Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: james44 on January 20, 2010, 04:16:13 pm
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Hi this is an idea from a post from dai,
Dial-a-clean is exactly what it is, a clean when you want it service
I have thought long and hard about this and i think dai is so right, we all seem to target a small number who want regular cleans i think the vast majority would only want your service now and again.
before anybody says about regular customers you will still have them
now what made my mind up was i got talking to a lad on the dole and he appears in the summer to clean windows gutters etc i asked if he got many houses to do he said yes,
Now all he does is walk around all day knocking doors to get work, thing is these people see you about all the time but they dont ask you to clean there windows why! because we all want regular customers and most know this so wont ask you to do theres you may get some but not alot, i have myself turned people down because i wanted regulars.
Now just to test this way of working i got a mate to go around houses all day knocking on doors did he get work yes he did and he earned over £90.
Now i am at the moment getting flyers done to target the no so regular customers who will come near easter will be looking out for a window cleaner it could be you or the guy with the ladders walking the streets, i think people will keep your number as you are not forcing them to have it done regular, i mean how many times have you done a house for them to say i will ring when i want them done again normaly we would ditch them i dont do this anymore.
If these people keep hold of your number there is a good chance you will be doing there windows in the spring and (you never know they just might decide to keep hold of you) that means less work for the street walkers as the customers know they will be coming along so why not you!
Price wise could be example:
Regular clean 4 weekly £5:00
8 weekly £7:50
12 weekly £10:00
i have been thinking of offering a package deal like
windows cleaned
guttering
wheelie bin cleaning.
now i am sure there will be a lot of opinions as to this set up so what do you all think,
just to have you think about it customers call plumbers, tilers plasterers, decororators any trade as a when you want service, and most trades people get repeat work from regulars.
so lets see what we all think!
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I like this idea and just as you mention it as i was canvassing the other day a man said to me i just normally ring a guy and he comes out and cleans them sure ill take your flyer and now ill ring you :) was annoyed in a way but when i went on and thought about it i think its a great idea, if we dont just kick these types to the kerb then we will be the ones with the extra cash in our pockets as and when and not others :)
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For me personally I would never work this way (not knocking your idea) I only want regular customers as this brings in a regular income and don't see why i should clean someones windows who say has them done a few times a year for the same price as someone who wants them doing every month/2 months. I would rather spend my spare working time getting more regular customers then using my time cleaning houses whenever they decide they want it doing, different with gutter cleaning etc where you can charge more.
paul
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p1w1 you will still have regular customers and you will not be cleaning them for the same price as a regular clean re-read the post,
one off cleans will not all be done at the same time, different people will want them done at a different time all year round think about it
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Havent got time for one off cleans too busy with a full time round, I think as a newbie its a good idea but doing this youll soon get a full round any way and wont have time for one offs.
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I think its a good idea but think you would need to charge something like £20 call out fee plus the cleaning cost to make it viable
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cant you just send out a load of flyers saying ....
DIAL-A-CLEAN WINDOW CLEANING
CALL 123456789
for that one off window clean
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Terrible idea in my opinion!!! you want to build a quality round of well paying regular customers!! That would be like doing first cleans all day every day!!!
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I'd prefer it if you'd give the Chepstow and surrounding areas a miss, please!
;D
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Not a bad idea. AFTER finishing tell them the price for a regular service and it should sound cheap. Then it could be a new customer.
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I think its a great idea as long as the custy understands that there is a premium like on a first clean.
You would still have regulars because some just like clean windows.
The up side is you may be able to explain that if they wanted you twice a year or once and they accept....you have them on your books.
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sorry but this is possibly the most stupid idea i,ve ever seen on here , why would you target one offs , even if you could get away with charging loads more than your normal rate it makes no sense , we all know regular compact work is what you need to be a success in this business . your idea is to charge off all over the place doing first cleans , good luck with that lol regards alan
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Ewan as for flyers the idea is to door knock a target area over a weekend say fri/sat/sun for the following weeks work,
ok you may not get a full weeks work straight away but do this on a regular basis you will, it works for carpet cleaners, this is how the wheelie bin cleaners franchises done it
i just know with a lot of hard work it will work,
take now for instance peoples windows a filthy
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The most bone headed business idea i ever heard.
You will service the customers once, twice, or possibly three times a year. You give ten pounds as an example price.You need twenty customers a day, five days, forty eight weeks a year.Most of these customers will not want it done at all in the winter months. But assuming an even spread, 5 times 20 times 48 divided by 3 is the calculation for the number of customers needed to compare to an average round. The number of customers needed is 8000, yes eight thousand customers.
Thats why it's such a bad idea compared to the normal wc business model.
Not only that, but many of these eight thousand will be other window cleaners rejects, will find fault with your work when there is none,will not let you work without being present, and follow you around the property talking.Very hard to achieve a good hourly rate under these conditions.
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prestigeclean you wont be traveling here there and every where,
if you get say 30 customers in an area you may not get the same 30 the next time you canvass that area, you will still be working in the same areas
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you also seem to think you will retain your regular customers , how long do you think they will take before they start saying not today can you leave it till next month , you need to save yourself a load of grief and ditch this idea asap regards alan
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I sort of have the feeling its not a good idea.
Firstly, if you take a call for a one-off clean over the telephone and its not a property you're familiar with, you're going to have to travel there to quote. You can't give a quote over the phone, not really, especially since you can't see what access issues there could be. And the property could be absolutely filthy.
Secondly, to make it work, you're going to have to charge a (possibly) really high price, which could make the customer say 'no'. I think there's a potential here to quote for and not get a lot of jobs = wasted time and fuel!
However, I do 'one off cleans' for our local army married quarter patch, for when they vacate their married quarters (I won't take them on as regular customers) and I charge them a high price and don't have to quote, since the houses are usually one of two types; no conservatories and simple to do. But I wouldn't like to do this as part of my business for the 'general public'.
Its one thing knocking on the doors of an estate with a ladder, asking customers if they would like a one-off, but trying to make a business out of it is a different matter. In my opinion!
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p1w1 you will still have regular customers and you will not be cleaning them for the same price as a regular clean re-read the post,
one off cleans will not all be done at the same time, different people will want them done at a different time all year round think about it
I have re-read it mate and i still come up with the same I just cant see the point i have a full round or as near as so for me i cant see the point of wasting my time chasing 1 off customers when it's the regular ones the bring in more money over a period of a year..If someone rings me or asks for a 1 off then if i have time i will do it but at a premium..maybe your on to something and good luck but for me i think it's a waste of time
all the best tho and would be interesting to see how you get on.
paul
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Prestigeclean
(you also seem to think you will retain your regular customers )
Your right as this option was offered to all my customers from the start,
I have put it to them again and all are happy as things are
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ok i if you reaslly think its a good idea can you please come down and do all my first cleans , we can work out a rate based on what you posted regards alan
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I'm going to suggest this to my son. He's thinking about going on to university and worried like hell about getting into tens of thousands of pounds of debt.
If he's smart enough for uni, he's smart enough to knock on doors and clean gutters during the long Easter and summer vacations.
And he might just have a bit less debt than if he didn't.
It might just teach him a bit about how the world works as well - and if he learns that and nowt else, it will be worth while.
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Prestigeclean the rates if you read the post are examples only,
God i tried to make it simple for people
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I think it potentially could be a winner.
The downside will be the amount of work needed to make ita viable year round business.
This is how it is done in australia...and it works.A lot of marketing will need to be done,but done properly could see great results.
The obvious thing that will happen is that you will nick work off other wc's...sorry but this is inevitable.A lot of customers would like a less regular service...ok not all as they are used to regular cleans.Price it right and i think it could work,it will defo cause some wc's to get p1ssed off with you...
You never know until you try...my old dad used to say....good luck.
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good luck with it ,are you targetting the council estates or the big stuff . i think it will take a good opening patter to get it across that you arent just offering the normal service . then they mite start thinking "whats the catch"
but good luck with it ! ;D
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if you compact the work you have, you could do this on the side to fill in the days you have free ;)
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I sort of have the feeling its not a good idea.
Firstly, if you take a call for a one-off clean over the telephone and its not a property you're familiar with, you're going to have to travel there to quote. You can't give a quote over the phone, not really, especially since you can't see what access issues there could be. And the property could be absolutely filthy.
Secondly, to make it work, you're going to have to charge a (possibly) really high price, which could make the customer say 'no'. I think there's a potential here to quote for and not get a lot of jobs = wasted time and fuel!
However, I do 'one off cleans' for our local army married quarter patch, for when they vacate their married quarters (I won't take them on as regular customers) and I charge them a high price and don't have to quote, since the houses are usually one of two types; no conservatories and simple to do. But I wouldn't like to do this as part of my business for the 'general public'.
Its one thing knocking on the doors of an estate with a ladder, asking customers if they would like a one-off, but trying to make a business out of it is a different matter. In my opinion!
Comment in RED
That’s because you don’t know how to make it work.
Oh i bet he does... ::)
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(Contact window cleaners in the USA, they clean infrequently)
Yes your right ewan i have someone in mind who is the ideal person, shes used to be on this forum ;D
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now what made my mind up was i got talking to a lad on the dole and he appears in the summer to clean windows gutters etc i asked if he got many houses to do he said yes,
Now all he does is walk around all day knocking doors to get work, thing is these people see you about all the time but they dont ask you to clean there windows why! because we all want regular customers and most know this so wont ask you to do theres you may get some but not alot, i have myself turned people down because i wanted regulars.
Now just to test this way of working i got a mate to go around houses all day knocking on doors did he get work yes he did and he earned over £90.
I thought these kinda people were referred to on here as "the beer money brigade" or "fair weather cleaners" OR (ahem) "DOLE CHEATS" :D
I've read so many threads on here about "how we are percieved by the general public" this idea only goes to back up some of those views.
I am not against "one off cleans", I've done plenty and would say about half of those have called me back maybe once or twice a year, I just would'nt want to encourage it.
If a "dial-a-clean" style of service became common place it would be the end of a guarenteed income from regular rounds, is this how I am led to beleive it is in the states ?
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we know thats the case in the usa but why is that relevant , unless of course vyou think they would,nt like regular work , the amount of time and work you tp put in to get a wage out of it is massive when you could be getting regulars , all you will get is the moaners and messers who have been dropped by someone else regards alan
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The trend is for longer periods between cleans, the trend is to have gutters and cons roof and white work done annually or even every couple of years.
All true, but the only people who stay in business are those that make a profit.This idea stinks because even on it's best day- my mate went round asking and made £90- the figures don't work.As a guy starting a business ,great, if he can do that from a zero base he could fly.But to start every day from zero with no scheduled cleans whatsoever is dumb.
Ref the states it's been explained before, they have storm shutters etc that detach and are cleaned bi annually.It's a much more involved and expensive job.
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Cybersye If a "dial-a-clean" style of service became common place it would be the end of a guarenteed income from regular rounds, is this how I am led to beleive it is in the states ?
Yes it is and there are plenty of really succesful window cleaning companies over there
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I understand that this method works in other countries and therefor I can see why somebody would want to try it over here. But..I personally can't see how you can go to the job and quote, then maybe go back again to clean. Your time, fuel and cost of clean = higher price for the job. Let's face it, those people that don't want a regular service and just a one-off are looking for a cheap option so I can't see them wanting to pay for it.
I maybe wrong but there seems to be more negatives than positives to this idea.
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this idea is a good one , it will not interfere with your regulars ,if like mine they are very house proud and want them done on time .
but like i said if you compact your round it would be good for someone who needs that work .
i also have people call me when they want them cleaned ,its no big deal i just do them.
at the end of the day its what we do. :D
its all to do with selling yourself if you use the right approach i bet you would get them as a regular.
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rg1 I know my target areas and know what i would charge for a certain house,
Now word of mouth will get around and i know my area very well so if someone calls me for a quote i will know exactly what it will be from area to area,
I was born and raised in the area and know it like the back of my hand
first of i will be door knocking leaflet at hand
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I'm sorry but this is an absolutely idiotic idea!!!!! Why would you want to try and attract the kind of customers that every other successful window cleaner tries to avoid? You are making hard work for yourself, you really are!!!
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Groundhog i dont avoid that type of customer as you put it, money is money why turn it down
doing this type of customer has given me more customers in the past some have stayed as regulars why because i do a good job
dont miss windows clean frames and sills and i am the dearest in my area,
What i have found in the past is some not all dont have a regular window cleaner for different reasons
example window cleaners they have had in the past just didn`t do them right or never came back
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Sorry James but imo you are making hard work for yourself!! But if thats how you want to do it, then go for it!! ::)
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groundhog i know what you are saying,
some customers feel they need to accept a regular clean in fear of not having a cleaner come round when they want them, customers should be given an option,
thats why i feel a clean when you want service should be offered, you don`t get the milk man telling you that you have your milk delivered every day or none at all do you
and thats why i am now offering dial-a-clean
you offer your customers this option and see what results you get
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Hi this is an idea from a post from dai,
Dial-a-clean is exactly what it is, a clean when you want it service
I have thought long and hard about this and i think dai is so right, we all seem to target a small number who want regular cleans i think the vast majority would only want your service now and again.
before anybody says about regular customers you will still have them
now what made my mind up was i got talking to a lad on the dole and he appears in the summer to clean windows gutters etc i asked if he got many houses to do he said yes,
Now all he does is walk around all day knocking doors to get work, thing is these people see you about all the time but they dont ask you to clean there windows why! because we all want regular customers and most know this so wont ask you to do theres you may get some but not alot, i have myself turned people down because i wanted regulars.
Now just to test this way of working i got a mate to go around houses all day knocking on doors did he get work yes he did and he earned over £90.
Now i am at the moment getting flyers done to target the no so regular customers who will come near easter will be looking out for a window cleaner it could be you or the guy with the ladders walking the streets, i think people will keep your number as you are not forcing them to have it done regular, i mean how many times have you done a house for them to say i will ring when i want them done again normaly we would ditch them i dont do this anymore.
If these people keep hold of your number there is a good chance you will be doing there windows in the spring and (you never know they just might decide to keep hold of you) that means less work for the street walkers as the customers know they will be coming along so why not you!
Price wise could be example:
Regular clean 4 weekly £5:00
8 weekly £7:50
12 weekly £10:00
i have been thinking of offering a package deal like
windows cleaned
guttering
wheelie bin cleaning.
now i am sure there will be a lot of opinions as to this set up so what do you all think,
just to have you think about it customers call plumbers, tilers plasterers, decororators any trade as a when you want service, and most trades people get repeat work from regulars.
so lets see what we all think!
This is all very well if you charge an appropriate rate for it being the equivalent of a first clean each time and if you don't have a full workload. Where it would fall down (IMO) is that as soon as someone has a full round, it would mean deferring the cleans of regular customers for someone who would only be a very occasional customer. I believe this would be bad business.
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If it makes you happy, go for it. Personally I think it's the most ridiculous idea going but that's my opinion.
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i think its a bad idea as well.most will accept 2 monthly cleans if u want to be not as regular.maybe 3 monthly at a higher price but dial-a-clean?too much hassle!!u want regular work and fit the others on a not as frequent basis and charge a higher price.keep it simple!
i would say its a naive stupid idea.
regards
dazmond
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Dazmond( 3 monthly at a higher price) exactly!
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In principle this seems like a good idea, however, pratically I don't think it'll work.
Firstly, the level of marketing required to;
(a) Get the message across that you are a window cleaner NOT offering a regular but one-off cleaning service. You would probably need to repeat your message 3 or more times, to capture enough peoples attention to get the message across. Therefore, this would be cost prohibitive.
(b) You're then relying on people keeping your number safe thro' the year. There are a very few that will, for example, not everybody can find that chinese takeaway menu when they want it ! And they would probably use the Chinese then than would use a w/c to clean their gutters.
Secondly, you would cannonabilize your existing business; when your current customers recognise that you are allow a percentage of your customer base to have a 'pay-as-you' service, then they will want to follow suit as it would save them a few quid.
In reality, you would probably find four weekly customers slip to six or eight weekly, giving them the best of both worlds ! Whilst the customer wins, you would lose out and I doubt if you would gain enough one off customers to compensate.
Finally, the cost;
(a) You would want to quote a job before you did it, which means 2 visits, two lots of fuel etc,
(B) If you quoted 2 or 3 times the normal amount (as quoted) the potential customer may feel that they aren't getting value for money and decided to postpone or totally cancel the idea of having their windows or gutters cleaned.
Now where I think this idea works is,
(a) In the main the window cleaning fratenity are too willing to dismiss one-off cleans as they would prefer regular repeat customers, unless you're just starting out and any work is better than no work.
(b) The guy walking the streets, is able to both price up & probably complete the job at the same time.
In short, I don't think we should turn down one-off cleans unless we are totally rammed with customers when they come along, but should we try and create, offer and market a one-off clean service as something in addition to our regular service - then NO.
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Has anybody considered the market has change in the UK?
For example are there more home owners today compared to the 60’s 0r 70’s?
I don't know if anyone has mentioned Texas Girl? She does window cleaning on demand in Texas, but only because it's a much bigger job over there (it would be wouldn't it; it's Texas). They have shutters and fly screens to keep the bugs out; these all get removed and the dust washed out. She charges (and this was some years ago) something like £6 per window and cleans them annually.
If I charged £10 for a 3 bed semi for a regular monthly clean, I think I'd want about £30 to £40 (depending on location and access) for a one-off clean. But how many people would be prepared to pay that? Maybe some would, especially on the lead-up to Christmas, but usually?
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Another thought..If you don't already have a customer base of regulars then you would need a hell of a lot of one off cleans to make a living.
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In principle this seems like a good idea, however, pratically I don't think it'll work.
Firstly, the level of marketing required to;
(a) Get the message across that you are a window cleaner NOT offering a regular but one-off cleaning service. You would probably need to repeat your message 3 or more times, to capture enough peoples attention to get the message across. Therefore, this would be cost prohibitive.
(b) You're then relying on people keeping your number safe thro' the year. There are a very few that will, for example, not everybody can find that chinese takeaway menu when they want it ! And they would probably use the Chinese then than would use a w/c to clean their gutters.
Secondly, you would cannonabilize your existing business; when your current customers recognise that you are allow a percentage of your customer base to have a 'pay-as-you' service, then they will want to follow suit as it would save them a few quid.
In reality, you would probably find four weekly customers slip to six or eight weekly, giving them the best of both worlds ! Whilst the customer wins, you would lose out and I doubt if you would gain enough one off customers to compensate.
Finally, the cost;
(a) You would want to quote a job before you did it, which means 2 visits, two lots of fuel etc,
(B) If you quoted 2 or 3 times the normal amount (as quoted) the potential customer may feel that they aren't getting value for money and decided to postpone or totally cancel the idea of having their windows or gutters cleaned.
Now where I think this idea works is,
(a) In the main the window cleaning fratenity are too willing to dismiss one-off cleans as they would prefer regular repeat customers, unless you're just starting out and any work is better than no work.
(b) The guy walking the streets, is able to both price up & probably complete the job at the same time.
In short, I don't think we should turn down one-off cleans unless we are totally rammed with customers when they come along, but should we try and create, offer and market a one-off clean service as something in addition to our regular service - then NO.
This is the best response to this so far, very well thought out, the reason i thought it was a good idea was that we shouldnt turn down one offs even if we have a full round but didnt think it was solely aimed at those customers, it surely will make other w/c's hunt you down and try to kill you :)
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The only person this would suit would be a cleaner who hasn't enough work and is desperate to earn more.
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How many dial-a-cleans do you think you'll get when the weather is bad? I know exactly how many. What are the chances of each job being close to the next? I know the answer to that. How many people will part with forty to fifty quid for fifteen minutes work? I think I know. ;)
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The only person this would suit would be a cleaner who hasn't enough work and is desperate to earn more.
that will be me then :P
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i thought the majority of cleaners already offer a one
off cleaning service i know i do i obviously charge more
and i generally fit them around my regular work same with
gutter cleaning which 99% are one off jobs.
i offer my custies 4,6,8 and for really large properties 12 weekly cleans
the majority go for 4 weekly with the option to go to 6 weekly if
it isnt working out for them but i have found very few want 12 weekly.
i would of thought a nice full round of good regular customers
would make more sense which you are constantly refining to
your advantage(more money less work) rather than chasing your tail.
winter time without your regular custies you are really going to suffer
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everythings been said!it WONT WORK!regular custys is what u want for regular repeat income esp in winter.then one off cleans at a high price in the spring/summer along with the conny roofs/fascia/gutter cleans if u can fit them in!
as for charging £45 to clean a normal house.dream on!its never going to happen!some of us live in the real world.as for £10 a clean NO WAY EITHER on a monthly clean up north!u would just end up getting undercut.
regards
dazmond
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dazmond im up north and dont charge less than ten pound and my business is over 4 years old so it does work, has for the dial a clean you could have a team who only doone offs but more han window cleaning ie guters con roof presure washing,
so it could work but not has a business in its own right but running side by side
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dont be surprised if u get undercut ronnie! ;)a tenner for a small 3 bed semi.not a chance and i work in an affluent area!guys round where i work clean for £4-£6 per house and there are lots of em!im upping mine every year but on compact stuff no more than £8.they simply wont pay as there used to getting them done cheaper by other windys. ::) ::)
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I like this idea and just as you mention it as i was canvassing the other day a man said to me i just normally ring a guy and he comes out and cleans them sure ill take your flyer and now ill ring you :) was annoyed in a way but when i went on and thought about it i think its a great idea, if we dont just kick these types to the kerb then we will be the ones with the extra cash in our pockets as and when and not others :)
what a stupid idea
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i was thinking the same geoff.i think JRD has got a lot to learn yet! ;) ;D ;D
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Hi this is an idea from a post from dai,
Dial-a-clean is exactly what it is, a clean when you want it service
I have thought long and hard about this and i think dai is so right, we all seem to target a small number who want regular cleans i think the vast majority would only want your service now and again.
before anybody says about regular customers you will still have them
now what made my mind up was i got talking to a lad on the dole and he appears in the summer to clean windows gutters etc i asked if he got many houses to do he said yes,
Now all he does is walk around all day knocking doors to get work, thing is these people see you about all the time but they dont ask you to clean there windows why! because we all want regular customers and most know this so wont ask you to do theres you may get some but not alot, i have myself turned people down because i wanted regulars.
Now just to test this way of working i got a mate to go around houses all day knocking on doors did he get work yes he did and he earned over £90.
Now i am at the moment getting flyers done to target the no so regular customers who will come near easter will be looking out for a window cleaner it could be you or the guy with the ladders walking the streets, i think people will keep your number as you are not forcing them to have it done regular, i mean how many times have you done a house for them to say i will ring when i want them done again normaly we would ditch them i dont do this anymore.
If these people keep hold of your number there is a good chance you will be doing there windows in the spring and (you never know they just might decide to keep hold of you) that means less work for the street walkers as the customers know they will be coming along so why not you!
Price wise could be example:
Regular clean 4 weekly £5:00
8 weekly £7:50
12 weekly £10:00
i have been thinking of offering a package deal like
windows cleaned
guttering
wheelie bin cleaning.
now i am sure there will be a lot of opinions as to this set up so what do you all think,
just to have you think about it customers call plumbers, tilers plasterers, decororators any trade as a when you want service, and most trades people get repeat work from regulars.
so lets see what we all think!
what stupid idea and your prices r to cheap anyway
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i think the idea is good if you only want a saturday job. to make it full time would involve a lot of hard work and time consum ing with little reward. oh thats me anyway i think ;D
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When I posted this idea originally, it was as advice to guys starting out in this business, if you only have 2 days work a week it makes sense.
I also said that I hoped nobody would start this in my area.
I know a lot of my customers would love to have their windows cleaned as and when they wanted, I could lose out in a big way.
I really think that dial a clean could be a good stepping stone into building a full time round of regular customers.
It's better to be earning something than nothing.
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Just another thought, how many big commercial outfits work on a dial a clean principle?
If Dave St Ives gets to do the Eden Project domes, you can bet your life it wouldn't be more than once a year if that.
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i think most customers want a regular reliable window cleaner whos trustworthy,does a good job and charges a fair price.MOST custys want this i believe.
absolutely ridiculous to let the custy dictate to u!what are u gonna do?wait at home for the phone to ring? ;D ;D
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Some of you guys just don`t get it, the window cleaning business model is stuck in a time worp.
Some of you have a window cleaning round, and some have a window cleaning business
For years anybody starting a window cleaning round are told build up a steady round of regular customers, this is all very well but how many on a yearly basis want you to do extras like gutters, facias,paths etc.
I was talking to a domestic cleaner yesterday who i know very well and was asking her how her business model was set up,
Well they have there regulars, one off`s and are always getting referals,
this person has in the past,has past on about 60 customers to me customers who only wanted them done now and again and i still do them now customers understand ther is a premium for one off`s it dont stop them calling you,
Now as i said talking to this cleaner made up my mind window cleaning can run in a simular way,
When she first started up her target was for regular customers she then got one off`s and referals it got to the stage she was getting to much work and turing it down,
not now because she has took on extra staff,
Thing is she used to pass the window cleaning side on to me but she now takes this on herself because it is becoming a big add on to her business,
I keep hearing window cleaners moaning about customers that look down on window cleaners,
Why is that! they don`t look down at any other cleaning service house cleaners etc do they so why window cleaners could it be the way our business model is run
I mean any other sevice customers require they phone for they don`t with window cleaners because they have there regular cleaner some customers want this some don`t but keep them on incase they can`t get an other,
Well what if customers wanted a window cleaning service where they could just phone up like every other cleaning service and not be tied to service they don`t really want
Now i have about 240 customers of which about 50 want extras like gutters, facias etc
If i have customers phone me up for a one off clean and i can get gutter cleaning, facias as well its more work in what i would have had,
I see some window cleaners are saying you won`t get this and you won`t get that in my area, this is rubbish i work in an area with the £4/5 mob i have a few £10 houses
Thing is some run a window cleaning round and some run a window cleaning business,
What you have to realise window cleaning as we know it is changing its not just about wfp that is just a new way of cleaning a new tool,
Now i know a lot of people have new sign written vans company t-shirts the lot they only thing that has not changed is the business model this has to, some customers will always look down on window cleaners until we bring it into the 21st centuary
Customers should have the right to phone a window cleaner of ther choice and window cleaners should have the right to work where they want,
if a customer phones me to have a service done at there house i will do it, i as in the past have turned this work down because am told that a certain person owned that area, not now this is the only cleaning service that this applies to no other service runs this way,
Can you imagine if a customer phones a domestic cleaner only to be told she can`t do her because someone owns her area get real we have to bring window cleaning into the 21st centuary or we will always be looked down on!
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what a rant! ;) ;D ;D.i suppose its up to u how u run ur business.i have 325 custys mostly monthly,a few small commercial. a lot of the domestic custys i do extras for annually/2 yearly like gutter clearing/fascia/soffit/conservatory roof cleaning.i monopolise certain areas as my work is very compact.if ive got time in spring and summer ill do the odd one off jobs but not very often!i prefer building up trust with regular custys that pay a half decent wage and i find they prefer me to do the extra jobs for them as im tried and tested! ;D ;D
sounds like u got a bit of a chip on ur shoulder pal.not got enough work yet?
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another thing window cleaning is NOT changing really.ok more wfp cleaning and maybe longer clean frequencies.but trad is still the main method of window cleaning on domestics and a lot of custys prefer trad AND itll always be around.stop trying to overcomplicate what is a simple business to run! ;) ;D ;D
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(sounds like u got a bit of a chip on ur shoulder pal.not got enough work yet)
You could not be so wrong i have plenty thing is i move with the times, i was the first person to bring wfp into my area 2 years before everyone else (mike at cleantech will verify this)
people moaned about customers when wfp came saying they did not like change seems to me that it`s the window cleaners who don`t like change, and buy the way dazmond you are to cheap ;D
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yeh ur probably right james.im upping all my prices every year in april and new work is priced higher.also i will be getting a van/wfp this year so that will need paying for!im learning to build a better business from the help off u guys! ;) ;D ;D
best wishes
dazmond
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Some of you guys just don`t get it, the window cleaning business model is stuck in a time worp.
Some of you have a window cleaning round, and some have a window cleaning business
For years anybody starting a window cleaning round are told build up a steady round of regular customers, this is all very well but how many on a yearly basis want you to do extras like gutters, facias,paths etc.
I was talking to a domestic cleaner yesterday who i know very well and was asking her how her business model was set up,
Well they have there regulars, one off`s and are always getting referals,
this person has in the past,has past on about 60 customers to me customers who only wanted them done now and again and i still do them now customers understand ther is a premium for one off`s it dont stop them calling you,
Now as i said talking to this cleaner made up my mind window cleaning can run in a simular way,
When she first started up her target was for regular customers she then got one off`s and referals it got to the stage she was getting to much work and turing it down,
not now because she has took on extra staff,
Thing is she used to pass the window cleaning side on to me but she now takes this on herself because it is becoming a big add on to her business,
I keep hearing window cleaners moaning about customers that look down on window cleaners,
Why is that! they don`t look down at any other cleaning service house cleaners etc do they so why window cleaners could it be the way our business model is run
I mean any other sevice customers require they phone for they don`t with window cleaners because they have there regular cleaner some customers want this some don`t but keep them on incase they can`t get an other,
Well what if customers wanted a window cleaning service where they could just phone up like every other cleaning service and not be tied to service they don`t really want
Now i have about 240 customers of which about 50 want extras like gutters, facias etc
If i have customers phone me up for a one off clean and i can get gutter cleaning, facias as well its more work in what i would have had,
I see some window cleaners are saying you won`t get this and you won`t get that in my area, this is rubbish i work in an area with the £4/5 mob i have a few £10 houses
Thing is some run a window cleaning round and some run a window cleaning business,
What you have to realise window cleaning as we know it is changing its not just about wfp that is just a new way of cleaning a new tool,
Now i know a lot of people have new sign written vans company t-shirts the lot they only thing that has not changed is the business model this has to, some customers will always look down on window cleaners until we bring it into the 21st centuary
Customers should have the right to phone a window cleaner of ther choice and window cleaners should have the right to work where they want,
if a customer phones me to have a service done at there house i will do it, i as in the past have turned this work down because am told that a certain person owned that area, not now this is the only cleaning service that this applies to no other service runs this way,
Can you imagine if a customer phones a domestic cleaner only to be told she can`t do her because someone owns her area get real we have to bring window cleaning into the 21st centuary or we will always be looked down on!
You are trying to tie in two things that are separate issues:
1) Whether or not to supply an ad hoc service (dial-a-clean).
2) Whether someone "owns" an area or not.
Totally separate issues.
What you propose re "dial-a-clean" would not be practical for most window cleaning businesses. Indeed, most would not be able to afford to run a business that way - even with enhanced rates. If this were the norm, IMO it would put dopmestic window cleaning back into the dark ages as the only people (for the most part) who could afford to run a business that way would be the people who already have another job that has reasonable income guarantees - such as the postman, fireman, the 4 x 12 hour (4 on 4 off) shift guys at airports etc. I'm astonished that someone who relies on window cleaning for an income is proposing this as a viable business model. Even in the USA etc where big cleans may be carried out once or twice a year, the cleaners still have their regulars - it's just that because the regulars are less frequent, they may need more customers to make it pay. Possibly not though. If you take a full clean (windows in and out, bug screens, facias, soffits downpipes, whitework) as being a one day job, you would need one customer per working day throughout the year - about 240 customers in all. Charging them say, £200 average, for a day's hardish work would supply a turnover of about £48,000. Let's be a bit conservative and say £40,000 to allow for down time, a bit of sickness, a bit of extra break time, vehicle problems. So that sort of model is workable I suppose - though there could be hassle in arranging access sometimes and you would need to tie a customer in by contract as a "not home" customer equates to a days lost income as it's all pre-arranged. Texas Girl would be the one to ask about that I guess. However, the model I've written about is very different to what you are proposing and for anyone to attempt to compare them would be a misrepresentation (possibly an unintentional one though).
The only time I've ever heard anyone else enthuse about dial-a-clean was a guy who was on a BWCA marketing course about a year or so ago. It's such an unusual hobby horse that I wondered if you were one and the same person? (his name escapes me).
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i dont advertise a dial a clean but i do advertise a full valet service fac,guttering,window frames and windows on my flyers.
is this not better than a dial a clean.?
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leapstallbuildings
(Whether or not to supply an ad hoc service (dial-a-clean).
So you are saying every other cleaning service runs a ad
hoc business yet! they are successful
no it was not me at the BWCA marketing course
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at the end off the day its upto u if u think it would work well go for it.
as i say.... u dont know till u try
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leapstallbuildings
(Whether or not to supply an ad hoc service (dial-a-clean).
So you are saying every other cleaning service runs a ad
hoc business yet! they are successful
no it was not me at the BWCA marketing course
I'm trying to understand how you got from my post to what you have written above. You seem to have written something that isn't related to what I wrote.
You say: "So you are saying every other cleaning service runs a ad
hoc business yet! they are successful"
The term "every other cleaning service"can mean "one business in two" or it can mean "every business apart from my own". Or you could mean "every type of cleaning service other than window cleaning".
You also seem to infer that I said that they were succesful. Not sure where I wrote that. I did make a reference to a theoretical USA model that would be based on "regular but infrequent" rather than "ad hoc".
Your meaning is totally unclear to me. I'm not dense. I just don't know how you understood my post to mean something very different from what I felt it meant.
Also, maybe bear in mind that it's also about providing a service with the least hassle to the business operator. If I had given all my customers exactly what they wanted over the years, I wouldn't still be in business at all because some of the requests have been non-compatible with a viable business model.
One of the big plusses (IMO) with window cleaning, as opposed to other visiting services, is that there isn't this constant hassle of chasing after new work once you've built it up to a certain point. The dial-a-clean model could cause this to change.
Don't get me wrong. If you can live OK on a certain income which drops off massively in the winter and maybe have other strings to your bow, it might just work. Indeed, if I were in a similar position to where I was 20 years ago it might have worked for me too. If I tried it now with mortgage and other debts, I reckon it would cost me my home.
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no sorry if it came across that way,
what i am saying is domestic cleaners, carpet cleaners run there business this way some are very successful and they still have there regulars and they have quite periods, as i have said on an other forum tilers are now plumbing, plumbers are now tiling, domestic cleaners are now cleaning windows, do window cleaners just clean windows
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I have 10 staff. If one of them came home with £90 for a days wor I'd boot his ass. Stick to regular customers, There are plenty out there.
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Formb that was just an example what i am saying there is a lot of work out there to be had customers just don`t know who to phone, i am not saying walk the streets knocking doors for work this was to test if dial-a-clean could work the whole idea is they would be phoning you as they would any other service
every other cleaning service can and does operate in this way and some are very successful
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Any 1 off cleans that I get requested I try to put them off by charging travel at £1 per mile (there and back)+ £25 call out + price for windows. I find this will usually convince them to go regular. What you want is them and their next door neighbour and theirs and theirs and so on.
One off cleans tend to take up lots of time. Spend that time putting leaflets through all your customers next door neighbours. Time well spent.
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Theres a guy round here walking round with a bucket and ladder knocking on doors offering there windows to be cleaned there and then, as soon as he got enough money hes off to fill his syronge and get as high as a kite.
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Theres a guy round here walking round with a bucket and ladder knocking on doors offering there windows to be cleaned there and then, as soon as he got enough money hes off to fill his syronge and get as high as a kite.
Thats a bit unfair to compare the guy you know with the possibility of a new concept service for window cleaning.I doubt very very much that anyone trying to make a go of a dial-a-clean would walk around the streets with their equipement.
The idea,like any other business idea has potential but also has a lot of downsides to it.
I personally think that this could work if thought about correctly to be able to achieve a suitable turnover.
We all know that we are onto a winner with regular customers,after all that equates to a regular income,but can you tell me what other trade has a regualr customer base?
A carpet fitter may earn £25 plus an hour,same as a tiler,maybe a plumber would earn that or more...but they all have to find new customers.
By the way i dont know what they earn,but what i am trying to say is that they look for work it doesn't just land on their doorstep.
I think there is potential in this concept,and i know for certain that many customers would like their windows cleaned when they want them cleaned not when we decide to clean them.
It just needs to be refined to make it viable.....
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james44 , you obviously like doing first cleans so i will repeat my earlier offer , please come and do all my first cleans my average price is £16.00 and i,m sure my canvasser can get you at £500.00 of new cleans a week , lol , your so called business idea really does stink , surely after all the negatives that have been posted about your dial a clean idea you must realise how foolish you sound , wake up son before you ruin what business you already have , regards alan
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geoff and dazmond please take a look at my 2nd posting on the matter and then you will see that i then realised what the initial poster was referring to. I will say though that i have done a few cleans so far that the customer has said she would get in touch when needed again, that i dont mind as its all extra in my pocket, i am aiming for new regular customers, whether they be 4 or 8 weekly i dont mind at the minute.
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no sorry if it came across that way,
what i am saying is domestic cleaners, carpet cleaners run there business this way some are very successful and they still have there regulars and they have quite periods, as i have said on an other forum tilers are now plumbing, plumbers are now tiling, domestic cleaners are now cleaning windows, do window cleaners just clean windows
OK, I get your drift now :)
Thank you for clarifying as I found the earlier response ambiguous and unclear.
Maybe dial a clean could work if I were to command a similar fee to a plumber e.g. someone wants their windows cleaned urgently so that's £50 callout fee and £50 an hour on top or if someone has a leaky roof and wants a few tiles replaced urgently so a similar fee (plus some more due to scaffold towers). The trouble is that people just won't pay that for window cleaning - very few anyway. Even if they did, it would probably lead to a very erratic income and I find it erratic enough already - especially when there are winter freeze ups. I have too many financial responsibilities to trust to enough people phoning me as and when they want their windows cleaned. Also, I have no wish to diversify. I did try this years ago but found it more cost effective (and simpler for my head) to specialise in one thing. OK, so I'm a one trick pony but I prefer to keep the diversification for my personal life rather than for my income. I suppose it's a matter of preference and how much financial responsibility someone has taken on.
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Prestigeclean
It`s not all about one off cleans if you read an earlier post where i was passed on 60 customers out of them i turned 28 into 4 weekly cleans other 22 8 and 12 weekly the other 10 did not whant them done again as they said i was to dear, but you get that with regulars as well,
What i am saying is by attracting one off cleans can and does lead to regulars
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;D Ewan, where in the country will these leaflets be delivered?
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dazmond i know many like you who charge4-6 quid the told me from the start the same has you, guess what nearly five years on im still making ends meet!!!
I have one area in a local area i harge around a £10 the other 2 cleaners on the estate charge rom 4-6 quid gues who has more of the estate and has done for over 4 years and guess which one keep door knocking with out much joy!!!!!......................
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ok!fair play to u ronnie!im upping my prices every year in april.most of my round is very compact and i am pricing higher for new work.im not doing too badly.onward and upward! ;) ;) ;D ;D
best wishes
dazmond
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Disregarding up north , which Dazmond says is a £6 per house job ( unbelievable). I can see a potential in this. Mainly as an add on instead of con roofs on a Friday.
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cant be bothered reading through all the posts on this one so i dont know if this has already been said or not , i think its a good idea till you have a fully build round of regular customers but after that forget about it how do you suppose to get round a large number of one offs say the week before christmas when they all will want done and still manage to please your regulars
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Jamie do what i do and pass on the work to another window cleaner someone you know will do a good job there happy for the work you get a % for giving them the work
There are window cleaners who don`t have a full round and are greatful for the extra work
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agree
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Jamie do what i do and pass on the work to another window cleaner someone you know will do a good job there happy for the work you get a % for giving them the work
There are window cleaners who don`t have a full round and are greatful for the extra work
good point seems a good idea then
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well just to let everyone know me and my mate have been out today again and what a worth while day it has been think i found a way in how to use the dia-a-clean method
i am not going to do a write up just now as it`s a bit late will do one in the morning
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Will keep watching then.... :)
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Hi peeps an update on my weekend out to get more work, and to test if the dial-a-clean can work, well turned out to be a very useful weekend
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Well as I said on an earlier post my mate went out canvassing and did £90 of work nothing special there, but it is how we have started to canvass that is different to our normal canvassing,
Though about the window cleaners who walk about with there ladders to gain work so decided to use this approach to canvass ourselves, what a difference that turned out to be,
We found customers were more likely to have you clean there windows when turning up with ladders than knocking on doors canvassing with leaflets,decided to turn this into a survey as well as a canvassing exercise,
Why was this! reasons given were customers don`t like answering the door in the evening after a hard day at work customers find this annoying so less chance of them to uptake your offer for window cleaning where as in a Saturday morning/ lunch time they are fresh and a bit more relaxed so more chance of there custom.
Same we found about leaflet dropping they get chucked in the bin for 2 reasons they either have a cleaner or they think you will be no better than the other cleaners that they have used,
Example we had on Saturday walking past a house where the lady was washing her own windows I replied you should get a window cleaner to do that for you, aye right she said it`s because they don`t do them right that I am doing them myself,. I said that not all window cleaners are the same they are a few good ones out there running successful busineses so I said let me do a couple of windows for you to show her we are not all the same, did a few windows she was happy and said to me as you have done them few you may as well do the rest so I did she was happy with the clean and asked much do I normally charge for her size of house £8 I said the windows din`t look to bad I said as it is a first clean it would be £12 I said so she went indoors came back out and gave me the £12 and asked how often I come round well signed her up for every 4 weeks
So could this explain why we only get a small return on leaflet drops, customers think you`r just another crap cleaner posting leaflets, well some seem to think that, that was the general feedback we got on Saturday
So it looks like you have more chance to sign up customers canvassing with ladders than you do door knocking with leaflets because the feedback we had that customers are less likely to say yes at the door because they have had so many cleaners saying they will do this and that and don`t or they just don`t come back so taking you ladders with you at least you can show what you can do so have a better chance to sign them up
Anyway have taken on a lot more customers offering the dial-a-clean where we have told them that we would be offering 4/8/12 weekly cleans and that we would leaflet drop 2/3days before we would be in there area so as they can ring us a to have there clean booked in to our round
Now we found that there was quite a lot of customers who did not have there windows cleaned on a regular basis there were several reasons for this, so these customers we have told them we would drop a leaflet on a monthly basis to remind them of our services and that they can call when they need us the reason we decided to do this was they can be clean 1 week and the weather can turn and they can be filthy the next so they now know we are only a phone call away and they don`t have to wait for the ladder man to turn up
My mate has decided to help me out on this and I will be taking on my nephew when he leaves school in the summer,
Well we signed up over £400 of new work this includes guttering and facias not a lot but we spent more time getting feedback which was our intended goal makes me wonder how much we could have got had we pushed a lot harder than we did
So for a newbie starting out or someone wanting to add extra customers next time you go canvassing take your ladders!
Out of the initial one off cleans 9 have called back to have them done on a more regular basis.
Can dial-a-clean work we think it can! With a little bit of tinkering here and there we are determined to make it work
We believe flexible working is the way forward!
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fair play to u james for giving it a go.nothing ventured,nothing gained but when i started i bought a small round and canvassed at weekends and picked up quite a few then word of mouth etc and so on.im happy with 320 domestics and 5 small commercial jobs.i dont go looking for work as my work keeps me busy most of the time!i do push the conny roofs/fascias/gutters in spring/summer when i have more time to fit them in!and obviously i take on more work if its at the right price.most of my work is evry 4-5 weeks,the odd 6 weekly/8 weekly.i find most custys want monthly.if they dont want them cleaned that often they will accept 2 monthly for a slightly higher price.working saturdays are good as ive picked up quite a few as im working.i find this business is very simple to run and ive built up trust and a good reputation.i also monopolise certain areas on my round.they are very compact and other window cleaners dont get much of a look in as its not worth it for them to clean 1 house in the middle of 80 of my custys! ;)i have an arrangement with another windy and he passes work onto me if its down a road i clean in and vice/versa.it helps keep our rounds compact.works well for us.
regards
dazmond ;D ;D
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where its gonna be a pain for you james is when youve got plenty of regular work and you get behind because of weather and 2 custys phone u up in an area ur not working that week etc.youll end up running all over the place for very little reward. ::).after a while these custys will become more of a liability and u will end up dumping them for the regular work!
what ur doing is nothing new but the old tried and tested way of having regular custys that dont dictate to you that u have on ur books at an agreed frequency is better! ;D ;D
your enthusiasm will wain for this type of work once ur books are bursting at the seams! ;D ;D
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yep agree dazmond was talking to a local cleaner last night who i worked for when i first started window cleaning and are going to pass work his way as i know he will do a good job,as i say it will need a bit of tinkering here and there but looks promising
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So mate...you walk round with ladders??
What would be your business strategy if you were wfp??
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So mate...you walk round with ladders??
What would be your business strategy if you were wfp??
I would guess....go with a full tank of water and clean them there and then,Just like he is doing with his ladders ::)
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So mate...you walk round with ladders??
What would be your business strategy if you were wfp??
I would guess....go with a full tank of water and clean them there and then,Just like he is doing with his ladders ::)
Yes of c ourse...why didn't i think of that.... ::)
So you walk round the streets with a ladder,but you got to get in the van and move it every house so they can see your van and equipement...i dont think so...you will be out forever before you get a days work.
I think there is a business to be made out of this but certainly not in this way,all this will achieve is to make people look at you as if they feel sorry for you,no way to run a business imo...
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im out canvassing 2morow only got 40 quid off work todo then im nocking on doors and im going to try the 1 off clean for those how um and r at the door and also offer a regular service.
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So mate...you walk round with ladders??
What would be your business strategy if you were wfp??
I would guess....go with a full tank of water and clean them there and then,Just like he is doing with his ladders ::)
Yes of c ourse...why didn't i think of that.... ::)
So you walk round the streets with a ladder,but you got to get in the van and move it every house so they can see your van and equipement...i dont think so...you will be out forever before you get a days work.
I think there is a business to be made out of this but certainly not in this way,all this will achieve is to make people look at you as if they feel sorry for you,no way to run a business imo...
You do not have to move van all the time,people do not need to see it or ladders,the point is you offer to do clean there and then,every time you get a clean move van to that vacinity,or door knock 5 or 6 either side of road then move on,
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Daniel around here wfp has a bad name so many cleaners thought it would be easy just to throw a pole about they just gave wfp a bad start as if it was not hard enough to convert customers,
i myself went back trad and took lots of work from these cleaners i now wfp tops and trad bottoms,
so thats why i take ladders and not wfp if customers saw me standing there with a wfp they would most likely shut the door, strange tho that we wfp the tops and trad the bottoms they did not seem to mine as long as they were done right!
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Wezzy32 good luck on your knocking on doors! we found weekend canvassing best as most people are at work during the week but hey you don`t know until you try.
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Do you door knock saturday or sat and sunday?
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Sat mornings from 11am to about 4pm
Sun 12 to about 4pm
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Sorry James, but you are going about this in totally the wrong way!! I made similar mistakes when I built my first part time round many years ago!! Put the ladders away, get yourself some good quality leaflets, deliver them to high end properties in good areas, and follow up by knocking the doors a few days later dressed in your company uniform.
Never ever offer one off cleans, many will ask for this anyway, but they are just a waste of time unless they are prepared to pay a very large premium for the service ie at least double the normal price, probably more! even then its not really worth it. I normally offer 1 or 2 monthly, if its a nice big house I will go to 3 monthly. And finally set yourself a decent minimum price! £8 is ridiculous!! Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm just trying to help.
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looks like martin lewis has started the ball rolling for dial-a-clean!
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looks like martin lewis has started the ball rolling for dial-a-clean!
lol
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Well been getting quite a few calls from customers saying that their window cleaner has not come back and can i come and do their windows,
now i did not target these customers this is work from the non regulars that i have been targeting so dial-a-clean is bringing in regular work after all
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Ok update as what has been happening with my dial-a-clean
well it is taking off faster and better that i first thought,
Why well i have been getting customers phoning me up to book in a clean and to say it`s a service that a lot of customers have been crying out for,
Other customers will still be happy to have them cleaned on a regular basis as i have quite a few myself,
i am going to be setting up a website for the dial-a-clean customers on it will be the areas that we will be covering and when we will be in that area as for prices in my area i have a mixture of £5/6/7/10 houses to give you an example:
£5 every 4 weeks
£7 every 8 weeks
£9 every 12 weeks
now after a period of time i will end up with a mixture of 4/8/12 weeklys
i am also targeting 12 weekly customers as this will almost double the amount i would take for 4 weekly cleans my target is to have 300 customers a month on 12 weekly cleans this will take time i know but it can and will be done what you have to remember is these customers in effect will become regulars on a 12 weekly clean yes it will mean
A target of 900 new customers 75 a month canvassing 6 nights a week to gain 3 customers a night working during the day helps as well as this adds to your target in effect what you are doing is earning £2700 a month for the same amont of customers as to £1500 you would get for the 4 weeklys at £5.
I am picking up new customers every day that i am out because one of us is canvassing the streets we are in and the streets close by as well it is hard work but it will be worth it in the end,
Even just one new customer a day every day for a year will give you 300+ new customers a year
I am building a team of 3/4 so as i will be doing 4 weeklys an other the 8 weeklys and the other the 12 weeklys the other guy will be doing all the guttering that we have been getting in then we plan to swap our jobs on a rota basis so as we don`t get bored with the same old houses as you all know this happens from time to time
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I havent read all the posts so it may be mentioned, but all custys are happy for a regular clean
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No steve not all customers are happy with a regular clean if they were i would not be picking up so many customers as i am now, even some of your regular customers are now changing from 4 to 8 weekly cleans!
Whos fault is this the simple answer is us,
when we set about selling the wfp some told the customers that the benefits where frames cleaned and windows stay cleaner longer which is true,
Customers are now seeing this for themselves and are acting on it,
8/12 weekly could be come more common than 4 weekly a lot of places including my own used to be 2 weekly that is now long gone, then it all became 4 weekly for how long? we know just how good wfp can be ,how long will it take for your customers to notice this,
some will still want it 4 weekly but not all!
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Sounds interesting,i would like to see how it does take off as i believe as well that customers would like a service that was either more longer than normal or just to call you up and book you in.
The trouble with starting a website would be that you would get customers maybe from miles away,and you wont want to bother with those unless you have someone who can cover the area.I suppose you could then sub the work out or something similar.... :)
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actualcleaning
I am hoping to pass the work on to people that i know and to members on this site,(if they want it that is)
I have already had people ask if there was a dial-a-clean around their area or someone who is willing to do 8/12 weekly
I have been busy spreading the dial-a-clean around and i kid you not today i have had a request from a customer 200 miles away now this sort of work i will pass on to members on this site,
so for anybody who wishes to get invloved add your contact details here
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Was that on the money saving website,
Good luck but ill stick to regulars so for that reason Im out.
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Yes r w c and i am getting quite a few emails
Good luck but ill stick to regulars so for that reason Im out. ;D
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Yes r w c and i am getting quite a few emailsGood luck but ill stick to regulars so for that reason Im out. ;D
Whats you website address? :)
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actualcleaning
the website is not up and running as yet will be in about a month or so lots to do have to get it right!
Have had quite a few emails regarding this sevice from a posting that i did on an other site
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The trouble with starting a website would be that you would get customers maybe from miles away,and you wont want to bother with those unless you have someone who can cover the area.I suppose you could then sub the work out or something similar.
Actualcleaning when the website is up and running it will be set up within my working area to start with people will be able to see the areas that we will be working in and when,
They then can book and pay online thus will do away with having to collect there will be a price list for different cleans ie:4/8/12 weekly and prices will reflect the area that they are in,
The reason that we are setting up the book&pay method is it will do away with customers just wanting a quote if they really want them done they will book and pay online, as they will know what the price is and if they book then they are happy with the price,
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How will you promote your website?
Do you think that potential new customers will be aware of your services or will it be just an information site for existing customers?
I kind of like the idea....not sure how it will work......mind you i would change the picture on the website to something more window cleaning related,although it does say under construction.
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actualcleaning that is not my website that is someone elses
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actualcleaning
There is a lot of things we are working on at the moment,
ie: free monthly bottle of wine,
Then at christmas we are thinking of a food and wine hamper as a prize and other small prizes
Then looking ahead to next easter a prize of a weekend for two in paris,
now through out the year and at christmas i do pretty well with tips this will all go into a pot to finance this and of course this will be tax deductable!
This is just some ideas we have been thinking of we have loads more which we will use in due course.
ps. we have already started with the wine and believe me it comes as a welcome suprise to customers!
which is good for us because they are telling their neighbours.
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Tips tax deductable?
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ftp yes mate it may be tips but it is still part of you income which is taxable,
Any income you have is taxable!
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actualcleaning that is not my website that is someone elses
Oh right...i thought you would have had that one or .com...??
Not sure about the freebies,i find it hard enough as it is without giving stuff away...but maybe you are seeing a bigger picture....
Good luck
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actualcleaning its not exactly freebies it business expenditure the same way if you worked for a company and they paid for an office christmas bash its tax deductable
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Well done James, I always thought there was an untapped market for Dial a clean. You are proving it.
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thanks dai,
It is really hard work but enjoying it still lots to do but getting there,
I really feel that anybody out there if they can get together a good squad of window cleaners could have a very good business, as you know dai there is a massive customer base out there waiting to be had.
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thanks dai,
It is really hard work but enjoying it still lots to do but getting there,
I really feel that anybody out there if they can get together a good squad of window cleaners could have a very good business, as you know dai there is a massive customer base out there waiting to be had.
Personally I think this is a crazy idea but thats just my opinion, the thing with doing Dial-A-Clean is youll have to advertise all the time like carpet cleaning, gardening etc, unlike those of us that pick up a customer which is then repeat business month after month...
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thanks dai,
It is really hard work but enjoying it still lots to do but getting there,
I really feel that anybody out there if they can get together a good squad of window cleaners could have a very good business, as you know dai there is a massive customer base out there waiting to be had.
Personally I think this is a crazy idea but thats just my opinion, the thing with doing Dial-A-Clean is youll have to advertise all the time like carpet cleaning, gardening etc, unlike those of us that pick up a customer which is then repeat business month after month...
But what James is doing is converting those one off cleans into regular 12 weekly cleans at twice the price
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thanks dai,
It is really hard work but enjoying it still lots to do but getting there,
I really feel that anybody out there if they can get together a good squad of window cleaners could have a very good business, as you know dai there is a massive customer base out there waiting to be had.
Personally I think this is a crazy idea but thats just my opinion, the thing with doing Dial-A-Clean is youll have to advertise all the time like carpet cleaning, gardening etc, unlike those of us that pick up a customer which is then repeat business month after month...
But what James is doing is converting those one off cleans into regular 12 weekly cleans at twice the price
How many one off cleans do you get asked to do without advertising....
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How many one off cleans do you get asked to do without advertising....
Now lots people are now getting to know what i am offering and are contacting me,
How it is working is when i get a few in a street word spreads and more and more customers are taking to the idea!
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I read somewhere that window cleaning in the USA is done like this with customers paying a premium rate to have their windows cleaned when they wish . Might be completely wrong about that mind .
Personally i would rather have regular customers as it is easier to manage and a known regular income is achieved .
Mind you if it was possible to charge a call out fee like other trades then why not.
G
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gordon i am turning them into regular customers just better paying ones!
Example: i normally work in an area where i will do 3/4 houses an hour doing it my old way i would have earned £20
Doing it the dial-a-clean way i earned £36 for the same type of houses in roughly the same amount of time
I would normally work 8 hours a day less tea breaks etc this would earn me £140 a day
When i did some of the dial-a-clean customers i worked 8 hours less tea breaks etc this earned me £252
yes it was a harder day but with rewards!
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you have answered your own question then james ;)
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I read somewhere that window cleaning in the USA is done like this with customers paying a premium rate to have their windows cleaned when they wish . Might be completely wrong about that mind .
Personally i would rather have regular customers as it is easier to manage and a known regular income is achieved .
Mind you if it was possible to charge a call out fee like other trades then why not.
G
No your completely rite about that as I have looked into it as after I am finished university I'm strongly thinking of moving to the US and starting up a window cleaning business, though the premiums some of the companies charge are outrageous (in a good way) my aunt was charged $450 for her windows in Florida, and has about the same area (m2) of windows as a 4 bed detached over here. Granted that is not a regular monthly payment and they obviously have to canvass more, but normally they will get them done every year or 6 months. You wouldn't need the same customer base as we have over here! I'm also aware that this particular window cleaner is over the top dear, but I've looked into it in depth and the average for a clean in the US about $200.
James i've been watching this thread closely since you started it and I've been very curious to what would happen with your idea, I thought it was definately worth a shot, as you had nothing to loose, if it didn't work you could have went back to the old style system of obtaining custies. Having read your posts I have to congratulate you on how you appear to be making this work, though I think it takes alot more effort to implement than a standard window cleaning round, it very well may pay off! I hope it does! I live in the north of Ireland and I'm starting to think that it may be a very good marketing tool, to use here!(at the risk of stealing your idea). Theres alot of people out there who just want there windows cleaned on their terms and not be tied into a regular monthly or bi monthly cycle and these potential customers should have their windows cleaned too at an increased price ofcourse! Think about the amount of people who don't have a window cleaner and why they don't? I'd say about half the customers I canvass tell me they don't have a window cleaner and they don't want one, that's mainly due to the fact that for years, well where I'm from if you had a window cleaner then he came every 2 weeks or monthly, people are now in the mind set that this still happens and in order to get your windows cleaned you need to comply with this(at 22 I know your thinking I haven't been around long to know this but I'm reliably informed by older members of my family) . For these reasons I believe this is a very good idea and it may be something I will use when canvassing from now on, however I do think that regular customers will always be our bread and butter but see no reason why we can't have both regualr customers and one of cleans (DIAL-A-CLEAN)!!
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I think this is going to take off big time over here in the uk.
More and more people nowadays have less disposible incomeand are much more awaqre of that fact.Ok there will allways be a space for the traditional monthly cleaner,but i have noticed over time that a lot of my new customers often reflect that when i clean their windows on a regular basis they really are not needed...but they have been signed up as a regular customer and stick to it,but i do believe that if given the option they would go over to a 12 weekly schedule and pay a higher price.I obviously wont be doing this with my regular rounds,but what a marketing tool to use for new rounds.
I will be implementing this for a couple of months to test the water in my area.If i have an understanding of my areas that i clean then i can see me gaining a lot of new customers and indeed can imagine taking a few off of other cleaners,so it may be controversial but it is a business concept that needs trying out.
James44 and all others willing to try it out...good luck. :)
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Totally agree noelg22
Yes it is harder to build than an normal window cleaning round but with the rewards at the end of it make it worth while,
and i wish you the best of luck on your round building
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I offer the same service , i have a full regular round now, if someone wants a one off i do it and charge x2 but while you can charge more, your over heads are more Too, with more fuel, time and water used and of course the advertising. so unless you charge alot more then can't see you would take much more than having regular customers
It is a good idea but i would want a regular list also just to keep the money coming in no matter what
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I obviously wont be doing this with my regular rounds,but what a marketing tool to use for new rounds.
Actualcleaning at some point you will have to offer this option to your regulars because it wont be long before they hear about what you are offering your new customers
when i first started my own round this was something that i did from the start offered them 4/8/12 weekly
At the moment we are taking on more 8 weekly than 12 but we will build it up so as we have a full round for the 8 weeklys and will push hard to build up a full round for the 12 weekly already have a full round for the 4 weekly
learning your area is a must because customers will call you at home for a price in their street and you will have to know the street very well and all houses in it,
keep us informed to how you are getting on and best of luck keep with it; it may seem slow to start but do your best to let customers know what you are offering tell as many people as you can so as word gets around quicker.
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Well update for those who have interest in what I am trying to do with my new business concept,
Called a few of my local cleaners to arrange a meeting to discuss what i am planning to do in our area and the reasons for it, i have thought of a few reasons as well which could benefit us all,
well glad to say it went very well and the other cleaners have a better understanding of the whole concept.
Thought it would be better to call a meeting as a couple of them where not happy to what i was doing only because they did not understand the reasons behind the concept,Thought this was the best option as if I had just gone and did it without thinking it through I would have upset a few cleaners as this was stated from earlier posts
First and foremost was that it has a potential to help clean up our industry!
We all agreed to give it a go
(1) not to dump the customer who only wants it done every other month as this is a 8 weekly customer,
(2) Rather than say no to a customer who only wants her windows done now and then try and get them on a 8/12 weekly clean
(3) Don’t turn away those one off cleans try and get them onto a 12 weekly clean
Buy doing the 3 above methods it will help get rid of the dolelites and the ones who knock on doors just to get enough for beer money for that night, The more we do the less for them if we do this we hope to see less and less of them about our streets, ok you will still get customers who are only willing to pay a few quid they can have them
But if we keep turning those customers down all we are doing is handing it to them and in that case we will never get rid of them, ok you will still see them around but hopefully not as many and hopefully go and do something else,
We also spoke about canvassing which I gave them helpful tips as 2 of the cleaners don’t have full rounds yet!
What I have found when canvassing is the uptake on customers is far greater by offering the customer the 4/8/12 weekly cleans than if I were just offering them the normal 4 weekly and only offered them the dial-a-clean if they did not want the other options this is working out better,
I have changed my trading name to
(OPTIONS)
Window cleaning
& associated services
With the dial-a-clean option implemented into it
If there is still people who see negatives in this concept please post as I would like to try and turn them into positives!
The negatives posts have been helpfull in a way for me to think things through
Thanks for your feedback.
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Hi James,
I agree in principle with the dial a clean as I also offer this if they will not commit to a more regular cycle.
One thing that I picked up on from your last post regarding the doleites, you will not stop them, and by pushing the dailaclean to hard you are at risk of the doleies doing the regular work for peanuts while your cash flow suffers while the less committed 3 and 4 month customers decide if their windows need doing.
Lee
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Hi , its great that you are trying something new in the options department for customers!! great! I have been self employed for quite a while now and have tryed my hand at all sorts from shops to car transporting! What I have learned (the hard way) is the value of regular repeat guaranteed custom!! I have trad window cleaned in the past and wish I had stuck with the windows years ago. The reason!!! Regular repeat custom!! No going out everyday looking for new custom! no leafleting every week!! No waiting for the phone to ring!!
I have been wfp for 6 weeks now. From scratch I have built up 108 monthly customers, no 6,8,12,16 weekers just 4 weekers. I know where i am and how many more I need to give me a regular guaranteed income!!
Each to there own tho!!
150 2 week cleans = all i would of needed
300 4 week cleans = is what i am going to get
400,500,600 8week cleans is what i personally dont want!
good luck in banashing the doleys!! What will happen when they call on your 8 weekers and clean them for 25% of the price. You might find they turn into 16 weekers or 32 weekers.
Like i say I am not knocking you. Good luck!
Regards
Dave
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Leeo9
the doleies do that now with your 4 weekly it makes no difference if it is 4/8/12 weekly they will still try and undercut you no it wont stop them but it will give them less to target if we take these customers instead!
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kentclean it does not make any difference about the number of customers 300 8weekly is the same as 300 4weekly just better payed ones!
The customer numbers are the same its just cleaning cycle that is different
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regular monthly contact with your customers is surely better for your customer retention??
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regular monthly contact with your customers is surely better for your customer retention??
not always as you get the odd one who will comment,you back already! thats when you start to think do they want a 4weekly clean every window cleaner i know tells you the same thing and just to add i get on very well with all my customers 4/8/12 weekly i am local so are always seeing them around and always stop for a chat, some i even pop by there house for coffee its this rapport that has stood me in good stead with my customers!
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like i said each to there own!!
I have had a few of my new customers drop down to every 3 weeks and even 1 who wants every 2 , they have given excellent feed back after the first clean and want there windows to look that perfect all the time. horses for courses i suppose!
happy cleaning James ;)
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Good on you James.
It seems you've got it all figured out.
Best of luck.
Lee
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It seems you've got it all figured out
hopefully lee09
In an earlier post someone asked how i will promote my website!
Well been incontact with someone i know at my local rag and have are setting up a free promotional picture advert,
which will have a pic of me and 4 customers a 4/8/12 weekly and a dial-a-clean customer who will all give their views on my new options service,
there will be a link to my website for the dial-a-clean customers to book and pay online,
now it is not a new business just a new concept
The motto will be Options because everybody is different!
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James James, Are you in business or what? Why would you need to get the other cleaners on board. Get in first, if the other cleaners want to compete they will have to change, but leave that to them.
Would ASDA consult TESCO in a smart marketing move that was going to give them an advantage?
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dai,
They know what i intend to do i did not tell them about the promotional advert,
I have a head start on them already i set up the meeting so as they cant say i didn`t tell them of my intentions how they promote it is up to them i already knew what i was going to do!
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dai,
They know what i intend to do i did not tell them about the promotional advert,
I have a head start on them already i set up the meeting so as they cant say i didn`t tell them of my intentions how they promote it is up to them i already knew what i was going to do!
After reading your other thread and assuming you and the other guys are JW's,
I can understand why you don't want to rock the boat.
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me a jw ;D noooooooooooooooooooooo
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no god squad ere
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From your posting on another post dazmond
i do think that 2 monthly cleans will become the regular frequency due to wfp leaving the windows cleaner for longer!! Roll Eyes
so are you now seeing what i see ;D
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its still an agreed frequency james though isnt it and not "one offs" ;D ;D
most of mine(about 90%) are every 4/5 weeks and my custys are fine with that.a few stand alone 6 weeklies and the rest 8 weekly.
i have done the odd "one offs" if asked but charge double at the least from my normal regular price.
regards
dazmond
some windys round here still try and clean fortnightly for pennies as they havent much work so most new custys are fine with 4/5 weekly!and so am i!! ;D ;D ;)
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Quote
i do think that 2 monthly cleans will become the regular frequency due to wfp leaving the windows cleaner for longer!! Roll Eyes
Admit it dazmond you are seeing what i see you have already quoted the above 8 weekly will become the norm ;D
i am not just doing one off`s its 4/8/12 weekly cleans one off!s are an add on the one off!s were the target to convert them into 4/8/12 weeklys
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Actualcleaning i thought i would post here rather than go of topic on the other post
how you getting on with the dial-a-clean service mate?
it`s been going well have had a few weeks of lately health issues ok now!
We are changing our whole image it`s going to look fantastic!
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Goog for you mate...i like the idea and hope you are succesful with it....
;)
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WE DON`T DO WINDOWS WE DO FRAMES AS WELL
(remember the carlsberg ads)
this is our new motto which we think is quite fitting for wfp
what do you lads think!
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WE DON`T DO WINDOWS WE DO FRAMES AS WELL
(remember the carlsberg ads)
this is our new motto which we think is quite fitting for wfp
what do you lads think!
Does not sound right, maybe use we don't just do windows we dont frames as well
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YOUR WINDOWS HAVE BEEN FRAME CLEANED but ive missed the birdcrap on the window as my brush wont take it off and im scared of ladders!
PROBABLY THE BEST FRAME CLEANER IN ALL THE WORLD AND I ALWAYS DO INSIDES EVEN IF YOU SMOKE 40 fAgS A DAY!NO PROBS!JUST GIVE ME YOUR HOUSE KEYS AND ILL LET MYSELF IN.
GIVE US A RING IN 2 YEARS TIME WHEN YOU WANT THEM DONE AGAIN!
CHEERS
JAMES ;D ;D ;D ;D
only jokin....! ;) ;D ;D ;D
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did this work out then ?
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Well Dazmond seems to have changed his views!!!!!