[SteveAllan]

I was asked to price up a retirement home today.

Called to view the property, nice big old house with a few annexes. Quite a few old wooden sash windows that were a bit rotten but should'nt cause any problem. Good access all round.

Altogether around 78 windows. So off I trot to see the manager for some details. She wants it done every 2 months and has already had 2 quotes of.....wait for it....£40 & £50!!! 

Now I'm not cheap but not expensive and I nearly collapsed when I heard this, I was thinking £120!!!

Got to speaking to the handyman outside and he said the lads who were cleaning before were charging £23! He also mentioned an email from the homes owner who wanted the windows cleaned for £15!!! WTF!!!!

Needless to say I will be putting a quote in but fully expect NOT to get it! 

How can you make any money from a clean like this? 

  Why do ppl want to work for these crazy prices, have they no self respect?

Good job they didnt asking me to give them a price as my price for them would of been near the £250.00 mark or about £3.21 per window. As I have done a one off clean in Madeley for similar amount of windows.  

£3.21 per window wtf, not even Dick turpin was that harsh

[dazmond]

EWC ive been window cleaning 17 years.16 years of them trad!!

to me personally £20 an hour for bigger jobs is not very good.most of my cheap ultra compact estate work im on £25 an hour.bigger domestic £30 plus.

i personally think bigger jobs should be £30+an hour.

im up north as well(manchester)


dazmond

[dazmond]

christopher b listen mate some of us still earn ok with £5 jobs!

i average £25 an hour on my super compact estate work on prices ranging from£5-£10.

no other window cleaner gets a look in because they would have to charge twice as much to make any money so i keep my work nice and compact.no driving between jobs etc!

oh and by the way i always clean frames,sill,doors including the £5 jobs!!

im 80% WFP/20% TRAD


DAZMOND

[PAIN IN THE GLASS]

If the custy is happy with the price and you are whats the problem. Some people can live on £350 a week and some need more.Different lifestyles ah

[richard jagger]

Is Northumberland in the U K ?.I believe so .Do they sell petrol there?Yes. Is its cheaper there.No. Is beer cheaper there? no. Then why is there a rule window cleaning must be cheaper. DAAAAAAAAAAAA ITS IN YOUR LOCAL MIND START CHARGING MORE  AND THINGS WILL CHANGE FOR YOU ALL .GROW SOME.

[Mike_G]

If £25 an hour, which for a forty hour week equates to £52000 a year is not enough then to be charging customers then I staggered. Sure there are expences, but overheads in this game are not an awful lot and 52k a year is way above average wage. But what about holidays I hear you say, ok two weeks off and earn 50k instead of 52 or God forbid work a couple of Saturdays every now and then

[windolene]

If £25 an hour, which for a forty hour week equates to £52000 a year is not enough then to be charging customers then I staggered. Sure there are expences, but overheads in this game are not an awful lot and 52k a year is way above average wage. But what about holidays I hear you say, ok two weeks off and earn 50k instead of 52 or God forbid work a couple of Saturdays every now and then

Hi

Mortgage costs?

Kevin WINDOLENE

[VSP Home Care]

If £25 an hour, which for a forty hour week equates to £52000 a year is not enough then to be charging customers then I staggered. Sure there are expences, but overheads in this game are not an awful lot and 52k a year is way above average wage. But what about holidays I hear you say, ok two weeks off and earn 50k instead of 52 or God forbid work a couple of Saturdays every now and then

Hi

Mortgage costs?

Kevin WINDOLENE

Glad I don't have your mortgage Kev 

[dazmond]

mike G it works out nothing like 52 grand a year!!

lost days due to weather,sickness,low motivation,van repairs,late starts,early finishes,holidays etc,etc.


tax and insurances,accountant fees and all the other overheads,fuel equipment,resin etc.


most days you ll only manage 7 hours tops in an 8 hour day actually cleaning.less in winter,more like 5 or 6 hours a day.

so you see it doesnt quite work out that way spread out over 52 weeks a year.

your seriously deluded my friend if you think most of us earn that!more like half that!!

[Mike_G]

Mortgage costs? Whats that got to do with it?

[Mike_G]

mike G it works out nothing like 52 grand a year!!

lost days due to weather,sickness,low motivation,van repairs,late starts,early finishes,holidays etc,etc.


tax and insurances,accountant fees and all the other overheads,fuel equipment,resin etc.


most days you ll only manage 7 hours tops in an 8 hour day actually cleaning.less in winter,more like 5 or 6 hours a day.

so you see it doesnt quite work out that way spread out over 52 weeks a year.

your seriously deluded my friend if you think most of us earn that!more like half that!!

it still works out the same, 8 hours a day mon - fri is 40 hours a week at 25 per hour your GROSS income will be 52k a year. I didnt say you would take home 52 k a year. But I know one thing for sure I do as many hours in the winter as I do in the summer, 5 hour days would be a luxury, I think I'll put my prices up, drop some who moan and do less for the same money.

[dazmond]

im sorry mike your talking rubbish!.most window cleaners only actually work "on the glass" so to speak 25-30 hours a week.the rest of the time is spent driving/filling up/admin.coffee break,dinners.or simply chatting to customers.the odd day for bad weather so the figures just dont add up mate!!

i should know ive had a window cleaning business for 17 years!!

im being realistic YOUR NOT!!!


DAZMOND

[wpclean]

Dazmond, just wondered how long you have been a window cleaner ? 

[dazmond]

HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY DO AS MANY HOURS IN THE WINTER AS YOU DO IN THE SUMMER?IT GETS DARK AT 4PM.SOMETIMES 330PM!!!NEAR THE SHORTEST DAYS!!


AND WHAT ABOUT THE SNOW AND ICE?


your being unrealistic mike.


dazmond

[Mike_G]

You do actually get  8 hours daylight in the winter. I do a lot of shop work which has to be done before 10am so quite often I am working at 5 and yes i can see what i'm doing because they all have lights on.

[Sean Dyer]

you can always do 7- 8 hours though daz if you really wanna

In winter you still get 8-4 at the worst of times, its the cold that stops play

[Mike_G]

Its not a case of being unrealistic its a matter of fact if you work 40 hours at 25 per hour it works out at £1000

The only thing unrealistic would be to think you could actually do 40 hours worth of work in 40 hours just because of tea breaks, yapping etc 

[NBwcs]

When i started 7 yrs ago, commercial was "the holy grail", good money if you could get in but things seem to have changed. The prices i hear being quoted for commercial and shop work locally are often ridiculous. Dont think people analyse their business enough. I make  better dosh on residential than a lot of the commercial boys can possibly do, if they bothered to do a simple time and motion study on their round, it would open their mind up a bit. Commercial also attracts alot more competition than residential.

[christopher b]

christopher b listen mate some of us still earn ok with £5 jobs!

i average £25 an hour on my super compact estate work on prices ranging from£5-£10.

no other window cleaner gets a look in because they would have to charge twice as much to make any money so i keep my work nice and compact.no driving between jobs etc!

oh and by the way i always clean frames,sill,doors including the £5 jobs!!

im 80% WFP/20% TRAD



DAZMOND

Dazmond, hey man seams like I rocked your cart a bit, well sorry realy didnt mean to. I have pleanty of £5.00 hits and i should have said some of the semis around hear are well rather big, you could forget touching second floor with a 25 footer!

[gordonswindows]

Professional

One f two s

If your going to preach try  and be accurate