[The Jester of Wibbly]

Just stick to your guns mate. Dont reduce the price at this stage.  He probably already asked for a few quotes with many not turning up or lacked of confidence.

Probably just needs to get it signed off and trying his luck at getting you to budge on price.

[John Mart]

I've just had a fee paying school contact me for a quote. Victorian sash windows and not been cleaned for years. I said no thanks. It will be a mare of a job. a one off and the vans are full anyway. They are only worth doing if you have spare capacity in my opinion unless they are to be a regular clean.

I've no idea where the OP is or what he's used to earning but £1,200 for even a moderately sized secondary school is seriously cheap. In my opinion. A 400 pupil primary school took us 2.5 man days in and out (not been cleaned for two years) and a 1700 secondary school took 5 man days outside only and half the windows were new (the other half were minging though).

[The Jester of Wibbly]

I've just had a fee paying school contact me for a quote. Victorian sash windows and not been cleaned for years. I said no thanks. It will be a mare of a job. a one off and the vans are full anyway. They are only worth doing if you have spare capacity in my opinion unless they are to be a regular clean.

I've no idea where the OP is or what he's used to earning but £1,200 for even a moderately sized secondary school is seriously cheap. In my opinion. A 400 pupil primary school took us 2.5 man days in and out (not been cleaned for two years) and a 1700 secondary school took 5 man days outside only and half the windows were new (the other half were minging though).

Agree with this.  I would have quoted probably a around 2k.    Only worth the job if it pays double your normal days rate.  So if you put work on hold to accommodate this then you are quids in.  If you push work back just to accomadate a school at your normal rate then you're just wasting your time with a job that's not  commercially viable.

[Smudger]

Well 4 days for £1200 isn’t bad assuming it’s just one man - certainly worth having a crack at if you fancy doing this type of work then at least you have experience going forward
Darran

[Craig 72]

Ok gents,thanks again for the input.I'll keep with my original price.£1200 is cheap!I was thinking that it would be too high.Literally have nothing to compare it against annoyingly.If I can get it for that I'll be happy enough.Two of the days work I can do over the weekend so if it takes me 4-5 days I would only be losing 2-3 days from my normal working week.I'd sooner have it than not,I think.

[John Mart]

The thing to bear in mind also is that it's non stop work. Four days normal work is probably 4/5 hours working and 1/2 hours driving. A school we found is 8 hours slog. All that said, if you've got the time, i.e., you're not full then great.

[dazmond]

The thing to bear in mind also is that it's non stop work. Four days normal work is probably 4/5 hours working and 1/2 hours driving. A school we found is 8 hours slog. All that said, if you've got the time, i.e., you're not full then great.

exactly....... itll be very hard work.........sometimes its not worth it even if your getting paid more money than your usual window cleaning work....money isnt everything once you reach a certain level of income....

[windowswashed]

If you do get it borrow a Gardiners SL modular pole  as they are so much lighter and more rigid and ideal for big jobs, not so strenuous as heavier telescopic poles,

[NWH]

Well 4 days for £1200 isn’t bad assuming it’s just one man - certainly worth having a crack at if you fancy doing this type of work then at least you have experience going forward
Darran

Like I said Darren it’s no good if you can earn more on domestics 😂 schools are a nightmare and any such similar work,labels tape and blue tack galore enjoy the learning curve pal.

[Smudger]

Sorry mate, l always forget ( don’t know why as you constantly bang on about it ) you earn £300 p/h on domestics - your rate is soooo good you do the conservatories for free!

Not everyone is in that position and if it’s bringing in more than just windows good luck to him - it will either go well or at the very least know that is underpriced and correct it for next time

Darran

[NWH]

The point is a lot say schools-commercial are the be all and end all of WCleaning,the fact is they are if it’s priced correctly and you will keep them as long as you’d like to continue to clean them. The fact is this kind of work is done these days for a fraction of the price it once was due to multi nationals and larger firms cleaning them for no more than a daily rate,I know people used to clean large showrooms and supermarkets and earn 2-3 days money starting at 4am and finishing at around 10-11,not anymore those days are behind us.

[Slacky]

Did this place a couple of years back - 8K.



Two of us there full time 10 days straight.

[deeege]

Did this place a couple of years back - 8K.



Two of us there full time 10 days straight.

Was it worth letting the rest of your work get 10 days behind (assuming  you’re full) for £400 per (man) day?

[Slacky]

It paid my tax bill. I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless.

[Smudger]

The point is a lot say schools-commercial are the be all and end all of WCleaning,the fact is they are if it’s priced correctly and you will keep them as long as you’d like to continue to clean them. The fact is this kind of work is done these days for a fraction of the price it once was due to multi nationals and larger firms cleaning them for no more than a daily rate,I know people used to clean large showrooms and supermarkets and earn 2-3 days money starting at 4am and finishing at around 10-11,not anymore those days are behind us.

i don't think any cleaning is the be all end all, schools are not regular enough to be that. however they are a nice addition, again a lot depends on the company, if your only making a standard day rate and pushing work back then its not worth doing - why jeopardise and delay your regular work ( altho many do this anyway ) but if there is a premium on it and you can adjust staff to fit it in then yes they are good, the same applies for any of our 1 off works,  pressure washing, roof cleaning, graffiti removal etc..

also by having a school on the books you are more likely to get more - we clean an 'academy' school who have now taken over several others in the area and we are their first port of call for cleaning - not just windows but gutters as well

Darran