[windowwashers]

But do the customers say they have another cleaner? I have quoted for houses before and when I get to the price ( I am never cheap) they have said things like "oh no my present window cleaner only charges....." and thats the first indication there is another cleaner on the scene.

Some customers will take a lower quote even if they are totally happy with your service simply because the other bloke is £2 cheaper. They can't help themselves its in their nature.

if a customer goes to another window cleaner for a £2 saving let them go, because when another cheaper window cleaner comes along and does it another £1 or 2 less they will move again, you cannot build a business on customers like these. comment on that if you think im wrong, but I honestly think that is true. Some of my customers pay double the price of the window cleaner next door to them "why?" because we offer a quality service and professional finish they can count on all year.

[gsw]

exactly what my customers do, they canvassed a whole development, i have 25 customers there, all paying the price previously quoted, pds managed to get one of my customers saving that lady £7.00 a month. she will now not have her 2nd floor cleaned because the new blokes ladders aren't long enough and he doesn't wipe sills, basically she is getting what she is paying for.

i must be doing something right as the other 25 houses all had the option of the cheaper service and none of them took it.

i agree windowwashers i dont want customers like her but i also dont want canvassing companies stealing business by being unethical and undercutting other window cleaners after all it could be you next time.

I'm not going to bang on about this as it is a total waste of my time, PDS does what he does and manages to sleep at night, i do what i do and know that i run my business in the correct manner.

i dont want the customer back and WHEN the new boy packs up/ realises he is too cheap and drops her i will take great delight in never cleaning her windows again, whilst continuing to keep next door but one to her looking absolutely pristine.

in the meantime i hope the new fella doesn't fall off his ladder or injure anyone else as i doubt very much he is insured.....i am


pay peanuts ........ you get monkeys

nothing more to say.

[windowwashers]

i must be doing something right as the other 25 houses all had the option of the cheaper service and none of them took it.

i agree windowwashers i dont want customers like her but i also dont want canvassing companies stealing business by being unethical and undercutting other window cleaners after all it could be you next time.  (we have that all the time)[/glow


pay peanuts ........ you get monkeys

I say this to most customers if they say about price many dont as they think im cheap at the price we clean for even though we charge more than most. you get what you pay for.

[Customers4u]

Hiya Groundhog,

With reference to this quote below.....

I contacted doorknockers when I first started, but decided against it as they seemed quite keen to undercut other window cleaners, which is not how I like to work.
News to me! we never take other peoples work unless either by accident or the customer tells us they havent got a window cleaner, when they do in fact have one.

I tell all my canvassers to move on if they come across somebody that has a window cleaner, it is all down to ethics as previously said.

We also never undercut on pricing, we  ask the w/c concerned what rate he/she wants to work at and price accordingly, if we were to underprice the w/c concerned is entitled to a refund.

Paul

[windowwashers]

Hiya Groundhog,

With reference to this quote below.....

I contacted doorknockers when I first started, but decided against it as they seemed quite keen to undercut other window cleaners, which is not how I like to work.
News to me! we never take other peoples work unless either by accident or the customer tells us they havent got a window cleaner, when they do in fact have one.

I tell all my canvassers to move on if they come across somebody that has a window cleaner, it is all down to ethics as previously said.

We also never undercut on pricing, we  ask the w/c concerned what rate he/she wants to work at and price accordingly, if we were to underprice the w/c concerned is entitled to a refund.

Paul

thats is true what Doorknockers are saying

[groundhog]

Hiya Groundhog,

With reference to this quote below.....

I contacted doorknockers when I first started, but decided against it as they seemed quite keen to undercut other window cleaners, which is not how I like to work.
News to me! we never take other peoples work unless either by accident or the customer tells us they havent got a window cleaner, when they do in fact have one.

I tell all my canvassers to move on if they come across somebody that has a window cleaner, it is all down to ethics as previously said.

We also never undercut on pricing, we  ask the w/c concerned what rate he/she wants to work at and price accordingly, if we were to underprice the w/c concerned is entitled to a refund.

Paul

Well that is what I was told that the canvassers don't like to price jobs too high and if I wanted shops/commercial work then they would offer to undercut there existing window cleaner by at least 10%

[matt]

this is a reason that round-builders are not good for us, they are only interested in building rounds, they get paid for a round thats been built

the only person who wins in the undercutting game is the homeowner, they get a cheapo job done

its in the interest of every window cleaner to not undercut prices, in the long run the  prices will drop ( the eastern european influx will mean that prices wil drop in the long run, it has in the building game, it will in all manual jobs that they can do, and im not knocking them for that, i can see the reasons they work )

its up to window cleaners AND round-builders to try and keep prices high, the more we do, the more we earn