[James Styles]

When I was canvassing last week picked up a customer who agreed £12 f/b every 8 weeks, seemed chuffed and happy to find a window cleaner, come to do the house today and she appeared happy when I knocked on done me a cuppa, done a very good job on the house spent an hour as first clean got it spotless with frames sills etc.
Knock on to say I’m finished she passes me £12 and says I’ll call again around August... I said so you don’t want them doing every 8 weeks? She just said no, not much I could do so I just said ok and left, crossed her off my list, all that work I put in aswell, might have to charge more for first cleans now I’m thinking, was trying to not do that to build my round faster but she annoyed me.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Yep. One hour for £12 is a waste of time.

I charge 50% more for one off cleans and first cleans to prevent these people.

[deeege]

Charge double for first cleans without exception. Sorts the messers from the decent custies.

[Smudger]

welcome to window cleaning lesson number 1

1. when talking to new customer make sure they know its a regular service of xx weeks
2. charge double to first clean
3. we sometimes offer a 6th clean at half price ( after the x2 price of first clean ) this helps keep them on board
4. also mention they can get a 1/2 price clean if they get a friend, neighbour, family to take up the service as well

Darran

[nathankaye]

The joys of our world. In time you will learn to detect these ones.
When it comes to Facebook customers, many, not all, are after cheap one off cleans. This is why it's good to get into the habit of charging higher for first cleans and/or one off's if you choose to do so.

In time you will also speed up and first cleans won't take as long.

[James Styles]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy

[nathankaye]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy

The thing is James, if us lot are charging double, if not more and getting the work....... Why wouldnt you??

[robbo333]

My only advice is, when you clean a customer's house and it's filthy, make sure you charge extra (for the extra time involved).

Then if the customer is genuine and uses you again, you are on a winner, but if the customer cancels the next clean, then at least you have covered the cost of the first clean. If a customer doesn't want to pay extra for a first clean then I would be wary and would walk away, rather than clean it.

Good luck...welcome to silly season! 

I did mention this on your other thread...but sometimes it's best to learn the hard way.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy
[/quote

She saw you coming a mile off.  You will learn in time how to spot them.   It's a skill you will soon pick up with xp

[James Styles]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy

The thing is James, if us lot are charging double, if not more and getting the work....... Why wouldnt you??

I’d say because you all are far more established, have way bigger rounds so can afford for people to not accept the quote (it wouldn’t effect you much really) while for me I’m starting from scratch and need customers.

[Crystal-clear]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy

Yup like most said If i could have done something different back in the day was charge double for first cleans. People will be over the moon to have filthy windows cleaned for £12.00 and will just nod heads to anything you say,

The truth will only come out once you removed those years of dirt from the glass and frames.You could prejudge all you like on good vibes. but end of the day you should just charge what you're happy to earn for the actual first clean job.

Sounds like your starting out so one other thing try not to underestimate your running costs. even if you're working alone all the time with expenses remember no holiday pay or ssp if you are sick you are not earning.. bank holidays van or car being off the road. across the year you will be surprised how much stuff crops up all the unpaid work you'll do Admin and accounts.
So £12 for the hour is below what you should aim to cover the above time alone.

[nathankaye]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy

The thing is James, if us lot are charging double, if not more and getting the work....... Why wouldnt you??

I’d say because you all are far more established, have way bigger rounds so can afford for people to not accept the quote (it wouldn’t effect you much really) while for me I’m starting from scratch and need customers.

It's a mind set, which I'm hinting (badly at) lol.
When I break into a new area where I would like to start working, should I go in cheap I order to get established and then wait a year or two to put the price up to somewhere I would like it close to? Or start as I mean to go on?

I appreciate where your coming from, as we all have been there, but you have the advantage of our (all on here) vast experience. So hopefully not to make the same mistakes as what we all have made.
But you may know that I am in the process of thinking about starting a fresh in Scotland from England and soon will be starting completely from scratch.   Yet I will use my experience so as not to make the same mistakes as in my early days.

[Bungle]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy

Yup like most said If i could have done something different back in the day was charge double for first cleans. People will be over the moon to have filthy windows cleaned for £12.00 and will just nod heads to anything you say,

The truth will only come out once you removed those years of dirt from the glass and frames.You could prejudge all you like on good vibes. but end of the day you should just charge what you're happy to earn for the actual first clean job.

Sounds like your starting out so one other thing try not to underestimate your running costs. even if you're working alone all the time with expenses remember no holiday pay or ssp if you are sick you are not earning.. bank holidays van or car being off the road. across the year you will be surprised how much stuff crops up all the unpaid work you'll do Admin and accounts.
So £12 for the hour is below what you should aim to cover the above time alone.

Spot on!

[Stoots]

completely normal with canvassed work

messers galore

youll soon learn to just brush it off

accept it happens it will make it much easier

i now expect messers, timewasters and non payers, just delete them and move on

you cant charge double when canvassing work or actively looking for work, well you can but if you are actively spending money or your time looking for work then you dont want to lose them trying to charge double.

Only time i charge extra is if they come to me.

Thats said i very very rarely charge extra for first cleans, expect to lose money on first cleans, its the price you have to pay to get more work.

[zesty]

As others have said. Charge double.

I charge double for all first cleans, regardless of how dirty they are.

That way it’s worth doing if they then cancel the regular cleaning after...

[Dry Clean]

James these types of messer are few and far between, just put it down to a starting up expense and move on.

[Dean champion]

I charge 75% extra on all first clean
This is how my leaflet explains it....
Please note: your window clean will take twice as long to get the windows up to a high standard for regular cleaning, therefore your first clean will have a one-off additional charge of 75% added on top of your regular cleaning  price.
I explain this to all canvassed work aswell whilst showing them on my leaflet
Dean
                 

[tlwcs]

James these types of messer are few and far between, just put it down to a starting up expense and move on.

Maybe in your world Sean.
James is in an affluent area with people who like a bargain and lie through they’re teeth.
4 in 10 will be keepers
Keep plugging away, it ain’t easy mate

[Spruce]

Yeah I am learning that I need to charge more for first cleans I’m just worried when quoting i won’t get the job, I’ll probably add like £5-£7 to the price of first cleans until I get a bigger round, otherwise I doubt people will pay like £30-£40...
I did explain to her about the 4/8 weekly clean but she basically agreed to it then when paying me said she will call when she wants.... I worked really hard on that house too, it was filthy

The thing is James, if us lot are charging double, if not more and getting the work....... Why wouldnt you??

I’d say because you all are far more established, have way bigger rounds so can afford for people to not accept the quote (it wouldn’t effect you much really) while for me I’m starting from scratch and need customers.

This might be true to a certain extent, but to get a good round you have to push the prices 'button'. We have always said on here that if you are getting all your quotes you are too cheap; if you are getting none, then you are too expensive. To grow your round economically you need to get around 40% of those you quote. The only way you will know is by 'playing the numbers game.' You might reduce your price to get around 60% of your quotes to build a round quickly - it depends on your area and your competition. Building a round on cheap prices will grow your round quickly but you will get no long term benefit from it.

There was a 'slogan' on here a few years ago which I haven't seen in a while. It was the 3 C's - canvass, clean, cull. This is the only way you will build a quality round. And you have to do this from day one. I understand how you feel, but we all get caught with this from time to time. As tlwcs says, just put it down to your gaining experience. As a newbie they have let you practice your cleaning technique.

As a canvasser looking for work, you are going quote and clean windows of new customers that other cleaners have dumped because they are messers. Messers very really change. You need to identify them and remove them from you round as quickly as possible.
I would rather not waste my time cleaning a messer but would rather use that time canvassing a few houses looking for a better customer. You are looking for long term value.

We have a lot of large street houses that were divided up into flats in our area. We often got caught by a 'genuine' enquiry from someone who has just moved in and been looking for a window cleaner. Quite happy to pay a first clean additional charge for a regular clean. You only find out after you have cleaned the second time that it was an end of tenancy clean and they are long gone and the new tenant doesn't want your services.

We stay away from these flats now unless its by recommendation as we have been caught too often.

[Shrek]

Quote from: James Styles on April 29, 2019, 05:36:05 pm
Picked up 9 customers today in just 4 hours canvassing 


great, just wait till you lose half of them over the next couple of cleans.

Canvassing is the fastest way to build work but its the fastest way to lose work also.

Not sure what you mean, if I do a good job why would I lose them?

You will always ALWAYS get ‘messers’ - these are people who can’t be arsed paying you until you’ve sent them 10 messages every month asking for payment, you will always get customers who are desperate for their windows to be cleaned regularly then sack you off. Not many but these people exist and the main thing is to just move on , don’t dwell on the fact you’ve done a good job and you can’t understand why they aren’t paying you or they’ve sacked you off. Just move on 

Told ya