Booked for tomorrow, now postponed until next month?

[Tango]

Overheads, yeah there is that, time off.. well.. most here keep boasting of rock star money so it's not like they can't afford it.

My overheads are lower compared to many but i work out of an astra (urgh.. not my favourite car by any means). I'm also paying 4.5p per litre for water too lol. Todays job cost me about £3.60 in pure.

Other than equipment and running costs like insurance and fuel, I have to wonder about the overheads.

That's the same as doing 3 standard 3 bed semi's at £5 each, you'd fill your boots up here at that level.

Yeah but i didn't have to pack up and move from one property another etc or knock on doors to announce my arrival. Besides I'm not exactly bursting with customers like many of you lot so that £50 was £50 not to be sniffed at!

 

[dazmond]

That sums up all my custys lol - I live in a town with a large population, lots of new builds and ever smaller properties with more people per square metre. Naturally many are going to feel uneasy leaving their back gate unlocked..

I live down south and can't say i've heard of that myself. Sure i'll do windows cheap but like a job today, i quoted £15 for the windows, then another £25 for the conservatory. Then 2 more windows above it was another tenner cos they were gonna be a pain requiring a ladder and i threw in the conny gutter for nothing. Took me just over 3 hours but still worked out about £15p/h which to be fair, ain't exactly bad compared to most normal unskilled jobs.

3 HOURS to clean a house and conservatory?......what did you clean them with?vinegar and newspaper??

i would not be happy with £15 an hour,it has to be at least  £40-£45 an hour or i dont take the work on.......seriously mate you ll be going out of business within the next year or so if you carry on like that.......

 

[Tango]

3 HOURS to clean a house and conservatory?......what did you clean them with?vinegar and newspaper?

Must admit i was a bit surprised too. It certainly didn't look like more than 1.5 hrs worth but it was a bit tricky access wise (ladder on uneven ground and half the conny up on a patio 2ft higher etc). I found myself thinking I didn't want another conny roof in a hurry. Also this was a first clean not a regular so you know how those tend to go..

My overheads are probably a lot lower than yours though as I'm working from a car not a van full of expensive gear so to a point although it's not a great hourly rate, I can manage on it but yes I am seeing what you're saying.

Rinse times are my killers for me especially on hydrophobic glass which i seem to encounter a lot at present (I'm even seeing some panes that are a mix - with half being hydrophobic or even small sections). Takes an age to do a proper rinse so I'm gonna have to go with some of Gardiners 100 fan jet things I think.

 

[dazmond]

Must admit i was a bit surprised too. It certainly didn't look like more than 1.5 hrs worth but it was a bit tricky access wise (ladder on uneven ground and half the conny up on a patio 2ft higher etc). I found myself thinking I didn't want another conny roof in a hurry. Also this was a first clean not a regular so you know how those tend to go..

My overheads are probably a lot lower than yours though as I'm working from a car not a van full of expensive gear so to a point although it's not a great hourly rate, I can manage on it but yes I am seeing what you're saying.

Rinse times are my killers for me especially on hydrophobic glass which i seem to encounter a lot at present (I'm even seeing some panes that are a mix - with half being hydrophobic or even small sections). Takes an age to do a proper rinse so I'm gonna have to go with some of Gardiners 100 fan jet things I think.

i didnt realise that you cleaned the conny roof too.......hydrophobic glass doesnt take much longer to rinse than hydrophilic glass,maybe a few seconds longer but not ages.....

if your a newbie then you ll learn as you go along.......for conny roofs you should be charging at least double what you charged if not more,they can be hard work...i aim for £60-£80 an hour on add on jobs because of this(and they take me away from my regular easier window cleaning work).......

 

[steve garwood]

Down south u can charge more and get away with it because the cost of living up south is a lot higher. Window cleaning is a total different ball game up South, the more South u go the more expensive it gets.

An average price for a hair cut in Teesside is £7-8 and that is the same price for a window clean i believe. You will get people charging £5.00 to clean a 3 bedroom house but u will also get people charging £10.00 but i believe £7-8 is the average price for a 3 bed semi in Teesside

If u go down south an average price for a haircut will be £20.00 + and its the same for a window clean down there i believe

And there is a lot of window cleaners starting up with clapped out vans like u said.... but when it gets cold again there van will run out of MOT and then they will not be able to hack it in the cold weather so they will dissapear, seen it a few times now ? People think it is easy coming in to this trade but as soon as they realize how tough it is they give up
 

Utter nonsense. There’s plenty down here who charge around £15 for a three bedroom semi.

And as for £20 for a haircut? More nonsense. It’s £8 in my local barbers.

This is similar to northerners saying it’s £8 a pint down south ?.

In my local it’s £3.40 a pint.

Stop listening to such c*ap 

 

[ks789]

Down south u can charge more and get away with it because the cost of living up south is a lot higher. Window cleaning is a total different ball game up South, the more South u go the more expensive it gets.

An average price for a hair cut in Teesside is £7-8 and that is the same price for a window clean i believe. You will get people charging £5.00 to clean a 3 bedroom house but u will also get people charging £10.00 but i believe £7-8 is the average price for a 3 bed semi in Teesside

If u go down south an average price for a haircut will be £20.00 + and its the same for a window clean down there i believe

And there is a lot of window cleaners starting up with clapped out vans like u said.... but when it gets cold again there van will run out of MOT and then they will not be able to hack it in the cold weather so they will dissapear, seen it a few times now ? People think it is easy coming in to this trade but as soon as they realize how tough it is they give up
 

Yeh is true. rents are ridiculously high. to be honest, minimum wage is the same down south as up north, so if your gonna be on that, as many are, your moneys gonna get a lot further up north. Housing association 1 bed properties round my area are no good, as unless you've got mental health etc you will never get one. They get to the top of the list and you have to rent private at £650 pcm or more for flat, £8/900 pcm for house. Its why when im winding down, I plan on moving up north. Oswestry seemed good, most pubs per population apparently, and a lot cheaper than our beer down here ?

 

[Tango]

@dazmond Yeah i knew at the time i was massively underpricing it but i needed the work / money (and reputation) to get me going!

Normal side windows for connys i don't really bother charging much extra for - on some places i'll just chuck em in with the main quote and do them without charging any extra at all just to ensure i get a few crumbs.

 

[ks789]

Utter nonsense. There’s plenty down here who charge around £15 for a three bedroom semi.

And as for £20 for a haircut? More nonsense. It’s £8 in my local barbers.

This is similar to northerners saying it’s £8 a pint down south ?.

In my local it’s £3.40 a pint.

Stop listening to such c*ap 

Yeh can find good deals. Im in a posh bubble, woodbridge. never used to be but is becoming a place people want to move to. our pints, if lager can be £4.30 up to £4.70. Ale/beer cheaper. A lot go in the legion for cheaper. Fair booze for all campaign ??

 

[Tango]

I'm in Kent (as it says to the left) and yeah, my barbers is £8 too. I usually tip em the extra two quid and round it up to a tenner though. Always have ever since my missus nagged me to do so (really annoying that - my money and she demands i tip someone - DO IT YOURSELF THEN LUV I always end up thinking).

I also do 3 bed semi's for £15.

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

I'm in Kent (as it says to the left) and yeah, my barbers is £8 too. I usually tip em the extra two quid and round it up to a tenner though. Always have ever since my missus nagged me to do so (really annoying that - my money and she demands i tip someone - DO IT YOURSELF THEN LUV I always end up thinking).

I also do 3 bed semi's for £15.

My barber is £10 or £15 if I book. Up in Glasgow. He’s one of the best so happy paying that. Need someone to keep my curly locks on point! ??

Edit: I’ll charge up to £15 for a semi but normally cause it’s the only one in the street. I have quite a number of detaches the same price but they have the same number of windows. 

 

[dazmond]

theres 15 barber shops in a 2 mile area here in salford.....most of the barber staff are from iran and iraq.....they charge £8 usually but some now a tenner,i always give them a tenner too..... as for small 3 bed semis on very compact 4 weekly estate work i charge as little as £8(with no conny) but clean 5 -6 an hour so my hourly rate is £40-£48 which isnt too bad.....i have a lot of compact jobs(90+ on one estate and 70+ on another).....i will be putting these up next year,personally i think they should be a tenner a pop but some moan £8 expensive!??.....other work is higher priced,i have a lot of £20/£30/£40 jobs as well,these are bigger and usually longer frequencies though.....

 

[steve garwood]

My neighbourhood barber has been arrested for selling drugs.

I’ve been a customer of his for many years.

I didn’t know he was a barber though ?

 

[Iron Giant]

I would be interested to know how windies price conservatory cleans. We are the same, in that we price a conservtory clean as an add on for 'pennies'. When we bought a round in the early days before we got established the previous trad cleaners would clean a 3 bed semi for £6.50 and if it had a conservatory it was £8.00 or £8.50 if it had a large one.

It didn't take me long to realise what you have noted - sometimes a conservatory has more glass than the rest of the house, uses more water and takes longer to clean than the rest of the house does.

I tried to price a new clean in those days with that in mind. If the clean was £8 then I would quote £15 for the full clean including the conservatory. I never got any of those quotes because the customer perceived the price to be too high. 

I ask myself if I have accepted the trend of pricing a conservatory clean low or have I just realised that if I go in too high I won't get the job from past experience? We also have a 'wave' of new cleaners cleaning windows with old knackered vans and cheap equipment coming into the window cleaning game quoting stupidly low prices which is erroding our new cleaning pricing structure. As I said many times, we aren't getting many jobs quoting £10 for a 3 bed semi without conservatory. £9 seems to be the limit.

You can see the instant you quote a price which a customer thinks it too high. His body language reacts before he can get his composure back under control. I know I don't want the job at this point but do often ask what they perceive is a fair price they had in mind. Its usually between £5 and £8. My reply is that "I'm sorry I can't do it for that as my running costs to park outside your property before I pay myself to do the job is £3.97. If I do the job at £6 I'm not even earning the minumim wage. Thank you for your time. Have a good day" as I walk away.

One smart Alec responded that I needed to reduce my running costs. ?

Here is a small conservatory which I am sure we all have one to clean I would charge £5.00 for this here in the North East of England this is a windows only job no roof £5.00 I think is a fair price although I could probably stick an extra £1 on 

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

Here is a small conservatory which I am sure we all have one to clean I would charge £5.00 for this here in the North East of England this is a windows only job no roof £5.00 I think is a fair price although I could probably stick an extra £1 on 

View attachment 16915

I’d be £5 for that also. I get folk saying about using more water and same number of windows, but in my experience because it’s al ground floor and all the windows are together, it doesn’t take as long as one might expect, so £5 covers the extra time and effort spent. 

 

[spruce]

Here is a small conservatory which I am sure we all have one to clean I would charge £5.00 for this here in the North East of England this is a windows only job no roof £5.00 I think is a fair price although I could probably stick an extra £1 on 

View attachment 16915

If you don't mind me asking; how much would you charge for the house if they didn't want the conservatory cleaned?

This looks very much like a 3 bed semi and to be 'safe,' I would like to go for £9 for the house only. If I was quoting for the lot I would go in at £12. I just can't see me getting the job at £15 every 6 to 8 weeks.

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

If you don't mind me asking; how much would you charge for the house if they didn't want the conservatory cleaned?

This looks very much like a 3 bed semi and to be 'safe,' I would like to go for £9 for the house only. If I was quoting for the lot I would go in at £12. I just can't see me getting the job at £15 every 6 to 8 weeks.

I’d probably be ££15 for 4 weekly or ££20 for 8 weekly, then add £5 to either for the coni. If it’s a estate I’m trying to get compact on I’ll prob be a £1 or £2 less. 

 

[spruce]

I’d probably be ££15 for 4 weekly or ££20 for 8 weekly, then add £5 to either for the coni. If it’s a estate I’m trying to get compact on I’ll prob be a £1 or £2 less. 

Wow.

 

[Iron Giant]

If you don't mind me asking; how much would you charge for the house if they didn't want the conservatory cleaned?

This looks very much like a 3 bed semi and to be 'safe,' I would like to go for £9 for the house only. If I was quoting for the lot I would go in at £12. I just can't see me getting the job at £15 every 6 to 8 weeks.

The pic I pulled off the net, but yes let's assume its a 3 bed semi, house only with no conny at all £8.00 if I was to do the whole house and conny it would be £13.50 providing both sides were accessible, the pricing is based on once every 4 weeks on compact work with multiple houses in the same street. 

 

[dazmond]

dont forget your not cleaning the windows on the ground floors that are inside the conservatory,this usually means a set of patio doors and a kitchen/utility window so in fact on a lot of connys(usually one side is up against a fence/wall)your actually only cleaning an extra 3 or 4 panes of glass on one side taking into account the windows you would normally be cleaning if the conny wasnt there....so i will only charge a couple of quid extra,a fiver on some,also on 4 weekly work they take very little time to clean....

of course on larger properties with connys on longer frequencies i charge more for the overall job  which includes the conny anyway....?

 

[wezza13]

@dazmond Yeah i knew at the time i was massively underpricing it but i needed the work / money (and reputation) to get me going!

When you massively underprice, the only reputation you'll get is that you're cheap!

You'll then find it harder to increase prices to what they should be.

You said you were happy with £15 per hour? You should be aiming for at least £40 per hour. I aim for between £40-60 per hour and you're in Kent too, so aim for a better price. It's not to rip people off, it's to earn a fair wage after all of your expenses have been deducted. I aim for my price as I know I can do 3 x £20 houses in an hour, if they're all together. Otherwise, with these crazy low prices, you'll realise when you do your tax return how little you've earned over the year. 

Also, you're saying the same thing that my mate says - brainwashed into thinking that it's better because it's more than minimum wage and a bit more than unskilled jobs are paying (around £8-10 down this way). Because they pay such meagre wages, you and some others think that a little bit more is a good price. As you get more and more involved in building your round, you'll realise this. One day, it'll hit you and you'll know that you should be earning at least £30 per hour!

Good luck!

 

[ks789]

When you massively underprice, the only reputation you'll get is that you're cheap!

You'll then find it harder to increase prices to what they should be.

You said you were happy with £15 per hour? You should be aiming for at least £40 per hour. I aim for between £40-60 per hour and you're in Kent too, so aim for a better price. It's not to rip people off, it's to earn a fair wage after all of your expenses have been deducted. I aim for my price as I know I can do 3 x £20 houses in an hour, if they're all together. Otherwise, with these crazy low prices, you'll realise when you do your tax return how little you've earned over the year. 

Also, you're saying the same thing that my mate says - brainwashed into thinking that it's better because it's more than minimum wage and a bit more than unskilled jobs are paying (around £8-10 down this way). Because they pay such meagre wages, you and some others think that a little bit more is a good price. As you get more and more involved in building your round, you'll realise this. One day, it'll hit you and you'll know that you should be earning at least £30 per hour!

Good luck!

Def should be £35 an hour min to aim at in home counties and nearby. Rent is usually £800 plus so thats £7 per hour needed just for that. And then council tax, vehicle, food and on and on. Yep, Ive underpriced in the past a few. Never again.