[simon knight]

It's a biggish house that I've done several times and have never got it done in less than 1hr (out) and it's in a bugger of a road to park in. I charge her £25 on a quarterly basis which I don't mind as she's an absolute sweetheart and always drowns me in tea

So yesterday conversation goes more or less like this:

Me: OK Julia I'll be off now, see you in August.
Julia: Great...oh just before you shoot off I need to tell you something. There's a guy offering to do them for £15.
Me: Blimey, good luck to him but I don't want to compete with that...£25 is a fair price.
Julia: Oh don't worry I'm staying with you...But what you need to be aware of his £15 was for in and out.

 

[sparklebright]

That is both annoying to hear and a bit comforting too.

On the one hand we have all seen wallies charging silly prices,
but on the other we can see that with most customers that you look after they will stay with you even if offered a better price.

Haven't lost any residential yet, and I'm not cheap

[MJH]

Thats the problem with the last 6 months every man and his dog is doing window cleaning i have seen plenty around here!!

[macmac]

Allthough it's annoying, people like him can't last. Even if he's genuine, he'll soon realise what a massive clanger he's dropped!!

Fortunately for most of our custies there is more to their choice of window cleaner than price alone. Not all, granted but the majority I would think.

[drive surgeon]

i see another few vans starting up every week. they are all undercutting each other.  how the hell do they make a living i dont know.

[cybersye]

ok, question for you all
when you first started (unless you bought a round) did you price well or lower than you would now for fear of not picking up work ?
Its been said before but many who have lost their jobs and decide to start up as a window cleaner would have been on the minimum wage and even £8 an hour will be appealing when your only other choice is the dole.

When i first started I was as keen as mustard and must admit to dropping a few clangers, it did'nt mean I did'nt last, it just meant I wised up. I got quicker and I got more experienced and my confidence grew.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing  

[daniel worgan]

How do all these new wc's make a living.
Not only do many of them undercut the established wc's they also must have trouble getting a full round together as so many of them are at it?
Now i know that a lot of the newbies will be fully legit but surely there must be a lot that are on the wrong side?How do they make ends meet? :

[Window Washers]

i see another few vans starting up every week. they are all undercutting each other.  how the hell do they make a living i dont know.

They are start up's and will soon drop there customers, hence why some can charge more....All good.

[GWCS]

How do all these new wc's make a living.
Not only do many of them undercut the established wc's they also must have trouble getting a full round together as so many of them are at it?
Now i know that a lot of the newbies will be fully legit but surely there must be a lot that are on the wrong side?How do they make ends meet? :

dole office  :

[ftp]

I dropped some incredible clangers regarding pricing when I started up- i'm still suffering the consequences now.  :
Getting better at it now - one job worth £120 this afternoon  

[simon knight]

I'll add here that the road this house is in has a few parking meters and even if you're lucky enough to get one it's £2.20ph. Now on the basis I reckon in/out would take min 2hrs he's gonna pay £4.40 just for his parking...netting him a grand profit of £10.60.

I actually think if you massively underprice potential customers get very suspicious...like are you on the nick or something.

[peter holley]

total madness

[windowswashed]

i see another few vans starting up every week. they are all undercutting each other.  how the hell do they make a living i dont know.

They don't declare their extra income to the taxman. All cash only in back pocket. Why else would they charge minimal price and claim benefits.

[dai]

My lad phoned me last week and asked what I was doing wrong, I asked him what he meant and he said there's a guy just driven through the village in a new Jag with a brand new WFP system on a trailor behind him.
Is this the new breed of window cleaner, or some redundant ex executive blowing his pay out money.
Human nature will prevail, it always does, the undercutters sooner or later feel peeved working for half the rate and increase their prices, they do some damage first though.

[Alex Wingrove]

alot counts on who you are

went to quote a job today, just a one off, three bed terrace house, quite dirty, i quoted £25, and she oh, the other guy priced £20, but i better go with you,

now im not saying im "special" but how you treat people means alot

[cybersye]

alot counts on who you are

went to quote a job today, just a one off, three bed terrace house, quite dirty, i quoted £25, and she oh, the other guy priced £20, but i better go with you,

now im not saying im "special" but how you treat people means alot

STOP
hav'nt you learnt anything from this forum?, should have been atleast twice that as its a one off and a bit on top because they were "quite dirty" :

[Londoner]

2 hours work for £15 when minimum wage is about £5.75 is still a good price to somebody.

In some parts of Eastern Europe its probably a days wages.

Prices are relative to your expectations and your financial situation. To a starving man a crust of bread is a feast.

[cybersye]

2 hours work for £15 when minimum wage is about £5.75 is still a good price to somebody.

In some parts of Eastern Europe its probably a days wages.

Prices are relative to your expectations and your financial situation. To a starving man a crust of bread is a feast.

my point exactly but put better

[simon knight]

2 hours work for £15 when minimum wage is about £5.75 is still a good price to somebody.

In some parts of Eastern Europe its probably a days wages.

Prices are relative to your expectations and your financial situation. To a starving man a crust of bread is a feast.

my point exactly but put better

Yes but minimum wage is at least guaranteed for whatever your working hours per week are. Whereas in our business we are at the mercy of the weather and fickle customers therefore our working week can be anything from 0-40ish hours.

Put another way. If somebody said to me I've got a choice: Work in McDonalds for 40hrs a week (guaranteed) on minimum wage or work as a window cleaner also on minimum wage (ish) but not guaranteed  a 40 hour week...

....you can see my point?

[cozy]

Good point Simon, do you want to buy my rounds? I fancy working at McDonalds