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Quality versus price

Craigmac

Active member
Messages
172
Location
Swansea
Bare with it, could be a long post.

So cleaning one of our domestic cleans today (we own a cleaning company) and mentioned to the customer that we also offer window cleaning. 

As with all our current domestic customers we offer the first clean at the regular monthly price. 

So told custy that it would only be £15 a month and we would not charge for the initial clean which would have been £35.

Custy "I already have a window cleaner and he uses one of them pole things" "he only charges £10 a month". "HE WAS HERE LAST WEEK".

Myself "I am sorry I cannot compete with that". 

"We pride ourselves on a quality job and for £10 i would have to rush through to make it worth my while".

Custy "yes the one I am using is only here for 10mins max".

Myself "sorry that's not how we work" "and at £10 a month I would suggest you keep the one you have that is a baragin price"

Anyway custy leaves us to it and goes out for a couple of hours. Which gave me the chance to look at the windows properly without looking like I am criticising the other windys work.

The upstairs sills were minging (but we do have the added benefit of being in the house so we can go upstairs and see) did not want to take a pic from inside the house so just took quick ones before of the oustide we left :

The pics are all ground floor so no excuse for not removing the little cannabis (lol) plant and the spider nests. 

Feel guilty telling the customer to keep the windy she has now. 

But it's as they say you get what you pay for. 

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It's what I've said for an age.  Charge appropriately.  Like yourself.. I'm never in a rush and feel like I have all the time in the world as jobs are priced correctly so I can ensure a perfect clean every time. 

Time is money as they say but if you're getting the right money for your time then what's the hurry?

 
It's what I've said for an age.  Charge appropriately.  Like yourself.. I'm never in a rush and feel like I have all the time in the world as jobs are priced correctly so I can ensure a perfect clean every time. 

Time is money as they say but if you're getting the right money for your time then what's the hurry?


Even if her current window cleaner was charging £15, he would still do it in 10 minutes. Wave the pole around quickly for a few minutes and the magic wand just brings in the money.

We vacuumed and cleaned gutters, fascias and soffetts for a friend of ours in Nunthorpe today. They have a current window cleaner. He does fronts only as our friends have a locked side gate and are never in.

So the house is a 3 bed semi, 2 bay windows (main bedroom & lounge underneath, front door and a window above the door. Done wfp for £4. How can we compete with that?

TBH, the front windows were clean; I couldn't fault them even although its been a week or so since they were done.

 
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How do you know the customer wasn't lying?

The windows may not have been cleaned for 2years.

It's not unusual for a customer to say they are paying a price to get you to match it or go in cheaper.

 
Fair point CGH 

Either way I was not going to do it for £10.

Should have added the windows did not look that bad it was just the frames and sills were pretty neglected. 

Which I found strange as she said he uses the "pole thing" and doing the frames and sills surely is part and parcel of the WFP system. 

 
Fair point CGH 

Either way I was not going to do it for £10.

Should have added the windows did not look that bad it was just the frames and sills were pretty neglected. 

Which I found strange as she said he uses the "pole thing" and doing the frames and sills surely is part and parcel of the WFP system. 
Only part and parcel to those doing the job properly 

 
Fair point CGH 

Either way I was not going to do it for £10.

Should have added the windows did not look that bad it was just the frames and sills were pretty neglected. 

Which I found strange as she said he uses the "pole thing" and doing the frames and sills surely is part and parcel of the WFP system. 




A lot of wfp window cleaners round me dont do the frames only the glass i find it incredible but that’s a fact , we clean the whole window each clean including the vents as I personally find it easier and it looks far better from the customers point of view , we arnt the cheapest nor the dearest but do pick up a lot of work due to others doing such a poor job 

 
Fair point CGH 

Either way I was not going to do it for £10.

Should have added the windows did not look that bad it was just the frames and sills were pretty neglected. 

Which I found strange as she said he uses the "pole thing" and doing the frames and sills surely is part and parcel of the WFP system. 
There are a fair few glass only wfp cleaners in the area, make all of us look bad, won't be the last I'm afraid, but if your going to sell the windows have a look first, then you'll have an idea on what to say. An example of this would be "I've noticed your frames are looking grubby and a few bits of grass/moss growing in the corners, if you would like I'll happily sort it, and can even do the windows whenever I'm here to clean the house, it'll only cost an extra £15 to your normal bill, usually it'll be £25 but as your a good customer already I'll do you a deal". You may have better luck, I do it a lot to pick up add-on jobs, tend to get a better success rate then just asking flat out.

 
We are moving over to “restoration” cleans. I’m using the word “restoration” more. For some reason it seems to have more selling power. all it really is, is a glorified term for a window cleaning.

To my surprise I am picking them up with relative ease. Done a few recently at £100, £90, £75, £60 etc.

(All just standard semis mostly, no connys or extras like) the one we did today was quite time consuming, a lot of paint on the windows so went through a few scraper blades. and magic sponges/rub out needed on upper floor windows. But it’s good & I enjoy it.

If it takes half a day to clean someones windows then so be it. Higher price for the job, less travel, more satisfaction at the end. Got a bit overwhelmed with high volume low paying jobs so i’m targeting the ad ons much more than growing rounds now. The demand is there this time of year and you can get really good prices. Looking forward to starting softwashing soon. Got our first delivery ordered from benz, so a few home trials to see what the stuffs really made of. And then later this year it’ll be another service to our badge i’m hoping [emoji4]

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Some people would rather pay a fiver for a glass only clean as they are not interested in keeping up with the Joneses and having the full shabang at £15 every month. They only want their windows cleaned so they can do the job in which they was intended and that’s to let light into the house and look out of. Neither of which need the frames cleaned to do. They will put the frames in the same bracket as gutters and fascias and will just have them cleaned when they are minging. Standards have increased greatly since I started 20 years ago but there’s still loads of glass only cleaners out their with still very happy customers. It seems like the runabout generation of window cleaners seem to be the ones pushing the full shabang in order to get higher prices as it just wouldn’t be worth driving to jobs that were only worth £5/10 a pop. I clean very compact work which is a little on the cheap side but pays because you can do high volumes of work in small amounts of time and also do my fair share of runabouts at higher premiums. Personally I wouldn’t stop the van for less than £15.


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Oi that’s my job

Na of course not.

A mixture of a customer who doesn’t look closely & a lazy & complaisant window cleaner. Unfortunately still common. 

 
 
Even if her current window cleaner was charging £15, he would still do it in 10 minutes. Wave the pole around quickly for a few minutes and the magic wand just brings in the money.
We vacuumed and cleaned gutters, fascias and soffetts for a friend of ours in Nunthorpe today. They have a current window cleaner. He does fronts only as our friends have a locked side gate and are never in.
 
So the house is a 3 bed semi, 2 bay windows (main bedroom & lounge underneath, front door and a window above the door. Done wfp for £4. How can we compete with that?
 
TBH, the front windows were clean; I couldn't fault them even although its been a week or so since they were done.
Most windys wouldn’t be able to do a one stop job for £4. If you then take into account that the original windys will probs do the full house for £8/10 and will probs have high volumes of work in that area meaning they can easily do 3/4 per hour. That gives you an hourly rate that most would be happy with. One stop jobs are becoming more popular but a different kettle of fish hence today’s higher prices.


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Most windys wouldn’t be able to do a one stop job for £4. If you then take into account that the original windys will probs do the full house for £8/10 and will probs have high volumes of work in that area meaning they can easily do 3/4 per hour. That gives you an hourly rate that most would be happy with. One stop jobs are becoming more popular but a different kettle of fish hence today’s higher prices.


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I agree with you, but this is what a new window cleaner trying to grow his round is up against.

We have a nearby village which comprises of 2 rather long streets of 2 bed street houses; 2 windows and a door. There are approx 90 houses in this street house 'complex' and he does most of them. The windie who did/does them charges/charged £2 a front a couple of years back. Only does the fronts. Rushes through the lot in a few hours. Not the best job but his customers don't expect anything perfect for £2.

He doesn't have to worry about anyone poaching his work either.

What I wonder about is his actual running costs per customer per visit. If he is selling a service for £2, what are his running costs excluding wages to support that price?

 
I agree with you, but this is what a new window cleaner trying to grow his round is up against.

We have a nearby village which comprises of 2 rather long streets of 2 bed street houses; 2 windows and a door. There are approx 90 houses in this street house 'complex' and he does most of them. The windie who did/does them charges/charged £2 a front a couple of years back. Only does the fronts. Rushes through the lot in a few hours. Not the best job but his customers don't expect anything perfect for £2.

He doesn't have to worry about anyone poaching his work either.

What I wonder about is his actual running costs per customer per visit. If he is selling a service for £2, what are his running costs excluding wages to support that price?
Possibly not insured

Not registered 

Cash only

And still claiming benefits 

 
I agree with you, but this is what a new window cleaner trying to grow his round is up against.
 
We have a nearby village which comprises of 2 rather long streets of 2 bed street houses; 2 windows and a door. There are approx 90 houses in this street house 'complex' and he does most of them. The windie who did/does them charges/charged £2 a front a couple of years back. Only does the fronts. Rushes through the lot in a few hours. Not the best job but his customers don't expect anything perfect for £2.
He doesn't have to worry about anyone poaching his work either.
 
What I wonder about is his actual running costs per customer per visit. If he is selling a service for £2, what are his running costs excluding wages to support that price?
 
That’s why I’m glad I inherited a good establishment round. I can keep my prices super competitive whilst still making the same crust as everyone else. I do feel for the new lads having to charge the earth to make a living my but that’s the way it’s going. When I speak to some of them on here they can’t get their head round how I can make money from such cheap prices.
From my experiences in dealing with super compact work I tend deal with it as one entity rather lots of smaller jobs which keeps expenses to a minimum.


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That’s why I’m glad I inherited a good establishment round. I can keep my prices super competitive whilst still making the same crust as everyone else. I do feel for the new lads having to charge the earth to make a living my but that’s the way it’s going. When I speak to some of them on here they can’t get their head round how I can make money from such cheap prices.
From my experiences in dealing with super compact work I tend deal with it as one entity rather lots of smaller jobs which keeps expenses to a minimum.


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Yeah the days of super compact rounds are long gone in our area. If we do more than 5 houses on an entire street we are doing well. Most streets we do 1-5 houses and none all next to one another. The days of a terrace being a terrace and a semi being a semi are gone also. Every other house has a whopping conny, or extension with skylights or front pvc porches built on. So for someone of the older generation who’s lived in their house for 40+ years and never extended, their standard 3 flat faces (what a semi was always meant to be) could take a third of the time to clean than that of a young family next door who’ve had the loft extension and kitchen extensions done. As i’ve said before, on one street local to us, 6 houses in a row all have a different window cleaner. It is crazy but it’s becoming more of a call out thing now.
Recent generations values are different to the the older generation also. People 60+ very much value the job and having it done regularly, whereas generation x and the millenials seem to wait until they get absolutely bogging, use you once, and then either dont want a regular service or start messing you around. This is why i now proce higher and sell a first clean as a restoration clean. It’s becoming less common for them to to join the round, and many ask “can i go on the round every other time”. less common again for them to join the round and be on the ball when it comes to paying on time.
People are feeling the financial squeeze and cutting down on regular outgoings, also people are generally fussier and expect more for their money or the highest standards for their money, and need to get their “moneys worth”
You’d never get 80 year old mrs Jones making a fuss and leaving a negative review on your website for the whole world to see, but the young generation won’t hesitate they go in guns blazing at the first streak or imperfection. So I take all of this in to consideration now. Make a job worth it while it lasts is my motto now.


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Yeah the days of super compact rounds are long gone in our area. If we do more than 5 houses on an entire street we are doing well. Most streets we do 1-5 houses and none all next to one another. The days of a terrace being a terrace and a semi being a semi are gone also. Every other house has a whopping conny, or extension with skylights or front pvc porches built on. So for someone of the older generation who’s lived in their house for 40+ years and never extended, their standard 3 flat faces (what a semi was always meant to be) could take a third of the time to clean than that of a young family next door who’ve had the loft extension and kitchen extensions done. As i’ve said before, on one street local to us, 6 houses in a row all have a different window cleaner. It is crazy but it’s becoming more of a call out thing now.
Recent generations values are different to the the older generation also. People 60+ very much value the job and having it done regularly, whereas generation x and the millenials seem to wait until they get absolutely bogging, use you once, and then either dont want a regular service or start messing you around. This is why i now proce higher and sell a first clean as a restoration clean. It’s becoming less common for them to to join the round, and many ask “can i go on the round every other time”. less common again for them to join the round and be on the ball when it comes to paying on time.
People are feeling the financial squeeze and cutting down on regular outgoings, also people are generally fussier and expect more for their money or the highest standards for their money, and need to get their “moneys worth”
You’d never get 80 year old mrs Jones making a fuss and leaving a negative review on your website for the whole world to see, but the young generation won’t hesitate they go in guns blazing at the first streak or imperfection. So I take all of this in to consideration now. Make a job worth it while it lasts is my motto now.


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Too true. I’ve been cleaning on the same estate since Monday and it’s not even that big. Probs around 200 houses. If it was a new build there would be around 20 windys on it.


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The other thing round here is the compact work is all older people, one of my father's best earners was 9 in a 12 house cul-de-sac 4 years ago. Now there 2 left, the rest are dead or in homes. He had 2 weeks in one estate 3 years ago, now we get round it in 9 days, last winter we lost 27 customers due to deaths, illness and going into care homes. Soon the compact work will be no more, then we all be in the same boat.

 
The other thing round here is the compact work is all older people, one of my father's best earners was 9 in a 12 house cul-de-sac 4 years ago. Now there 2 left, the rest are dead or in homes. He had 2 weeks in one estate 3 years ago, now we get round it in 9 days, last winter we lost 27 customers due to deaths, illness and going into care homes. Soon the compact work will be no more, then we all be in the same boat.
That happened to part of my work when I was doing it for my old boss. Now ten years later it’s even better than it was before. It’s just a constant cycle that you have gotta keep up with.


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I dont like super compact work to be honest.

2-3 house in one spot is ok but i wouldnt want to be in one spot all day without moving the van.

I like a 2 min drive here and there between jobs. breaks it up, give a little rest especially when its red hot get the windows down and some air in for 2 mins. stop at a shop etc

Also if you cover say a 5 mile radius like i do, at the begining its spread out, but as you advertise more and more it starts to "fill in" and jobs that were 10 mins apart start to get linked together like a dot to dot  .   All of my work now is never more than 2 mins drive from another job even though i cover a 5 mile radius and quite a few villages/towns... so whilst its not compact as such, it is still pretty efficent, especially with an electric reel and a heavy right foot.

 
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