[Stoots]

She just sees it as doubling her price and since she has been allowed to think 2.50 is fair naturally she would be shocked.

Trouble is there will no doubt be someone else who will come along and  do it for that price and so her mindset continues, neighbours talk and the while area talks and that's how we get these parts of the uk  where prices are just rock bottom.

Cleaners who cater for these people keep the prices down. So in sense Nathan you have been a thorn in your own side cleaning that property.

[Marc Stock]

At the end of the day Nathan it's a 100% increase​ and that's just hard to stomach.

If you went to a coffee shop one week and paid £2.50 like you had for years, knowingly that the coffee was good, and very cheap. And they said to you oh by the way it's now going to be £5 for the same you would feel annoyed as you know that it has been costing you £2.50 for ages and ages and now you have to find another £2.50 that you probably had marked for something else like a paper and perhaps a bun. Now that £5 is more like 7or 8 pounds to get the same thing.

Just because someone has a large house, a nice car etc etc it doesn't mean they have expendible income all of a sudden....some people budget right down to the penny they don't waste their money....that's how they get wealthy.

Now i am perplexed; that this £2.50 that
allegedly you are not all that bothered about anyway...You have gone to great effort to write about it on a public forum, with her details plastered all over it.

Honestly Nathan you are the one to blame not her. And if i found out that my ex window cleaner had put up on a public forum how he wasn't all that bothered about MY custom that i have given HIM for nearly a decade i would be spitting feathers.

You need to wind in your neck Nathan. Seriously...

Think your missing the point why i started this thread.
1. By saying I'm not fussed about loosing 2.50, (which, who would be) its highlighting that its not a big deal in the long term of things.

2.    The thread was about not leaving cheap prices unattended  for a good length of time, as the end result is regardless of the amount or percentage you put it up by, you will have some customers who will not be happy regardless.    As in this case, if i increased by a quid would she be happy?? Then if 6mnths later i reviewed it and increased by a quid again.....two increases within a year would finish the customer off.

If you increased the price to say £2.85 and then said that once a year the price will increase in accordance with the retail prices index I'm sure if she thought that if your worth the price increase she would have stayed with you.

[PHILIP HARDY]

I have no problem with the way Nathan has gone about this, we are being confused with semantics, yes its a 100% increase but its stil only a £2-50 increase, its gone from £2-50 to £5, this cannot be  a bad price, however the number of windows or amount of work there is, when is the last time anyone set a new custie on for £5 or less?? This is Nathans business here and running it in such a way to maximise income has to be more important than cowing down to customers who quibble at a £2-50 price rise.

[Shrek]

Iv put custards prices up by £4 or £5 before and not lost any but another time iv put someone's up by 50p and they kicked off. It all depends where the line is for them before it gets uncomfortable. Yes it's 100 % increase but we are talking about £2.50 here to start with so chances are like nwh said , it's someone who wants something for nothing.

Marc stock , sounds like you still have underlying issues. Do you even know what it feels like to have a £2.50 customer on your books? No ... thought not mr Iv gone limited

[8weekly]

At the end of the day Nathan it's a 100% increase​ and that's just hard to stomach.

If you went to a coffee shop one week and paid £2.50 like you had for years, knowingly that the coffee was good, and very cheap. And they said to you oh by the way it's now going to be £5 for the same you would feel annoyed as you know that it has been costing you £2.50 for ages and ages and now you have to find another £2.50 that you probably had marked for something else like a paper and perhaps a bun. Now that £5 is more like 7or 8 pounds to get the same thing.

Just because someone has a large house, a nice car etc etc it doesn't mean they have expendible income all of a sudden....some people budget right down to the penny they don't waste their money....that's how they get wealthy.

Now i am perplexed; that this £2.50 that
allegedly you are not all that bothered about anyway...You have gone to great effort to write about it on a public forum, with her details plastered all over it.

Honestly Nathan you are the one to blame not her. And if i found out that my ex window cleaner had put up on a public forum how he wasn't all that bothered about MY custom that i have given HIM for nearly a decade i would be spitting feathers.

You need to wind in your neck Nathan. Seriously...

Think your missing the point why i started this thread.
1. By saying I'm not fussed about loosing 2.50, (which, who would be) its highlighting that its not a big deal in the long term of things.

2.    The thread was about not leaving cheap prices unattended  for a good length of time, as the end result is regardless of the amount or percentage you put it up by, you will have some customers who will not be happy regardless.    As in this case, if i increased by a quid would she be happy?? Then if 6mnths later i reviewed it and increased by a quid again.....two increases within a year would finish the customer off.

If you increased the price to say £2.85 and then said that once a year the price will increase in accordance with the retail prices index I'm sure if she thought that if your worth the price increase she would have stayed with you.

Honestly though Nathan i find this whole thread irritating, you lack empathy with your customers and frankly you deserve to loose them if your going to expect people to stomach a 100%  increase. YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT HERE  This not about having low prices, it's about​ you being a complete clown.

I think he did the right thing. It's ridiculously underpriced and recently he's woken up to it. He should have been putting prices up as he went along but he didn't.

[jk999]

It doesn't make him a clown because he charges what he charges . I don't charge really expensive prices I have been in the game over thirty years and it provides me with a good income but does make me a clown because I'm not dick Turpin or robin hood

[Marc Stock]

Ok ok Clown is a bit strong. Sorry Nathan 

And yes i do have underlying issues. One which my citralopram should be controlling. I didn't see the warning signs when i was writing my reply. I'm just feeling irritated with everything ..it will pass.

I was super silly the other day, really hyper and manic and after that, i get irritated and cross and then it goes ​to black dog.

Black dog coming. So I'll see you soon.

[nathankaye]

I sympathize for ya mark,
Hope u have a good relaxing bank holiday buddy.

[G Griffin]

It's about educating your customers and Mrs. Slack needs to be taut.

[8weekly]

It's about educating your customers and Mrs. Slack needs to be taut.

Very good.

[dazmond]

A 100% price increase is never going to go down well with some customers whether its £2-50 or £10-00.

ive put roughly 200 accounts up either a quid or 2 quid over the last few months.ive had a few moan but not had any cancellations.

this price increase was purely to pay for my monthly van lease as i was otherwise fairly happy with my overall current prices.

i had a pretty bad start to this year with my van engine seizing up on the 5th jan but it all seems like a distant memory now.

brand new  van all kitted out and sign written ready for the spring/summer now and  normal service is resumed!new pole,pumpbox,cox reel,pure freedom crash tested cage,new brushes,etc,etc.(ive even booked a 5 star hotel in egypt for a week for later in the year).

[Jonny 87]

I think it's just a case of that custard being tight.

I bet if you'd put the price rise in place every year for say 30p increase a time, they would have said......"what? Again? You just put the price up last year"....

With some You just can't win.

I can't find it now, but there was a study to show that generally customers prefer bigger rises in price less often, rather than regular small increases.

Some pschycology in it I guess.

I'm at the stage now where I really need to put in some price rises. Some places haven't been increased in 5 years.

But then again I'm also quite happy to lose some and replace with better paid work. I'm pretty much flat out with work now, so need to
Do something.

[nathankaye]

I like the phrase;
"Its not personal its just business!!"

We all know that we are window cleaners and not their friends etc as we may seem because at the end of the day we will get dropped or blamed for something at some point. So why cant we have the same attitude! Its not about being empathetic its about running a business and im not going to keep or bend to low paying customers over sentimental feelings. We all expect prices to adjust so it doesnt matter if its in a year or several years, no one expects prices to stay the same forever.
Also ones who have been permitted to keep a low price are more than aware of this fact and though they should appreciate how long its been kept low, tbey dont because now they have to pay more and so the dummy comes out.

So, sorry get another window cleaner because im getting ones willing to pay my asking price. Its not personal its business

[dazmond]

I think it's just a case of that custard being tight.

I bet if you'd put the price rise in place every year for say 30p increase a time, they would have said......"what? Again? You just put the price up last year"....

With some You just can't win.

I can't find it now, but there was a study to show that generally customers prefer bigger rises in price less often, rather than regular small increases.

Some pschycology in it I guess.

I'm at the stage now where I really need to put in some price rises. Some places haven't been increased in 5 years.

But then again I'm also quite happy to lose some and replace with better paid work. I'm pretty much flat out with work now, so need to
Do something.

some of mine are a little but more often.they almost expect a rise every 2 or 3 years now.some of my bigger accounts havent been increased for over 5 years now but im still happy with the price as i overpriced them in the first place and still earn £50-£60 an hour on them so dont want to rock the boat so to speak as im already on a good hourly rate.no need to be greedy.

[nathankaye]

I think it's just a case of that custard being tight.

I bet if you'd put the price rise in place every year for say 30p increase a time, they would have said......"what? Again? You just put the price up last year"....

With some You just can't win.

I can't find it now, but there was a study to show that generally customers prefer bigger rises in price less often, rather than regular small increases.

Some pschycology in it I guess.

I'm at the stage now where I really need to put in some price rises. Some places haven't been increased in 5 years.

But then again I'm also quite happy to lose some and replace with better paid work. I'm pretty much flat out with work now, so need to
Do something.

some of mine are a little but more often.they almost expect a rise every 2 or 3 years now.some of my bigger accounts havent been increased for over 5 years now but im still happy with the price as i overpriced them in the first place and still earn £50-£60 an hour on them so dont want to rock the boat so to speak as im already on a good hourly rate.no need to be greedy.

Do i spot a little contradiction.  Youve over prices some jobs 5yrs ago and dont want to rock the boat now......then finish with no need to be greedy. After clearly stating  you over priced a job that 5 yrs later is still a good paying job.
Or am i being pedantic
 

[Dry Clean]

Its went from customers to clients to accounts what the hell is going on. lol.

[nathankaye]

Who said accounts??

[Dry Clean]

Who said accounts??

Dazmond.

[Stoots]

If you are water fed pole professional business man with a new van on finance lease the correct term is "accounts"

If you are still a trad rat cash collecting dinosaur you can still call them custys

[dazmond]

Who said accounts??

Dazmond.

accounts is just another name for jobs