Too High?

I agree. I would take a $250 to $300 job any day over a million dollar home. It is so nice when you can work 3 hours and have the rest of the day off.

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I was at 350 on 21 vinyl replacement windows because: they gave me the impression they were just done on the phone, yet there was thick cob webs and bugs and dirt in and around. I could see sticker prints where the stickers were, so adhesive remover is about 7 a bottle. All but one window had screens, so all screens would have to be removed and cleaned and put back. I would have hand rubbed each window. The window company told them they would have to use a scraper to remove the residue. Well, thanks to this site, the folks are saying no more scrapers. I would actually use a scraper, but not on brand new windows…I don’t want to be the guy to scratch brand new windows. So now she says she’ll do it, and they have the impression they can use a scraper from the window company…who would not scrape them either. So I bid that high based on labor intensity for each window. That’s 16 dollars a window, but wait, there’s two entry doors and a set of double Frenchie room entry doors, which I found on the web from house selling pics. 72 panes, so 350 - 72 is 278 which works out to 13 dollars a window for what I consider CCU. They weren’t totally honest with me. But I was drooling at the chance to make 21 new windows look like they weren’t even there. My bad.

$13 per window is still pretty good for our area. We are doing a house that is in, out and tracks for $10 per window. But, we will have two people on the job and have our systems down that it should go pretty quickly.

When people inquire of us, unsolicited, we generally give them a base price per window depending on what it sounds like they want with the disclaimer that terrain, window height, etc. may increase the total price.

We cover a large area so we have gotten in the habbit of using Google Street view, Zillow, or having them submit pictures before giving a definite price.

I don’t know how many of you also offer other services but we have also had decent success with offering a discount if they agree to more services.

We do house sofwash and pressure washing of decks concrete driveways and such. “I see that there’s a lot of mold on the back and side of your house. Since we would already be there, we can take care of that AND the windows for $xx.xx if you schedule both for the same day. That’s a xx% discount from our regular house wash price. (Or Which would be this.much if done separately).”

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People who tell you what to do are the ones you don’t want to work for. I get it, you feel annoyed because I feel that way too when people give me crap over price or tell me how they think it should be done. Move on!

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I will put this thought in too. Once you get some good customers to refer you, they tend to have good friends. That is how i get most of my resi personally, though i dont do a ton of resi like some of the people on here.

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Your price is your price. Seeing BOTH ends of the spectrum in my 14 years cleaning…I’ve seen what low-ball $40 an hour base gets you and also what $8-10 per window get you. In the grand scheme of things, your business is your business-- not anyone else’s. That’s the most important part!

Generally I charge “a cleaning and a half” on initial cleaning-- then offer them my “every 2 months” maintenance plan (6x a year for residential…commercial is 12x a year) At this point, if they are not taking at LEAST 3x a year service, I put their card in the junk pile and go forward. I want to clean “clean” windows, if I come 6x a year you will most likely have clean windows year round. I stray away from the “Once a year/6+ months” customers. I do not like snowbirds, “part time customers”. I like to get engaged with the customers so they aren’t viewing me as “the window guy” but more like a member of their extended family. The free stuff they give you is great, and you build a great relationship as you continue servicing their homes. Keep in mind, I have a full time window cleaning gig as it is, so I have a safety net while I build up my route and customer base to the point where I can fully support my mortgage, truck, medical insurance, etc…

To each their own, I also am pretty respectful if there is another cleaner in an area. I make sure not to step on anybody’s toes and offer professional courtesy. I am pretty friendly with all of the other window cleaners in the area, as I have been around here for a while. Remember, this is a BROTHERHOOD! We are part of an elite group, and I LOVE it. In fact, I’ve met 2 or 3 who frequent this forum! It’s awesome when we are discussing youtube videos and showing off the new tools!

500 for 40 is more than I charge. If 40 for 500 only gets you 30-50 an hour that seems like you move a little slow. How experienced are you? You talk about expensive homes being 300k and up, where do you live? Where I live 300k isn’t anywhere near expensive. All these things are factors in determining prices, value, worth. All that stuff.

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Well if you can do it, good for you.

I would be dreaming the best I would hope is for quarterly, then the windows are generally “clean”, even with my six monthly customers the windows are not that dirty or take any longer to clean.

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Yeah, hey this has been an awesome thread. But now a week later I have done two out of the three houses I whined about. A little cheap, but got fifty an hour at one and 30 an hour at the other. I’ll post pics somewhere. Got some more good things coming up. Am going to shoot some houses at 75 an hour this week and see what happens. Am real close to pulling the trigger on a WFP. I think my growing client base and the neighborhoods I’m moving into will ramp up my game, save time, do a better job than polling and oh, make money. Thanks for all the great input. Am feeling more competent as a professional and enjoying the craft. Customers are blown away by my work and I enjoy giving them a good product. Thanks pros. :star_struck:!
Here’s the 747K House. Did Friday and Saturday.

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