[Perfect Windows]

For me it's difficult to define "from the internet". I get lots of enquiries from my website (less than half of overall enquiries), I can't be sure how many of them have Googled "window cleaner" simply looking for a window cleaner, or how many were looking for me specifically after seeing a leaflet or vehicle.

Equally I get lots of phone calls (probably more than half), but there is no way of telling whether or not these customers found me on the internet, or if they did were they looking for me specifically.

Unless you ask every customer how they found out about you (which would be laborious and possibly inaccurate) you're not going to be able to define that properly.

We do always ask.  It takes about five seconds in total, including the answer.  I'm keen to find out because we spend a fortune on leafletting and we need to know if it's still cost effective.

Vin

[8weekly]

Hi,

It's great to have your feedback on the service that we are providing, thank you.

Our focus is to offer a service that allows customers to book and pay in a safer and more convenient way and to do that they are paying a small premium. The window cleaners that are registered with us do not pay a set fee, we give them the job details and the price and they can choose whether to accept the job or not.

The benefit to a window cleaner is that there is no requirement to allocate time or money to advertising or collecting monies owed.

You can find more information here https://www.osha-clean.com/partners.html and we are more than happy to answer your questions via this forum.

All the best Louise

Hi Mark & Louise

I've just watched your YouTube video...

Your USP seems to be that the customer doesn't have the hassle of having to find cash to pay the window cleaner..?

We have over 500 customers and only about 20% pay with cash these days... Others pay by bank transfer, direct debit, or card.

So I'm not sure that you're USP is going to work - as most people these days pay electronically - and most window cleaners these days accept various forms of payment not just cash?

Also... How are you going to make any money?

Example... Customer contacts you to have their windows cleaned... It's a £15 job... You spend time sourcing the window cleaner, spend time arranging the clean, and spend time processing the payment - how much of the £15 will you take for your time spent?

Also ... What if you arrange a clean and the window cleaner never turns up, or does a bad job?   It's your company name tarnished...

And... What if a window cleaner does a job for you and then just takes on the customer direct for all future cleans?

I wish you the best - but there are so so many reasons why this idea won't work.

Andy

I though these were good questions.. But so far haven't been answered?

Me too, but it's pretty obvious that they'd have run into a bit of a gauntlet don't you think? Such anger over such a non threat. If people thought about it and asked themselves the question: "how many customers do I get from the Internet?", they would pretty quickly realise that good customers almost never come from there.

A lot of our new customers these days "come from the Internet"....

95% turn into good long term customers.

Learn how to market on the Internet properly.

Andy

You shouldn't presume. It depends where you live. It's relatively easy to target window cleaner Southampton (Pefect Windows) for example, but imagine if you have around ten small towns to target. My "home" town is Newbury & I'm top for "window cleaner Newbury," but Newbury is a pretty small place/market even though it's the biggest local town.

I get internet customers, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to customers from leaflets. Many from the internet want one offs which isn't our forte. If you feel threatened by Osha, that strikes me as very strange. Far more threatening is a couple of locals starting up and knocking doors. Not in terms of taking existing customers, but in terms of picking up a percentage of those that I might otherwise have picked up with leaflets.

If you get a large proportion of customers from the internet, I suspect it's because you aren't using other methods effectively.

[Tosh]

If you were to feel threatened by anyone in this business I'd find the mere fact that you feel threatened more threatening than the perceived threat from the other individual as threatening.

[Smudger]

For me it's difficult to define "from the internet". I get lots of enquiries from my website (less than half of overall enquiries), I can't be sure how many of them have Googled "window cleaner" simply looking for a window cleaner, or how many were looking for me specifically after seeing a leaflet or vehicle.

Equally I get lots of phone calls (probably more than half), but there is no way of telling whether or not these customers found me on the internet, or if they did were they looking for me specifically.

Unless you ask every customer how they found out about you (which would be laborious and possibly inaccurate) you're not going to be able to define that properly.

We do always ask.  It takes about five seconds in total, including the answer.  I'm keen to find out because we spend a fortune on leafletting and we need to know if it's still cost effective.

Vin

Same here - we know where every lead originated from, then budget advertising accordingly

Darran

[Og]

If you were to feel threatened by anyone in this business I'd find the mere fact you feel threatened than the perceived threat form the other individual as threatening.

Can you say that again please?

[Tosh]

Highly unlikely.

[Smurf]

Well I can say with 100% certainly I don't get any leads from Osha nor would I want them 

Like Vin & Smudger all leads I know where they come from too as is basic marketing 101 that's if you want to be successful in this game.

[Ian Lancaster]

Same here,  we have a very simple little form that we use for all enquiries.  Top line: Name, next: Address, then: Phone number, then Regular or one off, then: How did you hear about us? and finally: Other (any other relevant information).  The form is A6, about 6" x 4" clipped together in a pad with a bulldog grip. 

It prompts us to ask the right questions and we fill it in as we talk.

All necessary information gathered in a few moments, then I can phone or follow up when I want to.

[Jay Le Huray]

what a load of rubbish, I just looked on their website and typed in my own post code to see who my local cleaner is and guess what? there is none.... how strange as there are loads of us here in Southampton

but they do say they are coming soon LOL

I have been in this biz since the 70's and have never felt the need to use a company like this and never will, I think i'm  just about clever enough to run my own business and arrange to be paid from my customers without the use of some half wit keyboard warrior sat on his/her butt who knows nothing about our trade trying to run my  business

gotta dash now as I'm going back to their site to sign up as I don't want to get left behind LOL

[MNWC]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

[Shane sharples]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

NWH would charge you 50 notes 😱👍💩🚽🔙🔜

[rosskesava]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

I had a quick look on their website when this topic first started and I didn't see anywhere to be able to price up my own windows. It's obviously there on their website somewhere but it needs to be there on the home page.

One of the most important question any prospective customer wants to know is 'how much'.

And what's with the pictures of the kid and baby?

[Tom-01]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

NWH would charge you 50 notes 😱👍💩🚽🔙🔜

And he would probably get it too.

[Tom-01]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

So if the price to the customer is £20, how much does the window cleaner get? And what is the first clean price?

[Edge Clean]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

So if the price to the customer is £20, how much does the window cleaner get? And what is the first clean price?

I read on their T&Cs that there is a £5 deposit payable at booking, the remainder payable 1 or 2 days after clean done....so they are obviously making sure they get their money in advance of the clean.

[HampshireWindowCleaning]

That's £20 for a one off clean so a poor amount really

[supernova77]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

Our minimum price is £20.

We have a 1 bedroom flat that we clean for £20 and a number of 2 bed houses for £20'as well.

Andy

[Arnold Palmer]

For me it's difficult to define "from the internet". I get lots of enquiries from my website (less than half of overall enquiries), I can't be sure how many of them have Googled "window cleaner" simply looking for a window cleaner, or how many were looking for me specifically after seeing a leaflet or vehicle.

Equally I get lots of phone calls (probably more than half), but there is no way of telling whether or not these customers found me on the internet, or if they did were they looking for me specifically.

Unless you ask every customer how they found out about you (which would be laborious and possibly inaccurate) you're not going to be able to define that properly.

We do always ask.  It takes about five seconds in total, including the answer.  I'm keen to find out because we spend a fortune on leafletting and we need to know if it's still cost effective.

Vin

Once you have the data, how do you use it? There is a feature on cleaner planner to store this information, does the system you use have something similar?

Have you stopped an advertising method due to the results of the question?

I've always used flyers, I know the hit rate I get because we usually flyer one area at a time and when the call comes in I don't need to ask. The Internet is always going to be secondary to that for me. I get calls from people who've 'found' me on the Internet but they are just the same as any other customer (albeit usually outwith my current target area).

[Spruce]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

Our minimum price is £20.

We have a 1 bedroom flat that we clean for £20 and a number of 2 bed houses for £20'as well.

Andy

 

If I tried to get that price around here I wouldn't have any customers.

[Rob clarke]

Just priced my own windows through there website - 12 in all, they wanted £20........good luck with that. 20 min job in total from getting out the van to getting in.

Our minimum price is £20.

We have a 1 bedroom flat that we clean for £20 and a number of 2 bed houses for £20'as well.

Andy

 

If I tried to get that price around here I wouldn't have any customers.

Think they'd set the dog on me if I said £20 lol