I am new to the forum here. Glad to be a part of this group. I have about 6 years experience in this industry but less than a year being on my own. I have a lot to learn and willing to listen to wisdom and experience.
I want to ask about quoting windows with screens and tracks: is it better to give the estimate for the tracks, screens and glass in one price, or price them individually with tracks and screens as an additional service?
My concern is that if I estimate for all three, then the customer may think I charge too much per window, not realizing it is more than just the glass.
I tell people that I will clean their windows, tracks and screens for X. Very rare that somebody doesn’t want their screens cleaned, we have lots of airborne fluff here. The tracks are usually dirty due to airborne clayish dust and volcanic ash and moisture that was retained on the panes because people keep their homes buttoned up so tight in the winter in Alaska.
Some companies itemize services, some don’t. I like to be all-inclusive, so sills, screens and windows are all priced as one. My customers appreciate that.
BTW you need to let them know everything is included, don’t let them guess. Communication is very important.
I include it all in one price. I think folks feel like they are being taken care of that way. Every once in a while someone says don’t bother with the screens, usually because they are new or will be having them replaced.
I’m with them. I usually quote per job, all included, but you definitely tell them up front. I don’t think people usually like to hear “that’s 100 for the windows, 50 for the screens, and another 60 for the tracks”, they’d rather hear “that’s 210 for the windows, screens, and tracks”. They know what they’re getting, don’t have to do all the math, and they’re more than welcome to ask for a quote on just the glass, glass and screens, ect. Hope that helps! Good luck to you!
That’s a good point. It doesn’t sound too good paying 30 to 50 dollars for tracks and screens (each). Sounds like a better deal when it’s all inclusive.
It sounds like you got it figured out. Definitely just do one price that includes glass, screens, tracks & sills. When i first started I would price it individually. When a customer just wanted glass I was so bothered by the dirty tracks I would end up cleaning them for free. I couldn’t leave then like that. Maybe a bit of OCD,
I hate it! Yes I am a window cleaner but who likes kneeling on Mrs. Jones white down comforter wiping out mud and scooping up flies. If the track is not bad enough you need a vacuum but still has a couple flies then you are scooping them into your pouch.
Less time per house makes me reach more customers which gives me more word of mouth. If I go do 4 houses as a one guy show in a day and have 4 happy customers that’s 4 mouths talking. If you go do 2 deep cleans as a one guy show you have 2 mouths talking.
People don’t care and its to much extra cost. My repeat customers that I have are my customers with the lowest price and I do not believe that is a coincidence. When another guy comes behind me with a polo shirt, nice website, great personality, clean truck etc and he is way cheaper and the difference is he doesn’t take the dirt out of the windows the customer looks at once a blue moon, I am gone. You give a customer a $220.00 bid and a $315.00 bid and the difference is tracks ha ha we will just save $95.00.
You might think itemization so the customer can see without tracks and sills we are $210.00 and the other company is $220.00 but guess what people don’t pay attention to itemization. They look at your attitude, appearance and then go straight to the price. I got so tired of people going wow $400.00 to clean windows? Yes but that includes the whole window, yes but it’s $400.00. What ever price you offer the customer as a total they are going to remember. There not gonna go to their friends and go it was $280.00 and $400.00 for tracks included there gonna go yeah he wanted $400.00 bucks and I can just clean the tracks myself.
I rarely am at a house more than 3.5 hrs as a one guy show. If I do tracks I am there forever and I can start to feel the customer thinking is this guy every gonna get the heck out of here, I got crap to do today.
If the customer wants the exterior frames cleaned. Not the complete exterior frame but the crevices the screen sits in well guess what if it is an exterior only cleaning and I will not be inside the house then there goes using the wfp. Now I have to ladder up to get my paint brush and rag out to dust out the exterior frame. Not offering that service I can wfp almost all of my exterior cleans. You can’t turn your brush sideway and rinse out a vinly sliding window with quality. I do the glass and screens and get out of dodge. I wear shoe covers inside, automate appointment reminders with the customer factor, automate thank you emails/text messages. I am very friendly to the customer, their kids, dogs etc. I donate back to the community and I do satisfactory work at a good price instead of mind blowing work that breaks the bank.
Yeah, that pic is a bit excessive. I wouldn’t sit there and detail something like that. Usually our sills are coated in dirt from landscapers mowing or trapped flies, or even flaking paint from 50yo frenches.
Like I said I the other thread if the region you work in allows this that’s great, if I didn’t clean tracks I would not get any work.
I worked commercially for 12 years, never did tracks rarely did frames, works for commercial but not for residential, well in my region anyway.
Tracks are not hard nor time consuming, I spend less than a minute on each track, use a black (not red) track brush loosen debris, use a handheld vac to remove debris, clean window( water from window will end up in track), squish huck into track and wipe water clean. done. I never get on my knees, never deal with mud, as if you are cleaning tracks its just common sense that if there is dust in the tracks and they get wet, dust will become mud.
so to avoid this you start inside
Some people have a window track that looks like a gutter. Also what happens when you wipe everything in the corners and it gets smooshed in the corners and you can’t wipe it out and your crevice tool can’t fit in there to vacuum it? The only way to get squeaky clean tracks is to remove the window, pop the track out with a flathead, sponge and soap that, clean out underneath the track put the window back in. That is extremely time consuming. Any wipe brush or vacuum you still get stuff smushed in the corners. This means toothbrush customers a minute per window won’t work. Also carrying a vacuum around no thanks! Lastly what about the exterior frame dusting? Taking a one hour waterfed pole job and making it 2.5 hrs cause now you have to ladder up to dust exterior crevices. Adding exterior crevices doesn’t just ad the frames it changes the whole scope of the work!
As an example, you have a hotel your going to do. You can wfp it and maintenance removes and reinstalls screens or you go traditional and dust exterior frames and up and down ladder on 300 windows removing and reinstalling screens. That’s a massive price difference! Same thing on a house take a wfp job and make me dust exterior frames now I just went from wfp several panes a minute to up down up down up down. They going to pay you $1,500 dollars more than me to remove dust and cobwebs because now you have to ladder everything? Nope!!!
Well that is why you do research and find a vacuum that has very thin crevice tools, my handheld hoover vacuum has crevice tools that fit into all tracks, that’s why I bought it over ALL the other models as it serves ONE purpose, it my track vac I carry on my belt.
Well we are obviously cleaning different types of windows as the tracks here are part of the frame they are not removable. 80% of the jobs I do the screens are only removable via removing the window from the inside, I am already at this step with the window removed and all of the track is exposed.
I don’t dust frames I clean them so they are clean, I use a WFP mine has a swivel head, I can and do wash these from the ground.
Honestly it just seems you have put tracks in a “too hard basket”, I make them work, most guys here I assume make them work, while we would all like to be just “Glass Cleaners” residential customers for the most part are just far fussier than commercial.
So I am assuming you quote jobs WFP vs trad…
I quote jobs for the worst case scenario and if I can WFP the jobs bonus for me if not I’m still getting paid what I need.
I have no desire to pack a vacuum around I guess, just being honest. If I turn my wfp sideways I am going to get some of the grime rinsed out of the exterior window frame but not really. Take a double hung window 2nd story and you have to rinse the outside track/framing there is no way. If you offer that it is ladder up. Yes around here people will say they want tracks and then go thats too much, if you don’t even mention tracks people will watch you clean the glass and maybe the screens and be happy and they got a lower price, as soon as you mention tracks they want it and then complain. When I quote jobs I do a mix of wfp and traditional. For example I did a 6 hour job for $530.00 residential and it was waterfed pole, had I quoted this traditional it literally would have been like $900.00. If I showed up as one guy and worked 6 hours and charged $900.00 the job is the job wouldn’t have flown over very well.
That’s why I say wipe down tracks & sills. It doesn’t say steam clean make them perfect.
Honestly I never get complaints about wiping them down.
Maybe once, I think I told her I can go rent a steam cleaning machine , an I’ll hace to figure out a price for labor.
If someone is complaining about this. I would say we charged you for a wipe down. We can take this to the next step which would require a steam cleaning machine. We don’t own , but we rent which will be charged to you , an I have to walk around an look st all tracks to figure out a price for labor. Is this something your interested in. Obviously you lost the customer at this point , but I don’t want them back anyway
