A window cleaner's phone buzzes while he is up a ladder. The message says four words: "How much for windows?" He cannot answer. A two-bedroom terrace with eight windows and a five-bedroom house with a conservatory, bay windows and a locked side gate are entirely different jobs. By the time he is down, dried off and typing, the customer has messaged two other cleaners.
Window cleaning is one of the easiest trades to quote, once you know four things. Getting them in the first message is the whole game.
The teardown: why the price question stalls
Customers assume window cleaning has a flat price, the way a haircut does. Cleaners price by property and round. Neither side knows what the other needs, so the conversation becomes a series of questions asked from a ladder.
The four things that set the price
Most quotes come down to the property type and number of bedrooms, the number and type of windows including conservatories and bays, access such as gates, parking, gravel, steep steps or overhanging conservatory roofs, and how often the customer wants the clean repeated.
Frequency changes everything
A one-off clean after building work is a different price from a repeat visit every four or eight weeks. Repeat customers are the business, so the frequency question should come early, not as an afterthought once a price has been given.
Price bands beat silence
Publishing bands, such as a range for a typical three-bedroom semi on a regular round, lets customers see whether you are in their budget. Bands also give your assistant something accurate to answer from, which avoids the problem described in when your chatbot gives a wrong price.
Capturing it in conversation
SpideyChat for cleaning companies asks these questions at any hour and captures the address and property details.
Customer: How much for windows? Assistant: Prices depend on the property and how often you would like them done. The pricing page lists bands for terraced, semi-detached and detached homes. Could you share your address, how many bedrooms, whether there is a conservatory and whether you would like a regular clean every four or eight weeks?
Access questions save wasted trips
Locked gates, dogs in the garden, parking restrictions and blocked side returns cost a cleaner a visit if they are discovered on the doorstep. Asking about access before the first visit protects the round.
Gutters, fascias and extras
Many customers do not realise the same visit can include gutter clearing, fascia washing, conservatory roofs or solar panels. Listing extras with prices raises the value of every stop on the round.
Commercial rounds
Shops, offices and pubs need regular external cleans, often before opening. Capturing opening hours and access for commercial enquiries separates them from domestic ones and wins contracts that last years.
Trust at the door
Customers are letting someone through a side gate while they are at work. Explaining who attends, how payment works and whether you send a message before each visit builds the confidence described in trust and key holding questions for home cleaners.
Related quoting problems
Inside cleaning has its own version of this, covered in cleaning quotes that need rooms, frequency and access, and electricians face the same pattern on larger jobs, described in rewire and consumer unit quote requests.
Getting started
Publish your price bands, your round frequencies and the details you need, then capture enquiries while you work. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.