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Starting A New Run

B

Barochan

Just started my business in a relatively new built estate in Scotland. Been reading lots on here and canvassed family, friends, neighbours etc. Problem is you guys in England seem to be able to make so much more perhouse than I can. For an average sized four bed semi the price seems to be around £6-£7, is this normal? If I quote more than this you can see the client visibly shudder.

Advice or guide prices most welcome. What do the Scottish members charge for terraced, semis and detached

Maybe I have my pricing all wrong.

 
No mate others on here have mentioned low prices in Scotland. Its not that much better in east Midlands to be honest.

 
welcome to the forum , Mk will be on later he comes from Scotland so hopefully be able to give more advice

 
Thanks Dodger. It seems prices and expectations are low. Is it normal practise to go in low, then in six months hike prices up, hoping customers won't switch

I am doing a good job and don't want to accept low income per house. I believe a good job is what customer wants along with honesty and reliability

 
Was talking to Bruce on here a few days ago. We have dropped prices a smidge to get more compact work.

4 bed semi would be £14/15 ish maybe a bit less.

I was harping on about £10 minimum but i realised that was a mistake. I am looking close to £15 minimums and getting it now as come up with a clever plan /emoticons/wink.png The key is in the frequency /emoticons/biggrin.png

 
Oh and one more thing! Something i have only just learnt this year. Most customers do not care about costs, and to some extent the quailty. What really wins over customers is how regular you are. Ask a few customers whats important to them, i did this and you will be surprised. Quite a few said trust as well. You don't want the customers who only care about price!

 
work it out in your takings per hour, if your making over £15 per hour or more , you arent far wrong. dont get too greedy, you could loose a lot if someone else decides to canvas with lower prices. a lot of window cleaners would NOT pay their prices for there own house. imagine someone knocking on the door asking for £15 as they have cleaned your windows. canvassing does loose you customers if you overcharge, once the customers trust you they will stick with you. its all a learning curve.

 
Bedfordshire here prices much better I would say, 2/3 bedroom semi £12. detached from £14 - £10 minimum terrace/bungalow, I can charge £5 premium on all first cleans too /emoticons/smile.png - just done a 3hr pub clean Friday landlord said he thought it would be more for in & out I charged him £60!!! (+ 1 coke, 1 Beer, packet of nuts & a packet of crisps!)

 
Welcome to the forum.

I moved to Ireland and started up again from scratch just over two years ago, and I have found the culture very different to the UK.

I charge around 12-15 euros (approx £10.20 - £12.75) for a 3 bedroom house, which is around the average for my area (South West). Before the recession hit it apparently was not uncommon to charge the equivalent of £20 - £ 25 for the same properties! The difference here is that not too many people want to see you more than 3-4 times a year, although I do now have a core of regular monthly/bi-monthly customers, as well as a handful of small shops which are done weekly or fortnightly.

The key is flexibility. If you are finding that people are taking sharp intakes of breath over the price, could you maybe consider extending the frequency slightly, say to 6 or 8 weekly. The price you are charging may well be the going rate, as it does depend on where you are and the local economic conditions. However, if you do a good job, are honest and reliable, you will soon have your foot in the door and work will start finding you when your happy customers spread the word.

Oh, I almost forgot, you may already have this covered, but did you know that in Scotland I believe you have to be licensed?

Best wishes,

John

 
i think every window should be licensed, like taxi drivers. but not to be paying out extra ££££s every year . if they done it here the council would rake in a lot of cash, photos, cbr check, doctors medical, then there fee, they have not cottened onto this yet.

but it would secure only legitamate window cleaners are working on your property.

if it is free i would acept this.

anyone in scotland to let us know if you pay and what you need to get your licence.

you could use it for discounts at takeaways etc, like a taxi license badge.

 
Yes we have to pay, every councils fee is different, I pay £66 a year or £125 for 3 years, every member of staff must also have a license.

It shows you have a police check and carry insurance

 
i think every window should be licensed, like taxi drivers. but not to be paying out extra ££££s every year . if they done it here the council would rake in a lot of cash, photos, cbr check, doctors medical, then there fee, they have not cottened onto this yet.

but it would secure only legitamate window cleaners are working on your property.

if it is free i would acept this.
Which one is it.......

Council raking in loads of cash...

OR...

You want this done for free.

I'm a 'legitimate' window cleaner, so why should I pay-out a fee (another expense) for a job I'm already doing.

 
if our councils cotton onto this idea they will see ££££ signs. x every window cleaner in a town x that by £60 + + cbr checks , + any other extra charge they can think of.

 
In Ireland, we don't have to be licensed. However, a requirement of being self-employed means being registered with the Revenues Commission (HMRC equivalent) for obvious reasons.

Surely that should be enough if evidence is needed to show that we are conducting our business and paying our taxes. If we break the law or rip our customers off we deserve to be prosecuted and lose our livelihood.

John

 
I set my biz years ago,4 rules

Do a good job

Turn up regular

Don't take the p@@s

Don't rip customers off

Stick to it,make a living n with luck ya round will grow,hard work will reward,and to quote on licence in Scotland.......wish they would start it in England,send the cowboys packing

 
It's ok making lisences compulsory, but is there going to be someone out doing regular checks of all cleaners and their employees to make sure everyone is going by the rules? I doubt it would stop them all..

But then would the customers be informed they must use a licensed cleaner?

Not really fair that it's only Scotland and it wouldn't bother me if it came to n. Ireland..

 
it comes to a case of licensing everyone who works within the public domain, sparkys, joiners , builders to name a few. im 100% as long as we dint have to pay.

 
You gota be joking,free,they can't tax the air cuz they can't moniter what we breath,the gov are slashing budgets and saving money every day ,they ain't guna foot the bill to police window cleaners,unless they can make £££ on it

Personally I'm for it,I don't c how it will be policed or prosecutored tho,it may take a few cowboys out, but they'll crop up on next road

 
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