648 French panes
Hasnt been cleaned in 4 yrs, some scraping required
20 Leaded panes wih diamond design on them
43 screens
43 tracks
We bid it at $951.00
They said they paid $400.00 four years ago.
They might still call us , they’re asking around
Just curious if we’re charging too much.
I dont think so personally
I might be ~15-20% above you.
Do you work alone Larry ? How long do you think it will take a house that size?
Yeah I think it could be a little higher too. The WFP would be kinda useless on this house. 4years of dirt.
Did a house last month with 570 french panes.
Lets just say it took longer than expected
I work alone. 2-3 days.
Remember, Colm : there is no such thing 
The better question is “How can you make their $951 investment a no-brainer for them?”
Yeah youre right. They asked if we could work with them and lower the price. We explained that we could not and listed all the reasons our price is what it is and why they should hire us.
It actually went over very well. Im still thinking we might get the job.
Last time i did a place with that many french panes in/out with scraping years of dirt off, plus screens and frames etc. was over $1800 I charged. Mind you the client is int the market to pay lots of money for practically everything she purchases.
But in reality YOU decide how much that job is worth for your time, and how much value you can give your client, or potential client.
Not necessarily, but only you saw the house. We cleaned a house last year with a WFP that hadn’t been cleaned in 8+ years. The windows came out great.
On first time cleans, when we go through the house taking out the screens, we take notice of the windows to determine if we think we should try the WFP, or do them by hand.
Thats an excellent price, congrats I would be in the same ballpark here in Kansas. How many floors is it and how many actually windows is there, can’t believe they had the cheek to tell you they paid just $400 a few years ago. How do you sell them that your service is much better?
Even if it was true?
WFP shouldn’t be out of the discussion here.
I hate french windows but I’m developing a system to make it less tedious.
Someone removing screens from inside, on top windows use your reach-around with a scraper or doodlebug and then brush. Have another person scraping the bottom windows so you can come with your WFP later and clean them normally, it takes time but is not like you’re doing the detailing work by hand. I work with my wife and she won’t go on a ladder to do the 2nd story windows (scraping) that’s why I’m not doing it that way on the top windows.
Yeah we’ve used that method before too. Might be worth a shot on this. These people were actually very nice to us. I think they really did pay that much 4 years ago. They were very genuine people. There are some super lowballers around. We left feeling confident that they still might hire us.
Problem is they’ll probably tell everyone else they call what our price is. Then the next guy will just chop a couple hundred bucks off and land it.
[B]Great point! I wonder if it’s too late to become a pomegranate, Colm.[/B]
They’re out comparing apples to apples, and they want to be able to say “this apple is $200 less, so let’s buy it”.
Take that away by becoming a pomegranate, instead.
"Mr. Smith, I think it’s important for you to shop around, to make sure you are getting the best value. In fact, we encourage people to shop around, to understand why many local homeowners view us as the Clear Choice.
But it occurred to me that I never gave you “The Big 5 Questions” to ask these other companies when you call! Do you have a pen?
Here they are…"
[INDENT][I]“Do they currently carry no less than $1mil in liability coverage and provide you with written proof of insurance before they begin?”
“Do they offer you a no-strings-attached triple-guarantee?”
“Do they provide you with a 5-point quality assurance checklist?”
“Do they offer private video streaming updates?”
“Will they deliver a complimentary ‘Curb Appeal Pamper Package Upgrade’?”[/I][/INDENT]
That kinda thing
It’s worth a follow up phone call today.
I would have charged about 15 to 16 hundred. The lowest I would go is 12.
Dont worry your price is very reasonable most of big house owner they hate pay money for window cleaning like this but they need pro to clean it many time hapened to me I remmember one time they waited oe year belive or not then they call me it was1200
good luck george
thanks for the replies. Really like the idea Kevin.
Man, I don’t even wanna think about all those french panes right now…
Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Focus on the reward for you efforts.
I think that is a very fair price for you and the client. You could definitely get more but you’ll still come out fine. SOmething we do on first time cleans for exterior is have one man go through with a razor and T-bar and just scrape, then follow that with a WFP. WIthout all the rag detailing and squeegeeing you can really fly through the scraper part and it looks awesome after the WFP hits it. You also don’t have to scrub too long with the WFP if they have been scraped. With double hungs and casements We can do that in about the same time as a traditional clean. With french panes it makes things go alot faster and look alot better than a traditional clean. Oh yeah and do the tracks when you do the scraping. Happy washing!
if the Windows havent been cleaned for so long and are nagging dirty , it makes a lot of sense ( if its possible ) to PRE WASH the windows with a WFP trolley system … and maybe the WFP for outisde will be enough even if it aintit will cut through all that dirt a lot quicker than with a bucket…save you time , energy and rhe end result will be better…
