pricing windows

[Clisty1989]

Confidence when selling is the key. And always be willing to walk away, even if your struggling to get work. That way you hold the power during the sale. I sold ppi claims for 2 years, hated it but taught me loads about selling. Ive gone in at twice what other windys are doing and got the job. The main thing to remember is your selling yourself AND your service. I charge a base rate of £1 a window, however i work it out as if in tradding and after the 1st time up a ladder i charge an extra 50p every other time. So if i have a large window or bay if have to move the "ladder" twice its £1.50 and 3 times £2 etc +£2 on top for fuel, water etc. Works well for me

 

[HALTON]

Thanks spruce you say you would have problems with the top openers dripping on to lower window what about bay windows they have top openers and lower window underneath ?

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[spruce]

Thanks spruce you say you would have problems with the top openers dripping on to lower window what about bay windows they have top openers and lower window underneath ?
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99% of our single openers above a transom bar and then lower window aren't a problem.

The problem with older top openers above a large single pane of glass is that the dirt that gets above the windows finds its way round the window frame and drains down onto the window below. The problem is most common between the center of the two openers.

The other issue is old deteriorated window seals. Water gets past the seals and into the window frame which is invariably dirty. That water takes time to find a drain hole which will be above the bottom glass.

We don't experience much of a problem with new window frames in this configuration. The shape of the frame is slightly different and the water from the top windows drips past the frame and onto the sill below. Sometimes we will get a couple of dirty spots where this dripping water splashes onto the lower window just above the frame.

There was a local window cleaner who took the bold step of dumping all his customers who had these windows.He says it was the best thing ever as these were the ones that slowed him down and accounted for most of the customer complaints.

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[HALTON]

Thanks spruce what about if I only did the windows and not the frame will I still get this problem ?

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[spruce]

Yes, if the seals have gone as water will get in at the bottom of the frame below the glass.

Leaving the top frame of the window may help this time but won't help after that. Any splashes of water above the top of the window will bring streaks down the top window.

We have one house where the entrance hall extension is really bad. We will clean the frame above that window with a cloth and do the same with the windows with another cloth. We then clean the bottom pane with the brush.

You maybe able to do the same. Explain to the customer that you can see that the 2 opener windows could be a problem. To solve it you would need 2 visits to the house. If I do that then it will cost £18 say. If you will tolerate a streak on the top pane I will do the bottom windows by hand so you won't have a streak. The price will then be £12. Give the customer the option.

Of course the customer will suggest you do the same for the top windows which will mean getting ladders out. That's when you need to say that this isn't an option for top windows. I've invested heavily in this system to work safely and live longer. If they want you to put your life at risk for a streak on a window, then its time to walk away and never go back.

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[Andy]

£12 for the glass you can see if you are thinking of doing that for £6 don't bother building a round come and work for me. On a serious note Don't start off by selling your self short it's hard when you first start because you want to get the work in. You may not get all you quote for but you don't need to clean so many for the same money. The time not cleaning houses for peanuts is time you can spend getting better priced work. And if you're cleaning them for next to nowt it won't be long before you start to hate cleaning glass. Good luck

 

[bob duff]

I would go £10 to £12 northern Ireland

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[peter rogers]

9 belfast

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[doce]

He is now retired, new car (Astra) with a personalised number plate and plays golf at the local club several times a week. He's a member there. But he sees anything more than £7.50 is a rip off for window cleaning. Both he and his wife are nice people but we don't need them as customers.

There are also areas that we can get a better price for than the same house in other areas. We stay away from Loftus for example as prices for a 3 bed semi are still around £5. People are poor there as any disposable income goes on cigs and booze.

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£10 here, subject maybe to a bit of negotiation. Your comments are sound, and I'd absolutely agree with you on the business sense of 'deselecting' certain customers or groups of customers.

I have come across a bit of a new phenomenon on one 'posh' mini-estate, though. Almost to a man every house on it (about a dozen) is taking the line that they don't want or need window cleaners. I chatted to a couple of them a few weeks back, and they're mostly using those Karcher things to avoid what's probably the going rate of around £75 a month. Three of them are doing their windows just once a year and claim it makes no difference because once it's rained the windows are all dirty again!

I suppose what I'm saying is that once a price reaches a certain point, in a certain type of area, you can get a mass reaction against it. I do hope the word doesn't spread!

 

[spruce]

£10 here, subject maybe to a bit of negotiation. Your comments are sound, and I'd absolutely agree with you on the business sense of 'deselecting' certain customers or groups of customers.
I have come across a bit of a new phenomenon on one 'posh' mini-estate, though. Almost to a man every house on it (about a dozen) is taking the line that they don't want or need window cleaners. I chatted to a couple of them a few weeks back, and they're mostly using those Karcher things to avoid what's probably the going rate of around £75 a month. Three of them are doing their windows just once a year and claim it makes no difference because once it's rained the windows are all dirty again!

I suppose what I'm saying is that once a price reaches a certain point, in a certain type of area, you can get a mass reaction against it. I do hope the word doesn't spread!

It does seem in our part of the world that people have nothing better to do than talk about their window cleaner and the prices they charge.

I had one recently who knew who I was but whom I'd never met before. It was the second clean on their daughters house and they were baby sitting the kids the day we arrived as daughter works. They gave me some of my customers names and addresses and the price I was charging them for window cleaning. Their daughters was slightly more at £10 for 6 weekly and they seemed to think the price was too high. I got paid via the internet and then came a text saying we are moving and no longer require our services.

They did move as I bumped into husband whilst we were cleaning 'his' pub. Put a flyer through the door as per his instructions but have heard nought.

We bought a window cleaning round about 12 years ago now that was trad and they cleaned the glass only. The frames were filthy. We converted it to wfp and held on for about a year before having a price increase. Most were on a fortnightly round so most had already taken it on themselves to change that to every 4 weeks - please leave it this time as the windows are clean. We didn't charge extra. In Skelton in Cleveland everybody seemed to know everybody and most are related. So we started advising of a price increase and the third customer told us that we wouldn't get it as all the estate would cancel our services; she would make sure that happened. The previous cleaners had tried to increase prices on two occasions but were blackmailed into keeping them the same due to a mass cancellation we were told - confirmed by the cleaners who sold us the round.

I was rather upset to be honest as we had paid good money for the round as it was very compact. Despite the frames being cleaned and the windows spotless they wouldn't budge. We lost about 50% of the round that clean. We stuck it out and cleaned the ones who begrudgingly stuck with us; they were obviously under pressure to conform to the will of the others. It reminded me of the steel strike in 1980 and the picket lines.

After a few months some of them started asking us to take them back and agreed to the higher price. We gained a few more that we didn't have originally so by the third year we were about evens. There was still quite a few who never asked us back.

We still have the round although a young couple do it for us. The trouble maker ignores us to this day. I do get a great deal of satisfaction greeting her. We still clean her mother in law's house across the street.

Karcher sales and enthusiasm for it seems to have lasted longer than I expected. Over the years we have seen all sorts of adverts for products that will do away with their window cleaning bills. Those that cancel seem to ask us back a few months later. I think the real sales focus for the Karcher was aim at cleaning internal windows, so the impact hasn't been as bad as I thought it would. Whilst there aren't many who like cleaning inside windows, the Karcher seems to make it fun somehow.

I am surprised at how many households where both couple work full time have the services of a house cleaner. Maybe the house cleaner gets roped into cleaning them.

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