[DJW]

  A pound a minute job? Greedy barsteward!

[DJW]

My Porche went back today 😢 The roofrack was at a funny angle for the ladders.

[AuRavelling79]

I'd have ignored it.

Btw 52/8 = 6.5

6.5 X 33 = 214.5

His maths is bang on.

It's not. An 8 weekly cycle is 6 times (with 4 weeks and a day or two left over for a calendar year dependant upon whether it is a 365 or 366 day year)

52 x 7 = 364

[AuRavelling79]

A pound a minute job? Greedy barsteward!

It's my go to price. 

[Soupy]

I'd have ignored it.

Btw 52/8 = 6.5

6.5 X 33 = 214.5

His maths is bang on.

It's not. An 8 weekly cycle is 6 times (with 4 weeks and a day or two left over for a calendar year dependant upon whether it is a 365 or 366 day year)

52 x 7 = 364

That's not an 8 week cycle.

[Stoots]

Yep his maths is pretty accurate

It's actually 6.52218525 cleans a year based on the real length of a year.

£215.23 per annum

[AuRavelling79]

I'd have ignored it.

Btw 52/8 = 6.5

6.5 X 33 = 214.5

His maths is bang on.

It's not. An 8 weekly cycle is 6 times (with 4 weeks and a day or two left over for a calendar year dependant upon whether it is a 365 or 366 day year)

52 x 7 = 364

That's not an 8 week cycle.

What's not an 8 week cycle?

[AuRavelling79]

Yep his maths is pretty accurate

It's actually 6.52218525 cleans a year based on the real length of a year.

£215.23 per annum

I said it was 'a fraction off but close enough'.

 

[tonyoliver]

Market  rates means find someone cheaper than you

[AuRavelling79]

Market  rates means find someone cheaper than you

What are 'market rates'?

And will they pre notify and turn up at 8.00 am every time?

Maybe. Good luck to them. If I lose it then every other price increase this year has far outweighed the loss.

[AuRavelling79]

I'd not have responded. If they want to dump they will, if not, I'd just have carried on.

We put something about inflation in our last price increase letters. Using Word we merged in the date of their last increase, the CPI increase since that date and the percentage we were increasing the price. Forestalled problems, as they all knew we weren't quite keeping up with inflation (this time).

Vin

I did it the old fashioned way when I was there to clean. Pre printed slip with reference to time since last increase and general reference to inflation. Worked over the last 12 months without question - until this one.

Over all my time window cleaning I reckon I have had less than five cancel in response to a price increase note.

[Spruce]

A bit more detail and my response - sent last evening.

I actually cleaned on 20th March (and will call again mid-late May) and left a price increase note with his wife who said she would pass it on to her husband but to carry on unless I heard otherwise. (Which is pretty much what he has written too!)


Dear X & Y,

Thank you for your e-mail advising me of your deliberations and qualified acceptance of the new rate of £33.00 per 'clean'. On the note I left I think I wrote that it has been over four years since a price increase - indeed upon checking my records it will have been five years this month.

In these inflationary times I hope upon reflection that you find the uplift reasonable and agree that I have tried to ameliorate the situation by raising prices 10% in a period where the cost of living index has risen by a fraction over 20%. (according to my interpretation of the ONS statistics over the past five years or so)

However, if you should decide to go elsewhere or take on the task yourselves, I shall understand completely your desire for budgetary prudence; but I do hope that you will continue with my service.

Best wishes,

It's interesting how we sometimes have to justify a price increase to our customers.  My wife receives price increase letters and emails every day she goes to work as a buyer.

These letters are direct and straight to the point. No niceties and no trying to soften the price increase blow. Then a couple of months later she receives another letter advising of a further price increase from the same supplier.

If she phones up to query a price, it's a take it or go somewhere else attitude.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Think I made a point a few weeks back that Martin Lewis asked folk to look deep into their monthly costs and to times them by 12 for a realistic look at it's value.  All the skinflints are are at it 🤣.

[Stoots]

Someone messaged me today to cancel . someone local is going to be doing his much cheaper.

It's a 3 bed detached I'm not sure how much lower than the £14 I'm charging someone was prepared to go but more fool them.

[AuRavelling79]

Someone messaged me today to cancel . someone local is going to be doing his much cheaper.

It's a 3 bed detached I'm not sure how much lower than the £14 I'm charging someone was prepared to go but more fool them.

How did you 'get on' with this customer prior to being dropped?

[PHILIP HARDY]

From my point of view, the old guy is being perfectly responsible and polite with it, He clearly has a lot of time on his hands and most of us have "budget challenges"  he has ever so slightly over rated the £21 per annum increase, and in the cold light of day it looks a bit petty, in an attempt to justify his objections he has "shown you his workings out", The response is worded so that its not an outright "Dont come again" letter ,nor a complaint about the service, more a " I have been a good customer can we just remain at the old price"  notice, Even if this tactic didn't work and he had to accept the price rise it had the secondary effect of making you more cautious putting him up in the future,

In the past when he was more busy. I am sure the price rise, would have just been something he accepted without concern, now retired he is more concerned with the house outgoings.

FWIW. I think your response pretty much nailed it, you couldn't just back down, so you gave him the same "Show me your workings out" respect that he offered you and with the length of it, he would be assured you have considered all the options,
Thus respectfully, letting him know the price is the price for the service and IYHO a fair price at that.

[Stoots]

Someone messaged me today to cancel . someone local is going to be doing his much cheaper.

It's a 3 bed detached I'm not sure how much lower than the £14 I'm charging someone was prepared to go but more fool them.

How did you 'get on' with this customer prior to being dropped?

Been cleaning it about 5 years, i did put the price up in Jan this year. Never seen or spoke to them, job is cleaned and a note posted. Just the way i like it to be fair.

[james peters]

I dont think I would respond......... but that email would have grated a little
some people can be obsurd .     
these are the type that can cancel, then try and do it themselves, only to find out that your service was well worth the money.
Then they feel silly, so to save face they go with someone else and end up paying more .
he is obviously an intelligent man , and knows everything is going up... why he expects the window cleaner to be different  is silly

[michael mckeary]

I've only been going 6 years and gradually built up good customers. What I have realised is there seems to be no loyalty in window cleaning no matter how hard one try's. I do like putting up the price on the jobs I don't like doing because they take too long or the customer doesn't appreciate my work. Usually when I lose a customer, I get a new one on the same week. I can't advertise now because I get too much work due to add-ons that I do. Gutter clears, roof spraying, PVC Cleans, PW, Softwashing, External Painting and External Property Maintenance. If one only undertakes windy cleaning then you don't have much "Margin of Safety"
but if you are flexible and invest in Gutter Vacs, Pressure Washer, Spraying Pole then multi streams of income comes in. 👍👍👍

[dazmond]

I dropped a customer I've had for 30 years today....she basically said "its not worth cleaning them in this weather" even though it was dry and sunny when I turned up.she said it was forecast rain again later...dumped!

I only want customers who will have them cleaned in the rain(on the odd occasion)....these days it's almost impossible to clean the windows when it's bone dry with no chance of rain for a few days....