So I just did a bid for a lady from a referral from one of my yard guysā¦ she lives in a 400k home in a nice neighborhood. She has 88 total 6x8 inch french panes and 25 double hung windows. I bid the job outside only for 240. Seems reasonableā¦ flips her lid completely and pulls out a bid from the window guy she used in the past and it says inside out 150 outside only 119. I donāt feel like I am off by 50% hereā¦ or am I. This seems a bit insane. Figured Iād share and ask you all. Lol.
I would be any where from 300 to 350 inside and out so I think that 240 for outside only is a little high but not crazy. That last guy was stupid cheap.
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āYes Maāam that is significantly lower than mine; would you like for me to call and schedule that for you or did you call me because heās out of business?ā
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I love it. I actually told her there was no way I could match that price and still do quality work, while still making a profit. I then explained everything that makes us a great company. Lastly I let her know that it was nice to meet her and that I would look forwad to chatting with her soonā¦ as she may not be able to reach the other company bc they are most likely out of businessš
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we would be at $250 for just the glass outside only, it would be more if she wanted the screens washed.
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Thank you leaving. That is kind of where I was at with the bid as well.
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Out side with wfp would only take and hour if you new what you were doing. so $150 outside
but $300 inside!
Id be around 350 I/, we charge 70% of the i/o price for outside only, so 245 is where we would be on that. Youāre on the money with the estimate, donāt negotiate. Stick to your price, whenās the last time you negotiated with Walmart for cheaper milk.
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A house like that here is like 350.00 + in CFL.
I always get a kick out of home owners bragging on the " Other Guy " who did their windows for
a great cheap price. " What $350.00, the other guy did it for $50.00 !! ".
I got to the point where I would say something like, " Then why am I standing here in your front yard discussing window cleaning with you ? ". I would even say sometimes, " That is the guy you should use because that is a great price ! " Calling their bluff and making them make my point. Most of the time the answer is, " I cant get ahold of him. He wont return my calls. His phone is disconnected. "
After that answer you donāt have to say much. " I am sorry to hear that maam - here is our quote ".
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I donāt run into this much. Either people accept the price, or they donāt. Iāve had the āthe other guy does it for cheapā a few times, but itās not often.
It gets under my skin when someone does that. Yeah, yeah, I know it shouldnāt and itās part of business. But truthfully, who wants a client like that? Cheap-oās are the hardest to please and they certainly are not loyal. You donāt call out other service businesses and pull that same crap. They would tell you the price is X and if you want to call someone else, go for it.
What we offer may be a luxury service, but we donāt have to devalue ourselves or our work.
I know how much money I have wrapped up in JUST tools for window cleaning. Itās over 10K, and I know this because I inventoried every tool and supply. You donāt get that much in tools doing charity work. You do it by making profits.
People that bow to cheapskates deserve to be taken advantage of.
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They do not really understand how hard it is to do a very good job in a very short time.
If they try to clean the windows on their own and take 8 hours they began to get a better idea.
I like to tell them Iām a āTransparency Maintenance Engineerā
Or TME for short!
Waitā¦88 french windows??
I had this 1 guys say it to me this year, I gave him the quote it was about $240, his immediate response is " I can get it done for $170", I was like" O K, I never claimed to be the cheapest, I claim to be the best!", as I was walking out wishing him a good day I was thinking to myself āTHANK YOU!ā the place was a pig sty, and realized I had not counted the windows where they had replaced the double garage door, which was about 15 panes.
Yeah that ladyās crazy, I wouldāve priced that closer to 300 personally
I havenāt gotten that much this year, sometimes I have fun with it, an give them a dose of reality
Am reality is you just donāt arrive in this business. You have to be profitable to stick around. To many guys come an go. Iām here to stay. .
Just keep it simple and tell them wow ya thatās cheap , an if you look harder you could probably find cheaper. Anyone can go to Home Depot get themselves some tools an call themselves a window cleaner. I would never go into what makes a good window cleaner. Who cares itās a lost cause for the most part. Some people you could get them to see the light , but sometimes to much work.
Got to go I have 5 other estimate to get to.
Iām on a job right now underbid , because I thought they werenāt true divides. Thought it was innetween the glass. Ugh. Left some money on the table. Oh well !!!
Lol didnāt get the last guy from this lady , but the next guy might. Lmao
I remember the day I was here she was following me around an taking so I couldnāt concentrate. An a few of the windows are in between but their rest arenāt.
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Weāre kinda on the higher side of pricing in our area. Iāve had people get mad at me for not pricing their 40+ window, 250 cut up house for $199. They want the works at Spirit airline prices.
I stress mu OSHA traning
Just re-bid a massive home that the formr owners did (they told me they way under bid and to go see it before I do it). IT is 13,500 sq ft with 475 PELLA windows!!! They were doing in and out for $600 and all sides of the pellas once a year for $1200 with mirrors and pressure washing the house!
I just bid them $1,900 for in/out and $1000 for the pressure wash. The owner just walked away and the house manager said; āshe doesnāt like discussing price.ā I may not get this oneā¦YEAH ME!
Count your blessings. Itās those 2-3,000 sqft homes that are our sweet spot. Big homes with tons of windowsā¦just rarely land those. 2 years ago we quoted $800+ for some huge lakeside house with about 100 windows. Too high, last guy was $250.
