Sacked for being too expensive!

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I wouldn't worry too much about it Poles- although a quid twice might have been better than 2 quid at once.

The main thing to concentrate on is earning as much as possible in as little time as possible (all within reason of course, but you get my point) and you wont achieve it unless you work for the rates that YOU want. Land-rover guy probably has very little disposable income, more than likely up to his eyeballs in debt. Focus on YOUR prices, not what others "think" you should charge.:thumbsup:

 

[spruce]

For business to work successfully it has to be a win win situation for both parties.

If @Poles Apart feels that he needs to have a price increase then he obviously feels that the scales are tipping toward a loose win situation. That's not a good situation to be in.

So @Poles Apart puts the prices up by £2.00. He now has moved the balance of the scales back to a win situation for him. But his customer isn't happy and his situation is no longer a win situation (for whatever valid reason) for him so has cancelled the agreement.

That's fair enough. Its business. The customer has a right not to accept the new price in the same way as @Poles Apart has the right to ask a higher price.

Time to move on unless you want to try and renegotiate a compromise.

 

[Poles Apart]

Not bothered about him I was at home today but organised water put it in containers, text customers, done Aworka so it's office work so he thinks I'm earning more than him.

 

[Poles Apart]

For business to work successfully it has to be a win win situation for both parties.
If @Poles Apart feels that he needs to have a price increase then he obviously feels that the scales are tipping toward a loose win situation. That's not a good situation to be in.

So @Poles Apart puts the prices up by £2.00. He now has moved the balance of the scales back to a win situation for him. But his customer isn't happy and his situation is no longer a win situation (for whatever valid reason) for him so has cancelled the agreement.

That's fair enough. Its business. The customer has a right not to accept the new price in the same way as @Poles Apart has the right to ask a higher price.

Time to move on unless you want to try and renegotiate a compromise.

Thanks for the advice but I'm not re-negotiating over a pound with a Landrover Manager on a massive salary with a massive pension, Landrover set there prices based on costs and to make a profit and to pay heavy salaries I don't care about inflation being 5% West Midlands Travel increased bus fare prices this year even though fuel costs decreased by some margin the price of a loaf of bread has no bearing on my costs. The woman saying £10 is too expensive for her front spends £10 on 20 cigarettes if she smokes just 10 a day that's 180 pound a month as far as I know she hasn't refused to buy them because they're to expensive.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Poles is in the right.

Only thing I see you did wrong was the new one. After just 2 cleans and a price increase I would have cancelled to for that. Seems cheeky.

 

[Poles Apart]

Poles is in the right.
Only thing I see you did wrong was the new one. After just 2 cleans and a price increase I would have cancelled to for that. Seems cheeky.

Sorry I may have mislead you the woman was a separate incident not a price increase, I wouldn't increase a price after getting the job I phoned her after the rich Landrover guy sacked me I was charging her £15 all round the second time she said just do the front ( I now know to reduce cost ), I called he yesterday to inform of my attendance she asked if I could leave it this month and call next month I explained that bi-monthly was a different arrangement with a different price she said leave it then.

 

[Spartan]

£7 to £9 is quite a jump percentage wise - 28%, but on the other hand it is only £2 - you can't buy a coffee for £2!!!

As previous posters have said - price for what you feel you/the service is worth. The client might have a different views but for every one of those, I'm sure there is a new client who is more then willing to pay your charges.

Good luck!

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums app

 

[Poles Apart]

I've been doing some thinking over the last 2 years and I may have been too cheap from my trading days, so my increases are combined with inflation and realistic price re-evaluation.

 

[Poles Apart]

Also why would someone object to paying £9 per month for the window cleaning and frame, sill and seal cleaning preserving the life of his double glazing yet I'm guessing earns anything from 3 to 4 grand a month, if he asks me back it'll be £12 with a £20 first clean charge.

 

[spruce]

Also why would someone object to paying £9 per month for the window cleaning and frame, sill and seal cleaning preserving the life of his double glazing yet I'm guessing earns anything from 3 to 4 grand a month, if he asks me back it'll be £12 with a £20 first clean charge.

@Poles Apart. /emoticons/smile.png You are taking things too seriously. Relax or you will give yourself an ulcer.

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[Poles Apart]

@Poles Apart. /emoticons/smile.png You are taking things too seriously. Relax or you will give yourself an ulcer.
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I know it's just irritating I asked him to leave the money he owed me in the porch he didn't so got to go backLost another one in the road old lady who has front done one month and the back done the other it's £6 front and £6 back she came to the door and said couldn't afford the increase, 2 years ago she had a big driveway concrete printed even though she doesn't have a car or any visitors, new windows (even though there was nothing wrong with the others) and a newly tiled roof, told her I'd do them for £13 all round every other month so it's only a pound increase altogether, I'll give em a quick once over.:thumbsup:

 

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Just bite the bullet and move forward with your "current" pricing. There's nothing worse than doing a job that you know is under-priced!!

 

[Poles Apart]

Just to illustrate the low opinion many have of window cleaners a couple of years ago my friend Tony (tlwcs) on here asked me if I wanted some bungalows he hadn't got time to do they were being done by a windy who retired, I went to view and quote they were very small and I told the lady who supervises the complex and speaks for the residents that the price would be just £7 each her jaw dropped and replied that the previous windy did them for £1.50 and never put them up in 30 years I decided to go home:hey:

 

[spruce]

Just to illustrate the low opinion many have of window cleaners a couple of years ago my friend Tony (tlwcs) on here asked me if I wanted some bungalows he hadn't got time to do they were being done by a windy who retired, I went to view and quote they were very small and I told the lady who supervises the complex and speaks for the residents that the price would be just £7 each her jaw dropped and replied that the previous windy did them for £1.50 and never put them up in 30 years I decided to go home:hey:

Its what people have been conditioned to see as an acceptable price to have their windows cleaned. You are right to go home as they would never understand and accept that the prices have changed in 30 years. £1.50 is now 'burnt' into their brains with a branding iron. They will never accept that the price they paid for years is unrealistic. Its only when they get several windies to quote and hear the same price bantered about that the penny will drop.

Another windie will negotiate a £5 clean in the end and some of them will reluctantly pay it, but they won't be good customers. They will always see the price different as a bone of contention and will always be complaining. Being in a complex they will talk among themselves and relive the price increase and fuel their discontent until the day they die.

I'm sure we all have experienced that the younger generation will more readily pay the price for window cleaning you quote than an older person, even if the older ones are better off financially.

We have a cleaner in our area who cleans a nearby village of street houses. He only cleans fronts. He does 2 front windows and a door for £2.00. Has 90% of the houses and sees that as a good day's income for a few hours of work. No one complains if he doesn't do a good job, he only charging £2.00 so what do they expect? He does about 80 or 90 houses from what I was told by some friends of ours who live in the village. Whose going to take work away from him at those prices? No one.

There was a local trad cleaner, old boy, cleaning an old peoples complex of tiny 1 bedroomed bungalows for £2.50 for each resident. Whilst I was there doing some other work he rocked up. I called him back to redo a window that he didn't get all the bird lime off of. He laughed and carried on. "What do they expect for £2.50?" was his reply. "She's half blind anyway so she'll never notice."

I decided then and there that there are some cleaners I don't want to compete with and there are some customers I don't want to clean for.

-

 

[spruce]

I know it's just irritating I asked him to leave the money he owed me in the porch he didn't so got to go backLost another one in the road old lady who has front done one month and the back done the other it's £6 front and £6 back she came to the door and said couldn't afford the increase, 2 years ago she had a big driveway concrete printed even though she doesn't have a car or any visitors, new windows (even though there was nothing wrong with the others) and a newly tiled roof, told her I'd do them for £13 all round every other month so it's only a pound increase altogether, I'll give em a quick once over.:thumbsup:

Many moons ago we had an old pensioner who also grumbled when we put the price of her 3 bedroom council house up from £4.50 to £6.50 which she reluncantly paid. "Its a lot of money for a pensioner" she would say. She was a lovely old dear and I honestly felt sorry for her. I was very fond of her.

When she died she had £254,000 in the bank. None of her family knew about her financial position and were as shocked as I was when they told me. After the initial shock I burst out laughing. She 'conned' us all - her family were always helping her out with this and that because she was a poor old pensioner. Her son laughed as well then and we reminisced over what a lovely old dear she was and how she would be missed.

Its life. She was brought up in the war years which shaped her future. I still have lovely memories of her. If I ever get the opportunity to met her again in the next life I'm sure we will have a good chuckle.

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Got a message last night.

'My neighbor and I want to change window cleaners' ( already an alarm in my head)

'We live on XXXX St in 3 Bedroom semis, our current cleaner has just put his price up to £6.50'

'May I suggest you stay with him then luv as I have a minimum of £14 for a three bed semi but thanks for considering me'

'Oh, ok, thank you'

Bet they never look elsewhere again tight cows.

 

[spruce]

We had a couple of old dears who asked me to quote to clean their windows as they never had a window cleaner. I quoted and they accepted. I asked if I they would want me to clean them there and then.

"No, because we need to tell our current window cleaner we don't want him any longer."

"Who is your current window cleaner and why do you want to cancel him?" I asked.

"He is ********* and he charges 50p more than you quoted".

"Sorry, I priced your flats on false pretences that you didn't have a cleaner. I'm friendly with ***** and will not take his work on principle. Its only 50p each."

"Yes, but 50p is a lot of money over a year. That's £6 each a year which is £12 for the two of us."

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[David K]

Better being sacked for being too expensive, than being Laughed at for being too cheap ! :hehehe:

 

[gwindows]

I had two cancel when i put them up from £5 to £5.50 :turd::turd: That was the only rise in 5 years or so .Also put up the shops 50p this year a rise of 17p a year the two that should of went up £1 each as inside and outside as well ,last rise 2013 . had a wee moan but accepted it .

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

This is also a big part of why I am phasing out the residential works and just going after contract work now.

Explaining to 600 house holders why it's going up £1 and dealing with the moaning (sometimes just banter) is tedious.

Dealing with companies they understand that costs go up from time to time and that's part of doing business.

 

[Leeds]

This is also a big part of why I am phasing out the residential works and just going after contract work now.
Explaining to 600 house holders why it's going up £1 and dealing with the moaning (sometimes just banter) is tedious.

Dealing with companies they understand that costs go up from time to time and that's part of doing business.

Is there any tips/guide you could give for contract work Green?