Did I quote wrongly?

[slippy]

Just quoted a house £25- seemed ok price for me I priced it like this- £2 for each big bay window (4 windows) or two patio doors and 50p small windows. £1 large single windows. Similar house down the road I quoted £25 and he said ok but was £5 more than his previous window cleaner. So thought I did well on that one. But when I went two doors down from the house i just quoted I asked how much people paid in the street and he said £35-40. I messed up !!

The guy on the house i just quoted also said if I did insides that would be £50 in total and I nervously agreed. Arent insides more expensive? I guess if the insides take ages I will have to politely tell him I quoted wrongly for them- you can change the price, cant you and up it?

It was in a expensive part of Bournemouth and the young guy had a Ferrari in his garage- obviously he was minted!

 

[Clisty1989]

I wouldn't up a price after giving it, just take it in the chin if you have.

 

[tench0771]

sounds like he could sence ur a bit nervese and new wc so he probly just saying that to get a cheeper quote i give my price dont let the custmer price it for u u can banter the price have a laff with it with the custmer b relaxed act like it dont matter if u get the job or not ude b saprized how people change and pay the going rate as for insides i charge the same as out side say u will need every thing takn off the window sills to keep the price the same as out side haggle a cuppa as well

 

[tench0771]

ps there is no rite or rong price its wat ur happy with c how long it takes and go from there bear in mind it will b quicker the second clean

 

[spruce]

If you are happy with the price you charged then don't let it worry you. Why did the previous cleaner stop doing them? Just because the blokes got a Ferrari in the garage doesn't mean he is minted.

(Leasing is a cheap way of 'owning' a prestige car as the rental is based on depreciation. In my old motor dealer days a Porsche Boxter was a similar price on lease as a Citroen C5 was. A BMW 5 series lease was virtually the same as a C5. If you wanted to impress your mates or send out the message that your minted, what would you rather lease? One of our single customers who worked on the rigs owned an Aston Martin. He had to get rid of it as he couldn't afford the first major service that was coming up. But his mates thought he was Mr Cool.)

Some people are just stirrers and like to wind others up. ('Wow that's cheap' can wind you up for years as it messes with your head even if it wasn't cheap. The person that said those 3 words has now got some control over your mind which can last for years.)

Just because your customer said it doesn't mean that its true.

You sound as though you have priced the job up according to a formula which works for you when quoting. But being part time you still have to get into what the market will pay. If you find that your pricing formula (which I personally think is an excellent way of pricing) gives you a good hourly rate then stick with it. If you find it isn't then you can tweak it accordingly.

I once heard it said that if you get all your quotes then you are too cheap, if you get none of them then you are too expensive, so the aim was to get about 60 - 70% of quotes. Makes sense to me. But it takes time to find that happy medium.

Different areas in the same town command better pricing than others. We have an old ex council estate with lots of old retired folk. We charge less to do these houses, but most pay on the day and pay for their neighbours as well. So pricing isn't just about one thing. We have another round which is very compact. Its a good earner as we just crack on and do one house after the other.

There is a window cleaner who does Charltons just outside Guisborough on the way to Whitby. He has most of the terraced houses in that village. Does fronts only for £2 which is 2 windows and a door. He has about 80 customers. A good earning day and no one can compete as those prices and steal his customers. If he doesn't do a good job one day, tough, what do they expect for £2? At that price no one complains.

I don't know about Bournemouth but here is a price list of a window cleaner in Southampton. This is a growing business so his pricing is acceptable for that area. (I wish we could get prices like this in the North East.)

Window Cleaning Prices in Southampton

So if the house you charged £25.00 for is in a similar category as the 5 bed detached in Perfect Windows pricing structure then you are OK.

Inside we do charge more than outsides, but we try to avoid doing them these days. You need to make sure everything is removed from the window sills, curtains tied back, etc by the customer before you clean the insides. We do the odd kitchen window for some old dears who can't reach over the sink to do them themselves.

When you first start out you get caught pricing wise. Over time you can adjust prices you have under priced. On several occasions we have gone cap in hand and told a customer that we made a mistake in quoting (the job is taking far longer than we estimated so we need to revise it to this. Sorry for our mistake.) We were prepared to loose the customer in each case but still do them today. We didn't do this after the first clean, but stuck with it for a while. As @tench0771 says, sometimes the second and third clean takes less time.

 

[Dave B]

I didn't think southampton would pay those prices. .my family are from there and it doesn't seem that affluent

Well done to him for charging that

@slippy I'll be in Bournemouth for a week on the 11th april

I'll give you a shout lol

 

[spruce]

I didn't think southampton would pay those prices. .my family are from there and it doesn't seem that affluentWell done to him for charging that

@slippy I'll be in Bournemouth for a week on the 11th april

I'll give you a shout lol

When I first saw his price list my eye's opened wide and my mouth dropped open /emoticons/biggrin.png

 

[Danfire]

As above...insides can take longer so if you plan to keep this job for the quoted price I would add that it is conditional that you have clear access to every window (ornaments/photo frames removed, curtains, nets and blinds out of the way, all the toothbrushes, toiletries, mirrors out of the way, stuff cleared off kitchen work tops etc).

I'm about to drop one partly due to her insisting the insides are done every second clean, always fat splattered over the inside kitchen glass, nothing ever cleared. Inherited her at a poor rate with in and out at the same price and she expects internal door glass to be done also. Now she has started skipping so six weekly has become twelve weekly and last visit the dogs had caked the back door with mud.

I'm down South also, your pricing sounds similar to what I would expect although I would stick with a pound for the small windows, a pound for each window in the bay and once I've totted them all up consider awkward access and stick on extra for that and then I would stick on a couple of quid extra for good measure and round up to the nearest fiver so you don't have to worry about too much schrapnel. Does sound a bit cheap for the posh end of Bounmouth.

 

[Nathan_M]

Where abouts in the north east are you from @spruce ?

As for quoting @slippy I always go with what I'm happy earning, likes been mentioned, if the round is compact and next to each other or if they always pay on the door then you have room to charge a little less buy if it's scattered and there's more driving you can charge more (never go on how wealthy an area is) I used to clean a big house where I lived before, took 45 mins outside with wfp and it wasn £75 and when insides were due every 2 weeks it was £75 for them, she used to pay £225 (1 ouside clean and 1 inside and outside clean per month) BUT I've also been to wealthy areas where you charge £15 for a house (not a big one mind) and they gasp at the price, always remember, the rich have a lot of money for a reason lol (they are tight)

But never let the customer price the job for you or even tell you a price they "want" to pay as they can then think they have you over a barrel.

Your way seems a Good way of pricing might I add /emoticons/smile.png

 

[Ads81]

If you are happy with the price you charged then don't let it worry you. Why did the previous cleaner stop doing them? Just because the blokes got a Ferrari in the garage doesn't mean he is minted.
(Leasing is a cheap way of 'owning' a prestige car as the rental is based on depreciation. In my old motor dealer days a Porsche Boxter was a similar price on lease as a Citroen C5 was. A BMW 5 series lease was virtually the same as a C5. If you wanted to impress your mates or send out the message that your minted, what would you rather lease? One of our single customers who worked on the rigs owned an Aston Martin. He had to get rid of it as he couldn't afford the first major service that was coming up. But his mates thought he was Mr Cool.)

Some people are just stirrers and like to wind others up. ('Wow that's cheap' can wind you up for years as it messes with your head even if it wasn't cheap. The person that said those 3 words has now got some control over your mind which can last for years.)

Just because your customer said it doesn't mean that its true.

You sound as though you have priced the job up according to a formula which works for you when quoting. But being part time you still have to get into what the market will pay. If you find that your pricing formula (which I personally think is an excellent way of pricing) gives you a good hourly rate then stick with it. If you find it isn't then you can tweak it accordingly.

I once heard it said that if you get all your quotes then you are too cheap, if you get none of them then you are too expensive, so the aim was to get about 60 - 70% of quotes. Makes sense to me. But it takes time to find that happy medium.

Different areas in the same town command better pricing than others. We have an old ex council estate with lots of old retired folk. We charge less to do these houses, but most pay on the day and pay for their neighbours as well. So pricing isn't just about one thing. We have another round which is very compact. Its a good earner as we just crack on and do one house after the other.

There is a window cleaner who does Charltons just outside Guisborough on the way to Whitby. He has most of the terraced houses in that village. Does fronts only for £2 which is 2 windows and a door. He has about 80 customers. A good earning day and no one can compete as those prices and steal his customers. If he doesn't do a good job one day, tough, what do they expect for £2? At that price no one complains.

I don't know about Bournemouth but here is a price list of a window cleaner in Southampton. This is a growing business so his pricing is acceptable for that area. (I wish we could get prices like this in the North East.)

Window Cleaning Prices in Southampton

So if the house you charged £25.00 for is in a similar category as the 5 bed detached in Perfect Windows pricing structure then you are OK.

Inside we do charge more than outsides, but we try to avoid doing them these days. You need to make sure everything is removed from the window sills, curtains tied back, etc by the customer before you clean the insides. We do the odd kitchen window for some old dears who can't reach over the sink to do them themselves.

When you first start out you get caught pricing wise. Over time you can adjust prices you have under priced. On several occasions we have gone cap in hand and told a customer that we made a mistake in quoting (the job is taking far longer than we estimated so we need to revise it to this. Sorry for our mistake.) We were prepared to loose the customer in each case but still do them today. We didn't do this after the first clean, but stuck with it for a while. As @tench0771 says, sometimes the second and third clean takes less time.

Very good advice there [emoji106]

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums app

 

[Danfire]

Good link on local pricing from Spruce there... I'm cleaning in a area more upmarket than Southampton and I'm now even more confident that my pricing strategy is competitive...I've only had one say I was too expensive and that was a shopfront...given the advice above I probably need to push the prices up so at least 10% think I'm too dear...I don't want to feel guilty by undercutting other cleaners.

 

[spruce]

Where abouts in the north east are you from @spruce ?As for quoting @slippy I always go with what I'm happy earning, likes been mentioned, if the round is compact and next to each other or if they always pay on the door then you have room to charge a little less buy if it's scattered and there's more driving you can charge more (never go on how wealthy an area is) I used to clean a big house where I lived before, took 45 mins outside with wfp and it wasn £75 and when insides were due every 2 weeks it was £75 for them, she used to pay £225 (1 ouside clean and 1 inside and outside clean per month) BUT I've also been to wealthy areas where you charge £15 for a house (not a big one mind) and they gasp at the price, always remember, the rich have a lot of money for a reason lol (they are tight)

But never let the customer price the job for you or even tell you a price they "want" to pay as they can then think they have you over a barrel.

Your way seems a Good way of pricing might I add /emoticons/smile.png

Saltburn by the Sea @Nathan_M

 

[mark]

blimey!!how long will it take??1 hour,2 hours.i shouldn't think so,so that's more than reasonable

 

[adamangler]

I question my prices all the time, get told a lot im too pricey. But its better than being too cheap and getting every quote.

I reckon i get about 50% of quotes, i probably should lower prices a bit but i dont want to lol

 

[Poles Apart]

I didn't think southampton would pay those prices. .my family are from there and it doesn't seem that affluentWell done to him for charging that

@slippy I'll be in Bournemouth for a week on the 11th april

I'll give you a shout lol

Lol that's reminded me of someone:rofl:

 

[slippy]

I didn't think southampton would pay those prices. .my family are from there and it doesn't seem that affluentWell done to him for charging that

@slippy I'll be in Bournemouth for a week on the 11th april

I'll give you a shout lol

go for it

 

[slippy]

I am doing the house Tuesday so will post a picture of it including Ferrari. If the insides take more than 1 15 mins I will tell him I made a mistake on the insides and it's £35 or whatever. I priced the house using the coun ting window and size of window method- 4-6 bay window -£2 Two big patio door- £2. Medium sized windows £1 and small windows 50p because I had no idea or experience on a house as big as this one so thought it made sense to do it that way.

 

[spruce]

blimey!!how long will it take??1 hour,2 hours.i shouldn't think so,so that's more than reasonable

Difficult one to comment on TBH.

A couple of years ago I looked at the work I had done over a year and analysed it. I found that each customer cost me 40% of each clean in running expenses which didn't include my earnings. It was to arrive at each job and do it. It would also included collection costs as we still do that each week. Each clean cost me £3.97 in expenses. These figures also included large commercial which took a few days to complete so the figures are a little skewed.

So percentage wise, a £25.00 house would have cost me in running costs around £10.50. That leaves me £14.50 to pay myself to do the house. If it takes me 2 hours, then I'm not even earning the soon to be minimum wage.

 

[spruce]

I am doing the house Tuesday so will post a picture of it including Ferrari. If the insides take more than 1 15 mins I will tell him I made a mistake on the insides and it's £35 or whatever. I priced the house using the coun ting window and size of window method- 4-6 bay window -£2 Two big patio door- £2. Medium sized windows £1 and small windows 50p because I had no idea or experience on a house as big as this one so thought it made sense to do it that way.

I like your method of pricing @slippy. I think you also need to add/include a minimum price for a job.

 

[slippy]

10014[/ATTACH] View attachment 7011 This is the front of the house. (Ferrari is in garage lol). There are six or seven windows on the left side (the bay windows) I priced them at £2, but I think £3 would have been better. The outside of the house took me 1 hr 15 mins the inside of house 1 hr 30 mins so 2 hrs 45 mins in total. Should I have charged £60? I charged £50. £25 insides and £25 outsides. I am probably a bit slow on wfp though!

Doing the insides I got to see how good my workmanship is. And sometimes found marks like the one on the photo below. I also realized that you have to do frosted windows properly. I thought people couldn't see stains from the inside so never did them as well as normal windows. I was wrong- can you see the stains in the top picture? I did the frosted windows again.

ATTACH=full]10013[/ATTACH] View attachment 7012 [

View attachment 7013

 

[spruce]

I think you priced it right. It just took you longer than it would have done a more experienced wfper.

That will come in time.

We would have needed to do each window twice. We give the whole window and upper frames a good scrub and rinse and then move to the next one. By the time you have done the inside clean those outside windows will be dry. Then reclean doing glass only. and of course frames (transome bars) between windows. Inspect after for any windows that need additional attention.

(One tip - look at the spots of water on the glass a short time after they have started to dry. If the spots are all over the glass then you are pretty sure that the window will dry fine provided you have washed and rinsed it properly. If the water droplets are in straight lines down from the top, then you will probably finish up with those streaks of white spots on your photo with the small window.)

The next clean will be a doddle and very much quicker. But the old addage applies; "Rome wasn't built in a day."

So yesterday you took longer - so what. What you did is invest time in your reputation and added to your experience.

If you are starting to have negative thoughts, ie., did I price that right? then replace them with positive thoughts. It takes time to get a successful business up and running. You need to time to develope your business and hone your skills.