[mlscontractcleaner]

Just a little reminder to all those " My minimum price is £XXXX and I wont get out of the van for less "; we have just been called by a chippie saying that their current window cleaners are charging them £50 per week for two cleans per week and would be interested in giving them a price.

The shop is small; no more than 15 minutes per clean, and the owners of the shop are new. God knows why the old owners were happy to pay £25 per clean for 15 minutes work.

So now the old window cleaners have lost a £50 per month job and we've also been able to secure a monthly "deep clean" in the shop too.

It's nice to earn as much as you can but as this tale shows, you can be too expensive

[richardlingard]

indeed you can, lets hope they dont expect you to clean all that lush chip grease of the insides :-)

[LBWCS]

It works for some

[supernova77]

Just a little reminder to all those " My minimum price is £XXXX and I wont get out of the van for less "; we have just been called by a chippie saying that their current window cleaners are charging them £50 per week for two cleans per week and would be interested in giving them a price.

The shop is small; no more than 15 minutes per clean, and the owners of the shop are new. God knows why the old owners were happy to pay £25 per clean for 15 minutes work.

So now the old window cleaners have lost a £50 per month job and we've also been able to secure a monthly "deep clean" in the shop too.

It's nice to earn as much as you can but as this tale shows, you can be too expensive

How much are you going to charge them per month?

Maybe you should have looked at it the other way round and reviewed your prices?

Andy

[bobplum]

is there such a thing as over pricing?
i say that because there is no national price structure,so it is up to the individual

[mlscontractcleaner]

Just a little reminder to all those " My minimum price is £XXXX and I wont get out of the van for less "; we have just been called by a chippie saying that their current window cleaners are charging them £50 per week for two cleans per week and would be interested in giving them a price.

The shop is small; no more than 15 minutes per clean, and the owners of the shop are new. God knows why the old owners were happy to pay £25 per clean for 15 minutes work.

So now the old window cleaners have lost a £50 per month job and we've also been able to secure a monthly "deep clean" in the shop too.

It's nice to earn as much as you can but as this tale shows, you can be too expensive

How much are you going to charge them per month?

Maybe you should have looked at it the other way round and reviewed your prices?

Andy

I do a lot of chippies and there is no problem with grease on the windows. It doesn't matter how you look at it £25 for 15 minutes work is expensive. My prices must be okay as we've been living nicely for the past twenty odd years, a couple of holidays abroad each year, etc and I don't have a problem being undercut. My prices are fine mate; and they're £200 a month down :

[Ian101]

is there such a thing as over pricing?
i say that because there is no national price structure,so it is up to the individual

yes there is its in my Ionics training manual 

[bobplum]

is there such a thing as over pricing?
i say that because there is no national price structure,so it is up to the individual

yes there is its in my Ionics training manual 

YOU HAVE A TRAINING MANUAL

[clarkson]

is there such a thing as over pricing?
i say that because there is no national price structure,so it is up to the individual

hi
i always thought this if i want to charge a grand per clean for a terrace house thats upto me surely.

wont have many customers though. there is the natural market forces at work but surely we want to be aiming for the top end of the range to make more money and keep the perceived value of the service high.

i do agree with the sentiment of looking after the elderly,disabled where possible.

john

[H2GoKent]

I agree with the above poster, while some prices are excessive, we (that is all windies) need to charge as much as poss or the price will just get pushed lower by the customers.

Have some faith in yourself and value your time, otherwise it's a race to the bottom.

Any mug can be the cheapest, it doesn't make someone a good businessman to be the cheapest, the good businessman is the one who knows the value of his work and sells that to his customer.

Rant over £25 a week is too much for a chippie  

[mlscontractcleaner]

A good businessman doesn't loose customers through being to expensive either; £100 per hour??

My sister's on the game and she doesn't earn that .............................. mind you she's an ugly bitch

[William McCafferty]

I went into a Rolls Royce dealership once, they wouldnt sell me a roller for the same price as a ford cortina

Can't understand it really, they are both cars

[mlscontractcleaner]

Obviously I've been doing things wrong all these years.

Back off to the Caribbean this year; the wife's favourite Christmas location, but I guess things could be better.

Plenty of new work coming in, all at a decent price, from houses, shops and a big housing association, but if only I knew what you lads know.

Our standards are high, trust me; you don't keep customers for the time we have by being rubbish. We have loyal customers from window cleaning, carpet cleaning and day to day contract cleaning. We'll keep doing things the way we always have if that's okay; a good, reliable service at a reasonable price; not a low price and not a ridiculously high price; the last lot did that and they are now a couple hundred quid down each month

[Erithwc]

is there such a thing as over pricing?
i say that because there is no national price structure,so it is up to the individual

yes there is its in my Ionics training manual 

YOU HAVE A TRAINING MANUAL

Yeah he we for the money to waste package 

[Londoner]

New customer about four years ago, I quoted £14 and she said "are you sure?" Here we go I thought, my last window cleaner only charged £6 heard it all before.

But no, her previous window cleaner charged £25 and get this - stopped coming! She's been a good customer these past four years and its still an easy job for £14. Ah life is so cruel, why didn't I ask what her previous windy charged dammit.  

Its true there is no so called right price

[Lakes and Pennine]

You couldn't be more right. I have talked to a lot of business men, and chippy owners, who are well down this year. I think if you are getting a pound per min you are on to a winner. Personally I do a lot of of shop fronts in a little town up north. many for 3.50-5pound. I know they are all struggling so its mutual help and I can still earn 30 an hour.  This is a serious recession and sooner or later it will hit your area. people do not die for want of clean windows and we are a luxury item.  I don't think there is a passage in the ironics bible on that

[mlscontractcleaner]

Sensible window cleaners at last; how refreshing

[H2GoKent]

Obviously I've been doing things wrong all these years.

Back off to the Caribbean this year; the wife's favourite Christmas location, but I guess things could be better.

Plenty of new work coming in, all at a decent price, from houses, shops and a big housing association, but if only I knew what you lads know.

Our standards are high, trust me; you don't keep customers for the time we have by being rubbish. We have loyal customers from window cleaning, carpet cleaning and day to day contract cleaning. We'll keep doing things the way we always have if that's okay; a good, reliable service at a reasonable price; not a low price and not a ridiculously high price; the last lot did that and they are now a couple hundred quid down each month

I find your reaction quite funny.
No one on here disagreed with you from what I saw but you had to do the 'big I am'
Next you'll be saying 'I can't help but notice that I am considerably richer than yow' Which of course you may or may not be, but I'm not sure anyone on here gives a stuff.

[H2GoKent]

A good businessman doesn't loose customers through being to expensive either; £100 per hour??

My sister's on the game and she doesn't earn that .............................. mind you she's an ugly bitch

I think it's a better business to lose work from being too pricey than to gain loads and loads of work by being too cheap. Of course neither is the best way. As I said know the value of what you do. £25 for a chippie is pushing it 

[Londoner]

There have been a few round here that have started out trying to charge what I would say was too much. I think both the ones I have in mind were franchises.

Although I never spoke to them I am sure that somebody had been filling their heads with all this "people are prepared to pay for a superior service" type of marketing babble (which is what it is). Anyway neither lasted long. Neither did the franchises probably

Although there may be a spread within what you can get away with, people are not silly. Underpricing, that easy to understand. Its basically weakness.

I do know a lady (or knew, she's dead now) who was quoted £80 for a council house. I think that was more of a doorstep con man than a serious quote