[glimmer man]

am starting out on my own and am slowly building up customers threw leaflets but i find alot of people want their windows done on an 8 week basis.This is a pain when you are just starting up.I can t really charge them much more to compensate.

[tatman]

Try to stick with 4 weekly cleans mate makes live so much easier Charge more for 8 weekly cleans their twice as dirty I have got a few 8 weekly but as a rule try and avoid them now.

[glimmer man]

ok i will do mate but at the mo am gteatfull of all the houses i can get.Just dis heartens you when they say 8 weeks or even had one say every three months. did nt even write it down just asked them to ring if they want it done again.

[tatman]

offer them a cheaper rate for a 4 weekly clean. I got asked the other day if i'd do a 1 yearly clean on a house.  Yea i know what you mean mate take the 8 wk cleans to start with. When you get enough work you can offer them 4 wk cleans only. You will get where you can take or leave work mate just takes time,.

[AuRavelling79]

You certainly can charge them more for 8 weeks - at least 50% - and if you're wfp and cleaning the frames as you go it's only a little more time consuming than monthly.

You sell it by explaining that their annual cleaning bill is less.

If trad you could try for monthly summer/8 weeks winter which helps as the nights draw in.

[craig jwc]

If i charge £15 for a 4 weekly clean i will charge £22.50 for an 8 weekly and for a 12 weekly i would charge £30.

Don't underprice yourself mate just to get work.

I think everyone does when they start out.

I still have work that i do from when i 1st started and really regret the prices i quoted.

I am slowly replaceing them with better paid jobs if they refuse an increase.

Craig

[Alistair@AWC]

Glimmer Man,

Listen to Craig I was just coming on to write pretty much the same thing.

Quote any new customer on a 4 weekly basis at the same time give them a quote on a 8 weekly at +50% and see how many go for 8 weekly and even if they do its good money.

And tell them anything longer is classed as a one off clean and is double your 4 weekly rate

If any of them question this just say 8 weekly takes 50% longer and anything more takes twice as long thats why you charge what you do!

I know your just starting out and your desperate for customers but always be prepared to walk away if a customer is trying to take you for a mug.

Regards

Alistair

[supernova77]

My round consists mainly of larger houses, the £20 - £50 bracket... So, most of my customers don't want to be paying that monthly.

It means that the majority of my work is 6 / 8 week cleans.

It took a lot of legwork to build my round up because of this - But it was well worth it in the long run.

Andy

[glimmer man]

how did you build your round up andy with big houses. i have alot of these in my area but find them quiet difficult to obtain

[supernova77]

When canvassing I just avoided large housing estates and targeted roads and roads of larger semi-detached / detached houses.

The majority of houses obviously already had a window cleaner, but canvassing is all about persistence and over time my round built up with these larger houses.

Andy

[glimmer man]

cheers mate persistance is key! will just keep plugging away.

[craig jwc]

Glimmer Man you will find after a while if you do a good job work will start coming to you.

After about 5 - 6 months of canvassing and leaflet dropping i was able to stop as word got round and work started to come in.

I have just put an advert in the Yellow Pages and in just over a week i have got half my advert fee back with the work i got from it.

Keep at it mate and it will work if you really want it too.

Craig

[glimmer man]

got two new customers today but was slightly bitter sweet as one asked for a six week clean and the other an 8 week clean.Same old story me thinks.wonder if they are all just really tight in somerset.!

[craig jwc]

Just the same in Devon mate, i've had people moan over £3 before (My cheapest price).
They told me the last w/c only charged £1.50
Told them to get him back then

[captain lard]

I was thinking about offering a 6 or 8 week clean for a few reasons but what puts me off a bit is that usually I do frames as well and they can get into quite a mess the longer the period is between cleans.Went to a house today that I have on a monthly basis but because of a dog situation am reluctant to do them so did them once in June and went back today and needless to say they were well filthy,fair enough it could be close to 12 weeks snce I was last there but I thought if an 8 week option is to be offered its going to have to be priced higher cos its going to take a bit longer than the same house on a 2 or 4 week cycle so the advice her re how to price is very interesting and helpful.

[sevencleaning]

i run my round on a five week cycle(25 working days) i find that i can charge more,and really with  the odd day off and a bit of bad weather it works out every 6 weeks,most people in my area do not want a 4 week cycle and on that basis the 8 weekers are happy with a 6 week but they know it may be 5 weeks

its all in the mind.

[mgba_78]

Stick with 4 and 8 week cleans. i made this mistake and now my round is taking shape my 6 weekers really are a headache, if say i have 14 houses to do (normal 4 weekers) and it happens to fall on the same day you have to do the 6 weekers it can be a pain having to fit them in, or then having to move them to an easier day.

For me the 6 weekers always nearly fall on a really busy time for me and it means more hassle juggling to fit them in, last month they fell into a week that is full and i had to do them at 7 weeks. I know this isnt a real problem but i like to keep my diary simple and be on time as near as possible, esecially when the weather is good as no real excuse.

Andy