Hey All
I am thinking about moving to a wfp from traditional tools in the event that we land a new large account. Do you charge more, less or the same for exterior cleaning with a wfp? Thanks.
Sam
Always charge the same.
It’s a time savings ( and safety) with the wfp.
Charge the same, make more money with wfp
Pax
Charge the same. Otherwise you will spend several thousand dollars for a pure water system and allow your customer to be the only one benefitting from it. If a clean window was worth $X with a squeegee, why would it be worth less with a different method. It’s still clean.
Pro’s - You can work faster, safer and more efficiently.
Con’s - Customers windows take longer to get dirty (as sticky detergents are not being left on the glass to attract dirt etc)
Price rise or decrease is your choice.
If you worked for a company and you got better and more efficient at your job, would you expect more or less compensation?
I guess this is true if you’re using detergents although I would [B]never[/B] call longer-lasting clean windows a bad thing. I would never tell a customer that the soap will cause windows to get dirty more quickly either. I have monthly residential jobs that I used to do with traditional tools and now use WFP.
Charging less money because we can now do the job more quickly is a HUGE mistake. That strategy bases all of the value we deliver on a clock rather than on the service we offer. It’s also a good way to lose money and watch your income drop. What other job would pay you less when you got better?
Here is another way to look at it. Let’s say you can do the same job with a WFP in 60% of the time, there you’ve just increased your profit margins. Now say your competition comes in and offers to do the same job with a WFP for 20% less, they are making more than your original margins w/o the WFP but less than your increased margins with the WFP. Example of why technology will eventually drive down the price. We beat this topic to death last month.
Of course it’s not a bad thing in terms of cleaner windows - just that it takes longer to get AS dirty and therefore it affect your bank balance, as customers take longer to call you (because they dont see the need).
I have many regular monthly servicing customers and over the 8 years ive been WFP many have asked to increase the frequency as they dont see the need for them to be cleaned as often… luckily i have managed to increase my customer base - but WFP can be a con in terms of your bank balance and business if your not prepared for it.
My experience with pure water has not been anything like that at all. So far I have not noticed that any customers call less frequently. WFP has only affected my bank balance in a positive way.
Thanks everyone for the awesome replies. you guys are great!
Sam
I just completed a job with WFP pole: Billed them 4 hours on the outside with WFP @ $100/hr & 11.5 hours on the inside @ $55/hr. = $1050. Last year I did the house for $1600, but the windows had not been cleaned in 7 years so it’s hard to figure exactly how much time the WFP saved. Yes a lower price, but I increased my profit margin from $47/hr to $65/hr. Last week I WFP’d a house in 7hrs by myself and the previous 2 years it took 14 hrs with 2 guys and no WFP. Charged the same price and I was right @ $100/hr. The bottom line, if you’re going to invest in an expensive piece of equipment you’re going to have charge more per hour to justify the cost and in the long term it should be earning you better margins.
