[Gordon Saunders]

i agree Chris when i go out for dinner i dont go to the cheapest place   i look for value and service and customers will do the same . despite what gets posted on here customers are not ( generally) stupid.

[lovewindows]

If your customer is happy with you as a window cleaner why would they change for a couple of quid ? plus most people really dont like turning round to someone and saying " your'e fired "

[dmlservices]

I do not see the problem with undercutting personally. We live in a "free country" operating a "free market" . Anyone can offer a W/C service for any price they like to whom ever they like.
  If i could undercut a competitor and still make my money out of a job then i would.  Like wise i would expect the reverse to be true .  Thats what competition is all about .
  It makes me laugh when people who have built successfully business complain when others try to do the same.

   Cat amongst the pigeons


yes it is a free market, trouble is a lot of new window cleaners who undercut,do not understand the true  cost of running a window cleaning buisiness.


they go in, charge too  low a price, many fail after a few mths because of their pricing structure.

i have been in the trade over 20 yrs, i have never under cut - never will.

my brother in law is also a window cleaner, his buisiness has  been targeted by new cleaners ( a lot of whom are polish, migrant workers )

they offer 1st clean FREE , there after £ 3.00 per clean, and these are large houses,

they probably wont last long though, but the damage will be long standing,

you are obviously new to the game, when you are well established , with a good few years of trading behind you, you will see the larger picture,

i wish you success, but undercutting, does no one any favours


daz


   
  G

[Gordon Saunders]

 Daz.
  Just for the record i have been in the w/c game for 12 yrs now and know the business as well as most so don,t patronize me .  I Have lost jobs to people undercutting me in the past and expect to again in the future .
  Maybe you and your brother should get a better understanding of business and you might not leave yourselves exposed to discount window cleaners .
  G
 

[Gordon Saunders]

 p. s
   Is 681 customers well established?
  G

[collins82002]

I'm new to w/c and thoughts of under cutting have gone through my mind but i could not live with the guilt and i'm not that kind of person and would feel cr*p if someone did it to me.  There are some w/c's in my area. But do you live with the guilt and build a business or struggle with getting custies.  Would other not think twice about doing it to you so do you get in there first or what?? Its a no win situation if you ask me.

[MJH]

Undercutting in the commercial sector is acceptable, its buisness and always has been as most organisations are mainly interested in value!!!
i don't agree with residential undercutting as there are plenty of houses but unless you get a price out of a customer its quite hard to deliberatley undercut anyway!!

[ftp]

Undercutting is one of those windowcleaning myths like having a "patch" i have picked up work through being cheaper than the competition. I didn't try to undercut i canvassed the area and when they said "how much ?" i gave them my price. It was a good price for me and nearly 25% cheaper for them. Do i feel bad? Hardly, the previous cleaner was ripping them off in my opinion.

[Pristine Clean]

Why are so many people annoyed about undercutting?

Its been around for years, centuries! Thats business Fact! It does not matter if its commercial or domestic.

Plus pricing structures are different for every one from one man bands to large corperate companies.

Look in the shops £££ we can save you this, builders, we can save you this much... everywhere there is price cutting... why?

Everyone can offer quality, reliability, professionalism...technology, wfp systems...better tools if they have the money to invest.. And yes Insured... everyone seems to think just because he is cheaper they are not insured. so whats left to make you different from the competition...? Price...thats all that is left.

Get over it! If a company or a one man band can do the job better or exactly the same and he is offering VALUE FOR MONEY by that I mean UNDERCUTTING you, the one who has lost the work.. well maybe you should rethink your market, Margins..and maybe your entire working infrastructure.

Ask yourself why did I lose that client?
Am I not competitive? No as I offer quality! That distinquishes me from the competition!! Well rethink your infrastructure. Maybe that is not the best selling point in the economic climate.

Why am I charging £8.00 for 6 windows? How can that company or one man band charge £6.00...he is crap...wont turn up... not reliable... how do you know that.. All it is.. is just that you are annoyed at being over priced..not competitive.

Maybe you have just spent £6000 on a WFP system and have to charge more to get a return on investment..ROI. Maybe you borrowed from the bank.. high interest rate blah blah blah... You did not research the market or did not expect to be undercut.

And I am sure, many wont sayit, but all of us have probably undercut someone..at somepoint. Especially when we start up. After the business is rolling we then increase the price... thats business

The long and short story is there will alway be a company that can do the job better and cheaper and probably safer and yes Insured for 3 times more as much as some of  3 of you put together.

If your work is excelent, and you deliver what you say.. then undercutting a client wont make them leave you... Clients wont leave you just because of price all the time.

Maybe you rushed the windows once or twice, or hurried for some unknown reason... did not wipe that last sill, left a smear... its not the undercutters fault you lost.

Its yours..

1. for being either too greedy, over priced.. or just not being competitive.
2. Your work is not as good as it once was....
3. Your over heads are to high..
4. You Just bought a flash car, house... blah blah... maybe you should have waited for that luxuary item.

Rethink your infrastructure, if you cant be competitive its your problem ... so resolve it.

I undercut lots of people and I will continue to do so. Why? Because I can still get a great return. It business...and someone out there will undercut me. So to stop it from happening I rethink my infrastructure....

Dave

Dave

[Pristine Clean]

Undercutting is one of those windowcleaning myths like having a "patch" i have picked up work through being cheaper than the competition. I didn't try to undercut i canvassed the area and when they said "how much ?" i gave them my price. It was a good price for me and nearly 25% cheaper for them. Do i feel bad? Hardly, the previous cleaner was ripping them off in my opinion.

Well said!

Dave

[Gordon Saunders]

 Good points dave .
  you said exactly what would have taken me half an hour to type.

   G

[baldeagle]

What is meant by “Undercutting”?

Knowing what a competitor is charging for a particular job, and deliberately offering to carry out the same work at a lower price.

Or

Submitting a price for a job, not having knowledge of your competitors prices, and winning the work, contract, tender, or whatever you care to call it.

Just a thought....

Baldeagle

[brett walker]

The days of 'this is my patch' are long gone

undercutting, well there are a few ways of looking at it, those window cleaners that only want to make a quick buck dont last long i find that customers want a reliable honest good job done and are prepared to pay a fair price.
I have been undercut many times myself and no i dont like it but thats business

if you want to spend a little more you shop at marks & spencers

if you want to save a little you shop at aldi

customers will weigh things up and look for the best deal for them

yes you get undercutters but you also get over charges

at the end of the day its up to the customers

Brett

[paulscotney]

Stan The Man........


What is the claret flag?

[paulscotney]

Thanks for reply.

[brett walker]

The days of 'this is my patch' are long gone

maybe in the land of robin hood but not in lancashire

does everyone stay on their ow patch then?

what happens if someone comes on your patch

theres enough windows for everyone

Brett

[peter holley]

Why are so many people annoyed about undercutting?

Its been around for years, centuries! Thats business Fact! It does not matter if its commercial or domestic.

Plus pricing structures are different for every one from one man bands to large corperate companies.

Look in the shops £££ we can save you this, builders, we can save you this much... everywhere there is price cutting... why?

Everyone can offer quality, reliability, professionalism...technology, wfp systems...better tools if they have the money to invest.. And yes Insured... everyone seems to think just because he is cheaper they are not insured. so whats left to make you different from the competition...? Price...thats all that is left.

Get over it! If a company or a one man band can do the job better or exactly the same and he is offering VALUE FOR MONEY by that I mean UNDERCUTTING you, the one who has lost the work.. well maybe you should rethink your market, Margins..and maybe your entire working infrastructure.

Ask yourself why did I lose that client?
Am I not competitive? No as I offer quality! That distinquishes me from the competition!! Well rethink your infrastructure. Maybe that is not the best selling point in the economic climate.

Why am I charging £8.00 for 6 windows? How can that company or one man band charge £6.00...he is crap...wont turn up... not reliable... how do you know that.. All it is.. is just that you are annoyed at being over priced..not competitive.

Maybe you have just spent £6000 on a WFP system and have to charge more to get a return on investment..ROI. Maybe you borrowed from the bank.. high interest rate blah blah blah... You did not research the market or did not expect to be undercut.

And I am sure, many wont sayit, but all of us have probably undercut someone..at somepoint. Especially when we start up. After the business is rolling we then increase the price... thats business

The long and short story is there will alway be a company that can do the job better and cheaper and probably safer and yes Insured for 3 times more as much as some of  3 of you put together.

If your work is excelent, and you deliver what you say.. then undercutting a client wont make them leave you... Clients wont leave you just because of price all the time.

Maybe you rushed the windows once or twice, or hurried for some unknown reason... did not wipe that last sill, left a smear... its not the undercutters fault you lost.

Its yours..

1. for being either too greedy, over priced.. or just not being competitive.
2. Your work is not as good as it once was....
3. Your over heads are to high..
4. You Just bought a flash car, house... blah blah... maybe you should have waited for that luxuary item.

Rethink your infrastructure, if you cant be competitive its your problem ... so resolve it.

I undercut lots of people and I will continue to do so. Why? Because I can still get a great return. It business...and someone out there will undercut me. So to stop it from happening I rethink my infrastructure....

Dave

Dave

thats exactly right :

[brett walker]

most tend to stay on there own area,glut of cleaners up here,not a lot of windows to go round,nice pun eh,hence the high prices when selling leading to a defending of patches

thanks

brett

[mikecleanz]

i8ve been getting in first at the moment to ensure i keep them as customers i am saying mrs jones because times are hard would it suit you to be cleaned evry5 weeks insted of 4? that way they think i am mr nice guy but at least i get to keep em for when this blummin recesion is over hope this helps...