[nathankaye]

I have a section on my round which is full of old dears getting into their 80's n older and so I've been expanding into new areas to build up new round to add to my main work. It takes ages sometimes before their houses are sold n new people move in.

So I decided to start the newer sections on an 8wkly schedule. Today I was doing the 2nd cleans on these ones most of the day today, plus I'm a wk over due. Now I don't overly mind as they are very well priced, but it took me ages to clean them all. I still made good money but I have very nicely priced 4 wkly work which I can fly round.
So I can see why many simply have 8 weekly work, do less for good money. But if you have good priced work at four weekly I feel more money could be made. (not talking about mansions etc, that's completely different) but I can also see why people don't think I and others can clean as fast as we say because over 8wkly does take longer

[The Jester of Wibbly]

That's why I charge a lot more for 8 weekly cleans compared to regular 4 weekly.

I call it the budget option as it still works out cheaper over the year.

However if they don't like the price I'm more than happy for someone else to sweat for peanuts.

[dazmond]

ive mainly been cleaning 8 weekly jobs this week.lots of them are filthy this time of year....i dont mind as a high flow and the hot water helps a lot(my water is at 65c+ at the moment!)plus higher prices than 4 weekly work....

i worked 930am-3pm today(30 mins for lunch) and earned £280...im happy with that.....

xtreme poles and brushes,very hot water and a decent electric reel and im flying through my work!

[Shrek]

I don’t find 8weeklys take longer, there are more bits of fluff, spider webs etc  but it comes of with a sweep of the brush just like monthly jobs. They aren’t like first cleans where you have to scrub for ages.

[Gringo]

So your on £56 per hour on maintenance cleans then Daz, interesting rate for northern prices

[Smudger]

I don’t find 8weeklys take longer, there are more bits of fluff, spider webs etc  but it comes of with a sweep of the brush just like monthly jobs. They aren’t like first cleans where you have to scrub for ages.

totally agree - occasionally there may be a bit more on them like the beast from the east caused a few issues but mainly very little difference but then they DO get cleaned every 8 weeks and not missed until next time i fancy flouncing around that area so i suspect we are really talking 16 weeks since the last clean 

Darran

[james peters]

the majority of mine are 4 weekly, probably 30 % are 8 weekly. nearly all my new ones now are 8 weekly and I charge more …
It does make a difference , I find its only a matter of a couple of mins more , but its certainly a higher hourly rate .
but for now its nice to have a mixed bag .
I also find charging extra for first cleans to be a real boost financially... the only downside is the water usage

[lal]

ive mainly been cleaning 8 weekly jobs this week.lots of them are filthy this time of year....i dont mind as a high flow and the hot water helps a lot(my water is at 65c+ at the moment!)plus higher prices than 4 weekly work....

i worked 930am-3pm today(30 mins for lunch) and earned £280...im happy with that.....

xtreme poles and brushes,very hot water and a decent electric reel and im flying through my work!

Hi dazmond, you work with a High flow, what number on your controller do you work at.
Cheers
Larry

[dazmond]

So your on £56 per hour on maintenance cleans then Daz, interesting rate for northern prices

yep i was yesterday but normally average around £40-£45 per hour most of the time.....

[dazmond]

ive mainly been cleaning 8 weekly jobs this week.lots of them are filthy this time of year....i dont mind as a high flow and the hot water helps a lot(my water is at 65c+ at the moment!)plus higher prices than 4 weekly work....

i worked 930am-3pm today(30 mins for lunch) and earned £280...im happy with that.....

xtreme poles and brushes,very hot water and a decent electric reel and im flying through my work!

Hi dazmond, you work with a High flow, what number on your controller do you work at.
Cheers
Larry

my controller is set to  40 and i find its just right but different systems will be different.some window cleaners will have a trickle out of their jets on 40 and will have to set it to 60 to get the same flow.....

[dazmond]

most of my 8 weekly jobs are larger houses with nice big gardens and well established trees surrounding them so they are noticeably dirtier in the spring/summer months with all the dust and sticky pollen blowing about,insect spots,slug trails and of course bird muck....so they do take a bit longer but the extra charge more than covers the extra time taken...

most of the time i only take on longer frequency jobs now at higher prices.i prefer them and my hourly rate is usually higher....

[dazmond]

the majority of mine are 4 weekly, probably 30 % are 8 weekly. nearly all my new ones now are 8 weekly and I charge more …
It does make a difference , I find its only a matter of a couple of mins more , but its certainly a higher hourly rate .
but for now its nice to have a mixed bag .
I also find charging extra for first cleans to be a real boost financially... the only downside is the water usage

so you been going a year longer than me then mate!(26 years)so you started in 1992?

IMO higher priced longer frequency cleans is the way to go when you ve got an established block of work.....

[Missing Link]

So I can see why many simply have 8 weekly work, do less for good money.

We've been doing this for about ten years now.  Charge more, see them less.  Use it as a selling point.  I tell them 'my customers prefer this schedule'.

Every-four-weeks is just too frequent.

[Simon Trapani]

6 & 12 weekly residentials for us.

[AuRavelling79]

My only 4 weekly stuff is compact and goes back to my ladder days. I do offer the option of 4 or 8 weekly to new customers in that area but offer 8 weekly for other new stuff.

When I don't mind whether they have four or eight (eight is priced a bit higher) I say (e.g.) "first clean is £XX and then you can choose 4 weekly at £15.00 or 8 weekly at £20.00 as it takes longer."

If I want them to have 8 - I say I offer 4 but most prefer 8 nowadays. (That steers them away from wanting three months)

BUT this summer due to some financial commitments above and beyond I'm taking on a few "occasional" bigger properties (£50 plus) whose owners phone me (these are properties a couple of miles from my other work) It works well as in I say phone me up and I'll see if I can fit you in within a couple of weeks.

I look at slack days in the spring and summer and do them then.