[Slacky]

A rare gem from a Facebook group.

[Tom-01]

Ha ha I love that. I will remember that one.

I looked at a job yesterday, big house gutter clear and GFS clean. Straight away she was moaning about maintenance and she would rather spend money on a sofa. House is worth just under £2mil. Quoted £540. She said oooh I've had a cheaper quote can you do cheaper. Nope we can't. I was hoping closer to £400 she says and I've got another company out to quote.

No wonder the house looks a state, tighter than a ducks butt.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Haha yes it's funny.  But a little rude and unprofesional to a customers question though.


Lucky he did not get told to jog on 

[Dry Clean]

Haha yes it's funny.  But a little rude and unprofesional to a customers question though.


Lucky he did not get told to jog on 

Agreed but understandable, I priced a conservatory a while back £60, 2 hour job at my take it easy pace, her reply was I was expecting it to be around a tenner, hard to give a polite reply after hearing that, lol.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Haha yes it's funny.  But a little rude and unprofesional to a customers question though.


Lucky he did not get told to jog on 

Agreed but understandable, I priced a conservatory a while back £60, 2 hour job at my take it easy pace, her reply was I was expecting it to be around a tenner, hard to give a polite reply after hearing that, lol.

Trying to get you down from £60 to £10 does deserve a sarcastic reply to be fair.

Ones that try and knock a small amount off I tend to respect but not agree to it.  I have seen posts before where people quote high with the intention of coming down a bit if asked.

[Marc Stock]

Some people view haggling as a good way to build a rapport.

[Johnny B]

If someone tried to persuade me to drastically reduce my price, or if they had been quoted a lower price, I would suggest to them to get the other guy to do it for that price, I wouldn't stand in their way.  I would say it politely and with a smile.

John

[nathankaye]

I had an enquiry and went to quote.
She said thats expensive, my last window cleaner only charged £7.
So I asked  where he was and why they enquired of a quote from me.
Haha........ They  said he came as and when he wanted and didnt do a good job and so they fired him.
I smiled and said thats the difference with me running a professional business and that of one who doesnt and thanked them for their time.
By time i walked down the path they had decided that it made sense and hired my services.

[Slacky]

Some people view haggling as a good way to build a rapport.

Building rapport doesn't pay the bills.

[dazmond]

Some people view haggling as a good way to build a rapport.

i think its insulting....no haggling...the price is the price.....personally i dont care whether i get the job or not really so they either accept the price or not.....

id only resent cleaning the job every time it comes around if i lower my price.....

[G Griffin]

Some people view haggling as a good way to build a rapport.

No, you're thinking of prompt payment, tea and biscuits.

[Walter Mitty]

Someone tried to haggle me down once on the grounds that her mother paid her window cleaner less.  Puzzled, I politely suggested that she might get a quotation from her mother's window cleaner.  The response was, "But she lives in Littlehampton," (35 miles away).
But my finest hour was many years ago before WFP was really around.  I flew around on the ladder and knocked for the money.  "That was quick," she said.  "Yes, I'm getting pretty good at this," I replied

[lal]

Some people view haggling as a good way to build a rapport.

i think its insulting....no haggling...the price is the price.....personally i dont care whether i get the job or not really so they either accept the price or not.....

id only resent cleaning the job every time it comes around if i lower my price.....

id only resent cleaning the job every time it comes around if i lower my price....
Thats right dazmond, it then becomes a Grudge Job, thats why we should always stick with the
 Price we quote.

[Stoots]

I had one today i went and quoted at £15

Hmmm, she though about it for a second...

We have a window cleaner and he charges £11, could you match that?

oh you have a window cleaner already  (what am i doing here then)

He doesnt do a very good job and turns up when he wants 

Ok, well for £15 i guarantee i will do a good job and i will turn up every 4 weeks

she thought about it again and said what about £13!

she then said her son wanted a quote too and he lives just round the corner

I said, yeh go on then! lol i would love to have said i told her it was 15 or bugger off but i didnt 

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

[nathankaye]

I had one today i went and quoted at £15

Hmmm, she though about it for a second...

We have a window cleaner and he charges £11, could you match that?

oh you have a window cleaner already  (what am i doing here then)

He doesnt do a very good job and turns up when he wants 

Ok, well for £15 i guarantee i will do a good job and i will turn up every 4 weeks

she thought about it again and said what about £13!

she then said her son wanted a quote too and he lives just round the corner

I said, yeh go on then! lol i would love to have said i told her it was 15 or bugger off but i didnt 

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

Ild be tempted to say
Yes ok, but i might skip a clean every 12 weeks

[Stoots]

Im in a building phase at the moment looking for more work so i dont mind a few quid here and there, if i was full i wouldnt haggle but rather have a job 2 quid underpriced in a street where i have a few more than not have it so yeh not bothered on this occassion.
Ive got worse price jobs on the books.

[Splash & dash]

I had one today i went and quoted at £15

Hmmm, she though about it for a second...

We have a window cleaner and he charges £11, could you match that?

oh you have a window cleaner already  (what am i doing here then)

He doesnt do a very good job and turns up when he wants 

Ok, well for £15 i guarantee i will do a good job and i will turn up every 4 weeks

she thought about it again and said what about £13!

she then said her son wanted a quote too and he lives just round the corner

I said, yeh go on then! lol i would love to have said i told her it was 15 or bugger off but i didnt 

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

Never drop your price I always walk away people like this generaly become awkward customers difficult to get money off them with all the excuses, haven’t got any cash , I’ll take a cheque then : cheque  books in the car wife’s gone shopping , waiting for a new cheque book , ok I’ll give you my bank details and you can pay on line , long silence errrrrr ok  once I get plaid I then dump and never go back

[dazmond]

I had one today i went and quoted at £15

Hmmm, she though about it for a second...

We have a window cleaner and he charges £11, could you match that?

oh you have a window cleaner already  (what am i doing here then)

He doesnt do a very good job and turns up when he wants 

Ok, well for £15 i guarantee i will do a good job and i will turn up every 4 weeks

she thought about it again and said what about £13!

she then said her son wanted a quote too and he lives just round the corner

I said, yeh go on then! lol i would love to have said i told her it was 15 or bugger off but i didnt 

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

you should of stood your ground adam....you d of got the job i reckon at £15 if you were a bit more firm.what happens when your existing customers down that road find out your doing hers cheaper then?they wont be happy thats for sure.....

[Stoots]

I had one today i went and quoted at £15



Hmmm, she though about it for a second...

We have a window cleaner and he charges £11, could you match that?

oh you have a window cleaner already  (what am i doing here then)

He doesnt do a very good job and turns up when he wants 

Ok, well for £15 i guarantee i will do a good job and i will turn up every 4 weeks

she thought about it again and said what about £13!

she then said her son wanted a quote too and he lives just round the corner

I said, yeh go on then! lol i would love to have said i told her it was 15 or bugger off but i didnt 

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

you should of stood your ground adam....you d of got the job i reckon at £15 if you were a bit more firm.what happens when your existing customers down that road find out your doing hers cheaper then?they wont be happy thats for sure.....

Probably but was happy with 13 anyway. Prices will come later, right now I need more work.

Doubt they will know each other, it's a long street and they are not next to each other.

Very rare I have more than a couple on a street so I never get that problem of talking neighbours.

[Slacky]

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

[Stoots]

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

Every job will vary in the amount you earn per hour. There's travel time to consider, the amount and type of windows, obstacles, parking, access and other variables.

It would be pretty hard to work out an exact amount for each house that would earn you an exact hourly rate.

Some hours/days I earn less than others but it's the overall average that counts.

The business is £300 a year better off than it was this morning, you are correct it could have been even better off or it could have been £0 if she had refused the quotes.

It's a different mentality to me at the minute with an employee on board and with the round not full. Refining and prices will come in time at the moment we have room for the extra turnover. After all we have a few others on the street, the work is becoming more compact and are only  a couple of quid here..maybe it will take less time than I thought is the price the right? Maybe we could pick up 10 more all 2 quid underpriced but on the same street. Yet that might mean I can drop a days work that is more spread out save time on the travel and fuel. Too many variables to be so strict on pricing.

[dazmond]

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

Every job will vary in the amount you earn per hour. There's travel time to consider, the amount and type of windows, obstacles, parking, access and other variables.

It would be pretty hard to work out an exact amount for each house that would earn you an exact hourly rate.

Some hours/days I earn less than others but it's the overall average that counts.

The business is £300 a year better off than it was this morning, you are correct it could have been even better off or it could have been £0 if she had refused the quotes.

It's a different mentality to me at the minute with an employee on board and with the round not full. Refining and prices will come in time at the moment we have room for the extra turnover. After all we have a few others on the street, the work is becoming more compact and are only  a couple of quid here..maybe it will take less time than I thought is the price the right? Maybe we could pick up 10 more all 2 quid underpriced but on the same street. Yet that might mean I can drop a days work that is more spread out save time on the travel and fuel. Too many variables to be so strict on pricing.

true adam.....even though i earn considerably more than £40 an hour on some jobs it only evens out to an AVERAGE of £40 an hour over the course of a week/month/year.......

[Slacky]

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

There’s someone making ridiculous statements in an effort to justify permitting someone else to dictate their terms of business.

Window cleaning is really like that, by the way. It’s prone to all the market forces and influences that all other businesses are prone to. You’ve given yourself an 8% pay cut in this instance. With all jobs you allow for all costs involved (each job has different level of variables to take in to consideration) including additional miles travelled, inconvenience factors as well as other fixed costs.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

I had one today i went and quoted at £15

Hmmm, she though about it for a second...

We have a window cleaner and he charges £11, could you match that?

oh you have a window cleaner already  (what am i doing here then)

He doesnt do a very good job and turns up when he wants 

Ok, well for £15 i guarantee i will do a good job and i will turn up every 4 weeks

she thought about it again and said what about £13!

she then said her son wanted a quote too and he lives just round the corner

I said, yeh go on then! lol i would love to have said i told her it was 15 or bugger off but i didnt 

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

you should of stood your ground adam....you d of got the job i reckon at £15 if you were a bit more firm.what happens when your existing customers down that road find out your doing hers cheaper then?they wont be happy thats for sure.....

I've had done exactly this in the past and ended up losing the better paying customer over it. Lesson learned. stick to your original quote.

[dazmond]

yep so have i mate....

[Stoots]

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

There’s someone making ridiculous statements in an effort to justify permitting someone else to dictate their terms of business.

Window cleaning is really like that, by the way. It’s prone to all the market forces and influences that all other businesses are prone to. You’ve given yourself an 8% pay cut in this instance. With all jobs you allow for all costs involved (each job has different level of variables to take in to consideration) including additional miles travelled, inconvenience factors as well as other fixed costs.

No it's not.

Don't talk stupid.

What kind of calculator do you have that when quoting a job you can tell the exact time taken down to the minute, the exact minutes from the last job, the mileage from the last job and the exact fuel costs.

Do you calculate the weather down to the exact amount of days off, do you factor in the exact amount of down time, replacement equipment and everything into the equation.

Earning vary not only by the price of job but by a dozen other factors .

On a different day I might have said 16 or 14 quid to that job in the first instance .

I have around a spared day and a half a week to fill.

Its the profit at the end of the year that counts...by taking that job I will hopefully earn 300 more a year than without it. If I don't have the time so do the job then you would have a point but I have plenty of time to do it.

The customer didnt dictate the price, I did, I am the one who accepted it and am happy to do it. If I wasn't I wouldnt have taken it I'm not desperate or a mug, it made sense to me so I decided to take it.

You can do what you like with your 8%
I turned a job down yesterday as I did t want it, awkward terrace

Believe me if I don't want to do it I won't.

I can decide for myself mate so you can go shove your 8% up ya nose

[jo5hm4n]

Yall need to calm down.  Remember Adam is building a business and sometimes it’s more important to grow quicker and take the odd underpriced job here and there.  Its all down to personal choice.

I’ve many times knocked a few £ off to customers who have asked in the past, some of them have turned out to be my best customers and 1 customer alone helped me get £100 a month worth of customers that were her relatives.  All because i gave her £2 off the price.

If you guys are happy and comfortable and dont need to lower your price then thats fine and nothing wrong with that, but dont have a go at adam telling him hes doing things wrong because hes giving out the odd discount here and there.

We all do things different and theres no exact formula to run your business perfect, all of us are in different positions with our business is performing.  Especially the newer guys.

😎😎

[John Mart]

For me it was all about "holding the line". As soon as you accept one doing it, then why not all. If you say yest to one quarterly instead of monthly, it becomes easy to say yes to everyone that asks. It's about a mindset. I would never negotiate a lower price than quoted as it says I charge too much normally. She'll be watching how long you take too.

[NWH]

Had a bloke come up to me last week he says I want you to clean my windows they need doing,I said I only do the house opposite you because I clean a big commercial a couple of miles away for them as it’s there business. He said I only want it doing once I need you to get all the builders mess off and then I’ll maintain them lol,It makes me laugh how some people think they are doing you a favour sometimes if they had there way they’d have there windows cleaned twice a year,never give people to many options on the frequency I think you need to set a president from the beginning.

[Shrek]

Had a bloke come up to me last week he says I want you to clean my windows they need doing,I said I only do the house opposite you because I clean a big commercial a couple of miles away for them as it’s there business. He said I only want it doing once I need you to get all the builders mess off and then I’ll maintain them lol,It makes me laugh how some people think they are doing you a favour sometimes if they had there way they’d have there windows cleaned twice a year,never give people to many options on the frequency I think you need to set a president from the beginning.

I make it work for me though when doing different frequencies and end up on really good money.
I have a couple of terraced houses that used to be £12 monthly. They asked for every 2 months so I said it’s +50% and they were fine about it so £18 . I also clean other properties that I used to charge £20 who went 3 monthly, I told them the prices +50% for every 2 months and + 50% again for 3 monthly (double monthly price)  and they were fine . Still got them on the books after a few years

[Bungle]

@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?

[robert mitchell]

@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?

Is that not obvious ?

He obviously has too much for one man but not enough yet for two people and he is building that up .

[Bungle]

@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?

Is that not obvious ?

He obviously has too much for one man but not enough yet for two people and he is building that up .

No it's not obvious. He doesn't work full days.

[Slacky]

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

There’s someone making ridiculous statements in an effort to justify permitting someone else to dictate their terms of business.

Window cleaning is really like that, by the way. It’s prone to all the market forces and influences that all other businesses are prone to. You’ve given yourself an 8% pay cut in this instance. With all jobs you allow for all costs involved (each job has different level of variables to take in to consideration) including additional miles travelled, inconvenience factors as well as other fixed costs.

No it's not.

Don't talk stupid.

What kind of calculator do you have that when quoting a job you can tell the exact time taken down to the minute, the exact minutes from the last job, the mileage from the last job and the exact fuel costs.

Do you calculate the weather down to the exact amount of days off, do you factor in the exact amount of down time, replacement equipment and everything into the equation.

Earning vary not only by the price of job but by a dozen other factors .

On a different day I might have said 16 or 14 quid to that job in the first instance .

I have around a spared day and a half a week to fill.

Its the profit at the end of the year that counts...by taking that job I will hopefully earn 300 more a year than without it. If I don't have the time so do the job then you would have a point but I have plenty of time to do it.

The customer didnt dictate the price, I did, I am the one who accepted it and am happy to do it. If I wasn't I wouldnt have taken it I'm not desperate or a mug, it made sense to me so I decided to take it.

You can do what you like with your 8%
I turned a job down yesterday as I did t want it, awkward terrace

Believe me if I don't want to do it I won't.

I can decide for myself mate so you can go shove your 8% up ya nose

Keep ur tits on sugar bollox.

[Stoots]

@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?

I am full with work for myself.

I've just set someone on so now am not full anymore as he doing some of the work.