The big firms encompass facility cleaning, a typical firm is ISS. In Spain - the theory is there, but the method doesn’t usually follow. As with most businesses over here, the customer is never right & the workers rights eats up all the profit.
Funnily enough, Mallorca is more expensive than the UK now, but has the second worst wages in Spain.
I always try to ask for something if they want me to come down in price. “I would be glad to knock $50.00 off my price, provided you schedule today for next week Wednesday.”
If they ask for something and it’s not completely unreasonable, say yes and ask for something in return.
How hungry am I and is there room in my schedule I might not fill otherwise?
Do I think I will like working with this person?
Am I bidding against a competitor I want to beat or learn more about?
Consider this, if they are asking you to price match, offer to price beat by 10% if they provide a written estimate on letter head from the competitors. It’s not easy to get a hold of competitors written estimates and I suspect I could learn a ton by studying them. The 10 percent might be worth it.
Most often, I’m not even asked to consider lowering my price. They either book or they don’t.
Eric
Funny you should ask…
2 years ago a woman, who I gave an estimate from a referral, decided to go w/ another wc. Last year she called me and said " you had given us an estimate last year but we decided to go w/ a different company. We were dissatisfied w/ their work and would like to hire you". They were pleased w/ my work, hired me back for this year, referred me to their neighbor(and have already completed the job) and are quite pleased w/ my work. So honestly, I am not offering my services at a tag sale so why would I inflate the price to then be beat up over it? I believe there are 2 kinds of clients; clients that believe just because they are paying someone 2 wash their windows that they must be clean and then there are the clients who I like working for. People who take great pride in their homes, admire hard work, great results, and attention to detail. My clients are not fussy just particular. And rightfully so.
how do locals (spain)view window cleaning? is it done regularly? i was in lithuania recently and the tradition is once per year, yet i also saw a lithu window cleaning flier ,they charged per square metre of glass .
If BMW matched price with Ford they would loose money on every car they sold and be out of business in a relatively short time. How or why would I match price with a low ball, splash and dash competitor and not make a profit on that job? My customer’s want the job done right and are happy to pay more.
PS
Nobody expects BMW to match Fords price because they know BMW is a better car. This is where my sales skills come in as a window cleaner. Sometimes I have to educate the customer.
I stick to my guns 100% on price. If they want to cut out some things to make it more inline wth their budget, I will adjust it that way. Going lower doesnt go over with me well. I dont like losing money now or in future cleans. I guess it would have to be a huge Govt contract worth thousands of $$ to get me to reconsider lowering a bid. I probably still wouldnt.
I also have a fear of lowering a price to one and a friend of theirs pulls the same tactic on me.
Steve
Spain is like the US residential market - I’m lucky to get to return to a job more than 4 times a year. I have some every couple of years.
