So far I haven’t done any track cleaning, I don’t advertise it and I don’t mention it.
90% of the time I leave the window closed unless it’s to pull out a 2nd story screen from the inside.
I clean up all the dirt either side of the window & clean / dust the sills etc.
Track cleaning, how many of your customers expect it? I haven’t had a single one request having their tracks cleaned.
I focus on the glass and visible stuff around the tracks - that said I don’t think I have run into any true “gardens” in anyone’s tracks either.
I just bumped up my prices for this year, hoping the market goes for it.
I am curious about adding track cleaning as an add-on just like hard water stain removal.
I brake down my pricing. So yes screens are an extra charge per screen (to clean and even different charge to spray them down and scrub them)
And also another charge to cleaning sills and tracks.
-I would like to know with everyone else’. Do you always clean the frames? Do you always clean sills?
What’s included in your pricing
Extra Charge for sure… Sills, tracks $3 additional… Why? It takes me time, specially on first clean and sometimes I need to pull the vacuum to clean them up
I vacuum tracks, clean frames, and wash screens for no additional charge. I may start charging on certain jobs with lots of screens, but it’s been working for me for years. It does take time, but it has been well received.
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Down here Ive noticed people want me in and out quick!! Clean windows and be gone! If I take too long they start making faces or asking “how long will this take”?
So ive cut down my service to windows and screens… I offer sills track at an additional cost and I let them know the reason for the extra charge is due to the extra time it will take me to complete the job
When I leave, and every day they look out their windows and probably open them and look at their home from their yards, the whole picture is a testimony to the work Dan Wagner Window Cleaning does. If a friend or neighbor is there and notices filthy tracks and opens a window and spider yarn or ladybugs are visible, it doesn’t matter that I did or didn’t offer full cleaning. My feeling is they will equate incomplete work with my name.
So in my standard pricing I include thorough glass [I]cleaning, [/I]basic screen cleaning, very good, not necessarily ‘white glove’ caliber track and sill cleaning.
Seems that most customers expect us to clean the sills. I was trained to provide the basic “wipe out” as a part of the standard cleaning, so it is what we have always done.
… I use a set price. It includes screens and tracks. It’s all included and rarely do people ask not to
have the screens cleaned and never has any said ‘don’t clean the tracks’. So tracks and screens can be add-ons for
some or all in one price for others. It can work either way and if the pricing is right
it works out the same.
In my pricing I clean and / or brush off the frames, sills & wash out all of the exposed track & screen area.
Most of the homes in my area which I “score” seem to be newer (within 7 years old) and 90% of the time I have opened a window -any dirt sealed under the window itself seems negligible, un-noticeable unless you are standing right there looking into the track for it.
Customers can choose between having the screens washed or dry brushed, and I carry a sheet where I show them my prices (this way they know I’m not pulling numbers out of thin air - the majority of the time when I do the estimate I throw out a “you know what. I’m going to include having your screens washed for free” - which IMO always seems to make them happy and increase the value of services received.
I also run into quite a few customers who want a quick in-n-out. They have a golf game, want to hit the gym, work… Anything but waiting for the window cleaner to finish. So I do think that, that could factor in.
Maybe you have driven a little further than usual, just to get slammed and your almost forced to do it just because you took the time of your day to drive out there… Just curious
I do a basic wipe down of all the sills and tracks. If the customer has really filthy of moldy sills, or wants a deep clean, I will charge a dollar or so more per window. I have a couple clients that I have to deep clean every time. I wipe all the frames, and everything in the window opening. The whole opening to me is part of the window.
Hasn’t Rsponsibid taught us anything? An example of home with 20 windows:
[U]Premium [/U]- windows cleaned inside and out, including all sills, tracks (cleaned out with soap and water) and screens (hand washed with soap and water) = $249.
[U]Deluxe[/U] - windows cleaned inside and out, but does not include tracks or screens = $199.
[U]Basic[/U] - exterior window cleaning only = $149.
This system lets the customer choose if they want the tracks done, and allows us to get more $$$ out of it.
Totally agree with that & I make sure the quote includes everything. Then it’s about how I present the quote, and reading the clients vibe. If I pick up a bit of wavering by the client, I do the “total service” sales talk, and it is usually enuf to get them over the line. And no-one ever says “gee, just make my glass nice n shiny but leave my dirty frames/screens/tracks alone”.
But I cant let mouldy window frames alone. I will do them without request. Yeah, ocd prob. It’s the clean freak in me!
I like the way you put the prices - I really need to consider ResponsiBid - not sure if I have the traffic yet to justify the cost though… Looks like I need to bump my 20 exterior price up from $140 by $9 too
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