Let's
Raise Our Prices!
by
Paul Dutton, Paul's Professional
Window Washing, Montrose, CA
I
don't care who you are, you need to raise your prices! And
raise them substantially. I can't believe any of my competition
is making any money. My company is usually at least twice
as high as my competition. I am getting double the price for
my work and will not accept anything less. Let's examine some
of the reasons why the window cleaning industry needs to raise
its prices.
If
I charged what my competitors did, I would not have a six-man
operation, trucks and crews, with a full-time secretary lining
up appointments. I would have myself and one bucket. The industry
has for too long been doing windows dirt cheap. The public
expects to get their windows done for next to nothing, and
you deserve better. Our whole industry deserves better, and
together we need to raise the level of our customers' consciousness.
The
window cleaning industry requires more skill and knowledge
than ever before. A lot of know-how and experience is needed
to clean a piece of glass without scraping it or leaving drips
on the floor or the window. You no longer are some bum off
the street, you're a professional now, working hard to build
your company's reputation and image.
You
have a legitimate business with expenses and overhead just
like any other. Informing customers of your main expenses
may help them understand what you have to charge to cover
your basic costs, especially insurance. You have to cover
auto, liability, and workman's compensation insurance, costs
of chemicals, basic supplies, phone and office equipment,
gas, and your workers' pay. All these expenses haven't taken
in account that you have not even pulled out of the driveway.
There
seems to be an age-old belief that any kind of cleaning should
be done for next to nothing by a lower-class person with little
or no intelligence. (See Bill Lussenheide's article in the
November 1990 issue of this magazine.) Well, I have news for
you: these are the 1990's and we're not dumb and doing this
dirty hard work for dirt cheap prices any more. Most of your
customers over 50 believe they can still get their cleaning
done cheaply, especially their windows. "Why should I pay
$350 when I get the whole house cleaned for $45 by my maid?"
one prospective older customer asked me. Don't succumb to
their old stubborn ways of thinking. If they don't like your
price let them try and do it themselves. After they fall off
the ladder or pay for the chiropractic bill, they will begin
to realize why you charge your price.
Unfortunately,
there is always some company willing to undercut your price
or some cheap guy with a poor image willing to work practically
free. Okay, let them! Those are the people that Will stay
a small cheap window cleaning company, and not for very long.
If
you want to grow you need to raise your prices and have to
learn to say "no" to the people who are not willing to pay
your price.
I
recently estimated five different store fronts in one complex,
each with four big plate-glass windows and two doors. I first
figured I would have to cut my price in half to be competitive
with the cheap guy doing them now. He only did the outside,
and it looked like he never wiped any of his sills or frames,
and drips were evident.
I
estimated for two visits per month, one inside and out and
one outside only, for a price of $85. That's equal to $17
per store and $8.50 per store per visit. Of course, you're
going to do all five at once, equaling $42.50 per visit. I
informed the prospective client that the insides probably
never were done and pointed out the drips on the outside.
I educated him on my costs just to fire up one truck and my
insurances and told him my price.
He
agreed that my service sounded much better but asked why the
current guy asked half the price of $40permonth or $4 per
store per visit? I told him if he wanted the guy to work for
$4 a store, then let him. But if he wanted a legitimate company
to do a professional job, then call me. I'm still waiting
to hear. The point is, if I get the job for my price, good.
If not, let the cheap guy have it.
In
the industry typically the price is $2.20 per window for both
sides of a piece of glass. A basic two-panel slider would
equal $4.40. If you did a house with four sliders and eight
basic two-panel windows, you should charge for 24 pieces x
$2.20 equaling $52.80. The problem with this is that there
is a difference with all windows. This price would be
a fair price for commercial or route-work windows that are
easily-reachable and done on a regular basis.
What
about windows requiring a ladder, difficult-to-reach pole
windows, those with paint on them, those requiring industrial
cleaning, French pane windows? How can we charge the same
price for windows requiring twice as much time? To price windows
across the board is not fair.
A
price has to take into account the different types of windows
and the difference in time to do them. When my customers ask
me how I charge, I tell them it all depends on the size of
the windows, how dirty they are, how hard they are to get
to, and how long it will take me to do them. Obviously, second
and third-floor windows will cost more. My philosophy is,
the higher I go up the ladder, the more expensive it gets.
Your
pricing must accommodate a system that allows for differences
in windows and the time to do them: the solution is time.
After estimating on residential work, construction clean up,
and commercial route work for ten years, I have found it easiest
to bid the jobs by time. I set up a scale of $25 per hour
and bid the windows by minutes. My first nine hours are based
on a sliding scale up to $150. After that I charge a standard
rate of $25/hr. For example, a house with four sliders, six
windows, two door windows, two bathroom windows, and one bay
window would require 80 minutes for the sliders, 240 minutes
for the six windows, 20 minutes for the two doors, and 80
minutes for the bay window. That totals 420 minutes = 7 hours.
7 hours x to = $175, or $115 on my sliding scale.
Obviously
it's not going to take seven hours to do this house. It will
probably take two hours, thus your profit is built right into
your hourly rate.
1
hour = $25
2 hour = $35
3 hour = $50
4 hour = $75
5 hour = $85
6 hour = $100
7 hour = $115
8 hour = $130
9 hour = $150
|
10
hour = $175
11 hour = $200
12 hour = $250
13 hour = $275
14 hour = $300
15 hour = $325
16 hour = $350
17 hour = $375
18 hour = $400 |
How
do I figure 20 minutes for a slider window? If I have to drive
to the job, fill up my bucket, grab my equipment, wash the
window, take the screen off, wash the screen, wash the sills
and frames around the window, and then go inside and do the
same thing, then pack up the truck, write out the invoice,
and get paid, it's going to take at least 20 minutes. Your
profit comes from doing more than one window at a job. This
is why everyone .should have a minimum of at least five windows,
which would equal 20 minutes for a standard window, five windows
= 100 minutes or 1 hour and 40 minutes x $25./hr. = $45. Remember,
it's not necessarily the actual time it takes to do the window
but the time it takes to do the job. The parking, the walking
distances, or the amount of equipment you need may very well
determine your overall time.
These
are general calculations, feel free to adjust your own time
spans for easier or more difficult windows.
Another
way is to charge $5 for 20-minute window, $10 for a 40-minute
window and, $12.50 for a 60-minute window.
Still
another perspective is to see how many windows of one type
you can do in one hour. Remember to include your set-up and
pack-up time. How much would you charge for that many windows?
Would it equal my scale of 20 minutes a window divided by
your hourly rate of $25? For example, you can do 20 easy windows
inside and out in one hour on a commercial route job. That
would equal l0 x 10 = 100 minutes (1.6 hours or about $35).
Now take those same easy windows and put them on the second
floor with 5 years of dirt on them, with bushes in the way,
and a difficult ladder access. Would you charge the same?
No way - you would charge at least 20 minutes per window x
20 windows = 400 minutes. (6.6 hours or $115).
Pretty
incredible to think I can charge nearly $5 for a standard
4"x8" slider. I do it every day and have been for 10 years
and will not compromise my price or my integrity because I
won't compromise my quality. If the customer wants a splash
and-go job, let him get what he pays for. So together let's
raise our prices and make the customer understand that we're
a legitimate industry and demand to be paid better than dirt
cheap wages.
Paul
Dutton of Paul's Professional Window Washing specializes in
residential window cleaning in the northern area r Los Angeles
covering Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San
Marino, and the San Fernando Valley. Paul started his business
10 years ago with his last $15 and one bucket, one bottle
of ammonia and a gas-station squeegee, He now has five full-time
employees, a field manager, a 11_ me secretary and three trucks.
The company does 1200 residential and 65 commercial accounts
and about 25 major construction clean-up jobs a year.
This
article was reprinted with permission from American
Window Cleaner magazine.
