[herbiefatboy]

DOES ANY BODY  HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS I HAVE HAD THIS WEEK  YOU GET SO MUCH WORK THAT  YOU DROP SOME OF  LOW PAYING HOUSES ONLY FOR THEM TO SEE YOU 2 MONTHS LATER AND ASK WHY YOU HAVE NOT DONE THEIR HOUSE I EVEN PUT SOME UP BY £2 A HOUSE ONLY FOR THEM TO SAY THATS ALRIGHT  IS IT TIME TO TRY AND EMPLOY SOMEONE ?

[simbo]

this is something i don't get, do you run your round 4 weekly or monthly? if you have too many customers just increase your cleaning times to 5 to 6 weekly and you can even bump prices up a little as customer is saving and prob will not care if you are a week late anyhow and you can take even more work on better priced. as for taking someone on Sod that, who wants the hassle for a few extra quid
enjoy having all the work as the other way is not so good as you prob know
all the best simbo

[herbiefatboy]

thanks simbo for that my round is done every 4 weeks

[mick hay]

Hi, just out of interest how many customers do you have ?

 I'm in my 1st year so would be interested to know 

Cheers

[simbo]

as mick says, how many do you have as i am just starting second year also i only have 185 customers but must point out average price £10with a good 60 between 15-30 pound so prob same income as around 300 underpriced customers, taking me a while to develope but not just taking on any type of work eg only do 3 terraced houses and charge £10 frames and pane clean every 8 weeks so worth it
cheers simbo

[mick hay]

The best advice i was given when starting was "minimum charge £10"

 Mine all range from £10 - £40, averaging at about £15.00, and getting very busy now!!

 

[simbo]

yea mick slower to grow but bares more fruit, anyone will pay 10 for good clean even if its only every other month which i have no prob with do need to juggle a bit though and harder to compact, saying that am getting a few clusters building now all i need now is weather making machine and will one day be minted
NOT simbo

[Easyclean Windows]

when i "drop" customers i allways give then a typed letter saying that its not financally viable to clean for them anymore.If they stop you in the street and ask why say the ones you are still cleaning are happy to pay £10 then you wont feel bad when they either say thats ok still do them or thanks but no thanks at least you told them and you dont get tarnished with" just like the rest come a few times and never to be seen again"

[stuart webster]

The best advice i was given when starting was "minimum charge £10"

 Mine all range from £10 - £40, averaging at about £15.00, and getting very busy now!!

 

This has got to be the best advice going, I wish I had done this when I started.

The problem is, you are desprate for work and take anything. You then become a cheap WC. Rush the job, and undervalue yourself.

It's a hard cycle to get out of.

[dai]

Bear your spot on. I was out 7.30 am got back 7pm, all for £133. I know most of my work is 45mins drive away, but I seem to be working harder and not getting any smarter, Dai.

[simbo]

Bear your spot on. I was out 7.30 am got back 7pm, all for £133. I know most of my work is 45mins drive away, but I seem to be working harder and not getting any smarter, Dai.

not that i would do a day that long anyhow but would expect to earn £200 at least, surely being self employed has to work for you not to make life shorter and harder
all the best though i should think you are dog tired
simbo

[mick hay]

Jeez!!   thats a long day...i started at 9.15    finished at 12.30    £125 today.

 I do usually work a longer day and that reflects my earnings even more!! But my lads of school (im on my own with him) so need to get back for him.

Most 3 bed semis i quote at £15 and get say 6/10.!

[geoffreyspecht]

wish i could earn £200 a day round here   

[holland1945]

I wished I'd had the guts to have a £10 'minimum charge', instead as some of you have pointed out, when you get started you tend to get a bit desperate and instinctively lower your prices.

Having said that, I've got some work that I canvassed where the most expensive house in the close is £7.00. However, because the work is so compact I can easily make £25 per hour.

This is one thing to bear in mind when canvassing new work. If you know that the area needs a window cleaner, it may be more profitable to drop your charge SLIGHTLY, and sign up a higher number of customers, rather than getting better 'Money Per House' but less houses overall.

Pricing up new work seems a bit of a dark art to me, you've just got to look at the overall returns from a patch of work and figure out what you can afford to charge versus what someone from that area is likely to pay

[RO-Sheen]

Ive only been WC since end of Feb and have now 63 regular customers. I spoke to Mick Hay before I started and took his advise on board of minimum of £10.  As you can see I am doing pretty well getting customers and every day I pick up more customers that phone me or stop me on the street.
I know what some of you mean about panicing at the early stages and giving rediculously low quotes just to get the work but I think if you hang in there you will get the work.

I didnt want to start of with low prices with the intention of dropping them when better work comes along because I found that really annoys customers. I want to build my business on being reliable, polite, trustworthy and professional and if I ever do have to drop a customer I would do what easyclean does and write a letter explaining why. If it was to do with price being too low I would offer a new higher price and ask the customer if they would contact me if they still wanted to keep them. If they still didnt want to keep me I would then offer to put them into contact with another WC in my area who prices cheaper than me. That way customers and other window cleaners will look favourably on you and keep good relations with your competition