Hey. I’m pretty new. I’ve done a ton of research and tried to set my prices accordingly.
I just did a job for someone that was very very unhappy with the current window washer. Even though I did a much better job, and they had no complaints about the quality, they didn’t want to reschedule me because of $$. It’s a pretty large hardware store front. The people before me were working for pennies, and it showed. The price I gave was almost 7 times more! Yes, I did give her an estimate up front.
I definitely can’t work for anything near what the competition did, and even though they liked me more, it was too much. I tried asking what would be affordable, but she wouldn’t even say, because apparently it’s too far off. She doesn’t want the other company to do it any more so she said she’d just have the employees do it. (Yeah right).
The other company was in town and my wife watched them. No toweling. Resting the scrubber on the sidewalk that has gravel(!) generally awful.
Do I just move on or try to meet her halfway? Anyone else delt with this sort of thing?
FYI this is a small out of the way town that has not had any choices other than the super cheap super terrible company from out of town. The business owners aren’t quite sure what to do with me.
They want you to do it for the same price or less, and give them service that is worth what you charge. You’ll run into that no matter what direction you steer your business. Lots of people want cheap AND high quality.
Remember, what we offer is a luxury service. Don’t sweat it over people that have Champaign taste with bottled water budgets. If they don’t care what their windows look like, neither should you. Move on to the next person willing to pay you for your time. Don’t cut your prices and don’t bother negotiating. You’ll only devalue yourself.
Besides, you don’t haggle with the plumber, HVAC guy, or your mechanic. You shouldn’t bargain either.
At the end of the day are your prices realistic?
I have seen many new guys who read $60+/hour so they believe when they are starting out that’s where they start, if 1 job takes an experienced guy 20 mins to complete and they are charging $40 to do, then a guy with no experience comes in and takes 2 hours do to the same job charging $120.
They weren’t happy with previous. To the point where they wouldn’t even have them back to save money.
Now they going to go with an even “more unhappy” experience… so let them do it.
And then raise your price $10 buck when they call you back.
Then be nice, and say you will do it for the original price you gave them.
I appreciate that. It’s nice to hear. Just didn’t want to lose an account if I was overcharging…
It was 11 very large panes of glass requiring a pole to get to the top. Also 3 glass doors and two over door panes (pole work). They wanted both in and out, and previous cleaner hadn’t done anything so there was paint and tape remnants all over on the inside glass requiring 0000 steel wool scrubbing. I couldn’t get it all and told the owner it would take a couple go rounds to get them in shape. $135 and it took me 3.5 hours. I know that’s a low $/hour for most of you, but I’m new and slow… When I calculated the rate I was hoping to get it done in 2 hours and was going to offer a maintenance charge of $120 once the windows were decent.
The people who were doing it were charging $20 in and out!
What ever you do, don’t take less for the job. I’m sure you bid it fair enough. Always know your worth. I bet the lady will end up calling you back weeks later when her employees can’t clean it good enough. I never lower my prices and wait till they change there mind. If they want to go get the cheaper low quality company “buck bob”, let them. You do great!
Reminds me of another topic lately. When a comment was made where what other companies do dont effect anyone else.
Maybe its some broke college kid just trying to make some $ without any taxes or insurance that can give customers wrong pricing assumptions to set price standards for services.
That sounds like a good fair price. It’s very important to keep prices high enough to be worth it to your future employees. Every time I bid a job I make it worth $15 an hour minimum for my employees based off 30% take.
The sad thing is it isn’t a broke college kid. it’s an old man and a chain smoking semi homeless-looking guy working from the trunk of a sedan. Supposedly they are with some company cause I’ve heard it’s not the same people that come out each time.
The scrubber on the pavement and no toweling is what really got me. One of the windows was pretty scratched up. Give you one guess why…
16 panes of glass aiming for 2hour on a regular, just because you want $60/hour doesn’t mean you can charge that when an experienced guy would get that done on the regular in less than 30 mins. my price for that job would be $60.
IMO you are overcharging due to the fact you lack the time on the glass it takes to become efficient. At this stage you should be charging by the pane for example and working on you becoming quicker, not charging $60 while you learn would you be happy paying the mechanic at $110/hr when he took 4 times longer due to him learning while he did the job, I would not think so.
I am charging by the pane. $5 for each of the oversized windows. (Per side) I would have gone with something like $3 but it’s got pole work for each one. It’s definitely not a 30 min job. My wife has extensive experience and she thinks it would have taken her about 1 hour 45 minutes… Not counting detailing.
I also raised it a bit cause I knew I was cleaning up after someone and it was going to involve some steel wool scrubbing.
I honestly cannot understand how each pane would take you 7 and a half minutes to complete, do you have the correct gear for that job?
Without pics Its hard to say but from what you have described I really can’t see more than 30 mins work, does you wife have extensive experience as a window cleaner or a janitor/general cleaner?
I’m with everyone else. A store front with 15-20 panes total? No matter the size should cost or take that long. I would have charged around $55-60 and for the extra a initial $50 debris clean up. So first clean at $100-115 and maintenance clean for $50-60 every week or two.
I don’t think 5 bucks in and out on 29 panes is bad.
ESPECAILLY if you are driving out of your way to get one stop. I don’t know the condition of the glass, or if they like sticking tape on their windows.
You guys that want to do storefronts for 1-2 bucks a PAIN, can have it. A dollar don’t buy squat. Prices should be relative to the rest of the economy. If guys want to work for 1970’s prices, that’s your own business. Don’t knock the guy because he is motivated to make decent money for his time.
Now, think of this another way… This guy just charged what he felt was fair market pricing. The shop owner paid it. BUT they want to find another cheap Charlie to clean their glass. What if everyone else said they want to make 2018 prices, instead of 1970 prices?
I feel like the discussion always turns to how FAST you can clean storefront glass, to make money. Instead it should be about getting QUALITY stops that pay a good price, allowing you to work like a human, rather than a machine.
Nothing will change with this side of the industry, because too many business owners are scared of asking their worth and standing their ground. They certainly are fine charging much more for commercial and residential…
My price was subject to $2/min or $120/hr, I don’t see how you count 29 panes when he said there was 16 maybe 32 sides of glass.
Most business have a amount of their budget which is assigned to those tasks, most just want a quick clean to knock of the dust and finger prints, they don’t want someone spending hours to do a job they have had done for years by various people who took a quarter of the time, granted the last guy they had was obviously a bucket boss charging $20, the people that are looking for ultra quality are high end residential.
It realistically should take maybe 1-2 mins per side of glass even for a new guy and that isn’t going like a machine, if you were going like a machine it would take 30 secs per side, store front is volume of work, rather than how well you do, so long as you do it right and don’t leave streaks, smears, drips and prints behind and you wipe up all your frames what else it there in regards to quality.
Quality doesn’t take any longer if you do it right from the beginning.
