Hello everyone!

[AJ Fry]

Hi Neil, as I said on the phone to you yesterday most of these £4 - £5 'bob a job' lads come out of hibernation in the spring, top up their beer money for the summer and come late autumn sell rounds on for 3 or 4 times a clean to tide them over till the weather thaws again then start building another junk pocket money round. 

I've said it at least once (possibly more times) before, there has been an actual shift the past couple of years in the British Consumer, people are starting to value quality and reliability over the 'cheapest price' 

This has been proven time and time again up and down the country.  

When I first joined this forum I was doing 3 bed semis at £8 - £10 per clean (2010, 2011) now our minimum for a 3 bed semi is £14 (typical ex council style)  I had loads of replies on here to posts about pricing even back in 2011 with people saying 'You won't get that round here, the going rate is......'    Then something twigged in the old grey matter......   the going rate is WHATEVER you decide it is for your service.    

If I listened to half the pricing nonsense I've heard on F'B and some forums I'd be thinking £4 a house or £5 with a conservatory was acceptable..  

The one thing to avoid is thinking you need to close EVERY deal regardless and becoming a bargain basement window cleaner.  Pick and chose the clients you want from the off and life runs much smoother.  

8 years ago I was told £5 was the going rate for a 3 bed semi here in the Midlands even though I was charging £8.....  Now today at a minimum of £14 I get comments on posts and Youtube vids with lads gone the other extreme of 'That's too cheap, that's £25 minimum up here'   So you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Set a pricing structure early on that you're happy with and stand by and to hell with what anyone else thinks of the price, they aren't putting food on your table.  

Now sit back and wait for the 'Oh yeah but if the works compact then those prices..... blah, blah, blah'     Total nonsense.   The price of a 3 bed semi should be the same as the price of a 3 bed semi weather you got one on the road or 10.  

Remember, it all starts with just 1.  

This is such good information and something even though I'm in my very first few weeks of business have seen, and I'm appreciating straight away the importance of you own pricing system and ignore the rest.

I live in middle class suburbia between Southampton and Portsmouth, people here are cash rich and time poor, meaning they'll pay for convenience. However trying to make head nor tail of what window cleaners charge in my area is beyond me. Ive got customers who own 2 bed bungalows telling me I'm too cheap at £16 a clean every 4 weeks to pricing a 5 bed detached at £24 and saying they've had quotes for £15 every 8 weeks! there are many more examples of inconsistent pricing and as i'm new and want to turn every enquiry into a job I'm quickly realising rather than trying to second guess how much people will pay or cut a deal, I'm simply gonna know how much a 3 bed is how much a 4 bed and so on. As my reputation grows and word of mouth spreads, turn up in a polite and professional manner, people will pay what you charge and the industry is definitely changing and people don't always go for the cheapest price, and if they do they soon regret it and get back in touch as the cheaper guy simply wasn't reliable or thorough. 

However it certainly isn't easy letting enquiries go as they've gone with a cheaper quote but in the long run having a pricing system in place from day one is the way to go.

 

[Pit Creature]

Gave my first quote out today...

bottom floor flat with a bay window on the front, tricky access at the back with about 4 windows at the back. I said £10 including frames etc... She thought that was way too high and only normally paid £6. I wouldn’t have gone that low anyway but did I go in too high??

 

[Part Timer]

Gave my first quote out today...

bottom floor flat with a bay window on the front, tricky access at the back with about 4 windows at the back. I said £10 including frames etc... She thought that was way too high and only normally paid £6. I wouldn’t have gone that low anyway but did I go in too high??

Personally would have said I would go as low as £8 and then walked away if she stuck to £6. You would more than likely picked up others. 

 

[Pit Creature]

Personally would have said I would go as low as £8 and then walked away if she stuck to £6. You would more than likely picked up others. 

Cheers. I would’ve gone to £8 for the windows without the frames but when she said £6 I didn’t think it was worth haggling. Oh well, she sounded a bit grumpy anyway!

 

[P4dstar]

Cheers. I would’ve gone to £8 for the windows without the frames but when she said £6 I didn’t think it was worth haggling. Oh well, she sounded a bit grumpy anyway!

Sounds like she was haggling on the price of a one off clean and wanted £6... Only because you said she usually pays £6.

First things first, there is a reason the usual £6 guy has stopped coming. Perhaps she cancelled regularly. Perhaps his prices went up and he can't be bothered to tell her. Perhaps she's just a nightmare to work for.... Who knows.

I'll give you a tip that works for me. When you turn up, before you start discussing prices ask how often they want them cleaned. Some will say ''how often do you recommend'' in which case I say ''I normally come every 4 weeks, keeps the windows clean basically all the time unless a bird ? on them. Each clean is cheaper for 4 week customers''.... Go in with whatever is reasonable for 4 weeks. If they want every 8 weeks or they say every couple of months or something then just tell them both the 4 week and 8 week prices. This way if they are comparing you in their head to a price they've seen online they understand why you are more. For example there is a guy in Gloucester who charges double for first cleans, 2 bed semi for £12.50, 3 bed semi for £15... and so on. He's open about his prices and he seems cheap but they are actually only for monthly customers, he sticks £7 on for 2 monthly so over there I make sure they know they can have a price as low as £12 for example but I am charging £17 because they don't want them done every month.

Here's the tricky one, they may say ''Just this once'' or my personal favourite ''Let's have them done and then see how it goes'' How it goes mr or mrs customer is your price just shot up because how it goes means I'll call you when I need you, probably twice a year. I don't try and badger these people into taking a regular service I just tell them a price and that it would be cheaper if they had them done regularly. If they catch me in the street I usually tell them I don't really do one off cleans and they tend to take the hint.

 

[Part Timer]

Cheers. I would’ve gone to £8 for the windows without the frames but when she said £6 I didn’t think it was worth haggling. Oh well, she sounded a bit grumpy anyway!

£8 for a proper job in the NE for a ground floor flat is a decent price, probably good enough for me to take it on if I was looking for work in the area. If she is was a nightmare and wanted a one off then fine, you've earned £8 and advertised your services in the area. She might have been genuine, every time I get my insurance I say I only paid X last time, and you might have picked up the flat above for a tenner. It's great sticking to your price if you're busy, sometimes you might need to lower the bar, slightly, to get the work rolling. 

What I will say is I wouldn't do glass only for the sake of a few quid. If the job isn't worth doing properly it's not worth doing at all. I will drop prices but never standards. Keep going you'll get there. 

 

[Pit Creature]

£8 for a proper job in the NE for a ground floor flat is a decent price, probably good enough for me to take it on if I was looking for work in the area. If she is was a nightmare and wanted a one off then fine, you've earned £8 and advertised your services in the area. She might have been genuine, every time I get my insurance I say I only paid X last time, and you might have picked up the flat above for a tenner. It's great sticking to your price if you're busy, sometimes you might need to lower the bar, slightly, to get the work rolling. 

What I will say is I wouldn't do glass only for the sake of a few quid. If the job isn't worth doing properly it's not worth doing at all. I will drop prices but never standards. Keep going you'll get there. 

It’s a learning curve I suppose. Can’t win em all! I doubt she would’ve gone to £8 anyway though.

 

[Part Timer]

It’s a learning curve I suppose. Can’t win em all! I doubt she would’ve gone to £8 anyway though.

Exactly and if you aren't prepared to negotiate you might not find where the price is. If, when you get busier, the £8 price is  poor drop her or give her the option. As I said earlier if she stuck to the £6 then walk away. 

 

[Pit Creature]

Got my first customer today! ?

 

[P4dstar]

Got my first customer today! ?

Well done pal!

 

[Incheck]

 
Hi Neil, as I said on the phone to you yesterday most of these £4 - £5 'bob a job' lads come out of hibernation in the spring, top up their beer money for the summer and come late autumn sell rounds on for 3 or 4 times a clean to tide them over till the weather thaws again then start building another junk pocket money round. 
 
I've said it at least once (possibly more times) before, there has been an actual shift the past couple of years in the British Consumer, people are starting to value quality and reliability over the 'cheapest price' 
 
This has been proven time and time again up and down the country.  
 
When I first joined this forum I was doing 3 bed semis at £8 - £10 per clean (2010, 2011) now our minimum for a 3 bed semi is £14 (typical ex council style)  I had loads of replies on here to posts about pricing even back in 2011 with people saying 'You won't get that round here, the going rate is......'    Then something twigged in the old grey matter......   the going rate is WHATEVER you decide it is for your service.    
 
If I listened to half the pricing nonsense I've heard on F'B and some forums I'd be thinking £4 a house or £5 with a conservatory was acceptable..  
 
The one thing to avoid is thinking you need to close EVERY deal regardless and becoming a bargain basement window cleaner.  Pick and chose the clients you want from the off and life runs much smoother.  
 
8 years ago I was told £5 was the going rate for a 3 bed semi here in the Midlands even though I was charging £8.....  Now today at a minimum of £14 I get comments on posts and Youtube vids with lads gone the other extreme of 'That's too cheap, that's £25 minimum up here'   So you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
 
Set a pricing structure early on that you're happy with and stand by and to hell with what anyone else thinks of the price, they aren't putting food on your table.  
 
Now sit back and wait for the 'Oh yeah but if the works compact then those prices..... blah, blah, blah'     Total nonsense.   The price of a 3 bed semi should be the same as the price of a 3 bed semi weather you got one on the road or 10.  
 
Remember, it all starts with just 1.  

I’m with you all the way on this. One of the hurdles we are facing in this industry is that the price of the market isn’t rising to meet the cost of living, it gets harder to compete when people are charging shrapnel. I went to view a bungalow the other day, the fella said his window cleaner hadnt been for a few months. The windows were still in good nick but was a fair size with a few skylights and multiple sets of patio doors (probably close to 30 windows in all looking back on it) i priced it up at £25. He said the other guy was charging £4 & doing it trad. I said to him “that’s why he’s gone missing as he’s not making any money on the job. I can not compete with that sorry”
It’s gotta be worth getting out of bed for hasn’t it [emoji85]


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[noobwc]

Got my first customer today! ?

Nice one mate ? hopefully it is a sign of things to come 

 

[Dave Shaw]

I’m with you all the way on this. One of the hurdles we are facing in this industry is that the price of the market isn’t rising to meet the cost of living, it gets harder to compete when people are charging shrapnel. I went to view a bungalow the other day, the fella said his window cleaner hadnt been for a few months. The windows were still in good nick but was a fair size with a few skylights and multiple sets of patio doors (probably close to 30 windows in all looking back on it) i priced it up at £25. He said the other guy was charging £4 & doing it trad. I said to him “that’s why he’s gone missing as he’s not making any money on the job. I can not compete with that sorry”
It’s gotta be worth getting out of bed for hasn’t it [emoji85]


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The thing is the trad guy would have been doing glass only and wouldn’t have touched the skylights. He probs would of had a lot of work in the immediate area and with that in mind could probs do 5/6 of them kind of jobs in the time it would have taken you to do just that one. So his hourly rate wouldn’t have been much different to yours. This is the way it’s been done for decades and is still being done now. The difference is lads need to travel more now to get work and also offer more on terms of service which all adds up to higher prices. You can’t knock someone for doing what they’ve been doing for years. We all know that times change but for some they don’t. That’s just the way it is and I wouldn’t waste time worrying about something that you cannot change.


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[Incheck]

The thing is the trad guy would have been doing glass only and wouldn’t have touched the skylights. He probs would of had a lot of work in the immediate area and with that in mind could probs do 5/6 of them kind of jobs in the time it would have taken you to do just that one. So his hourly rate wouldn’t have been much different to yours. This is the way it’s been done for decades and is still being done now. The difference is lads need to travel more now to get work and also offer more on terms of service which all adds up to higher prices. You can’t knock someone for doing what they’ve been doing for years. We all know that times change but for some they don’t. That’s just the way it is and I wouldn’t waste time worrying about something that you cannot change.


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I know what you’re saying dude, seen the glass only jobs in my time but he clearly did a very good job as all the frames were sparkling! When he said he hadnt been for a few months i was very surprised. I just thought to myself “come on mate...it’s gotta be worth more than that”
I’m very grateful that there are well paying ad-ons and people who are willing to pay well for seriously boggy first cleans. In terms of growing rounds though i do wonder sometimes if there’s anything left in the game. There’s just so much competition these days. Still it’s been a good week, time to enjoy the weekend [emoji41] have a good un dudes!


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[scottish cleaning service]

Picked up that church I was working on, for 3 monthly cleans. A hundred a day I charge them so I will charge the same for the 3 monthly window cleans. I did a bit of softwashing and the priest was over the moon with difference. I'm glad I did it so he can see the difference and wants the whole church done. Might end up getting all the churches in the diocese just by doing an extra bit for free. Sometimes these things happen just by chance and more dominos begin to fall.

 

[Dave Shaw]

I know what you’re saying dude, seen the glass only jobs in my time but he clearly did a very good job as all the frames were sparkling! When he said he hadnt been for a few months i was very surprised. I just thought to myself “come on mate...it’s gotta be worth more than that”
I’m very grateful that there are well paying ad-ons and people who are willing to pay well for seriously boggy first cleans. In terms of growing rounds though i do wonder sometimes if there’s anything left in the game. There’s just so much competition these days. Still it’s been a good week, time to enjoy the weekend [emoji41] have a good un dudes!


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A lot of times I’ve found that custys that tell you they haven’t seen their windy for ages etc are usually bad eggs themselves and it’s the windy that’s binned them off. It’s very rare that you will find cleaners that just give up work. They was probs just playin you for a cheaper price than the last guy. I had one recently that turned out to be a bad payer. They told me when I first took them on that they binned the last guy cos he didn’t do a good job. I have since spoke to their last guy and he said he binned them for bein bad payers.