Pricing please help

[Dave B]

I'd price one of those at £12 and be lucky to get it, but that style of house up here ex council lads are doing them for £8 so I won't even entertain quoting a job like that I avoid those estates like the plague

That is some of my area in town
I do a majority of my work in 2 local villages which are the type with double car garage, detached with more gravel on their drive and property than a quarry lol
One I’m doing tomorrow owns a small set of industrial units, a holiday retreat and more horses than I can count and I will be in treble figures doing inside and outside of just the house

 

[Iron Giant]

That is some of my area in town
I do a majority of my work in 2 local villages which are the type with double car garage, detached with more gravel on their drive and property than a quarry lol
One I’m doing tomorrow owns a small set of industrial units, a holiday retreat and more horses than I can count and I will be in treble figures doing inside and outside of just the house

Sorry if I came across derogatory or disrespectful my area is different to yours and there is some decent hardworking people living in ex council houses some round my way even probably downsized or something as they've new shape landy disco's etc on the drive,

But more so expect low prices than the new builds, so I made a conscious decision not to go near those years ago even though I had in the past, but probably been around 10 years ago same with certain terraces unfortunately the areas have nose dived over the years, which is a real shame that the streets I knew as a kid aren't the same anymore

 

[Dave B]

Sorry if I came across derogatory or disrespectful my area is different to yours and there is some decent hardworking people living in ex council houses some round my way even probably downsized or something as they've new shape landy disco's etc on the drive,

But more so expect low prices than the new builds, so I made a conscious decision not to go near those years ago even though I had in the past, but probably been around 10 years ago same with certain terraces unfortunately the areas have nose dived over the years, which is a real shame that the streets I knew as a kid aren't the same anymore

I’m thicker skinned than that lol
Can’t offend me Mike

 

[Pjj]

Likewise @spruce it would probably fall around the £13 mark here, maybe £14 if you're lucky

Let me give you an actual example that happened to me last week we have around 6 decent sized properties in a semi rural location the house a few hundred yards down the road from my customers sacked the window cleaner as he was unreliable and did a bad job one of my customers recommended us , I go and see the woman and didn’t want the job as we are absolutely bursting with work so quoted her £125 4 weekly , she said yes that’s fine can you do them today , now if I was canvassing the place and wanted the job I would have priced it around £70-80 , but I didn’t want it so priced it considerably higher and still got the job . This is what ime saying ones dont push the boundaries they simply say ones won’t pay that , how do you know they won’t pay it if you dont try ? This is what ime doing now with any new enquiry's if they accept it fine if not ime not worried , and before ones say you don’t have much competition or you live in an affluent area yes I do but I don’t have anyware near the amount of properties on my door step like those that are living in big city areas have , I still maintain good pricing can be achieved in poorer areas , I have several friends around Newcastle who are doing very well and charging a lot more than most of the competition, I would love to go to an area like this and canvass just to prove it can be done . Yes some areas will be easier to get work than others I fully understand that but better to build slowly with quality good priced work than build rapidly with cheap work , I know the pitfalls of that as that’s exactly what I did when I started it’s then difficult to charge higher prices , again there are several on here that have started in the last 5 years or so and they are doing very well and they live in theses less affluent places . This isn’t boasting or putting anyone down all ime saying is try it if you don’t you will never increase your earnings .

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

You can only push the boundaries if your full with work and have limited to no competition.

I’m full don’t need the work am confident,well presented, do a good job etc,etc ,etc.when I used to clean residential I started pricing new work high as A I didn’t ned it and B to factor in the VAT so all new prices were higher to allow for this.

My take up rate dropped massively.You make it sound like people round your way are literally throwing money at you down your way for you to be there window cleaner.

one minute your selling up,then bursting with work and then still find time to take on and price stand alone jobs.?

My area is absolutely flooded with window cleaners you can pick up work yes but your not going to be able to come in out of no where and start getting 50% + vat more than the competion Just because your confident.

 

[Pjj]

You can only push the boundaries if your full with work and have limited to no competition.

I’m full don’t need the work am confident,well presented, do a good job etc,etc ,etc.when I used to clean residential I started pricing new work high as A I didn’t ned it and B to factor in the VAT so all new prices were higher to allow for this.

My take up rate dropped massively.You make it sound like people round your way are literally throwing money at you down your way for you to be there window cleaner.

one minute your selling up,then bursting with work and then still find time to take on and price stand alone jobs.?

My area is absolutely flooded with window cleaners you can pick up work yes but your not going to be able to come in out of no where and start getting 50% + vat more than the competion Just because your confident.

I think you have miss read what I put , I said if I was canvassing that property I would have priced it around £70-80 if I wanted or needed the work , I don’t need it and didn’t want it so priced it at £125 the point being the customer was quite happy to pay the £125 , if I was wanting the job I would have priced it a lot less and been happy with the price but what ime showing is you can charge a lot more and people are happy to pay it ,it’s not a stand alone job we do around 6 in the same area the closest being a few hundred yards away , we are talking big detached barn conversions not 3 bed semis

I am downsizing and yes have sold off a lot of work but still price up any enquiries at a much higher price if ones are happy to pay that that’s fine if not I don’t care , if I take them on then more of the cheaper jobs will be sold off it’s called good business sense .
I agree some areas it will be harder than others but as already stated I have friends in Newcastle that are charging a lot more than the competition they are expanding slowly but picking up work every week and rarely loose work despite being a lot dearer so it can be done .
I know commercial in your area doesn’t pay the same as all areas and you know what we charge for certain jobs as I sent you copies of the invoices from the customers so you know what ime saying is true .

 

[Yogi1872]

His prices aren’t expensive is what ime saying he was charging similar when on his own , but had the courage to charge a reasonable price so not undervaluing his services

£16 for fronts, which potentially can be 3 windows,£23 for a 2 bed house which can be 6 windows. charging they prices theres parts of my run id be making £215 an hour. averaged out it looks like Id make well over £500 a day.

if you have to go into a street for one or 2 houses, or it was out the way id say its fair as you have to factor that in, self employed sparks dont charge £500 for a day rate,

 

[Pjj]

£16 for fronts, which potentially can be 3 windows,£23 for a 2 bed house which can be 6 windows. charging they prices theres parts of my run id be making £215 an hour. averaged out it looks like Id make well over £500 a day.

if you have to go into a street for one or 2 houses, or it was out the way id say its fair as you have to factor that in, self employed sparks dont charge £500 for a day rate,

This is his prices not mine ime just using it as an example, and yes many window cleaners are charging theses prices it’s not uncommon

 

[Part Timer]

You can only push the boundaries if your full with work and have limited to no competition.

I’m full don’t need the work am confident,well presented, do a good job etc,etc ,etc.when I used to clean residential I started pricing new work high as A I didn’t ned it and B to factor in the VAT so all new prices were higher to allow for this.

My take up rate dropped massively.You make it sound like people round your way are literally throwing money at you down your way for you to be there window cleaner.

one minute your selling up,then bursting with work and then still find time to take on and price stand alone jobs.?

My area is absolutely flooded with window cleaners you can pick up work yes but your not going to be able to come in out of no where and start getting 50% + vat more than the competion Just because your confident.

There always seems to be, no matter how much people can charge, they can get substantially more. All gets a bit boring and only occurs when high numbers are mentioned. Very strange coincidence

 

[Iron Giant]

Let me give you an actual example that happened to me last week we have around 6 decent sized properties in a semi rural location the house a few hundred yards down the road from my customers sacked the window cleaner as he was unreliable and did a bad job one of my customers recommended us , I go and see the woman and didn’t want the job as we are absolutely bursting with work so quoted her £125 4 weekly

Why didn't you just turn it down if you're bursting with work?

I turned a big job down the other week very big detached house not happy with the current cleaner but I knew it would be a bit of pain as well, I just told them straight not interested and I'm too busy, I turn away more work than I quote because I have no interest in certain jobs or areas, you travel all over I have no interest in maxing out by 2-3 mile limit.

 

[Pjj]

Why didn't you just turn it down if you're bursting with work?

I turned a big job down the other week very big detached house not happy with the current cleaner but I knew it would be a bit of pain as well, I just told them straight not interested and I'm too busy, I turn away more work than I quote because I have no interest in certain jobs or areas, you travel all over I have no interest in maxing out by 2-3 mile limit.

We already do work in that area , if you can increase hourly earnings I feel it would be stupid to turn it down , I will just drop or sell a cheaper job more than happy with £125 for 70 muinits work when we are already a few hundred yards away

 

[dazmond]

Well that escalated quickly!???

Personally I think some window cleaners talk absolute nonsense when it comes to pricing!yes we all have well priced jobs and not so well priced (but maybe compact work)which will still give you a respectable hourly rate....

The truth is we can all charge what we want there are no rules...

It's hard starting from scratch and most of us learn as we go.often taking many years of refining (and making plenty of mistakes)before we get to a good paying round week in,week out.

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

This might be unprofessional of me, but I have a full round and a good reputation etc so I don't think it has affected me... But is anyone else really inconsistent with their pricing? I know you shouldn't be, because people do talk, but sometimes I'll do identical houses and I'll have been cheeky with one and charged £17 for example, whereas the same property I've charged £15 in the past.

 

[ched999uk]

This might be unprofessional of me, but I have a full round and a good reputation etc so I don't think it has affected me... But is anyone else really inconsistent with their pricing? I know you shouldn't be, because people do talk, but sometimes I'll do identical houses and I'll have been cheeky with one and charged £17 for example, whereas the same property I've charged £15 in the past.

I have a good few that I under priced that need to go up a decent amount this year but I do have a few that I was a little cheeky with. I have an app I wrote that guides me on pricing to try and stop me 'guestimating' prices but even then I still manually tweak prices up or down a little - more up nowadays. I don't think I have priced 2 identical houses differently so even if they do chat I should be fine.
I do try and be as consistent as possible with pricing but it's not just about the size and number of windows it's access, parking, and the plant pot tax

I do a job on a very small newish development of 7 bungalows - I think they where the first to move in, the next door but 1 neighbour called and asked for a quote as her neighbour gave her my number. I quoted at £22 I think, and she asked why it was more than her neighbour! I was using my app and I could say to her that it was because she had 2 extra velux windows - she was fine and accepted the quote but I was glad I could easily justify the extra charge - I don't like awkward situations.

I do wonder sometimes if the 'cheeky' prices are where they should be and I have more that are under priced than I think!

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

I have a good few that I under priced that need to go up a decent amount this year but I do have a few that I was a little cheeky with. I have an app I wrote that guides me on pricing to try and stop me 'guestimating' prices but even then I still manually tweak prices up or down a little - more up nowadays. I don't think I have priced 2 identical houses differently so even if they do chat I should be fine.
I do try and be as consistent as possible with pricing but it's not just about the size and number of windows it's access, parking, and the plant pot tax

I do a job on a very small newish development of 7 bungalows - I think they where the first to move in, the next door but 1 neighbour called and asked for a quote as her neighbour gave her my number. I quoted at £22 I think, and she asked why it was more than her neighbour! I was using my app and I could say to her that it was because she had 2 extra velux windows - she was fine and accepted the quote but I was glad I could easily justify the extra charge - I don't like awkward situations.

I do wonder sometimes if the 'cheeky' prices are where they should be and I have more that are under priced than I think!

You and I started around the same time so I think it's normal for our prices to fluctuate whilst we are finding our feet etc. I wouldn't worry too much! I'm definitely guilty of looking at someone and thinking "what can I charge" though and that's something I'm working on not doing

 

[spruce]

Neighbours and friends talk. It's a fact of life.

"Why are you charging me £12 when you are charging my friend ****** £10 and our houses are the same?" (No 2 houses are the same, are they?)

I found the easiest way to answer this is; "Thanks for reminding me, I need to put their price up. Thank you," sounding so grateful for their reminder. Amazing how they suddenly realize they have dropped their friend in it.

 

[Pjj]

This might be unprofessional of me, but I have a full round and a good reputation etc so I don't think it has affected me... But is anyone else really inconsistent with their pricing? I know you shouldn't be, because people do talk, but sometimes I'll do identical houses and I'll have been cheeky with one and charged £17 for example, whereas the same property I've charged £15 in the past.

Sometimes you might have two identical houses window wise but it might take longer to clean due to pots vehicles , plants or what ever being in the way ,or covered in tree sap etc , so the price would be higher due to extra time or it being a more awkward job , that’s how we do things .

 

[steve garwood]

We already do work in that area , if you can increase hourly earnings I feel it would be stupid to turn it down , I will just drop or sell a cheaper job more than happy with £125 for 70 muinits work when we are already a few hundred yards away

What’s a muinit? ??

 

[JohnDoeWindows]

Sometimes you might have two identical houses window wise but it might take longer to clean due to pots vehicles , plants or what ever being in the way ,or covered in tree sap etc , so the price would be higher due to extra time or it being a more awkward job , that’s how we do things .

I call this pain in the arse tax, it also applies if I think the customer is going to be one too ?

 

[Pjj]

I call this pain in the **** tax, it also applies if I think the customer is going to be one too ?

Lol if I think they are going to be a pita they don't get taken on been there and done that in the past not worth the hassle

 

[Dave B]

I call this pain in the **** tax, it also applies if I think the customer is going to be one too ?

I call that r sole tax
If someone is one the quote is higher