Pricing please help

[kevinc250]

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.

y'know daz that's probably the best reply on this topic, did you have the heated seat on when you replied?.

 

[Chris Ashurst]

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 .

Was this a mansion?

 

[Pjj]

Was this a mansion?

No a barn conversion

 

[Chris Ashurst]

No a barn conversion

Must have a lot of windows?
How much pure would you use on that one job?

 

[Pjj]

Must have a lot of windows?
How much pure would you use on that one job?

It’s a reasonable size but not as big as a lot we do. First clean obviously took a bit longer but regular clean will be about 1 hour As for amount of water not sure really as use a van mount again first clean uses more water we carry 1000 ltr so it’s not a problem

 

[Chris Ashurst]

It’s a reasonable size but not as big as a lot we do. First clean obviously took a bit longer but regular clean will be about 1 hour As for amount of water not sure really as use a van mount again first clean uses more water we carry 1000 ltr so it’s not a problem

Is that 1hr with two of you working?
You do bigger houses than this or are they apartment blocks and commercial?

 

[Pjj]

Is that 1hr with two of you working?
You do bigger houses than this or are they apartment blocks and commercial?

No one person ,
yes we do private houses that are much bigger than this one
yes we do a lot of commercial and apartment blocks as well

 

[Chris Ashurst]

No one person ,
yes we do private houses that are much bigger than this one
yes we do a lot of commercial and apartment blocks as well

£125 for 1hrs work is incredible. My next door neighbour is a security guard and he gets £125 for a 12hr night shift which includes a 50 mile round trip!
Surely it's pretty rare to clean properties that pay so well and can be done by one person in an hour?

 

[Pjj]

£125 for 1hrs work is incredible. My next door neighbour is a security guard and he gets £125 for a 12hr night shift which includes a 50 mile round trip!
Surely it's pretty rare to clean properties that pay so well and can be done by one person in an hour?

Depends ware you are and the type of properties you clean. We don’t earn that every hour of the day every day of the week but we do have a lot of work especially commercial that pays a lot more But this isn’t about earnings I was using this as an example to show ones will pay higher prices than what we as cleaner would normally charge , if we needed the work and I wanted the job I would have been in the region of £70-80 , but we don’t and I didn’t so priced it much higher. The point of the post was showing the customer was more than happy to pay £125 so charging more for a job and they will still pay it . If you don’t try you dont get , ime lucky and I know that, not much competition, and a great shortage of cleaners here .

 

[Iron Giant]

Depends ware you are and the type of properties you clean. We don’t earn that every hour of the day every day of the week but we do have a lot of work especially commercial that pays a lot more But this isn’t about earnings I was using this as an example to show ones will pay higher prices than what we as cleaner would normally charge , if we needed the work and I wanted the job I would have been in the region of £70-80 , but we don’t and I didn’t so priced it much higher. The point of the post was showing the customer was more than happy to pay £125 so charging more for a job and they will still pay it . If you don’t try you dont get , ime lucky and I know that, not much competition, and a great shortage of cleaners here .

The real test will be if she lasts more than 2-3 cleans, I picked up a quarterly clean last Summer but they wanted the conny roof doing as well on the first clean so it was a bigger job next clean I did it an hour without the roof at £80 no one was home I did the 3rd clean the other week and she was at home within a few days she asked to switch to every 6 months I upped the price to £110 and she cancelled and stated she thought £80 was too high

I do similar sized houses every 4 weeks at £60 which take an hour some will see the value in the service and others won't, we have a turning of the tide in my neck of the woods with lads charging outdated prices up to 50% lower than me and other lads I know well

 

[Chris Ashurst]

The real test will be if she lasts more than 2-3 cleans, I picked up a quarterly clean last Summer but they wanted the conny roof doing as well on the first clean so it was a bigger job next clean I did it an hour without the roof at £80 no one was home I did the 3rd clean the other week and she was at home within a few days she asked to switch to every 6 months I upped the price to £110 and she cancelled and stated she thought £80 was too high

I do similar sized houses every 4 weeks at £60 which take an hour some will see the value in the service and others won't, we have a turning of the tide in my neck of the woods with lads charging outdated prices up to 50% lower than me and other lads I know well

I guess she witnessed with her own eyes that it only took you 1 hour for £80 and maybe thought its way more than a tradesman earns per hour. Also, if you've got a van mount setup all the customer often sees is a brush on the end of a pole with some hose which probably doesn't look too impressive. They probably don't know there's thousands of pounds worth of equipment in the back of your van.

 

[spruce]

I guess she witnessed with her own eyes that it only took you 1 hour for £80 and maybe thought its way more than a tradesman earns per hour. Also, if you've got a van mount setup all the customer often sees is a brush on the end of a pole with some hose which probably doesn't look too impressive. They probably don't know there's thousands of pounds worth of equipment in the back of your van.

The window cleaning moto is the 3 C's. Canvass, clean, cull. That is the only way to develop a good round. We always say that if you get every quote, your prices are too cheap. If you get none, then your prices are too high. You need to aim for getting, and keeping, between 40 and 60% of the business you quote for.

However, if you need to grow your round quickly, then you could well go in on the cheaper side and raise prices once you become established and can be more selective.
You can then 'afford' to let those go who think your price increase is too high.

We also now don't bother working in some villages to the east of us. In those villages, people still perceive a price for cleaning a 3 bed semi is £5. If you charge more, then you will be replaced when a cheaper cleaner comes along.

Customers are strange sometimes. They equate quickness with poor quality. Back in the day when we were doing a lot of new cleans, we made an effort to 'stretch' the time it took for a few subsequent cleans and over time, reduced the time spent doing those cleans.

 

[Chris Ashurst]

The window cleaning moto is the 3 C's. Canvass, clean, cull. That is the only way to develop a good round. We always say that if you get every quote, your prices are too cheap. If you get none, then your prices are too high. You need to aim for getting, and keeping, between 40 and 60% of the business you quote for.

However, if you need to grow your round quickly, then you could well go in on the cheaper side and raise prices once you become established and can be more selective.
You can then 'afford' to let those go who think your price increase is too high.

We also now don't bother working in some villages to the east of us. In those villages, people still perceive a price for cleaning a 3 bed semi is £5. If you charge more, then you will be replaced when a cheaper cleaner comes along.

Customers are strange sometimes. They equate quickness with poor quality. Back in the day when we were doing a lot of new cleans, we made an effort to 'stretch' the time it took for a few subsequent cleans and over time, reduced the time spent doing those cleans.

I've read on the forums how some have built a round knocking doors, some by flyers, and others via Facebook. I think older more experienced cleaners who built their rounds knocking doors will say its the only way to build a round. Back in the day many different people would knock doors offering various services. Not so much nowadays. I can't recall the last time someone knocked on my front door offering a service. Must be 20 years ago.

 

[spruce]

There isn't a canvassing restriction on our estate. We still get the odd canvasser knocking doors. Our driveway is concrete and has its usual cracks, so driveway contractors target us. Roofers also knock. A few years ago, we had a startup window cleaner knock on the door looking to start a round. At first, he didn't know I was a window cleaner, as my van parked in the driveway is unlettered.
When I told him, he wanted me to give him some of my work.

 

[steve garwood]

I've read on the forums how some have built a round knocking doors, some by flyers, and others via Facebook. I think older more experienced cleaners who built their rounds knocking doors will say its the only way to build a round. Back in the day many different people would knock doors offering various services. Not so much nowadays. I can't recall the last time someone knocked on my front door offering a service. Must be 20 years ago.

The other thing to remember as a newbie on these forums is, don’t believe everything you read ?

 

[Iron Giant]

I guess she witnessed with her own eyes that it only took you 1 hour for £80 and maybe thought its way more than a tradesman earns per hour. Also, if you've got a van mount setup all the customer often sees is a brush on the end of a pole with some hose which probably doesn't look too impressive. They probably don't know there's thousands of pounds worth of equipment in the back of your van.

Maybe, what those in a PAYE job don't take into account is the business running costs and the fact I have my taxes to pay and any time off to cover whether that's holidays, sickness and bad weather,

Some people think tradesman are taking the pish with prices but the general public doesn't have a clue about the costs involved in running a business and no doubt they don't even consider that unlike them we don't get paid 4-5 weeks holiday a year,

I know our cost are maybe low compared to other trades, but everything is expensive these days, I have mate who is a builder and owns his own business he has done two quotes for me in the past week and even he is shocked at the prices of things which just keep going up and up.

 

[THL4KEL]

If you're an exterior cleaner offering windows/gutters/pressure washing/softwashing the running costs are probably higher than a lot of tradesmen. The equipment is always needing maintenance and it doesn't last forever... A couple of years of using a gutter vax and the motors are not great, the carbon poles fragile, machine itself and trolley rusting.... The cost of replacement is only going up, to replace it all you're probably looking £4k-£5K with a new camera. Plus the ongoing damage to vans carrying a lot weight is ongoing maintenance... Most tradies only put a few hundred kg off tools in a van, were up at the vehicle maximum payload, most of the time and they are not really built to last when your carrying so much weight....

 

[Part Timer]

Most tradies only put a few hundred kg off tools in a van, were up at the vehicle maximum payload, most of the time and they are not really built to last when your carrying so much weight....

Why I always say I wouldn't buy a second hand van that has been used for years doing our job, apologies for those trying to sell theirs on here

 

[Pjj]

The real test will be if she lasts more than 2-3 cleans, I picked up a quarterly clean last Summer but they wanted the conny roof doing as well on the first clean so it was a bigger job next clean I did it an hour without the roof at £80 no one was home I did the 3rd clean the other week and she was at home within a few days she asked to switch to every 6 months I upped the price to £110 and she cancelled and stated she thought £80 was too high

I do similar sized houses every 4 weeks at £60 which take an hour some will see the value in the service and others won't, we have a turning of the tide in my neck of the woods with lads charging outdated prices up to 50% lower than me and other lads I know well

Yes I agree but doubt there will be any issues it’s very rare we get that happen, and they arnt short of a few quid and we’d do 6 others in the same area . But time will tell .

 

[Pjj]

The other thing to remember as a newbie on these forums is, don’t believe everything you read ?

I assume that comment is amed at me ? If it is when you are down next why don’t you come out with us for the day and you can see for yourself what we do and the time it takes and the prices charged , I can’t be fairer than that .

 

[ched999uk]

I assume that comment is amed at me ? If it is when you are down next why don’t you come out with us for the day and you can see for yourself what we do and the time it takes and the prices charged , I can’t be fairer than that .

I would assume it was directed at people who exaggerate how easy and rewarding the work can be. I wouldn't put you in that category at all.