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Could my pricing be wrong?

Ian Docksey

Well-known member
Messages
487
Location
West Sussex
Ok I've just started up as most know. 

Now I've decided on 6 and 12 weekly cleans , I've not got many atm. But I'm finding so far that a fair few are choosing a 12 weekly clean over a 6 weekly, I'm not that fussed as work is work. Is this a sign of the times? Your thoughts please?

 
Ok I've just started up as most know. 

Now I've decided on 6 and 12 weekly cleans , I've not got many atm. But I'm finding so far that a fair few are choosing a 12 weekly clean over a 6 weekly, I'm not that fussed as work is work. Is this a sign of the times? Your thoughts please?
I wouldn’t want to be doing 6-12 weekly we only offer 4-8 , but that’s just me ware we are if you did 12 weekly clean every clean would be like a first clean , but obviously it’s up to you but I would be charging considerably more for that time scale . 

 
Ok I've just started up as most know. 

Now I've decided on 6 and 12 weekly cleans , I've not got many atm. But I'm finding so far that a fair few are choosing a 12 weekly clean over a 6 weekly, I'm not that fussed as work is work. Is this a sign of the times? Your thoughts please?
I'm mainly 4 and 8 weekly too.....we ve no idea how much your charging so how can we possibly comment?

 
I've decided I'm only going to offer 6 weekly from now on, but with some discretion for 12 weekly where necessary. 

It will be a case of take it or leave it. I only want customers that can afford a window cleaner. 

 
I only offer 6 weekly now, unless someone asks specifically for 12 then it’s 1.5x-1.75x the price and really depends on the customer/job. Lots of people call and say we’d like a clean every 2-3 months, I tell them I only offer 6 weekly as I have found it to be the best value for money for them as any longer I have to charge extra, and no ones questioned it. 
 

If I do for some reason get a 12 weekly I then open a slot on the other cycle for a 12 weekly in the same area so as to do the same amount of jobs both times I’m out but making that extra bit both times.

 
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I've decided I'm only going to offer 6 weekly from now on, but with some discretion for 12 weekly where necessary. 

It will be a case of take it or leave it. I only want customers that can afford a window cleaner. 
We base our work around 6 weekly. We do just a handful of 8 and twelves but at a higher rate. A tip: don't mention any other option than 6 weekly. Have your patter already mentally rehearsed. Then just say something like

"We base our work on 6 weekly scheduling. This allows us to keep the round neatly organised in the diary and we've found that it's the sweet spot for both parties, customers and cleaners. At 6 weeks the windows will be ready for a clean. Four weeks seems too soon for some customers to be finding the money again."

This was our experience in reality anyway. We used to get people not so happy with 4 weekly who are much happier with 6. We charge slightly on the high side, I'd say and at 6 weekly it doesn't seem to bother the customers too much.

 
I only offer 6 weekly now, unless someone asks specifically for 12 then it’s 1.5x-1.75x the price and really depends on the customer/job. Lots of people call and say we’d like a clean every 2-3 months, I tell them I only offer 6 weekly as I have found it to be the best value for money for them as any longer I have to charge extra, and no ones questioned it. 
 

If I do for some reason get a 12 weekly I then open a slot on the other cycle for a 12 weekly in the same area so as to do the same amount of jobs both times I’m out but making that extra bit both times.
Yes I'm charging 50% extra compared to 6 weekly charge. 

 
I do 4 weekly also. Easier to manage. Windows stay decent in between services.
I think time scale varies from area to area where I am most offer 4-8 weekly I have a friend in Newcastle who has a window cleaner every 2 weeks but they are trad cleaners , if ones ask for  6 weekly I say we do 4-8 weekly and let them chose what they want , if they just say they want a window cleaner I say most have there windows cleaned every 4 weeks they say yes that sounds good , if they hesitate I will offer 8 weekly at a higher price it’s up to them to chose what they want , but at a guess I recon 90% choose 4 weekly . 

 
Ok I've just started up as most know. 

Now I've decided on 6 and 12 weekly cleans , I've not got many atm. But I'm finding so far that a fair few are choosing a 12 weekly clean over a 6 weekly, I'm not that fussed as work is work. Is this a sign of the times? Your thoughts please?
As long as you're confident enough to get enough work then in theory a higher 12 weekly price is best. We do quite a bit of 3 monthly work and they're as clean as monthly maintenance cleans. It all depends on proximity to traffic and other pollution. You will need an awful lot of customers though.

If your customer base is new builds then finances could well play a part.

 
We base our work around 6 weekly. We do just a handful of 8 and twelves but at a higher rate. A tip: don't mention any other option than 6 weekly. Have your patter already mentally rehearsed. Then just say something like

"We base our work on 6 weekly scheduling. This allows us to keep the round neatly organised in the diary and we've found that it's the sweet spot for both parties, customers and cleaners. At 6 weeks the windows will be ready for a clean. Four weeks seems too soon for some customers to be finding the money again."

This was our experience in reality anyway. We used to get people not so happy with 4 weekly who are much happier with 6. We charge slightly on the high side, I'd say and at 6 weekly it doesn't seem to bother the customers too much.
My thoughts exactly ,4 weeks seems to soon,6 weeks they need a clean. I add 50% to the 12 weekly clean compared to the 6 weekly. So as I say I'm not too fussed in the price really,  is this the sign of the future,people willing to wait longer?

 
My thoughts exactly ,4 weeks seems to soon,6 weeks they need a clean. I add 50% to the 12 weekly clean compared to the 6 weekly. So as I say I'm not too fussed in the price really,  is this the sign of the future,people willing to wait longer?
12 weekly down hear and the windows would be 1/2 inch thick with salt ??????

As I have already said I think a lot of it is down to area , most hear want 4 weekly , other areas will be different, there is no right or wrong , it’s down to what you and they want , but you would need a lot of customers for a 12 weekly round and I feel you would always be working hard with loads of dirt on the glass , we do work all over the country commercial stuff that’s cleaned 8 times a year , most is much dirtier than my customers down hear would accept . 

 
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I do 4 weekly also. Easier to manage. Windows stay decent in between services.
If it's done right 6 weekly earns hundreds or more accurately thousands of pounds more per annum than 4 weekly. A hundred jobs a week at an extra £2 minimum. Times that by a month. Times that by 10 or eleven months, allowing for time lost to weather etc. It's no harder at all to clean a window at 6 weeks than at 4. It is often harder though at 8 weeks. And 8 weeks is also a long time to wait for our money.

Edit this is my experience, being about as far from the sea as it's possible to be in the British Isles. Different for the coastal operators with sea spray and seagulls. ⚓?

 
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Could be my pricing is ok in reality.  Could just be a sign of the times. I charge 50%, on top for a 12 weekly compared to 6 weekly. Just surprised a fair few go for 12 weekly. A round of 12 weekly cleans wouldn't bother me tbh. Was trying to find out if others were getting the same take up. Whether 6 or 12, 4 or 8 weekly

 
If it's done right 6 weekly earns hundreds or more accurately thousands of pounds more per annum. A hundred jobs a week at an extra £2 minimum. Times that by a month. Times that by 10 or eleven months, allowing for time lost to weather etc. It's no harder at all to clean a window at 6 weeks than at 4. It is often harder though at 8 weeks. And 8 weeks is also a long to wait for our money.
All depends what you are charging in the first place though , but in theory it should pay more  

 
Could be my pricing is ok in reality.  Could just be a sign of the times. I charge 50%, on top for a 12 weekly compared to 6 weekly. Just surprised a fair few go for 12 weekly. A round of 12 weekly cleans wouldn't bother me tbh. Was trying to find out if others were getting the same take up. Whether 6 or 12, 4 or 8 weekly
Our residential work up here is 99% monthly. Our PM residential work is mainly quarterly, no matter where in the country.

 
All depends what you are charging in the first place though , but in theory it should pay more  
It does in reality in my experience. Each customer pays less per annum because they are being done less frequently. I definitely earn more because I do charge slightly more than for 4 weekly and fill in the spaces created with further customers, again at the slightly higher rate.

Let's take an example for a quarter of a year. One small job ,one customer £14 per month. X3 visits =£42 per quarter. Same job 6 weekly £16 x2 visits =£32 per quarter. A substantial saving to the customer of £10 a quarter £40, ish per annum. I fit another customer in in the space vacated in the middle, so I still do 3 jobs. But I'm up £6 per quarter on that example of 3 job visits alone. We do around 1200 total job visits a quarter, at a round figure of 100 a week.

Like I've said before. Anyone who can't get their heads around it. I suggest they run it by an accountant. It's a bit of a head scratcher. I had a real job to get my wife to understand it too in the beginning, and my son. They get it now though. It made a big difference to all our incomes.

 
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I really don't think it's the sign of the times, it's more likely to do with how you are selling it.  If you yourself believe that people are wanting longer frequencies then it will show in your body language and tone of voice when you're giving them their quotation.  It really is down to confidence and ensuring you say the correct words.

If you want every 6 weeks then just give that as the option.  

Personally I find a lot of customers like to tie in the clean by the month as that's easy for them to budget for, it's just like another monthly bill.  I'm every 4 and 8 weeks but have accommodated several to every month as my work is all close by so it's possible for me to do that and makes taking payment easy.  The ones on every month used to make excuses to delay the clean a few days, you just get a feel as the true reason but nobody is going to say they can't afford it till pay day.    

 
We base our work around 6 weekly. We do just a handful of 8 and twelves but at a higher rate. A tip: don't mention any other option than 6 weekly. Have your patter already mentally rehearsed. Then just say something like

"We base our work on 6 weekly scheduling. This allows us to keep the round neatly organised in the diary and we've found that it's the sweet spot for both parties, customers and cleaners. At 6 weeks the windows will be ready for a clean. Four weeks seems too soon for some customers to be finding the money again."

This was our experience in reality anyway. We used to get people not so happy with 4 weekly who are much happier with 6. We charge slightly on the high side, I'd say and at 6 weekly it doesn't seem to bother the customers too much.
Cheers, I already advise that 6 weekly is the sweet spot etc but I've been too flexible with intervals and consequently I'm all over the place! 

From now on, I'm just offering 6 weekly and that's what my website will suggest when I get round to updating it. 

In due course, I'll have to approach my existing customers and tell them the news but I may be a little more flexible with them. 

 
Cheers, I already advise that 6 weekly is the sweet spot etc but I've been too flexible with intervals and consequently I'm all over the place! 

From now on, I'm just offering 6 weekly and that's what my website will suggest when I get round to updating it. 

In due course, I'll have to approach my existing customers and tell them the news but I may be a little more flexible with them. 
Yeah, I started the same. I was running about all over the place and it was a nightmare for scheduling and moving work forward for next time. It was an ongoing pain in the ....

I got a grip on it very early on though and it's so much easier and better paid now we settled on a 6 weekly base frequency. I've left most of the 8 weeklies alone as they are bigger, better paid houses and I still take the occasional one at 8 weeks if it suits me. We still do a very few at 4 weekly, about 5 jobs I think off the top of my head. And a couple of really big 12 weekly jobs.

 
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