Got a call for a store front this afternoon. Guy said his previous window cleaner came out 2 times and hasn’t seen him since. (He also had the same issue with a painter.)
He said he had 3 windows and a door and paid the other guy $10 in and out. I said my minimum is $15 and he was like - “When can you do it?” I’ll be there after lunch tomorrow.
Where do these guys go? Just charge what the job is worth and build off that. Oh well, mine now and there are 35 stores in the plaza. I’ll see if I can’t grab a bunch of those as well while I’m there.
My theory is they dump it for residential and the big money. Then they come back around in the fall.
Isolated case hopefully, but recently another guy in my area suddenly disappeared. His rates were incredibly cheap, and really brought down my market prices in this area. Come to find out he got himself deported back to Mexico or points further south. Ahh yes…life in the big sanctuary city.
That is a good question. But with those people they don’t remember their name and they were coming around at odd times instead of a set schedule. I miss a day and feel like I just lost the account. Hopefully moving onto greener pastures
The whole service industry tends to be unreliable. I’ve had so many conversations with customers, not just about window cleaners not calling back ever, but also contractors, landscapers, etc. People are so fed up with how no one returns phone calls, they miss their appointments, they’re late, they don’t finish work, etc. I took it for granted, but I’m realizing that we can really stand out simply by having good customer service: being punctual, returning phone calls promptly, being friendly, and the list goes on. It seems almost too easy. Thank-you, competition. You’re making me look awesome for just doing something I thought was normal.
I think a lot of people try this as a Hail Mary pass to make a few quick bucks. Think you can charge a buck a pane and then go count panes on a strip mall, multiplied by the 1,000’s of strip malls out there and next thing you know, you are a millionaire in your own mind. When they realize there is work involved, they punt.
I’m pretty sure you won’t find those guys here. They may lurk but they won’t participate. I just one shotted a newish (opened in February) dentists office yesterday. She told me your price is fine, but are you going to show up?" Wouldn’t let me do her windows while i was there, wants me back next week to prove I’m “for real” Seems two other guys did it once and never showed back up. Low hanging fruit man. I keep showing up and I can make thirty bucks in twenty minutes? Count me in. She even asked if I had a service agreement (I don’t) to sign for a years service. Poor girl just wanted reliable service.
It’s great when one of your jobs leaves you for a someone like that. Happy Jack Comes around sells at half your price maybe even with more service than what you were offering. Ya know 20x a week, an I’ll be on call for your insides whenever you see a finger print call me.
Then they disappear , An they call you back , then it’s" ya no problem , butttttttttt. … my prices just went up"
When I first tried to get going, I was 24 and working a part time job and had no experience or business/customer service sense. I thought it would be quick and easy to get work. I spent a day going store-to-store and I only got one account. I was
Very discouraged, even though that’s actually a pretty good rate.
I did that account a couple times and then fizzled out. By winter I had given up completely.
I think many people think it is quick, easy money, and when it is hard they give up. No ability to see the long-term goal or no idea how to get there. So they move on.
Sometimes I imagine: if I would have set aside 1 day/week back then, where would I have been 5 years later, when my wife and I started this business? I would have been SO much farther ahead. That would have been so slow, but also so easy.
This was me, minus coming back around in the fall. I gave up storefront all together for residential. Storefront got me my start but I always much preferred doing residential.
To my credit, I did send all my storefront customers a letter to inform them.
What tha hell does that mean? Anyone that does the small jobs that are below your minimum are crack heads? Come off of it man. Some of us see small jobs as just being part of the days whole, not just stand alone. I can’t tell you how many times the small job has led to bigger things - owners house, customers house or nearby businesses. In fact, some customers would say that our loyalty towards them, despite being small, is what leads to us getting larger opportunities down the road.
Agreed, I can squeeze little accounts in between jobs all day and by doing that it pays my employees and the bigger ones I profit. plus the small businesses are always the ones that tip me. I’ve never had large jobs kick a little more in appreciation, if anything they don’t want to pay.
