should i up my first clean price ?

[DS WC west midlands]

Here is the day when first cleans at £35 were enough to keep the time wasters away, more & more i seem to walk into Mr awkward customer & think i might be too cheap on a first clean, Monthly i charge £20 & even that is starting to become worthless, i canvass every day, when i am not at work on the glass.. I see MR cheap's work the summer but they all go bust for winter.. Is now the time to increase my first clean price to £65, i tend to do long detailed cleans with chem's & water, more & more ppl want a one off clean not a monthly, so even £65 sounds cheap too me, i might be greedy... I was thinking of making my first clean £100 & my monthly stays at £20 per month... only other option seems to be to do £10 glass only rinses i see plenty doing that and making loads doing it, but the round collapse in the winter for that model is not my bag.... i could do £20 glass only rinses and hell i know ppl would take i just can't decide what to do haha a bit stuck i suppose...

 

[moto]

That's what we do, £70 first clean. that's just standard 2 and 3 bed house external windows cleaning. The price does not include after builders deep cleans, second floor windows, loft conversions, sky lights and conservatories, which are priced separately. Higher initial pricing helps to qualify customers.

 

[DS WC west midlands]

That's what we do, £70 first clean. that's just standard 2 and 3 bed house external windows cleaning. The price does not include after builders deep cleans, second floor windows, loft conversions, sky lights and conservatories, which are priced separately. Higher initial pricing helps to qualify customers.

yeah i see what you mean, but i'd be happy to do second floor at £65 on a chem clean, i'd rather do the whole house than half, & them feel cheated as some might or they would complain in my area, builders cleans i charge £65 as it is, so that would likely go to £150...

As i have needed to change that for a while, I Just got done testing and converting all my monthly cleans to £20 per month & it helped a lot, now i just need to change the first clean and account for Messers and i seem to get a lot of them at £35, So the increase will put them off...

 

[ched999uk]

Are you getting people saying they want regular cleans then dumping you after first clean?
When you are canvassing are you asking if they want regular or one off? If you are getting lots of 'new regular clean' customers that then dump you maybe you need to tweak your pitch, maybe they are just trying to get a cheap one off clean. Before I give a price I ask if they want regular clean or a one off, then give price accordingly.

Personally I would say price your regular repeat work based on how long you think it will take at the hourly rate you wish to achieve. Then if it's a first clean and it takes you double the time then quote double the fee. If it's one off then maybe 2.5 times a regular clean price.

 

[Mx19]

yeah i see what you mean, but i'd be happy to do second floor at £65 on a chem clean, i'd rather do the whole house than half, & them feel cheated as some might or they would complain in my area, builders cleans i charge £65 as it is, so that would likely go to £150...

As i have needed to change that for a while, I Just got done testing and converting all my monthly cleans to £20 per month & it helped a lot, now i just need to change the first clean and account for Messers and i seem to get a lot of them at £35, So the increase will put them off...

I’m assuming you’re talking minimum prices or is every house £20 no matter the size?

 

[DS WC west midlands]

I’m assuming you’re talking minimum prices or is every house £20 no matter the size?

monthly is twenty size is not an issue for monthly

 

[ched999uk]

monthly is twenty size is not an issue for monthly

That's an interesting business model. I'm surprised you don't only get big detached houses with that pricing?

 

[Mx19]

monthly is twenty size is not an issue for monthly

How do you find that works for you? Id be screwed if I charged that round here with the sizes of some of the houses!

 

[Arnie Sewitt]

I too have been getting a lot of one offs recently. I’ve stopped offering them now and say I only do regular cleans. They take like X2 the time and people don’t want to pay for it.

 

[Yogi1872]

How do you find that works for you? Id be screwed if I charged that round here with the sizes of some of the houses!

Not very well by the sounds of it if he still has time to canvas. I have around 60 houses together at a bit of my run and they have 6 windows. The £7 I take for them is £1.50 dearer than what the others do them for. Been watching to mich green pro videos on YouTube me thinks.

 

[Mx19]

Not very well by the sounds of it if he still has time to canvas. I have around 60 houses together at a bit of my run and they have 6 windows. The £7 I take for them is £1.50 dearer than what the others do them for. Been watching to mich green pro videos on YouTube me thinks.

Apologies I don’t think that came across as intended, I was meaning that’s way too cheap for the size of some of the houses round here!

 

[spruce]

Are you getting people saying they want regular cleans then dumping you after first clean?
When you are canvassing are you asking if they want regular or one off? If you are getting lots of 'new regular clean' customers that then dump you maybe you need to tweak your pitch, maybe they are just trying to get a cheap one off clean. Before I give a price I ask if they want regular clean or a one off, then give price accordingly.

Personally I would say price your regular repeat work based on how long you think it will take at the hourly rate you wish to achieve. Then if it's a first clean and it takes you double the time then quote double the fee. If it's one off then maybe 2.5 times a regular clean price.

I don't know about other areas, but here people will always say they want a regular clean when asked. Even had that with someone wanting their windows cleaned as their tenancy was up.
We found out they had gone when we cleaned a second time. So we now treat every new enquiry as a one-off.

 

[Iron Giant]

Here is the day when first cleans at £35 were enough to keep the time wasters away, more & more i seem to walk into Mr awkward customer & think i might be too cheap on a first clean, Monthly i charge £20 & even that is starting to become worthless, i canvass every day, when i am not at work on the glass.. I see MR cheap's work the summer but they all go bust for winter.. Is now the time to increase my first clean price to £65, i tend to do long detailed cleans with chem's & water, more & more ppl want a one off clean not a monthly, so even £65 sounds cheap too me, i might be greedy... I was thinking of making my first clean £100 & my monthly stays at £20 per month... only other option seems to be to do £10 glass only rinses i see plenty doing that and making loads doing it, but the round collapse in the winter for that model is not my bag.... i could do £20 glass only rinses and hell i know ppl would take i just can't decide what to do haha a bit stuck i suppose...

If you are the one out canvassing then how come you haven't managed to filter these one-offs out also great that you are able to charge £20 per clean but still not entirely sure what your model is and you're out canvassing so I assume it means you're not managing to fill your rounds and I don't understand the £20 been worthless

 

[scottish cleaning service]

usually double for first clean if not been cleaned in a while.

 

[DS WC west midlands]

ok steal my self to explain... I offer 12 months service with a discounted first chemical clean of all the frames doors glass sills front to back & all the way round i charge £35 for the first clean & then £20 per month for rinses of the same items. for that price they are asked to remain monthly.

My one off price is £65
The quality of my cleans is never the issue, i am finding people dodge the one off clean of £65 & try to have the £35 clean because they knows it's a good clean, and they then don't take for the next 12 months.

They makes excuses to get the cheaper clean and then leave despite there being no problem with the quality and they are clearly very happy with the job, i make a point of telling all customers that they can have a free re-clean if they find any fault with my cleans within the first three days of having my cleans
they never call back to ask for the free re-clean i have not had a call back in years, but they do mess around when it comes time to have a monthly they say they can't afford it or they don't want 12 months of cleaning... but only after having lied to get the cheaper clean... I am soft touch and take it on the chin

I am happy with they £20 a month cleans as it's ok the problem is can not resolve here is that if they want a one off clean they should pay the one off clean at £65 not try to trick me into doing a clean for £35 then buggering off on the very first clean haha

Now two years ago £35 was enough to keep the messers away i am finding that £35 is not enough to keep the messers away.. They will come for £35 clean and not take 12 months and there is little i can do to stop that it seems...

I canvass all year round as i find that customers in general do not stay forever and as prices have changed so too have customers budgets they like my services because it's on point, but they expect to get more for less and i need to find a way around that because i want to give them the best without shorting my own pocket..
Plus i am part time not full time but i feel i would make more if i just went super cheap and kicked the first cleans up to £65 maybe even £100, now i do Gutter cleaning on top it seems fruitless to clean at £35 when ppl just take advantage of my pricing, but also it's not like i didn't ask if they wanted monthly or one off, they are straight up lying most of the time... haha

please don't shoot me today i am hot and tired and have lots of work to do....

 

[ched999uk]

From what you are saying it does seem like you need to up your first clean price to weed out the ones looking for a cheap clean. You could try charging triple your normal clean fee and see how you get on, you can always alter your prices if it doesn't work.
One thing, you don't tell the people a one off clean is £65 and a first clean is £35 then £20 a month do you?

 

[Iron Giant]

ok steal my self to explain... I offer 12 months service with a discounted first chemical clean of all the frames doors glass sills front to back & all the way round i charge £35 for the first clean & then £20 per month for rinses of the same items. for that price they are asked to remain monthly.

My one off price is £65
The quality of my cleans is never the issue, i am finding people dodge the one off clean of £65 & try to have the £35 clean because they knows it's a good clean, and they then don't take for the next 12 months.

They makes excuses to get the cheaper clean and then leave despite there being no problem with the quality and they are clearly very happy with the job, i make a point of telling all customers that they can have a free re-clean if they find any fault with my cleans within the first three days of having my cleans
they never call back to ask for the free re-clean i have not had a call back in years, but they do mess around when it comes time to have a monthly they say they can't afford it or they don't want 12 months of cleaning... but only after having lied to get the cheaper clean... I am soft touch and take it on the chin

I am happy with they £20 a month cleans as it's ok the problem is can not resolve here is that if they want a one off clean they should pay the one off clean at £65 not try to trick me into doing a clean for £35 then buggering off on the very first clean haha

Now two years ago £35 was enough to keep the messers away i am finding that £35 is not enough to keep the messers away.. They will come for £35 clean and not take 12 months and there is little i can do to stop that it seems...

I canvass all year round as i find that customers in general do not stay forever and as prices have changed so too have customers budgets they like my services because it's on point, but they expect to get more for less and i need to find a way around that because i want to give them the best without shorting my own pocket..
Plus i am part time not full time but i feel i would make more if i just went super cheap and kicked the first cleans up to £65 maybe even £100, now i do Gutter cleaning on top it seems fruitless to clean at £35 when ppl just take advantage of my pricing, but also it's not like i didn't ask if they wanted monthly or one off, they are straight up lying most of the time... haha

please don't shoot me today i am hot and tired and have lots of work to do....

I am assuming you are offering up the one-off clean price and the first clean price along with the monthly regular price at the point of quoting if this is the case your issue is offering one-off cleans don't mention them or even say that you do them if I am correct in my assumption then this is your issue, also this £20 a month service like everyone one is the same is it £20 for a 2 bed and £20 for a 4 bed because this has got me scratching my head

I point blank refuse to do one-off cleans all jobs are quoted a first price and regular price and they must sign up to GoCardless I don't get any messers at all moving forward from the point of quoting, I'm fortunate I'm established and people will only go ahead with my quote if they are seriously wanting a regular service, my first clean isn't but can be higher than yours but I simply charge double the regular price and I have a minimum charge of £10 which I have just upped this week

 

[Chris34]

My one off price is £65
The quality of my cleans is never the issue, i am finding people dodge the one off clean of £65 & try to have the £35 clean because they knows it's a good clean, and they then don't take for the next 12 months.

They makes excuses to get the cheaper clean and then leave despite there being no problem with the quality and they are clearly very happy with the job, i make a point of telling all customers that they can have a free re-clean if they find any fault with my cleans within the first three days of having my cleans
they never call back to ask for the free re-clean i have not had a call back in years, but they do mess around when it comes time to have a monthly they say they can't afford it or they don't want 12 months of cleaning... but only after having lied to get the cheaper clean... I am soft touch and take it on the chin

I am happy with they £20 a month cleans as it's ok the problem is can not resolve here is that if they want a one off clean they should pay the one off clean at £65 not try to trick me into doing a clean for £35 then buggering off on the very first clean haha

Now two years ago £35 was enough to keep the messers away i am finding that £35 is not enough to keep the messers away.. They will come for £35 clean and not take 12 months and there is little i can do to stop that it seems...

I see what you're saying, you offer them £65 for a one off or if they want a regular then it's £35 for the first clean and then £20 each month.

What you need to do is not give them the option of a one off clean. Just tell them it's £35 for the first clean and then it's £20 per month. If they then say they want a one off clean then tell them you either don't do it or if you're happy to do it and just name your price.

However if they say they want a one off clean and then say 'actually I think I'll go for the monthly clean' then at that point just tell them it's £65 for the first clean and £20 per month and after 6 months you'll give them a free clean, or something like that. Just say that you have been messed about in the past and it just sorts out the messers.

 

[DS WC west midlands]

From what you are saying it does seem like you need to up your first clean price to weed out the ones looking for a cheap clean. You could try charging triple your normal clean fee and see how you get on, you can always alter your prices if it doesn't work.
One thing, you don't tell the people a one off clean is £65 and a first clean is £35 then £20 a month do you?

no i don't tell them that

 

[DS WC west midlands]

thank you for all your input so far it is much needed, i now know what i need to do, I am going to just push £20 pm cleans for now and have the onE off clean on hand for those that ask for a more detailed service.

 

[Poles Apart]

Do

ok steal my self to explain... I offer 12 months service with a discounted first chemical clean of all the frames doors glass sills front to back & all the way round i charge £35 for the first clean & then £20 per month for rinses of the same items. for that price they are asked to remain monthly.

My one off price is £65
The quality of my cleans is never the issue, i am finding people dodge the one off clean of £65 & try to have the £35 clean because they knows it's a good clean, and they then don't take for the next 12 months.

They makes excuses to get the cheaper clean and then leave despite there being no problem with the quality and they are clearly very happy with the job, i make a point of telling all customers that they can have a free re-clean if they find any fault with my cleans within the first three days of having my cleans
they never call back to ask for the free re-clean i have not had a call back in years, but they do mess around when it comes time to have a monthly they say they can't afford it or they don't want 12 months of cleaning... but only after having lied to get the cheaper clean... I am soft touch and take it on the chin

I am happy with they £20 a month cleans as it's ok the problem is can not resolve here is that if they want a one off clean they should pay the one off clean at £65 not try to trick me into doing a clean for £35 then buggering off on the very first clean haha

Now two years ago £35 was enough to keep the messers away i am finding that £35 is not enough to keep the messers away.. They will come for £35 clean and not take 12 months and there is little i can do to stop that it seems...

I canvass all year round as i find that customers in general do not stay forever and as prices have changed so too have customers budgets they like my services because it's on point, but they expect to get more for less and i need to find a way around that because i want to give them the best without shorting my own pocket..
Plus i am part time not full time but i feel i would make more if i just went super cheap and kicked the first cleans up to £65 maybe even £100, now i do Gutter cleaning on top it seems fruitless to clean at £35 when ppl just take advantage of my pricing, but also it's not like i didn't ask if they wanted monthly or one off, they are straight up lying most of the time... haha

please don't shoot me today i am hot and tired and have lots of work to do....

I charge the same for first cleans or one offs as the same amount of time is taken how do you know the ones telling you they want a regular service are telling the truth I see posts on here that baffle me I charge for my time and that's fixed.