I’ve been landing quite a few contracts lately that haven’t had a window cleaner in years. Part of the reason I’ve been getting them has been because of discounting the initial clean to regular price. I figured losing on the first clean would be worth it for the months of regular income afterward.
I’m doubting that reasoning now though, been spending 2 or 3 times longer than normal to get these cleaned.
How far do you typically go? Do you get off every single speck? Or slowly work at it over time as you maintain the contract?
You should charge MORE for the initial clean in those cases.
https://community.windowcleaner.com/t/how-clean-is-clean/24175
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Depends on how much I forsee profiting off it in the future. If it’s a slammin bid I’ll go and get every spot off for the quoted price. Spend longer out front. On the flip side, if I get workin and find the bid coulda been a little higher I might speed up the process a little.
Sometimes with silicone I’ll work at it over several times rather than running to the truck for an eraser. It’s a judgement call really. I never discount first cleans though. Always same price. For me anyway. Been working good so far.
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Oh sorry I meant discount as in not charge extra for the initial. I never go below that. But I see your point
Thanks for the references I didn’t see those
If they’re really bad. Yeah add some on.
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Have you ever found charging more for initial scares people away? Especially if they aren’t used to paying for window cleaning at all? Or maybe a better question is, how do you pitch that too them in a way that doesn’t loose you the gig?
Look at it this way, you’re giving them a “discount” after the first clean.
If the windows are seriously jacked and I"m going to need to do some scrubbing, use a ladder, or whatever, then yeah, charge more. Just tell them “You’re windows are jacked so it’ll be $$$. And after the first clean, we can keep them clean for $$.”
At the very least you charge them your normal rate and just eat the initial extra labor.
What you don’t want to happen is you bust your tail getting the windows clean, give them a discount on that clean, and then they refuse to get on a regular schedule after that because “eh, they still look good, let’s skip it this time.”
This goes alongside my rule of never “checking in” with the store owner before cleaning. I walk up and get to cleaning because we had an understanding that this was going to be the schedule (every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks) and if you want to go from 2 weeks to 4 weeks, I’ll make the adjustment on the NEXT clean.
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This is where a Factor Sheet comes in to play.
Charge regular pricing for window cleaning, then add what ever is needed for what ever is beyond that on the initial cleaning.
Explain to them that your initial price for getting the windows to where they should be is $XXX.xx, after that if they schedule in 6 months or a year the price will be $XXX.xx - $XX.xx that was due to extra cleaning required, and if they want more frequent than 6 months then offer to knock an additional $25 (or fill in the blank) off the price.
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How good are ya at reading people? If they’re coming after you and saying yeah I heard about you! You do really good work. What they’re really saying is “charge me what you want just make me happy.” On the flip, if you’re going after them and they’re foot draggers you most likely can’t get away with inflating the price. Reading people on the spot helps determine how much you can charge them. Happy people spend more…
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Happy goes hand in hand with rapport. If you can build it quickly you can charge more as well. That’s why referrals are gold, instant rapport. If they are a little wishy washy about saying yes to anything, take them around the block verbally and come back to it. Maybe is way better than three no’s.
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Yeah I made the mistake of “checking in” the other day, a month after I spent hrs taking off silicone on every window. They didn’t want regular service… No more checking in from now on
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Yup, walk up and slap that wet mop on the glass.
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First initial cleans can be time and a half in/out. If you sell it in terms of the extra time and service you will be doing on that clean (Windows, frames, sills, etc, etc), then offer a routine cleaning option going forward. What I have seen through a fellow cleaner I’ve known for decades-- He gets them on bi-monthly services. A few hundred accounts, every two months. I always liked his sales pitch to get them done year-round. After two months, it goes to a cleaning and a half. The customers generally always take the routine maintenance cleans and have heard on MANY occasions how “The other guy never offered that”. You can read people, once you are established and these people are getting to you through referrals-- They want your service due to the word of mouth advertisement. I am in the process of doing the same, with decent returns. (These aren’t 1,000 dollar in/outs) As people mentioned before-- If you can read people, you are in the clear.
As for how clean is clean? You can ask 10 different window cleaners, and you’ll get 10 different replies lol. I know when a window is clean, and I know when a window is “clean”-- It depends on how particular the customers are. One or two passes on the wand is usually enough to get off most. If you are talking windows that haven’t been cleaned in 3+ months (depending on your location), it could be multiple passes and squeegeeing off.
