[michael o]

glad they dont live by me!
£7 for a 3 bed more like £12 -£15 

loads if cheap work dont make good business

in liverpool were,i can only get £5 3bed semis

[Scoop]

I know nothing about this subject other than I saw these guys cleaning in my area the other day.

The thing that struck me was their impressive uniforms - very professional and certainly put mine to shame (but then I'm a wheelie bin cleaner  )

They've actually made me think about getting a much nicer looking uniform which can only give added credibility for potential custys.

[GB Window Cleaning]

Just don't tell them about all the spots you leave on the   windows 

i always say i offer a premium service for a good price

i clean frames and sills each clean plus all doors and for an extra quid i'll now do the garage doors too 

i also use the safest latest equipment and turn up looking and sounding professional

  what spots? 

[joshem]

Oh well, getting custom by undercutting will only get the dregs that we don't want anyway... There's always going to be someone cheaper...

[Paul Coleman]

I know business is business but with the way they seem to be conducting their drive to expand along with their heavy handed (cut from wikipedia) threats of legal action make me think I would rather do business with the devil than anything to do with the Willis massive.

They did not threaten legal action regarding accusations of undercutting.  They threatened it because there was an allegation that they used people's customer lists, gained from their NVQ work as Impact 43, to target people's businesses.  The allegation was clearly wrong.  I did the NVQ course with them and they only asked to meet me at one customer's house to check on my working methods/ H & S competence etc.  They did not even ask me how much I charged for the job.  The allegation was clearly unfounded but potentially damaging to their Impact 43 training business if enough people were sufficiently gullible to believe it.  For that reason alone, I think they were right to threaten legal action.
As for the (random) undercutting.  That's the way some businesses operate.  Although that has been common in the commercial field, it has been less so on domestic work.  Now that many people's budgets are being squeezed, more operators are undercutting on domestic.  So far, it hasn't impacted on my pricing of new jobs - though I have sometimes been more hesitant about increasing prices.
Sure thing, none of us like being undercut and losing a customer or three.  However, it isn't illegal and, although it's not something I indulge in myself, it's probably not even unethical.
Who knows?  There may come a day when, if the economy implodes enough, when many of us on here have to do it to pay the bills.  I certainly hope not but can any of us hold our hand on heart and say that if we were £50 short on the mortgage, we wouldn't take a £50 job that someone else had been doing for £60.  I really hope it never comes to that.  I try to live by high ideals and dropping my standards would dent my personal pride.

[colin purewater]

glad they dont live by me!
£7 for a 3 bed more like £12 -£15 

loads if cheap work dont make good business

in liverpool were,i can only get £5 3bed semis

well id be daft to tell you then,
you must be trad mate? not worth getting ye pole out, full house for a fiver?

[mikecam]

glad they dont live by me!
£7 for a 3 bed more like £12 -£15 

loads if cheap work dont make good business

in liverpool were,i can only get £5 3bed semis

well id be daft to tell you then,
you must be trad mate? not worth getting ye pole out, full house for a fiver?

Not sure why Michael mentioned Liverpool, like the area was a problem pricing zone. The problem may lie even closer to home. I believe Michael is trad, and i wonder why he can't get the minimum £10 that most of us go for, but then when i read Michael saying he can clean 6 semi's an hour off ladders, easily, then i know why he cannot get more than a fiver a house. And so does anyone else who has cleaned off ladders !!! Also a lot of his work is fortnightly.

[windiewasher]

How many of you?

colin purewater...I GOT MY POLE OUT THIS WEEK TO CLEAN £5 AND  £6 HOUSES
WE ONLY CLEANED (me and side kick) 240 ODD HOUSES IN 4 DAYS FROM 8.30-3.45
SOME PEOPLE THINK THEY OUR TO GOOD FOR COUNCIL HOUSES
HAPPY DAYS FOR ME...OH AND I ONLY PUT £10 DIESAL IN THE VAN

one street we cleaned 36 in 2 hours....

so for any new starters on this site price what you our happy with...but keep it compact

[ronnie paton]

36 houses in two hours wow

[mikecam]

one street we cleaned 36 in 2 hours....

This is teh willis family thread. You meant to post this in the do you post when under the influence thread ?

[traps7]

36 houses in 2 hours lol. now i really have read it all!
Were they wendy houses?

3.3 minutes a house. lol.

[michael o]

glad they dont live by me!
£7 for a 3 bed more like £12 -£15 

loads if cheap work dont make good business

in liverpool were,i can only get £5 3bed semis

well id be daft to tell you then,
you must be trad mate? not worth getting ye pole out, full house for a fiver?

Not sure why Michael mentioned Liverpool, like the area was a problem pricing zone. The problem may lie even closer to home. I believe Michael is trad, and i wonder why he can't get the minimum £10 that most of us go for, but then when i read Michael saying he can clean 6 semi's an hour off ladders, easily, then i know why he cannot get more than a fiver a house. And so does anyone else who has cleaned off ladders !!! Also a lot of his work is fortnightly.
lm not using ladders no more,wfp,even areas with very nice houses 250k hard to get £10,must be me lol,im not complaining happy with what i have

[mci services]

I know business is business but with the way they seem to be conducting their drive to expand along with their heavy handed (cut from wikipedia) threats of legal action make me think I would rather do business with the devil than anything to do with the Willis massive.

They did not threaten legal action regarding accusations of undercutting.  They threatened it because there was an allegation that they used people's customer lists, gained from their NVQ work as Impact 43, to target people's businesses.  The allegation was clearly wrong.  I did the NVQ course with them and they only asked to meet me at one customer's house to check on my working methods/ H & S competence etc.  They did not even ask me how much I charged for the job.  The allegation was clearly unfounded but potentially damaging to their Impact 43 training business if enough people were sufficiently gullible to believe it.  For that reason alone, I think they were right to threaten legal action.
As for the (random) undercutting.  That's the way some businesses operate.  Although that has been common in the commercial field, it has been less so on domestic work.  Now that many people's budgets are being squeezed, more operators are undercutting on domestic.  So far, it hasn't impacted on my pricing of new jobs - though I have sometimes been more hesitant about increasing prices.
Sure thing, none of us like being undercut and losing a customer or three.  However, it isn't illegal and, although it's not something I indulge in myself, it's probably not even unethical.
Who knows?  There may come a day when, if the economy implodes enough, when many of us on here have to do it to pay the bills.  I certainly hope not but can any of us hold our hand on heart and say that if we were £50 short on the mortgage, we wouldn't take a £50 job that someone else had been doing for £60.  I really hope it never comes to that.  I try to live by high ideals and dropping my standards would dent my personal pride.

good post and say's it all I think, and if anyone bothers to read it the subject would end now, but I guess that will not happen

[bobby p]

at first glance it reads that you go on their  course,they check out your method of working,copy your customer list and then hurry round to undercut you if you are local to them .   

on further reading its all rubbish ,i think

[traps7]

2 people trap you need to do your sums again.... 7.5 minutes...
How long does it take you to do a house at £10 with the frames ?

I've just done my sums again. They're right. The two of you are doing a house in 3.3 minutes. Or roughly 7.5 if you were on your own. Does that include set up, dragging hoses, leaving receipts/notes, collecting money etc. And that's constant. No chatting or hold ups.

Sorry but I find that very hard to believe pal.

[michael o]

no influence....just very easy £5 houses .. . and i dont have to worry about under cutting..

maybe put my prices up to £10 pound.... not worth getting the pole out any more for a £5 houses

work is work,most £10 houses are getting done monthly ,so £5 every fortnight makes same money, higher the price open to undercutting ,new water fed pole guy i know lost a lot of his £10 month houses,from another wfp guy,whos doing every 2 week for £4,wfp work is quicker and safer then ladders,i get my own done every fortnight he charges £5,at the same point on one of my rounds someones going around saying he will do full house for£2,now im cheap but not that cheap,

[GB Window Cleaning]

2 people trap you need to do your sums again.... 7.5 minutes...
How long does it take you to do a house at £10 with the frames ?

I've just done my sums again. They're right. The two of you are doing a house in 3.3 minutes. Or roughly 7.5 if you were on your own. Does that include set up, dragging hoses, leaving receipts/notes, collecting money etc. And that's constant. No chatting or hold ups.

Sorry but I find that very hard to believe pal.

i agree traps, it seems a bit much, i wanna know this...

do you clean frames and sills?

do you clean doors?

do you go over frames and glass once or twice?

do you rinse glass ?

thanks

[ronnie paton]

10 mins yes 3.3 mins no way .

[laddermonkee]

Who are the willis family

Who are the willis family

Try again Ladders.........................

You may get an answer on the third attempt     

Who the feck are the Willis family

[JUST GUTTERS]

they run the inpact training...and have now have started up a franchise clean safe or safe clean not sure the names...they have been accused before of using information that they gathered from guys that used there training scheme... that turned out to be false..then they came on this forum and threatened legal action to any one who tarnished there rep