[Phil J]

Evening all,
I'm 95%  WFP and get asked to clean trad by a few newly recommended customers. Not wanting to turn work down I have been pricing them the same way I would doing them via pole, then when they take twice as long I'm getting pretty p*****d off. Do you price higher for trad or just bite the bullet and crack on, not wanting to offend the customer.
Thanks, Phil 

[Jonny 87]

Personally I'd ask them why they didn't want WFP?

Even show them how it works and tell them I offer 100% satisfaction guarantee policy and will return if there's anything they are unhappy with.

If there was a legitimate reason why it has to be trad ( i.e leaking windows ) then they would be looking at double the price atleast, but more likely than not I'd pass it on to another window cleaner.

I don't get up ladders unless I really have to these days.

[Stoots]

If they ask for trad tell them no, why do a job that takes twice as long?

[the king]

i would prices it up higher due to the extra time it takes i do injoy a bit of ladder wrk tho keeps u sharp on the ladders  when i first went wfp i was like no more ladders thats it but in realty ladders will allways b needed for the odd job its wether u injoy a bit of ladders or not realy i have bin a wc for 11 years ,wfp 5  of them years maby a bit longer  but still injoy a bit just not to mch lol

[Jon_Phelps]

money is money at the end of the day.  if it takes a little longer then charge accordingly and just explain that they'd need to pay a premium for trad services.  especially if its a recommend customer because in  my experience they will tend to recommend you themselves and you never know what will come of it! 

i have a mixer of trad and wfp work and to be frank i don't care how the customer wants their windows cleaned its about the days turnover for me

[SeanK]

Maybe you also need to improve your traditional technique, I have a couple of mates who have been traditional window cleaners
for over 30 years and there isn't a lot of difference in their speed compared to mine.
Personally I would charge extra because of the risk factor more than to do with the time taken.

[samson]

Don't want to sound a snob, but all the trad cleaners in our area are really cheap !
They don't clean the frames, but they are seasoned cleaners coming up to retirement age, they are the " don't come on my patch generation " 

[Shane sharples]

Don't want to sound a snob, but all the trad cleaners in our area are really cheap !
They don't clean the frames, but they are seasoned cleaners coming up to retirement age, they are the " don't come on my patch generation " 

Same here, trad price = £3 for front of house 

[dave f]

nowt wrong with don't come on my patch generation I get canvassed on a regular bassis were I am it psses me off by all the summer brigade  offering silly prices then desimating  a round, youve built up over a log time then diapering. so feck off this is my patch.

[Clever Forum Name]

I just flat out refuse trad jobs (domestic) there is enough work out there for everyone.

I don't care if you can earn a higher wage for a few hours a month from doing some people who are willing to pay more for "traditional cleaning" ! You won't be earning naff all if you fall off a ladder.

OP base prices on hourly rate.

If you want some advice dump all your trad work and just go WFP i dumped all my domestic trad work. Best thing i ever did IMHO

Oh and before the ladder safety brigade come on i did 10 years trad.

[Smurf]

I don't let potential customers dictate which methods I should use for a start as is up to me what I think the most appropriate method should be used.  Some domestic prospects you will find just don't get how wfp works and/or don't like their windows left wet etc. Still it’s no excuse for me not to use wfp if I think it's the most appropriate method for the job.

I would rather not take on the extra work than be dictated to but that’s just me.
Regarding price wfp v trad that’s down to the individuals how much they want to charge.

Evening all,
I'm 95%  WFP and get asked to clean trad by a few newly recommended customers. Not wanting to turn work down I have been pricing them the same way I would doing them via pole, then when they take twice as long I'm getting pretty p*****d off. Do you price higher for trad or just bite the bullet and crack on, not wanting to offend the customer.
Thanks, Phil 

[robbo333]

Evening all,
I'm 95%  WFP and get asked to clean trad by a few newly recommended customers. Not wanting to turn work down I have been pricing them the same way I would doing them via pole, then when they take twice as long I'm getting pretty p*****d off. Do you price higher for trad or just bite the bullet and crack on, not wanting to offend the customer.
Thanks, Phil 

If a customer was adamant that they wanted trad I would walk away. Usually, I can persuade them otherwise and it works a treat. I have a couple I do trad (one is a bungalow, old dear in her 80s) and I didn't have the heart to try and convert her. (She has turned out to be one of my best custys! Never get a knockback, cuppa tea every time and biccies, always grateful) The other is a chalet bungalow where I do the upstairs wfp and downstairs trad. The windows are set right in the roof so there are no drips. Both of these I have probably underpriced a bit, but I enjoy doing them. At the end of the day it's your business and you run it how you want. There is no right or wrong answer. Stay safe, make as much money as you can and enjoy it as best you can.

[Tom White]

I'm getting pretty p*****d off.

Of course you will.  You're not an employee, mate, you work how YOU decide to work.

Why spend all that money on WFP + van and then use ladders?

Flip's sake!

Why don't you try to 'sell them' WFP - explain all the good points; it's safe, it cleans the frames lovely, there's no holes left in lawns, it's safe, it does a good job, it washes pvc doors down lovely, it's safe, it reaches those impossible to reach from ladders windows, and it's safe.

Did I say it was safe?

Ask them to give it a trail run or something; sell it.  If they refuse to budge, walk away.

[samson]

I know the customers of the old trad guy, and they tell me he does a terrible job, but when I ask why they don't fire him they say
" well we have had him for such a long time
we darn't 

[SeanK]

I know the customers of the old trad guy, and they tell me he does a terrible job, but when I ask why they don't fire him they say
" well we have had him for such a long time
we darn't 

Its one thing I still cant get my head round in this business, why people will put up with anything when its comes to window
cleaning even if the cleaner isn't cheap.
WFP is even more proof of this as the majority of users leave the windows in a far from excellent state but customers
never seem to complain.
Its a strange game this window cleaning.

[dave f]

I recon im one of the cheapest windy s around MY PATCH ,im wfp I make sure I under quote my work simply because their are windys coming out the wood work around here .ive got afew new custys that ive picked up by word of mouth. wfp as never been an issue with me its quite the opposite. so if any windys can or want to under cut me they will be working for penneys.then when winter comes it usualy culls them .ive learned from having been under cut make it as hard as possible with your price structure to be beaten.ive had quite a few people say is that all.my last window cleaner charged a lot more and could not do windows over the connie or steep roofs to dorma window.etc

[Smurf]

You can get good & bad in whatever methods are used but in general my trad & wfp work happens to be spot on.
Let just hope is rains shortly aterwards though 

I know the customers of the old trad guy, and they tell me he does a terrible job, but when I ask why they don't fire him they say
" well we have had him for such a long time
we darn't 

Its one thing I still cant get my head round in this business, why people will put up with anything when its comes to window
cleaning even if the cleaner isn't cheap.
WFP is even more proof of this as the majority of users leave the windows in a far from excellent state but customers
never seem to complain.
Its a strange game this window cleaning.

[Johnny B]

Evening all,
I'm 95%  WFP and get asked to clean trad by a few newly recommended customers. Not wanting to turn work down I have been pricing them the same way I would doing them via pole, then when they take twice as long I'm getting pretty p*****d off. Do you price higher for trad or just bite the bullet and crack on, not wanting to offend the customer.
Thanks, Phil 

Were the customers who recommended you done by WFP or trad? If the former, (which I assume is the case) surely their recommendation is based on you doing a good job using this method, leaving me to ask the obvious question: why do your newly recommended customers want you to do theirs trad?

John (a tradder by the way).

[Smurf]

That's the problem when you start offering to do both I guess as if a trad customer recommends you to one of their friends then can make it harder for yourself to convert them over to wfp.

You could  soon end up in a ridiculous situation where you have say one road that you have to keep swapping over the methods you use just because the customers wants it done a certain way.

It would get even more complicated if you said you will wfp the tops & trad bottoms as you would not know if your on your arse or your elbow as some you could wfp the lot.

It's best if you don't let customers dictate to you if you want to go 100% wfp

[Walter Mitty]

I'm not anti-trad by any means but if you have the equipment in place to avoid working at height, use it.  If they don't like it, maybe add 25% and do ground floor only by trad.  Personally, I wouldn't but we all have different views.