Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: d.ward on January 26, 2010, 12:58:32 am
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I have canvassed an estate not far from me and done quite well. Have found out tonight that the current wc is charging £6-8 per fortnight and have just bought the round.
Im on the estate charging £10 upwards but am only cleaning every 2 months...... I know why i have picked so many customers so quickly ........ I dont think i should be worried but i dont think that the wcs will be happy when they realise how much money they are going to lose
I have picked up 22 in the last week or so and still people are phoning me up ;D
Is this undercutting like you all say or is it good business on my part?
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People obviously aren't happy with their present service. After all, you're offering exactly the same service for what is in effect a higher price, just less frequently. I say well done mate. You've hit on a good area. Good luck with the round!
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People obviously aren't happy with their present service. After all, you're offering exactly the same service for what is in effect a higher price, just less frequently. I say well done mate. You've hit on a good area. Good luck with the round!
Cheers mate
I havent been canvassing well since i started wc not my strongest point but i seem to be doing well now.
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which estate is it, i use to live in widnes
r u wfp yet?
the 22 custys are they all of the other wc, or are a lot newbies, when i started, i took a few of wc, who in turn have taken a few off me, its the nature of the business
what u got to remember is that you can buy and sell custy but you never own them, if they dont want you as a wc there is nothing you can do about it, i bet the other wc has been told that all the custys are dead loyal and will stick with him for years,
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its the estate on derby road opposite the farmers fields.....
plenty of houses its just getting round.
I think the majority are from the other wcs not many are new.....
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tidy lad keep on taking em
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is that all the semi and detached houses, on lunts heaths road, if it is very nice
i think what happens is a lot of wc start get a load of domestic then go after commercial thinking that is where the money is, the lose the domestic and moan that they have lost them but havent been looking after them
you want to try around reay st and that estate, i dont think there is a wc there, i lived there for a year and didnt see one
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my mother in law lives on appleton road, and they where getting charges £8 just to do the front, give that area a knock as well
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;D Cheers daz
The estate is near the bypass just passed wyvale garden centre. It on derby road where the fields are....
I dont live far from lunts heath rd im in cronton in upton rocks
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upton rocks, u must be minted
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My parents house
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My parents house
lol ;D ;D ;D
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never mind, i am from ditton, just off hale road lol i have gone from looking at the granix and ici, to looking at cows and green fields for miles
i would avoid trying to get work in the town centre as that is tied up really to the same bloke hamletts they do a lot of commercial do you know them?
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Guys,
Can you take this kind of chat to email please, or swap phone numbers.
Future 'chat replies' will be deleted.
Ian
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its the estate on derby road opposite the farmers fields.....
plenty of houses its just getting round.
I think the majority are from the other wcs not many are new.....
thanks for the tip - ill be door knocking it myself lol
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I'm not suprised you are taking work if the other WCs are offering a fortnightly clean. Its too often, the customers don't like it but put up with it because thats all their window cleaner will do.
I have taken on two new customers recently, against my better judgement because I am overloaded now, purely on the grounds that their window cleaner came every 4 weeks and that was too often for them. I have several customer on my books now who I do every 12 weeks. I did one yesterday and the windows were far from bad.
Flexible working is the way forward. George handles it all perfectly and it keep the customer happy plus you can charge more (don't get greedy) so its a win-win situation.
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personally im drawing the line at 6 weekers , cos if you let a few 12 weeklys on board it tends to spreadlike a plague . each to their own
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upton rocks, u must be minted
i was just going to say that as well, not far from me that really, has anyone got the new estates popping up just round by upton rocks? you know all the charles church ones
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which estate is it, i use to live in widnes
r u wfp yet?
the 22 custys are they all of the other wc, or are a lot newbies, when i started, i took a few of wc, who in turn have taken a few off me, its the nature of the business
what u got to remember is that you can buy and sell custy but you never own them, if they dont want you as a wc there is nothing you can do about it, i bet the other wc has been told that all the custys are dead loyal and will stick with him for years,
your going to upset a few window cleaners then .what a silly thing to do
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Attend Geof this is business class.
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The window cleaner where
yi have a business premises does the houses everykweeh on monday or tuesdays, but when he goes on holiday does them twice the same week, mon & tuesday , then Thursday & Friday. honest on two up two down properties
idealrob
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If he's only just purchased the round, he has no customer loyalty and stands to loose a lot like he obviously is. I wouldn't like it if it happened to me but then buying a round is a risk. I wouldn't say that you are undercutting as you are offering a different service ie same service at different intervals and the customers are choosing you. He will probably retain a few though and stay on the estate thus providing you a bit of healthy competition.
Simon.
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Maybe I am doing something wrong here, as when I go door knocking and as soon as they say they have a window cleaner (after I ask them) I walk away without going into any more depth esc the charges.
I think it maybe still a fine line of undercutting although 2 weeks is far too often and agree with you there but also 2 months is too long.
The way I look at it, is would you like it done to you, i.e, someone going round once a quarter to save them money?
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When you are in any form of business you must tailor your service to match what the customers wants.
I have no qualms about taking work off another cleaner on the basis of better service or better quality. I doubt if I could take work off many on the basis of price because I aim to be expensive.
So whats wrong with doing a customer every 12 weeks? Its another £60 a year in my pocket (or whatever) and a happy customer. Trying to stick to some dogmatic routine of your own making is silly.
I load them all into George and at the beginning of each week I press a button. Who ever is due that week gets printed off on the worksheet and thats who gets cleaned. I have no reason to worry about their frequency.
When I go to see a new customer I say to them there is no set time, you tell me how often you want them cleaned and thats how we set you up on the computer. And it works believe me, I must be one of the dearest window cleaners around but my phone never stops ringing with new people who have been given my number. I don't advertise and I don't canvass for work.
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8 houses a week, 52 weeks of the year at a 10 a house =25000 grand a year turnover. 416 custy's in total to be done every 2 months.
Go for it, i'm not even a window cleaner, I'm a joiner who is considering changing career.
Good Luck
Chris
From Gateshead
PS anyone know what price it is for a typical 3 bedroom semi on a council estate is for cleaning windows
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8 houses a week, 52 weeks of the year at a 10 a house =25000 grand a year turnover. 416 custy's in total to be done every 2 months.
Go for it, i'm not even a window cleaner, I'm a joiner who is considering changing career.
Good Luck
Chris
From Gateshead
PS anyone know what price it is for a typical 3 bedroom semi on a council estate is for cleaning windows
Please don't go into teaching maths ;D
lee
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The only thing that would have annoyed me if I were the other window cleaner is that the customers didn't bother asking me to change their schedule. The thing that would worry me if I were the new cleaner is how quickly they're changing; obviously no loyalty at all.
Almost all of our customers are 4 weekly which seems to suit them as well as us. 8 weekly would mean needing twice as many customers :-\
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8 houses a week, 52 weeks of the year at a 10 a house =25000 grand a year turnover. 416 custy's in total to be done every 2 months.
Go for it, i'm not even a window cleaner, I'm a joiner who is considering changing career.
Good Luck
Chris
From Gateshead
PS anyone know what price it is for a typical 3 bedroom semi on a council estate is for cleaning windows
will someone PLEASE send him a calculator ;D
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8 houses a week, 52 weeks of the year at a 10 a house =25000 grand a year turnover. 416 custy's in total to be done every 2 months.
Go for it, i'm not even a window cleaner, I'm a joiner who is considering changing career.
Good Luck
Chris
From Gateshead
PS anyone know what price it is for a typical 3 bedroom semi on a council estate is for cleaning windows
will someone PLEASE send him a calculator ;D
8 houses a week for £25k a year....... sounds good ::) (sorry Chris!)
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Quite a few of my custies have been canvassed, but I do a good job so they stick with me, and I'm not cheap.
Don't aim to be the cheapest, any fool can do that
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my custys always tell me if anyone undercuts me , or sticks a leaflet thru their door and what other services they offer . iv never lost a customer thru anyone advertising or knocking their doors, i think if u get business from someone elses patch , they are not up to the job.
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Attend Geof this is business class.
[/quoteits better to take work of of other window cleaners and charge more for cleaning the windows instead of doing it cheaper
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I think daztheger makes a good point - if you do a good job and the custies are pleased with it they will be reluctant to switch just based on price. My perception is that most custies want to keep hold of a good, reliable windy end of.