[qcs cleaning]

I recently have had loads of customers asking for their windows to be cleaned every two months instead of the usual monthly clean.  I tell them that the price will increase to an extra £1 or £2 as the windows will be dirtier and take longer to clean, but they just say, well I will cancel then.

Has this happened to anyone and how do you deal with it? 
 
 
 

[Grafters Cleaning Services]

if that's the attitude then drop them and replace with better ones

[KarlJones]

Has this happened to anyone and how do you deal with it?

What is important is not to lose sight of your goal.  Your goal is probably to make your business more money as time goes on.  If you bare in mind that this is your only goal then customer retention can only really fit in to your plan so long as it actually supports the idea of your business making more money.

The customer is basically saying "I want you to work harder for the same money",  the problem is that working harder takes more time.  So, if you have to work longer to earn the same money then it basically means they are reducing your hourly rate. 

Now to amplify that problem we having rising prices, I dunno maybe you have a mortgage, which in that case there is a good chance that you definitely have rising prices.  Even if you think you have escaped inflation there is a good chance that something in your life somewhere is more expensive now than it was say a year ago, insurance, fuel for the motor, TV licence and then we have all the bonus and extra stuff that you enjoy doing because yourself employed,  those little extras that mean you can spend a bit more money on stuff you enjoy. Basically what I am saying is that even if you decided to make the SAME money it would still be a pay cut in real terms.

Then you have a customer saying they want to give you a big fat pay cut???

Imagine for 5 minutes in your mind, if every single customer did this, imagine how much extra work you would need to do just to pull in the same money.  Hopefully your going to realise that there is no question, you should be saying to yourself "Pay cut!??!  Hell No!"
 
Once you understand in your mind that there is no way in hell your going to accept a pay cut, then decide to put a safety net up to prevent yourself smacking against the ground if they decide to drop you.

If the way to make your business less profitable is to do with hanging on to a customer that wants to pay you less money, then understand that the reverse is true. 
The way to make your business MORE profitable is do with attracting NEW customers that want to pay you MORE money.
 
Instead of looking at a customer who wants to pay you a lower hourly rate as a problem, look at it as an OPPORTUNITY to go out there and get a better hourly rate from someone else.

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do 

[rhino]

Being new to the game and not having many customers as yet, i was wondering how i would/should react when asked to clean every other month.
You may have just given me the answer.

Good post.

Cheers Karl

[KarlJones]

yes rhino but as  for almost everything I post, remember everyones situation and business is different...

Never lose sight that customers are valuable, just don't lose sight of the goal either.

Someone said to me the other day, about how some on here seem to think of customers like they are irrelevant scum,  I think some window cleaners do come across that way, or at least in their posts.  Although your main goal is to make your business more profitable, remember as well that you can only do this with happy customers. 

what i am trying to say, is in this instance your talking about a 50% cut in annual pay, so obviously you can shove your brain into a bit more of a "hang on this is my business" mode,  however if it is something that isn't going to be as drastic (lets say a customer who just wants them missed once in a blue moon) then maybe you would want to say "yea ok, but remember my christmas card" and smile it away. 

You need to evaluate lots of things, are they a good payer, is the job already over priced or underpriced, what is your hourly rate when doing those houses in that area,  do they tip at Xmas.

So basically, what I am saying is yes, what I said is that your main goal is to make your business more profitable is 100% correct, but at the same time understand that there is a lot of factors that come into play so do not automatically jump to the "I am having none of that!" mode.

[craig jwc]

I give all new customers a price for 4 weekly & 8 weekly.

My 8 weekly price is 50% added onto the 4 weekly price.

Never had anyone complain or cancel.

Don't think any pro w/c will clean 8 weekly or more  for a 4 weekly price.

Plenty more fish in the sea.

[Dean Aspects]

I actually do offer 4 and 8 weekly cleans at the same price
with wfp even after 8 weeks most of the windows on the houses i clean are not that dirty so is no extra work
however anything that is less frequent than this is priced at a higher rate
i am happy at this level of pricing as are my customers 

[spotless2000]

I give all new customers a price for 4 weekly & 8 weekly.

My 8 weekly price is 50% added onto the 4 weekly price.

Never had anyone complain or cancel.

Don't think any pro w/c will clean 8 weekly or more  for a 4 weekly price.

Plenty more fish in the sea. 
 
 

I do the same.

All customers get a quote: example £10 for 4 weekly clean and £15 for 8 weekly.  If they opt for the 8 weekly option it means you've improved your hourly rate and they have saved some money over the year!  Everyone's a winner!

[Paul Coleman]

I ended up putting everyone on 6 weekly cleans.  It brought most of the two monthlies onside and the monthlies were happy because they saved some money.  Mind you, I had more work than I could handle back then so it helped take the prssure off me as well.

[mogy]

Ive had a few customers  ask for 8 week cleans as well, I tell them "no prob" as soon as  I get another request besides theres , i then "budy "  these 2 together, do one , one month and  the other next month.
This keeps all happy , I dont notice the drop in takings , and I still have an option sometime in the future to readust the price.

[edd]

I think we do everyone 6 weekly then there's no hassle ...but having said that
I think we are 13 weeks behind anyway no sweat then Edd

[pylofm]

After a recent 'spat' with a customer I am very aware now that my job is not only to clean windows...I provide services for my customers and having fallen into the trap of not really appreciating them, I am now working very hard to keep my hard earned customers.

As for 8 weekly....with the exception of 6 customers all mine are 8 weekly and the glass and frames are not that different....8 weekly for me is fine and the hourly rate reflects this and the customer gets a saving too.

Dave.

[Dale Smith]

Got to say that the lads who are doing the time & a half price for 8 week cleans have the right idea........ and I will now be doing the same!!
Cheers

[supernova77]

All my customers are 8 weekly now... Apart from a couple of larger houses that are every 12 weeks.

I tell all new customers that it's 8 weeks or nothing (unless it's a very big house, then I don't mind it being 12 weeks).


Andy

[Davie T]

To Karl,
What a refreshing and well composed post.

Good advice and should be saved in a separate section for future reads.

[Dick]

Do you really think it makes that much of a difference if windows are cleaned 4weekly or 8 weekly. I mean they don't really need much extra work to clean if left for a longer period.
The reason I say this is because of the bad weather this summer when I was unable to get round as regularly as I used to I didn't find it took any more time to clean, most customers haven't got a clue how frequently they are cleaned, except for those paying by cheque who bother to look at when they last wrote one.
Most are happy that they are done regularly. If they are done on a 6/8 weekly basis you can manage to get more customers and as you become a bit more skilled you soon learn what prices to charge, thus dropping the low payers and complainers.
That's only my thoughts.

[Wayne Thomas]

If a customer ask me to clean less frequently; I have no objections, providing they have no objections to me raising their price by 25% to cover the inconvenience of a less frequent visit.