The Cost Of Living Crisis And Your Business!

[Poles Apart]

Hi, I haven't been on here for a while but I'll dive right in.  I'm starting to get cancellations with reasons given such as "Due to a change of circumstances" blah blah blah, since 2008 there has been some sort of recessions or economic crisis but now we are entering a critical point where millions of hard working people who will be hit most are going to experience hardship. During the last 14 years we have seen fuel prices rocket, energy prices soar and food prices significantly increase, on top of that goods, services and equipment and materials have become more expensive, website costs have increased by as much as 300%,, I bought some resin last week and Unger had put the price up by a whopping £10, this is not a good time of year as Christmas which I can't stand seems to impact business badly about a month before and a month after. This country is already heading in to economic disaster for which there is no turning back due to Brexit and last year alone export sales to Germany were down by 9 billion pounds and that's just one country we trade with, so my question is do we increase prices and risk losing even more business? There will be a lot of families sitting around the dinner table over the next few months suggesting that "the window cleaner will have to go", the last time something not as bad as this this happened  everyone seemed to be in denial?            

 

[Iron Giant]

All of the increases are getting rammed down people's throats everyday on the news there is no escaping it at all people are seeing those increases hit them in the pocket right now and some no doubt by £200+ each month as a minimum

The people who have brand new cars on the drive in the coming months will be ones to easily increase, the others maybe not so easily, I have never put my prices up until around Easter time as the heating goes off the weather is much sunnier it's the first bank holiday and most will have holidays to look forward to in the weeks ahead. 

 

[HWCS]

Mine all went up in January and ive lost 1 i think

 

[Part Timer]

You had me on your side till you blamed Brexit. The world has spent the last 2 years printing money. The outcome of this is high inflation.

 

[Poles Apart]

All of the increases are getting rammed down people's throats everyday on the news there is no escaping it at all people are seeing those increases hit them in the pocket right now and some no doubt by £200+ each month as a minimum

The people who have brand new cars on the drive in the coming months will be ones to easily increase, the others maybe not so easily, I have never put my prices up until around Easter time as the heating goes off the weather is much sunnier it's the first bank holiday and most will have holidays to look forward to in the weeks ahead. 

Hope my heating goes of Easter last May was freezing.

 

[Jimmybob2614]

I've had about £200 a month cancel since Christmas, as a business that's been going just over a year and have just over 200 customers it's been quite hard to take. Unfortunately the people that will cancel will do so regardless so all we can do is sit back and hope its not too bad, and try and book more work in to compensate 

 

[Poles Apart]

You had me on your side till you blamed Brexit. The world has spent the last 2 years printing money. The outcome of this is high inflation.

So you thing moving on Brexit will benefit us, nearly all economic institutions don't agree?

 

[Poles Apart]

I've had about £200 a month cancel since Christmas, as a business that's been going just over a year and have just over 200 customers it's been quite hard to take. Unfortunately the people that will cancel will do so regardless so all we can do is sit back and hope its not too bad, and try and book more work in to compensate 

I pay £160 every 6 months for a Ad in a book that only accept trusted traders it gets delivered to thousands of homes I've got one job from it in 6 months.

 

[Part Timer]

So you thing moving on Brexit will benefit us, nearly all economic institutions don't agree?

Brexit hasn't caused the inflation and every businessman I know says they are very busy. It's happened, get over it, and if you spend all your time and energy looking back you can't move forward.

 

[Pjj]

So far we haven’t lost any customers due to this situation I am currently putting up some prices and not lost any , some customers have openly stated that they would cut back in other areas so that they can have clean windows seams daft but that’s what they have said . Maybe things will change only time will tell . 

 

[HWCS]

So far we haven’t lost any customers due to this situation I am currently putting up some prices and not lost any , some customers have openly stated that they would cut back in other areas so that they can have clean windows seams daft but that’s what they have said . Maybe things will change only time will tell . 

Ive found the same, especially on my new build estates

 

[ksp]

I’ve lost about £2k of annual work since Christmas. A few have moved, 1 lost her job, one didn’t like the fact I spent less time cleaning her windows on the second clean than I did on the first clean and a few haven’t given a reason.
 

I’ve also had a couple of regulars say that my prices for add-on work are too expensive. Which is a first for regulars.  It’s probably related. 
 

I’ve not put my prices up this year as everything else is going up. I don’t need to and the couple of occasions I’ve been asked about it they appreciate the fact I haven’t. When the household fuel prices go up 54% in April I’ll to lose more and get less enquiries. 

 

[Iron Giant]

Hope my heating goes of Easter last May was freezing.

Who knows with the way the weather has been, one day is cold the next I could wear shorts, I struggle remember what happened last week never mind last May 

 

[Martyn]

I don't think it's fair to lay the blame on Brexit which seems to me to have been a game of swings and roundabouts, losses for some but new opportunities for others. The effects of the pandemic have been far greater and will continue for some time to come.

Eventually all of this will settle down into some sort of normality.

 

[Davy G]

Brexit didn't release an ever changing, often deadly, world wide virus from a Biological warfare laboratory in one of the most aggressive countries in the world. A virus that is continuing to cause worldwide grief, suffering, misery and financial hardship but is nothing to do with Brexit.

Brexit has or will hopefully free us from having to continue to finance several overseas organisations: EU Parliament, EU Council, EU Commission and who knows how many others, that refuse to be subjected to financial auditing and accountability as to what is being done with people's money extracted in taxes. We should never have allowed the "partnership" to have gone beyond the trading agreements of the Common Market which was the original remit proposed and sold to the electorate to supposedly help make trading simpler and easier.

It was total stupidity to concede power to countries, one or more of which we've been at war with for almost all of our entire recorded history.

They have never been our friends, except for in short spells when our forefathers were needed to rescue them from each other in two world wars.

I'm for Brexit all the way even if it's not an easy road, it goes beyond economics for me. I've faced and got through tough times before. I look further forward to hopefully regaining a degree of national and individual identity and freedom.

 

[AW Services]

Who knows with the way the weather has been, one day is cold the next I could wear shorts, I struggle remember what happened last week never mind last May 

Last May Devon was his by severe storms, 60 mph wind driving rain and lots of damage. I remember it well as I was actually homeless due to my landlord not paying his way. Two weeks in a tent and my van. Bloody awful 

 

[Pjj]

I don't think it's fair to lay the blame on Brexit which seems to me to have been a game of swings and roundabouts, losses for some but new opportunities for others. The effects of the pandemic have been far greater and will continue for some time to come.

Eventually all of this will settle down into some sort of normality.

We have never been so busy since covid started enquiries and work have gone through the roof we are booking add on jobs now for June/July  the bubble might burs but no sign of that happening at the moment most of our curare well off , retired semi retired , run their own business or multi millionaire s so at the moment they arnt worried about the bills , we have several that have increased the price of there jobs as they value our service . Things might change who knows but for now we are making hay while the sun shines . 

 

[ks789]

You had me on your side till you blamed Brexit. The world has spent the last 2 years printing money. The outcome of this is high inflation.

yes I agreed with the post but certainly this thing is global and nothing to do with brexit. Thats a small sideshow by comparison. 

 

[ks789]

Clothes have been comparitively cheap for decades. Stock up on your levis/quality footwear etc now as they will likely only rocket up. Tinned foods? though a lot of them only seem to have a shelf life of about a year or so.  maybe some of the dried packet foods last longer. Who knows really but cant do any harm to stock up a bit. Also 10k in a bank, after a year may end up only worth 8 or 9k depending on how things go. Maybe buy some sovereigns or brittanias. Gold should hold its own and maybe more.

 

[Poles Apart]

Other factors aside from Brexit are also responsible but the virus was a convenient distraction for this Government the reality is we have made a monumental mistake of epic proportions because of xenophobic politicians looking after their own short term interests instead of putting the country first but putting politics to one side when you throw in the Pandemic and the cost of living crisis into the melting pot then it's not good, I know some will never admit to losing customers and you'll get some who say they've lost lots I did pick up work during the pandemic but I'm talking about the economy affecting businesses and working families who we do work for, I stopped coming on here as I was disgusted with the amount of abuse that was handed out to window cleaners who went to work during lockdown I'm not sure how that was dealt with on here? 

 

[Jonny 67]

Other factors aside from Brexit are also responsible but the virus was a convenient distraction for this Government the reality is we have made a monumental mistake of epic proportions because of xenophobic politicians looking after their own short term interests instead of putting the country first but putting politics to one side when you throw in the Pandemic and the cost of living crisis into the melting pot then it's not good, I know some will never admit to losing customers and you'll get some who say they've lost lots I did pick up work during the pandemic but I'm talking about the economy affecting businesses and working families who we do work for, I stopped coming on here as I was disgusted with the amount of abuse that was handed out to window cleaners who went to work during lockdown I'm not sure how that was dealt with on here? 

I never stopped going to work. Not for one day. Let's see if I get abuse ?