to clean it, (at £6 p/h) and then told main contractor to match it. They rolled over and did so.
Have told them I will cut out high level cleans but still gutted. It was touch and go whether to dump it, but I have other work on the same retail park so I'll do it for now.
Does anyone else have similar tales of woe?
Good job I have a variety of work types or I'd be worried

Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: windowwashers on January 24, 2009, 07:21:52 pm
Had to cut the price on a large retail contract by 40% to keep it  :o

The main contractor was given a kick-in by the store over it's national contract.
They got their floor cleaning staff to price to clean it, (at £6 p/h) and then told main contractor to match it. They rolled over and did so.
Have told them I will cut out high level cleans but still gutted. It was touch and go whether to dump it, but I have other work on the same retail park so I'll do it for now.
Does anyone else have similar tales of woe?
Good job I have a variety of work types or I'd be worried


had simalar on on job in december, I had to drop 50%, didnt like it but jobs ok and have to insure I keep work, if it was under priced to start I would not have bothered
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: STEVE-UK on January 24, 2009, 09:23:25 pm
what will they say when you want to put the price back up ?
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: NWH on January 24, 2009, 10:19:03 pm
If i had to work at such a reduced rate i would say i`m sorry i can`t do it for that,it would make a joke of your original price.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: jaykie on January 24, 2009, 10:25:27 pm
I thought the same, 50% is a massive cut, can you imagine if they happen to know someone else you work for and pass the info on.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: peter holley on January 24, 2009, 10:43:08 pm
ONE WORD......... ;D       DOMESTICS         ;D
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: mark dew on January 24, 2009, 11:24:47 pm
I am wondering if and when one of my commercial type jobs gets cut.
I do it very quickly and have wondered what sort of hit, if any, i would accept if they wanted to renegotiate the price?
I came up with 15%.
Any more and i would offer a service that fits their new budget.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: windowwashers on January 24, 2009, 11:27:02 pm
Losing 40% - 50% of the price is a big mistake. 
tbh m8, to me it shows you do not understand why I have done it, or you do not deal with this type of business. I have terms they are met I am happy, would have prefered the lot but I run a business and the business needs to survive.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: rhys11 on January 24, 2009, 11:28:59 pm
Losing 40% - 50% of the price is a big mistake. 


i agree in the end it will cost you money
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: windowwashers on January 24, 2009, 11:30:39 pm
Losing 40% - 50% of the price is a big mistake. 
lose 100% and not get the job back eh?



Yes of course, working for nothing or very little is pointless.   ???



I never said I was working for nothing did I ??

I also did not sy I was working for very little, I just wanted this job and I kept it. I am happy thats all that matters at the end of the day fella  ;)
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: NWH on January 24, 2009, 11:35:13 pm
Window washers it makes no difference why you`ve done it you will never get the price you were even when things pick up,your showing your making a profit at 50% under the original price.You know the reaction you show when you see furniture shops with a 70% sale you think blimey there still making at 70% off.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: windowwashers on January 24, 2009, 11:41:11 pm
Window washers it makes no difference why you`ve done it you will never get the price you were even when things pick up,your showing your making a profit at 50% under the original price.You know the reaction you show when you see furniture shops with a 70% sale you think blimey there still making at 70% off.
I know where your coming from, and maybe just maybe I need to look at my pricing on certain things, I never had this job before (certain parts I now have) I am in no way going to go backwards in did that in december when i wasnt here, and I am also not going to listen to people that dont have a clue what they are talking about. (that was not pointed at you by the way nhw), it is agasinst my nature in business to do this, but it got the result I wanted and adds to my rounds, I have made no loss, but have had an eye opener to make more in the long term
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: luther1 on January 24, 2009, 11:44:59 pm
Had a big office block (takes all day) change from every other to quarterly.Price still the same so not so bad.Or will another months worth of grime take its toll?
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: windowwashers on January 24, 2009, 11:46:27 pm
Had a big office block (takes all day) change from every other to quarterly.Price still the same so not so bad.Or will another months worth of grime take its toll?
a little, but not to bad depending on how long the job takes youthe job
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 12:19:37 am
well stan another months grime means unlike a regualar clean it willl take longer due to the fact its dirty......just cleaning pots a normal plate will be ok abut a cassorle dish that has been stiood will take far longer......... do you know get the point?


like a reliable service means turning up on time or there abouts
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: windowwashers on January 25, 2009, 12:22:10 am
well stan another months grime means unlike a regualar clean it willl take longer due to the fact its dirty......just cleaning pots a normal plate will be ok abut a cassorle dish that has been stiood will take far longer......... do you know get the point?


like a reliable service means turning up on time or there abouts
im going to use that, good angle
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 12:50:13 am
ewan get a life, droppping a job 50% could mean it was priced jut right ;)

original price could bof been over the odds or even it could have extremly good prospects life is never so black and white so get off your high horse cowboy ;D
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: trevor perry on January 25, 2009, 09:28:14 am
sometimes dropping your price is needed so long as your not making a loss out of the work, we have often done this just to keep employees on wages so that when big well paying jobs come along we have the staff in place to cover them.
  the only problem i would have with dropping 40 or 50% is that your price must of been well over to begin with and the customer may feel they have been ripped off for a long time.
  no one can really comment on the decision ian has made as only he knows all the circumstances to the price cut and if he is still making a profit and is increasing the size of his business then it well could be a very good decision.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: luther1 on January 25, 2009, 09:57:22 am
Dropping a price by 40 or 50% would maybe tell the business that the price was high initially,however,they do always have the option of getting more than one quote.Maybe they were using the cheapest priced person,which would show loyalty by the window cleaner as he was cleaning through the good times and will stick with them through this rough period! I have been cleaning a huge building who are in trouble and after seven years of a nice cheque dropping through my door every month,i would clean it for free for a while should it come to that.!You won't find a greater loss than that!.Showing a little bit of loyalty i hope.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: sparklebright on January 25, 2009, 03:15:59 pm
All I said is dropping your price by 40% - 50% is a mistake.

I don’t have an issue with that, and I did give some small indication as to why never went into to much depth about it.

Your choice.

It's been interesting to hear what people have said.
I have cut the price by 40% but also cut the time I spend on the job by almost the same, 60% of something is better than 100% of nothing. I recall that I quoted an M & S store at the same site and the guy who won it was cleaning the whole store for a third of what I quoted, doing a very poor job, and getting away with it.
So if people reduce the price then reduce the quality is how I feel, i've been doing the contract at the higher price for a couple of years so I'm happy enough to lose it eventually, but in the meantime I will carry on doing an OK job instead of the perfect one I did before.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: luther1 on January 25, 2009, 03:33:19 pm
Indeed.Cutting the cost and therefore cutting the time you spend on the job.Equals out doesn't?
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 06:45:20 pm
due to the fact its dirty
Quote
thats why we clean windows Ronnie or do you only clean ,clean windows
i had to read this several times to understand but i think i get what your trying to say that was meant to say dirtier and im sure you know this, i clean windows on my schedule on time, i docharge more for bi monthly quartley ect due to the fact the windows are more dirtier!!

but i still stick to my schedule you should try it ;D
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 07:06:00 pm
so they should its not there fault you cant keep up ;D
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: williamx on January 25, 2009, 07:20:41 pm
The whole polint of being in business is to make a profit on what you are doing, so if a customer wants to re-price the job, then I will look again at what I am charging to what they are getting for their money.

After I have looked at the job again, I will find out what they want to save, so I will either offer them a different cleaning pattern or if I think that I will be making enough profit for the amount of work I am doing or can do elsewhere, then I would drop my price, even if it was by 50%.

The only time my price does not come down is when I can earn more on other work that I do, for example I can clean 3 houses an hour at a rate of £10 each, so if they want me to reduce my prices, and I am going to be earning less that £30 per hour, then the answer would be no, if I was still amking £30 or more per hour then the answer would be yes.

I do a lot of work for a property maintnance company, they always ask for a little bit off the price, when they are trying to get the cleans more regular or even more work in the area.

I always try to help them out, because I normally get more work because of it, the guy who I speak too said they asked the cleaner in other part of the country to drop his price by £5 per clean, he has refused even though he would have got more work, they are now getting other quotes for this new work and also all of what he is already doing for them, if they find anyone who is the same or is more flexible, then they are going to sack him.

Some of you wil say good for him for not dropping his prices, but that £5 is going to cost him the £5000 contract.

In commercial, especially in hard times you need to be flexible, otherwise you will go the way of the DODO.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 07:22:44 pm
o know way to busy for that, but i am down your way tommorrow in darwin so i could watch you in action trying to catch up ;D

alough i could prob find you some one for a good day rate ;D
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 07:30:52 pm
im also in rossendale, so do you do a terry st in waterfoot??
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 07:39:10 pm
actually its robert st im a mong
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: ronnie paton on January 25, 2009, 08:04:12 pm
no i dont do there my friend lives there he said is cleaning went from trad to WFP but then went back he also said he is not very good/reliable(not a dig by the way)
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: scud on January 25, 2009, 08:09:11 pm
  Dropping your price is probably the best move in my book.

  If you already do alot of other work on the retail? park then you have no travelling time as you are already there, but the big plus is that you do not open that particular door to another cleaner to get onto the trading estate.

  3% of something is better than 10% of nothing, especially as very hard times are now upon us and will only get worse.

  I think too many people on here are just too ready to drop customers without thinking about the implications, bad payers are the only ones that get dropped by me, and that is after alot of patience.
Title: Re: retail contract 40% price cut
Post by: tonyoliver on January 26, 2009, 09:44:18 pm
sparky and ian dont listen to the fools with foolish advice ......
taking the hit hurts you be the judge of weather the job is priced right or not, will it pick up soon ,more work ect does it suit your round will you still make ect ect......................


only you know where your shoe pinches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i personaly would resent the cut and my relationship with the custy would be soured to say the least and i would look to replace if the price didnt go up soon.  it never does it just makes your replacement cleaner look dear   
you make the call its hard but thats why you are masters of this game. thir game is cost reduction yours is max price you feel you can get away with

they feel you should work at min wage they feel at 150k a year they are under paid ect itis human nature plain and simple