Job Pricing and minimum price . Am I too cheap??

[mfcleans]

Hi all, first post here...

Just want to ask some of you more experienced folk. So I'm just starting out on weekends out of my car with a backpack, I've priced two jobs and customers accepted both quotes. Started thinking maybe I was too cheap.
I'm in Wigan. All exterior window cleans only.

1st job is a 3 bed end terrace I priced at £20 first clean then £12.5 per month after that every (4 to 6 weeks) post code is WN50AF

2nd job is 6 windows, top floor only it's a flat one bed maybe two bed postcode is WN73ET.
Exterior window clean every two weeks. First clean I priced at £15 and then £10 every two weekly clean.

So am I too cheap? I figured if I am I could canvass neighbors or will get visibility and hopefully people asking do mine too and so on ?

 

[Part Timer]

I would think those prices are about right for your area however I'm no expert on Wigan

 

[P4dstar]

I would think those prices are about right for your area however I'm no expert on Wigan

There’s not much to be an expert on. They like pies and are cr4p at rugby ??‍

 

[Part Timer]

I always thought they were far better than the small team called St Helens ?

 

[Chris34]

Hi all, first post here...

Just want to ask some of you more experienced folk. So I'm just starting out on weekends out of my car with a backpack, I've priced two jobs and customers accepted both quotes. Started thinking maybe I was too cheap.
I'm in Wigan. All exterior window cleans only.

1st job is a 3 bed end terrace I priced at £20 first clean then £12.5 per month after that every (4 to 6 weeks) post code is WN50AF

2nd job is 6 windows, top floor only it's a flat one bed maybe two bed postcode is WN73ET.
Exterior window clean every two weeks. First clean I priced at £15 and then £10 every two weekly clean.

So am I too cheap? I figured if I am I could canvass neighbors or will get visibility and hopefully people asking do mine too and so on ?

For your area that seems ok to me. Personally, I think the price you can charge much depends on how much it costs to buy a house and live in the area. To explain what I mean well this house

2 bed terraced house for sale in Peter Street, Hindley, Wigan WN2 - Zoopla

2 bed terraced house for sale in Peter Street, Hindley, Wigan WN2, selling for £130,000 from Purplebricks, Head Office. See property details on Zoopla or browse all our range of properties in Peter Street, Hindley, Wigan WN2.

www.zoopla.co.uk

That looks like a nice house for a first time buyer. To buy that house you would need to be earning around £30k per year and save up a £10k deposit.

For me I charge £20 to clean a house like that each 4 weeks. But a house like that costs £300k+ where I am, so to buy a house like that where I am you would need to be earning £70k and save up a £30k deposit.

So if you're living in a high house price area, your price will need to be higher to afford to live in the area, but if the house prices are cheaper then you don't have to charge as much to live in that area.

In general, high house prices drive up the price of every trades persons price in the area and it's the same for window cleaners.

 

[P4dstar]

I always thought they were far better than the small team called St Helens ?

Well…. In St Helens on Saturday it’s grand final day, where the mighty saints attempt to win their 4th grand final in a row.

In Wigan on Saturday there might a farmers market or something. Who knows ?

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

Most of my work is in/around Grimsby which is quite an impoverished part of the UK, as a general rule of thumb my minimum price is £13 (with a few exceptions, naturally) for the lowest end work that I would take on, sounds bad but the same sized houses in nicer areas (basically where I think they have more money if I'm honest) the minimum is £15. I would imagine you'd be able to charge the same in your area

 

[DaveSalford]

Last time I was in Grimsby was 1998 you could buy fish and chips for 99p then.... Very good quality fish.. Those days are long gone now...

 

[mfcleans]

Nice one..

The house price idea makes sense ?

 

[Part Timer]

Well…. In St Helens on Saturday it’s grand final day, where the mighty saints attempt to win their 4th grand final in a row.

In Wigan on Saturday there might a farmers market or something. Who knows ?

I'm an 80's man and remember a very good Wigan team. You were probably running around in nappies then though

 

[Iron Giant]

Last time I was in Grimsby was 1998 you could buy fish and chips for 99p then.... Very good quality fish.. Those days are long gone now...

I was in Grimsby in 2019 and it lives up to it's name Grimsby by name Grimsby by nature

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Is there not alot of gas rigs off the coast of Grimsby?

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

Don't know but there's a lot of sharks...

Loan sharks

 

[Pjj]

Don't know but there's a lot of sharks...

Loan sharks

Years ago when I was driving trucks we had 2 20 ton steel girders on a flat bed trailer and were parked up in a layby for the night about 1:30 in the morning we woke up and Hurd a chain rattling got out of the cab and it was 6 guys trying to get the girders off the trailer , never did like Grimsby after that ????

 

[Yogi1872]

For your area that seems ok to me. Personally, I think the price you can charge much depends on how much it costs to buy a house and live in the area. To explain what I mean well this house

2 bed terraced house for sale in Peter Street, Hindley, Wigan WN2 - Zoopla

2 bed terraced house for sale in Peter Street, Hindley, Wigan WN2, selling for £130,000 from Purplebricks, Head Office. See property details on Zoopla or browse all our range of properties in Peter Street, Hindley, Wigan WN2.

www.zoopla.co.uk

That looks like a nice house for a first time buyer. To buy that house you would need to be earning around £30k per year and save up a £10k deposit.

For me I charge £20 to clean a house like that each 4 weeks. But a house like that costs £300k+ where I am, so to buy a house like that where I am you would need to be earning £70k and save up a £30k deposit.

So if you're living in a high house price area, your price will need to be higher to afford to live in the area, but if the house prices are cheaper then you don't have to charge as much to live in that area.

In general, high house prices drive up the price of every trades persons price in the area and it's the same for window cleaners.

They houses would be £6 to £7 where I work

 

[Chris34]

They houses would be £6 to £7 where I work

I wouldn't get too disheartened. When I first started 3 years ago I was quoting in an area where the previous window cleaner was charging them £6, my first job I got was £15 that was at a house that used to pay £6. I got several more, they were shocked but I stuck to my guns with my price. It was probably a good lesson to learn for me early on, that is just because 'that's how it's always been done' or 'that's the usual rate' well it doesn't mean that you have to follow the usual path. It's your business you can do what you want with it, charge what you want... People will pay more if you offer a better service.

 

[mfcleans]

Thanks for that... Agreed. Its hard to think how anyone could survive off that
I know there are people charging very similar to myself or higher in my area albeit my pricing structure is still a work in progress at least I know I'm in the right ball park more or less.
How much extra are you guys charging for first cleans? 50% 75% 100%??

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I received a call today from someone I used to clean. Big house with conny so I was charging a score a month. She dumped me for a guy charging her £15 a month. Turns out he never came back after covid and she's looking for a new cleaner. I said I would do it for twenty a month and she said I will think about it. The more I think about it the more I remember the big conny so I'm going to knock her back and say I don't have any spaces. ?

 

[spruce]

I was once told the gold standard of pricing @mfcleans

If you get every quote then you are too cheap. If you get none of the quotes you make, then you are too expensive.
If you get 60% of the quotes, your are on the right track. If you get 40% of the quotes then you have cracked it.

Now, when you are starting up you need all the work you can get, but not at any price. If you are charging £10 try £11. If you can get £11 or £12 then that's great. But be happy with your £10 clean. Accept it as part of the road way of your gaining experience. You can always raise the price later.

If one of the neighbours challenges your £10 clean when they are paying £12 for the same style of house, then you just say that you quoted incorrectly or it was an old price and your will need to increase their price shortly,

 

[ched999uk]

I received a call today from someone I used to clean. Big house with conny so I was charging a score a month. She dumped me for a guy charging her £15 a month. Turns out he never came back after covid and she's looking for a new cleaner. I said I would do it for twenty a month and she said I will think about it. The more I think about it the more I remember the big conny so I'm going to knock her back and say I don't have any spaces. ?

If she comes back say you are so sorry but you have just realised that you put your prices up a while ago and you quoted her incorrectly. The price should be £25.

 

[Chris34]

How much extra are you guys charging for first cleans? 50% 75% 100%??

I tend to charge double, but if it's a new build I might not charge any extra, if it's a house that the windows are not too bad then I just add 50%.

I've actually found charging double is an easier sell compared to charging 50% more. It's like you shock them with the first price and you can see it in their eyes, then when you tell them the regular price they breathe a sigh of relief and seem to just be more accepting of it.

I tell them that I'll clean all the sills with a pvc cleaner, in reality it's just the pink stuff with a magic sponge, but it helps justify the extra cost.

I don't know why but when I charge them 50% more they seem to have a look about them, like they can't justify why I'm charging extra.

If you feel confident enough you can just be blunt with them and say you're charging double because it takes longer on the first clean and by charging double it helps weed out those who are just looking for a one off clean, and just explain that you don't do one off cleans.