[windows_chepstow]

I'm just printing off a whole load of 'Your Window Cleaner has been' chits.

Mines A5 sized and looks pretty good; so I think.

Anyway, one part of it says:

EVERY OTHER MONTH

We also offer an every other month cleaning service.  This will cost you 50% more than your current cleaning price, but will save you money since you will receive six, rather than twelve cleans per year.

But I've had very few takers on this service over the past year or so I've advertised this.

Am I charging too much or using the wrong wording?

[www.crawleycarpetc]

I think people are thinking you are trying to rip them off!?
sorry but thats what i would think.

Regards Rob

[jon adams]

 Hi Tosh, to the customer they could see it that you will benefit most from this deal how about trying for 25% more and i reckon you will still be quids in. Most of my round is prob 8-9 cleans a year anyway now im converting to wfp this will give them a chance to get dirty.
                                           Jon

[windows_chepstow]

I think people are thinking you are trying to rip them off!?
sorry but thats what i would think.

Regards Rob

Rob, you may have hit the nail on the head.

Thanks mate.

But I still want to offer this service.

It's fair enough; don't you think?

It does save them money, and still guarantees them a regular window cleaning service.

The price of a window cleaner does depend on the amount of work involved and frequency of service.

Should I explain it better?

I've just cancelled my print job.

[windows_chepstow]

how about trying for 25% more and i reckon you will still be quids in.

 Jon

Jon,

I probably would be happy with 25% extra, but I've advertised for 50% more for over a year now, and it would seem a bit 'desperate' to my customers if I took a step backwards now.

Not only that, I have a handfull of customers who've asked for this service and it would be unfair on them too.

I'd need a different, 'your window cleaner has been' chit for them to hide the fact I've went 'cheaper'.

I think my only option is to explain myself better.

[Jeff Brimble]

I always try to keep customers, if they want a 2 month then I do it, or a 3/6 month. Better to keep a customer for "life" than lose one. Most go with "whatever everyone else is doing". Sometimes they fall on bad times, are embaressed and stop you. Far better to try to keep them by offering an alternative. By all means then tell them that you have to charge a bit extra for the time involved because its cutting their cost by %. You offer a service catered to what they want, they are happy, you are happy.
But you will still lose a customer if they are hard up or unhappy.

[www.crawleycarpetc]

Its a difficult one really and depends on the quality of the work you are doing? I have one house that has 45 windows and doors in total ( nearly all Georgian!). The 1st clean i did i did for £60 but when the house holder told me she only wanted a clean as and when i quoted £90 and she said thats fine! The problem with what you are doing for me is Joe bloggs in general wouldn't stomach it as they will feel its a scam. Again just my opinion.

Regards Rob

[jon adams]

 Sorry to say this Tosh but straight away i thought it smacked of a scam just wanted someone else to say it first, suspicious lot us wcs as we have all been had at some stage.


                              Jon

[windows_chepstow]

 Sorry to say this Tosh but straight away i thought it smacked of a scam just wanted someone else to say it first, suspicious lot us wcs as we have all been had at some stage.


                              Jon

A Scam is a dishonest scheme.

What I propose is honest and upfront!

If you pay £10 per month for a clean; you pay £120 per year.

If you pay £15 for a bi-monthly clean you pay £90 per year.

That's a £30 saving to the customer who still gets a regular, insured window cleaner to clean their windows.

Where's the dishonest scheme?

If you gave someone a quote for cleaning their windows on a monthly basis, then every other month they said 'Not this month mate', would you keep them on your books?

I wouldn't.

Remember, we run businesses.

I've several customers who've taken me up on this offer, but I want more.

[www.crawleycarpetc]

P S my brother lives in Chepstow ill tell him to watch out for you!

[windows_chepstow]

P S my brother lives in Chepstow ill tell him ti watch out for you!

I'm the only Japanese looking window cleaner in Chepstow with a Geordie accent.

I'm not hard to spot. 

Tell him to shout, 'Whey-Aye-Banzai' if he ever sees me.

But what about this 50% extra scheme?

What would be the best way to explain it?

[gaza]

TOSH:WERE  ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS?get the money off them by charging more
for your work at 4 weekly cleans,why create more work for yourself?more spaced out collecting cus  youve got to have a bigger bank of customers,yes I can see your side ,working for a higher price,but make your customers you have now pay extra.
REPLACE THE CRAP WITH HIGHER PAYERS

 GAZA

[www.crawleycarpetc]

Thats ok we originally come from Boro! (uefa champions!!}

"A Scam is a dishonest scheme.


What I propose is honest and upfront!

If you pay £10 per month for a clean; you pay £120 per year.

If you pay £15 for a bi-monthly clean you pay £90 per year.

That's a £30 saving to the customer who still gets a regular, insured window cleaner to clean their windows."

I think the way i read it is you are offering a 50% clean per year at 75% of the anual price! i do agree with what your saying and trying to achieve but need to think about how to word it better.

[rosskesava]

Gaza - you always have that certain way of putting things that is erm.... quite precise and cuts the cr*p.

Tosh

We basically stopped doing monthly cleans a few months back as we had a lot of underpriced jobs and others that we not worth the amount of time it took getting to the job. Also, every evening I was phoning 20 to 30 customers which was like a chinese water torture after a heavy days work.

One of the other reasons was that our commercial work was on the increase and had gone from 1 day a week for 2 people to 2 days a week for 6 people in about a year so something had to give.

The customers we kept for monthly cleans were those that I would call 5 star jobs. Those that are the very good earners or either very quick to do.

To everyone else, I sent a properly worded letter explaining that we had changed the service we were offering to one of either a call out service which would be double the existing price, or a 2 monthly clean at 50% increase.

That may sound brutal but business is business and while I don't mind doing Mrs Grannies bungalow for £6, it doesn't pay my bills. Added to which we have commercial contracts to honour and some of them specify times of the day for the work to be done. Some, and this may sound really horrible, we just dumped for one reason or another.

Believe it or not, I did try to find other window cleaners who wanted work but around here they all seem to have full books.

To date we haven't heard from roughly 60% of our pre existing customers which is not a problem. I had quite a few irate phone calls but what did suprise me at how many customers were happy with accepting the 2 monthly clean for a 50% increase. I was also more suprised at how many were happy for the call out service at twice the price which was more than accepted the 50% increase.

On reflection, it would have been better just to offer a call out service only for those customers who were not 'prefered' ones.

So I think the 50% increase for a 2 monthly clean, if you are not short of customers - stick with it. Better still, maybe offer a call out service at twice the price. Now, in the main, the customer phones us. How easy is that?

Also, and very important, we decreased an over burdoned work load and increased our profits by about 50% in a few months and it felt good to clean out all that dead wood. It was like a breath of fresh air.

[windows_chepstow]

Thats ok we originally come from Boro! (uefa champions!!}

If your brother lives in Chepstow and you both come from 'Boro, then he's probably a Green Howard in Beachley Barracks.

They're my worst paying customers.  I've alread dropped a wadge of them, won't take on anymore there, and only keep on my trusted customers.

[windows_chepstow]

Ross/Gazza,

You've both given me some food for thought.

Wor Lass is telling me it's bath time.

Night all.

[www.crawleycarpetc]

Spot on mate and he is tight as well!

[gaza]

ROSS:HOW MANY 1ST CLEANS HAVE YOU DONE FOR THE CALL OUT CUSTOMERS?how many have rung?
Wouldnt like the idea of sitting waiting for the phone to ring
Thought you were wfp you carnnt bang em out as quick as a reg clean
its change from scrim and scarper to rinse and scarper

does your idea really work in your favour?
good luck if it does.

 gaza

[brett walker]

I wouldnt advertise a 2 monthly clean but you do get some customers that are adamant that they want it done that way, so yes and i would charge them 50% extra.

I had 1 customer that was 10 pound per month but wanted to change to every other month so to be fair to her i told her it would be 12 pound but i could tell with the look on her face that she wasnt happy.  She agreed but later emailed me and cancelled, instead of paying 120 per year she wanted to pay the 60 have clean windows frames, i dont think so.  If she approaches me again the price will go up after all this is not fair on other customers if they start talking to their neighbours they could all want it doing 2 monthly for the same price then youve got to start finding twice as much work.
So yes definately 50% extra

Brett

[gaza]

BRETT: WELL PUT BUDDY,would rather have 2 squid extra but clean every month
just for her cheek,we ave dicussed this before over coffee but still not sure about the logestics of two month cleans ,maybe 6 weekly cleans at 25% extra,would be about manageable with wfp,but not on these new building sites we keep getting on
because they carnt be cleaned trad.

n.b. squeeky


  gaza