[Blackbushe Windows]

Our industry is somewhat unique. What I mean is - you have the professional window cleaner, carries pub lib ins. proper business. Equally you have part timers, others who do some w/c on the side - no ins, unreliable - typical of this time of year. We could easily panic with our pricing, worried that we are going to be undercut big time!

But most of our regular customers value more than just price. Honesty, reliability, high standard of work, trust and a friendly relationship, which all take time to build up. Many of my customers would be mortified if I stopped cleaning their windows. I've done them for over 20years!

Some years ago I read that the average national price for a 3 bed semi was £15. Costs since then have risen sharply, fuel, ins. etc. If you want a plumber you expect to pay - that's how it is. Tuesday night my next door neighbour locked himself out. At midnight locksmith turned up and was still there at 1am drilling out the lock. I don't know what it cost - hate to think. But I'm sure although it hurt - he expected it.

We are not odd jobbing. We provide a professional service - year in, year out. We watch the occasionals start up and then disappear.

My approach these days is: If you want my service with the package that you get - this the price.

Peter

[Helen]

ditto

[billhope_1]

  Illusions of Grandeur or what?                         
 With all due respect Blackbush,you,re not honestly comparing window cleaners with skilled workers like plumbers & locksmiths are you?  Come on, I too have been cleaning windows for 20 yrs,so what? I could train a monkey to clean windows & eat bananas at the same time & in just a few days! It takes years to learn a skill, it takes a few days or weeks to aquire a knack & thats the difference between us & them! But thats not to say that we cant earn very good money   Regards Bill.       

[Ian Rochester]

Got to agree with Bill

I can, and have, taken lads from never cleaning a window, to doing 40+ houses a day as part of a two man team within a month and receiving positive comments from customers about their professionalism.

I am trained and qualified as an avionics engineer (3 year apprenticeship, though my licences are now expired), I have an MBA in business management (2 years study) and 12 years experience as a senior manager in overall charge of up to 250 employees.

What I/we do now is hardly rocket science by comparison, I picked it up myself by doing my own house without any help or guidance, other than a half hour chat with our local window cleaner (who now works for me) about where he got his gear from.  We also do carpet cleaning, I basically learnt that on a two day course, then was out there by myself!

Yes window cleaners will come and go, but if you think you are the only one of repute out there and people are going to stay loyal to you no matter what you charge, then think again.

Someone with a bit of nounce about them in the Yatley/Blackbushe area will be reading this and thinking "I might have a go at that and only charge £10/house, £200-£300/day, that'll do me!"

I only started less than 5 years ago and others probably thought the same of me, however, I never assume that of any new starter and I price my work realistically and competitively.

All our window cleaners are on piece rate and earn well, we always ask the question whenever we lose a house, why it's been lost and what we can do to make sure no more are lost.

Watch your back Peter or others may come up and take your work before you know it!

[Helen]

funny how different people interpret differntly. I read Peters post without feeling that WC's were being to compared to plumbers etc. but the comparison was about "service" provided no matter what the  trade. Good job we are all different 

[john tomkins]

  Illusions of Grandeur or what?                         
 With all due respect Blackbush,you,re not honestly comparing window cleaners with skilled workers like plumbers & locksmiths are you?  Come on, I too have been cleaning windows for 20 yrs,so what? I could train a monkey to clean windows & eat bananas at the same time & in just a few days! It takes years to learn a skill, it takes a few days or weeks to aquire a knack & thats the difference between us & them! But thats not to say that we cant earn very good money   Regards Bill.       

You can get a plumbers qualification in a matter of weeks now, and the old Rover
workers round here were getting corgi qualified in 3 months so it ain't that hard.
Just don't want one of them repairing my boiler

[windowwashers]

  Illusions of Grandeur or what?                         
 With all due respect Blackbush,you,re not honestly comparing window cleaners with skilled workers like plumbers & locksmiths are you?  Come on, I too have been cleaning windows for 20 yrs,so what? I could train a monkey to clean windows & eat bananas at the same time & in just a few days! It takes years to learn a skill, it takes a few days or weeks to aquire a knack & thats the difference between us & them! But thats not to say that we cant earn very good money   Regards Bill.       

I have papers for plumbing, yet I am a window cleaner 

On the topic of pricing, I have never been the cheapest and never will, if I ever had to I would change my business outlook.

[Blackbushe Windows]

I did not intend to compare us with skilled workers Bill and Ian. Helen has my thoughts correct. People find it harder and harder to find a professional job done (whatever the trade) at reasonable prices. I spent 23 years charging low prices, but now believe them to be more realistic. I have never charged or earned some of the heady sums you sometimes read on posts.

My point was the need not to have a knee-jerk reaction to cheap quotes from those who do not provide a completely professional service.

Peter 

[mark dew]

Like most other businesses we mostly all offer a similar or same service. But the skill involved in running any business is being consistently good with a service to match, day after day, week after week. It's discipline rather than any other skill that will sort the successful from the get by's.

[Tim Rose]

I'm with Peter on this.

[NWH]

Talk about skill of this trade and the skill of that one,i tell you the real skill and that`s how much you earn a week,you can be the most qualified cleverest bloke in the world but if you don`t earn a lot at the end of the week who gives a S*** how many certificates you`ve got after your name no matter who you are,certificates don`t put food on the table.

[windowwashers]

Talk about skill of this trade and the skill of that one,i tell you the real skill and that`s how much you earn a week,you can be the most qualified cleverest bloke in the world but if you don`t earn a lot at the end of the week who gives a S*** how many certificates you`ve got after your name no matter who you are,certificates don`t put food on the table.

go it in one 

[Ian Rochester]

Peter et all,

All I was saying is that others can enter this business very cheaply, if people go around bragging that they are earning so much an hour then competition will arrive, and they will under price to get the market.

Some will come and some will go, but there will always be the odd one who will stay and invest and grow and take more market.

I now have 10 staff and we all make a very good living, but I am always aware of what the competition are charging and I stay close to their prices.  We gain our business not on price but on quality of service and reliability.

Just don't be too brave to shoot yourself in the foot and bite off the hand that feeds you, especially in the current financial climate where people will soon be looking to cut expenditure. 

[Tim Rose]

I'm with NWH.

[Wayne Thomas]

Too many newbie window cleaners come on the scene charging ridiculous low prices simply because they don't know what their competition is charging.

When their round gets too big they either have to keep the top end of their work and sell/lose their bottom end work or start employing other people.

That's when they realise just how good/bad their prices are because unless they've got good prices to be able to afford to employ someone they're fighting a losing battle trying to pay employees a realistic wage to retain them, motivate them, keep morale up and put aside tax, N.I. stamp, employers contributions, sick pay plus all the extra work/time  involved in dealing with relevant paperwork and handling employees attitudes and overlooking that their work is of standard.

I have employed in the past and realise how much hard work it is. I don't employ at present because of my health although I may consider it at a later time again if my health ever improves.

My best way of getting good realistic prices is by submitting quotes higher than I have previously and working off of a percentage of how many I've gained and lost. If I get every quote I put in then obviously I'm too cheap. If I never get any new quotes then I'm too expensive. I aim to pick up 1 in 3  to  2 in 5 quotes I submit. I'm achieving this most of the time now but it's been a slow learning curve and I'm very grateful to the help and experience of others from this forum.

[Davie T]

Re previous posts.

In reality with regards to window cleaning you do not have to be truly great at it to succeed, simply be better than the average.

[Dean Aspects]

If you are better than the average window cleaner in your area that doesn't mean you are good aim for perfection every time if you fall short you will still be very good start aiming lower and quality will suffer and that does the industry no favours in making us look professional

Over the past year my pricing on new jobs has doubled and i still get most of what i quote its the all round service that they are paying for with me quality of clean reliability and being flexible

Dean

[Davie T]

Hi Aspects,

"In reality" was the gist of my post.  I was not being judgemental on individual quality, service, aspirations etc.

Regards   

[Dean Aspects]

In reality i didnt read your post properly 

Dean

[bluez]

IMO Business strategies change with the needs, if I am busy I am confident and then charge a price that I think has a fair chance of getting and keeping the customer. If I am quite I am more likely to charge less or discount because each potential job has more significance at that time. It would also depend on weather I was expanding or consolidating my business at any given time as I move into a new area I generally discount the first 1-3 cleans to give people a flavour of my service and the quality of work.

I wonder are there plumbers sitting around at home wondering if they should be compared with electricians or other trades.