[geefree]

in my few weeks experience lloyd,  ... those are the type of people we dont want,... that was my point on an earlier post regarding door knocking.... the way some of them look , as if to say, well beg and keep your prices down and i may let you clean them....!!... but other forms of advertising may be slower.... but they NEED a window cleaner when they ring.

gary.

[window pain]

I think you probably are.

Trad, a decent window cleaner should £150.

WPF. you should be getting £200.

where do you work archie millionaires row

[DASERVICES]

  Another big issue I find is some people have little respect or faith for window
  cleaners due to bad experiences.

  Just had a phone call today from a lady who began with " sorry I have no
  faith in window cleaners due to bad experiences but had your card through the
  door etc..."

  I explained to her I was registered an insured with local council and would
  be willing to give her a demo with WFP.

  When I went round to inspect the windows I have never seen so many scratch
  marks which was caused by the previous window cleaner. He gave her loads
  of abuse which knocked the confidence from her. I used to speak to this lad
  but now do not as he has fallen into bad company, even me trying to give him
  good advice on his issues did not work. She told me of other experiences she
  has had, fortunatley this was dealt by the Police.

  I think the w/c trade like any other trade has guys who have no respect
  for customers which gives a bad reflection on us good guys that do a good
  job. This makes it difficult when pricing jobs as peolpe sometimes link
  your work to the standard they may have had in the past.

  Well hopefully I've restored some faith with her, she was well impressed with
  the standard of WFP comapared to the guy who did Trad ( but this was due
  to his method )

  And this time did not feel sorry for her like I normally do and quoted high,
  got the job

  Cheers

  Doug

[window pain]

In answer to the original question:-

No it's not.

Different people at different levels in different trades charge different rates.

Plasterers - varied in quotes to do work in my house ranging from £80 "on the weekend" to £150.

General building work - £100-£120 per day  my mate is a roofer when he gets called out to put on a roof tile for example, he charges 40 quid just to put his ladder up to see what is needed, after that its 30 quid per hour plus materials 

Electrical £12 - £15 per hour.

Plumbing - £15 per hour for a professional - £10 an hour for a general odd-job man.

Some work is for the job - like sanding my floor for £200. Two blokes arrived at 9am and finished at 1.30 pm. Good for them.

Window cleaners are the same:-

Summertime shiners supplementing their dole are often happy to add £50 a day to their benefits - but so are legit semi-retired guys supplementing their pensions and getting out from under their wife's feet.

Professional w/c's feeding their family, paying a mortgage and thinking of the future will plan their work and work their plan and earn far more.

[geefree]

didnt get last post

[Fast 1 *]

speaking as someone who has been involved in the building trade for 18 years,the benefits of domestic building work do outweigh window cleaning.I have just built a conservatory,and comfortably made £200 a day plus a percentage on materials.To earn that doing the windows,i would have to graft my arse off for hours,or get someone to help me.My windows are well priced,but after doing about £100,i get bored of it.

[dai]

The problem with our job is that many people could do it themselves. Chimney sweeps used to be 10 a penny. Not anymore, if you want one now it will set you back  £40. The last one I had was gone in 25 mins. I pay up because I can't do the job, so have no option.
In window cleaning there is a price that some people have in their head and their consiounce will not let them pay any more. I don't like cutting the grass, I would pay someone a fiver to do it. Theres no way I would pay £15 though. I'm idle but not that idle if you see what I mean.
Of course with commercial work it's different, it's not coming out of their pocket.
There are windows that some cannot do themselves, or they are just too busy, these people will pay more.
I am afraid that our trade will lag behind others for the reasons given. Dai

[geefree]

Fast one how did you build that , you not neglecting your round now are you :

gary.

[Fast 1 *]

i still like keeping my hand in building.I do actually enjoy it sometimes.I have fallen behind on my windows a bit,though.I do know one thing though,you get alot more respect being a builder.Sad but true.There is more stress in building,but i do like using my brain occasionally with measurements and setting out etc.What i like about the windows is there is nothing to really think about,and its stress free,its just the way people think you are the s*it on the bottom of their shoe that i dont like.My round only brings in £1200 a month,so i combine it with brickwork and plastering etc.Maybe one day i will only do the windows,who knows.Variety is the spice of life.Windows do become boring sometimes.I think deep down i would like some young lad doing it for me while i got the work in

[geefree]

Fast one,

Thats what i intend to do too,

before sales i was a steelfixer since leaving school,

so  i had to think everyday using drawings and schedule sheets, was nice to use my smallish brain

but job satisfaction is brill within window cleaning, dont you think?... love it when a first clean is like a new window and the customers face when they see it is worth all of the poop we take....

i know what you mean about being looked down upon,

im afraid im even getting that in my own home now !!

[Pat Purcell]

take up rope acces then you can look down on everybody else

[geefree]

i do anyway

because i think its my little business... all mine and i am proud of that... as i know you all are.

[sunshine windows]

Other tradesmen are now earning £30 - £50 an hour which you need to do
  when you are self employed eg:- plumbers, carpet cleaners, gardeners etc.. 

Sorry, but i have to disagree with this part of the orignal statement/question.

I'm self employed and quite happy to be earning anything over £10 an hour which is what i was earning whilst working in a factory. So long as my projected annual income outways what i was earning in the past (because i've only been going 11 months now) then i've succeeded as far as i'm concerned.

Yes it would be nice to be earning a regular £30-£50 per hour and i'm sure this isn't too far in the future, but there's no need to get down hearted because i'm merely 'scraping by' on £10 per hour. Some people i know are lucky to be earning £5.50 an hour so i'm more than happy with what i'm getting.

As for the rest of the Question i think it really depends on your area and the employment figures in those areas. If there is high unemployment and you have window cleaners bragging about earning £30-£50 per hour, then every Tom, Dick and Harry is going to buy a ladder and have a go himself. Then when they realise they're not making the fortunes they were expecting the prices come tumbling down to pick up the extra customers.

Lance

[window pain]

i still like keeping my hand in building.I do actually enjoy it sometimes.I have fallen behind on my windows a bit,though.I do know one thing though,you get alot more respect being a builder.Sad but true.There is more stress in building,but i do like using my brain occasionally with measurements and setting out etc.What i like about the windows is there is nothing to really think about,and its stress free,its just the way people think you are the s*it on the bottom of their shoe that i dont like.My round only brings in £1200 a month,so i combine it with brickwork and plastering etc.Maybe one day i will only do the windows,who knows.Variety is the spice of life.Windows do become boring sometimes.I think deep down i would like some young lad doing it for me while i got the work in

my mate is a roofer when someone rings him to come and fix a roof tile for example, he charges 40 quid to come out and put his ladder up. after that its 30 quid per hour plus materials, but some days it rains so he stays at home and watches telly,nice work if you can get it.