Booked for tomorrow, now postponed until next month?

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

Wow.

See I don’t think these prices special. I’ll add I’ll prob charge the same for a larger Detached as, even though it has more windows, it’ll take the same amount of time. 

 

[Tango]

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!

To be fair, I figured if i get a cheap reputation then I'll get more enquiries - and more will say yes even if i price it higher than cheap. That was the thinking.. 

But I'm a newb so to be honest at the moment i'll pretty much take anything that's quick and i can get at least a tenner for. Anything else (eg soffits / fascias) I'm charging at least £20 for as they'll take me a while with a bendy CLX lol. Quoted customer today who wanted windows, fascias and the conny doing. Conny I said no to because it's blocked in by two walls and going to be a PITA. Windows and fascias I said £40. I figured the slow part will be the fascias, the windows will be a lot quicker so I'll make up my time there. I'm starting to lose my shyness about asking for more.

 

[THL4KEL]

Dont class yourself as a newb, find out what your competitors charge and come in atba similar level.

How many meters of fascia are you doing for £40 and the windows?

 

[Iron Giant]

@TangoI personally think that you've been on here long enough to know what a job should be priced at, don't lose faith and price jobs correctly otherwise you are going to continue to struggle to make a decent wage. 

 

[Pjj]

3 bed semi with a conservatory starts at £15 depending on the size . 

 

[dazmond]

To be fair, I figured if i get a cheap reputation then I'll get more enquiries - and more will say yes even if i price it higher than cheap. That was the thinking.. 

But I'm a newb so to be honest at the moment i'll pretty much take anything that's quick and i can get at least a tenner for. Anything else (eg soffits / fascias) I'm charging at least £20 for as they'll take me a while with a bendy CLX lol. Quoted customer today who wanted windows, fascias and the conny doing. Conny I said no to because it's blocked in by two walls and going to be a PITA. Windows and fascias I said £40. I figured the slow part will be the fascias, the windows will be a lot quicker so I'll make up my time there. I'm starting to lose my shyness about asking for more.

its a classic newbie mistake........we ve all been there.......but try for higher prices.......expenses,insurances and tax and the dreaded payment on account will bite you and you ll be signing on again before you know it....

 

[Iron Giant]

3 bed semi with a conservatory starts at £15 depending on the size . 

Paul I thought you would have been double that ?

 

[Pjj]

Paul I thought you would have been double that ?

Lol I wish but we do have lots of them very close together, that price is for a small conservatory bigger ones are £20 

 

[Iron Giant]

Lol I wish but we do have lots of them very close together, that price is for a small conservatory bigger ones are £20 

Nothing like compact work to fill the coffers fast 

 

[Davy G]

To be fair, I figured if i get a cheap reputation then I'll get more enquiries - and more will say yes even if i price it higher than cheap. That was the thinking.. 

But I'm a newb so to be honest at the moment i'll pretty much take anything that's quick and i can get at least a tenner for. Anything else (eg soffits / fascias) I'm charging at least £20 for as they'll take me a while with a bendy CLX lol. Quoted customer today who wanted windows, fascias and the conny doing. Conny I said no to because it's blocked in by two walls and going to be a PITA. Windows and fascias I said £40. I figured the slow part will be the fascias, the windows will be a lot quicker so I'll make up my time there. I'm starting to lose my shyness about asking for more.

Here's a thing. Customers ask me to "just clean the fascias or the conservatory roof" for instance. But, think through the job and what is actually involved. Cleaning the fascias ; there's usually guttering, brackets, soffits and downpipes. Not to mention the windows and possibly a conservatory below, that a lot of the soapy, dirty water and crud is going to land on. I can't really leave these without them being washed as well. Then consider a customer asking. Can you just clean the conservatory roof? My answer is always. " I can't clean just the roof". If I clean the roof, what about the gutter around it, (which is usually filthy as well)? I can't, not also clean that. Which will then bring all the soap and dirt down from the gutter onto the windows, sills and doors.

As others have said on here in the past. Be careful when dealing with. "Can you just?" Point out to the customer what the job actually entails and price accordingly. It's hard at first but it gets easier. A lot of mine have now become annual wash downs and I would be kicking myself if I hadn't started out the way I intend to continue. How would I have been able to put the price up from the price of a pasty, a pint and a flutter on the dogs, to a professional rate? And how would I live with the repeat work at the same poor rates? And then there'd be customer's neighbours and friends expecting the same, low rates. 

It's not easy guys, but it's important to be sensible and serious with the pricing. 

Good luck. ?

 

[spruce]

Here's a thing. Customers ask me to "just clean the fascias or the conservatory roof" for instance. But, think through the job and what is actually involved. Cleaning the fascias ; there's usually guttering, brackets, soffits and downpipes. Not to mention the windows and possibly a conservatory below, that a lot of the soapy, dirty water and crud is going to land on. I can't really leave these without them being washed as well. Then consider a customer asking. Can you just clean the conservatory roof? My answer is always. " I can't clean just the roof". If I clean the roof, what about the gutter around it, (which is usually filthy as well)? I can't, not also clean that. Which will then bring all the soap and dirt down from the gutter onto the windows, sills and doors.

As others have said on here in the past. Be careful when dealing with. "Can you just?" Point out to the customer what the job actually entails and price accordingly. It's hard at first but it gets easier. A lot of mine have now become annual wash downs and I would be kicking myself if I hadn't started out the way I intend to continue. How would I have been able to put the price up from the price of a pasty, a pint and a flutter on the dogs, to a professional rate? And how would I live with the repeat work at the same poor rates? And then there'd be customer's neighbours and friends expecting the same, low rates. 

It's not easy guys, but it's important to be sensible and serious with the pricing. 

Good luck. ?

Sounds like the three words the wife uses when she wants something done. It sounds as though it will take a few moments but always ends up taking hours. ?

 

[wezza13]

Sounds like the three words the wife uses when she wants something done. It sounds as though it will take a few moments but always ends up taking hours. ?

Always the way lol.

Got a few "Can you just" customers on my round. Usually, "can you just nip upstairs and clean the upstairs windows" when they have a 5/6 bedroom farmhouse! 

Just tell them straight that you've got a day's work booked in and that, by doing that, you'd let a lot of your other customers down by not being able to turn up.

Makes them realise and then they book you in, so you can then charge accordingly.

 

[paulben]

It will only take 5 mins = 2 hours. 

 

[harunh]

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 

If your barbers charginhg £8.00 then hes clearly undercutting the other barbers ?

 

[paulben]

£8 for a haircut here too do her windows so get a free haircut now and then .

 

[steve garwood]

I went in the barbers yesterday and said “I want my haircut like Tom Cruise”

So he gave me a pillow to sit on ?