[John Walker]

A one man band washing machine or boiler engineer will charge around £60 just to turn up.  Customers just seem to accept that without much quibble. 

Far less physical and they are working indoors in the dry and warm - and more likely to be offered tea and a cake or occasionally even more    !!

Their operating costs can't be much different to window cleaners with a small van.

No but their work is completey random unlike cleaning windows where a lot of it is regular. The washing machine and boiler men have to fund the times they are not actually working. Not that I am saying the author of this post is wrong to be charging what he is; after all the client did agree to it, though i can't help but think she is going to demand her £24's worth of flesh of him  and in practice i don't like the idea of 'overpricing' to avoid jobs; saying "I can' t fit it in @ the moment" works for me. But no, what i am saying is that window cleaning can't be compared to how a washing machine man runs his businesss.

Hi

Fair comment on washing machines but boiler engineers work on a regular service contract.  Twice a year for Agas and once a year for standard boilers so if they have enough customers  they should be in a reasonable situation to schedule their work.

[vacman]

A one man band washing machine or boiler engineer will charge around £60 just to turn up.  Customers just seem to accept that without much quibble. 

Far less physical and they are working indoors in the dry and warm - and more likely to be offered tea and a cake or occasionally even more    !!

Their operating costs can't be much different to window cleaners with a small van.

No but their work is completey random unlike cleaning windows where a lot of it is regular. The washing machine and boiler men have to fund the times they are not actually working. Not that I am saying the author of this post is wrong to be charging what he is; after all the client did agree to it, though i can't help but think she is going to demand her £24's worth of flesh of him  and in practice i don't like the idea of 'overpricing' to avoid jobs; saying "I can' t fit it in @ the moment" works for me. But no, what i am saying is that window cleaning can't be compared to how a washing machine man runs his businesss.

Hi

Fair comment on washing machines but boiler engineers work on a regular service contract.  Twice a year for Agas and once a year for standard boilers so if they have enough customers  they should be in a reasonable situation to schedule their work.

Customers, as we all know, are fickle. The only people who are dead-cert to have their boilers serviced annually are those who are in a contract to get this done. I speak now of my own plumber; people are cutting back on some things as we know and my plumber has said that servicing boilers is not what they like spending their money on at present. Granted he still has breakdown repairs to do and other plumbing gas installing Jobs, but nothing is guaranteed.

I am sorry to high-jack this thread with my pedantic banter (never let it be said I never realized when I was going off on one) but I am really protective of the self-employed and small-business people (being in both categories myself) and don’t particularly like people making judgments about what they do and what they charge. This isn’t aimed at you John as some sort of personal attack, I am making the point in general. None of us ever really know what it’s like to run someone else’s business, I for instance have never run a window or oven or carpet cleaning business in my life, therefore  I wouldn’t comment on how you guys charge for what you do.

[Paul_Rolfe]

Bit of an update, ok?

I turned up 10 minutes early (roll eyes!), rang bell and saw a bird in the front room hurridly tidying things up. Ok, I think, I gets stuff ready.  No reply at door, so press it hard again (I'm not going to messed around), door opens, but it's not sloppy son who answers but the bird, looking like she just got up and holding a banana in her hand, all sleepy eyed blah blah.

Smade a phone call to the owner and after some faffing over what door opens and what door doesn't, I got access to her rear.  (Funny, huh?).  Did the job, fnarr fnarr, and got out, left the effing great bill for eyeing a bit of 20 y/0 tit and ass and skiddaddled.

Gone, £24 the richer if the momma pays.

Will anyone let me in next time, huh?  If not, if on-going access problems...

Still, a reasonably nice 20 minutes with a bit of fantasy.

[Gleaming windows]

I'd say she was the '£24.00'

Looks like you did the job for nothing when payment was presented to you on a plate.

Still, live and learn mate  one day she might not be fantasy 

[Paul_Rolfe]

No,no, the bird wasn't the £24, honest.  The £24 was the has been workaholic lie there and take it, my boobs aren't all flapping-around-for-nothing type of gal, I promise.   The bird is the tart-of-the-moment for the sleepy one.

As for on a plate.. no thanks, it wasn't that nice.  But do-able, I would have thought.