[Bay View WCS]

So I cleans a regular old fellas house last week.  3 bed Terrace house with bay at front and small conny/lean to at back for £12 - 8 weekly.  Fella not in this time so I leave a slip; called next night and he says his niece has money to send to me and she will post.

So today I get cheque through with a letter asking why I was charging so much.  She had been "checking around and most people I have spoken with find this amount double what they pay on a similar timescale" - including her.  She ended the letter asking if I could clarify this for her.  In her haste, she hadn't left a contact number or address for me to reach her on - so phoned custy and got her number.

Now wanting to keep the faith for the windies on here I was charging up for the 'dump and replace with 2 more' mantra - but I thought that there's no reason why she didn't have the right to ask the question as she was just looking after her uncle's interest - understandable as I would want to know what the crack was if I didn't know.

So I gave her a call and asked if she'd got her prices elsewhere from other WFP windies -  turned out no.  Her windy was a long time tradder who hadn't put his prices up for as long as she could remember.  So I went into my spiel about her not comparing like with like and I explained about the different methods and the investment I had made in this way of cleaning.  I also told her that I cleaned another 3 in the street (which have less glass) at the same frequency for the same price.  I have a good solid client base and I would not be in that position if I was in the habit of overcharging for my service. 

I gave her the example that she could buy a cardigan in Marks and Spencers for £20.00 then go to Primark and buy one for £3.50 - she would not then say that M&S were ripping her off as she would then consider things like quality, cost of materials, guarantee and customer service etc.

She seemed happy with the explanation and was thankful for me taking the time to ring her.  Onwards and upwards Rodders!


Still gonna ring in the morning and dump tho 

[alanwilson]

Sorry I don't understand why you are dumping the customer?

By your own admission neither he nor his niece have done anything wrong.

[Bay View WCS]

Sorry I don't understand why you are dumping the customer?

By your own admission neither he nor his niece have done anything wrong.

Last line was just a joke - hence the big grins.  I know it's late tho!

[dazmond]

ive had the same on some work.i dont charge half the price of the £12 you charge for a 3 bed semi with conny but i do some small ones for £8-£10 but these are on very compact estate work that ive been cleaning for years.thats why im not too overly concerned about this new company who are trying hard to get a foothold on my work as they cant compete on price.its simply not worth cleaning one or two houses sandwiched in between a mountain of my work for the prices i charge.

on new stand alones i charge more simply because i have to factor in travel time/fuel etc so that £8-£10 house will be more like £12-£15.

ive had a few on here who have said why i clean my estate work at cheaper prices.its simply to keep my work very compact,no driving in between jobs and stops the competition getting a foothold.

i can see this company getting fed up of cleaning 3 houses (my ex customers(bad payers/messers)when they cant pick up anymore work.

i have lost customers where the local cleaner has the majority of the work and ive got a £12-£15 house sandwiched in the middle of his £6-£10 houses and they simply think im ripping them off.but it wouldnt be worth me cleaning for any less as i have to drive to the job and drive to my next job.

[Bay View WCS]

ive had the same on some work.i dont charge half the price of the £12 you charge for a 3 bed semi with conny but i do some small ones for £8-£10 but these are on very compact estate work that ive been cleaning for years.thats why im not too overly concerned about this new company who are trying hard to get a foothold on my work as they cant compete on price.its simply not worth cleaning one or two houses sandwiched in between a mountain of my work for the prices i charge.

on new stand alones i charge more simply because i have to factor in travel time/fuel etc so that £8-£10 house will be more like £12-£15.

ive had a few on here who have said why i clean my estate work at cheaper prices.its simply to keep my work very compact,no driving in between jobs and stops the competition getting a foothold.

i can see this company getting fed up of cleaning 3 houses (my ex customers(bad payers/messers)when they cant pick up anymore work.

i have lost customers where the local cleaner has the majority of the work and ive got a £12-£15 house sandwiched in the middle of his £6-£10 houses and they simply think im ripping them off.but it wouldnt be worth me cleaning for any less as i have to drive to the job and drive to my next job.

I agree; sometimes there are so many factors to take into account to justify the price you are charging - no wonder custies have a hard time working it out. 

I have one street where 6 different custies have 6 different prices varying from: 1 is a mate, 1 is a PITA for access, 1 is cheaper coz she got me 2 more on there, 1 has dogs and the doors are always covered in mud, and 1 is dammed fine to look at! 

[AJ]

Nice to see someone showing a bit of customer service rather than going for the immediate dump. You will probably have that customer for life now. His not yours 

[g.brookes]

i agree, great bit of customer service that.  you set a good example