Am I being unreasonable increasing my cleaning rates to £17.50 an hour?

[Chattychoo]

I am a cleaner , I am half semployed half self employed. I charge £15 an hour(north west) , some I provide cleaning products some they provide.
I last increased my rates 3 years ago but now employ my daughter a few hours a week.
I have a few clients I travel to (20 mile round trip) and due to inflation, fuel and general increased prices thought it was time for a price increase.
i have googled and tried to find what the general prices people charge and I don't want to overcharge anyone.
i have sent a couple of clients that I travel to an email raising to £17.50 an hour but it's not going down well. I haven't heard off one but the other has questioned it . I stated costs have risen and did mention fuel which I probably shouldn't have.
Ive been asked to re consider as it's now coming back down but all my other costs have gone up, insurance , minimum wage even cost of washing my cloths , even my rent so now I don't know how to reply , I feel I'm overcharging and wish I'd never mentioned it!

You’re full, there are only two of them if I’ve understood correctly.
Don’t quibble with them.
Don’t back down.
It’s a long way to travel, too far I think.

Don't change your mind now. Cost of everything is rising as you said yourself. Plus lots of people know that if they make a fuss with companies like Sky or Vodafone they may get a better offer, so they try that same approach with small businesses too. Stick to your guns and look for new clients in case they cancel - but they may well not do.

You're full and never had to advertise so you can realistically afford to stand your ground and lose them. You'll get new customers.

Although the NW is a varied place. Wealthy parts of Cheshire you're probably significantly under charging. Other parts of the NW you could start to lose customers. What is everyone else around you charging?

My cleaning lady (Cambridgeshire) charges £35 ph so I think £17.50 is more than reasonable.

Back In April 22 min wage was £9.50, now it’s £12.21 so your increase is less than min wage has gone up by. I’d agree with a Pp thst you should adjust annually and you shouldn’t tie it just to fuel. Tbh if you consider your costs and the dead time of getting to them (as they are a drive away) you’ll not even be able to pay yourself min wage from £15, possibly just about at £17.50. You’d be hard pushed to find a cleaner under £20 round here.

I’m paying £20 per hour in the southwest, very happily. It’s hard work and skilled to do it as well as my cleaner does.

You will replace any clients that don’t like it. Know your worth.

Wouldn’t they be now scrapping round for pounds and 50p pieces though 😂?!

I think an increase if you haven’t had one for 3 years is more than reasonable.

Stick to your price, advertise for new customers.

My cleaner charges £20 ph (midlands) and has a waiting list. I would see if you can find other clients- it might be that you are currently the cheapest around so you have attracted people who are more price sensitive.
our cleaner, dog walker, handyman etc. all review prices annually and give a two or three month run in. They tend to put a general blurb about in line with costs increasing but don’t give specifics that can be quibbled.

My cleaner just went from 21ph to 23ph (midlands) so I think you are still cheap!

I’d look to fill the slot closer to home and let her find a more local cleaner who will be cheaper

No I work 18 hours at a company and I have clients every afternoon. My daughter suffers from anxiety and alopecia so I employ her 6 hours a week so I pay her wages as well(she doesn't claim anything) . 3 years ago I raised my prices to £15 which if I hadn't I was below minimum wage and one told me she couldn't afford it (solicitor and large house) so went to fortnightly so I've not put my prices up ever since. I suffer from lack of confidence so this is a huge blow for me. I actually had no plans of working for myself it worked around the kids when they were little and I haven't had the confidence to find something else .

That wouldn't look good. It would look like you were just trying it on. Go back to them if you really want to keep them & just say you haven't increased your prices since x, it's not just the petrol it's everything has gone up & you can't keep absorbing the additional business costs. This is the new price starting from x. Please let me know if you no longer wish to continue & keep your fingers crossed!

20 miles is a long way for a cleaning job. How many hours are you doing on those trips?

£17.50 is reasonable here (SE) I'd go up to £20 if I could find someone. £15 I'd feel like I was taking advantage.

its a shame you're not SE 😌I want someone who can communicate as well as you!

Have you tried advertising on Nextdoor? You'd be swamped with work here!
😊

Definitely!

OP completely ignore someone with the salary of a solicitor claiming they can’t afford a tiny price rise. They’re just being tight.

This too.

id be ok with paying £20 to start with, but if the cleaner was good, I wouldn't let them go if they increased their prices after a while.

I think that you should raise your rates for all, not just the few you travel to.

You should consider advertising a standard hourly rate eg £17.50, but for services that are further out (say 10/15/20 miles out of a certain area) than you charge an extra £5-£10 on top per trip. Lots of independant businesses and services do this.

Don't back down. Clearly state that its been 3 years since you've raised the rate, since then business costs have increased. If they really want a cleaner I would be surprised if they could find someone cheaper. Have you looked at what other cleaners are charging?

Absolutely!

We are East Midlands and my friends who have cleaners pay about £20-25 per hour. If people rely on you they’ll have to pay it.

id re-email them asking them to confirm by reply that they accept and understand the need rates from xxx date as you have a waiting list of clients and If they aren’t in agreement then you wil offer their slot to someone else….

that should make them think and if they don’t get some new customers and charge them £20-25!

OP hasnt increased her rates for 3 years. How many of us havent had an increment or payrise in 3 years? We all know costs have risen significantly in that time. I dont know if she charges travel time where it's a 20 mile journey. I dont know if her clients pay when OP on hols/sick. I'm not saying they should but if not..OP increasing rate is reasonable in my eyes. How easy is it to get a new cleaner?

I don't know as I can see financially it makes sense as costs have increased but then costs have increased for employed people to get to work etc too and as mentioned above we haven't had big pay rises.

Exactly.

scary you need to explain that to adults.

OP you really need to have faith in your work. It seems like you have found clients that don’t value what you do. You will find others that will so start advertising NOW then drop those that grumble especially if you are travelling that far. Remember the benefit of being self employed is that you get to decide who you do work for.

I’m north west and pay £20 per hour. Once you take off your tax, fuel, products, uniform etc. you’re probably on less than minimum wage. £17.50 is fine

TBH if i saw you were only charging £15 ph I'd assume you weren't good, that's very cheap indeed.

Listen to all the Pp telling you that you're undercharging and put your prices up. £17.50ph is fine. Any customers you lose, replace them with new customers at £18ph! And maybe tell people you'll be starting a yearly price increase to avoid the shock of a big one in future

We've always given our cleaner a 50p ph rise each Jan, maybe it needs to be closer to £1 now i think.