Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: spickandspan on June 27, 2006, 08:19:24 pm
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I live in the north of England and i am sure we do not charge as much as our guys do down south should be interesting.
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£25 A SEAT
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£169.00 (fixed cushions)
£188.00 (reversible cushions)
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£180 for standard sized 3 pc suite £230 for large
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if you go out to quote you will get the higher prices Dave 'Liona' I bet gets may be tripple the top price but he does go to stately homes as we 'underlings' go to mainly the masses. But you can get well well well over £100 to clean a suite, I just think you need a good sales manner and a good screening for poor quality customers that only buy on price alone and would therefore take up your time and may be your confidence.
Shaun
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What's the point in cleaning a suite for £50 - doesn't even cover your expences. Van costs, machine wear & tear, chemicals, insurance, labour etc all costs money.
The trouble is poss. 80% of cleaners in this forum have not got a clue about running a business. They're just living on a pray.
Try writting a business plan first and work out your costs proparly. These people charging silly prices are making it difficult for everyone else to maintain our prices without Mrs Smith wanting it done for a tenner.
Sorry, but I say it how it is!
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Shaun, for reasons you have touched on I am not going to comment on what I would charge. I do have
a question though. Regards the pole and excuse my confusion as the term a three piece suite isnt
used often if at all back in California where I have most of my experience of cleaning. Am I to pressume
a three piece suite is exactly that, 3 separate pieces of furniture? I ask as carpetclean says he charges
25 quid a seat. What the blazes is a seat? If the seat is how many people could sit on the furniture
then a sofa for 3 people he would charge £75. Accordingly then with a 2 seater and a chair the cost
would be £150. If this is the case I would ask why the cost is so low. It has nothing to do with who I
clean for and or what I clean just in general why is it so low. The amount of time it would take to clean
it surely you could have made 300 cleaning a carpet. Thats why I wondered why so low. As for the pole
in general, please tell me that most of the poles choices all fall less than what we would charge as a
service call?........You are right though, always try to price a job while seeing it with the customer. Alot
of customers will use you because they like you. If you dont give them the oportunity to meet you in
the first place............... Then over the phone you are a nobody and too easy to say no too. Best, Dave.
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Dave an average 3pc suite is a 3 seater sofa and 2 arm chairs which equated to £125.
I appreciate that your methods of charging by your time is the best way but try looking at most but not all customers in the eye and say "your 3pc suite is very dirty although it may have cost your £2000 and although I can't remove that stain on the arm but the rest will come up like new and the fact the your income is about above average but not loads above and you drive a very nice car your cleaning quote to do the job will be £500"
Do you think the majority will still book ?
I would imagine that most if not all will not see this as value for money, abviously i have taken this as a case study, not everyone has a £2K suite but I bet a family that earn double the national average would have got a £2K+ suite but still not take you up on it.
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I my experence people expect to pay more to have their carpets clean than their furniture. Its only when you explain to them that furniture cleaning takes a lot longer than carpets do they realise what is involved. And even then they still turn their noses up when you deliver the price! I've started saying " let me see madam if your furniture can be cleaned" and watch their face's then when I say " I can see no problems with this" the relief on their faces is priceless.
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Shaun, thanks for the info......I understand entirely, your point. Thats mostly why I kept away from
saying what I would charge. ........ If I knew that the furniture cost around 2000 then 200 would be
acceptable to charge to clean. Even I wouldnt charge 500 for a 2000 sofa. Thats why I try to find
4 or 5000 sofas, blah, blah, blah. But again point well taken. Best, Dave.
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Wow very interesting looks like i need to put up my price???
I still think guys down south can charge more then guys up north, what do you think???
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i think dave is what you will find is the masses do not know where to find a 4-5k sofa or £400 - £500 per meter carpet ! so if you target only these custy's i can see why you have to travel the lenght & breth of this country to only find a few day's work a week ! my thought's are if you target a local area well you should benifit from less time & money ( fuel ) spent on travel you'd have a larger client base & instead of being a 1 man band could expand more easily & maybe not ever jump in another van again also be more profitable ! don't know what anyone else thinks !
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Very true Tom I would rather spend 1 hour cleaning someones carpet than 1 hour sitting in traffic, there more proffit in cleaning than driving!
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What's the point in cleaning a suite for £50 - doesn't even cover your expences. Van costs, machine wear & tear, chemicals, insurance, labour etc all costs money.
The trouble is poss. 80% of cleaners in this forum have not got a clue about running a business. They're just living on a pray.
Try writting a business plan first and work out your costs proparly. These people charging silly prices are making it difficult for everyone else to maintain our prices without Mrs Smith wanting it done for a tenner.
Sorry, but I say it how it is!
I see in your earlier post you charge £230 for a large 3 piece suite...WHO THE HELL PAYS THAT SORT OF MONEY !!! I certainly would'nt and I dare say most hard working customers won't either.
I agree with you about the silly low prices...but £230...Thats not a bad days wage for 2-3 hours work !!! If you can get it, good on you, but it smells of RIP OFF to me.
Oh by the way, I've been on a business course and done a detailed plan...Have you ? you're grammar is terrible and you can't even spell !!!
Sorry, but I say it how it is !
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I agree, £230.00 is too much, you wont get many suites at that price.
A customer might as well go and put that amount towards a new one.
I charge £120.00 unless its a 3/2/1 then I go to £150.00, If they have a footstool I say that's foc.
I take 3-4 hours on a large 3 piece suite.
Phil
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Tom and Buster. I understand what it is that the two of you are saying. However if I marketed well the
area near where I live I would hope to get £300 a day which it would appear is what I could get per
house. Providing they wanted all their house done. At that rate it would take me all week to get the
same or less than I can get for one house for one days work. If I travelled 200 miles there and 200
back my mileage isnt that great if you spread it out through the week. Not only that but I am sure most
people spend more time driving than I do. 400 miles would take me 6 hours or 7 at most. I am sure
that most people spend more than 7 hours a week driving to and from there jobs. I am at most of my
jobs for 7 so dont sit in too much traffic. For the record I dont want a larger client base and I am quite
happy being a one man band. Having two vans doesnt give you twice as much profit as just having the
one. Not only that there isnt any one out there that can do what I do. Well of course there is but they
are doing it for themselves....... I try to only work one or two days a week because that way I can have
the time off I want to do other things. I am not suggesting that this is the way to run a business but it
works very well for me. I dont have to sort out thousands of flyers, sort out newspaper adds, yellow
pages etc etc. Best of all my phone never rings with a person asking how much to clean my whatever.
While I thankyou for your concerns to help me make more profit I like where I am. I am mostly retired
from all this nonsense of having to clean for a living and look forward to not having to do it at all. But if I
am to clean I have never hidden behind that I want a boat load of money to do it.............Terrymaloy,
what is wrong with £230 for 2 or 3 hours work. Isnt that what we all want. I know it is harder to get in
the cleaning of upholstery but as far as carpet cleaning goes I know most people are getting that for
while the machine is running. £100 an hour is not a rip off. Dont forget by the time you add driving to
the job etc etc it soon becomes much less. If you are starting at 50 an hour before you take the
expenses on, you wont have much left. Best, Dave.
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Phew if i charged £200+ for a suite i would be sat on my arse at home for many weeks.
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i agree dave the saying goes " small is beautiful " in business ! having said that £300 aday is good honest money at your prices some would differ ! i am however pleased it has worked for you.
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CONTRACT CLEANING SERVICES
I must ask what area you live in to get monney like that, most city folk wont even pay that,
James
PS what's your name
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Last chance to use the poll so hurry.
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The way i see it is, some people think their Marks & Spencers and some the corner discount shop, ;D
There's room in this world for all ::)
All this nonense of dictating what every one should be charging is pathetic, everyone has a different lifestyle, locality and needs.
discount shops can make money the same way M & S can!
Competition is good , it stops the rip off merchants.
If some want to charge £40 for a suite, i say good on them if they can afford to do it ;)
P.S. - i charge a bit more than that ;D
regards
steve
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True true also depends where you live also. I live in a town and could not possibly charge city prices.
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whats the difference betreen a town and a city? how big does a town have to get to become a city ;)
don't people who work in the city commute to the towns on an evening?
Mike
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the diffrence is a city has a cathedral ! but i know you knew that ;) mk is only city not to have a proper cathedral but it does have 1 !
you know the logistic's time = money more travel time in most city's = more money charged to custy !
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Lots more money in a city duh
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who says theres more money in a city?
the people who can't get a decent price for suite cleaning.
moneys everywhere from the biggest city to the smallest village. I bet if you could find out where all the millionaires live in this country more would be living in small communities than in big cities.
Mike
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Lots more competion in a City and bigger poorer areas, in a posh town they are all rich and have fewer cleaners to call so no competion, word of mouth is better because people don't ignore each other like they do in Cities.
Shaun
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Can i take it you live in a City
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Yes I do live in a city but also do very lucrative work in towns and villages.
If you had £millions would you live in the city?
Shaun
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Plenty live in Newcastle. Gosforth NE3 right next to city centre, more millionaires per post code than anywhere except Kensington & Chelsea.
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There is far more money in city's makes sence, every c/c i know who clean in city's charge twice as much as i do.
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Banks definition of a millionaire, is one who earns a minimum £100k per annum, well it was, when I was in the rat race! Nearly there! But mine is based on assets. ;D
Len
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What do you charge Len??? for a three piece????
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John,
I lived in Gosforth in a Hotel while I was waiting for my House to be built.
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Which one? I live in North Gosforth next to the Marriott. No I'm not a millionaire ;D
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I did stay at the Marriot.
But then changed to one that showed porn videos in 1985
Then I think the one I stayed six months at was called Kellys
i think Mr Kelly died so it probably flats now. My memory of it was my son wakeing up wo was about three saying its raining on my head The roof sprang a leak.
Come to think of it that might have been in Jesmond.
Gosforth has a Park?
I also remember having all my stock of Jeffrey Archer books being hijacked for a Conservitive party function he was attending at the Marriot.
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Just two thoughts relating to earlier replies about how much to charge.
I have a client who is a solicitor Charges £200 per Hour plus £90.00 per hour travelling time so if he visits you and it takes him half an hour there and back and an hours chat £290.00. He's very very busy !!!!
I gave a quote to a lady I've cleaned for once before shes renting out her house and moving from the area five rooms in total I won't tell you what i quoted but she missheard me and thought I said £ 1075 she didn't say NOOOOO she asked if I missed of the study how much she was still considering having the job done
What I would say is pricing is and individual thing but I think I do I very good job and provide a very good service and because of that I think and more importantly my clients think I should be paid a good price!
Any Comments welcome.
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spickandspan
Min £30 per bum, I’ve got a two seater can accommodate three Hattie Jacques but only one Billy bunter! :'(
Len
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Hi Guys,
At the local private hospital consultants will charge up to £600/hour , doesn't make £100 per hour seem too expensive does it.
I think it is often us who restrict our prices not the customers, alright if you charge more you will get less customers but provided your overall take is as good or better then go for it.
Remember higher prices means more time to spend on getting higher priced customers.
Cheers
Doug
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Tomh you can have a city without a cathedral. A city with one is known as a Cathedral city. I live in a town (LLanelli) and have a city (swansea) 10 miles away and I find people are more willing to pay higher amounts where I live than in Swansea , I think its due to having only two of us in yp in Llanelli but about 30 in Swansea.
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Competion from other cleaners drive the price down, to get more work than a competetor we think sell it cheaper, not everyone goes for cheaper.
Shaun
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That is the art of any job is pricing, the words i hate is when the customer says is that all............... makes you think eh????
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Just as a side mark and I think it has been touched on a little. Most of you now know the type of
customers and properties that I go after. Apart from one all the others are as far away from a city as
they can be. Best, Dave.
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Gentlemen
You cannot compare yourself to Doctors or Solicitors
To do so is just pathetic and reminds me of the Communistic and Trade Unionist thinking which kepf the USSR China in the dark ages for so long.
However, if you genuinely use the best products and equipment and have really trained and gained experience, over 4 - 5 years, before charging similar prices to the major franchise companies and most importantly.....really do a much better job than less expensive operators, you are certainly entitled to charge premium rates.
Someone mentioned M&S and it's a good analogy.
To simply charge high prices without providing exceptional value, is dishonest and unethical
Scanning the postings on here, what continually comes up, is the wish, by many, to raise the profile of the industry, which is good and positive, but the only way this will be achieved, is through 'certification'
Other industries have had to go down this route and all that's required, is to get NVQ/SVQ courses written and get FE Colleges to take them on board then the public can be informed that a standard exists and they can check on cleaners credentials.
The only downside to this, is that many vastly experienced operators will exclude themselves, feeling that their knowledge and experience is well above the NVQ level
and they would be absolutely correct in their assumptions, or would they?
It's highly probable that this scenario will soon be forced upon the industry anyway, so why not take control of your own destiny?
angie
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Angie,
I have read your post with interest.
The industry has The NCCA as a training organization
and the Institute of inspection cleaning and Restoration Certification scheme.
I would say that most Carpet Cleaners on these Forums are trained way in excess of NVQ 2
Many have degrees.
I personally would say that with the business skills involved we are looking at NVQ 3 or 4 status.
It would be helpful to know a little about yourself as your profile tells us nothing.
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With any training, there has to be a starting point and that would be the entry level NVQ .
As experienced operators would be reluctant, in many cases, to attempt formal tests / exams, simply because they could end up failing them, in spite of being far more highly qualified, in true terms, it would be a better idea, I think, to introduce a simple modular training system, which could allow anyone to work through a formal training, from entry level, upwards.
This would eliminate the reluctance / fear of embarassment and the more experienced would obviously advance through the course much more quickly than novices, particularly, when getting to the, ' hands on ' stages.
I envisage a distance learning set up, for the entry level stages and co operation with suppliers manufacturers for more advanced and practical stages.
Of course, you are correct when you state that most experienced operators would, or should be at NVQ 4, or greater, but how many would be prepared to sit an exam
set at that level.
If the industry fails to set up something like this, you can be sure, it will be forced upon you, in the near future.
It's already happened in General Cleaning, in the Care Sector, Driving Instruction. etc, only a matter of time.
I'm not suggesting the NCCA or IICRC courses are inadequate, they are not formalised through our colleges. In fact, they could easily be incorporated within a formal NVQ setup.
On a personal note. I am the wife and business partner, of a long time carpet cleaner who's been forced to ' hang up his wand '
I am running the cleaning business, as part of our much bigger Care business, but will probably sell off the equipment later this year, as we are looking at working smarter, rather than, harder.
angie
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Angie,
As I understod it when John Major first set up NVQs you could also gain credits through assesement of prior learning.
What I am wondering are you connected to the training industry?
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Not directly Ian
And as mentioned, I'm aware of the system, but many experienced, but non certificated people, from many disciplines, who would run rings around the paper tigers of today, would be reluctant to take exams, or tests to confirm their knowledge / experience, for fear of embarassment, or worse.
This has led to the ludicrous situation in many walks of life, where people with great experience, expertise and ability have been bypassed by, inexperienced and often incompetent juniors, just because they have ' the paperwork ' which, rather unbelievably makes them MORE QUALIFIED.
I am, involved in training, at SVQ1,2 and 3 levels and my husband has worked in Tertiary education, as a lecturer where the system, made it almost impossible to fail, when Modules were introduced.
Hence the above comments, as we became aware, of more and more situations, where young, inexperienced, certificate holders were getting jobs, ahead of far better candidates.
As it's highly probable, that the government will force a ' level of competence 'by certification, upon the industry, the industry could pre empt that situation by working with a college and set up a suitable and acceptable course, from entry level to diploma level.
As you mention, there are already two organisations offering training and they could be involved.
I never intended to get so involved in this dialogue, so I'll shut up now
angie
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Carpet cleaning has escaped the ravages of government interferance up to now mainly because it is seen as a fringe activity.
Personally I would like to see it left that way.
All that happens is the genuine people out there who do things by the book, end up picking up the can and the bill whilst the cowboys go on their merry little way without a care in the world.
The vast majority of the public don't give a dam about certification etc. This has been proved time and time again.
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I agree John, certifications are from training and are for us cc so we know what we are doing.
The NCCA logo carries little weight with Joe Public, as choosing a member is not really a life or death decission if the customer gets it wrong unlike turning on gas or electricity.
Shaun
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I would think about 99% of my customers would not know about NCCA. as you say shaun.
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I am not in favour of control or interference, from outside, our own lives have been affected several times, by this situation.
Most recently, in our Care business, where everyone, including the Directors and office staff must have a Disclosure from the CRO and we are being forced to train our staff to SVQ 2 level, also we must have all staff trained in Moving and Handling, Risk Assesment, Food Hygiene and the list is growing.
Now these are Care workers, formerly known as Home Helps.
If you consider the difference in the simple tasks Carers carry out, compared to the work c/c's do and the equipment and products used, a Government Agency would have a field day.
All I've suggested, is that, the c/c industry should consider getting a formal training package together, as mentioned above, otherwise, they will come knocking, sooner or later.
Like yourselves, I resent interference and agree, that the general public are not too concerned about certification, with the possible exception of CORGI.
I was recently forced to undertake training, to allow me to continue to run MY BUSINESS.
I'm not supporting the ideology, just warning that, without doubt, it's coming, but you can organise it yourselves, within the industry.
time to work
angie
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And how will they police it ??????
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Policing is already going on and has been for at least 10 years, but not in the way you're thinking.
If you drive a van, it's highly probable that you've been stopped in roadside checks over the past decade.
Policing, or as it's correctly termed, monitoring, already exists in the Care sector and to a minor extent already exists within the c/c industry.
We had an advert about 6 years ago which included the Woolsafe logo, as we were using Woolsafe products and a local c/c reported this, as he knew the business was not woolsafe approved. We changed the advert, as we were in the wrong !
My purpose here is merely to warn of something that will almost certainly happen. It won't affect me, as I will, hopefully, be out of the c/c business this year, but with the paranoia abour h & s increasing, some little ' suit ' will eventually turn their attention to this industry.
must go
Angie
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Well is it true?????
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Is what true ?
Angie
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gee.....what a bitchy topic.....in my opinion, and as stated, customers dont give a damn if youre qualified as a brain surgeon...put yourself in their shoes...price, and when can you do it, is foremost in their minds.
As for the hotheads that quible about their overheads...my guess is that they were silly enough to buy a franchise...overheads in this game are embarassingly low, as we know...2 weeks money should cover nearly a years running costs...depending on the degree of advertising....so please..stop windging guys.....or move down south ;D
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Potential customers that contact me do ask the price but I side track them and tell them what I do, why I do it, the benefits then how much I charge.
I have to do this because I don't charge £30 to clean a carpet like some wallys in my area.
Shaun
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yes , shaun...correct..If they want it done for nothing, then they should do it themselves...with 1001 and a sponge, but im sick of these franchise boys moaning that they have to cover their overheads...a blind man could see that you gotta charge £120 for a living room to make a profit! they shouldnt be so lazy in the first place, and put some effort into starting and maintaining their own business...it takes years, like any business, but I guess worth it in the end...Ive been in business for 2 years, but hold down another full time job, on nights...just incase..but its getting there....stick to the national average, as regards pricing, and you cant go wrong....and dont back down on price.
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Hi scott this is why i started this poll to see what everbody charged.
But there is no way i could charge £120 for a domestic lounge no way.
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Hi scott this is why i started this poll to see what everbody charged.
But there is no way i could charge £120 for a domestic lounge no way.
Can I ask where you clean carpets ? Cheers
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Hi Terry yes near York.