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Stoots

  • Posts: 6213
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #20 on: March 22, 2018, 10:37:47 pm »
then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

Every job will vary in the amount you earn per hour. There's travel time to consider, the amount and type of windows, obstacles, parking, access and other variables.

It would be pretty hard to work out an exact amount for each house that would earn you an exact hourly rate.

Some hours/days I earn less than others but it's the overall average that counts.

The business is £300 a year better off than it was this morning, you are correct it could have been even better off or it could have been £0 if she had refused the quotes.

It's a different mentality to me at the minute with an employee on board and with the round not full. Refining and prices will come in time at the moment we have room for the extra turnover. After all we have a few others on the street, the work is becoming more compact and are only  a couple of quid here..maybe it will take less time than I thought is the price the right? Maybe we could pick up 10 more all 2 quid underpriced but on the same street. Yet that might mean I can drop a days work that is more spread out save time on the travel and fuel. Too many variables to be so strict on pricing.


dazmond

  • Posts: 23988
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #21 on: March 22, 2018, 10:51:37 pm »
then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

Every job will vary in the amount you earn per hour. There's travel time to consider, the amount and type of windows, obstacles, parking, access and other variables.

It would be pretty hard to work out an exact amount for each house that would earn you an exact hourly rate.

Some hours/days I earn less than others but it's the overall average that counts.

The business is £300 a year better off than it was this morning, you are correct it could have been even better off or it could have been £0 if she had refused the quotes.

It's a different mentality to me at the minute with an employee on board and with the round not full. Refining and prices will come in time at the moment we have room for the extra turnover. After all we have a few others on the street, the work is becoming more compact and are only  a couple of quid here..maybe it will take less time than I thought is the price the right? Maybe we could pick up 10 more all 2 quid underpriced but on the same street. Yet that might mean I can drop a days work that is more spread out save time on the travel and fuel. Too many variables to be so strict on pricing.

true adam.....even though i earn considerably more than £40 an hour on some jobs it only evens out to an AVERAGE of £40 an hour over the course of a week/month/year.......
price higher/work harder!

Slacky

  • Posts: 8284
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #22 on: March 23, 2018, 12:06:26 am »
then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

There’s someone making ridiculous statements in an effort to justify permitting someone else to dictate their terms of business.

Window cleaning is really like that, by the way. It’s prone to all the market forces and influences that all other businesses are prone to. You’ve given yourself an 8% pay cut in this instance. With all jobs you allow for all costs involved (each job has different level of variables to take in to consideration) including additional miles travelled, inconvenience factors as well as other fixed costs.


M & C Window Cleaning

  • Posts: 1581
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #23 on: March 23, 2018, 08:42:30 am »
I had one today i went and quoted at £15

Hmmm, she though about it for a second...

We have a window cleaner and he charges £11, could you match that?

oh you have a window cleaner already  ??? (what am i doing here then)

He doesnt do a very good job and turns up when he wants  ::)roll

Ok, well for £15 i guarantee i will do a good job and i will turn up every 4 weeks

she thought about it again and said what about £13!

she then said her son wanted a quote too and he lives just round the corner

I said, yeh go on then! lol i would love to have said i told her it was 15 or bugger off but i didnt  :-[

then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

you should of stood your ground adam....you d of got the job i reckon at £15 if you were a bit more firm.what happens when your existing customers down that road find out your doing hers cheaper then?they wont be happy thats for sure.....

I've had done exactly this in the past and ended up losing the better paying customer over it. Lesson learned. stick to your original quote.

dazmond

  • Posts: 23988
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #24 on: March 23, 2018, 08:58:22 am »
yep so have i mate....
price higher/work harder!

Stoots

  • Posts: 6213
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #25 on: March 23, 2018, 09:27:43 am »
then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

There’s someone making ridiculous statements in an effort to justify permitting someone else to dictate their terms of business.

Window cleaning is really like that, by the way. It’s prone to all the market forces and influences that all other businesses are prone to. You’ve given yourself an 8% pay cut in this instance. With all jobs you allow for all costs involved (each job has different level of variables to take in to consideration) including additional miles travelled, inconvenience factors as well as other fixed costs.

No it's not.

Don't talk stupid.

What kind of calculator do you have that when quoting a job you can tell the exact time taken down to the minute, the exact minutes from the last job, the mileage from the last job and the exact fuel costs.

Do you calculate the weather down to the exact amount of days off, do you factor in the exact amount of down time, replacement equipment and everything into the equation.

Earning vary not only by the price of job but by a dozen other factors .

On a different day I might have said 16 or 14 quid to that job in the first instance .

I have around a spared day and a half a week to fill.

Its the profit at the end of the year that counts...by taking that job I will hopefully earn 300 more a year than without it. If I don't have the time so do the job then you would have a point but I have plenty of time to do it.

The customer didnt dictate the price, I did, I am the one who accepted it and am happy to do it. If I wasn't I wouldnt have taken it I'm not desperate or a mug, it made sense to me so I decided to take it.

You can do what you like with your 8%
I turned a job down yesterday as I did t want it, awkward terrace

Believe me if I don't want to do it I won't.

I can decide for myself mate so you can go shove your 8% up ya nose

jo5hm4n

  • Posts: 948
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #26 on: March 23, 2018, 12:17:33 pm »
Yall need to calm down.  Remember Adam is building a business and sometimes it’s more important to grow quicker and take the odd underpriced job here and there.  Its all down to personal choice.

I’ve many times knocked a few £ off to customers who have asked in the past, some of them have turned out to be my best customers and 1 customer alone helped me get £100 a month worth of customers that were her relatives.  All because i gave her £2 off the price.

If you guys are happy and comfortable and dont need to lower your price then thats fine and nothing wrong with that, but dont have a go at adam telling him hes doing things wrong because hes giving out the odd discount here and there.

We all do things different and theres no exact formula to run your business perfect, all of us are in different positions with our business is performing.  Especially the newer guys.

😎😎

John Mart

Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #27 on: March 23, 2018, 01:01:17 pm »
For me it was all about "holding the line". As soon as you accept one doing it, then why not all. If you say yest to one quarterly instead of monthly, it becomes easy to say yes to everyone that asks. It's about a mindset. I would never negotiate a lower price than quoted as it says I charge too much normally. She'll be watching how long you take too.

NWH

  • Posts: 16952
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #28 on: March 23, 2018, 01:46:32 pm »
Had a bloke come up to me last week he says I want you to clean my windows they need doing,I said I only do the house opposite you because I clean a big commercial a couple of miles away for them as it’s there business. He said I only want it doing once I need you to get all the builders mess off and then I’ll maintain them lol,It makes me laugh how some people think they are doing you a favour sometimes if they had there way they’d have there windows cleaned twice a year,never give people to many options on the frequency I think you need to set a president from the beginning.

Shrek

  • Posts: 3931
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #29 on: March 23, 2018, 01:53:12 pm »
Had a bloke come up to me last week he says I want you to clean my windows they need doing,I said I only do the house opposite you because I clean a big commercial a couple of miles away for them as it’s there business. He said I only want it doing once I need you to get all the builders mess off and then I’ll maintain them lol,It makes me laugh how some people think they are doing you a favour sometimes if they had there way they’d have there windows cleaned twice a year,never give people to many options on the frequency I think you need to set a president from the beginning.

I make it work for me though when doing different frequencies and end up on really good money.
I have a couple of terraced houses that used to be £12 monthly. They asked for every 2 months so I said it’s +50% and they were fine about it so £18 . I also clean other properties that I used to charge £20 who went 3 monthly, I told them the prices +50% for every 2 months and + 50% again for 3 monthly (double monthly price)  and they were fine . Still got them on the books after a few years

Bungle

  • Posts: 2394
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #30 on: March 23, 2018, 03:35:11 pm »
@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?
We look at them, they look through them.

robert mitchell

  • Posts: 1997
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #31 on: March 23, 2018, 03:52:24 pm »
@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?

Is that not obvious ?

He obviously has too much for one man but not enough yet for two people and he is building that up .
www.ishinewindowcleaning.co.uk

The man who never made a mistake never made anything.

Bungle

  • Posts: 2394
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #32 on: March 23, 2018, 04:21:54 pm »
@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?

Is that not obvious ?

He obviously has too much for one man but not enough yet for two people and he is building that up .

No it's not obvious. He doesn't work full days.
We look at them, they look through them.

Slacky

  • Posts: 8284
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #33 on: March 23, 2018, 04:53:31 pm »
then went and picked up the son at my normal prices, lost out on a couple of quid a month but gained £300 for the year so i was happy

That sound great but the reality is you've given them an 8% cut in price.

I wouldn't take an 8% cut in wages for any one.

Yeh but window cleaning is not really like that.

There’s someone making ridiculous statements in an effort to justify permitting someone else to dictate their terms of business.

Window cleaning is really like that, by the way. It’s prone to all the market forces and influences that all other businesses are prone to. You’ve given yourself an 8% pay cut in this instance. With all jobs you allow for all costs involved (each job has different level of variables to take in to consideration) including additional miles travelled, inconvenience factors as well as other fixed costs.

No it's not.

Don't talk stupid.

What kind of calculator do you have that when quoting a job you can tell the exact time taken down to the minute, the exact minutes from the last job, the mileage from the last job and the exact fuel costs.

Do you calculate the weather down to the exact amount of days off, do you factor in the exact amount of down time, replacement equipment and everything into the equation.

Earning vary not only by the price of job but by a dozen other factors .

On a different day I might have said 16 or 14 quid to that job in the first instance .

I have around a spared day and a half a week to fill.

Its the profit at the end of the year that counts...by taking that job I will hopefully earn 300 more a year than without it. If I don't have the time so do the job then you would have a point but I have plenty of time to do it.

The customer didnt dictate the price, I did, I am the one who accepted it and am happy to do it. If I wasn't I wouldnt have taken it I'm not desperate or a mug, it made sense to me so I decided to take it.

You can do what you like with your 8%
I turned a job down yesterday as I did t want it, awkward terrace

Believe me if I don't want to do it I won't.

I can decide for myself mate so you can go shove your 8% up ya nose

Keep ur tits on sugar bollox.

Stoots

  • Posts: 6213
Re: Classic response to customer
« Reply #34 on: March 23, 2018, 06:46:19 pm »
@ Adam Thomson. Why are you employing someone if you're not full with work?


I am full with work for myself.

I've just set someone on so now am not full anymore as he doing some of the work.