Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Martin ccs on November 09, 2009, 09:12:54 pm

Title: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Martin ccs on November 09, 2009, 09:12:54 pm
on the way to next job when this van pulls by next to me, was reading the side of the van and this chap had a few different selling points on his van

stated how many commercial and domestic jobs done the previous year
stated how trad was better than wfp by saying better hand finish.

turns out he was going to the same area as me, i was cleaning ats euromaster tyres and he was going to tesco near by so i popped over and said hello - anyway we got chatting and two things i picked up on was

1. he makes all domestic customers pay a yearly sevice charge of £15.00 on top of the monthly/2 monthly window clean price.

2. he charged more for trad than wfp because trad was an older style and better hand finish and thats what his customer wanted.


any thoughts guys
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: ccmids on November 09, 2009, 09:14:18 pm
good for him :)
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Martin ccs on November 09, 2009, 09:18:17 pm
good for him :)

yeah thats what i said to him.

maybe trad will become more expensive due to there becoming less and less wc's offering it and the demand will become higher?

i cant see many of my customers paying a £15.00 a year service charge tho!
he said it really helped him with customers not cancelling anymore because they had paid the charge.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Murdie window cleaning on November 09, 2009, 09:20:50 pm
Why a service charge ? What would the customer gain from it ?

If he can get his custies all to part with £15 just to retain his service then good luck to him.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: ccmids on November 09, 2009, 09:26:37 pm
good for him :)

yeah thats what i said to him.

maybe trad will become more expensive due to there becoming less and less wc's offering it and the demand will become higher? just do both that way you win i would and do ;D

i cant see many of my customers paying a £15.00 a year service charge tho!
he said it really helped him with customers not cancelling anymore because they had paid the charge.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Martin ccs on November 09, 2009, 09:28:11 pm
Why a service charge ? What would the customer gain from it ?

If he can get his custies all to part with £15 just to retain his service then good luck to him.

he said that to him in around about way and hes being doing it for past 5 years or so and as around 100 houses a month which isnt alot really but all paying that charge.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: ronnie paton on November 09, 2009, 09:58:20 pm
justlook at cleaning pros about the trad cleane cleaner falling and dieing that to me is a seling point of why wfp is better than trad!! ;)
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: cornelius jemmerso on November 09, 2009, 10:19:29 pm
thats interesting, it seems he is creating a "club" for his customers,  but they must be big houses only if 100 is enough to live on
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: lcwalker on November 09, 2009, 11:19:47 pm
The argument keeps cropping up on this forum regarding which is better wfp or trad i have never done wfp but looking at the finish on my windows i do, i cant really belive it can be as good.But for safety it is alot better i do the few window jobs i have with my partner and if in any doubt about the ladder i get her to stand at the bottom.She wouldn't want to do wfp but i would like to have a trolley or backpack to use on the hard to reach ones.But if i had loads of jobs i would probably go all wfp for quickness.But i do think to be a window cleaner you should have conquered the trad technique, i bet there are some wfp guys who have never done trad.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: lcwalker on November 09, 2009, 11:22:59 pm
on the way to next job when this van pulls by next to me, was reading the side of the van and this chap had a few different selling points on his van

stated how many commercial and domestic jobs done the previous year
stated how trad was better than wfp by saying better hand finish.

turns out he was going to the same area as me, i was cleaning ats euromaster tyres and he was going to tesco near by so i popped over and said hello - anyway we got chatting and two things i picked up on was

1. he makes all domestic customers pay a yearly sevice charge of £15.00 on top of the monthly/2 monthly window clean price.

2. he charged more for trad than wfp because trad was an older style and better hand finish and thats what his customer wanted.


any thoughts guys
I bet he loves chrstmas picking up his £1500 present.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: ronnie paton on November 09, 2009, 11:26:58 pm
i can do trad so i can give a valid point but if you cant WFP how can you really say it gives a better finish??????????
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: lcwalker on November 09, 2009, 11:31:31 pm
i can do trad so i can give a valid point but if you cant WFP how can you really say it gives a better finish??????????
I never said it gives a better finish i put (i cant really belive it can be as good) ill make a point of looking when i next see some done wfp, but the safety side of wfp it is what i like and not having to get the ladder out.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Niall McAllister on November 09, 2009, 11:38:41 pm
as there is no soap involved, if done properly there should be no smears left, just plain clean glass.
If someone uses wfp, they should learn to use trad tools to offer a rounded service
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: cozy on November 10, 2009, 06:04:51 am
Yearly service charge eh? Never heard of that,hmmm ;)
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: pingu on November 10, 2009, 07:25:43 am
Good for him...he's just looked around him and thought a different approach might work for him...just different thinking.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: AuRavelling79 on November 10, 2009, 08:05:53 am
Yearly service charge eh? Never heard of that,hmmm ;)

It sounds good dunnit?  ;)
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: cozy on November 10, 2009, 08:14:15 am
Could charge "Tea" tax. If I don't get a tea, they pay a charge of 10 quid a year. What about that? :)
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Niall McAllister on November 10, 2009, 09:20:04 am
you could give out a calendar at the start of each year, mark off when you should be round to do the windows AND high-lite when it's their turn for the tea.
well. you don't want the same people having to make the tea each month
 ;D
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: geefree on November 10, 2009, 09:31:35 am
eventually, he may have a little niche in the market when its all mainly wfp... but it will be a small one imo.... and he may find he has to change his wording...and move with the times...

service charge,??

i would be dropped like a ton of bricks.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: stephen s on November 10, 2009, 09:35:44 am


yeah thats what i said to him.

maybe trad will become more expensive due to there becoming less and less wc's offering it and the demand will become higher?










what like beetamax video's and black and white tellys ?   you could be right  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Scrimble on November 10, 2009, 10:37:15 am
i have been trad for 3 years and now have a purefreedom wfp set up in my van, wfp does clean the windows better,

Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: leapstallbuildings on November 10, 2009, 10:39:15 am
Could charge "Tea" tax. If I don't get a tea, they pay a charge of 10 quid a year. What about that? :)

The way some of my customers make tea, I would be charging if they do make me one.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Pureandclean on November 10, 2009, 07:35:01 pm
Glass cleaner, frames refurbished, sills cleaned and flowers watered for free, no way trad can compete with that  ;D

Everyone of us that swapped over from trad had to get our heads around how the windows could end up clean when we were leaving them wet. My own son would not swap over for 12 months because he could not belive it. Now he would not go back to trad.

Why would window cleaners pay best part of £20,000 to buy wfp vans, if a bit of scrim and and a squeegie did a better job ? ???
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: david thomas on November 10, 2009, 08:01:26 pm
Clean windows with shamey leather in the sixties bloody hard work then the blade hard work wfp heaven.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: wizard on November 10, 2009, 08:08:34 pm
Imo. I do not see trad as better as or worse than each other but are both part of our trade. This persistent one against the other is getting boring .We are each looking for advantage and exclusivity in what we do, It’s not a posh club we have here, we are you aren’t better than each other, just skilled.
I do think though the yearly service charge would uplift our industry in the eyes of your customers. We think to small to be real professionals. Dont always think what the custy will get, but of the effect it will have on them. You need to test there commitment to your service.
I have charged all my customers more on first clean never a complaint. I always get the job. I only tell why I charge more, I also charge more than other cleaners in my area also not probs and I will charge a yearly surcharge and I am sure they will pay. One just needs balls to do it, they will see you take charge of your business and respect you for it.
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Mr Bungalow on November 15, 2009, 12:57:53 pm
That sounds quite clever to me.

But don't you think you could put a yearly service charge on, no matter what type of window cleaning you are doing?

Kind regards. :)
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: daz1977 on November 15, 2009, 03:49:40 pm
i think most custys will want wfp in a few years,  all you need is a window cleaner to fall of ladders and sue the houehold and they pay out thousands and one of the papers pick it up, and they will all be scared of getting sued,

it will happen,  we r part if the eu now and they make the rules
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Window Washers on November 15, 2009, 04:13:56 pm
Imo. I do not see trad as better as or worse than each other but are both part of our trade. This persistent one against the other is getting boring .We are each looking for advantage and exclusivity in what we do, It’s not a posh club we have here, we are you aren’t better than each other, just skilled.
I do think though the yearly service charge would uplift our industry in the eyes of your customers. We think to small to be real professionals. Dont always think what the custy will get, but of the effect it will have on them. You need to test there commitment to your service.
I have charged all my customers more on first clean never a complaint. I always get the job. I only tell why I charge more, I also charge more than other cleaners in my area also not probs and I will charge a yearly surcharge and I am sure they will pay. One just needs balls to do it, they will see you take charge of your business and respect you for it.

Im trying to work out how that could be implemented
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: Ross G on November 15, 2009, 04:36:04 pm

I can't see the sense in being one or the other, i've been trad for 29 years and have just added wfp to my business, sure it's taking me time to get used to but i'm enjoying my new lease of life as far as window cleaning goes.
I'm covering all bases be it standing at thefoot of my slx or at the top of my ladder,
for me it's never been 1 versus the other, it works for me  ;)
Title: Re: saw differnet selling point today
Post by: colley614 on November 17, 2009, 06:03:52 pm
OH NO WATER FED POLE V TRAD AGAIN!!  :'(