One to walk away from

[Mcsandlaly]

Much prefer older property to clean from the view point that people who are not just starting out have a bit more cash, and tend to care for things like the windows. Younger people on new estates dont really have the cash to pay the mortgage so cant afford window cleaners. Steer clear of brand new estates till they have become established. Obviously larger houses, executive style I might be tempted to quote on. I quoted on a builders clean at Chatsworth a right mess in on the of the houses on the estate I gave a day rate, they laughed and so I was back in the van on to my next job happy as larry. Dont quote on builders cleans unlesss it will pay for a small holiday it will only give you grief..............

 

[scottish cleaning service]

This morning I was helping a friend paint her hall. We got talking about her window cleaner and how much they charge and how often. She told me its £4 a fortnight and they only do fortnights and I am far to cheap. I am charging a fiver a month and will be increasing it for new customers only.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

This morning I was helping a friend paint her hall. We got talking about her window cleaner and how much they charge and how often. She told me its £4 a fortnight and they only do fortnights and I am far to cheap. I am charging a fiver a month and will be increasing it for new customers only.

It's times like this I hope you're joking @scottish cleaning service of course what you charge is up to you but how do you justify turning the key in the van for a fiver? 

I'm currently working for a couple of lads in Scotland (digital canvassing) and picking up ground floor flats at £13.  2 / 3 bed semis at £14-£15. (Add more for conny) and so on. 

Sorry mate but charging a fiver just shows you put no serious value in work. 

 

[P4dstar]

It's times like this I hope you're joking @scottish cleaning service of course what you charge is up to you but how do you justify turning the key in the van for a fiver? 

I'm currently working for a couple of lads in Scotland (digital canvassing) and picking up ground floor flats at £13.  2 / 3 bed semis at £14-£15. (Add more for conny) and so on. 

Sorry mate but charging a fiver just shows you put no serious value in work. 

I always try and steer clear of these conversations about how much you should or shouldn't charge usually but yeah £5 isn't worth getting out of bed for. I get that people charge different prices all over the country etc etc but the houses take as long to clean wherever you are. My mums bob a job windy charges £2 for the front of a 2 bed terrace, that's all he offers, never does the backs. He's on ladders and there for 3/4 minutes so he's probably making a decent little wage to be fair. Difference is you've invested in decent equipment and you're trying to run a professional business or at least thats the impression I got, it does sound like you're undervaluing yourself although you didn't say the size of the property in your defence.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

you didn't say the size of the property in your defence.

Does not matter even if one small ground floor window.  You still have vehicle running and maintenance costs. Tools and equipment costs. Office cost (phone internet brochures etc) and on the list goes.  

I do apologise for the 'my way' attitude here but £5?? It's not even worth knocking the door to start with.  

 

[Dave Shaw]

 
Does not matter even if one small ground floor window.  You still have vehicle running and maintenance costs. Tools and equipment costs. Office cost (phone internet brochures etc) and on the list goes.  
 
I do apologise for the 'my way' attitude here but £5?? It's not even worth knocking the door to start with.  

You will find that it’s the oldschool cheaper guys with good established compact rounds that have set the standard for hourly rates easily being able to achieve £30-£60 an hour doing £5/6/7 jobs. I know this because I’ve done it my self. No disrespect to you Darren but your just trying to keep up with them by HAVING to charge high prices because your work is so spread out and spend more time driving/ setting up etc. They are not driving prices down as they were around long before the runabout lads but the newer lads are putting prices up so they can compete with the hourly rates. All is good though as I come across as being cheap compared to some of the crazy prices going about in my area and still probs getting a better hourly rate than most of em because of the quality of my work. This is no means an arguement or attack on any individual but just pointing out that getting out of bed for a fiver is VERY profitable with the right kind of work but I can certainly see why some would find it impossible to make a profit by charging them rates.


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[wee man]

You will find that it’s the oldschool cheaper guys with good established compact rounds that have set the standard for hourly rates easily being able to achieve £30-£60 an hour doing £5/6/7 jobs. I know this because I’ve done it my self. No disrespect to you Darren but your just trying to keep up with them by HAVING to charge high prices because your work is so spread out and spend more time driving/ setting up etc. They are not driving prices down as they were around long before the runabout lads but the newer lads are putting prices up so they can compete with the hourly rates. All is good though as I come across as being cheap compared to some of the crazy prices going about in my area and still probs getting a better hourly rate than most of em because of the quality of my work. This is no means an arguement or attack on any individual but just pointing out that getting out of bed for a fiver is VERY profitable with the right kind of work but I can certainly see why some would find it impossible to make a profit by charging them rates.


Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

The thing is them £5 jobs have probably been that price for 20 years or more so in real terms everything else has went up apart from your wages.

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

The thing is them £5 jobs have probably been that price for 20 years or more so in real terms everything else has went up apart from your wages.

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

Your work has went from amazingly well paid work years ago to just average hourly rate for window cleaners now.

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[Clisty1989]

I have 3 £5 jobs, 2 are family and 1 is a front with 3 windows and a door about 250m from my house, in the middle of 5 jobs. My father in law has a run of 50 fronts over 3/4 mile on one road, and another 60 over a mile on same road. He charged £4 a front, and we can do them in 3 hours. They going up to a fiver in the new year

He been doing them 20 years, when I started they were £2 a front, I've been forcing him to up prices, albeit slowly.

 

[Dave Shaw]

Your work has went from amazingly well paid work years ago to just average hourly rate for window cleaners now.

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20 years ago £5 jobs would have been £3/4 jobs so they have gone up but not much as they dont need to. Don’t get me wrong I do have my fair share of high priced work. Some commercials we do bring in £100+ per hour. Only this week I got a call from a lady desperate for a cleaner. She was a couple of miles out of my area so I told her it wasn’t worth me going over for one house. She said name your price and didn’t mind paying extra to cover travelling costs so I went to have a look. I quoted her £25 per clean for an 8 weekly cycle. It’s a three bed semi with 9 windows, 2 doors and a set of patios. Really it should only take two of us a few mins to clean but with travelling your looking at a good twenty mins to half hour depending on traffic hence the price. This is one of the reasons why their is such a massive difference in prices. One thing that remains a constant though is hourly rates regardless of what you charge.


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[wee man]

20 years ago £5 jobs would have been £3/4 jobs so they have gone up but not much as they dont need to. Don’t get me wrong I do have my fair share of high priced work. Some commercials we do bring in £100+ per hour. Only this week I got a call from a lady desperate for a cleaner. She was a couple of miles out of my area so I told her it wasn’t worth me going over for one house. She said name your price and didn’t mind paying extra to cover travelling costs so I went to have a look. I quoted her £25 per clean for an 8 weekly cycle. It’s a three bed semi with 9 windows, 2 doors and a set of patios. Really it should only take two of us a few mins to clean but with travelling your looking at a good twenty mins to half hour depending on traffic hence the price. This is one of the reasons why their is such a massive difference in prices. One thing that remains a constant though is hourly rates regardless of what you charge.


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I'm out atm so this will be a quick one. In 20 years the cost of living has probably doubled so to stay on the same wages all you calls should of near doubled ( or there abouts)

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[Dave Shaw]

I'm out atm so this will be a quick one. In 20 years the cost of living has probably doubled so to stay on the same wages all you calls should of near doubled ( or there abouts)

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

Your talking turnover now and not individual prices. Two very different things. Over the last twenty years our turnover has gone from roughly £25 per hour to £40/50 per hour so pretty much in line with your calculations and even though individual prices may not have doubled the turnover has for various other reasons. . As Ive said many times individual prices are not the main concern, it’s your turnover and profits that you should be more bothered about.


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[wee man]

Your talking turnover now and not individual prices. Two very different things. Over the last twenty years our turnover has gone from roughly £25 per hour to £40/50 per hour so pretty much in line with your calculations and even though individual prices may not have doubled the turnover has for various other reasons. . As Ive said many times individual prices are not the main concern, it’s your turnover and profits that you should be more bothered about.


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Well the fiver houses are getting it easy, everything else goes up apart from there window cleaner lol

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[scottish cleaning service]

I like the fiver cleans because you don't need to mess about with change. If you are go cashless then the price is immaterial and you could raise prices with inflation.

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

I like the fiver cleans because you don't need to mess about with change. If you are go cashless then the price is immaterial and you could raise prices with inflation.

Make them £10 cleans. Still no change. ?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Make them £10 cleans. Still no change. ?

I have £5, £10 and £15 cleans but still have one £8 clean. Will need to have a rethink.

 

[Dave Shaw]

Well the fiver houses are getting it easy, everything else goes up apart from there window cleaner lol

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

I wouldn’t say easy but more lucky that they have a cleaner with a good enough round to be able to do that. Tbh a fiver for a downstairs flat with probs 4 windows or so that will take a couple of minutes ain’t bad. You should easy be doin at least ten of them an hour unless you cover more ground than Christopher Columbus.


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[scottish cleaning service]

The good thing regarding the fiver cleans, you never get any hassle. They know if they give you a hard time you just tell them to get someone else. Months later they still don't have anyone and become embarrassed to ask you.

 

[P4dstar]

Does not matter even if one small ground floor window.  You still have vehicle running and maintenance costs. Tools and equipment costs. Office cost (phone internet brochures etc) and on the list goes.  

I do apologise for the 'my way' attitude here but £5?? It's not even worth knocking the door to start with.  

I'm with you dude, I ain't getting out of bed for a fiver!

20 years ago £5 jobs would have been £3/4 jobs so they have gone up but not much as they dont need to.

You see the problem is 20 years ago a Freddo was 10p, it's now as much as 35p so a £3 job 20 years ago should be £10.50 ?

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

No disrespect to you Darren 

But yet you feel the need to comment on me again. 

your just trying to keep up with them by HAVING

I could charge £2 and a toffee crisp if I wanted by why would I bother doing 3 times the work?  You need 3 times the customers to do the same turnover we do. 

because your work is so spread out and spend more time driving/ setting up

You have no idea about my rounds yet you still try to make an example of me amd my methods.  We may cover a 15 mile radius but once we've driven to work for the day the van wont move more than 2 miles. 

setting up etc

LMAO.  Open side door, Grab pole, walk to back of house (gates all open as we always text) clean windows, wind up hose, put pole in, next job.  

What 'set up, etc'? 

Yet just more of you being tedious Dave.  HOWEVER -- AND TAKE THIS OFFER SERIOUSLY -- Whenever you like you know my address, come spend a day in our van and perhaps you may realize that your way is NOT the only way, perhaps there is an 'alternative' way.  AND YES, THAT'S A SERIOUS OFFER!

Regarding the hourly rates you quote above, you may well do that whilst 'on the tools' as do we, however you aren't  earning a penny for all the walking round collecting you claimed you do in a previous post so dont forget to deduct those hours.  Not necessary with cashless collections. 

 

[Dave Shaw]

 
LMAO.  Open side door, Grab pole, walk to back of house (gates all open as we always text) clean windows, wind up hose, put pole in, next job.  
 
What 'set up, etc'? 
 
Yet just more of you being tedious Dave.  HOWEVER -- AND TAKE THIS OFFER SERIOUSLY -- Whenever you like you know my address, come spend a day in our van and perhaps you may realize that your way is NOT the only way, perhaps there is an 'alternative' way.  AND YES, THAT'S A SERIOUS OFFER!
 
Regarding the hourly rates you quote above, you may well do that whilst 'on the tools' as do we, however you aren't  earning a penny for all the walking round collecting you claimed you do in a previous post so dont forget to deduct those hours.  Not necessary with cashless collections. 

I never said my way was the only way, quite the opposite as I was just pointing out that you don’t have to charge top end to make a crust. Some do, some don’t. Just don’t get why you don’t accept that.


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[Part Timer]

I just don't understand my way is best. I clean windows in a different way to the pair of you. I don't insist on this that and the other, I don't clean 10 fronts an hour at £5 a pop. What I do do is clean windows and earn far more than anyone else that does a manual job. Tough ? if you disagree, and you can both tell me I'm wrong and my reply will be I've been married for 35 years and every day the Wife tells me I'm wrong. Never listened to her bitching and you have even less chance of me listening to either one of you. I do however respect that you both run successful business's and just wish you would give each other the respect you both deserve