[windowswashed]

It's all very well cleaning houses dirt cheap until you have to fall back on reserve funds for when you are unable to work, holidays, bank holidays, illness, extreme weather, unforseen costs (i.e. van involved in an accident or equipment stolen). If you can't afford to put aside for emegencies then you are too close to the margins on price and will just run yourself into the ground becoming the busy fool and go out of business or lose interest and motivation needed to stay in this job long term.

[AJ]

I think everyone has got to realize that there are a lot of people out there who have no work at all, and window cleaning especially residential is a low cost way of earning a few quid. To call these people idiots is a bit strong, if it means putting food on the table and paying the mortgage, then they are far from idiots. These prices will continue to appear in these times. How many of us on here started window cleaning ' til something solid comes along' I know I did.

[cozy]

so i'm going from trad to WFP soon how much difference in charging should it be the average price in my area is £5.50 trad style

Why any different??? same price i think, unless you can sell pvc wash with window cleaning if you dont already do that!

Thank god for that! a sensible answer

[gerard mcmanus]

I find I am pretty much in line with the window cleaners in my area, got a customer one dropped, and was cheaper than him, went to another street to give another qoute, customer fell out with the last cleaner, same one as my last qoute and I was about £3 dearer than him. Go figure.

I have various jobs of various prices, I have about 50 odd under £6, granted small flats but still, if you get by and you are happy with what you have earned at the end of the month then no one can say thats silly. Even if you only do £70 a day six days a week for on a four weekly rota, thats nearly 22k a year if you dont take any holidays or sicks days.

We all know we can have a spell where we earn £30/£40 in the on hour but its not maintainable and if you earn £15 an hour and spend half that on expenses which wont happen, your still making a good bit more than someone employeed at minimum wage.

Ok, so heres the thing. We are all moaning because all these £5 window cleaners are taking up the business, and everyone wants that price regardless of the size of there home, and yes it does have a negitive effect on the growth of the industry but still, you can make money of this craze. If as many of them quit as you think, then buy them out and grow not moan.

[trevor perry]

I think everyone has got to realize that there are a lot of people out there who have no work at all, and window cleaning especially residential is a low cost way of earning a few quid. To call these people idiots is a bit strong, if it means putting food on the table and paying the mortgage, then they are far from idiots. These prices will continue to appear in these times. How many of us on here started window cleaning ' til something solid comes along' I know I did.

couldnt agree more at least these ones are getting off their backsides and trying to earn a living instead of sitting back and moaning, yes it will drive down prices but i would rather prices drop than these ones stop at home and our taxes go up to keep them, if your willing to work hard and get stuck in a good wage can be made even at low prices.

[mlscontractcleaner]

I do a load of flats in Plymouth and charge £6. I caneasily knock out 8 in an hour as they are all in one area, no driving, or very little between blocks, good payers, good hourly rate. I'm not a new window cleaner having been in the job since 1991 BUT I am sensible enough to realise that, as a few other sensible folk have stated, not everyone has or wants to spend ten quid to have their windows cleaned.

Charge what you like by all means but don't complain when someone nicks your customers by charging what is still a reasonable price.

I earn a good living, take the wife and kids abroad a couple of times a year, belong to a posh gym, maintain the wife's soft top car aswel as my van and WFP and have no financial worries ........

My point?

I charge a reasonable price, almost always get new jobs quoted for, have a wide range of private and commercial work and I'm most certainly not an idiot!!!!

[trevor perry]

They wont last for long mate, fly by window cleaners.

most of my work is £5 per house  per fortnight  (Average 3 bed semi NO conservatory)and i  only use WFP system
I CAN assure you i am not fly by night after spending over £2k to kit my van out after using a DIY system for the past year and its sign writen as well 

round where i am from people dont want to and cannot afford to pay and with the credit crunch people dont have as much money

I have spoke to a few Long standing cleaners that i come across when im cleaning and like me they say its hard to get more than £8 per house round here ......

Each to there own i say
I can sleep at night knowing i am doing a good job and that my customers are happy

yes there will be some people buying a ladder and a shammy and starting to window clean while the sun shines ...thats there problem..

in the current climate would you rather clean 5 houses at £5 per fortnight or clean 0 houses at £10 per fortnight


ill await the slating i will get for this post but please dont all people who clean windows for £5 as idiots!!

no slating here ,a lot of my work under a fiver and i make a good living 

  at last good posts that prove that just because someone is cheap doesnt make them cowboys, i think over the coming months a lot of the high pricers are going to lose a serious amount of work but this can depend upon where they are in the country as some wealthier areas dont seem to be affected yet and enjoy paying more.

[HIGH LEVEL WINDOW CLEANERS (scrimmy)]

totally agree, i reckon in these tough economic times and recession the five quid brigade will have a better chance of getting through it this than most.

[eclipse]

Well i am very suprised at the return posts so far......


I was VERY hesitant to put my original reply about me being one of the "£5" brigade as i was expecting nothing but diggs and abuse regarding this as i didnt think there were as many in my price range so to speak

in the past on the polls and the "how much" threads people (not all) have said they earn xxxxx amount per day and they wont get out of bed for £xxx amount
perhaps this thread will show that because some people charge low amounts they can still be profesional and like others have said earn a very good living



just because i charge £5 and you charge £15 that dosnt make you 3 times the cleaner i am
I class myself to be a profesional WFP cleaner i wear my uniform and i arrive in my sign written van
and i offer a money back guarantee after 3 cleans and touch wood i havnt had to give a single penny back in the 13 month i added window cleaning to my business my customers are very happy

As long as the rest of the "idiots" as you call them as long as they do it correctly ie insurances NI Liability  etc i dont have a problem with them if they were to offer cleans for 50p as long as my round is full im happy 
now the summer brigade who still claim benefits now thats another thing in my book.......

As for money to fall back on for emergencies thats no problem either ive just had to fork out £600 to a mercedes dealer for 7 hours labour on my van  which is a kick in the teeth but im damn sure that i will go out and get more than that saved up again until something else breaks...


be interesting to see what the original poster has to say on this matter

[eclipse]

this will put the cat amongst the pigeons then........

I CLEAN MY NEIGHBOURS WINDOWS FOR FREE>>>


bless her

[bad trippy]

One of the points i was making was on their flyers it said cleans £5 and not from £5, my point is this, how can they charge £5 for a 10 min job but also charge £5 for a job taking double that time? One of the estates i was canvassing today where the £5 birgade had leafleted had 3 large windows at front, 4 yes 4 windows on the side and 4 windows at rear, thats 11 windows most with transom windows all for £5? I mean no disrespect but this aint Hull Rotherham or Sidiothorpe this is Bristol which has the largest economy in the uk outside of london

[eclipse]

well dropped your self in it there

living in sc-unthorpe myself i take great offense to that comment nothing wrong with any of those places you have mentioned there all around near me

shall i pass you a spade........

also that wasnt the point you were making .. you were making the point that anyone in your mind who is happy to clean windows for a fiver is an "idiot"

[trevor perry]

One of the points i was making was on their flyers it said cleans £5 and not from £5, my point is this, how can they charge £5 for a 10 min job but also charge £5 for a job taking double that time? One of the estates i was canvassing today where the £5 birgade had leafleted had 3 large windows at front, 4 yes 4 windows on the side and 4 windows at rear, thats 11 windows most with transom windows all for £5? I mean no disrespect but this aint Hull Rotherham or Sidiothorpe this is Bristol which has the largest economy in the uk outside of london

that worksout at about 45p a window if he gets enough work to make the round compact then he can definately make a decent wage at those prices, bristol may have a large economy but look in the papers at what wages people are being paid for jobs advertised and i am sure you could make more than alot of them at 45p a window if your round is compact.

[dai]

ive got a mate hes been window cleaning 25 years,he can do 10 council houses in an hour 4.50 a house off ladders,he does them properly as well 45 an hour

Wow!, that's more than twice as fast as I can do them WFP

[gerard mcmanus]

I denfinately dont think it is wise to charge a set price regardless of size of time spent on a job, and am suprised at the amount of cleaners I have heard doing that 

[sparklebright]

ive got a mate hes been window cleaning 25 years,he can do 10 council houses in an hour 4.50 a house off ladders,he does them properly as well 45 an hour

Can he leap tall buildings with a single bound?
Is he faster than a speeding bullet?
Is he scared of Kryptonite?

Sorry couldn't resist

[bad trippy]

well dropped your self in it there

living in sc-unthorpe myself i take great offense to that comment nothing wrong with any of those places you have mentioned there all around near me

shall i pass you a spade........

also that wasnt the point you were making .. you were making the point that anyone in your mind who is happy to clean windows for a fiver is an "idiot"

Eclipse, i meant no disrecpect to your area what so ever and apoligise if you have taken offence, what i was trying to say its horses for coarses, so ok £10 or £15 per house may not be the norm around your area perhaps but also £5 per clean aint the norm for my area either

[eclipse]

well if that is the case you should make it clearer in the first place

Also sidiothorpe isnt my area it is my home and the place i was born nothing wrong with it apart from the football team

[dai]

I have been working on £5.50 houses all week, and have 2 more days to finish the estate. Open plan, highly compact, I can do the fronts of 4 houses without moving my trolley, it's a great little earner.
To be fair to the original poster, he wasn't slagging £5 jobs, just guys promising via leaflet, to do any house for a fiver.

[bad trippy]

well if that is the case you should make it clearer in the first place

Also sidiothorpe isnt my area it is my home and the place i was born nothing wrong with it apart from the football team

Mate scunny ran away with the league and we only got 2nd, last season i looked out for your results and really hoped you would avoid relegation