my last window cleaner was only charging £xxx

[Amazin]

Just had a phone call from a woman who was bit shocked after i told her about my charges. I charge £30 to clean front and back for 3 bedroom house. Im based in london.

She told me her last windie was only charging £12 for the whole house. Im thinking to myself, where's is he now? When i clean windows i clean everything include the sills, frames and the bit in front of the window.

I don't think im charging unreasonable

 

[TolishAPurd]

I'm guessing 30 is just for a one off or first clean is it? Or is it an exceptionally big 3 bed?

 

[Jackie]

I ask why the old window cleaner stopped coming. If they don't know, then I say maybe it's because he under priced it.

 

[Dave B]

I had a big round in london where it is easy to charge well but 30 squid for a 3 bed drum is a tad steep

So you making 60 quid an hour or more then?

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

I have been considering a move back to London (London Proper not the burbs) and the only real difference in cost of living is rent / mortage.

I reckon I would charge £18 - £22 down in London for a 3 bed semi (and yes I do all the frames etc) Up here is is a £12 job.

I still get 'My last windy only charged £5

'Yep and he's died from starvation!!' I tell them.

 

[Jacob]

Those ppl are just annoying oh i got a cheaper price, please go ahead then, but dont call in 2 months when he stops cleaning. Always wonder if these ppl try and haggle the waiter at the restaurant, they probaly do lol.

 

[Eclipse]

I don't get into price wars, my price is for my services not anybody else's. If the previous guy had charged properly he'd still be doing it.

 

[davewindowcleaner]

I am from sw london, £30 to clean front and back only for 3 bedroom house is too much imo.

For e.g if it hasn't been cleaned in years, £30 is OK if it really dirty. UPVC sills and frames can be time consuming

 

[Danfire]

I'm down south, as others have said around £12 for a three bed, maybe a little more if there's any extra bits and double for a first clean....£30 sounds a bit strong unless it's central London with congestion charge, major aggravation parking etc....I just picked up a new three bed detached for £17, she told she had the same window cleaner for thirty five years and he used to charge £3 and apologised when he put it up to £5 a couple of years ago, doesn't look like he ever touched the frames though... prats like him make life hard for someone that's going to do a good job with insurance and pay tax etc.

 

[Diwrnach]

I'm in the Cotswolds and would have around zero customers if I charged £30 for a regular 3 bed.

 

[mark]

good luck to you if you can charge these kind prices.my concern would be,that you would leave yourself wide open to being undercut big time.whether you do a good job or not.

 

[DannyB]

My suspicion is, that some underpricing windies might be benefit fraudsters on dole. If the government gets them social housing and enough money to pay their bills, all their unreported income can be used only for drinking, cigarettes and other pleasures. Then they quit their window cleaning not so much because of starvation, but rather due to their laziness and lack of motivation and discipline.

 

[Amazin]

"Danfire, post: 273335, member: 8080"]I'm down south, as others have said around £12 for a three bed, maybe a little more if there's any extra bits and double for a first clean....£30 sounds a bit strong unless it's central London with congestion charge, major aggravation parking etc....I just picked up a new three bed detached for £17, she told she had the same window cleaner for thirty five years and he used to charge £3 and apologised when he put it up to £5 a couple of years ago, doesn't look like he ever touched the frames though... prats like him make life hard for someone that's going to do a good job with insurance and pay tax etc.

are you serious? how is that even possible? I've heard that lot of WCs forget to collect their money after clean

good luck to you if you can charge these kind prices.my concern would be,that you would leave yourself wide open to being undercut big time.whether you do a good job or not.

You've got a very good point but unfortunately sometimes it takes me 3 hours to clean front and back! I think that’s probably one of my problems because when I clean I do it like OCD clean.

It seems lot of people think I'm charging too much, got a phone call few days ago and agree to clean his house and next door for £30 each. I then receive a text yesterday to "wait until further notice".

 

[Diwrnach]

It's not the customers fault you are slow, it should take about 10mins to clean a 3 bed house on a maintenence clean.

 

[Amazin]

It's not the customers fault you are slow, it should take about 10mins to clean a 3 bed house on a maintenence clean.

I'm a traditional guy

 

[Diwrnach]

Even trad it shouldn't take more than 20mins tops, I remember my first ever clean as trad and I really took my time and got them perfect, like spotless, took around 30mins.

You could put new windows in, in 3 hours /emoticons/tongue.png

 

[Diwrnach]

How long you been cleaning? Maybe spend the weekend cleaning your own house to get faster?

I spent a day doing that before I started.

 

[boarcity]

if someone starts on ..my other cleaner only charged xyz ... i find a good tactic is to reply with an odd answer ...

and im a straight horned baboon.

 

[TolishAPurd]

are you serious? how is that even possible? I've heard that lot of WCs forget to collect their money after clean


You've got a very good point but unfortunately sometimes it takes me 3 hours to clean front and back! I think that’s probably one of my problems because when I clean I do it like OCD clean.

It seems lot of people think I'm charging too much, got a phone call few days ago and agree to clean his house and next door for £30 each. I then receive a text yesterday to "wait until further notice".

I see this a lot, and its often from well intentioned noobs. The customer isnt paying for perfection, they just want clean windows. The act of wiping the sill and frames every month puts you ahead of the competition most of the time. Its not a restoration job, its a maintenance clean. Get it done and move on to the next.

 

[Jimroot]

Was the thirty quid for the first clean?

Now I've got some experience, and I aim for say 98% perfect, that last 2% will possibly take the time up unreasonably, maybe double it as you redo each time, specks will land on the front as you finish the back some days. same with gutter clears, getting the last grain of silt is harder than removing the 98% of moss and stuff

hardly any customers will examine the results like us, and if they're the type that do, there's a good chance 'nothing will be right' anyway

Having said that there will be a market for the 'Dexter' type customer who wants forensic levels of clean

 

[tench0771]

are you serious? how is that even possible? I've heard that lot of WCs forget to collect their money after clean


You've got a very good point but unfortunately sometimes it takes me 3 hours to clean front and back! I think that’s probably one of my problems because when I clean I do it like OCD clean.

It seems lot of people think I'm charging too much, got a phone call few days ago and agree to clean his house and next door for £30 each. I then receive a text yesterday to "wait until further notice".

3 hours is a long time m8 i think u just need to speed up it will come in time

i can clean this in 45 minits wfp there is a lot of glass round the front to