[Luke Johnson]

I was doing a shop front this morning when a shopkeeper ( woman ) came up to me and said hi, I asked her if she had a window cleaner and she said yes, but he only does them sometimes ( I know this guy, he cleans most of the shops fronts, but I don't go into competition with him because I don't really like the work ). Anyway she asked me how much I charge and I said 8-10 quid, she was taken aback and laughed, then she said "i won't tell you how much he does it for" so anyway I got on with my work and later on she came up to me and said " I will tell you how much he does it for, 2 quid ". I couldn't believe it, I wouldn't even clean 1 window for that. Me and my dad call him "rag on a stick" because you often see his little uninsured body standing on a ledge 30ft up, reaching with a wet rag and stick to clean a window. He doesn't even use a squeegee. Anyway I got the job because she is afraid that if he has an accident while cleaning her windows she will get sued!!!!! pays to be professional

[eddie d]

good on you mate

[geefree]

but come on lads 2 sodding quid  ... how the hell can they make a living.... and why do they do it anyway..... can you imagine saying oh i will do your shop front for 2 quid.... or your detached house for 3 quid...

I know i have not been doing this very long but are they real people?

[NWH]

There called the bear and fAg brigade,if people want them over you as a pro wc then there not worth having as customers,it dosent bother me when people say my other wc used to charge X if they don`t want my price i just shout next.

[geefree]

I agree NWH

But i am still building after ten months so i have to balance my prices to try and get it right..

1/ .   I dont want to overprice as i need them to accept quotes.

2/.    Ii do not want to underprice as i need to establish a good paying round,

3/   Hoping once i have their custom i can sneak up the prices and they will accept as i am doing a really good job and they dont want to lose the quality,


So with that in my mind i really do find it hard to believe the 2 and 3 pound guys....

They CERTAINLY   cant be  thinking.... quality... nor a good paying round....in the long term etc

So why bother , why even try... to me that is like buying a loaf of bread for 25p and selling it for 10p, just to undercut the supermarkets.

Sorry for venting off my little bit of steam lol.

Gary.

[Trevor Knight]

Welcome to the world of Retail shop front windows!

Unfortunately most shop fronts are cleaned by a guy who has been in the industry for 50 years and still walks around with his barrow and equipment. Nothing wrong with that and he does a great job I am sure.

But from his point of view and for us also, he starts early, gets 20/30 shops done in a couple of hours, charges £2/£3/£5 a hit and walks away with say £50/£70.

The thing to remember as well is most of these shops have the windows clean at least 2 times a week, at worst 1 x week which to start the day off isn't to bad.

You also get the high profile awareness with the staff and early birds walking past you every week and getting a constant reminder that if they need a window cleaner they know exactly where to find him?

[cybersye]

Welcome to the world of Retail shop front windows!

Unfortunately most shop fronts are cleaned by a guy who has been in the industry for 50 years and still walks around with his barrow and equipment. Nothing wrong with that and he does a great job I am sure.

But from his point of view and for us also, he starts early, gets 20/30 shops done in a couple of hours, charges £2/£3/£5 a hit and walks away with say £50/£70.

The thing to remember as well is most of these shops have the windows clean at least 2 times a week, at worst 1 x week which to start the day off isn't to bad.

You also get the high profile awareness with the staff and early birds walking apst you every week and getting a constant reminder that if they need a window cleaner they know exactly where to find him?

exactly
I know a guy who does the center of my town, hes out at 6 each morning, rain or shine, £2-£3 a shop, some take him less than 60 seconds to do.
I've a newsagents I call at for my morning snack, a while back he asked me to clean his windows, the last guy did it for a £. I now do it for £2 but rarely take the money, instead just a sandwhich and a can of coke on a friday morning! Takes me about 2 mins 

[JohnL]

I dont usually get into these sort of discussions especially as there are only about 8 shops where I live!

But most of them and are bog standard 3 panes or 4 at 6x8 foot which I guess should take less than 5 minutes to do for say £3.

Lets think . . time taken 5 minutes, average of £3 each, possibly 15 shops an hour at £3 . . . £45 an hour!

If I lived in an area with a lot of shops, that sort of income does not sound bad to me.

and as Trevor said they possibly get washed twice a week.

[jeff1]

OMG I'm way over priced then, I charge £12 for the shop below, and yet I have had reports from my shops that another W/C have come in and offered a lower price,
I just tell the customers to take it then, but don't call me back when they don't turn up in the winter. had this same shop and the rest in this village for 10 years now, so I'm doing somethings right?

[Trevor Knight]

£12 is a fair price for the size of that shop.

Trev

[jeff1]

Thats what I thought Trev, but looking at the above prices, I thought I was way over priced. 

[Trevor Knight]

Jeff,

The £3 size window for me would be the one under the MACE sign including the door.

Trev

[jeff1]

You can't really tell in the picture but the window under the mace sign is the same as the other 2 large ones, so I priced the 3 large ones at £3 each and another £3 for the door area and the small window in the middle.

And just to give the newcomer an idea, the 6 windows above have not been cleaned for years and she wants them done next time I'm there, I told her £25 this time and £8 there on, thats £1 each window and I add a couple of quid on for the frames, she told me she doesn't want them done regular so is happy to pay £25 per clean  : and wants about 3 cleans per year.

[Neil_A]

I am a window cleaner... i live in a house with 4 bedrooms, it a attached house!

The person who lives next door to me has a house the same as mine...  i spoke to the person the other day ... he said my window cleaner charges....

wait for it

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£2.00

haha

i was gob smacked, the person next door did admit he dont do one of the windows on the house as its to hard for him to get to... and he said he dont to a great job...

2pound, is it worth it, i would rather pay 6 7 8 9 or 10 knowing all my winows have been done and done well!

some people! :

[Ian_Giles]

A large percentage of my work is cleaning shop fronts, I too have 1 account that is £2.00.
But all around it in a small arcade I have 5 other shops, two at £8.00, one at £5.50, one at £5.00 and another at £7.00, including the £2.00 shop I'm all done in roughly 10 or 15 minutes.

shops are fought & sought after, they are great when you have a bunch of them, but to get them you have to go in cheap...or rather it feels cheap, particularly when you have to find somewhere to park and then go and clean the shop front, unless you are charging good money it isn't worth it.

Getting a toehold isn't easy, plus you have to be as regular as clockwork too, sometimes twice a week as Trevor has said.

I'm not really prepared to admit to what I can turn over in under 3 hours of doing shop fronts/pubs/small offices etc, but it's...er...pretty good.

One of the downsides is the collecting, some days it can take me an hour walking around town to get them all collected.
I'm in town about 6am and most the actual window cleaning is all done by 10ish at the latest (generally).
Then there are those that you have to call back on to do the insides, and if you have time off you have to cover the work too.
You are part of the fixtures & fittings, and they only miss you when you don't turn up! And if you are irregular they will soon dump you for someone else.

So £2.00 might sound ridiculously cheap, but if it is a shop next door to one you already do, and it only takes you 30 seconds to clean, well, it's good money

I only have one shop at £2.00 I might add! A few more at £2.50, more still at £3.50 and the rest vary, across the board the average will probably work out at a fiver...I must total them up and see what the actual average works out at...


Ian

[Luke Johnson]

But this guy doesnt have competition, he can name his own price, there are hardly any window cleaners around here!!!! he doesnt even do them quick, you often see him having a cigarette and cuppa in between jobs, he is as slow as a snail!! he is thick to offer that price, he could double the price and nobody would bat an eyelid, the shop front in question is a a large one as well!!! he has no excuse, he isn't paying tax and he uses a bent old ladder and uses a handmade a frame that looks more fit for the fire!!!

[Stevie G]

trevor's spot on. our local shop cleaner been doin it 35years. barrow, ladder,and
milk crate to stand on. doesent have to put his hand in his pocket all day.
he's happy getting his 60/70 a day no over heads.

[Clive McDonald]

You  can't have left school long Luke, what were your career choices?

[Londoner]

Its not just shops that have these prices stuck in a time warp. My mate John has a house that has been cleaned by the same bloke for 15 + years. Price is £4, never gone up.
Thats what happens when you don't put the prices up. 

I quoted for a detatched house in Northwood Hills last saturday, posh area, private roads at the the top of the hill with mega rich houses. I quoted £14 which was cheap but it was an easy house with good access and she was a recommendation from another customer.
She turned it down saying it was more than double what the lady next door was paying her window cleaner.
Now who in their right mind would clean a house worth three quarters of a million pound plus for six quid?

[Malcal]

It depends on your circumstances. If you live in an area of high unemployment, are over 50, have angina and only qualifications/skills in a dying industry, then 4 shop fronts an hour at £2 is a lot better than contribution based JSA. I live in a 4 bedroomed detached house the WC, who does the estate charges £3.25 or £4.25 with a conservatory.