as being a newb to the business side of window cleaning and not have to much experience, how do i go about with my pricing? most say to go with how much im worth or how much do i want to make an hour. but are those prices realistic as being new and having no beginning customers. i guess im just afraid of charging to much and scaring of potential customers with my prices. i would like to charge $5 per pane of glass but i feel $20 bucks for a standard sliding window is too much. would lowering my prices be a better option to build clientele but than be a curse down the road when trying to grow my business? kind of feel like im stuck in between a rock and a hard place. i love this forum great place to learn and get great answers from. so thanks ahead for your guys input.
Yes, it would be a curse later. If you acquire your customers based on price, odds are you will lose them based on price. So instead, gain them based on marketing the things that matter to them.
People dont really care about price; its second or third or fourth on the list. They want to trust you in their home, and have a great experience, AND clean windows. Focus on delivering that kind of service and you can be the most expensive window cleaner and the customer will love you and have you back year after year, or season after season.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t charge $20 per window, but $5 per pane equals $10 per standard sliding window (it’s not per pane per side, usually,)
what is “washing a pane”?
what is “washing a window”?
I always thought the two things are the same thing
For discussion of process, they are the same. A window is sometimes made up of multiple panes (ie “double hung” windows that lift up and down to open are ONE WINDOW made up of TWO PANES, one over the top of the other). Hope that helps, you un-educated power washer! 
OK, so is washing both the outside and inside considered washing one window/pane or is that considered two because you are washing two sides?
If I dont ask I will always be uneducated thanks for the help
Is there no love for powerwashers?
can’t we all just get along?
When I quote a customer it’s always in & out unless the customer requests something different.
Unless specified differently, cleaning a pane typically refers to both sides.
Absolutely right!
Find you price for cleaning in & out together. For example $10 per window. If you were to only clean 1 side, maybe $5 for out & $5 for interior. Those #'s are just an example. Charge extra for screens & track cleaning if you wish. Also try to find out pricing in your market
$8-$10 for a slider is about average for [I]professional[/I] window cleaners. Like Larry said a pane is [I]both[/I] sides. Pricing per pane when you first start out is a good idea because you won’t be overcharging. You won’t be making as much per hour, it will take you longer, but you will have a good working price established. If your new and slow, you can’t charge $50 per hour.
You may think about paying an experienced guy to help you for awhile if you are pretty slow. IMO, customers will not be happy if it takes you 12 hours to clean their windows.
BTW, the first house I cleaned (probably about 2,500 sq ft) took me close to 12 hours to do. When I called them back a year later to ask them if they wanted their windows cleaned again, they politely declined. I was pretty sure it had to do with the speed.
I’m just starting out myself and have recently decided upon flat rates. When I go canvas I leave a flyer on the door with either $140 for a one story house, or $200 for the two story. I know most people on here won’t agree but it’s helped get me two jobs already and I can always change the way I charge in the future. Right now I’m all about getting some customers and don’t mind doing it for a little less to help build a reputation.
Yo Chris, Lets get a pricing pole going, that way we could create a world industry average price per window (or pane).
This could be posted on WCR and maybe prevent a good number of threads like this every week…
I would do it but cannot figure out how to post a poll
Trevor just when making an advanced post, scroll down and there is a check box that says submit a poll, it will then take you to that option.
hey thank guys, i think my pricing was way off. the post earlier about why my service is worth that much i should really think about. its like what separates me from the others what makes my service exclusive. theres a lot im going to learn my first year and im glad this place is to help with the learning curve. well the rain stopped so im going out to gather some accounts thanks again for the help tho.
