Customer Agreement Forms and Timewasters

[Rosewood]

The problem with people not willing to pay more than £8 is down to the local windy's not asking for more. Never undercut to get a job, in the long run your damaging your business. If I'm quoting on a job and they say oh my last cleaner did them for £10. I immediately explain I will be more expensive, then I explain why. Provide a premium service and charge a premium price. If we all did this it would drive prices up not down and we all win. So what you won't get them all but who wants to be a busy fool !

 

[PJ Bullard]

@adamangler at the end of the day, you quote what you want - Im not criticizing how people want to work or how they want to price their work. 12-20 houses a day at £8? Not a chance for me. And if your running a pure water system, and a van, diesel and other expenses you'd be putting in a LOT of work for the money. 20 houses a day? That would burn me out quicktime

@Rosewood agree with you

 

[adamangler]

@adamangler at the end of the day, you quote what you want - Im not criticizing how people want to work or how they want to price their work. 12-20 houses a day at £8? Not a chance for me. And if your running a pure water system, and a van, diesel and other expenses you'd be putting in a LOT of work for the money. 20 houses a day? That would burn me out quicktime
@Rosewood agree with you

My average price is £12.

I was just making the point that your target of £100 plus be done with 12 x 8 quid houses. That could probably be achived in about 4 hours at £8 a house.

I dont 20 houses a day either its usually about 12.

 

["H"]

I'd have to disagree with you H on that one. Yes there are those that charge peanuts, so let them get on with it. Set your standards, set your prices, set your bench marks and the customers will come. These are different times from 20 years ago. £8.00 will buy you nothing now, and nobody can expect a self employed window cleaner who is running a van, filtering their water to make it pure and all the other costs involved - to run a business with those prices. You want to be aiming for £100 a day easy and £150 on a good day for the self employed otherwise you might aswell go and get a crappy job in tesco and not bother with WC at all.
Those are resonable benchmarks for the self employed. And that goes for all areas of the UK. And by the way, there are affluent areas everywhere and affluent people who LIKE to pay more for there window cleaning. They are not just payiong for the clean, but they are paying for the service and customer quality, professionalism. I bet the £8 window cleaners turn up at jobs with no uniform, a pair of beat up Nikes and rudeboy tracksuit bottoms - basically looking like tramps. Always wear uniform and stell toe cap boots. Image is everything. Imagine if your wealthy and somebody quotes you for window cleaning at £8 - your gonna think ''I bet he is rubbish for those sorts of prices or new or unsure of himself''.

Never be afraid to quote what its worth. And dont think along the lines of your last post.

Sorry to rant but had to!!

Sorry fella but we are going to disagree. Easy to say let them get on with it. That's the thing, they are. And they are getting the work. There's even cleans being done around here for £3-4. I'm not joking.

The average person around here has no idea and little care for self employed and they possess that attitude of "get a real job". Yeah, and if there were that many jobs that paid more than minimum wage or didn't close down after the European funding has run out there wouldn't be that many window cleaners who charge silly money.

I'm not saying that most of my cleans are £8, there are a few but they are strategic ones. For example,£8 for one lady that is done in 10 mins but the shop she owns I charge a lot more for. Not cutting my nose off to spite my face.

They'll pay a plumber a £75 call out fee but "anyone can window clean" has been said to me more than once. "I'll do them myself for that price" is another.

I personally run a van and have a uniform and look the part and act professionally and I have a good and loyal customer base. Not into telling people what I earn, but I survive well enough.

With regards the affluent areas, there are pockets of them but they are the worst payers or want it done the cheapest. Seriously.

By the way, very rural around here and in some cases a 20 min drive between customers is not unheard of.

I have the attitude of "do you want it done cheap or do you want it done properly?" Like swimming against the tide most of the time here though.

This reminds me of the time when I was chimney sweeping years ago and belonged to a Chimney Sweeping Association. A "sweep" from the Home Counties was telling us how us "Welsh Boys" should be charging £70 a sweep when we explained that the most people would pay here was £25. Challenged him to come down to us, we'll accommodate him and in a week see how much he would earn. End result, nowt.

 

[PJ Bullard]

Well best of luck to you H. I really hope that one day you can release any limiting thought patterns that you may have picked up along the way and begin telling a different story. Once you do that, things will shift and the respectable, high paying, worth-while customers will appear. Its all about the story you tell and the beliefs you have. Read through your last post and see all the limiting statements in there. These are your thoughts and beliefs externalised, and your thoughts and beliefs create your reality

 

[adamangler]

Well best of luck to you H. I really hope that one day you can release any limiting thought patterns that you may have picked up along the way and begin telling a different story. Once you do that, things will shift and the respectable, high paying, worth-while customers will appear. Its all about the story you tell and the beliefs you have. Read through your last post and see all the limiting statements in there. These are your thoughts and beliefs externalised, and your thoughts and beliefs create your reality

100% agree

However, I dont think theres anything wrong with going in at lower prices to begin with just to create some income and activity as long as you intend to get rid of them and go after higher paying customers eventually. The real problem with low prices and a low priced mentality is staying there like a lot of guys i come across (usually older trad lads) who have had theres rounds years or decades and still doing 5 pound houses and havent had a price rise since 1996. It depends on your situation, if 80 quid a day of low priced custies keeps you going until you can progress then thats great, it makes little sense chasing higher prices and struggling not being able to pay the bills.

Progression is key, progression is what keeps us looking forward and optimistic. Id hate to think of this as just a job to churn away earning average money until i retire, to me i look at it as a long journey and more like the first step into bigger and better things.

 

[slipknot]

you guys should try having a partner who seems to think £100 a week is decent lol hence why im going it alone with WFP. truth is times are changing and my arverage is house is £10. you will always get funny people who moan about the price but like i tell them, u get your frames wiped, ur windows cleaned properly, and the sills wiped. which in my eyes is a proper job.

it makes me laugh when people phone you up begging for you to clean there windows quicker than 4 weeks /emoticons/laugh.png

 

[PJ Bullard]

@adamangler agree with you about making low prices when you first enter window cleaning. But after a while, you naturally raise your prices to reflect your growing confidence and standing in the industry. As for the older trad guys, yeah they may well be charging very low rates, but they are a dying breed and I've noticed that many of them take risks with their work and the setting up of their ladders. As time is moving on and we are moving into the digital age, professional customers are aware of the fact that money isn't worth what it used to be. I got some very good advice from another windy I know and it was, 'Don't forget, window cleaning is a trade'. Well what tradesman works for pathetic low prices?

Personally, I have a min price I charge and thats what I stick to. I won't have my arm twisted by a customer or made to feel that Im charging too high. If they don't want my services, thats fine. They can go and find somebody who will do it at the price they want. I want the good, appreciative customers who are thankful for the job I do, and my round is full of them.

Anyway each to their own, I don't mean to get too preachy!!!