[Dean ballinger]

Hi this is my first ever post
Ive maxed out the amount of work me and my work mate can do out of one van
We clean  the round of £ 8000  every 4 weeks ,
To make room for more work and more profite I’m thinking of changing my cleans from 4 weeks to 8 weeks  only and raising the prices 50%
 Then getting my canvasser to fill in the free work days with 8 week only jobs at the higher rate
Has any one done this or can you fellow Windy’s find any fault ??

[John Mart]

Why don’t you get a second van and work separately. You’d be capable of doing 40-50% more. Other than that I think 8 weekly is better (obviously), but you may lose a few ofcourse.

[Dean ballinger]

Iv had workers out in the past when we were traditional cleaners and it  didn’t go well soon as there out on there own the problems start,
We work good as a team just need to find a way to
Make room for more work now and as we’re water fed pole cleaners now the windows are staying cleaner for longer, so if I can get the existing customers to have it cleaned less often at a higher rate would make room for more customers and more pay
I’m sure some would not like the change and cancelle  but I’m hoping it would be worth it  with the scope of growth this could achieve for 1 van

[Shrek]

If I could start again, I would only offer 8 weekly and 12 weekly. Go for it , you’ll make money money for less work. in fact il be offering all my customers the option to switch after Christmas

[Lee Pryor]

Iv had workers out in the past when we were traditional cleaners and it  didn’t go well soon as there out on there own the problems start,
We work good as a team just need to find a way to
Make room for more work now and as we’re water fed pole cleaners now the windows are staying cleaner for longer, so if I can get the existing customers to have it cleaned less often at a higher rate would make room for more customers and more pay
I’m sure some would not like the change and cancelle  but I’m hoping it would be worth it  with the scope of growth this could achieve for 1 van

Heres what I think you should do.

1. Keep your customers as they are but from now on offer 4 and 8 weekly option, more expensive if they choose 8. Dont think all your "existing" customers will be happy with a 50% price rise.

2. Get another van and split the work so you can do more each day as 8 weekly just said above.

3. Sorry to be blunt but do a better job of running your business with staff so you simply dont have the problems you mentioned. Put systems and rules in place for them. Works fine for me. 

[Jonny 87]

Put yourself in the customers shoes.........

A £15 a month current price becomes £22.50 every time you show up, and they have to wait for about 4 weeks with dirty windows.

If it would work for you then go for it. You’d be surprised though how many people would have their windows cleaned every 2 weeks if you offered it. 8 weeks a long frequency when they have been used to 4 weeks.

[Splash & dash]

Hi this is my first ever post
Ive maxed out the amount of work me and my work mate can do out of one van
We clean  the round of £ 8000  every 4 weeks ,
To make room for more work and more profite I’m thinking of changing my cleans from 4 weeks to 8 weeks  only and raising the prices 50%
 Then getting my canvasser to fill in the free work days with 8 week only jobs at the higher rate
Has any one done this or can you fellow Windy’s find any fault ??

Not a bad income per year, but if you divide it up I suppose it’s about £200 per man per day , two people working in one van will never be the best way of working money wise , as has already been said for maximum profit one man per van is the way to go , I would guess if you put up prices by 50% you will loose a lot of customers , we are mainly 4 weekly with some 8 weekly stuff but a lot of our work is costal and 8 weekly is to long between cleans after 4 weeks you struggle to see through a lot of them , why not try putting up your prices a bit right across the board and leave the frequency as it is

[Dean ballinger]

I think I could offer the existing customers the option of the 8 weekly cleans at a hire rate and explain they would be paying less for there window cleaning yearly this way and see how many bite , and tell my canvasser only take on new work 8 weekly at higher rate and see how he does with selling that.
Then a second van is a must by the sounds of it to increase the amount we can both get done daily I’ll just have to set some rules and targets as adviced  by you guys

[jonny thompson]

If I was you I would go 6 weekly it’s the perfect period, Windows are just starting to get dirty, if you have great weather you can still squeeze some in after 5 weeks and they wouldn’t notice, I pick up loads of work because I offer 6 weekly

[Phil J]

If I was you I would go 6 weekly it’s the perfect period, Windows are just starting to get dirty, if you have great weather you can still squeeze some in after 5 weeks and they wouldn’t notice, I pick up loads of work because I offer 6 weekly

I'm with you on that one Jonny,
People tend to like the 6 weekly interval as it saves them money long term.

[Stoots]

I do 4 and 8

try to charge 8s more, but its surprising how many would rather do 4 for a tenner than 8 for say 15, they just see the cheaper price.
A lot i will try to sell the 8 weekly and explain it works out cheaper but they just dont get it, they only see 10 or 15 lol

Having 4 and 8 weeklys starts to become a headache after a while, in theory they would all fall in line with the 4s in the same areas but of course if you are delayed at all with the 4s the 8s become due when not in that area.

I would, if i could start again offer 6 weekly only and price somewhere in the middle. much easier to organise

[Smudger]

Yes if I started again I’d go 6 and 12 weekly

For the op I would consider this and add in a 5 to 10% rise then all new customers would be at the new rate - this is based on info given

Otherwise I’d follow lee’s advice

Darran

[jonny thompson]

As I stated above I clean every 6 weeks but do need the weather on side to achieve this, all new work which is a normal 3-4 bed house I quote at £20 minimum as I’m not bothered if I get it or not, however I seem to get 90% of what I quote, once u have a good compact round the aim is to work less but earn the same money each year as u get older

[dazmond]

Hi this is my first ever post
Ive maxed out the amount of work me and my work mate can do out of one van
We clean  the round of £ 8000  every 4 weeks ,
To make room for more work and more profite I’m thinking of changing my cleans from 4 weeks to 8 weeks  only and raising the prices 50%
 Then getting my canvasser to fill in the free work days with 8 week only jobs at the higher rate
Has any one done this or can you fellow Windy’s find any fault ??

its a good income...you dont split the money in half though do you?

id leave them at the same frequency...nothing wrong with 4 weekly if you making that sort of money,just only offer new work at a higher price and longer frequency (8 weekly) so you can keep up.....

id also raise prices a little...you can afford to lose a few if your crammed full with work.....

[duncan h]

What ever way you do it, your excising customers wont like much of an increase in price. Give the customers the option. Some will do it.
Over it for all new customers

[robbo333]

I agree with all the above, if it were me:

1. I'd put all my 4 weekly prices up; not a lot, just a bit, an increase for every customer. This gives you more income, but more importantly, also offers an opportunity to 'offer 8 weekly cleans', for a further slight increase. Don't go 50% more (not on existing customers) I think you're pushing it a bit. Negotiate a price that is 'fair'.

2. Look at the 'status quo'.
You may have lost some customers (due to the 4 weekly slight increase).
Most customers would have accepted the 4 weekly slight increase, and some customers will now be on 8 weekly at an even more favourable rate. If you're good then you could have converted say 40% to 8 weekly.

3. You need 2 vans. 1 man in each.
My van was in for a service yesterday, so I helped out a mate and we did 2 up on his round. You can't earn twice the money as 1 man. We did have a good laugh though!

4. Any new customers, just offer 8 weekly at a higher price, but again, a price that is fair and reasonable. You'll have a shortfall of work now, so you still need to build the round.

You will find that mixing 4 and 8 weekly will be a pain at times.

I only offer 8 weekly but have ended up doing 4, 6 and 12 also. I'm a soft touch and they are lovely people and it's only for about 20 custies. As much as they are all lovely custies, it does annoy me, trying to fit them into my 'perfectly planned schedule'! lol.

[SB Cleaning]

I do every 6 wks and 12wks works well.

[NWH]

You will lose work if you raise them up 50% the clean doesn’t take much longer on that frequency if at all,I would raise the price 15-20% max 2 monthly like monthly soon comes round quickly in there eyes.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

I’ve been following this thread with interest as I have a round where the majority of my customers want a 4 weekly clean. Every now and then I’ll get a customer that wants to go to a less frequent clean. My question is: How do you explain the price increase to those that want to change to a less frequent cleaning cycle?
I’ve had mixed responses from customers over the years. Some seem to understand and expect it without question. Others however, seem genuinely surprised when they request a less frequent clean, and don’t seem to get it at all when you increase the price even when you explain that overall they’re making a considerable saving.
Just wondered how some of you explain it.

[Shrek]

I say your windows will be dirtier so I will use more filtered water which will reflect the price but works out cheaper over the year compared to monthly.