[sparklebright]

Guess how much some numpty, has charged for the following...

Two blocks comprising 18 flats, over 3 floors (grnd 1st 2nd)
66 windows, 22 per floor and 18 balconies 6 per floor.
Including inside the communal windows in the 2 lobbies. Takes about 3-3 1/2 hours wfp. And you have to arrange the day, and be there at 9 precise to do the top balconies.

I had been doing the job for 4 years, it's next to a bigger contract so I did it for a very reasonable £112.
They asked for 3 fresh quotes because they are skint. I went in at £80.

Any takers? Guess what it went for.....

£65 every 6 weeks 
Some people are muppets

[DaveG]

Could be a new guy just starting out and trying to impress the management company?

£20 for a guy just starting (maybe left a factory job earning £6 an hour) aint bad?

Just a thought...

[sparklebright]

What you said has merit, I made some foolish pricing errors early on, but, it's an older bloke been going for years.
And he's wfp which has a cost to it.

I know where he lives.
I guess now I know why he lives there, and not somewhere nicer. 

[DaveG]

Maybe hes going to cut corners on the job mate and you will get it back?

Is he any good? Does he employ "cheap" labour

Where abouts is the job?

[sparklebright]

I may well get it back, they are quite a picky lot.

We'll see.

[DaveG]

Onwards and upwards mate

[Lee Pryor]

things like that really anger me, now that they have had it for that price they will never pay a proper amount again, why are so many window cleaners charging so little!!!!!!!!! it ruins the trade, you dont see things like that with plumbers or plasteres and so on, for the record we would have been £180 on those flats as we charge £10 per flat no less EVER

i hate it when you do a quote on a house for say £20.00 and they turn round and say the last guy was £7!

alot of window cleaners dont realise the value of their service to the customer, if a home owner with no ladder and no window cleaning tools wants to clean their own windows frames and sills it could take hours, and its a dirty job they dont want to do. i wish everyone would start charging a proper price.

here in surrey almost all tradesmen would expect to earn £200 a day or close to it either way, why should a wc be any different!

[Smudger]

We have people round here doing 4 bed detached with conserv for £4.00

takes them an hour 

Darran

[Lee Pryor]

for a short time at the start of the recession i lowered our prices to reduce our losess, in other words i made a quick decision to keep my business growing. for the last few months our prices are back to where they have always been, and that is the higher end.

[vacman]

for a short time at the start of the recession i lowered our prices to reduce our losess, in other words i made a quick decision to keep my business growing. for the last few months our prices are back to where they have always been, and that is the higher end.

But in your last message you said that people offering lower prices makes you angry 

[Lee Pryor]

yes i did, and i meant it. im talking about extreams of pricing. and although craig has posted some of our advertised prices from earlier in the year, what he hasnt posted is that our prices are also based on frequency and that was our 4 week price, which almost know one went for, ie we charge more for a lower frequency.

by extreams i mean when somone is £6.00 when most are around say £15.00

i hope what im trying to say is a bit clearer.

[vacman]

yes i did, and i meant it. im talking about extreams of pricing. and although craig has posted some of our advertised prices from earlier in the year, what he hasnt posted is that our prices are also based on frequency and that was our 4 week price, which almost know one went for, ie we charge more for a lower frequency.

by extreams i mean when somone is £6.00 when most are around say £15.00

i hope what im trying to say is a bit clearer.

Well, i certainly understand the situation more, yes.

[Clive McDonald]

This is why some of the live wire posters don't bother- because they get ambushed !

He made a comment on the topic, so why not stick to that, if you disagree say so, but don't drag up old comments.

But since we are dragging up comments the funniest recent one was when ewan (as in business expert ewan) declared that george was better than wcp for a sole trader.Meaning that a sole trader always operates alone of course.He thinks a sole trader is a solo trader.Priceless.

[Clive McDonald]

yeah, and i see now that you weren't just knocking for the sake of it.There are a few businesses on here that i like to see posting because they are extremly good at what they do, such as pryors, but often stop posting if they get into pointless arguments.

[Murdie window cleaning]

The topic of pricing is always going to be an emotive subject. I know where I am there are cheaper window cleaners than me, but I picked up 8 new jobs today in a small area where a well established cleaner charges less  

But as for the op there is a cleaner sitting happy tonight after picking up a new £65 job, if he is an experianced guy he'll know how long it should take him.

[leapstallbuildings]

Guess how much some numpty, has charged for the following...

Two blocks comprising 18 flats, over 3 floors (grnd 1st 2nd)
66 windows, 22 per floor and 18 balconies 6 per floor.
Including inside the communal windows in the 2 lobbies. Takes about 3-3 1/2 hours wfp. And you have to arrange the day, and be there at 9 precise to do the top balconies.

I had been doing the job for 4 years, it's next to a bigger contract so I did it for a very reasonable £112.
They asked for 3 fresh quotes because they are skint. I went in at £80.

Any takers? Guess what it went for.....

£65 every 6 weeks 
Some people are muppets

If it weren't for the access restrictions/balconies, I reckon that could be an OK price for such a job (£65 for 66 windows plus a few internal communal windows?) .
I do several blocks of flats together in one contract.  Twelve flats in each block spread over G,1, and 2.  A bit of inside window cleaning on entrance doors and upstairs windows.  The first clean was a money loser (more correctly - a low hourly rate for a self-employed sole trader) because I did it properly but the three blocks are half a day on their own if I work pretty hard.  Not saying the price on a public forum but it's in the same ballpark as your old price for your two blocks.  It's 168 windows plus a little bit of internal - all easily accessible.
I think it's those balconies that are the problem.  There are none on the blocks that I do.  Nor are there any full length windows with railings.  Without such obstructions, it's possible to fly around such work once the first clean is out of the way.  It's certainly not my best paying work hour for hour but it's one decent chunk of money from a very prompt payer and it's close to home.  I also think it can depend on what equipment is being used.  I use a lightweight carbon telescopic pole as I can reach everything with it.
OK so it ends up being a hard half day for somewhere around the £112 you mentioned.
So somewhere around £28 an hour.  Not so good hour for hour as some work but OK for the type of work that it is.
The rate would certainly go up if there were access issues or any unreasonable time restrictions as that can be very time consuming.

I certainly don't regard myself as a muppet   

signed
Kermit.

[Niall McAllister]

Guess how much some numpty, has charged for the following...

Two blocks comprising 18 flats, over 3 floors (grnd 1st 2nd)
66 windows, 22 per floor and 18 balconies 6 per floor.
Including inside the communal windows in the 2 lobbies. Takes about 3-3 1/2 hours wfp. And you have to arrange the day, and be there at 9 precise to do the top balconies.

I had been doing the job for 4 years, it's next to a bigger contract so I did it for a very reasonable £112.
They asked for 3 fresh quotes because they are skint. I went in at £80.

Any takers? Guess what it went for.....

£65 every 6 weeks 
Some people are muppets

other side of the equation. maybe he's talking to friends about the guy in the mask, and the get a way van, that used to do the job

[martinsadie]

I know where he lives.
I guess now I know why he lives there, and not somewhere nicer. 

you a snob or what,i live in a terrace not in the best part of town but its paid for,i dont move for a reason ,one being im into my 5th week of work due to illness but ive no money worries like you might have in your nicer house

[luther1]

I've been cleaning a house in a local village (which i do most of the houses in) for £130. Some firm has leaflet dropped the whole village with price quotes already written on their cards and gone in at £50!.

[TonyD]

I've been canvassing a local new build, and so has every other local cleaner.....
Small town (St.Helens), detached house, 6 windows front, 6 rear, 2 on one side.   I priced one at £8,  to try and get on the estate and the work, the guy had 8 window cleaners knock and offer prices in his first week living there, the winning price - £4.  I was the second most expensive at £8  :