[simon knight]

No Sir I'm realistic!...and it's not 3pm...why are you not working?

[windowwashers]

I think that given the job/risks involved...esp for trad...£25ph is about right.

But assuming an 8 hr day I suspect that few of us who charge £25ph come home 5 days a week with £200 in their pockets...although reading various posts I understand that £2000 per week is, for some, a rightly earned figure.

Truth-be-known window cleaning came as a saviour for most people as few people left school thinking: "I'm becoming a w/c..."

...in fact w/c was a way most people who couldn't/wouldn't be employed elsewhere found a way to stay solvent and pay their bills...and here I include myself!!!

But I'm becoming heartily sick of people asking/stating how much their largely unskilled efforts are worth...just be humbly grateful that you have a means of putting bread on the table for the time being.

And believe me when your scummy clients find their mortgage repayments double when their fixed-term comes to an end you'll be the first "luxury" to be canned!

Sorry guys but I feel that some of you over-estimate/value your importance/skills.

 

Simon, that is a bit harsh there, cleaning is not a luxury and to be honest I do not have any as you say"scummy clients" I feel by the comments made you do not vaule the improtance in window cleaning and the services provided,
I had a very good job, before window cleaning, and I choose it, maybe many many moons ago it was for mainly unskilled people that could not find a job or where un emplyable "things change"
 so to all that read this carry on doing the great jobs, and new people in the window cleaning field speak to me I can fill you full of confidence that you are valued  
p.s this is not a personal attack in anyway, is only IMO

[simon knight]

Windowwashers, of course we are valued..when times are good!

But please don't tell me that when Mrs Smith has to find an extra £170 per month (from God only knows where) she'll not start looking at her out-goings and think that maybe her windows being pristine are not as important as keeping a roof over her head.

And as for paying £50ph for the luxury.....!!!!!!!!!

[windowwashers]

Windowwashers, of course we are valued..when times are good!

But please don't tell me that when Mrs Smith has to find an extra £170 per month (from God only knows where) she'll not start looking at her out-goings and think that maybe her windows being pristine are not as important as keeping a roof over her head.

And as for paying £50ph for the luxury.....!!!!!!!!!

True in a way, but from what I have leant over the years this will only affect a very small minority, they would rather stop having there rubbish bin washed and paper delivered, the odds few will cancel so the point is valid, if you have been doing this a long time you will already no it does not happen to often and when it does you just pick up another. Some people look at having their windows cleaned like they do washing there car it is a thing that needs to be done unless they like it looking dirty. alot of the older folk see this as a priority.

[groundhog]

Have you never heard of the saying 'make hay while the sun shines', in other words make the most of your opportunities during good times, if the worst happens then we will have to deal with it. That is one of the reasons I stay away from the Smiths and Jones, and target the more exclusive Ponsonby's and Smythes, as they tend not to have mortgages!

[windowwashers]

Have you never heard of the saying 'make hay while the sun shines', in other words make the most of your opportunities during good times, if the worst happens then we will have to deal with it. That is one of the reasons I stay away from the Smiths and Jones, and target the more exclusive Ponsonby's and Smythes, as they tend not to have mortgages!

Good point groundhog 

[simon knight]

Guys...don't get me wrong here...I'm not saying that £25/£50ph is silly. I mean, if you can get way with more...power to your elbow.

All I'm asking for is a bit of realism:

Please don't pretend that North of £25ph is in any way a true reflection on the skills you've acquired in your Doctorate in w/c..." Me?...Dr. Groundhog in window cleaning...I've spent 5 years in university studying trad and wfp methods..."

Oh come on....!!!

[AuRavelling79]

If you are a competent solicitor you will charge £150 - £250 ph to cover your overheads, offices, equipt, salaries, car, pension, holidays etc.

A high street accountant will charge £100 per hour.

These are the guys and gals with the degrees and training.

A competent self employed window cleaner has to cover his equipt, vehicle, wages, holidays, sickness etc.

Charging £30 per hour does not average £240 a day - by the time you take driving between jobs that may drop to £150 - £200 and every day off eats into that at 20%.

Look at your income at the year end and I reckon that someone charging £30 per hour, averaging 4 to 5 days a week at 6 earning hours per day will have an income around £30K at the end of the year when holidays, sickness and other time off come into the equation.

Thats before you reduce it for running costs too!

[Davo]

Guys...don't get me wrong here...I'm not saying that £25/£50ph is silly. I mean, if you can get way with more...power to your elbow.

All I'm asking for is a bit of realism:

Please don't pretend that North of £25ph is in any way a true reflection on the skills you've acquired in your Doctorate in w/c..." Me?...Dr. Groundhog in window cleaning...I've spent 5 years in university studying trad and wfp methods..."

Oh come on....!!!

As a newbie reading these posts about hourly rates and pricing etc it strikes me that there is alot of inconsistency in the rates being quoted.

EG Average time taken to do an average  3 bed semi WFP about 20 mins... most people are pricing at £10 a semi ( goodish rate as others charge less £6-£8. So if you dont stop to collect money , drink tea, smoke eat drink move to the house next door or 5 mins down the road then you can earn £30 an hour on decently priced work. If ur working on £30 an hour knock a third off for the total hours worked over the week . I think thats a more realistic figure of whats being earnt out there on "the streets".

Dont think Im being rude there are exceptions to every rule but Ive clocked a couple of good grafting window cleaners in my area the age of the van private car how many  how much the house is worth, and IMO they have a £600 a week lifestyle, Dont think theyre earning £1000 per week. (Blackpool Area)

[simon spencer]

Thanks for all your imput guys, its made feel alot better.

Regards

Simon

[simon knight]

If you are a competent solicitor you will charge £150 - £250 ph to cover your overheads, offices, equipt, salaries, car, pension, holidays etc.

A high street accountant will charge £100 per hour.

These are the guys and gals with the degrees and training.

A competent self employed window cleaner has to cover his equipt, vehicle, wages, holidays, sickness etc.

Charging £30 per hour does not average £240 a day - by the time you take driving between jobs that may drop to £150 - £200 and every day off eats into that at 20%.

Look at your income at the year end and I reckon that someone charging £30 per hour, averaging 4 to 5 days a week at 6 earning hours per day will have an income around £30K at the end of the year when holidays, sickness and other time off come into the equation.

Thats before you reduce it for running costs too!

Malc. coming from thw w/c perspective everything you say is valid. But looking at things from the customers view point is where our services can in some instances look overpriced.

Eg: Clean Mrs Smiths 3 bed semi, take 1/2 hr and charge £25 is to her too expensive, It'll fall on deaf ears to say " Oh my next job is 10 miles away and isn't for another hour...so in reality I'm only earning £15 ph"...Mrs Smith doesn't care how we schedule our daily routine or what tax we have to pay. All she cares about is she having to stump up £25 for 1/2 hrs work.

I charge £25 ph.... and that's time actually spent cleaning a customers windows. The fact that often there's a delay of 15-20 mins before I move onto the next is my problem and I can't expect my customers to pay for my lack of back to back jobs.

[Kwackers]

Half the people i know with degrees do unskilled jobs or have gone on to do something totally irrelevant

You work up to a certain standard over a certain period of time and charge for that standard just like any other tradesmen

[neil100]

I think too many w/cleaners judge what others make at w/cleaning purely on their own limitations and perspectives as to what is a fair price.

For me your own round will inform you better then any other person as to weather you are ripping customers off, being too cheap or having your prices just right.

If you have a very poor customer base due to frequent cancellations which are due to the cost of cleaning only, then you are too expensive for your chosen cliental.

But if your customer base is mainly old people and the unemployed then your on an hiding to nothing. You will never get a good rate per hour if thats where you are building your round.

You have too target the wealthy areas. A freind of mine as moved to Manchester about a year ago and as been building a new round  in Manchester,He has kept his old round going and traveled the 60 miles, 120miles round trip. He is now looking to sell his old round as he now as enough work in Manchester.

Now reading Simons posts he should charge £25.00 an hour or there abouts.

Well he has priced all his new work at £50.00 an hour or more then that.

Now if hes ripping customers off his round will collapse. But if that does not happen and the customer is happy paying it, How can you say its a rip off?

I do not earn below £30 an hour. I also know in certain areas I could not get increase my average price to £50 an hour without loseing a lot of my customer base. But I do price higher for new work.

Its not ripping customers off. I have had customers who have been with me for nearly 30 years. If I went to a pub and got charged £10.00 for a pint,he would not see me again because I know its not a fair price, Hes ripping me off.

But when you price a job up and you tell the customer the price and they say clean them on a regualer basis you cannot say its a rip off.  

If you charge £20 an hour, and someone comes into w,cleaning and charges £10 an hour. Are you then at £20 an hour ripping the customer off? Or is the other chap too cheap? Then someone says they will clean for £7 an hour.

I know someone who has  worked for a local w/cleaning firm for 12 years. He earns £6.50 an hour doing 50hours a week. Now is his Boss ripping him off?

Priceing is down to a matter of Perspective,But making statements like Rippoff shows your lack of understanding on priceing.

Nel.

[KJG]

Ive been window cleaning now for 11 years, 3 years ago I sold alot of my work off, the reason for this was rubbish prices, average hourly rate earned was £10- £15. Now ive built up a decent round were im cleaning an average of £25- £30 per hour. The problem Ive always found is with most jobs I quote for I dont get, the client says Im to expensive. Do you think my hourly rate is to much. I am based in the midlands.

Many thanks

Simon

I'm in North Birmingham and my rock bottom price for a bog-standard three bed semi is £8. Take on the skinflint and whinging £3 brigade and give them what they deserve, the rag - and bump every other clean.

[windowwashers]

If you are a competent solicitor you will charge £150 - £250 ph to cover your overheads, offices, equipt, salaries, car, pension, holidays etc.

A high street accountant will charge £100 per hour.

These are the guys and gals with the degrees and training.

A competent self employed window cleaner has to cover his equipt, vehicle, wages, holidays, sickness etc.

Charging £30 per hour does not average £240 a day - by the time you take driving between jobs that may drop to £150 - £200 and every day off eats into that at 20%.

Look at your income at the year end and I reckon that someone charging £30 per hour, averaging 4 to 5 days a week at 6 earning hours per day will have an income around £30K at the end of the year when holidays, sickness and other time off come into the equation.

Thats before you reduce it for running costs too!

Malc. coming from thw w/c perspective everything you say is valid. But looking at things from the customers view point is where our services can in some instances look overpriced.

Eg: Clean Mrs Smiths 3 bed semi, take 1/2 hr and charge £25 is to her too expensive, It'll fall on deaf ears to say " Oh my next job is 10 miles away and isn't for another hour...so in reality I'm only earning £15 ph"...Mrs Smith doesn't care how we schedule our daily routine or what tax we have to pay. All she cares about is she having to stump up £25 for 1/2 hrs work.

I charge £25 ph.... and that's time actually spent cleaning a customers windows. The fact that often there's a delay of 15-20 mins before I move onto the next is my problem and I can't expect my customers to pay for my lack of back to back jobs.

I would factor the travel in with the price because if you have not been doing you are not earning £25 at all it would be more like £15 if that, and to be honest the beer money window cleaners earn more than that 

[Pj]

Hi  I am friend visit  of Pj.  My name doesnt matter.  I am fron other country.  Maybe Baltic state, maybe...

I work in my Country as Pharmacy researcher, I have Degree in Science and Maths.  15 years experience work.  Family wife 3 children.  I get paid same as £3.50p an hour for 30 hours week.  I have £105 a week with 3 hours to travel  day.  My rent is good  at same as £20 a week.  My tax is about same as you.  I drive sometimes very old car.  My food for family is same as £40  week.  I save for family £5  week.
I work here maybe for cleaning I not mind it.  I work for by myself maybe get £6 hour for 30 hours week.
I have £180 a week boss pick  up lift  My rent £80 a week for 1 room.  My food is £40 a week for me.and
I aboutsave  £50 a week send to family my wife

10 times more than they imagine!!!   I get  be with them soon.  I  ham not afraid work hard, I read all prices bigger biggest but I do good job same who cares more money

greedy I get house and job and family look after very cheep easy than home

[supernova77]

Hi  I am friend visit  of Pj.  My name doesnt matter.  I am fron other country.  Maybe Baltic state, maybe...

I work in my Country as Pharmacy researcher, I have Degree in Science and Maths.  15 years experience work.  Family wife 3 children.  I get paid same as £3.50p an hour for 30 hours week.  I have £105 a week with 3 hours to travel  day.  My rent is good  at same as £20 a week.  My tax is about same as you.  I drive sometimes very old car.  My food for family is same as £40  week.  I save for family £5  week.
I work here maybe for cleaning I not mind it.  I work for by myself maybe get £6 hour for 30 hours week.
I have £180 a week boss pick  up lift  My rent £80 a week for 1 room.  My food is £40 a week for me.and
I aboutsave  £50 a week send to family my wife

10 times more than they imagine!!!   I get  be with them soon.  I  ham not afraid work hard, I read all prices bigger biggest but I do good job same who cares more money

greedy I get house and job and family look after very cheep easy than home

LOL 

[windowwashers]

Hi  I am friend visit  of Pj.  My name doesnt matter.  I am fron other country.  Maybe Baltic state, maybe...

I work in my Country as Pharmacy researcher, I have Degree in Science and Maths.  15 years experience work.  Family wife 3 children.  I get paid same as £3.50p an hour for 30 hours week.  I have £105 a week with 3 hours to travel  day.  My rent is good  at same as £20 a week.  My tax is about same as you.  I drive sometimes very old car.  My food for family is same as £40  week.  I save for family £5  week.
I work here maybe for cleaning I not mind it.  I work for by myself maybe get £6 hour for 30 hours week.
I have £180 a week boss pick  up lift  My rent £80 a week for 1 room.  My food is £40 a week for me.and
I aboutsave  £50 a week send to family my wife

10 times more than they imagine!!!   I get  be with them soon.  I  ham not afraid work hard, I read all prices bigger biggest but I do good job same who cares more money

greedy I get house and job and family look after very cheep easy than home

LOL 

Oh my god!!

[Bertie Boo]

I pay a traditional window cleaner (i expect one of the beer money brigade) £6 to do 12 of my 13 windows and doors. He set the price at that and i agreed. I think thats cheap.

He doesnt do a bad job BUT (and this is the thing that irkes me) he only ever turns up when he feels like it. It used to be every four weeks -regular as clockwork- and always on a sunday (dont know why he works sundays but it suited me perfectly as i'm always in and can pay him/open garage door so he can clean back of house).

He takes about 10 minutes to do the job and he does several other houses round here.

He didnt come for weeks and weeks, in fact I asked another window cleaner to do them (thankfully he was too busy  and i say 'thankfully' 'cos after talking to him briefly i decided i didnt want him looking through me windows as he looked WELL dodgy) and begger me if the other guy didnt show up a day or two later. I had no cash on me at all so said he'd have to have it next time.......that was more than 6 weeks ago.

I can do downstairs myself (though i choose not to, not for what he charges), but its the upstairs that suffer.

That said, i do find it ironic that i often have to clean the outside of a window in a house i'm cleaning and yet i have someone to do mine. I clean some huge houses in some very well-to-do areas but they all say that the window cleaners just stop coming after a while.  :

[prestige cleaners]

I quoted a job at 55 quid, she nearly dropped down dead!!!!
Then she said- "my last w/c only took 15 quid"
So i asked where was he then?
she said "he just stopped coming"
"That's why" i said, laughed at her , "not to worry" & walked away. :

some ya win, some ya don't.

i love that quote, my last cleaner only charged x amount, yeah where is he now you muppet! i think some people would only be happy if you paid them to clean their windows!