[Jackal]

was doing a fascia clean today when a bloke came home from work and wife asked him get a price off me to do there fascias and conny roof,got talking and said there windy been missing them out now and then recently as his brother is ill and cant hold the ladder for him on awkward windows they have,anyway i no the brothers(windys) as they clean local to me and there prices are pathetic 3 bed semi with conny he said £4 never put prices up in 15-20 years,they will be ready retire in few years and i could pick a fair few custys up they could never sell this round as it is, heard they have houses at £2.50 aswell 

[CLEANCARE WC]

I DO A LOAD OF SHELL GARAGES AND DROPPED ONE COS ITS TOO FAR OFF THE BEATEN TRACK I WAS CHARGING £15 AND THEY HAVE AN OLD BOY DOING IT NOW.....£4! 

AND THE BLOKE WHO OWNS THEM ALL TOLD ME HE IS THERE BEST PART OF AN HOUR !, HE IS THE CUSTY BUT DOESNT UNDERSTAND THE SILLY PRICE.

[Jackal]

i mean i arnt expensive but you'd think they no by now how underpriced it is,christ they aint had a pay rise in over 15 years,the bloke said to me i arnt going say owt if they want do it for £4 he has has same windy for that long aswell

[VSP Home Care]

We went out to give some advice to a potential new customer today regarding his lawn.  He only has a small garden and wanted some turfed over and some stones putting down.  He mentioned the windows and said he'd like them done every month so we added him to the round.

He's looking at roughly £600 for some turf and pebbles and two of us for a couple of days in the garden and I priced the windows at only £15 all round, it's a 4 bed place with lots of large windows.  I didn't fancy my chances at 20-25 so went in low as he's only round the corner.  They are all leaded and old, I asked him if he'd ever had WFP before and he said yes, he then mentioned that the Trad bloke that stopped coming used to do the whole place for £7.50p    I almost laughed

I honestly can't understand some peoples prices, it would take a good hour or more trad at least.

[Mist A Bit]

maybee some of these cleaners arnt paying tax and ni so 7.50 for an hour is way above min wage for them .
does make it harder for us who need to pull in £30 per hour to make it worth it.

[jeremy evans]

Had my canvasser out on thursday night in a new area to us, all he got was got a cleaner mate same guy for 20 years still paying same price £3 a house. This in an area of mostly 3/4 bed detached, moved him half a mile up the road and he came back with 12 new custys in one street. Can only think he's just after a bit of beer money.

[ashbash]

how much tax do u pay. £30 per hour is a big difference from £7.50 u clown

[AuRavelling79]

how much tax do u pay. £30 per hour is a big difference from £7.50 u clown

How rude! 

Window cleaning's a funny old game - you've got to remember that some who have been in it for over 20 years are virtually unemployable and a bit simple so they fall under the radar - prolly at the day care centre when not working.

Others just top up their pension or shift job.

Let me tell you about my long dead Uncle. Came out the forces in 1945 and got a job in an ironmongers - eventually became the manager - retired from there at 65 in 1986 - had his state pension, a private pension from his job - not a lot but kept his car on the road and a bit of cash spare for jollies.

On top of that he did gardening and handyman jobs part time for his old custies from the shop which cash was saved up and he and my Auntie went to Australia to visit his son and grandchildren every other winter from November to February.

Did that until he was about 80.

Nice ...

But he didn't charge big money - he didn't need to.

My old granddad did the same when he stopped being a copper aged 50 - got his pension and cleaned windows at 1/3d per window in the same area I work now but going back 50 years - kept out from under gran's feet and kept him busy when she died.

State Pension plus Police pension plus window cleaning ... no wonder no one undercut him! 

[dazmond]

good post GOLD.at the end of the day everyone is free to charge what they like for window cleaning.what i find is more and more people willing to pay me double or even triple what some of the cheapest window cleaners charge because  i do a good thorough job and im trustworthy.also because i use wfp i can reach ALL their windows,clean frames and clean their conny roofs/fascias once a year if they wish.

simply put most people just want a a quality clean and maybe not too often(a lot are going for 8 weekly these days)and honesty and reliability.its working for me.

i really dont worry about what others are charging.just concentrate on your own business and pricing structure.

[Tom White]

i could pick a fair few custys up they could never sell this round as it is, heard they have houses at £2.50 aswell 

I picked up about 10 customers from an old guy who just did a few and then retired.  He was really cheap, charging £6 for a detached house.  I came along and charged what I consider is the going rate, and even though I've been doing these over a year, they still moan about the price.

 

[Window Washers]

i could pick a fair few custys up they could never sell this round as it is, heard they have houses at £2.50 aswell 

I picked up about 10 customers from an old guy who just did a few and then retired.  He was really cheap, charging £6 for a detached house.  I came along and charged what I consider is the going rate, and even though I've been doing these over a year, they still moan about the price.

 

wait till you give them a price rise, even 50p will be like you have robbed them and there granny

[john hunter]

it the same in hull.     some will clean big houses here for  £5, and the price  should be  £10  . i got offered a round here last week,   £400  per month,  66 house. all  sem,   but i  not buy.  you try to put the price up to  8 9 or 10 pound. you would lose half the round.

[john hunter]

he wanted  3 clean for the round. £1200   for 66 house,  the round is 400 per month. but all big houses to clean .

[boshravie]

how much tax do u pay. £30 per hour is a big difference from £7.50 u clown

How rude! 

Window cleaning's a funny old game - you've got to remember that some who have been in it for over 20 years are virtually unemployable and a bit simple so they fall under the radar - prolly at the day care centre when not working.

Others just top up their pension or shift job.

Let me tell you about my long dead Uncle. Came out the forces in 1945 and got a job in an ironmongers - eventually became the manager - retired from there at 65 in 1986 - had his state pension, a private pension from his job - not a lot but kept his car on the road and a bit of cash spare for jollies.

On top of that he did gardening and handyman jobs part time for his old custies from the shop which cash was saved up and he and my Auntie went to Australia to visit his son and grandchildren every other winter from November to February.

Did that until he was about 80.

Nice ...

But he didn't charge big money - he didn't need to.

My old granddad did the same when he stopped being a copper aged 50 - got his pension and cleaned windows at 1/3d per window in the same area I work now but going back 50 years - kept out from under gran's feet and kept him busy when she died.

State Pension plus Police pension plus window cleaning ... no wonder no one undercut him! 

Great story GOLD 

[idealrob]

he wanted  3 clean for the round. £1200   for 66 house,  the round is 400 per month. but all big houses to clean .

still works out at just over £6 a house, as said on here before, some might say undercuttig, but its the stack em high, sell cheap attitude, and if you can clean a third more houses per day than other window cleaners, it works out at there £9 jobs, so its business at the end of the day, and imo it was not a bad round for the money, on this forum a round has just sold in Sedgefield, and the seller has made a comment, that he cleans 25 town houses in a row, in 2 and a half hours, with lots saying they cant clean 25 in a day

idealrob

[john hunter]

25 aday. i find that hard to belive , if they big houses.    that round i got offered is  compack to.  may be i should take the risk and go for it.  for that price, i hear some ask   4 5 or 6 cleaned a month now for a round .

[idealrob]

John are you WFP, its is a lot quicker, i think the round is good value, are they semi detached, and as you said the round is compact, and only 3 times the monthly value, not going to make any more comments today about 25 houses in one day, as some think its impossible, but the secret is, all natural and gives you fantastic energy

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=513&prodid=539&sid=0

idealrob

[john hunter]

yes there all semi detached. and i have just buy all the pole cleaning system , but new to pole cleaning will be try it out soon.  lol  i could do with some of that suff.