[Sir Squeaky]

actually flattery gets you most places
bottom line is squeeks was happy with his price
i dont know how long you have been cleaning windows but i am sure you know what you want to earn
i have picked up work because i was cheaper
i have picked up work despite being more expensive
i dont over analyze why i got the job,i just get on with it

Spot on.

[mark dew]

I'm happy picking up 1 in every 2 or 3 quotes I give because that's the ratio I gain according to my prices.

You must charge some good prices then. Fair play to you. I get the majority  of my quotes which according to people on here means i'm too cheap. But i still price by window and not per time and therefore i have got alot of my jobs that will earn that and more. I do this because i prefer to price by amount of work rather than by time. And i don't want the customer to think of me as possibly earning £80+ per hour.
I don't consider myself ripping people off because i only charge as little as 80 per standard window or smaller and that is comparable to many others around here, but there are plenty working for a fiver per house still. I just work very quick nowadays on my regular work. That is where i make my money.

But how many windows squeaky??
Then we will have a better idea if he was expensive or just quick?
You were happy with your price squeaky and that is the main thing. You have picked up instead of lost a customer which is a bonus.
Another bonus for you is that you have the opportunity when people phone you about a quote, to say you have a £10 minimum charge so there are no suprises for them when you arrive.
Over the year, that's a bumper payrise for you if/when you decide to do it. I know we are different areas and i get knocked back on quotes as well. But suprisingly i have never had a new customer question my minimum charge of £10. I think people half expect it nowadays anyway.

[Paul Coleman]

It might have been a case of the other wc not having any work in that area and being asked to quote and so thinking he'll say £14 to make it worthwhile. 

I can see the point of trying to look as professional as you can to try and charge a little more.  You just build the illusion of being the best window cleaner, but if it keeps you customers sweet then fair enough.

I don't really see a problem in taking a customer off of another window cleaner who has a higher price.  I wouldn't deliberately do it, but if you put in your quote and it's cheaper then it would be silly to turn down the job if you've priced it at a rate you feel happy with.

I also think that there are very few loyal customers out there, and that some create the illusion of being loyal the same way that we do of being a good wc.  We've been dropped from so called loyal customers for minor reasons like price increases.

I also think £9 for 10 mins is a good rate especially if you are there all ready.

Simon.

Not sure there is such a thing as a "loyal" customer any more.  There are customers who won't leave for a cheaper price because they know how unreliable W/Cs can be and they prefer to stick with the devil they know.  If they go for a cheaper quote, they might end up with one who drops them after a couple of cleans - a common complaint.  Most don't care who cleans their windows so long as it's affordable, they get a reasonably reliable service, and they feel they can trust the W/C's honesty as well as work quality.

[Sir Squeaky]

But how many windows squeaky??
Then we will have a better idea if he was expensive or just quick?

Thought I said?

2 bed semi.
3 windows on the front, 3 on the back, 1 door on the side.
All simple panes, no opening lights, brown upvc frames, all done wfp.

Absolute doddle.
Very quick job.

[Londoner]

You will never be rich squeaky but at least you will sleep well at night.

I know an old lady who was quoted £80 to have her council house windows cleaned although I think he was a con man preying on the old girl rather than a serious window cleaner.

I have heard of £35 being quoted on several different occasions for 3 bed semis. Of course you are going to undercut those sort of prices. Wouldn't think twice

[macmac]

54 quid an hour sounds ok to me

Tony

[Ian_Giles]

Were I in Squeaks shoes I'd be kicking myself because I could have got a couple more quid for the job and the customer would still have been chuffed to get it a little cheaper than the other window cleaner

Having said that I think he was wrong not to charge the same as the house next door, I know it has a couple of windows extra on a porch, but he should stick with his minimum price.

The type of job he is talking about will be knocked out in little more than 5 minutes, read his description of the job, brown UPVC windows and all simple and straight forward, he'll fly through the job without even trying.

I have one account I know is underpriced, it is a 3 bed semi with 9 windows and 2 doors.
I charge a paltry £7.00....but I still do it from pulling up to packing away in 7 & 1/2 minutes...and the frames on the front have oxidised too!
As I am still on the £1.00 per minute worked I am happy enough with it.

If I were to price that house up now I would charge £11.00 for it...that's £4.00 more than I do now, almost the same kind of price difference that Squeaky is talking about....but at £11.00 I don't believe I'd be ripping off the customer.

Just because I'm quick and efficient on this job doesn't mean that someone else would be.

Maybe the window cleaner that Squeaks took the job off comes from miles away? Perhaps he has to go out of his way to do this job?
Maybe he slapped in a high price, not caring if he got the job or not.
Or then again of course that might be just how he values the service he provides.

This is going to be a really good little job for Squeaks, 6 or 7 minutes from start to finish - so long as he doesn't start farting around 'blading off' the downstairs windows!!
I just think he should have held his nerve and stayed at his minimum charge

Ian

[williamx]

This cleaner might be a newbie, and is trying to find the right level he should be pricing, at least he is starting high, much better than underpricing and hating the job.

Or he charges what he thinks the job is worth and what he needs to earn to have a standard of living that he wants, this is not "ripping people off" its good business sense.

Squeeky you were wrong to charge less than your minimum charge, what happens if you come across across another customer who has less glass to clean, do you drop your minimum charge again.

I know of one cleaner who charges £5 for a house, I clean many of his customers neighbours for double that at least, I think that he is mad for charging what he does and have told him so, buts he quite content with it, he earns what he want. 

[Moderator David@stives]

Theres a guy near me who is happy with £10.00 an hour

[dai]

Theres a guy near me who is happy with £10.00 an hour

I have one of them near me too Dave.
I recently lost 4 customers of 12 years standing, when I put their price up from £5.00 to £5.50.
I'm not at all bothered, they were well under priced anyway.
There are a hell of a lot of older customers that still don't like their windows being left wet, I lost them to a new trad guy who subsequently failed to turn up.
I was asked by one of the customers if I would do them again, I told her to go whistle Dixie.
I DO A LOT OF HOUSES AT £5 A GO, and I do 25 of them on a good day, the ones with cons get charged more.
If I had a minimum £10 charge, I would be on £250 every day. The problem is that I wouldn't, because I would lose them to the £10 an hour merchants.
If I have to drive to a job, it has to be worth at least a tenner, but highly compact work, on open plan
estates is what I have, and what all the other guys are after.
Good on you Squeaks, we all have to live with the competition in our own areas. Dai

[peter holley]

he ain't underpricing for £9, 10 minutes work

Yes he is.

No matter what price is being charged by the other guy it is NOT a rip off.

The customer knew the price in advance, and they knew what they would be getting for the money, so how is that a rip off?

Now she has later decided that this isnt good value for money, fair enough thats her perogative, but nobody has been ripped off.

I'd say, more fool you for doing a house for £9 that someone else managed to get £14 for.

only he didn't get it for £14 did he?

but squeaky added to his round in that area, and will keep it!

[peter holley]

the higher the price ... the higher the cancelation rate....(being too greedy)
the higher the price normaly means spread out work...

i'm not cheap, but my goal has always been condensed work. .. in my area i know of another company with a hot wfp set up... they charge  about 40% more.... but my takings , or hourly rate is more.... and my expenses are less...
i have no rigid rule...i price jobs according to what i feel i can get and keep, although i have a minimum charge of £10...

HOW DO I KNOW I'M DOING WELL?

i quetly read all the cocky posts and the braggarts and the critics on the forum...
no names!... and i know that i'm heading the right way

and i have no doubt that those who declare what they charge although critisised for being too cheap are probably earning more than their critics

[macmac]

the higher the price ... the higher the cancelation rate....(being too greedy)
the higher the price normaly means spread out work...

i'm not cheap, but my goal has always been condensed work. .. in my area i know of another company with a hot wfp set up... they charge  about 40% more.... but my takings , or hourly rate is more.... and my expenses are less...
i have no rigid rule...i price jobs according to what i feel i can get and keep, although i have a minimum charge of £10...

HOW DO I KNOW I'M DOING WELL?

i quetly read all the cocky posts and the braggarts and the critics on the forum...
no names!... and i know that i'm heading the right way

and i have no doubt that those who declare what they charge although critisised for being too cheap are probably earning more than their critics

I like that post

Tony

[peter holley]

just saying how i see (read it )

[Londoner]

Theres a guy near me who is happy with £10.00 an hour

There will always be these people and why not? Its a lot better than stacking shelves in Tescos or driving a Council Minibus. The lack of decent jobs round here is becoming really scarey.
When they introduced the minimum wage they created a benchmark. Employers know they don't have to go above it to get staff. The minimum wage has become the standard wage.

People are queuing up for jobs even at those wages because there is no choice.

Prices are like water, they find their own level over time. If you charge more than the "going rate", and I certainly try to, you will always have to keep one eye over your shoulder.

A lot of my customers are retired people who are quite well off. They bought their houses for a song and have retired on good company pensions. The next generation below them are not so well off, most were forced to retire early and their pensions have taken a hammering.

I think I am living in a bit of a time warp from that point of view.

[Dean Aspects]

Theres alot of talk about getting the maximum price for a job and by the description of the house it sounds like the maximum has been attained the price of £14 was rejected as being too much while £9 was accepted maybe that is the level for the area and job type
I know we all like to make the most we possibly can but maybe just maybe on this job it is the maximum

Dean

[gsw]

converslely, i went to price a job, current window cleaner charges 7.50 every 4 weeks, my price is 15.00 every 8 weeks, he does a crap job, i do a good job, picked up her neighbour aswell.... yes i'm open to undercutting, but there are always people prepared to pay for a job well done and they are the people i want as customers...... what happens when squeaks new customer can get the job done by a polish immigrant for 5.00 as he is just looking after his family and is happy to earn 5.00 for ten minutes work instead of the 5.60 an hour he is earning picking veg or working in a factory!!

just my opinion

[peter holley]

most customers worth having just want a fair price and a good job done.....
i have had someone canvassing my areas at half the price...but i havn't lost any work.....
but if i were to start putting my prices up by £1 annualy, as a rigid rule....i would have a few cancelations....

i put my prices up in line with what i know i can get away with....

[Paul Coleman]

the higher the price ... the higher the cancelation rate....(being too greedy)
the higher the price normaly means spread out work...

i'm not cheap, but my goal has always been condensed work. .. in my area i know of another company with a hot wfp set up... they charge  about 40% more.... but my takings , or hourly rate is more.... and my expenses are less...
i have no rigid rule...i price jobs according to what i feel i can get and keep, although i have a minimum charge of £10...

HOW DO I KNOW I'M DOING WELL?

i quetly read all the cocky posts and the braggarts and the critics on the forum...
no names!... and i know that i'm heading the right way

and i have no doubt that those who declare what they charge although critisised for being too cheap are probably earning more than their critics

I don't like my work to be too compact as it can make it trickier to ditch a troublesome customer.  By pricing cheaper because work is more compact (or having compact work because the price is cheaper) it means that I would be paid for window cleaning rather than driving.  But the main reason I have against pricing compact work more cheaply is because of something that happened to me in several areas.  It ended up with me losing a fair bit of work due to people moving, cancellations (even though I was cheap), or people just not likingh WFP (at the start).  It meant I was charging "compact" rates for spread out work.  Mistake made and learned from.  I now treat a quotation as if it's my only job in that immediate area.  Another thing about compact work is that you are more likely to fall foul of the "not today" brigade because they know you will be back in the area to service other customers in a few weeks.  When one or two start the "not today" stuff, it can become an epidemic quite easily.

[peter holley]

yes ... i understand that , but i'm not cheap..... if i get the "not today" for no valid reason , i don't do them again...

i have a minimum charhe of £10 ...i don't do council estates..my condensed is mainly 4 bed detached...i still have to move my van from one drive to next doors drive...

i'v been doing this type of work for 15 yrs, my cancelation rate is very low....but i still go for condensed