Not having a pop at you far from it just seems silly moneyOriginally Posted by TaketheCannoli
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
It will be if they ever have an accident and damage your house or the cars on the drive etc.As has been established £30 was never the real price, not sure why he did the work for that's it was silly of him. Think of it like a glitch in the matrix or you got lucky. If you're also charging your customers well under the market price I suggest you increase your prices too.
A local Polish window cleaner charged us £40. Storey and a half 4 bed house. Did a very good job.
Local (N Irish) window cleaner quoted £100-120. Polish guy seems very busy, the local lad was available anytime.
A supply teacher will likely take home 110 a day. 5 hours teaching (managing chaos) or 2 hours cleaning windows?
To be fair it’s probably not surprising as we live in the 1st world and we’re members of TZ. It would be a bit weird if we were discussing our experiences of poor sewerage in a township or lack of space in our local favella.
I didn't take it as a pop. Seems silly money compared to other examples on here.
I think the title of the thread is throwing a few people off the scent on this.
The £120 quote is for cleaning of the window frames,fascia's and gutter cleaning
Not just cleaning of the windows.
No way £30 is realistic for getting up to a fair height and cleaning the crap out.
Sorry have you missed the bit where I said that £30 was the real price and as been established what other people have been charged on here?
Don’t see the confusion..... last time £30 now he wants £140. Over 400% more.
You also don’t know that he doesn’t have insurance and just speculating because he did it for £30.
My first post was misleading, I said in a later post that this quote (£140) was for just doing the windows, frames and wiping of the fascias.
Last time you got an insane discount and this time you've been quoted the going rate. Better?
When did I say he doesn't have insurance?
whatever
Hilarious!.
Men arguing about the cost of window cleaning FFS.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Ah right
I thought this was for clearing out gutters
If its just for giving them a wipe down then it does seem a lot.
FWIW, we have 28 panes of glass combined in doors, windows and skylights, done with purified water from a van pumped through hose and brushes, left wet but dries spotless.
£32 once per month.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Cracking contribution.
It's less than 400% more.
Which yours is of course saying anything to the contrary, it’s been established on here quite a few times what the normal price is.
So what is it then?
367% (approx.).
Surely that’s only £111 approx?
Think you need to go check your workings out?
Last edited by Franky Four Fingers; 2nd August 2020 at 22:02.
Yes, it’s £110 more, making £140.
Back in the 90s me and a mate charged £15 per house on an estate in Toxteth for ins and outs. We often got a dinner thrown in as well by one of the residents, so at the end of a good day we'd be knackered but happy, with a bin full of tokens.
We even saw a woman getting dressed once. Robin Askwith had nothing on us…
Last edited by Onelasttime; 2nd August 2020 at 22:37.
Not sure why this thread is going, someone asks for a quote, gets it, isn't happy and goes elsewhere for a quote, and still isn't happy.
Either pay the going rate, do it yourself, or leave it as is.
Why are you so insistent that £15 per hour is not enough for a window cleaner?
I don’t think there is a single shop floor factory worker (non management/team leader)around my way earning that sort of money.
My wife is a sewing machinist with experience on a number of machines, she has recently been trained up to work with the engineering team making samples and cutting templates and she’s on £11.75 an hour.
What skill is involved with cleaning windows that makes you think £15 an hour isn’t enough?
Too many variables here. Location, ease of access, number of windows, size of house, size of windows, number of floors, if the window cleaner is doing it by hand or using a broom with a hose inside.
We paid £28 front and back for a medium size 3 bed semi in Hertfordshire (by hand) and now we're in a double fronted 4 bed semi in London and it's £21 (by broom). Main reason is the guy has been doing this house for 20+ years - his more recent customers probably pay more.
He gets a double shot Nespresso and a nature valley bar each time he comes, probably keeps the price low ;)
No idea about rates but I'm assuming that the window cleaner is self-employed (so no holiday pay, sick pay, pension, travel costs to fund, etc.) while a factory worker is employed.
Being employed, especially in low paid employment, isn't as secure these days as it was but relatively unskilled self-employment is a tough living too.
Tell me about it, I’m a taxi driver. My livelihood over the last 3 months practically dried up.
Wow, you did pretty well then, considering "In April 1994, The Independent newspaper highlighted that Toxteth was still one of the most deprived areas in Britain, with unemployment in some districts exceeding 40%, with theft, drug abuse and violent crime being rife." Must have been one of the 'posh' estates.!Back in the 90s me and a mate charged £15 per house on an estate in Toxteth for ins and outs. We often got a dinner thrown in as well by one of the residents, so at the end of a good day we'd be knackered but happy, with a bin full of tokens.
We even saw a woman getting dressed once. Robin Askwith had nothing on us…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxteth
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
They're generally self employed, therefore need to provide/pay their own transport, equipment, insurance, do their own paperwork and work outside in all weather. It;s a little different from simply turning up to work and taking home a pay packet every month. People generally underestimate the cost of working for yourself. that's not to sya there isn't money in it - didn't a window cleaner get cash out of Dragons Den once?
£30 for two hours isn’t sustainable. I paid £80 for gutters, fascias and windows all round a couple of weeks ago. Did a great job and happy to support a local, friendly trader who hadn’t worked much in lockdown and who had clearly invested quite a bit in his van, water tank, hose, long reach pole etc.
What was a bargain before, has gone to the other extreme -I feel.
Do gutters need doing that often? Do the surrounds?
Personally - I would approach someone else for just windows, and compare.
4 bed detached with conservatory £35 and takes him about 30mins. If I want the soffits & fascias doing it is £130 and takes him just over an hour.
I know what the cost of working for yourself is all too well. I’ve been self employed for the last 15 years.
I own my own taxi so the cost of paying for the car, fuel, insurance, maintenance, cleaning and radio rent all come out of my pocket. Pre Covid, the cost of running a taxi was about £400 per week. My target was always £850 for a five day working week, working around 55 hours, giving me an income after my outgoing which is actually below minimum wage.
You can just imagine how bad it is now with car payments, insurance and radio rent all still having to be paid, but with a significantly lower workload, but it is what it is. I just have to grit my teeth, tighten my belt and try and do extra hours. We can’t decide to up our fares just because we are in a lean period.
The same goes for greedy window cleaners who are deciding to try and cash in during this pandemic. People won’t forget how greedy they have become and they will take their custom elsewhere.
Last edited by jaytip; 3rd August 2020 at 12:16.
I suspect the temporary price-hike will be short lived. When people are struggling financially, having clean windows will be one of the first things to drop off the list. I'd imagine this is a post-lockdown period where there is a certain amount of demand built up from lockdown and the fact that the economy is being shored up at the moment.
Nice try Oaky.
Despite your total ignorance of living in Liverpool in the 1990s, you've relied on an abstract newspaper article and some stats to draw the assumption that the majority of people living in Toxteth at the time had no self-respect and were so destitute they couldn't afford £15 a month to get their windows cleaned. Most of them opted for outside only at £7.50.
Anyway, crack on with your misinformed prejudices.
That’s a great day-rate even allowing for running a van!
I can see a weekend business idea developing ;)
It's just a matter of time...
Indeed, given the lack of stress vs my consulting day rate. Bet he isn’t lying awake at night unable to sleep due to dirty windows!
Same here - a guy with a van and a long brush, purified water.
3 storey house with 34 panes of glass (inc 3 exterior doors)... I pay £21 every 8 weeks
Sorry, thought you said you "charged £15 per house on an estate in Toxteth for ins and outs" now it appears "most of them opted for outside only at £7.50". So perhaps they couldn't afford £15 a month after all!
Perhaps the "dinner thrown in as well by one of the residents" was only a sandwich as well.
No prejudices involved here old chap, I'm a working class boy from a council estate, and I know what it's like to be poor, just commenting on what you posted.
Last edited by oldoakknives; 3rd August 2020 at 14:45.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Come on OOK, stop cherry picking. You deliberately quoted what you wanted to point out in bold while completely dismissing the rest of his sentence which said £15 for outside AND inside.Sorry, thought you said you "charged £15 per house" now it appears "most of them opted for outside only at £7.50". So perhaps they couldn't afford £15 a month after all!
Perhaps the "dinner thrown in as well by one of the residents" was only a sandwich as well.
No prejudices involved here old chap, I'm a working class boy from a council estate, and I know what it's like to be poor, just commenting on what you posted.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Wasn't cherry picking at all, there was no mention that £7.50 was the usual cost in his first post was there? I'll change the post just for you!
Last edited by oldoakknives; 3rd August 2020 at 14:46.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
With reference to the OP and the price rise, reckon I’m not the only one keeping his fingers crossed that window cleaning isn’t moved from ‘Contracted out status’ to ‘in house status’ by swmbo😂
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Seems like a fair price if I was doing that job I would want that kind of money!! Climbing ladders, water running down your sleeve, dangerous, annoying and labour intensive - getting three similar quotes says that’s the market rate. Could be that after lockdown they are so busy now they are upping prices. £30 is crazy did he miss the 1 off £130! If your self employed an hourly rate means nothing as it’s not consistent.
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£140 to clean windows is silly money, as I said before he’ll be on more than a skilled tradesman. It’s an amount of money that he won’t sustain and as been demonstrated will see him lose customers.
You said yourself it’s not £140 to clean windows . It’s also cleaning the sofits .
Genuine question Frankie; if someone asked you to do the job, how much would you quote them?
Jesus Christ! What the actual $*£* did you think dinner was going to be? A foie gras starter followed by coq au vin and a bottle of Latour ‘64?Sorry, thought you said you "charged £15 per house on an estate in Toxteth for ins and outs" now it appears "most of them opted for outside only at £7.50". So perhaps they couldn't afford £15 a month after all!
Perhaps the "dinner thrown in as well by one of the residents" was only a sandwich as well.
No prejudices involved here old chap, I'm a working class boy from a council estate, and I know what it's like to be poor, just commenting on what you posted.
Seriously, read back what you write and ask yourself what you’re trying to achieve.
I don't understand this thread. Windows reach a natural patina after a few months, and should be left that way. You wouldn't polish a vintage Rolex after all.
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Seriously read your post and ask yourself. "a dinner thrown in" would suggest a meal on a plate to most I suspect. I'm not trying to achieve anything, simply chatting on a watch forum.
I could ask you what you were trying to achieve, when you quoted every post of mine in a thread.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
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