[Scrimble]

a local window cleaner is retireing and he is passing some 70 odd customers on to me, however having looked at the long list of address's i am disapointed as most of the prices are like 3-6 pounds per house/bungalow,

i have only been going for about a year and have about 70 customers myself but the average price is just over 10 pounds as i charge no less than £8 for a house. The last WC has told them all i am taking over as he is retiring but i dont want to do the work at such low prices,

i went for a drive and looked at a few houses on the list and i would want double what he charged,

What should i do?

[aztec]

charge double!

[need a cleaner]

Well my advice is to start rasing the prices and bare in mind that you are not losing nothing as you got the round for free so any that stick with you besides the price increase its a bonus

[windowwashers]

I would write a letter to the new customers, and say the price will increase as the guy was long overdue a price increase, some will leave thats nature of a price increase but as long as you give them your contact details they will more than likely call back again not all but quite a few when the windows start to get dirty, dont go in there thinking I will do this for a little bit less as you will have to work harder for less money and thats never a good thing.
you never no they all maybe expecting there price to raise. The only way to find out is the NIKE SLOGAN .................."Just Do It" 

[Kwackers]

Yeh Like window washers said.

Mention that he was overdue a price increase, or get the current WC to start hinting to any custies he speaks to.

Drop a Decent letter round with a card, loose some i guess, if you start to loose to many try and get it on a 6 weekly clean for the price you want instead of 4 weekly, if thats what its currently on...would be a shame to loose all the customers.

[NWH]

They will all know there getting it done for nothing and will be expecting to pay a new price,don`t beat about the bush go straight in with the price you want,if they say no who cares.

[Scrimble]

i've been to see a few of these new customers and am setting them at my prices, about half are accepting the new price,

however i am finding it difficult as a number of times i've pulled up to the house and the old price is £3 and i want about £8-10 and when i speak to them there shocked with how much and think i'm trying to rip them off.

a few of the houses i've not even bothered cause of the state of them i.e rough council houses and i dont actually want there custom.

all i can say is that i'm glad i got these customers for free cause i would have been very annoyed if i'd have paid any money for them lol

[Londoner]

This is what happens when the prices have been static for a number of years. The gap becomes too big to jump.
My friend John had an old boy cleaning his windows and the price had been £4 for the past 12 years or more. Then one day the old boy stopped coming, The next window cleaner wanted £15, John sent him on his way, but £12-15 is the true going rate.

Its hard to get customers to see your point of view when they are used to only paying peanuts. You have to start the way you want to carry on, you can't start doing them at the old price and hope to bump the prices up later.

The only way you can sweeten the deal is to put the price up but extent the time interval. If its 4 weeks at the moment make it six.