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dai

  • Posts: 3503
Can you believe this?
« on: June 14, 2006, 08:10:39 pm »
I was talking to a customer today who manages a very large nursing home, this is in Old Colwyn, North Wales. I asked her about the window cleaning. She told me they were using a firm called Wish wash, or something sounding like that from Liverpool.
She went on to tell me that two guys start the job at 7.30 am, finish at four, then come back next day and finish about lunch time. This is a WFP job going up to 5 floors. And the price for this job? £220, yes £220, for a job spanning one and a half days, and two round trips of over 100 miles for two guys.
I'm sure on reading this, there are some on here that would like to kick some backsides, in this case I think the kicking should be self administered.
If you read this Mr wish wash window cleaning, I can reliably inform you that if you had gone in at double the price, you would still have been lower than the next bid with £20 to spare. Dai

abacus

  • Posts: 229
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2006, 10:33:16 pm »
 :o :o :o :o
hi  you must be having a laugh

I travel 1.5 hr with my son (still at collage) hand clean for 7hrs old lead windows and dirty old oak frames  one day only, charge over double that price, has been the same for four years I was going to put it up :-\

bet you wish they worked for you think of the profit

regards grant
A service you can count on
SAFEcontractor approved

rosskesava

Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2006, 12:31:06 am »
We gave a quote for a huge pub, the first theme pub in England, built in 1800 and something, and built like something like a pub from the 15th or 16th century. A bit odd, but this is Brighton.

It's has tons of leaded glass and tons of small windows. From the inside it needs  ladders for some, but from the outside, what a nightmare. Every window is arkward. Each leaded glass window is made up of 4" old style paines. Our price was £110 a clean.

The person or business who is doing the job quoted £40 and got the job.

£110 was cheap. It's well more than a days work for one person and all serious labour in terms of arm work. If I was doing it alone, it would be an albatros around my neck and I doubt one person could keep at it for more than 4  hours at a time.

I was happy to not get the job.

Like Dai (and I still use rinse aid - what a great tip that was) how, just how do some make money? It's a mystery to me. £40 quid? Whoever got the work must be new to window cleaning, surely?

Cheers

ps - Grant - The King and Queen, the big one with the fake portculis just up from the Old Steine, Stein, Steine or how ever its spelt.

Trevor Knight

  • Posts: 1825
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2006, 10:45:31 am »
This thread had been reported and in view of things I have deleted all postings relating to religion.

I don't think this is relevant to the thread.

Please refrain form making such comments.

Many thanks,

Trev
Covering Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey, Berkshire

Paul Coleman

Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2006, 02:43:34 pm »
This thread had been reported and in view of things I have deleted all postings relating to religion.

I don't think this is relevant to the thread.

Please refrain form making such comments.

Many thanks,

Trev

Quite agree too Trevor.  Someone's belief system is totally irrelevant when looking at their window cleaning prowess.  I know I contributed to it but was only attempting to prevent it escalating.

ronaldo

  • Posts: 840
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2006, 03:11:21 pm »
This thread had been reported and in view of things I have deleted all postings relating to religion.

I don't think this is relevant to the thread.

Please refrain form making such comments.

Many thanks,
Quit right to Trevor i agree.
Trev

Quite agree too Trevor.  Someone's belief system is totally irrelevant when looking at their window cleaning prowess.  I know I contributed to it but was only attempting to prevent it escalating.
A bad days fishing is better than a good days work !

mick40

  • Posts: 180
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2006, 03:27:42 pm »
i apologise for that trevor,i wasnt very tactful at all. :-[
if i eat myself will i be twice as fat or will i disappear?

abacus

  • Posts: 229
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2006, 06:21:53 pm »
Hi ross nice pub
you forgot to mention the bloke who got the job also gets free drinks as much as he can start the job on mon finish sat and has forty quid to drink with on sunday


Its not a nice job but someone has to do it

regards grant
ps I start mon


pps only kidding
A service you can count on
SAFEcontractor approved

dai

  • Posts: 3503
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #8 on: June 15, 2006, 07:46:41 pm »
It gets even worse. The price wasn't even for a regular clean. It is on a come when needed basis. Dai

JM123

  • Posts: 2095
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2006, 07:49:07 pm »
Are some people mental?  Some peope must think we're a pizza delivery service.
Live life in the fast lane.......if you break down you'll freewheel further

Ballymena N.I

Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2006, 08:03:22 pm »
A friend recently asked me to help him put in a quote for a large golf club and hotel complex.  It had quite a bit of second-floor work, gym, swimming pool and even a mini-estate of 'houses' where the rich people stay.

Most of it was to be done monthly, inside and out with the main reception area done weekly.  I think we quoted £1800 per month and that was a border-line quote; since we knew many other local firms had been asked to quote also.

Obviously we didn't get it.  The original contractors actually dropped their price - I don't know what to but it was around the £1000 mark per month - before they lowered their price.

I know this because I clean 'The head of house-keeping's' personal house.  She told me.

I bet the contractors still do a shoddy job; as I noted they did when we 'cased the joint'.

I've also recently been undercut on an old people's home; I quoted £60 which was my minimum price to do the job (it's location is handy for us) and someone must've went in cheaper.

Leekson also told me that he'd been asked to quote for a local Georgian Windowed hotel and that their current window cleaner charges £70 per clean.

He said he knew the hotel and didn't even bother to try and get the job.  At £70 (or less) it just wasn't worth it.

I think some window cleaners do not like 'change', so they charge cheaply because they're sure they're not going to lose a regular job.

Trevor Knight

  • Posts: 1825
Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2006, 08:47:39 pm »
Guys,

With large contracts you have to quote for a rotation basis.

Ok, it works like this

Month 1 - Full Clean - work checked, client happy
Month 2 - Full Clean - work checked, client happy
Month 3 - Main areas cleaned, check others.
Month 4 - Main areas, check others
Month 5 - Front of house, Vital areas (directors/finance/pa offices)
Month 6 onwards, vital areas + as required.

This is how companies (myself included) gain MOD/Council/Housing Estate/Large commercial contracts.

I know it is not completing a full clean each time or being honest a professional service but thats how you get them if you want the contract.

Most other companys who clean these type of premises don't get premium rates, they quote low, do the essentials and if its missed and reported they go back and clean them, otherwise, tomorrows another day.

Trev
Covering Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey, Berkshire

matt

Re: Can you believe this?
« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2006, 09:18:57 pm »
Guys,

With large contracts you have to quote for a rotation basis.

Ok, it works like this

Month 1 - Full Clean - work checked, client happy
Month 2 - Full Clean - work checked, client happy
Month 3 - Main areas cleaned, check others.
Month 4 - Main areas, check others
Month 5 - Front of house, Vital areas (directors/finance/pa offices)
Month 6 onwards, vital areas + as required.

This is how companies (myself included) gain MOD/Council/Housing Estate/Large commercial contracts.

I know it is not completing a full clean each time or being honest a professional service but thats how you get them if you want the contract.

Most other companys who clean these type of premises don't get premium rates, they quote low, do the essentials and if its missed and reported they go back and clean them, otherwise, tomorrows another day.

Trev

i was going to type something similar

i took over a OAP home, the job was done 6 weekly inside and out

the front and outsides were done everytime, the insides of the corridors etc etc were just dustd with a dry scrim and any marks wiped

of course the company thought the job was being done completely, but the complete job was being done every 6 months and then the rest of the time it was a "spuce up"