[geefree]

Hi All,

The economy seems to be on a downward turn at the moment,

with even talk of a recession in the near future,

Im relatively new to w/c  but i guess we could be one of the first luxuries to be cancelled in the homes of our customers,

I was wondering how many of you can remember the last economic slump ?  and did it seriously  affect your business?




Cheers

Gary.

[Mr.G]

I've noticed already that the christmas tips are smaller this year...

[poleman]

I was a window cleaner in the last recession (houses only) home owners was more careful with there money but my business did not fall apart, but might have been different if I was just a commercial window cleaner

Andy

[Paul Coleman]

Hi All,

The economy seems to be on a downward turn at the moment,

with even talk of a recession in the near future,

Im relatively new to w/c  but i guess we could be one of the first luxuries to be cancelled in the homes of our customers,

I was wondering how many of you can remember the last economic slump ?  and did it seriously  affect your business?




Cheers

Gary.

The last economic slump (if you are referring to the early 90s) got me started with window cleaning in the first place.  There weren't any jobs around here so it was ladder and bucket time.

[Alex Gardiner]

Last one didn't affect us at all. What I have noticed though recently is commercial contracts looking to cut down on frequency of cleans.

[Blackbushe Windows]

Don't remember it causing me many problems. No mass exodus of custies cancelling or cutting down - no more than usual anyway.


Peter

[Londoner]

Lets face it we are not exactly essencial are we? Most people can live with dirty windows for quite a long time.

Its Shiners comment we should be more concerned about. People start window cleaning in a recession. Its the traditional fall back job for loads of blokes who are struggling in their present line of work. The trouble is they go round offering silly prices because they don't know any better and because they are only after quick money and then when their normal work picks up they are gone.

I know a bloke who is a tiler, he hasn't had any work for two weeks now and is driving a cab instead. At least he's not window cleaning - yet!

[Blackbushe Windows]

Vince, that's true mate. I just lost a long standing customer - 4 bed detached with cons on end of house. large windows. £26. Phone call cancelling - new bloke doing for £14!!

Haven't charged her that for years!!

Peter

[Captain Scarlet]

Well I dont live in a rich area but we charge "Southern" prices so to speak. Now people realise the service they are getting, and we explain we are not the cheapest but we do a brilliant job. We don't get tips because we explain that we already charge a decent and fair price and we would rather they gave it to a charity of their choice. We have never lost a job and nobody has ever cancelled, Luke

[Captain Scarlet]

Although at the moment people may be a little tight for money ( though compared to the rest of the world it is nothing ) Britain is the richest it has ever been and the Service industry is the best it has ever been. A recent Which survey says that Window Cleaners are one of the most wanted services at the moment because people are richer than they ever have been, but because they are richer they are working more which means they have less time for cleaning, Luke

ps. But anything is possible. The stock market crash! We can't actually be certain of anything where man is involved.

[Jeff Brimble]

What recession its all b-s8* been there done that for the last 30 years, pannick not oh ye of little faith.
Good on you Luke do say were not the cheapest but we are  "competitive"
They are not all working-we are, governments got everybody over a barrel.

[xxmattyxx]

What recession its all b-s8* been there done that for the last 30 years, pannick not oh ye of little faith.
Good on you Luke do say were not the cheapest but we are  "competitive"
They are not all working-we are, governments got everybody over a barrel.

Well, its not a recession for starters as we do not satisfy the criterai that defines what a recession is.

In macroeconomics, a recession is a decline in any country's gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive quarters of a year.

However, some sections of the economy might be feeling a pinch or two, housebuilding is for sure, but we've just had an interest rate cut, this is surely a signal of more to come, quite possibly 3 more before the middle of next year.

That'll help stave off a recession if theres any likelihood of one, but we have nothing really to worry about, do a good job, be reliable, charge fair prices, work hard, canvass, advertise, smile and ask how people are.

Some may go if things get tighter but not enough to hurt dramatically.

Matt

[windowwashers]

Well I dont live in a rich area but we charge "Southern" prices so to speak. Now people realise the service they are getting, and we explain we are not the cheapest but we do a brilliant job. We don't get tips because we explain that we already charge a decent and fair price and we would rather they gave it to a charity of their choice. We have never lost a job and nobody has ever cancelled, Luke

Sry to say that will happen is a fact of life.

I think I have lost one or 2 because money is tight so far, but have picked up far more, I charge a fair price for the work I do.

The interest rate drop will help people, I cant see why as I said earlier that everyone jumps on the recession bandwagon, maybe they want it to happen.

Ian

[supernova77]

Vince, that's true mate. I just lost a long standing customer - 4 bed detached with cons on end of house. large windows. £26. Phone call cancelling - new bloke doing for £14!!

Haven't charged her that for years!!

Peter

I picked up a new customer the other day in the Blackbushe area...

4 bed detached with cons on end of house. large windows. Her last window cleaner charged her £26, so I quoted her £14... She took me on and said she would phone the other window cleaner and cancel him.

 

Andy

[supernova77]

Britain is the richest it has ever been

Wrong!

More people in Britain are in debt than they ever have been!

Andy

[Davew]

I for one have been waiting for the so-called credit crunch. I have nothing on credit apart from my mortgage which is unavoidable. Looking at greedy friends and neighbours splashing money they don't have on cars, huge tv's, expensive holidays etc. I got to the stage where i thought that my policy was wrong (if i didn't have the money then i couldn't have it) and pehaps they were right. Now having listened to several stories of people we know who are in irreversable debt i know i was right. Still my phone keeps ringing with some indian gentleman offering me credit every week from several different companies. They just won't have it when i tell them i don't want a credit card.

[windowwashers]

Britain is the richest it has ever been

Wrong!

More people in Britain are in debt than they ever have been!

Andy

Debt only becomes A PROBLEM IF YOU CANT MANAGE IT.

[supernova77]

Debt only becomes A PROBLEM IF YOU CANT MANAGE IT.

I didn't say debt was a problem... Although on a whole it is for people in our country now.

I was just saying that Britain is not the richest it ever has been... It might just look like that because so many people have been splashing the cash, without really having it to splash in the first place.

Andy

[Russell Macdonald]

Britain is not the great rich nation it's made out to be, if it is why does our government every year borrow extra billions.

[geefree]

so it seems we have little to worry about if  IF  we have a recession,

i didnt say we were in a recession, i was merely curious wether or not you were affected by the last one, as a guide .... should we fall into one.

Thanks for all your comments.

 

Gary.