[squeejay]

Please could i have a copy too many thanks, SqueeJay , im in northants hope its not to close.
jason.burton@sky.com

[James Smith]

Any chance of a copy too please, info@easyreach.ie , I'm in Dublin so no competition to you.

As for the quote, I'm no expert as I've only been wc about a year but I'd be wary of that job, as someone already mentioned, the frames are dodgy so I'd ask for a good look at them before doing anything, if the frames are in bits you might have a nightmare when it comes to getting paid. I've quoted a few jobs & got them (not as big as that though) and some I wish I never went near them for various reasons, bad frames are a nightmare, I run a mile or just just give ridiculous quotes I know I won't get 

[m.b.s.]

hi gold fish just put a letter together as well would you be so kind as to send it to me to see which is better to use cheers m8
m.b.s.windowcleaners@ntlworld.com

[matt]

Tosh, just to say I thought the high impact low cost, allied to a 1-2-3 strategy was brilliant

Thanks for the compliment, and although it may sound good, I don't think it is.

It would be better to stick a low quote in for doing EVERYTHING EVERY MONTH, then after the first clean, implement the '1-2-3 stategy' using some nouce; it's what your competitors will be doing.

You'll be keeping the windows clean to a reasonable standard, yet still making a good profit.

This isn't my idea; it's what I've learnt from more experienced guys on this forum.

exactly, dont mention it to the owners / manager etc, just do it that way

i have a large OAP home, its well priced and others have come and priced alot less than me in the previous years

i still do the job as they want it done right, none of this lightwieght " clean insides every other time" when it shouldbe done every time, the funny thing is, i just walk around the insides with a dry scrim but what they dont know dont harm them

[brett walker]

Hi gofish

good luck with your quote

could i have a copy of the letter please

brett_walker@hotmail.co.uk

cheers mate

Brett

[The Seven Bays Window Cleaning Company]

Thanks for all the advice chaps.

I think I would have been underquoting myself, if I hadn't started this topic - not through desperation, just inexperience!

I'm going to really take my time quoting, and pay attention to the state of the frames, and any access isssues.


I'm not desperate for the job, and have a feeling it may even be to big for just me - but the experience of quoting  a large job will be good experience anyway. If I get for a worthwhile price then I'm doing OK.

I'm certainly going to quote it for 2 days work, give it my highest price + dodgy frame paint premium and see what happens.

[Alex Gardiner]

Looks like the type of Hotel that will never pay what it's really worth! I have quoted for many such places in Cornwall and this type of hotel rarely wants to pay the money. We currently have about 10 large hotels on our round and the two most popular cleaning combinations are:

1. All outside windows and the inside of the reception, bar, lounge and restaurant every month.

2. As above with a weekly clean of the reception, bar, lounge and restaurant.

Very very few hotels in our area want the inside of the bedroom windows doing regularly, or if they do, they do not want to pay for it to be done. Most get their housekeeping crew to pick them up as they go.

I would estimate that the job would take about 7-9 man hours actual work to complete all the outside windows. This would be allowing for accessing balconies to clean windows above, using a ladder to get onto to some first story flat roofs and going inside to access some of the bedroom windows. One or two of the dormers look very tough to get to . They may not want the dormers doing as these may be staff bedrooms.

I would quote about £380-£500 for option 1 (depending on your need for the job)
I would quote about £75 for option 2 per clean on top of the above price.

How do you fancy quoting for this hotel nearby you? I quoted for this one a couple of years ago, but they really wanted the whole place done every 2 weeks for about £250. Needless to say my quote was not what they were looking for!

[easy]

Hi Gofish,
Can you send me that letter, I'm from Essex, so nowhere near you.
Would be appreciated. my email is ajb__@hotmail.com

Tony.

[The Seven Bays Window Cleaning Company]

Looks like the type of Hotel that will never pay what it's really worth! I have quoted for many such places in Cornwall and this type of hotel rarely wants to pay the money. We currently have about 10 large hotels on our round and the two most popular cleaning combinations are:

1. All outside windows and the inside of the reception, bar, lounge and restaurant every month.

2. As above with a weekly clean of the reception, bar, lounge and restaurant.

Very very few hotels in our area want the inside of the bedroom windows doing regularly, or if they do, they do not want to pay for it to be done. Most get their housekeeping crew to pick them up as they go.

I would estimate that the job would take about 7-9 man hours actual work to complete all the outside windows. This would be allowing for accessing balconies to clean windows above, using a ladder to get onto to some first story flat roofs and going inside to access some of the bedroom windows. One or two of the dormers look very tough to get to . They may not want the dormers doing as these may be staff bedrooms.

I would quote about £380-£500 for option 1 (depending on your need for the job)
I would quote about £75 for option 2 per clean on top of the above price.

How do you fancy quoting for this hotel nearby you? I quoted for this one a couple of years ago, but they really wanted the whole place done every 2 weeks for about £250. Needless to say my quote was not what they were looking for!

Good Points Alex, Thanks

Can't believe they expected the Headland to be cleaned for £250 !!!

[Alex Gardiner]

I think what happens with some hotels is they have a fair amount of it done regularly at a reasonable amount and they decide to see what it will cost for the whole lot to be done. They forget that the regular work they already have done is the easier section of the job. As we all know you can spend 25% of your time time on just 5% of the tricky windows.

[TVCS]

Sorry to sound like a cheeky little tike but, may I also have a look at your letter.  captainantonio@msn.com.
Thanks in advance
Ant

[Ian_Giles]

This is the kind of job that I would generally try to avoid, particularly if they want a full external clean, you will never get a good enough price to make it a good earner.

With commercial work I love the stuff I can charge between about £35 up to about a £150 or so.
That may not sound like large sums of money, but the time taken to do the work makes these accounts the absolute cream of my round.

Large commercial accounts where a fair price might be in the several hundreds of pounds, usually means they will be looking very closely at what they are paying out, often with the large national companies pricing for them, meaning prices will be incredibly tight and the operatives doing the work will be doing the barest minimum amount of work they can get away with.

I have one account, a - Wetherspoon's - They have the pub windows cleaned inside and out every week, the lodge windows are on request and I then do it in bite sized chunks over a period of weeks.
I can charge an extra £20 to £40 for the work done, this means it's small enough that they are not too concerned about it being added on to my normal bill.

This of course is nothing like as large as that hotel mind! But it is worth £220 per month for the weekly stuff.

So as Alex has said, try to get them to have the high usage areas done regularly, thereby allowing you to give what seems a reasonable quote and adapt a more variable system for bedroom windows and the like.

Oh, and make your payment terms very, very clear!!!!

These places can leave you waiting months for payment if they can get away with it!

Best of luck with your quote!

Ian

[Rob_Mac]

Alex

I spent a summer working at the Headland Hotel - back in about 87 - what a great year that was.

Gofish

Why don't you stick the letter on the forum so you don't have to keep emailing it out and direct people to where it is

Rob

[The Seven Bays Window Cleaning Company]

This is the kind of job that I would generally try to avoid, particularly if they want a full external clean, you will never get a good enough price to make it a good earner.

With commercial work I love the stuff I can charge between about £35 up to about a £150 or so.
That may not sound like large sums of money, but the time taken to do the work makes these accounts the absolute cream of my round.

Large commercial accounts where a fair price might be in the several hundreds of pounds, usually means they will be looking very closely at what they are paying out, often with the large national companies pricing for them, meaning prices will be incredibly tight and the operatives doing the work will be doing the barest minimum amount of work they can get away with.

I have one account, a - Wetherspoon's - They have the pub windows cleaned inside and out every week, the lodge windows are on request and I then do it in bite sized chunks over a period of weeks.
I can charge an extra £20 to £40 for the work done, this means it's small enough that they are not too concerned about it being added on to my normal bill.

This of course is nothing like as large as that hotel mind! But it is worth £220 per month for the weekly stuff.

So as Alex has said, try to get them to have the high usage areas done regularly, thereby allowing you to give what seems a reasonable quote and adapt a more variable system for bedroom windows and the like.

Oh, and make your payment terms very, very clear!!!!

These places can leave you waiting months for payment if they can get away with it!

Best of luck with your quote!



Ian

That's great advice Ian , thank you.

I hadn't really thought about payment terms, and I'm glad you mentioned it.

What are the normal terms for commercial contracts?

Thanks

Marc

[Ian_Giles]

Payment terms will vary, but ultimately it is YOU who sets them!

If I have to send an invoice off to head office, or payment comes from a head office, I do understand that for the most part, these places have a certain day of the month where payments are made, usually the end of the month, and the trick is the ensure that your invoice is submitted early enough to be dealt with on the payment run for that month.
On your quote, try to ensure in some way or other that they understand that late payment means the work will be put on hold until payment is received.
Otherwise, on a big job you can be out an awful lot of money

Ian

[matt]

another good point is payment

mine now either pay on the day OR its at the end of the month

ive got rid of the 1's who take months and months to pay
though saying that a shop got rid of me, i didnt really care as they owed me 16 months cleans

[bluez]

Most Hotels that I deal with take at least 60 days to pay and some can be as slow as 120 days so be sure if you are taking on this type of work that you can afford the wait.

I would always try to go outside my comfort zone and get these jobs even if it is only for the experience, you never know when the bits you learn will make you some cash.

With regards to what bits to clean when, let them tell you what they want before you make up your mind and always remember hotel managers change very regularly in a year you will probably be the longest serving member of "staff" and you can adjust the service unknown to them every time the manager changes. I do one hotel that started out as a one off, the manager was on his last week, the new manager asked me how often we did it I told him  bi monthly, no problem, 6months later new manager I do it every month now and it only includes the difficult bits every third visit.

[The Seven Bays Window Cleaning Company]

Bluez.

I agree I'm probably outside my comfort zone with this, but if were ever to progress then you have to.

I remember my first  job , a £6 house,  I quote for I didn't feel comfortable doing that, but after a few you used get used to it.

Already just reading these posts I feel I have learnt  a lot

[xxmattyxx]

I do one hotel that started out as a one off, the manager was on his last week, the new manager asked me how often we did it I told him  bi monthly, no problem, 6months later new manager I do it every month now and it only includes the difficult bits every third visit.

A very valid point, possibly what some might call underhand, but at the end of the day if the hotel isnt happy paying for it monthly Im sure they'll let you know some way.

I do a care home which used to have its roof windows done every 3rd visit, bloody pain they were, when the manager moved on and a new one was appointed I decided the roof windows would became a non-event in the window cleaning calendar of that particular establishment, the residents windows get done every visit now and if they want the roof windows done its an extra.

Time to fly, off to do that care-home now 

Matt

[Mo]

Hi Gofish,
Can you send me that letter, I'm from Sussex, so nowhere near you
Would be appreciated. my email is mo.windowcleaner@ntlworld.com

Mo