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Level 100 window cleaning

Damo

Well-known member
Messages
2,580
Location
Bedfordshire
Morning

it's the only way i can describe how i am feeling or dealing with work.

Level 1

You start off window cleaning, not knowing anything at all. You are so green and essentially just a walking messer magnet.

Level 10

You have a few customers and you have big dreams of multiple vans and workers.

Level 20

You reach your first milestone of X amount of customers, probably completed your first winter.

Level 15

You loose a few customers, have a bad week window cleaning and want to quit.

Level 25

You go on a forum, chill out a bit and up your game. A new £40 customer every 4 weeks reminds you why you wanted to be your own boss.

Level 40

You take on your first big job. You worry the night before, you get no sleep and picture what could go wrong in your head. First clean takes 4 hours and you just know its under priced. The next clean takes 2 hours and there is still more time to shave off.

Level 50

You start to work out your spiel on new customers, you can spot the messers and work out whats what. You have a decent round and you have got 2/3 years under your belt.

Level 60

You no longer put up with dog mess, you drop rubbish payers and decide on how you want to improve your income.

Level 70

You start to look at every job and realise where you messed up on pricing. Every new job is worked out. Will i loose time here, will i need that, will i need this. You still get the odd job wrong but hey more times than not its priced correctly.

Level 80

Time wasting. That old lady who wants you to turn up at 2.45pm on a Thursday and have two kitchen windows cleaned for 50p is long gone. You have a steady reliable income and its good. You take on new customers where you can and streamline.

Level 90

Building that cream round. You start to think you can push your prices beyond anything reasonable. £25 for a semi, yeah why not. You want it doing every 12 weeks madam? No problem that will be £80. You get a few good houses and you start to look back at where you was.

Level 100

You are topped out as one man operation. You can spot a late payer before they are even a customer. Your window cleaner just stopped coming? One look and there's a black lab who could eat the customer out of house and home. Key pad locked gate, which is impossible to climb over. The customer is ALWAYS in though she tells you. Your spidey senses are off the chart. You quote, get the job, then back out.

You have your set up just how you want it. Customer details are all filled in, you even have a spring in your step between windows.

Just needed to get this out of my head lol. This year has been a massive turning point for me i must say. Once i became instantly full, it's like you are on some form of drug. You can spot messers, late payers etc. You charge properly and you don't even consider rubbish jobs. Like Mr Jones who wants just his top windows done every 7.4 weeks.

I don't even know the point to this thread. I am close to a 100 i guess in my world.

The best bit of window cleaning is being full and saying no. I have only had this happen to me this year. I know one thing tho. People take on help far to quickly i think.

 
Nice thread.

I'm somewhere between levels 40 and 50. Winter number two coming up.........

 
Ha it's a good thread mate I slightly differ on the charging over the odds aspect as I like to keep my prices reasonable but agree on most of it

I am full up now with no bad payers - two locations both affluent - just need to sort the van next but wife and 5 kids keep taking the cash first !

 
I would express I charge more than offers. I have openly told a few this year. There will be cheaper quotes. Depends what you want from a window cleaner.

 
Wfp, trad insides.

I'm making sure all new window work is cream. Solar panels is more competitive now, with installers getting in and offering cleaning/maintenance packages.

 
Great thread mate. The order is a little different to how it has worked for me. I figured out the pricing very quickly, and customers were a lot easier to read. Coming from another trade into this made it a simple transition. I think I hit around the hundred point mark this summer though as up until now I would have taken on that **** job just to spread the word and keep momentum going. Now I don't. Window cleaning has a certain anonymity, if you **** off a messer, they can barely remember your name in the sea of window cleaners out there. With the home maintenance, I would have to put up with all sorts because of the investment in the job (materials bought, time spent quoting, days booked out on the diary for the job etc) onejobgone wrong could easily put you out of pocket by £500 or more. With the reletively small amounts of money and time invested in each windy job, its very easy to fk it off and not look back, making me a much happier person when I go home in the evenings.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well said @Damo. Interesting thread that. Even after 20 years in the game now, I still have the odd bad day or customer. But I don't think there's a job in the world that doesn't have this. Having a full decent round is the big accomplishment that newbies will enjoy.

 
This week has been terrible TBH. all because I listened to my dad on not heating van lol.

I knew I should have heated it.

Had a hose pop off on Tuesday night. Almost flooding van lol. Sorted that. My own fault. Simple as that. I didn't replace a stupid cable tie on the reel to hold hose.

The problem I have is a lot of threads I post come across as "look as me". It isn't like that at all. It's just a passion for me. I told a customer yesterday. I have NEVER woke up in the morning and gone "oh god. Gotta go window cleaning"

 
Wfp, trad insides.
I'm making sure all new window work is cream. Solar panels is more competitive now, with installers getting in and offering cleaning/maintenance packages.
Is that what you mainly do. Solar panel cleaning? I did see your name.

I had a SPC ROUND!!!! did it every 6 months. Hourly rate was 3 figures for two days straight. Just domestic SPC. Was charging about £30-50 for standard array and doing 3 an hour as all local work. Then they realised every 6 months is too soon. Then their window cleaners started doing em for a 10er lol

 
Yep that's a great feeling Damo - although there may be one or two days in Feb when it's minus 5 when we all say it

It's good you explain your not cheap- some people don't want cheap they want the best job

I have a couple of houses that won't pay more so I don't bother rinsing off

You get what you pay for !

 
Yep that's a great feeling Damo - although there may be one or two days in Feb when it's minus 5 when we all say itIt's good you explain your not cheap- some people don't want cheap they want the best job

I have a couple of houses that won't pay more so I don't bother rinsing off

You get what you pay for !
EXactly. I call it 'variable pricing'. Some people on here disagree and state that the quality should be 100% all the time. But I work to the level the customer wants to go to. 98% of custies geta top quality job as that is what I have quoted for. But that 2% that just didnt want to pay a decent rate get bubbles left on the frames, no extra touches, and minimal detailing. Restores the balance.

 
Im on winter 18 i think, still learning and you can always improve your round, every week it can get a little better

Well done

 
I charge more than offers
One day you will be level 500 like me and your biggest problem will be roof bars to fit the Bentley. /emoticons/smile.png)

I went on a quote last night. 15 minute job but as I have a good chunk on the one street I gave a considerate £12 quote.

'Well I have one more guy to see and I'll get back to you' the fellow tells me.

I was gobsmacked, comparison shopping for window cleaning! It's a 3 bed semi not the darn Shard!

 
EXactly. I call it 'variable pricing'. Some people on here disagree and state that the quality should be 100% all the time. But I work to the level the customer wants to go to. 98% of custies geta top quality job as that is what I have quoted for. But that 2% that just didnt want to pay a decent rate get bubbles left on the frames, no extra touches, and minimal detailing. Restores the balance.
No I agree with that. I had a customer knock me down from £18 to £15. I do either side and I did want the house. It's brown frames pvc so I knew I could skimp on frames. The only thing is. I know us window cleaners get watched by potential new customers. So still quickly do frames each time. Just quick.

Then you get another customer. £16 house and they pay £20 as they appreciate you doing them at the first job each time.

 
I got a couple of them

15 quid job but gives you 20 and says that's fine you do an excellent job

That sort of thing cheers you up during the miserable days

 
saying no i'm sorry too busy etc is a pure fff buzz, but then so is having a day off just cos you feel like it & you know you can afford it

 
Morning
it's the only way i can describe how i am feeling or dealing with work.

Level 1

You start off window cleaning, not knowing anything at all. You are so green and essentially just a walking messer magnet.

Level 10

You have a few customers and you have big dreams of multiple vans and workers.

Level 20

You reach your first milestone of X amount of customers, probably completed your first winter.

Level 15

You loose a few customers, have a bad week window cleaning and want to quit.

Level 25

You go on a forum, chill out a bit and up your game. A new £40 customer every 4 weeks reminds you why you wanted to be your own boss.

Level 40

You take on your first big job. You worry the night before, you get no sleep and picture what could go wrong in your head. First clean takes 4 hours and you just know its under priced. The next clean takes 2 hours and there is still more time to shave off.

Level 50

You start to work out your spiel on new customers, you can spot the messers and work out whats what. You have a decent round and you have got 2/3 years under your belt.

Level 60

You no longer put up with dog mess, you drop rubbish payers and decide on how you want to improve your income.

Level 70

You start to look at every job and realise where you messed up on pricing. Every new job is worked out. Will i loose time here, will i need that, will i need this. You still get the odd job wrong but hey more times than not its priced correctly.

Level 80

Time wasting. That old lady who wants you to turn up at 2.45pm on a Thursday and have two kitchen windows cleaned for 50p is long gone. You have a steady reliable income and its good. You take on new customers where you can and streamline.

Level 90

Building that cream round. You start to think you can push your prices beyond anything reasonable. £25 for a semi, yeah why not. You want it doing every 12 weeks madam? No problem that will be £80. You get a few good houses and you start to look back at where you was.

Level 100

You are topped out as one man operation. You can spot a late payer before they are even a customer. Your window cleaner just stopped coming? One look and there's a black lab who could eat the customer out of house and home. Key pad locked gate, which is impossible to climb over. The customer is ALWAYS in though she tells you. Your spidey senses are off the chart. You quote, get the job, then back out.

You have your set up just how you want it. Customer details are all filled in, you even have a spring in your step between windows.

Just needed to get this out of my head lol. This year has been a massive turning point for me i must say. Once i became instantly full, it's like you are on some form of drug. You can spot messers, late payers etc. You charge properly and you don't even consider rubbish jobs. Like Mr Jones who wants just his top windows done every 7.4 weeks.

I don't even know the point to this thread. I am close to a 100 i guess in my world.

The best bit of window cleaning is being full and saying no. I have only had this happen to me this year. I know one thing tho. People take on help far to quickly i think.
great post damo

 

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