The Price of cleaning after Covid 19 a realistic shift for our industry

[mike007]

I suppose what i am getting at is covering costs where the government lets us down, I am not talking about a massive price hike simply banding together as cleaners to set in place an industry wide increase that protects us from situation where it might not be safe to be in the public space, it's good to see everyone's opinion & yes large volumes of customers do try to play the system to get cheap jobs, but those that fall for that trap of cheap work also do splash & dash 20 minute spray and prey's through customer manipulation. I made my prices £20 per clean from January as I wanted to be free to do all the extra detailing over a 40 minutes to an hour per job ratio, my customers are happy think i lost one who was over reactive with the classic "that's to expensive" he had a conservatory that i did not mind letting go of...mostly because i never really charged him what it was worth, last week he came begging back i said no thanks... But i still say £20 is too cheap for most houses i like to take my time with jobs no point rushing when there are always so many customers asking... I now charge £65 for a first time clean and for that i make sure they get a chemical clean so good those windows look new, never had a call back or complaint since i put those prices in place, trust of my customers has also bought in more work, I am just trying to think about those starting out and how to give them a break, an industry wide increase or set price would help those new guys get established, given the history of our trade we would do well to set the record straight once and for all across the board... I know some people seem to think their customers would never pay that much but to them i say it's you job it's your business it's your time and you choose what you are worth if they don't want it they don't have to take it yes you will do less work but in weeks days even, you will get more work knock some doors sell your product you will soon see...  Thanks for your input those who took the time really helped me get a good view of things...         

Seems you do not do a first clean...you do a restoration job on the windows for £65.

 

[Markyboy 50]

I lost one customer to a sixpounder when he was paying me £13 a month. I expect him to come back when the winter comes in but not sure if I will have him back. I have lost trust and loyalty in him and may just say I'm full up. Kind of cutting my nose off to spite my face but the feeling I would get could be worth it.

Take him back but make it £15 as he’s a “ new” customer now ?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Take him back but make it £15 as he’s a “ new” customer now ?

Aye, it makes perfect sense when building a business. ?

 

[dazmond]

at the end of the day we all charge what we feel is fair for the job and thats how it should be...i dont take my time...whether its a £90 job or a £5 job...im splash and dash (apart from the first clean)and thats what works for me....

i only work 20-25 hours a week (actually physically window cleaning) but my work is very close together with hardly any driving about so i earn a good income for relatively short hours.....

as for taking care of your finances thats your own personal affair......my advice would be to get a good "emergency fund" built up behind you ready to spring into action if needed....even if it takes you 5 years to build it up itll be worth it...i would say a minimum of 6 months bills money...so say you outgoings/bills are roughly £2k a month then look into saving £12k at least...thats £2400 a year over 5 years....very achievable for many of us.....

 

[mike007]

at the end of the day we all charge what we feel is fair for the job and thats how it should be...i dont take my time...whether its a £90 job or a £5 job...im splash and dash (apart from the first clean)and thats what works for me....

i only work 20-25 hours a week (actually physically window cleaning) but my work is very close together with hardly any driving about so i earn a good income for relatively short hours.....

as for taking care of your finances thats your own personal affair......my advice would be to get a good "emergency fund" built up behind you ready to spring into action if needed....even if it takes you 5 years to build it up itll be worth it...i would say a minimum of 6 months bills money...so say you outgoings/bills are roughly £2k a month then look into saving £12k at least...thats £2400 a year over 5 years....very achievable for many of us.....

Many of us had "emergency funds" hit by the wet winter we had prior to the Covid-19. Only the few who never stopped working during lockdown have benefitted. The rest of us have been hit pretty hard even allowing for the SEISS payment. Doing the morally correct thing does come with a cost.

 

[Doug]

Totally agree with you @Iron Giant I priced a job for a new customer the other week, and my quote was for £18. She was previously paying her window cleaner £6!! She was ok with my quote as the other cleaner was un reliable and didn't do a very good job.

I agree. I see this a lot. Customers paying a lot less before, but the guy never turned up. They couldn't get hold of him etc etc. People don't like this kind of unprofessionalism is my experience and are happy to pay a fair price. I have a minimum charge of £15 and have done so for years and almost always people are happy with that. That may be my area I realise.

 

[dazmond]

Many of us had "emergency funds" hit by the wet winter we had prior to the Covid-19. Only the few who never stopped working during lockdown have benefitted. The rest of us have been hit pretty hard even allowing for the SEISS payment. Doing the morally correct thing does come with a cost.

I worked all through the wet weather in feb as I always work in the rain and have done for many years.......i also worked all through the lockdown as I work on my own with no employees so was allowed to keep working......us sole trader window cleaners have been very lucky indeed!??

 

[Doug]

Many of us had "emergency funds" hit by the wet winter we had prior to the Covid-19. Only the few who never stopped working during lockdown have benefitted. The rest of us have been hit pretty hard even allowing for the SEISS payment. Doing the morally correct thing does come with a cost.

Personally I never felt it was the right thing to do not to work. I worked right through and loved the normality it offered both myself and my customers. They were all grateful.  A few asked to wait until it was over and that’s understandable as they had underlying conditions. 

 

[harunh]

Whats everyone's opinion of pricing now that the government have chosen to avoid providing support for so many trades and self employed persons, in that I mean, many simply just don't qualify for grants or loans at all and are having to work anyway... This is just a thought but we all know someone who is suffering because of this virus or at least i do. when i measure what we charge now against our american brothers for window cleans is it now not time to agree on mass a rise in our charges? many will not like this suggestion but that old fashioned way of thinking never makes a living, but that's ok i'd rather cover times like this and any future outbreak because i don't want to expose my family to something like that by working when i should not be, so charging cheap has really got to get kicked out the house, if we want to be called a business and not just a sole trader or self employed, not that there is anything wrong with that. My eyes fell out my head when i heard what Americans charge for cleaning, makes me feel like i don't charge nearly enough for what i do... maybe we don't  i am not sure anymore... Thoughts ? other industries are going to do this when it is all over.       

The Americans window cleaning business is total different compared to our window cleaning in the UK, they do one clean per year and will charge like £600.00 , the UK market 50% of the population now is educated to have a regular window cleaner, if u tried telling an American household resident that you will do there windows once a month they will not allow it.

A lot of countries are different and the UK is a booming market for window cleaning and if u think u can raise your price then go for it but dont forget there will be a few start up window cleaners within 10 miles from u who have started up in the past 6 months and they will be happy to do your work for a cheaper price then u are, so if u think u can do a mass rise in your charges then i suggest u think again ? U can maybe a do a little rise fair enough, but no not a mass rise, we are in a recession, the economy has crashed, and the last thing a customer needs is a mass price increase.

I charge my customers with what im happy with, i dont be to greedy and i dont be cheap either, a £10.00 house i clean i know a person who would charge £16.00 for it , i also know someone who would charge £5.00 for it, the main key is if your happy then thats all that matters, be fair and reasonable.

 

 

[Dave B]

Anything I quote nowadays starts at £15.

My minimum had been put up to £12 last year but won't quote anything less than £15 for new customers.

Just no point quoting tenners etc for the same amount of work.

No shortage of new customers round here either.

Everyone panicking about the current financial situation and I've had my best spring in ages for new work.

Doing quotes every day and still got a list of work to quote.

 

[mike007]

Personally I never felt it was the right thing to do not to work. I worked right through and loved the normality it offered both myself and my customers. They were all grateful.  A few asked to wait until it was over and that’s understandable as they had underlying conditions. 

Hindsight is wonderful thing....but what if Covid-19 was so lethal  as first predicted (reason for furlough,stay indoors,only essential trips and keep them to minimum etc) and you infected half your customer base inadvertently when the famous R factor was still above 1. You would of caused a mass epidemic in your area!!!

 

[dazmond]

Hindsight is wonderful thing....but what if Covid-19 was so lethal  as first predicted (reason for furlough,stay indoors,only essential trips and keep them to minimum etc) and you infected half your customer base inadvertently when the famous R factor was still above 1. You would of caused a mass epidemic in your area!!!

How would that happen then if your a window cleaner who cleans outside windows only and most of his customers pay online?

I must admit I never seen a window cleaner for at least 3 weeks after lockdown when working......

 

[DS WC west midlands]

To clear up any confusion I am pole fed, not Trad i started on trad but £5 shop windows got old real fast so i upgraded... I never splash & dash... 30-40 minutes minimum £20 per month, customers that manipulate their service providers are not customers they are freeloaders and i avoid them like a Vampire avoids the Sun, if they won't pay prices you can live off, bin them & go knocking doors... You will soon see them begging you back 12 month later after a few bad cleans... To those who are very cheap and running around like a mad man, hat's off to you for the effort, but you might want to change jobs... I don't even look at windows without a £65 first clean chemical clean to strip the frames of all the dirt. If i need to charge more I will do... I didn't take the SIESS as it pays money in one hand & steals in the next, i kept working I hardly see my customers they all pay by card... I am single parent and i home school my son so i am part time at the moment... but i still fit in a good two weeks of cleaning per month all my regs five a day... I know many of you have hard faced customers bless you for sticking with it but please please do your self a solid, put your prices up and live your lives without the big mess those cheap customers create... it just takes a little confidence to move forward from them, as for the comment about LSD I should think they are on LSD at such cheap rates... HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY              

 

[Dave B]

Anything I quote nowadays starts at £15.

My minimum had been put up to £12 last year but won't quote anything less than £15 for new customers.

Just no point quoting tenners etc for the same amount of work.

No shortage of new customers round here either.

Everyone panicking about the current financial situation and I've had my best spring in ages for new work.

Doing quotes every day and still got a list of work to quote.

The reason I quote high is I love my fishing.

Will be done in an hour and my worker will be done not long after.

I'm going up the lakes that I'm part of a syndicate of and he will meet me up there when he is done.

Don't wanna be working all day when I could be fishing.

My van is fitted out with a system and loads of rod holders and tackle boxes built into the sides so all my gear is ready to go.

Life is too short to work like a dog lol.

 

[dazmond]

To clear up any confusion I am pole fed, not Trad i started on trad but £5 shop windows got old real fast so i upgraded... I never splash & dash... 30-40 minutes minimum £20 per month, customers that manipulate their service providers are not customers they are freeloaders and i avoid them like a Vampire avoids the Sun, if they won't pay prices you can live off, bin them & go knocking doors... You will soon see them begging you back 12 month later after a few bad cleans... To those who are very cheap and running around like a mad man, hat's off to you for the effort, but you might want to change jobs... I don't even look at windows without a £65 first clean chemical clean to strip the frames of all the dirt. If i need to charge more I will do... I didn't take the SIESS as it pays money in one hand & steals in the next, i kept working I hardly see my customers they all pay by card... I am single parent and i home school my son so i am part time at the moment... but i still fit in a good two weeks of cleaning per month all my regs five a day... I know many of you have hard faced customers bless you for sticking with it but please please do your self a solid, put your prices up and live your lives without the big mess those cheap customers create... it just takes a little confidence to move forward from them, as for the comment about LSD I should think they are on LSD at such cheap rates... HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY              

personally id be gutted if a £20 job took me 40 mins to clean..its way too low for me....i aim for £45-£50 an hour minimum on any work i clean,and usually hit it no problems......i am splash and dash though without a doubt!

i aim to work the least amount of hours for the most money every week........

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Never worry what others charge.

There will always be someone out there cheaper who will do the same job.And never assume because they are cheap they aren't making good money.

I know of one firm that specialise in a lot of £10 type store fronts the type of work that domestic only turn their  nose up at and the guy turns over and around 18 million a year from it.

I could get my house windows cleaned at a tenner tomorrow if I wish, there are that many cleaners about looking for work.

 

[dazmond]

Never worry what others charge.

There will always be someone out there cheaper who will do the same job.And never assume because they are cheap they aren't making good money.

I know of one firm that specialise in a lot of £10 type store fronts the type of work that domestic only turn their  nose up at and the guy turns over and around 18 million a year from it.

I could get my house windows cleaned at a tenner tomorrow if I wish, there are that many cleaners about looking for work.

yeah theres loads of window cleaning companies turning over 18 million a year cleaning £10 fronts......?

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

yeah theres loads of window cleaning companies turning over 18 million a year cleaning £10 fronts......?

Not loads but more than you think not exactly the point I'm trying to make.

Because some one is charging less than you it comes with the belief that they aren't making money are desperate or skint.

Antac,nationwide,ladders free,greig Avinou etc, etc are cleaning what most on here would call low priced rubbish work yet all are running multi million pound turnover business.

 

[harunh]

Not loads but more than you think not exactly the point I'm trying to make.

Because some one is charging less than you it comes with the belief that they aren't making money are desperate or skint.

Antac,nationwide,ladders free,greig Avinou etc, etc are cleaning what most on here would call low priced rubbish work yet all are running multi million pound turnover business.

A lot of people on online window cleaning posts seem to think that you must charge high prices otherwise it isnt worth your time, end of the day everyone runs there own business differently, When window cleaners see Greig AVon and Nationwide in there local towns, they dont like it... it clearly hurts them because they are thinking i could do that job, why is a national company here for ? ! ? ? haha

So they will log on to a online page and tell people that there work is **** etc, end of the day its like a corner shop owner talking **** about Tesco lol.

The bigger a firm is the cheaper they can go, i guarantee they will be making good money otherwise they would of folded a long time ago ? 

 

[Part Timer]

Don't Ladders Free subcontract 

 

[harunh]

Don't Ladders Free subcontract 

Ladders free are mega window cleaning subcontractors, they have contracts in every town/city.