[P @ F]

Not sure if im too slow cos i dont think im earning anything like what i should be per day, im a one man band so what should i in your opinions be lookin at earing in a day workin on houses only , with ladders , take the houses as easy access and your usual 3 bedroom property , oh and workin for about 7 hours.

 Give us your guesstimates and ill give you all a laugh when i tell you what i actually make in a day , oh and i forgot to mention that i do all the frames every time !

        Rich    P @ F

[giftedk]

i think my prices are low and im not earning what i should be but you must be earning £100 a day ?.

[P @ F]

Giftedk , nail on the head , on a good day that is , sumtimes only 80 , but is this enough ? , i reckon i should be gettin more than that !
I have tried to speak to others in my area but they all seem to be real bad at talkin to one another down here in plymouth, its like they all think that your out to nick their customers , even driving past them there just isnt any wave or anything , only got one other who will say any thing to me
MAYBE IM DAMN UGLY , WHO KNOWS !  LOL
Is it the same in all areas ?

 Rich    P @ F

[The Bear]

You need to aim at £25+ per hour, maybe doing the frames every time is slowing you down.

Let us know your pricing method, maaybe we can help.

[Davindo Cleana]

Rich, I am not fast on the glass but not bad getting around the windows, which might make up a bit of time -
also are you fiddly with the squeegee and detailing, cos I used to have the approach of a landscape artist before it started to click

[steve k]

3 houses an hour at average £7.00 (Liverpool prices) is £21 an hour X 7 hours = £147.00

BUT...you have to take this as a perfectly structured round day in day out with no rest break.
Err on the side of caution and use 2 of those hours for access problems, moving from job to job, talking to customers, picking up payments and having a break and your daily rate comes down to £105.00 a day....not bad.

I have a WFP system which is great on majority of windows but some areas, I am faster using trad and can offer the following advice.

I have really speeded up by not paying microscopic attention to the finished job...I trust my technique and move on to next window as soon as I have finished...no looking around glass looking for smears...wasting time.

I also have started using a clean damp scrim to wipe clean the small top openers on all my windows. Used to use a small squeegee but found it unneccesary and time consuming.

Regarding frames, they cannot need cleaning each time and at the most would just need a wipe using the above scrim.

Don`t know where you live but anything over a £100 a day is OK and as you speed up, you will be earning more.

[Paul Coleman]

Giftedk , nail on the head , on a good day that is , sumtimes only 80 , but is this enough ? , i reckon i should be gettin more than that !
I have tried to speak to others in my area but they all seem to be real bad at talkin to one another down here in plymouth, its like they all think that your out to nick their customers , even driving past them there just isnt any wave or anything , only got one other who will say any thing to me
MAYBE IM d**n UGLY , WHO KNOWS !  LOL
Is it the same in all areas ?

 Rich    P @ F

There are days when I only make £80 - £100 as well but they are when I only do a part day.  Doing a 7 hour day I expect to earn a minimum of £120 if I'm taking lots of breaks, generally peeing around, doing chatty old dears' bungalows etc.  If I'm taking it more seriously £180 is quite within reach.

[P @ F]

Well thanks guys , i reckon your few answers have made me see that my problem is that i appear to be a bit of a perfectionist !
I am guilty of being far too picky , every bit of frame is always spotless and every pane is always checked for smears , that would explain why in my 1 year of bussiness i have never lost anybody ! , or even had a complaint .
I blame my old man , old school " If a job is worth doin "  you know .
However, there is an upside , cos the windows are so clean my jump to wfp should cause no probs in iffy first cleans.

As for my pricing , i am aware it is far too low and am currently sorting that out, sticking my neck out like a girraffe .
It is workin,what i used to do for £5 is now £8, reckon im gettin away with it cos its all word of mouth bussiness.

  Rich    P @ F





 

[Paul Coleman]

Well thanks guys , i reckon your few answers have made me see that my problem is that i appear to be a bit of a perfectionist !
I am guilty of being far too picky , every bit of frame is always spotless and every pane is always checked for smears , that would explain why in my 1 year of bussiness i have never lost anybody ! , or even had a complaint .
I blame my old man , old school " If a job is worth doin "  you know .
However, there is an upside , cos the windows are so clean my jump to wfp should cause no probs in iffy first cleans.

As for my pricing , i am aware it is far too low and am currently sorting that out, sticking my neck out like a girraffe .
It is workin,what i used to do for £5 is now £8, reckon im gettin away with it cos its all word of mouth bussiness.

  Rich    P @ F





 

I was a perfectionist at first too.  I believe it had its roots early in my life when being told off was a horrific experience.
I've only had one complaint since I decided to stop being so picky.  That was on a window where I had already explained that the quality may suffer (leaded window cleaned by a non WFP pole).

[Paul Canham]

Rich,

I've just started cleaning (Saturdays only to supplement my main income), and I've been a bit of a perfectionist as well.  I've spent ages cleaning the frames because I'm new and want to be sure I do the job right.  My brother-in-law cleans full time and earns about £160 a day.  He reckons that with practice I'll easily cut my time by half.  He prices about 50p a window, double that if they're big or awkward to get to.  The lazy bugger only works 2 days a week!  I've been practicing a lot on my own windows and figure that if I can do my whole house in about 20mins and the missus is happy then I should be doing it okay.  By doing my own house I can also then go inside and see any smears easier.

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i have good days where i have my nice priced houses roughly 20 - 25 houses i do £180-£200 by 3 o clock but then some days i manage 70 n- 80 by 1 pm it depends on what kind of work you have really .. on 3 bed semi i charge £10 - £18 depending or £5 - £9 for just fronts  , i normally can do 120 - 140 on these in a day , i think 100 a day is good though i was earning at my old job working 37.5 huor week take a guess £147.00 aw week ,, so earning 100 in a day is well good and even more so when i have my good days

shawn 

[windows_chepstow]

P @ F, if you've only been window cleaning for a year or so; you're doing fine.

Why not try and put your prices up, there's constantly threads here giving advice about how to do it.

I'm into my third year of window cleaning and put my prices up for the first time this year and it's made a huge difference.  And remember; asking for a 'good' price is not 'sticking your kneck out'; as if you're being cheeky.

Ours is not an easy job.  We don't get sick or holiday pay and we have expenses, tax and national insurance to pay.  We can't work when it's too windy or dark. 

Look at it from this point of view.  Your customer's want a good, honest, reliable, insured window cleaner.  Then they've got to pay for that service, and paying properly insures that they receive a good service.

There's customers around here that have had four different window cleaners in two years (me being the forth).  (For the Chepstow lads reading this, they've been Ray, Tipper, Matt... then me).

I've been charging these new customers a 'fair' price, although more expensive than their previous window cleaners and each on has said yes, with only one exception.

So do your customers a favour and charge them a price that's fair on both of you.  Then you won't be slogging your guts out for a low wage and they won't be complaining that you've dropped them in favour of better business.

[P @ F]

Jesus  Shawn , where are you to be chargin £18 for a 3 bed , down here in plymouth they would keel over if you even mentioned a tenner !
Im gonna just aim for the £100 a day and see what happens from there,maybe when i get the wfp sorted it will go up and i will be happy with that.

  Rich   P @ F  

[P @ F]

Tosh , i am in the process of doing the price rises as i have said , and when im where i want to be im planning on dropping the bad access jobs and the pain in the butt jobs .

The other thing i want to mention is the weather , do you all work when it rains ?     I  dont tend to go out in the wet , thats another thing that stops me earning what i want to , as i have no commercial stuff it does cause probs .

  Rich  P @ F   

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i live in sunbury on thames and have round in twickenham it was given to me by someone .. cheapest houses are £10 terraced .. i just never get round to puttin the price up .i use to work with someone and he doesent charge less than £25 a house and at least 30 of his houses are 3 /4 bed semis some people get away with .. i wish i could .. mate earn what suits you and your needs .. i have crap days when i earn 70 ...just take it as it comes ..

shawn

[AuRavelling79]

Stay on this site and pick up tips as you go and throw your experiences into the pot!

By building your confidence you'll put up prices, by going wfp on most of your work (yes IMHO traditional still works best on some properties) you'll add thousands per year to your earnings. By adding some commercial with occasional inside work you'll have work on some days when it's pouring down.

And ..... make sure you canvass at higher prices at least once a month and use the work you gain from it to replace (sell or even give away or politely drop by increasing price) your worst work.

Since I've been on this site (less than a year) my income has risen by an average of £450 per month comparing each month of 05 with 04.

[bluesteve]

Giftedk , nail on the head , on a good day that is , sumtimes only 80 , but is this enough ? , i reckon i should be gettin more than that !
I have tried to speak to others in my area but they all seem to be real bad at talkin to one another down here in plymouth, its like they all think that your out to nick their customers , even driving past them there just isnt any wave or anything , only got one other who will say any thing to me
MAYBE IM d**n UGLY , WHO KNOWS !  LOL
Is it the same in all areas ?



i used to live in plymouth , (if your local i do apologise now)and the locals arent the most friendly of people to each other in actual fact of all the places ive been in uk they have been the most difficult .
Obviously there are exceptions 

[P @ F]

Thank God for that , for a minute there i thought it was just me !
Dont get me wrong , there are good people here , i do have good customers, well most of them in fact are ok , but as anywhere you get the odd plum !
One  guy said "If i aint in dont do windows , dont jump the wall or ill sack you"
One day i see him pull up and i start him next , one window in and he comes flyin out the door , "What did i tell you ?"    I said "But your in are you not"
He says"Knock first in future will you , i could have been out walking"
I told him to get another cleaner and went , i do every other house in the street bar one so no other cleaner goes there , every time i see him now he asks me to please do his windows to which i reply "Sorry bud full round"
THAT'LL  LEARN  HIM  ! !   
                                         

       Rich    P @ F
                                             

[Paul Coleman]

Thank God for that , for a minute there i thought it was just me !
Dont get me wrong , there are good people here , i do have good customers, well most of them in fact are ok , but as anywhere you get the odd plum !
One  guy said "If i aint in dont do windows , dont jump the wall or ill sack you"
One day i see him pull up and i start him next , one window in and he comes flyin out the door , "What did i tell you ?"    I said "But your in are you not"
He says"Knock first in future will you , i could have been out walking"
I told him to get another cleaner and went , i do every other house in the street bar one so no other cleaner goes there , every time i see him now he asks me to please do his windows to which i reply "Sorry bud full round"
THAT'LL  LEARN  HIM  ! !   
                                         

       Rich    P @ F
                                             

Apart from the personal issues,  It's a sound business decision that you've made.  I know it's not easy but I do try to tune out the personal stuff with customers and see it from a business perspective.
I would tell myself that I cancelled that job because it was uneconomical knocking on someones door on the off-chance that they might be in.  I tell myself that if *all* my customers wanted that, then my business would go broke.

[P @ F]

Yes i see what your sayin and it makes perfect sense, but this bloke really
got my goat , and i didnt go right into all the verbal exchanges , he was just
an absolute whinger , and although im tryin to build my business , quite frankly
his £8 i can manage without !
LOOK , now you got me whingin like a girl ! ! lol

    Rich   P @ F