Cleaning upstairs flat.

[Lee101]

Yeah. I was going to have a minimum price of £10. I still do mostly. But I have one or two exceptions. I have one lady who's tiny front only terraced I do for £5 she's a hard working single mum, currently on furlough from the pub restaurant trade but she's also a family friend. I do it in two to three minutes while my son goes down a short walkway on the opposite side of the cul-de-sac to do another small front only for £8. I'd only be stood idle by the van if I didn’t do hers. By the time I've done hers and put my kit away I'm ready to reel my son in while he walks back. We also do one easy to reach Velux on a garage roof for another lady for £5 for a minute or two, it's right beside the van and close to other work. She doesn't want her house done. We aim to be mostly close to top end but fair with pricing. But as I said we do have a couple of exceptions.

It's definitely not a habit I'd get into or build a round on though. We look for lucrative, quick work in areas where people have the means and the mentality to pay good professional rates. That's key to our business. It could be so easy to go the cheap and run ragged route if not careful.

Yes, totally agree, there is no sense in being a "Busy Idiot", lol, I live in a market town and have 1 weeks work there, but the other 5 weeks work are in the surrounding villages, where there's more lucrative work, and as you say, ppl will pay that bit more for a professional approach to what we do, they like the fact we turn up in a decent vehicle and are well turned out, rather than looking like a scrap metal dealer, lol.

And like you I have a small amount of exceptions to £10 rule, I have a house in town that has been converted into 4 small flats, I charge £5 each for them, if the house was still as one, it would be a £16 job, so I'm happy, there happy........And I have 3 really old lady's I clean in a row, little bungalows, 1 bedroom retirement places that take no time to clean, so I charge them £6 each as there never any problem, I only have to get out of the van once to do all 3, always offer me a cuppa, and always try to over tip me at xmas because i do little things like take there bins in and out for them ect, lol, end up having to be really firm with them about how much they give me, bless'em, but I love customers like that, and If my Nan's were still alive I would want ppl to treat them with respect and not take advantage.

 

[Davy G]

Yes, totally agree, there is no sense in being a "Busy Idiot", lol, I live in a market town and have 1 weeks work there, but the other 5 weeks work are in the surrounding villages, where there's more lucrative work, and as you say, ppl will pay that bit more for a professional approach to what we do, they like the fact we turn up in a decent vehicle and are well turned out, rather than looking like a scrap metal dealer, lol.

And like you I have a small amount of exceptions to £10 rule, I have a house in town that has been converted into 4 small flats, I charge £5 each for them, if the house was still as one, it would be a £16 job, so I'm happy, there happy........And I have 3 really old lady's I clean in a row, little bungalows, 1 bedroom retirement places that take no time to clean, so I charge them £6 each as there never any problem, I only have to get out of the van once to do all 3, always offer me a cuppa, and always try to over tip me at xmas because i do little things like take there bins in and out for them ect, lol, end up having to be really firm with them about how much they give me, bless'em, but I love customers like that, and If my Nan's were still alive I would want ppl to treat them with respect and not take advantage.

Good for you @Lee101. I worked on a big water main job in Roehampton as a young man over thirty five years ago. We had a gang of specialist Irish navvies hired in to do the hand digging where we had to lay through small back gardens on a long terrace. No room for a JCB. The ganger was a big tough  Irishman but an absolute gentleman. Always spoke to me (at the time the young, something of nothing novice to mainlaying) with friendliness and respect. I asked him one day why he wasn't your average rough navvy. He simply replied, "Ahh Davy, it's nice to be nice."  I've heard it said by several folk since, but I first heard it from Patsy Duffy, a tough navvy on a building site in 1983. ?

 

[Pjj]

I'd be thinking around £8 if it's straightforward.

We have a minimum price of £10 so that’s what it would be . 

 

[Lee101]

We have a minimum price of £10 so that’s what it would be . 

Clearly no problem with tearing an old person with 3 windows and 2 doors a new one then hey???.......???

 

[Part Timer]

Clearly no problem with tearing an old person with 3 windows and 2 doors a new one then hey???.......???

Not really unless they don't have any other choice. Personally I'd be at the same level as you, I have a minimum price of £10 but do some jobs for £5 as I know they couldn't afford £10. This is a personal decision but if you run a business with staff and large overheads, and have a set minimum price sentiment shouldn't get involved.

 

[Pjj]

Clearly no problem with tearing an old person with 3 windows and 2 doors a new one then hey???.......???

We do do some jobs cheaper for a few people but without being rude Ime running a business not a charity while we are cleaning a £5 job we could be doing double that , with staff to pay you have to balance the books , having said that we do a lot of charitable work for various people /organisations for free so do give a fair bit back into our local community.

 

[SJ102]

Personally I will only do ground floor flats, unless the occupants below sign up.

How are you cleaning the windows above traditional method or telescopic

 

[spruce]

How are you cleaning the windows above traditional method or telescopic

This is an old thread. The op has only posted once in Oct 2019 and last visited in Dec 2019.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Hi Everyone,

Some advice please. I clean the windows on a upstairs flat. Every time I do it, the lady in the downstairs flat comes out and says that she's just had here cleaned and we made them dirty again with all the splashes from upstairs. I honestly don't think she has a cleaner and is just after a free clean, but she always threatens to give us a bad review etc.

What would the best course of action be?

Thank you in advance.

We usually rinse down the ones downstairs. The problem with old folk is they have too much time on their hands so she will organise her life around your window clean day. You have two choices, either give up the clean and tell them or as I do is offer the clean to the guy who does downstairs. The other option is to put up a board so nothing touches her window or rinse down her windows but she might not accept this. I have went through this carry on and found out its not worth the hassle.

 

[Haggis0307]

We have a company policy of not doing flats, the only way that we may consider it is if downstairs will be having it done at the same time.

If everybody did this there would be a lot of dirty flats in the world. You're the reason tenants in flats can't get window cleaners! Just wipe the downstairs windows down, it's not hard is it?

 

[spruce]

If everybody did this there would be a lot of dirty flats in the world. You're the reason tenants in flats can't get window cleaners! Just wipe the downstairs windows down, it's not hard is it?

Unfortunately it's the trad cleaners who just do the bottom flat's windows in our area.
We have had numerous autications with down stairs tenants over the years. We do put the brush over the downstairs windows but we still get those who want us the blade them dry.

Then we had one whose trad cleaner only did the glass. She complained that when we put the brush over the glass we didn't clean the top frame and the vents.
That dirt apparently came from us cleaning the flat above.

We've even priced cleans higher so we can clean the downstairs flats, but they complain we are too expensive.

So no, we have enough work to not have to endure the drama anymore. In all due honesty, I don't care that the tenants in upstairs flats can't get window cleaners. They could come to some combined arrangement with all the residents to have 1 cleaner, but this didn't work either.

 

[Iron Giant]

Unfortunately it's the trad cleaners who just do the bottom flat's windows in our area.
We have had numerous autications with down stairs tenants over the years. We do put the brush over the downstairs windows but we still get those who want us the blade them dry.

Then we had one whose trad cleaner only did the glass. She complained that when we put the brush over the glass we didn't clean the top frame and the vents.
That dirt apparently came from us cleaning the flat above.

We've even priced cleans higher so we can clean the downstairs flats, but they complain we are too expensive.

So no, we have enough work to not have to endure the drama anymore. In all due honesty, I don't care that the tenants in upstairs flats can't get window cleaners. They could come to some combined arrangement with all the residents to have 1 cleaner, but this didn't work either.

I agree and it's changing times with trad cleaners being the few and us wfper's being the many I won't even quote an upstairs flat same with some old terraced streets I have no desire to make my life more complicated with pita jobs