I shake my head sometimes

So cleaning a new marionette I picked up last month and neighbour came out enquiring. How much I charged and how often I came. £10 once a month I told her , she said she had a window cleaner but wasn’t impressed as he shows up whenever etc, and usually rings first and if she dosent answer he comes and does them missing a few windows lol. Well she said she would have me start next month giving her time to cancel him. She phoned today and left message to say that she dosent want me to clean as she thinks £10 is too much and will be staying with existing one who only charges £5. I shake my head and smile

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I had a similar situation this week. Cleaning a house and next door asks over the fence if I'm her window cleaner. No I'm not your window cleaner. Can you give me a price please she asks. I'll be round after I've cleaned this house. Had a look round and thought £20 would suffice. I ring the bell and tell her it's £20 a month. Too much she says, our present window cleaner charges me £12 so I won't bother thanks. I reply with tell him to clean the frames next time as he doesn't clean them. Yes he does she replied. No he doesn't I replied. Eventually she went back inside. So, she was after a cheaper quote than £12!!! Feck that.

A lot of peoples perception of window cleaners in general is as outdated as some low priced cleaners, They assume we should be cheap that our equipment isn't all that expensive to purchase and we don't declare all our earnings. 

You can't change their perception when beer towel tradders and slap and dashers are doing a 3 star job for 50% less in some cases as they assume that we are all the same.

Two this week, both after a fist clean one approached me saying sheepishly “ you don’t mind if you don’t clean mine, we’ve bought one of thought brush things you cleaned with” my response these days is usually to just look at them blankly and say nothing but couldn’t help tell her it would make a mess of a good job. The second phoned to cancel ( three bed terrac on a council estate) her daughter told her at £12.50 I was too expensive as her window cleaner was £7 for the full house and “he has one of those pol things too” the only response it warented was good luck!

Iron Giant said:

A lot of peoples perception of window cleaners in general is as outdated as some low priced cleaners, They assume we should be cheap that our equipment isn't all that expensive to purchase and we don't declare all our earnings. 

You can't change their perception when beer towel tradders and slap and dashers are doing a 3 star job for 50% less in some cases as they assume that we are all the same.

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Couldn't of put it better myself .  

Iron Giant said:

A lot of peoples perception of window cleaners in general is as outdated as some low priced cleaners, They assume we should be cheap that our equipment isn't all that expensive to purchase and we don't declare all our earnings. 

You can't change their perception when beer towel tradders and slap and dashers are doing a 3 star job for 50% less in some cases as they assume that we are all the same.

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I also couldn't of put it better @Iron Giant never a truer word spoken. 

I wonder that if I only charged £2 per house, I could actually not even turn up and just collect the money. 

I wouldn't be good (i'd let the rain clean them) but I would be cheap!

Yeah we all have this trouble. Took one on 6 weeks ago, (previous window cleaner charged £5 for the front. 2 windows and a UPVC door)
i know they did a pants job as the pvc was grey and the front door had rubber marks and stickers on it.
I said to her it would be £7.50p (normally quote a tenner for fronts only now , but its a long established round and with everybody else around her paying £7.50p i thought oh go on then)
she was happy with the price. Did it, got paid, no problem. Went back today, same again. Got paid, no problem. She said thanks.

Then as we were leaving, her mate came out the house ranting and raving “£7.50 for two windows, it’s daylight robbery blah blah blah”
I thought here we go. Left her to it. Our customer told her to shut up as she was embarrassing her, and they both went to get in their car to go out.
I said to our customer
“Thats why we charge see, the hassle you get half the time it just isn’t worth the bother”
I felt so sorry for her but after that saga i wont bother going back. Who needs that nonsense.
Quietly there thinking to myself, we’ve shown up in a ££££ van, driven 2 miles through heavy traffic to get to where the round is, used a £400 pole, £35 brush head, £100 backpack, magic sponges and sticker remover, framework and door are gleaming, and they are moaning about the price of it.
Unbelievable.
I’ve never insisted on written agreements until this evening but for all new customers from today i will.
From the big jobs to the small, in black and white, they can sign the quote sheet otherwise im not working for them. No more people moaning about prices then. If they sign it then they cant groan


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Taken a load of new customers recently on a council housing estate and am burning my way through the clowns, there are decent customer amongst them but some times wonder if I should just target a more affluent area and give up the compactness that the estate offers. Several second cleans today claiming they thought it was a one off. Give them the stern look so they know what I think of them! Time wasting bums...

Iron Giant said:

A lot of peoples perception of window cleaners in general is as outdated as some low priced cleaners, They assume we should be cheap that our equipment isn't all that expensive to purchase and we don't declare all our earnings. 

You can't change their perception when beer towel tradders and slap and dashers are doing a 3 star job for 50% less in some cases as they assume that we are all the same.

Click to expand...

Very true mate. We just need to rise above it and pick out the good un's.

I cleaned a lady today, recommended by a friend round the corner who we got from a leaflet drop. She wouldn't tell me what the last bloke charged but she said it was a lot less than me but cheap wasn't what she was after. She told me he was missing the corners, when I got up close I saw what she meant. Once I had actually started to clean and she saw I was doing a decent job she told me more about him, trad cleaner, had started to turn up stinking of booze, his van broke last time he came and he had his ladders sticking out the back of the car ?‍

She had the absolute works today, Gutters cleared and cleaned, fascias, and windows. I was there about 2 1/2 hours. All of her neighbours saw me cleaning and started asking, by the end of it I have picked up 4 new customers in the same street and her sister round the corner, all customers of the previous windy. I sort of feel bad for the guy but meh, I've got a family to feed!

BigFoot said:

Taken a load of new customers recently on a council housing estate and am burning my way through the clowns, there are decent customer amongst them but some times wonder if I should just target a more affluent area and give up the compactness that the estate offers. Several second cleans today claiming they thought it was a one off. Give them the stern look so they know what I think of them! Time wasting bums...

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I know what you’re saying, We have jet washes, high paying first cleans & FSG’s patiently waiting their turn, we are booked up for the next month, can’t take any more on or advertise. So it does wind me up when we get messed about on rounds.
we commit to them and don’t sacrifice them to higher paying jobs because most of them are good loyal customers, & in the back of my mind i know that in the winter it’s our bread and butter, because theres nothing else out there other than gutter clearances. But it only takes one or two messers on a round to “break your stride”
Now we are trying to move over to a “first clean specialist, call out type operation” especially between April & Christmas when demand is high.
I’m no longer of the belief that a high volume of customers is the way forward.


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P4dstar said:

Very true mate. We just need to rise above it and pick out the good un's.

I cleaned a lady today, recommended by a friend round the corner who we got from a leaflet drop. She wouldn't tell me what the last bloke charged but she said it was a lot less than me but cheap wasn't what she was after. She told me he was missing the corners, when I got up close I saw what she meant. Once I had actually started to clean and she saw I was doing a decent job she told me more about him, trad cleaner, had started to turn up stinking of booze, his van broke last time he came and he had his ladders sticking out the back of the car ?‍

She had the absolute works today, Gutters cleared and cleaned, fascias, and windows. I was there about 2 1/2 hours. All of her neighbours saw me cleaning and started asking, by the end of it I have picked up 4 new customers in the same street and her sister round the corner, all customers of the previous windy. I sort of feel bad for the guy but meh, I've got a family to feed!

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Sounds a little like a job I picked up a while ago but cleaner hadn't been seen for months one job has now turned into 5 and growing plus @THL4KEL gained add ons from my recommendation as I pass all add on jobs  to him now  ?