Pricing past and present

[Windamon]

georgian windows huh.plastic on the outside with no conservatory round the back £12.plastic on the inside £8.shud take 15 mins max.

 

[Pjj]

You are right there. It also depends on the amount of window cleaners you have in the area as @Part Timer also mentioned on one of his posts.

On Teesside I would try to get £10 every 6 weeks, but this is more like a £9 house for us. 

I have mentioned this before, we have lost a few £10 jobs of late because a fellow windie has quoted cheaper. We have a lot of unlettered WFP vans running around that I haven't seen before with a window cleaner I don't recognise. So competition plays an important part. Customer perception and local gossip also has a bearing on prices.

I've also had experience with the local job center encouraging job seekers to become window cleaners. They have been told to buy a cheap applicator, squeegee, bucket and cloths and target bungalows. Offer to clean windows for a couple of pounds. Don't worry about their existing cleaners as they can afford to loose some customers to you. Keep a list of your customers and build them up until you have enough work for 16 or 24 hours a week. The government will make up your monthly shortfall to a living wage and the council will do their bit as well. Sorted.

I feel for you that’s a difficult thing to deal with . I find that most of my customers will not take cheaper quotes as they are loyal to us and know we will turn up do a good job and we are honest , that counts for a lot , ime not the cheapest and when quoting if they say I have had a cheaper price will you match it the answer is no , some will still have us although we are dearer some won’t , ime lucky I have been going over 20 years and don’t need more work , we obviously need to replace work as people move or die but I turn down 90% of enquiry’s now as we have more than enough work , 

 

[fast_muchly]

I think what sums this all up it depends very much on local area and what I mean by that is Local doesn't mean Nottingham it means exactly to within a few miles of where you clean .

Around here there is no money all the pits have closed and all the Hosiery factorys have shut there is no money in the area . Trust me you windies who would clean this and get £20 are In a dream world but its the going rate I get it in more affluent areas esp down south .

What is worth remembering is your wages down there are usually a lot more and living costs . Someone around London cant tell a window cleaner up here he is doing it all wrong at £8 or £10 an hour if they live outside of area .

Remember I do this for £10 now having put it up last year by £2 but I cant put it up again for a few years .

If im being honest if I said £12 to most of them next april I would guess 60% would accept it maybe even more but I would lose a lot if I quoted £15 even if they were a fresh customer they wont accept that trust me , I don't bust a gut as im 53 and tradding it rougly takes about 20-25 mins I don't run up the ladders these days .

 

[Pjj]

I think what sums this all up it depends very much on local area and what I mean by that is Local doesn't mean Nottingham it means exactly to within a few miles of where you clean .

Around here there is no money all the pits have closed and all the Hosiery factorys have shut there is no money in the area . Trust me you windies who would clean this and get £20 are In a dream world but its the going rate I get it in more affluent areas esp down south .

What is worth remembering is your wages down there are usually a lot more and living costs . Someone around London cant tell a window cleaner up here he is doing it all wrong at £8 or £10 an hour if they live outside of area .

Remember I do this for £10 now having put it up last year by £2 but I cant put it up again for a few years .

If im being honest if I said £12 to most of them next april I would guess 60% would accept it maybe even more but I would lose a lot if I quoted £15 even if they were a fresh customer they wont accept that trust me , I don't bust a gut as im 53 and tradding it rougly takes about 20-25 mins I don't run up the ladders these days .

Areas do differ , but sometimes it’s better to have 10 jobs £10 than  20 jobs at £5  less work , more money , less hassle, ime lucky where I am competition is minimal and they are unreliable and do a poor job , we do have loads of multi million pound properties on our books although to look at the places you would never believe it , sometimes people like this are worse to get money from than poorer areas , we do some work on a council estate and prices there are £2 per house more that the privately owned ones we do on another estate , and all are good payers . Strange but true. 

 

[Windamon]

10 jobs £10.20 jobs £5. er still same money. lol.
 

Areas do differ , but sometimes it’s better to have 10 jobs £10 than  20 jobs at £5  less work , more money , less hassle, ime lucky where I am competition is minimal and they are unreliable and do a poor job , we do have loads of multi million pound properties on our books although to look at the places you would never believe it , sometimes people like this are worse to get money from than poorer areas , we do some work on a council estate and prices there are £2 per house more that the privately owned ones we do on another estate , and all are good payers . Strange but true. 

 

[fast_muchly]

I think the point he is making is your not working twice as hard to get your amount , which is a valid point . This can go on and on but there is a middle ground of whats realistic to charge depending on the area you work in its all having a bit of common sense really .

 

[laddergarder]

@fast_muchly I completely agree. It would take me about half an hour to do that also. I also agree where you are coming from on the area to area point.

But the truth is they wont pay more because you are charging less. The fact that you put the prices up by £2. Tells me you also beleive its worth a good bit more than £8.

I have some low priced stuff Ive been doing for years the same as yourself, and I will be hard pressed to get £1.50 pw on those jobs. But when you start walking away when new customers want it for £1 a window, you will be surprised how much new customers (who have not used you before) will pay. 

Then when new clients a paying £1.50 and you have old ones paying 70p you will ready to give them the boot if they dont want to pay a good bit more for your time.

 

[fast_muchly]

@fast_muchly I completely agree. It would take me about half an hour to do that also. I also agree where you are coming from on the area to area point.

But the truth is they wont pay more because you are charging less. The fact that you put the prices up by £2. Tells me you also beleive its worth a good bit more than £8.

I have some low priced stuff Ive been doing for years the same as yourself, and I will be hard pressed to get £1.50 pw on those jobs. But when you start walking away when new customers want it for £1 a window, you will be surprised how much new customers (who have not used you before) will pay. 

Then when new clients a paying £1.50 and you have old ones paying 70p you will ready to give them the boot if they dont want to pay a good bit more for your time.

That's what I did I charged the new walk ups asking me if I would do them £10 , I wasn't bothered if they walked away as im not under pressure my round is full . So after a few accepted £10 I thought this is getting difficult as neighbours talk ( exactly same house know what  I mean ) so next April 6th I put them all up to same amount in 2 years I will hike them up again to £12 .

At the moment though round is full and age im at im mindfull of my knees ( ladderwork ) so im not so much after the houses, more the gold dust bungalows and taking my private pension around 55-58 years old and drop all my houses and keep the bungalows on .

 

[Potta81]

That's what I did I charged the new walk ups asking me if I would do them £10 , I wasn't bothered if they walked away as im not under pressure my round is full . So after a few accepted £10 I thought this is getting difficult as neighbours talk ( exactly same house know what  I mean ) so next April 6th I put them all up to same amount in 2 years I will hike them up again to £12 .

At the moment though round is full and age im at im mindfull of my knees ( ladderwork ) so im not so much after the houses, more the gold dust bungalows and taking my private pension around 55-58 years old and drop all my houses and keep the bungalows on .

U can’t beat getting a bungalow when still trad. First thing I think is “no ladder work for 20 odd min” lol. Unfortunately I’d say only 7-8% of my work is bungalows tho.

 

[spruce]

That's what I did I charged the new walk ups asking me if I would do them £10 , I wasn't bothered if they walked away as im not under pressure my round is full . So after a few accepted £10 I thought this is getting difficult as neighbours talk ( exactly same house know what  I mean ) so next April 6th I put them all up to same amount in 2 years I will hike them up again to £12 .

At the moment though round is full and age im at im mindfull of my knees ( ladderwork ) so im not so much after the houses, more the gold dust bungalows and taking my private pension around 55-58 years old and drop all my houses and keep the bungalows on .

I'm with @Pjj with regard to pricing and a full round. We don't want more jobs so it doesn't bother me if a little bit of my work drips off to a cheaper opposition or a walkup thinks I'm too expensive. But at one time we were short of work. My son joined the business 2 months before the credit crunch of 2008 having left full time employment for this.

Trust me, those were very stressful times worrying about what might happen when British Steel, a major employer on Teesside, decided to shut up shop effecting around 3000 permanent employees and another 2000 indirect wage earners. When you want work you are more likely to go in lower and 'play the customer's game.'

I understand the concept of having one better paying job for £50 than 10 x £5 jobs, but its easy to start to find all your eggs gravitating into one basket. We've been there. When a major job suddenly finishes unexpectedly you are left with nothing. If 2 of those 15 stop its not a train smash.

 

[Pjj]

That's what I did I charged the new walk ups asking me if I would do them £10 , I wasn't bothered if they walked away as im not under pressure my round is full . So after a few accepted £10 I thought this is getting difficult as neighbours talk ( exactly same house know what  I mean ) so next April 6th I put them all up to same amount in 2 years I will hike them up again to £12 .

At the moment though round is full and age im at im mindfull of my knees ( ladderwork ) so im not so much after the houses, more the gold dust bungalows and taking my private pension around 55-58 years old and drop all my houses and keep the bungalows on .

why not invest in wfp much easier on the body especially if only doing estate type houses .

 

[ks789]

You are right there. It also depends on the amount of window cleaners you have in the area as @Part Timer also mentioned on one of his posts.

On Teesside I would try to get £10 every 6 weeks, but this is more like a £9 house for us. 

I have mentioned this before, we have lost a few £10 jobs of late because a fellow windie has quoted cheaper. We have a lot of unlettered WFP vans running around that I haven't seen before with a window cleaner I don't recognise. So competition plays an important part. Customer perception and local gossip also has a bearing on prices.

I've also had experience with the local job center encouraging job seekers to become window cleaners. They have been told to buy a cheap applicator, squeegee, bucket and cloths and target bungalows. Offer to clean windows for a couple of pounds. Don't worry about their existing cleaners as they can afford to loose some customers to you. Keep a list of your customers and the money you get. Build them up until you have enough work for 16 or 24 hours a week. The government will make up your monthly shortfall to a living wage and the council will do their bit as well. Sorted.

 Down here we've got that happening too. I know a bloke just does enough to get the full allowance of govt, yet hes quids in as he actually does more than that but doesnt declare all. As for me, still not enough round here so looking for another part time paye to top up windows. Jacked in a few last year because of a-hole bosses.  I dunno, why do only fools and horses.

 

[Davy G]

An observation I've made about pricing, is that often it seems easier to recruit and keep customers by not rounding the quote. For instance ; people who might hesitate at a quote of say £20 six weekly might not bat an eyelid at £18. A £25 job charged at £24 has the same affect.

That was why I said that my price in answer to the original question would be £14 or £15 if on its own.

What I have come to believe is that psychologically £18 sounds less severe than £20 even though the difference is so slight. There obviously is some truth to this as you hardly ever come across a rounded price in retail, car or property prices. I've found that since pricing just below the rounded prices I get a lot less cancellations.

 

[spruce]

Who would quote £13 for a Job? If you quoted £12 what's the next price increase amount?

 

[Davy G]

Who would quote £13 for a Job? If you quoted £12 what's the next price increase amount?

I've never quoted £13 for a job.?

My price increases would be something like: £12 to £14

£15 to £17, £17 to £19. Most increases are £2 and held for at least two years.

No hard and fast rules though. ?

 

[Martyn]

I think what sums this all up it depends very much on local area and what I mean by that is Local doesn't mean Nottingham it means exactly to within a few miles of where you clean .

Around here there is no money all the pits have closed and all the Hosiery factorys have shut there is no money in the area . Trust me you windies who would clean this and get £20 are In a dream world but its the going rate I get it in more affluent areas esp down south .

What is worth remembering is your wages down there are usually a lot more and living costs . Someone around London cant tell a window cleaner up here he is doing it all wrong at £8 or £10 an hour if they live outside of area .

Remember I do this for £10 now having put it up last year by £2 but I cant put it up again for a few years .

If im being honest if I said £12 to most of them next april I would guess 60% would accept it maybe even more but I would lose a lot if I quoted £15 even if they were a fresh customer they wont accept that trust me , I don't bust a gut as im 53 and tradding it rougly takes about 20-25 mins I don't run up the ladders these days .

You've hit the nail on the head, I may be able to charge more than many but the cost of living here is horrible and there is no possibility of getting lots of jobs within a few yards of each other as some of you guys can. I won't be retiring any time soon, if ever!

 

[ks789]

Who would quote £13 for a Job? If you quoted £12 what's the next price increase amount?

 I got one at £13. had two but the other one had to drop me coz they'd had some bad luck. Dont think I'll quote another at 13. Not really superstitious but, well, better safe. Still sometimes say 'morning' or afternoon mr magpie.

 

[spruce]

 I got one at £13. had two but the other one had to drop me coz they'd had some bad luck. Dont think I'll quote another at 13. Not really superstitious but, well, better safe. Still sometimes say 'morning' or afternoon mr magpie.

We have a customer whose job is £12. She gives me an extra £1 every clean.

She asked us to clean her daughters and she would pay for it. I quoted £12 and again she gives us an extra £1 coin for that job as well.

I have several other jobs at £12 which are due a price increase. I asked one of them if she would see us right with an additional £1 increase in price. "Oh no she said, that will bring me bad luck." After a pause for thought she said, "but, I would happily pay you £12.99."

I said that would mean I would have to carry 1p pieces in my change tin as well. "I wouldn't accept a penny in change" she said. " I would tell you to keep the change."?

This lifted my whole mood that day. I haven't put the price up to £12.99 yet.

 

[dazmond]

@fast_muchly I completely agree. It would take me about half an hour to do that also. I also agree where you are coming from on the area to area point.

But the truth is they wont pay more because you are charging less. The fact that you put the prices up by £2. Tells me you also beleive its worth a good bit more than £8.

I have some low priced stuff Ive been doing for years the same as yourself, and I will be hard pressed to get £1.50 pw on those jobs. But when you start walking away when new customers want it for £1 a window, you will be surprised how much new customers (who have not used you before) will pay. 

Then when new clients a paying £1.50 and you have old ones paying 70p you will ready to give them the boot if they dont want to pay a good bit more for your time.

i dont get how that property would take you 30 mins?its a 10-15 min job(including frames,sills and doors washed down)easy peasy......thats going at a steady pace(hot wfp)

 

[Part Timer]

i dont get how that property would take you 30 mins?its a 10-15 min job(including frames,sills and doors washed down)easy......HOT WFP

His name might give you a clue

 

[Davy G]

We have a customer whose job is £12. She gives me an extra £1 every clean.

She asked us to clean her daughters and she would pay for it. I quoted £12 and again she gives us an extra £1 coin for that job as well.

I have several other jobs at £12 which are due a price increase. I asked one of them if she would see us right with an additional £1 increase in price. "Oh no she said, that will bring me bad luck." After a pause for thought she said, "but, I would happily pay you £12.99."

I said that would mean I would have to carry 1p pieces in my change tin as well. "I wouldn't accept a penny in change" she said. " I would tell you to keep the change."?

This lifted my whole mood that day. I haven't put the price up to £12.99 yet.

Ha ha! Did you ever notice, that life is never simple and straightforward? ?