A pricing question (sorry)

Good morning lads, 

I had a call last night to go and quote this property which i’m doing later this afternoon. My round mainly consists of 3 bed semis nothing close to this size of property. I’m wondering what price you guys would go in at? I know it’s my business and I should work it out with my hourly rate etc etc but I’m the type to low ball myself on these biggish properties purely because I couldn’t imagine someone paying more than £20 a month to get their windows cleaned. 

With the risk of looking like a clown I’ll give you my pricing on it. £40 for the first clean and £24-26 on a 4 weekly. (Assuming there’s a few windows on either side of it) 

Id go with the same price you;ve suggested. The highest 3rd floor ones tricky, slx22 wouldnt get it unless on steps.

Personally I'd allow 40 minutes to do the job, assuming you have something nearby. You'll need at least 35' pole, could be 40'+ to do the windows in the roof. The windows above the garage extension look a PITA and the balcony windows will take you a bit longer. With the above issues I personally would want £30. 

Me personally I would charge £30 for a regular clean, maybe a bit more depending on what windows if any there are on the side of the house.

I'd go with £25 on 4 weekly, £28 for 6 weekly and £31 for 8 weekly. Conservatory as and when they want it done at £4 a time. This way it reads a little cheaper to the customer than you're actually charging. The conservatory eats a lot of time so I would be glad if they had it done every other time or so.

Yeh depends on where abouts you are. I don’t clean 4weekly. I have some 6 weekly rounds, and some 8 weekly rounds. I’d be happy with £35 every 6 weeks, or I’d say £40 every 8 weeks here in Dorset. 

Some awkward windows there , I would want £40 on a 4 weekly unless it was partially bad would do the first clean at same price , that wouldn’t include the conservatory roof 

i think you guys are far too cheap personally.....thats a £40-£45 job all day long in my book.i only offer 8 weekly on jobs like these.id expect to clean it in 40 mins tops on maintenance cleans...my hourly rate is between £40-£50 an hour....

P4dstar said:

I'd go with £25 on 4 weekly, £28 for 6 weekly and £31 for 8 weekly. Conservatory as and when they want it done at £4 a time. This way it reads a little cheaper to the customer than you're actually charging. The conservatory eats a lot of time so I would be glad if they had it done every other time or so.

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strange pricing there.........keep it simple.....8 weekly £40-£45 and clean the conny every time and the 3 storey window.....conny roof once a year at £80 a pop.......

dazmond said:

i think you guys are far too cheap personally.....thats a £40-£45 job all day long in my book.i only offer 8 weekly on jobs like these.id expect to clean it in 40 mins tops on maintenance cleans...my hourly rate is between £40-£50 an hour....

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You’ve thrown a spanner in the works. I was going to go in at £30 on a 4 weekly but I might go with what you say and make out I’m saving her money by recommending getting them done every 8 weeks. 

ks789 said:

Id go with the same price you;ve suggested. The highest 3rd floor ones tricky, slx22 wouldnt get it unless on steps.

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Only got a SLX25 myself mate so that window won’t be getting done ??

P4dstar said:

I'd go with £25 on 4 weekly, £28 for 6 weekly and £31 for 8 weekly. Conservatory as and when they want it done at £4 a time. This way it reads a little cheaper to the customer than you're actually charging. The conservatory eats a lot of time so I would be glad if they had it done every other time or so.

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You need to make it look cheaper to these kind of folk. I went door knocking in Wilmslow yesterday multi-million pound houses and had a couple trying to knock me down for the sake of a few quid 

It all depends on how much you want to earn in a hour. That job, arriving to leaving just over a hour maximum for me, so I’d be happy with £35-£40. 

I love these posts, i'd do it for a fiver and a blowie, no no i'd be at least £150..... I just commented to I can watch the fun.

One day people will realise that just because someone else's price is different doesn't mean its wrong!

Just bear in mind anyone who live in a house with a private gate is not short of a few quid. 

P4dstar said:

I love these posts, i'd do it for a fiver and a blowie, no no i'd be at least £150..... I just commented to I can watch the fun.

One day people will realise that just because someone else's price is different doesn't mean its wrong!

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i didnt say that........each to their own....i only work short hours(5 or 6 hours a day)so i want to maximize each hour that i work....

Doddy111 said:

Only got a SLX25 myself mate so that window won’t be getting done ??

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Price the job including those windows and if you win it why not buy a extension for the SLX? Gardiner deliver in a day or two. Don’t need to tell them you don’t have the pole, though!

RWCleaning said:

It all depends on how much you want to earn in a hour. That job, arriving to leaving just over a hour maximum for me, so I’d be happy with £35-£40. 

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i wouldnt.......ive got to be hitting upwards of £45-£50 an hour on bigger jobs like that,sometimes even more,some jobs i clean i can hit £80 an hour but these are few and far between....

i picked up a job a while ago and she wasnt happy that i charged her £40.....going on about her last WC charged her £20 and she had more windows in her last place(in a different part of the country)shes now managed to find a WC who will do them for £25.....fair enough.....i just texted her back and said "its not my ambition to be the cheapest window cleaner in the area!"?

dazmond said:

i wouldnt.......ive got to be hitting upwards of £45-£50 an hour on bigger jobs like that,sometimes even more,some jobs i clean i can hit £80 an hour but these are few and far between....

i picked up a job a while ago and she wasnt happy that i charged her £40.....going on about her last WC charged her £20 and she had more windows in her last place(in a different part of the country)shes now managed to find a WC who will do them for £25.....fair enough.....i just texted her back and said "its not my ambition to be the cheapest window cleaner in the area!"?

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Fair enough. As long as we’re content. 

Reading this with interest as I've got to come up with a pricing strategy.

How many minutes per window would it take?  Surely the only way is to work out the average time per window and count the windows.  40 mins sounds a little optimistic if you factor in set-up and pack up time.  2 minutes per set of windows comes in at 24 minutes and then there is the conservatory, is it possible to do a good job at 2 minutes per window and 16 minutes on the conservatory?    

ive been window cleaning for 26 years this year and ive made A LOT of mistakes in the past.....i used to be a lot cheaper but it doesnt get you anywhere,im not in this game to barely scrape by financially,im in it to make a  decent living for short working hours these days......?

I'd say 40 minutes is ok for that house. Especially on maintenance cleans  and the more you do it you get to know all its little foibles and hazards and gradually do more efficiently.

Chris34 said:

Reading this with interest as I've got to come up with a pricing strategy.

How many minutes per window would it take?  Surely the only way is to work out the average time per window and count the windows.  40 mins sounds a little optimistic if you factor in set-up and pack up time.  2 minutes per set of windows comes in at 24 minutes and then there is the conservatory, is it possible to do a good job at 2 minutes per window and 16 minutes on the conservatory?    

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yes absolutely....40 mins,high flow,hot water on maintenance cleans,easy peasy.....i wouldnt spend 16 mins on that conny on regular cleans,more like 5-10 mins....i also wouldnt spend 2 mins on a window unless it was a first clean....

yeh, looking at it again, that conny is a beast, so £40 aint really too much. Ive made mistakes of underpricing and it aint good.  Prob a good policy to work out what you think and then add some for unseen gremlins.