[roundbuilder]

Vin this is how i would see it on a 4 and 6 weekly difference without a price difference. Do you agree or not that it creat's more work 6 weekly.
How would the same scinario work with me on my 4 weekly with you on you 12 weekly with your price 50% higher than mine as you stated.


Rav and joe are in contest to build a window cleaning business...

 ravi patel wants to have a business with 1200 customers at 4 weekly.

van 1 400x£10  customers
van 2 400x£10 customers
van 3 400x£10 customers

144k a year

joe bloggs wants a business with 1800 customers at 6 weekly

van 1 600x£10 customers
van 2 600x£10 customers
van 3 600x£10 customers

144k a year

both ravi and joe build there rounds gaining customers at the exact same speed.

Poor old joe will have a lot more work to do than ravi to hit hes target. Ravi would have van 4 and half of van 5 on the road by the time joe has finished earning him 8k more a month than joe. On a flip side joe could try changing from 6 to 4 weekly and be the same but runs the risk of many cancelations due to the change and customers being used to how it was before.

Yes, if the prices are the same, then there's a potential disadvantage being 6 weekly versus 4 weekly if you neglect the fact that customers may be easier to get 6 weekly and less likely to cancel as you're not "back too soon".  Neglecting that lightly is a mistake, in my opinion.  I chose 6-weekly because it's what I wanted and it's what most of the people I asked (before I started) wanted.  Giving customers what they want makes it easier to get them in the first place and reduces cancellations, IMHO.  I do think that giving what customers want is in no way a bad thing.  Very few businesses other than ours blindly ignore their customers' wishes.

Yes it takes a little longer to be full, but that's a detail.  I want to be in this business for a while, so a slow start didn't bother me.  And the big thing for me, the one I keep banging on about because it's so important, is the 50% price uplift for half frequency.  That's where I make a lot of money.  It takes even longer to build up, but the hourly rate is just fine.  And, let's face it, the number of hours in a working week is what limits sole traders' earnings.

Let's keep the maths simple.  Comparing your 4-weekly to my 12-weekly makes little sense, so lets compare 4 weekly and 8 weekly.

Cleaner A has 300 customers every four weeks at £10. £3,000 every four weeks - £39,000 a year
Cleaner B has 100 customers at four weekly (£10) and 400 customers at 8-weekly (£15).  Every four weeks he cleans 300 houses (same as "A") and gets in £4,000 - £52,000 a year.

So, it takes cleaner B more time to build up his round but he's earning far more for the same workload.  And I say genuinely that half frequency cleans really don't take more than a few seconds more than a normal clean.

Vin



Vin

I do get what your saying and where your coming from. for me its a case that i dont charge anymore from going 4 to 8 weekly not that i have many 8 weekly so it isnt an issue however if 2 thirds of my custys wanted to go 8 weekly id have no choice but to put the price up as would be a massive dent in takings.
My min price for anything is £10 and my average price is just over £14 from my calculations not including my central london work. but considering most of my work is front only and done 4 weekly im happy with that. for me to do as well doing it 12 weekly my average house price would have to be over £25 so im guessing that is close to what yours is so you must target larger properties. so if your round is full up with enough work full of 12 weeklys averaging at over £25 and you can have nice short days i take my hat off to you as your business must be grade A steak.
For me it isnt an option to go 12 weekly as i want a huge customer base of 4 weekly easy to clean easy access terrace/semi's that dont generally have time to get dirty and that dont have much of a front garden and that can be cleaned in 2/3 mins a pop,its sad that i get anoyed spending 10/15mins doing a whole house just to get an extra £5 when could do 4 or 5 fronts in the same time. I hate big houses and try not have them on my round which is maybe why i dont get asked to do anything 12 weekly.

[Window Washers]

if your doing less often then there should be an extra charge, simple fact it will take more time.

I give the customers what they want, if they want 4 weekly they can have it if they want 8 they can they they want less often they can have that too, I did think of six weekly but why upset the apple cart, many do this because they are lazy they could be cleaning 4 weekly then it drifts to 5 then 6 (they just would'nt admit it on here (in my book that loses money and thats why I am in business)  it loses a hell of a lot more than the not today brigade, if you say your tern clearly when starting out the not today dont happen very often at all what ever the time interval.
This of course is IMO but also from what I do daily, I dont have half the problems many seem to have on here.

[gary999]

i prefer 4 weekly you need less customers bu the last twelve months or so
i have seen a decline in demand and 6 weekly seems to be what most want now by me

i only offer 4 /6 weekly cleans now i dont do 8/12 weekly cleans for new customers
anymore

[Ian101]

I only offer monthly now.

When I quote it goes like this "On a house of this size we charge £12 and we call to clean once a month" then I shut up and say nowt.

If they say anything like oh cant you call less often them Im outta of there as time has proved to me that this is a sure sign of a messer / slow payer / PIA.

If your buiding a round then different matter of course as you have to take what you can but once full you can pick and choose.

If any current customers want a less frequent service then if the job is priced high I will decide to keep em or not at same price, if job not priced high then will charge whatever I think I can get away with as their changing the origianal agreement or if I want rid of job then just say no only do monthly and if they cancel not bothered.

[Ian101]

Door step cancellations very rare nowadays and best wayto combat this is to drop em on the spot as again time has shown to me that if they think they can do it the once they will do it again and again and again.

Only exception is I do take holiday cancellation if they ask, builders are in or or theyre dead (wont get paid anyway)

[roundbuilder]

if your doing less often then there should be an extra charge, simple fact it will take more time.

I give the customers what they want, if they want 4 weekly they can have it if they want 8 they can they they want less often they can have that too, I did think of six weekly but why upset the apple cart, many do this because they are lazy they could be cleaning 4 weekly then it drifts to 5 then 6 (they just would'nt admit it on here (in my book that loses money and thats why I am in business)  it loses a hell of a lot more than the not today brigade, if you say your tern clearly when starting out the not today dont happen very often at all what ever the time interval.
This of course is IMO but also from what I do daily, I dont have half the problems many seem to have on here.

If i wasnt so full up to the brim with customers id say that too but come on man you make out how big you are but say stupid things like that...In reality if you accept what every customer requests at 4,6,8 and 12 weekly, your round would be all over the place. I like to have a week in 1 area 2 weeks in another and a week in another. Which is why a cust wanting to go 6 weekly would mean traveling 10 miles out the way for 1 job, if i had 100 or more requesting 6 weekly id be doing more driving than working! how is that what you call business sence???. So for me if a custy asks to go 6 weekly i say sorry 4 or 8 and if they dont accept that then i replace Or things go tits up. Ian if your whole round was 6 weekly then all would be fine. Even the 6 weekly guys would be messed up taking on 4 or 8 weekly with there work also.

[Window Washers]

Door step cancellations very rare nowadays and best wayto combat this is to drop em on the spot as again time has shown to me that if they think they can do it the once they will do it again and again and again.

Only exception is I do take holiday cancellation if they ask, builders are in or or theyre dead (wont get paid anyway)

I would never drop them for one error, if they do this it is down to you not telling them the terms correctly dropping on the spot IMO is madness and also lacks customer service, explain to them the reason why this cannot happen, must people get a second chance to follow my terms I rarely get messed about but if it happens I explain I cannot run a business with a round full of customers that do this they then either cancel themselves or tow the line simples

[Tony Edwards]

When I canvass I say " I offer 4 or 6 weeks. I get 70% go for 6 weeks. If they ask for 12 weeks I explain price will be 40% extra.

I always tell them and explain first cleans are 100% more than the normal clean. Never had one refusal.

Quoted a job last month, £50 monthly and first clean £100. Did it this week took much longer as had builders in after my original quote. Client said invoice me for your time not the £100 I had quoted as he was so pleased with the job.

Invoiced £200 he paid .

[Alex Wingrove]

You're missing some information here

400 customers @ £10 per month = £4000 per month

If you're cleaning six weekly why would you charge the same?
for me its

400 customers @ 15 per six weeks = £4000 per month.

Therefore I dont need 50% more customers, just increase their price by 50%.

Alex

[roundbuilder]

You're missing some information here

400 customers @ £10 per month = £4000 per month

If you're cleaning six weekly why would you charge the same?
for me its

400 customers @ 15 per six weeks = £4000 per month.

Therefore I dont need 50% more customers, just increase their price by 50%.

Alex

My point being its a reccession and custies wont want a 50% price rise who the hell would pay £15 for there 4 front windows and a door to be cleaned every 6 weeks and have them get dirty when they could have it 4 weekly for £10 and have them stay clean. For a 2 week margin charging an extra 50% is utter bull poop and even if you get away with it how long befor le someone undercuts you???.

[roundbuilder]

Even though i dont do it. i do agree with price increase for 8 or 12 weekly but no way 6. Customers arn't stupid.

[Alex Wingrove]

You're missing some information here

400 customers @ £10 per month = £4000 per month

If you're cleaning six weekly why would you charge the same?
for me its

400 customers @ 15 per six weeks = £4000 per month.

Therefore I dont need 50% more customers, just increase their price by 50%.

Alex

My point being its a reccession and custies wont want a 50% price rise who the hell would pay £15 for there 4 front windows and a door to be cleaned every 6 weeks and have them get dirty when they could have it 4 weekly for £10 and have them stay clean. For a 2 week margin charging an extra 50% is utter bull poop and even if you get away with it how long befor le someone undercuts you???.

Lol

[roundbuilder]

You're missing some information here

400 customers @ £10 per month = £4000 per month

If you're cleaning six weekly why would you charge the same?
for me its

400 customers @ 15 per six weeks = £4000 per month.

Therefore I dont need 50% more customers, just increase their price by 50%.

Alex

My point being its a reccession and custies wont want a 50% price rise who the hell would pay £15 for there 4 front windows and a door to be cleaned every 6 weeks and have them get dirty when they could have it 4 weekly for £10 and have them stay clean. For a 2 week margin charging an extra 50% is utter bull poop and even if you get away with it how long befor le someone undercuts you???.

Lol

Why the lol??

[Frankybadboy]

and i was thinking that wfp kept the windows cleaned longer

perhaps i am wrong

[Dave Willis]

Mine are all five weeks but because I have so much work and don't work in torrential rain then often it stretches to six or seven weeks. Messers get dumped - compact is king. Jobs in the sticks are bottom priority even if they pay top money.
By offering different frequencies for different customers shows a desperation for work and what happens is the day will come when they all fall on the same day and you're stuffed - you can't service them all.

Some of the business guru's on here do the daftest things it's unbelievable. Keep it simple it's only cleaning windows at the end of the day.

[Ian101]

Mine are all five weeks but because I have so much work and don't work in torrential rain then often it stretches to six or seven weeks. Messers get dumped - compact is king. Jobs in the sticks are bottom priority even if they pay top money.
By offering different frequencies for different customers shows a desperation for work and what happens is the day will come when they all fall on the same day and you're stuffed - you can't service them all.

Some of the business guru's on here do the daftest things it's unbelievable. Keep it simple it's only cleaning windows at the end of the day.

+1 

[Carl@Cwc]

4/8 weekly for us keeps it dead simple.

20 working days then cycle starts again.

4 weekly = £10
8 weekly = £12.50 = 25% increase.

if i had to start again , id do it exactly the same .again.
4 weekly as good as guarantees you 12 cleans per year. 13 if u are strict on your sheets & weather permissable.

[roundbuilder]

Mine are all five weeks but because I have so much work and don't work in torrential rain then often it stretches to six or seven weeks. Messers get dumped - compact is king. Jobs in the sticks are bottom priority even if they pay top money.
By offering different frequencies for different customers shows a desperation for work and what happens is the day will come when they all fall on the same day and you're stuffed - you can't service them all.

Some of the business guru's on here do the daftest things it's unbelievable. Keep it simple it's only cleaning windows at the end of the day.

couldnt agree more with the business guru's lol..well funny.

[Crystal-clear]

im on 8 weeks 100% more work required people just want longer intervals,

i actually have a customer who is paying about 5x worth of cleans for 2x cleans a year so we do 6x cleans normally and she is saving 1x clean and only getting 2x shows you that people just want to save money .

i think if i could do it all over again i would pick 6 weeks cos 8 is a bit of a nightmare establishing  and 6 is kinda the happy medium

[Scrimble]

Only exception is I do take holiday cancellation if they ask, builders are in or or theyre dead (wont get paid anyway)

post of the year i'm in stitches