Getting the hang of it (I think)

[eson]

Just to add some information, I did my first conservatory today. Outside only . . . mop and squeegee and a stiff bristle paint brush for the corners . . . £50.00, 2hrs (was completely covered, glass and all, in green dots of dry feeling algae). I reckon I way undercharged, but I was there anyway for £35 first clean house windows outside only. Conservatory could with a bit more work, but there is a time say it's good enough !

 

[Part Timer]

I bet there are loads of people that would love to earn £25 an hour learning their job. Looks good enough for me to walk away and the time info is in your memory bank now. If you'd quoted £80 you might not have got the job and learnt nowt.

 

[Clean zero]

Looks good ?

 

[WombatPool]

Just to add some information, I did my first conservatory today. Outside only . . . mop and squeegee and a stiff bristle paint brush for the corners . . . £50.00, 2hrs (was completely covered, glass and all, in green dots of dry feeling algae). I reckon I way undercharged, but I was there anyway for £35 first clean house windows outside only. Conservatory could with a bit more work, but there is a time say it's good enough !View attachment 27650

Looks good…

I cleaned two properties today and they both had conservatories. First was a tiny little place with two windows at the front, a door at the side, and a conservatory at the back. They was booked in today for a one off clean but when I finished they asked if I could visit every month - price is good too!

Canvassing is definitely working out well for me at the moment. I went out last Friday and gained 5 new customers, I was over the moon!

Edit…5 new customers probably isn’t many to the guys that are veterans but that’s my best amount in one session so far

 

[ched999uk]

Canvassing is definitely working out well for me at the moment. I went out last Friday and gained 5 new customers, I was over the moon!

Edit…5 new customers probably isn’t many to the guys that are veterans but that’s my best amount in one session so far

5 customer this time of year is good. Just think that in 6 months that's 130! If you are building at this rate in the winter you will be gaining great experience and you will be well prepared for spring when, hopefully nicer weather will enable you to pick up more customers.

 

[WombatPool]

Cheers ched!

I have 16 monthly customers now. 3 weeks ago I had 0. Done a few one-off cleans as well…
Hopefully I can pick up more in the coming weeks/months…. I love it

 

[K in Kent]

I bet there are loads of people that would love to earn £25 an hour learning their job. Looks good enough for me to walk away and the time info is in your memory bank now. If you'd quoted £80 you might not have got the job and learnt nowt.

Yeah spot on!
As for pricing, we've all underpriced work so you're not alone.
And you will refiine how you price a job over time but you've got to balance what you think is fair with what a customer will think is reasonable and an amount they're willing to pay. As @Part Timer says, you could've quoted higher and probably not got the job. Instead you've come away with £85.
Ignore what other people claim they would charge. It's irrelevant.
Once you're well established you can quote higher for a more professional service and not care whether they accept or not.
Until then, earning and learning will serve you well

 

[WombatPool]

@K in Kent i done exactly that at my second job today, quite a nice house, I took a look round with the owner last Friday and blurted out £45 for first clean and going forward £25 per month.. (I’ve had better money for smaller properties but those figures kind of just fell out.
It took me two hours this afternoon. Not the end of the world but when the owner paid me she even said ‘I thought you under priced it’ so she most likely would have accepted a higher quote. She also asked if I could just clean the glass next visit and not to worry about the frames and sills. Which to me seems strange as that’s all I’ve cleaned at any property so far when cleaning windows. It would almost seem like I’m only providing half a service??? Plus it’s all squeaky clean now anyway after todays first clean so it’s not like it would take me that much longer???
I did agree though…as that’s what she wanted ?

All a learning curve it could have been worse if I quoted even less

 

[ched999uk]

@K in Kent i done exactly that at my second job today, quite a nice house, I took a look round with the owner last Friday and blurted out £45 for first clean and going forward £25 per month.. (I’ve had better money for smaller properties but those figures kind of just fell out.
It took me two hours this afternoon. Not the end of the world but when the owner paid me she even said ‘I thought you under priced it’ so she most likely would have accepted a higher quote. She also asked if I could just clean the glass next visit and not to worry about the frames and sills. Which to me seems strange as that’s all I’ve cleaned at any property so far when cleaning windows. It would almost seem like I’m only providing half a service??? Plus it’s all squeaky clean now anyway after todays first clean so it’s not like it would take me that much longer???
I did agree though…as that’s what she wanted ?

All a learning curve it could have been worse if I quoted even less

I know that established people 'know' how long a job will take and charge appropriately. The problem when you are starting out is working out how to price. I have a system that enables me to charge what I consider a fair rate for a decent job. Basically I have an appointment fee, then a fee for each regular windows, one for large windows (you need a rough idea what you consider a large window, could be hard to reach etc), and then an 'additions' fee for things like long route to back of property or lots of flowerpots etc. This way I feel my quotes are consistent.
I had a customer recommend me to her neighbour and I went to quote, the new quote was a couple of £ more than the neighbour. The new quote questioned why her's were more expensive - I was able to say because you have an extra velux and an extra rear door. She was then happy that she wasn't being charged more for the same amount of work.
Obviously there are lots of ways to price but in the early days I think you need a method.

I would say work yourself out a system to help pricing in a systematic way.

 

[Part Timer]

I know that established people 'know' how long a job will take and charge appropriately

Don't know about that, I still make mistakes, especially on jobs where there is an unknown factor. The only difference is I can go to the customer and say I've underpriced it so next time it needs to be £x more, whereas a newbie might be worried about losing the job.

 

[WombatPool]

I’ve just done it again!! Just got home from another job which I quoted at £45 for first clean and it took me 2.5 hours this time.. The owner, one of the nicest people you could ever meet, gave me £60 and agreed to go ahead with £30 a month in future instead of the £25 I quoted originally.
She had a disabled lift which I cleaned too.
I’m going to watch out for these kind of jobs in future and not sell myself too short. I have to just look at it like these are not really mistakes as such, more like lessons learnt!

Learning as I go…….. good fun though..

 

[ched999uk]

I’ve just done it again!! Just got home from another job which I quoted at £45 for first clean and it took me 2.5 hours this time.. The owner, one of the nicest people you could ever meet, gave me £60 and agreed to go ahead with £30 a month in future instead of the £25 I quoted originally.
She had a disabled lift which I cleaned too.
I’m going to watch out for these kind of jobs in future and not sell myself too short. I have to just look at it like these are not really mistakes as such, more like lessons learnt!

Learning as I go…….. good fun though..

Keep it up, you will have a full round soon Don't forget to offer garage door cleaning as well! First time takes a while but after that it's fairly quick.

 

[WombatPool]

Keep it up, you will have a full round soon Don't forget to offer garage door cleaning as well! First time takes a while but after that it's fairly quick.

Had a job last week where the couple had just moved in and the windows were already very clean. I done the whole lot in 15 mins it was nice to complete a job so fast compared to all the first cleans I’ve been doing. It gave me a taste of what to expect when I visit the properties I’ve already cleaned.

Thanks mate it seems to be building ok so far..

 

[Pjj]

Looks good…

I cleaned two properties today and they both had conservatories. First was a tiny little place with two windows at the front, a door at the side, and a conservatory at the back. They was booked in today for a one off clean but when I finished they asked if I could visit every month - price is good too!
View attachment 27653View attachment 27654
Canvassing is definitely working out well for me at the moment. I went out last Friday and gained 5 new customers, I was over the moon!

Edit…5 new customers probably isn’t many to the guys that are veterans but that’s my best amount in one session so far

If you can pick up that number most times you go put your customer base will soon grow and then you will start getting recommendations then it will really take off now isn’t a good time to be gaining customers so in the spring sure you will do evan better

 

[eson]

I am chuffed as a NooB to have a customer who is paying me £25 every four weeks, £5 more than I asked for and the job is a solid hour from in the door to out the door. I am the only person to have cleaned her windows in 15 years bless her. Her bay window was like looking through burnt perspex, all grey and opaque white. "You are definitely coming back" she told me. She won't watch me clean them though as this is a super specialist undertaking using steel anchors and steel core rope with prusiks and carbineers. I should be charging £100 but hey ho its £25 and what a great fun learning experience for me (I used to mountaineer and abseil for pleasure). Great to have this type of job under my belt, we get on really well, and it all starts from inside so it's always warm! >>>> Oh, and if YOU get tempted by this sort of job, don't accept it. I have a little 20ft abseil tower in my garden so I can practice and test everything several times a month to be 100% in what I do <<<<

 

[eson]

@K in Kent i done exactly that at my second job today, quite a nice house, I took a look round with the owner last Friday and blurted out £45 for first clean and going forward £25 per month.. (I’ve had better money for smaller properties but those figures kind of just fell out.
It took me two hours this afternoon. Not the end of the world but when the owner paid me she even said ‘I thought you under priced it’ so she most likely would have accepted a higher quote. She also asked if I could just clean the glass next visit and not to worry about the frames and sills. Which to me seems strange as that’s all I’ve cleaned at any property so far when cleaning windows. It would almost seem like I’m only providing half a service??? Plus it’s all squeaky clean now anyway after todays first clean so it’s not like it would take me that much longer???
I did agree though…as that’s what she wanted ?

All a learning curve it could have been worse if I quoted even less

Last week a customer told me not to clean her inside lounge bay window because she had a little 2ft tall fibreoptic Christmas tree in there. Easy to move but no . . . not to clean. She has her reasons and who am I to argue as she of course paid in full

 

[K in Kent]

@K in Kent i done exactly that at my second job today, quite a nice house, I took a look round with the owner last Friday and blurted out £45 for first clean and going forward £25 per month.. (I’ve had better money for smaller properties but those figures kind of just fell out.
It took me two hours this afternoon. Not the end of the world but when the owner paid me she even said ‘I thought you under priced it’ so she most likely would have accepted a higher quote. She also asked if I could just clean the glass next visit and not to worry about the frames and sills. Which to me seems strange as that’s all I’ve cleaned at any property so far when cleaning windows. It would almost seem like I’m only providing half a service??? Plus it’s all squeaky clean now anyway after todays first clean so it’s not like it would take me that much longer???
I did agree though…as that’s what she wanted ?

All a learning curve it could have been worse if I quoted even less

People like that are the exception, not the rule..... But the thing about quoting isn't just about squeezing every last penny out of people. It's all money gained, not lost.
Of course we all want to maximise our earnings but it's about quoting a price that is fair to you and the customer - and one they'll be happy to continue paying on an ongoing basis. Repeat business is valuable to you.

 

[WombatPool]

The reason I wanted to get into window cleaning originally was because I needed my own windows cleaned when we spotted some windows cleaners working across the road so I approached them and asked if they had time could they pop over and do mine. He quoted me £10 and honestly I was shocked by the price. I ended up giving him £15 anyway but I was prepared to pay a fair bit more if that’s what they wanted for the job - I really needed them doing. But it got me thinking that maybe I should give window cleaning ago at some point…

The lady who gave me £60 instead of £45 volunteered the extra money, there’s no way Id ask for it, (if I was ever to ask for extra I do this before carrying out any work) but I only took it after saying ‘I feel cheeky taking extra from you after I quoted £45. She said don’t be silly you done an excellent job and really didn’t mind giving me £15 tip… She told me she’d had quotes from local window cleaners in the past and they was all too high so she never went ahead. Then I knock at the door and came in with what I’m guessing was a much lower price than what she’d been quoted in the past, so she accepted.

I guess i shouldn’t be too greedy though at this point especially as I’m still very much a newbie and learning the trade. It’s not like I have massive over heads and staff to pay. As long as I get paid a reasonable rate I’m happy.. I think because I had some good money on my first couple jobs I kind of thought that’s what I should aim to earn at every job in do in future. But I guess it’s swings and round abouts some come in at better money some a little less but the average should work out ok.. I’m looking forward to maintenance cleans which will start around the middle of this month - with a few bungalows all in one culd-de-sac, which I got very clean on last visit. I’m sure they will work out ok on prices. My lowest priced jobs are £20 pm so far with the vast majority on £25.

 

[WombatPool]

Had a call last week from someone wanting their solar panels cleaned. A new challenge for me and one I definitely didn’t want to miss. I went to take a look at them last week and cleaned one panel in front of the customer to see what results we could expect. He was very happy so when I got home I emailed him a price which they accepted. Cleaned them this morning and to be fair it went smoother than I thought it might of done at first… I guess it’s an extra string to the bow and something I’ll definitely clean again in future. Took me 2 hours…





Tell you what…..I’m enjoying every minute of this so far. Its all fresh and new and doesn’t feel like ‘work’ as such….. I’m sure once I’ve been going a while and built the round that could change, but at the moment, it’s an enjoyable ride!

 

[Part Timer]

Had a call last week from someone wanting their solar panels cleaned. A new challenge for me and one I definitely didn’t want to miss. I went to take a look at them last week and cleaned one panel in front of the customer to see what results we could expect. He was very happy so when I got home I emailed him a price which they accepted. Cleaned them this morning and to be fair it went smoother than I thought it might of done at first… I guess it’s an extra string to the bow and something I’ll definitely clean again in future. Took me 2 hours…

View attachment 27749View attachment 27750



Tell you what…..I’m enjoying every minute of this so far. Its all fresh and new and doesn’t feel like ‘work’ as such….. I’m sure once I’ve been going a while and built the round that could change, but at the moment, it’s an enjoyable ride!

Nice easy job on a bungalow, after a while the novelty does wear off but it's still a very rewarding job.

 

[Pjj]

Had a call last week from someone wanting their solar panels cleaned. A new challenge for me and one I definitely didn’t want to miss. I went to take a look at them last week and cleaned one panel in front of the customer to see what results we could expect. He was very happy so when I got home I emailed him a price which they accepted. Cleaned them this morning and to be fair it went smoother than I thought it might of done at first… I guess it’s an extra string to the bow and something I’ll definitely clean again in future. Took me 2 hours…

View attachment 27749View attachment 27750



Tell you what…..I’m enjoying every minute of this so far. Its all fresh and new and doesn’t feel like ‘work’ as such….. I’m sure once I’ve been going a while and built the round that could change, but at the moment, it’s an enjoyable ride!

You have done a good job there but if that was a house it would have been a lot more difficult when they have liken on them always allow more time and price very high