Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: windows_chepstow on June 09, 2005, 09:57:11 pm
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Nothing to do with me this one. I live in South Wales; but I've had a PM from a new member of this forum asking me the following:
I started up at the end of last year paid for a bit of my work and canvassed for the rest.
Looking at this site I need to put up my prices dramatically. I have spoken to a couple of w/c's in my area and most of my prices seem ok or is this just a northern thing and we work for peanuts.
How often should i be putting my prices up and by how much?
Hope to hear from you soon
Many thanks
I'd say you've got to tell us how much your charging, say for a bog standard 3 bedroomed semi? Then tell us what your round is comprised of, for example Rough councill estates? Plush rural properties.
Don't be shy - POST. Don't be worried about your English. Gaza is dyslexic (or is that dyspraxic?) and he's everywhere here.
Anyway, there are plenty of lads such as Zueszamin (spelling?) whose adamant that he won't get more than £3.50 where he lives (in Scotland) and £6.00 for a house in a really posh area.
Then there's other lads who're adamant that they have a minimum price such as £8.00 or £10 or £15.
I'm sure you'll get some help if you give us more information.
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better to have 10 houses at£10 than 20 houses at £5.like any other occupation, if you do a good job people will use you and refer you to their friends/neighbours.There are well-off people in all parts of the country,dont undervalue yourself.
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I think just do the work that is already on going and get more work and quote reasonable prices.
Then when there's enough work to be going on with, then put the prices up of the under priced work.
Basically, that's what happened to us when we first started.
Cheers
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you should be looking at a minimum of £8-00 plus for a 3 bed house more if consvertary
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I've just returned from a meeting in Stoke-on-Trent, about 9 miles from here; nothing to do with windows, as it happens.
Whilst waiting for it to start, I got chatting to a lady. She asked my occupation; when I said "Window cleaner", she volunteered the information that her man had been today, [does an excellent job, apparently], but that he has just put his price up.
For her bungalow, 5 windows, [two of them "fairly large", she said], plus glazing in two external doors, his price has shot up from £1-20p to £1-40p.
He's been doing her's, plus the others in the street for the three years she's lived there.
I told her to look after him, he is invaluable.
Baldeagle in Staffordshire
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I have not started yet but I will be charging more then £1.40
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Just read baldeagle's reply :o
That window cleaner may well be invaluable ;) But he is also very poor! :-\
Ye gods, it has been over 20 years since....no, hang on, even when I started up 21 years ago, for an 'old dink' bungalow with 5 windows (plus a glazed door!) I was charging £2.50.
How on earth can someone survive charging so little?
I know that location plays a big factor, but I would have thought that the minimum turn over for a standard days work should be no less than £75.
If you are charging only 50p for a standard, non-georgian window that should enable most to clear 75 quid in a day.
As for getting your prices up to the point where your minimum charge for a standard 3 bed semi (for the sake of arguement lets call that 10 standard size UPVC windows) is £5.00, well thats a different matter!
If you have a reasonably full round, when you take on new work, even work in the same road or locatiion as your existing work, pricethat work higher, if the potential customer points out that 'Hey, you're only charging er' next door £3.50!'
Tell them that all your prices will be going up shortly and that all new work has to be at the new price because it won't be worth taking anymore work on at your old prices.
Not saying that would work, but it is one way of trying to do it.
With domestic window cleaning, the above work for myself would carry a minimum charge of £8.00 on any estates in my area, my daily turnover is somewhat higher than £75.00 too!
Regards,
Ian
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I work in Liverpool and when I started out 12 months ago, using the advice on here I very uncomfortably quoted £6 for semis. which was about double what the majority of George Formby types are charging.
Only 1 or 2 declined.
Over the past year, I have been creeping my quotes up and getting them accepted, £8 now for semis and £12-£15 for detached.
Over time, you have to either put up the prices of your lower paying customers or get rid to make way for the better paying customers.
I`m still doing a lot of £6 semis by the way, because I have 100 or so in 3 streets, all oldies with the kettle on and cash ready before I`ve even touched the first window...and they all love the WFP!!
I`ve been doing a detached for £10/month and have never been able to reach 2 dormer windows. Went yesterday, did ALL the windows and left a card saying price has gone up to £15. A bit steep but it`s a bit of a pain due to locked gates/access so I thought I`d try it on.
Owner rings me and says he is not accepting a 50% increase and he will have to look elsewhere.
So I think there are limits to pricing but I am lucky now to be able, within reason, to call the shots regarding my fee.
Be confident and DO NOT underprice as you will hate doing those houses in 6 months.
Be proud of the service you provide and charge proudly!!
Steve
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For her bungalow, 5 windows, [two of them "fairly large", she said], plus glazing in two external doors, his price has shot up from £1-20p to £1-40p.
I now feel very depressed at the thought that some people still work for this kind of money. To think that he put his price up by 20p is a joke. I bet if he put it up by a £1 then she would have thought it to much and start looking else where.
Steveyboy
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:-\
As a newcomer to window cleaning it's very difficult to price jobs as i'm sure you are all aware.
My local town i know of 3 cleaners who work when they need some beer money (it's hard to compete) one of them cleans my daughters semi including Patio doors for £3-80 & another one cleans my son's for £4-00.
Iv'e only been cleaning for a few weeks & quoted £5-00 for my first few houses but now have 50 houses through canvassing etc; & now charge £6-00 for semi's & £8-00 for detatched & having spoken to other (proper cleaners) it's more than they are charging.
You could'nt charge your £12 & £14 here you'd get no work.
If somebody can put me right I'm all ears.
Ray
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keeping a eye on this one as just moved to north wales from essex , where you don't get out of the van for less than a tenner :o
I'll post findings on here in a few weeks when i start to go out knocking , I have been told that you pay them to clean their windows ;D haha
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keeping a eye on this one as just moved to north wales from essex , where you don't get out of the van for less than a tenner :o
Is North wales an upmarket area then?
Steveyboy
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Think he means you dont get out the van for less than a tenner in Essex
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you're only charging er' next door £3.50!'
I was charging £3.50 a house on my first round 19 years ago.
At that time i was charging 50 per window and my minimum charge was £3.50.
Could not manage to survive on that nowadays.
Paul
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Think he means you dont get out the van for less than a tenner in Essex
Daaaa, Stupid me. Yes Graig you are right . Its just the way I read em.
Steveyboy
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I've just returned from a meeting in Stoke-on-Trent, about 9 miles from here; nothing to do with windows, as it happens.
Whilst waiting for it to start, I got chatting to a lady. She asked my occupation; when I said "Window cleaner", she volunteered the information that her man had been today, [does an excellent job, apparently], but that he has just put his price up.
For her bungalow, 5 windows, [two of them "fairly large", she said], plus glazing in two external doors, his price has shot up from £1-20p to £1-40p.
He's been doing her's, plus the others in the street for the three years she's lived there.
I told her to look after him, he is invaluable.
Baldeagle in Staffordshire
When I first started many years ago my average price was £1-50 per house, now I won’t take less than £8-00 for a 3 bed house (a lot more in some cases), having said that I do clean 36 oap’s flats @ £3-00 each, upstairs wfp downstairs trad method, these are all in a row and takes me 2 half hours on my own, total income £108 so that’s not too bad, today I priced up a new job 3 bed semi with small cons about 20 mins work priced @ £17 and the lady did not bat an eyelid, sometimes my 16 year old son works with me and I pay him an average of £8 per hour. If you are cleaning houses for £1-20 and it takes an average of 20 mins per house that amounts to only £3-60 per hour which is less than the minimum wage, I cannot believe that there is a w/c out there charging this IS THIS A WIND-UP I ASK
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No Sir, this is not a wind-up.
I have met this lady at previous meetings and she is just an ordinary, decent, pensioner, in her mid-seventies.
Her reply to me was quite unsolicited, in the way that people have a normal conversation.
In fact, she also went on to mention that she had previously lived in Stone, where I live, and that the W/C was, by coincidence, the same one that had cleaned her windows here, before she moved back to Stoke-on-Trent after the death of her husband.
Prices of many items and commodities are lower than the "National Average", in Stoke, [if there is such a thing as the "National Average"].
I promise you that this is not a wind up, I am just reporting was was stated to me last night, and when I returned from Stoke, the subject of prices happened to be on the forum.
Baldeagle in Staffordshire
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unbelievable that one can only command such a low fee for there time and effort, perhaps the said w/c needs to chat to other w/cs and get educated as it sounds like he/she lives in a time warp
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As I live and work "Up North", I've just had a read through this thread and there is truth in it.
We are probably by far the highest priced cleaners in the Northumberland area, but, we are also as good as the best and better than most.
There are certain areas that I don't even bother canvassing in because I know they have window cleaners doing the job for absolute peanuts, how well they are doing it is a different matter! Regardless, they will always be there and people will always need them so I leave them to it.
However, I did get asked to quote for a job last week, largish town house, the woman told me the name of her window cleaner, but she was looking to change him because of the quality of his work and a friend had recommended us.
When she told me his name I knew I would be on a loser as he is notorious for low prices. Anyway I quoted her £14 for the job every 4 weeks, she told me she had been paying......£2.30!!! to the previous lad.
Surprisingly, we got the job, did the windows, cleaned all the paint etc off that he hadn't touched and she is delighted. I have since had two more phone calls from the same street which I have yet to price.
THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WILL PAY FOR GOOD QUALITY AND RELIABLITY. If you are no better than the bloke who is after a bit of beer money then why should they pay more?
We get the bigger and better jobs and can charge good prices because we are a professional looking outfit and people feel secure with that.
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There will always be the "non-professional, beer money, extra money, lost their job so filling in" type of window cleaner to compete with. Some are losers, some aren't. My grandfather came out of the Police Force aged 50 ish after the end of WW2, was nicely set up with a pension but did P/T window cleaning to "keep himself active, get out of the house etc."
My plan for what it's worth.
Get enough business to live on as quickly as you can.
As soon as you have done that, take out one early evening a week and canvass up higher priced stuff.
Inflate the prices (and be prepared to drop) of your poorer paying customers.
Keep gleaning like this and within a year you'll be fine!
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Yes, I've come across the "Beer Money" types in just the few months that I've been at Window Cleaning.
In fact, I think part of the round that I've built up was serviced by one of these bandits. Two of my customers have referred to him as "A right winker", [I think!].
Prices reflect many factors; not just things like size of house and access, but area, [or it's affluence], and of course the personal circumstance of the 'cleaner.
I am only a P/T W/C, about 6 days a month. being on a couple of occupational pensions.
My mortgage is paid off, my family, [3 girls], all grown up and flown the nest. And I am [happily!!!] divorced.
I don't need the money to live on; in my case, I enjoy the work, it keeps me fit, and finally it brings money in.
I've avoided the "He's only doing for the beer money" approach in my case by registering with the Inland Revenue and the National Insurance people, although I have now been issued with a National Insurance exemption certificate.
I've set myself up correctly, as far as I know, with insurance, and all the rest of the necessities.
I've tried to pitch my prices comparable with the other local 'cleaners, so as not to destroy the local window cleaning economy.
I think I do a better job than them, [of course! don't we all?].
I'm not as fast, but I don't care, and I've made some lovely friends through it.
Having been registered on this forum for a few weeks now, I realised that pricing is probably the most personal and contentious subject.
Baldeagle in Staffordshire
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You are certainly right when you suggest that pricing is the most contentious subject on this forum.
It might seem that we go round and round in circles with this one and never get anywhere.
That is not entirely true however because a lot of guys have responded to our discussions by raising their prices and finding that the customers have accepted it
I think that pricing will always be contentious and as we are all in it for the money, the subject closest to our hearts.
Its easy to get customers by quoting cheap prices anyone can do it. Even me!
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THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WILL PAY FOR GOOD QUALITY AND RELIABLITY. If you are no better than the bloke who is after a bit of beer money then why should they pay more?
This is the truth!
The only obstacle to higher prices is the window cleaner himself.
"We couldn't charge that here" is rubbish
We keep picking up work from a window cleaner who has just got a "proper job" !!!!!
I sold him the work 7 years ago, he never raised the price, he got discouraged, he quit.
I put in a price at least double and the customers are delighted. Why?
Because they know me, they trust me, they know my work is 1st class.
Please, please, don't work for nothing.
You need to earn £20 per hour plus.
BUT YOU MUST DO AN EXCELLENT JOB!
Sorry to shout.
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I know and I agree wholeheartedly but I have gone on record several time on this forum to admit I am too soft.
I decide to toughen up and go for the killer prices in future but something always goes wrong.
Its my mouth I think, it says fifteen quid so that it sounds like ten to the customer.