[frames to panes]

This forum seems to have gone 90% wfp, there are loads in my area too, do you forsee so much competition that prices will fall?

[jonah]

No

[[GQC] Tim]

There are over 20 cleaners in my direct area, and I still charge excellent prices. Wfp or not.

[windowwashers]

This forum seems to have gone 90% wfp, there are loads in my area too, do you forsee so much competition that prices will fall?

there maybe 90% wfp that you know of then add about 30 maybe more trad cleaners to that. Then you will still get people saying I cant find a window cleaner.

So for now no.

[geefree]

Now is the time to keep them prices up... all of us.

we have big outlay now,

gone are the days of setting up with £50..

KEEP THEM UP. 


Hey i am getting experienced now, have you noticed? 

[chrismroberts]

I think the forum is quite WFP oriented, simply because its a much more substantial investment and a more complicated concept, and so requires more research, support and advice than mop and squeegee work...

I don't think WFP is that common, especially not on domestic. Out of about 11 or 12 guys that I can think of that work the same area as me, theres only me and one other who are WFP.

[jonah]

Now is the time to keep them prices up... all of us.

we have big outlay now,

gone are the days of setting up with £50..

KEEP THEM UP. 


Hey i am getting experienced now, have you noticed? 

I used to like you  :

[jonah]

This forum seems to have gone 90% wfp, there are loads in my area too, do you forsee so much competition that prices will fall?

Sorry but I dont see it ! I have searched areas local to me and quoted my price and still geting new customers 

[matt]

it stands to reason the more WC'ers around the lower the prices will be

now you may have 10 local WC'ers who are established and have "full" rounds

now add into that mix 5 new starters this year, they will need work, they might pick up the odd house thats been missed by the 10 established WC'er, they might go and canvas and pick up a few houses that they will offer a cheaper price ( cheaper because home owners are cutting back, concearned with the economy etc etc )

now one of these people who have gone for the cheaper price, they talk to others and say " ive found some1 great, he's just started up and charges be half what my last guy did ), the economy spirals downwards and more feel the pinch

add to the eqaution that you might have another 5 eastern europeans who will gladly earn 10 quid a hour ( keep in mind people on here mention earning 30 - 50 quid a hour )

i feel the WC'ing lark wil not get any richer, it can only go down, personally i dont have a issue with that per sa, as supply and demand will alter prices

[geefree]

Yes , but its same as other trades, people are leaving, opting out because of the weather, and other factors.... after all , most of us left other jobs to do this...

leaving gaps to be filled.

window cleaners must always have had competition, the same as any job.

its the merry go round that makes life tick.

[matt]

Yes , but its same as other trades, people are leaving, opting out because of the weather, and other factors.... after all , most of us left other jobs to do this...

leaving gaps to be filled.

window cleaners must always have had competition, the same as any job.

its the merry go round that makes life tick.

i agree with that

BUT WC'ing is now widely thought of as a cracking little earner, i had a guy who is a " training provider" he subbies mainly to the NHS to train HR stuff, he charges £550 a day, he said to me last week ( might have been the week before ) i heard you WC'ers are earning that much these days, he was serious aswell

[jonah]

Yes , but its same as other trades, people are leaving, opting out because of the weather, and other factors.... after all , most of us left other jobs to do this...

leaving gaps to be filled.

window cleaners must always have had competition, the same as any job.

its the merry go round that makes life tick.

i agree with that

BUT WC'ing is now widely thought of as a cracking little earner, i had a guy who is a " training provider" he subbies mainly to the NHS to train HR stuff, he charges £550 a day, he said to me last week ( might have been the week before ) i heard you WC'ers are earning that much these days, he was serious aswell

I hope you put him right and insisted we dont get out of bed for at least £551 a day !

[matt]

Yes , but its same as other trades, people are leaving, opting out because of the weather, and other factors.... after all , most of us left other jobs to do this...

leaving gaps to be filled.

window cleaners must always have had competition, the same as any job.

its the merry go round that makes life tick.

i agree with that

BUT WC'ing is now widely thought of as a cracking little earner, i had a guy who is a " training provider" he subbies mainly to the NHS to train HR stuff, he charges £550 a day, he said to me last week ( might have been the week before ) i heard you WC'ers are earning that much these days, he was serious aswell

I hope you put him right and insisted we dont get out of bed for at least £551 a day !

  of course, i mentioned that what i aim to earn between my 1/2 hour breakfast and my 12 O'clock lunch 

[Londoner]

Its nothing to do with WFP. The trouble IMO is going to come from the sheer number of blokes who are unemployed or under employed in their trade at the moment.

I was talking to a mate who is a taxi driver, he said he has never known it so quiet in London. He predicts a big recession is on the way.

What goes round comes round, when work is quiet in the building trade etc they turn to window cleaning.
There are no decent jobs in the paper and thousands of jobs are being lost to foreign competition.
We take a double hit in these situations. Customers have no money and we are a luxury they do with out and suddenly new WCs are canvassing those customers we have left.

[simon knight]

I agree. Also if somebody is unemployed he's going to be undercutting left, right and centre. And why shouldn't he, he's not bound by the unwritten w/cers rule of "don't undercut". All he wants to do is earn a crust to pay the mortgage to keep his house.

[Londoner]

I agree. Also if somebody is unemployed he's going to be undercutting left, right and centre. And why shouldn't he, he's not bound by the unwritten w/cers rule of "don't undercut". All he wants to do is earn a crust to pay the mortgage to keep his house.

Thats it exactly, not the cowboys WC so much as the bandit who has no interest in rules or long term aspirations of building a business for the future.
All he wants is cash and he wants it now because he has bills to pay.

I think we have a new term, the "bandit window cleaner" 

[matt]

I agree. Also if somebody is unemployed he's going to be undercutting left, right and centre. And why shouldn't he, he's not bound by the unwritten w/cers rule of "don't undercut". All he wants to do is earn a crust to pay the mortgage to keep his house.

Thats it exactly, not the cowboys WC so much as the bandit who has no interest in rules or long term aspirations of building a business for the future.
All he wants is cash and he wants it now because he has bills to pay.

I think we have a new term, the "bandit window cleaner" 

but isnt that life, he is only trying to provide food  and pay his bills

[Londoner]

I agree. Also if somebody is unemployed he's going to be undercutting left, right and centre. And why shouldn't he, he's not bound by the unwritten w/cers rule of "don't undercut". All he wants to do is earn a crust to pay the mortgage to keep his house.

Thats it exactly, not the cowboys WC so much as the bandit who has no interest in rules or long term aspirations of building a business for the future.
All he wants is cash and he wants it now because he has bills to pay.

I think we have a new term, the "bandit window cleaner" 

but isnt that life, he is only trying to provide food  and pay his bills

Yes, and so am I . But I am not destroying someone elses livelyhood in the process. The underlying attitude and motivation is what I am calling into question.

In using the term "bandit" I was intentionally trying to keep them seperate from the other forms of competition we face. The bandit is a dangerous form of window cleaner IMO simply because he is quite prepared to destroy what you have built up and enter into the dog eat dog sort of conflict that frankly I dread.

[AuRavelling79]

I see similarities between window cleaners and painter/decorators. You get one man bands, small firms, cowboys and dole cheats. What we gain on the hourly rate they gain by working whatever the weather.

The good ones in both lines of work will have customers that pay more. The dole cheats and the new starters will come and go as the job market waxes and wanes.

If you are a good w/c, reliable, honest and trustworthy then you will keep custy's as others come and go.

My two cents anyway ...

[NWH]

I`m constantly being called on recomendation from existing customers for new work i`ve never known it like it,the thing is a lot of people have fly by night WC`s and are fed up with getting there windows cleaned twice a year if there lucky.If your worried about losing work for whatever reason target retired or semi retired people,most of mine moneys not the problem they just want someone they can trust and know that they will get a regular job done,if they know that you`ll clean all year round they`ll stick by you.They might think he`s a bit expensive but he`s reliable and does a good job,most sensible people won`t risk changing over a few quid.