[AuRavelling79]

I have been increasing my prices.

This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.

It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.

In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.

I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.

His maths is a fraction off but close enough.

[AuRavelling79]

Dear Malcolm

Thank you for your note advising us of your increase in charges.

Based on an eight-week cycle we calculate that our annual average spend on window cleaning will now go beyond two hundred pounds a year to £214.50.  Not only does this break the £200 “barrier”, but it is also beyond the budget we had set for ourselves for window cleaning.


However, for the time being, we would like you to continue to clean our windows and we are prepared to agree to the proposed price increase.

Going forward we shall review market rates and may need to consider taking on this job for ourselves.


This is probably unwelcome news to you, but our thinking is based entirely on the cost implications and not a reflection on the quality of the service you have provided to us.


Regards

 

[Slacky]

See what happens. They haven’t binned you and if they’re old codgers will probably struggle to do it themselves especially if it involves first floor work.

[Slacky]

His divulging all these percentages and cost barriers your charges have crossed are all fluff. He’s being an old fart there.

[Slacky]

I lost a 75 quidder  yesterday. Funny they said the exact same about it not being to do with quality of work or cost. Perhaps AI is now compiling these cancellations emails.

[alank]

Just keep turning up every eight weeks when due until he tells you to stop.
If he has not been cleaning his own windows in the past i cant see him starting now.

[NBwcs]

Definitely keep doing them, it's new news for them today so they've given it due consideration, it'll be old news very shortly and just become the norm, and probably won't give it another thought.

[Smudger]

Likewise - carry on and be polite it’s amazing how much effort of thought is put into a simple service and cost - when did he set his budget 1996?

I often the ‘I’m only a pensioner’ line as they polish a new car in their paid for house 🤪

Pensions have gone up 18% over the last 2 years!

Personally I don’t care if they have a 5 Bed-mansion cars etc..  I price to the job - either pay it or go elsewhere - let him do the windows you’ll be getting a call in a few months 😀

[Smudger]

Of course if your stoots then you just won’t go back 🤣🤣

[KS Cleaning]

Just remind the old codger that the state pension has went up by 20% in two years😁

[Jay Le Huray]

just carry on with your usual frequency and new price and see what happens.

[AuRavelling79]

A bit more detail and my response - sent last evening.

I actually cleaned on 20th March (and will call again mid-late May) and left a price increase note with his wife who said she would pass it on to her husband but to carry on unless I heard otherwise. (Which is pretty much what he has written too!)


Dear X & Y,

Thank you for your e-mail advising me of your deliberations and qualified acceptance of the new rate of £33.00 per 'clean'. On the note I left I think I wrote that it has been over four years since a price increase - indeed upon checking my records it will have been five years this month.

In these inflationary times I hope upon reflection that you find the uplift reasonable and agree that I have tried to ameliorate the situation by raising prices 10% in a period where the cost of living index has risen by a fraction over 20%. (according to my interpretation of the ONS statistics over the past five years or so)

However, if you should decide to go elsewhere or take on the task yourselves, I shall understand completely your desire for budgetary prudence; but I do hope that you will continue with my service.

Best wishes,

[Perfect Windows]

I'd not have responded. If they want to dump they will, if not, I'd just have carried on.

We put something about inflation in our last price increase letters. Using Word we merged in the date of their last increase, the CPI increase since that date and the percentage we were increasing the price. Forestalled problems, as they all knew we weren't quite keeping up with inflation (this time).

Vin

[Bungle]

I have been increasing my prices.

This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.

It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.

In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.

I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.

His maths is a fraction off but close enough.

A Porsche you say? Can I have a photo of it please?

[bravo20]

Is their surname Chromosome?

[dazmond]

I have never ever had an email like this in 31 years of window cleaning(and I have some very well off customers)....

The reality is they have no idea what your inflationary business costs are year on year (or even when you last increased their price in a lot of cases).

Accept the price increase or its goodbye 👋

[Arnold Palmer]

I'd have ignored it.

Btw 52/8 = 6.5

6.5 X 33 = 214.5

His maths is bang on.

[KS Cleaning]

I have been increasing my prices.

This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.

It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.

In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.

I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.

His maths is a fraction off but close enough.

A Porsche you say? Can I have a photo of it please?

I’ll give you a photo of mine when I collect it tomorrow 😁

[Bungle]

I have been increasing my prices.

This job is a standalone which takes about half an hour and is about two minutes from the next job but is a rare pre-notify job.

It works well because I make it my first call of the day at 8.00 am. On the other hand on rare occasions I might need to adapt the time/day to suit other circumstances.

In ten years I have never been turned away or asked to leave it this time.

I suspect that they are coming up to retirement and he is watching the pennies but he has a new car and an old Porsche so not typically scratching for pennies. Anyway here is his email in the next post.

His maths is a fraction off but close enough.

A Porsche you say? Can I have a photo of it please?

I’ll give you a photo of mine when I collect it tomorrow 😁

Just make sure you don't leave any tell tale signs in your pic or else I'll be thinking you're bull💩ing me 😉

[Stoots]

If I liked the job I'd just ignore him and carry on.

If I didn't like it I'd just block hos number and not go back.