Price Increases Advice

[Aqua clean]

I’ve just taken 10% off all customers due to Covid. I’m not greedy.

 

[Iron Giant]

Its always the ones with an income that scales with inflation that complain when we do the same to the cost?

Got a cancellation yesterday from a job I cleaned on Monday, I had raised the job by £1 a year ago then 50p this week, nice couple nice house two new cars in recent months and I get dropped because they now have a Karcher ? ?
 

 

[Iron Giant]

I know you are similar to me with mostly GC payment customers, do you email them price increase or talk with them and then make the change or some other way? I’m looking to streamline as much as possible and love listening to peoples methods that are already tried and tested.

For the GC ones it's either face to face if I see them or a calling card through the door with the increase as off next clean, I just write £1 increase next clean never had an issue with this in over 4 years the odd custy which I forgot to drop a card through this week I just text them. 

 

 

[mike007]

I’ve just taken 10% off all customers due to Covid. I’m not greedy.

Got a cancellation yesterday from a job I cleaned on Monday, I had raised the job by £1 a year ago then 50p this week, nice couple nice house two new cars in recent months and I get dropped because they now have a Karcher ? ?
 

I will keep an eye on Ebay for it when they get rid.

 

[Iron Giant]

I will keep an eye on Ebay for it when they get rid.

They will or might do the downstairs but the uppers will end up minging, 

I had an old custy the other day they had cancel over a year ago for personal reasons, the downs were nice and clean but a quick glance to the uppers and they were filthy plus the sills were green. 

 

[Robt100]

Got a cancellation yesterday from a job I cleaned on Monday, I had raised the job by £1 a year ago then 50p this week, nice couple nice house two new cars in recent months and I get dropped because they now have a Karcher ? ?
 

Sounds like the typical modern 'fake money couple', nice house, new cars, but all on credit/PCH and probably not much worse off than someone on universal credit. Got a whole housing estate of those that I look after for someone at the moment. Funny how they have a 300k house, 100k worth of cars, but have to find someone cheaper when you put the price from a (very outdated) £10 up to a whole £12?

 

[Iron Giant]

Sounds like the typical modern 'fake money couple', nice house, new cars, but all on credit/PCH and probably not much worse off than someone on universal credit. Got a whole housing estate of those that I look after for someone at the moment. Funny how they have a 300k house, 100k worth of cars, but have to find someone cheaper when you put the price from a (very outdated) £10 up to a whole £12?

To be fair they had being decent custys for almost 4 years, some people have a change in circumstances but don't want to say.

I really don't mind as the ones that have piped up and said change in circumstances 9/10 have come back when things have improved for them

 

[swc1]

I raise prices every year. The cost of most goods and service increase, so does mine.

 

[chris70]

Just want to say cheers for all reply’s in the end I increased most houses by £2 and £3 pounds and few £5 and lost just 1 customer so far so very happy with that and as I get new cleans will go in at slightly higher price and see what happens 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I told them I might need to go vat registered to increase price from £6 to £7. I have a minimum £8 a clean but still have all my neighbours.

 

[Robt100]

Just want to say cheers for all reply’s in the end I increased most houses by £2 and £3 pounds and few £5 and lost just 1 customer so far so very happy with that and as I get new cleans will go in at slightly higher price and see what happens 

Great news Chris.

Im just starting the price rises at the moment, one wants to go 8 weekly rather than 4 so far, but apart from that everyone seems happy...

 

[Robt100]

Right then, a small update to my price rise 'cull'.

1 Village done, 32 properties, £250 worth of increases. 2 cancellations and one moved to 8 weekly.....not a bad result so far. Expecting that to drop off a bit over the next week as a few others get back to me, but I was planning along the lines of a 60% sucess rate. So to be at 94% so far is better than expected!

 

[Robt100]

Still going through the price rises, still too many people saying yes!
Though I finally got a no today...

"I am sad to say I will have to dispense with your window cleaning services . A rise of 100% is beyond reason and therefore I ask that you remove me from your round ."

The reason is 20 years without a price rise.....funniest bit is this comes from the one lady that told me I should charge more?

So far I have managed to get from 19 days work, to 10 days work for the same income. Still 5 or 6 days worth of price rises to do?

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

Still going through the price rises, still too many people saying yes!
Though I finally got a no today...

"I am sad to say I will have to dispense with your window cleaning services . A rise of 100% is beyond reason and therefore I ask that you remove me from your round ."

The reason is 20 years without a price rise.....funniest bit is this comes from the one lady that told me I should charge more?

So far I have managed to get from 19 days work, to 10 days work for the same income. Still 5 or 6 days worth of price rises to do?

This is amazing lad well done you!

 

[Robt100]

This is amazing lad well done you!

Thanks! I was quite apprehensive at first, but at the same time, it wasn't sustainable to continue with it how it was. So thought I would go what I assumed was 'high-risk' by jumping straight to modern pricing and expecting to loose 30-40% of the customers. So far from over 100 customers I've lost..........3? I've dropped another 15 or so because they didn't fit in with the rest of the round too. So including the ones I've dropped myself thats a 16% drop in customers. Should be approximately 70% more income though by the time I'm done at this rate.

 

[Iron Giant]

Thanks! I was quite apprehensive at first, but at the same time, it wasn't sustainable to continue with it how it was. So thought I would go what I assumed was 'high-risk' by jumping straight to modern pricing and expecting to loose 30-40% of the customers. So far from over 100 customers I've lost..........3? I've dropped another 15 or so because they didn't fit in with the rest of the round too. So including the ones I've dropped myself thats a 16% drop in customers. Should be approximately 70% more income though by the time I'm done at this rate.

I've not had to implement the increases you have, but I have this week thought " Chuck It In the Feck Bucket and bumped my prices up to what I really want them all to be, I was hoping to lose some jobs as I am still taking on jobs even though I am struggling to get around. 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I'm not taking anymore window cleaning work on, unless its next to a customer I do. I'm heading down the roof cleaning, spraying route because it seems to be a growing industry.

 

[Robt100]

I've not had to implement the increases you have, but I have this week thought " Chuck It In the Feck Bucket and bumped my prices up to what I really want them all to be, I was hoping to lose some jobs as I am still taking on jobs even though I am struggling to get around. 

I think sometimes it just has to be done. Especially in that scenario, the worst case would be that you loose the customers, which is what you are wanting anyway?. I think my biggest % increase so far is telling a lady her £5 bungalow will now be £13. Her reply "well I got away with it this cheap for long enough, might as well pay a normal price now", thats the kind of customer I like?

 

[NewGuy]

I've just taken on a new customer whose previous cleaner might have passed away. 

She was paying him £8 for a bungalow with conservatory. So she bulked dramatically when I quoted £26!

I still signed her up! 

There's really no excuse to do jobs that are undervalued but I think it's too soon for me to bring up some prices of customers that I only signed up last year. I have a handful of jobs that I priced very early on that are too low. 

 

[Iron Giant]

I've just taken on a new customer whose previous cleaner might have passed away. 

She was paying him £8 for a bungalow with conservatory. So she bulked dramatically when I quoted £26!

I still signed her up! 

There's really no excuse to do jobs that are undervalued but I think it's too soon for me to bring up some prices of customers that I only signed up last year. I have a handful of jobs that I priced very early on that are too low. 

If it's been a year so there isn't an issue with increasing prices, everything has gone up this past year inflation maybe lower but the price of almost everything has gone up, I don't usually pay attention to fuel prices but I'm sure diesel has gone up by about 10p a litre in recent weeks 

 

[NewGuy]

If it's been a year so there isn't an issue with increasing prices, everything has gone up this past year inflation maybe lower but the price of almost everything has gone up, I don't usually pay attention to fuel prices but I'm sure diesel has gone up by about 10p a litre in recent weeks 

I agree, I'm going to do it! 

Thanks for the encouragement.