[Fast 1 *]

the more people that charge more,the better it will be all round for every one.

[Londoner]

I've started saying "....and with this system your windows stay clean longer".
Thats not a lie, they really do. The idea is to try and get my new customers on a six week cycle for £15 instead of a four week cycle for £10.
 That way they pay me the same money per year but I do their windows less often.
The trick is to make it sound like they are getting a real bargain. I am still working on that bit but its coming.

Remember - If they don't flinch you could have got more. When you get every job you quote for something is wrong.

[jeff1]

You've got no money in your pocket, your kids are hungry, and you can only do one Job today because its P*****g down, are you going to blow that £5 job out because of pride?

I know what I would do, and my kids would'nt have gone hungry.

[Fast 1 *]

If i had kids,i would do whatever it took

[master cleaner]

ive got full streets of £5 houses 50 houses in a row and im not complaining , but i live i south yorkshire

gary

[simbo]

Vince,
you do the same as me and have picked up loads recently, many people do not want 4 weekly and that suits me fine as i do less houses per day and make more money and because its 6 weekly the customer can really tell that you have been, nice shiny frames and panes everybody happy and i would never risk breaking my neck for a measly fiver i get 8 for bungalow and ten for terrace  or it don't get done by me
cheers simb0

[Fast 1 *]

i would prefer if the customer really noticed.I currently do every 4 weeks,and alot of the time they dont even notice.This is why you get alot of "not this month"people.If i had enough work,i would do every 6 weeks.

[Paul Coleman]

ive got full streets of £5 houses 50 houses in a row and im not complaining , but i live i south yorkshire

gary

Nothing wrong with that in certain areas if the work is compact like that.  I find that the problem with this sort of work though is that there will always be a couple of bad apples amongst the customers or there will always be a few with poor access that slow me down.  It's a lot harder to ditch the bad apples when doing so much other work close by.  The other issue is getting paid.  The actual window cleaning is fine but it's the access issues or loads of people all wanting conversations when they pay.  If they want to pay someone to listen to them, they can always hire a counsellor.  Say an average of ninety seconds lost per house while doing these fifty houses.  That comes to seventy five minutes. So how much is that taking up in pure money terms?  £25? £35? £40.  I know this sounds mercenary and I'm not like this naturally but I have reached the point where my finances mean that I must think like this more and more.

[Andrew McCann]

I am surrounded here by the so called £5.00 brigade.

However many of them are good people who do a good job and are legitimate. They are happy with what they earn and a few of them have turned into good friends. Our problem is more the SUB £5.00 brigade.. and there are plenty of those as well. I dont let them bother me. I just get on with the job in hand.

Someone mentioned "posture" This is a very good point. Its not "front" but the ability to present yourself and work in a professional manner. I convert around 65% of my quotes into customers. I am never less than 50% dearer than the so called going rate in any area. Some areas worked by the legit guys I dont stand a chance of taking their work.. not that I would try to. However their really is a market out there that will stand realistic prices. All you have to do is find it.

To my mind posture means wearing a uniform.. being confident and polite and turning up with professional looking equipment when you have the work. This all installs confidence into the customer. Not only in your ability to do a good job but also in trutworthiness. I run a business. I am proud of it and that fact is carried over to the customer. Also I believe a by-product of this is that I have very little trouble with bad or late payers. Its all a total package that is seen by the customer.

There is a variation in prices with area.. of that there is no doubt. If I were to charge £12.00 for a semi I would starve. This area just wont stand it.

Live and let live I say.. as long as they are legitimate. We all have different expectations and needs regarding income. If I needed more then I would get out there and make sure I got it somehow. As it is I am very happy with my lot from window cleaning.

Cheers

Andrew

[Fast 1 *]

I agree

[matt]

i was speaking to some1 today about this thread

now he is a local bloke to me

he does a row of small semi's and charges 5 or 6 quid each, they take him 5 mins each

so he earns good money

the people who say "min charge of 10 quid" etc etc, you just wouldnt get the houses

[Paul Coleman]

i was speaking to some1 today about this thread

now he is a local bloke to me

he does a row of small semi's and charges 5 or 6 quid each, they take him 5 mins each

so he earns good money

the people who say "min charge of 10 quid" etc etc, you just wouldnt get the houses

As stated, it depends where you are located Matt.  Here in the southeast, enough people would be satisfied with such a deal to make it worthwhile.

[simbo]

hi its not so much £10 per month but per visit, if your work is close you get a good price per visit and they get a top job as often as suits them, many people will not want to pay £10 per month but quite happy to pay every 8 weeks so why not take them on and be flexible with your round to accomadate these, works for me
simb0

[Londoner]

I'm with Simbo on this one. Lots of people don't want 4 weekly visits.

[Paul Coleman]

I'm with Simbo on this one. Lots of people don't want 4 weekly visits.

This is why I have been offering a 6 weekly service for some years now.  It brings the "every other month" brigade onside.  When I used to offer an every other visit service, unless I checked my records that day, I would struggle to remember if I had cleaned the previous month or the one before.  Under my current system, I do offer a service at intervals other than 6 weeks, but only where the job size/location could justify my making a visit especially to to that job alone.

[matt]

I'm with Simbo on this one. Lots of people don't want 4 weekly visits.

i would say allmost NONE of mine would want 4 weeks, most are happy with 6 ish

esp with WFP upstairs, they are still clean

when i change to downstairs aswell, they will not see any dirty windows

[jeff1]

For the past nine years I have given a six weeks service,and I have found that customers are very happy with a six weeks clean rather than a four week/monthly clean.

I picked up a new one on friday, and the first thing she asked was how often do you turn up, when I told her six weeks, her reply was good my last window cleaner was every four weeks and they were quite often still clean.

If you want to build up a round, then the best way is to convert to six weeks. this gives you more customers and more income.

[master cleaner]

when i said in my earlier post that i did 50 houses in a street at about £5 each i forgot to say that i cleaned them on a fortnightly basis as i do with 80% of my work ,and with all my work i have not got a single access issue i just wizz through them as after 2 weeks there is  hardly any dirt on them and my customers want them doing every 2 weeks so who am i to complain.
i have got 400 customers in all ,
Happy Days

gary

[captain lard]

I work in the north east and up here we cant get the prices some of you lads manage,I only started in March on small semis and went in at £3 a house, was tempted to try £4 but we worried people wouldnt take us on as in the past these houses were cleaned at £2 or £2-50.Have 70 plus now on a compact route,anything with a conservatory is a fiver like.
A customer told me to canvass a certain street half a mile away which they said had no cleaner, checked it out,the houses were small council semis so decided to go in at £3 or £5 for a conservatory,soon realised there was an existing WC charging £4-50 and backed off,my info was bad .But the pricing opened my eyes a little.Went into another street last week and got some work but dont want a lot there because accces is difficult to the rear of some of the properties etc,its taking more time and I wont get a price to make it worthwhile,want to find half a dozen to ten easy cleans in the street and leave it there really.
Today I went to price 2 houses in a 'posh' estate .Both had had recent extensions put on and the houses there are a lot more expensive than my usual houses.Had a look,one had two bay windows to the front,one ground floor - one first floor and 3 awkward windows above a big garage as well as large panes on the front doors and 2 ground floor windows,to the back was 2 sets of patio doors and 2 sets of windows upstairs and down,I quoted £6-50 for that house and £8 for the house next door which was the same at the front but had a large arched window to the side and a conservatory.I put a written quote in and have heard nowt so despite the fact they havent had a cleaner for a year and I think I have probably underpriced I am wondering if they think I have been a bit expensive.I am a solo trad cleaner.I thought dont be greedy as well as I thought if I can get a presence on this close I could get a lot more cleans but at the minute think I blew it but if I had gone in any cheaper I would have been taking the p*ss out of myself so if there is no call its there loss,I have 4 large streets to canvass and am going to leaflet their close anyway.

[macc]

Not sure if im right, but it seems up north quite a few wc's have rounds every 2 weeks,  is this true.

Macc