[diamond-domestics]

Hi there,
We have been asked to give a price for cleaning a local pub.  Our regular domestic hourly rate is £10 per hour but i don't think we can quote this for a pub, I always see adverts in pub windows- "cleaner wanted £5.50 per hour" or even less.

Has anyone got a pub cleaning job and how much do you charge? We're in Oldham.

We could do with the extra regular income and would actually like the job but obviously don't want to work for pittance... any advice?

cheers, Vicky & Anne

[BSF]

Hi Vicky and Anne,

You also see adverts in shops etc cleaners required apply within, offices also advertise for cleaners, if a business whether it be public house, shop, office or factory decide to use a cleaning company, they do realise it comes at a premium rate, they do it for many reasons:

•They are finding it hard to recruit staff

•They cant be bothered with the hassle of managing the staff,   training-holiday cover-sickness cover etc etc

•You would be supplying all equipment and materials (in most cases)

•Administration, insurance costs

The list goes on and on…..

When you price the job, think about it very carefully before you reach your price, I personally wouldn’t take the job on, Its going to be 7 days a week 365 days a year, if your happy to cover it, then that’s up to you.

If the job is only 1-2hrs per day then £10 ph is very cheap, remember it will be every day of the year, if its 4-6hrs per day then in my opinion you’re nearer the mark, because you also then have the option of using 2-3 staff, this allows you some scope to cover for sickness/holidays.

Always add something like this in your terms and conditions:

We: reserve the right to change the time/s day/s of cleaning, but agree to give the customer sufficient notice if this would interfere with the customers daily business, we will where possible organise replacement staff to cover for non attendance.

Also add a bit on to your quote and offer a discount for early payment, remember though if vat registered work the 17.5% out on the discounted amount.


Regards

BSF

[DREAM CLEAN]

Hi,

12hr is what I charge and do not forget sundays at double time. Some pub toilets are bad and will turn you guts

Nick

[BSF]

Hi,

12hr is what I charge and do not forget sundays at double time. Some pub toilets are bad and will turn you guts

Nick

With the greatest respect Nick (Dream Clean) I hardly think the customer will accept Vicky and Anne charging £24 per hour on a Sunday (double time) Sunday working in the UK has now become common practice, I have staff that work weekends they don’t receive double time, do all the hundreds of thousands of shop/supermarket workers receive this on Sundays

no they don’t.

I do understand the point you may be trying to make, pub work is every day of the year including bank holidays the xmas and new year period, so it comes at a premium rate, stating double time to a pub landlord for Sundays is suicidal.

Vicky and Anne, decide what charge you want to make weekly bearing in mind all the pitfalls of the job, multiply by 52 then divide by 12, this gives you your monthly invoice amount, invoice on the start date with 35 day terms.

Regards

BSF

[garyj]

I've done a few pubs over the years and never again. Bank Holidays and Xmas are a pain because staff always go 'sick' at the last second leaving no time to get cover.
In my experience though they all pay in cash weekly which is the only good thing about this type of work.

[Fox]

Hi

I do a couple of public houses, each run on different terms - when you are quoting you need to split your costs (this is an exercise for you only, the client gets one price for 7 day cleaning) into Mon to Fri then Sat & Sun, you will work out your quote from this - for example I pay £5.50 per hour for Mon to Fri works and £7 for Sat and Sun, I then add on my other costs and profit, this will give you your quotation total.

If the pub is run by a landlord then you will need to insist on weekly cash payment terms and a contract will very rarely be signed, if the pub is owned then a 30day payment term can be put into place along with a contract.

As for bank holidays - I quote EXCLUDING all bank holidays and shut down periods and state that all costings have been adjusted to allow for this, I also say that if bank holidays are required they will be charged at double time.

Whatever you do please remember pubs are a fickle business especially at present (even more so next year when the non smoking comes into play) so you can lose out very quickly with change of landlord or shutdowns etc, use your noddle and keep your ears open if you take one on and you should be ok.

Fox

[BSF]

Hi,

Fox I think we might be getting our wires crossed, I suppose the weekly cash terms and no contract comments would apply to some drinking establishments and I would agree with you, although I wouldn’t touch them with a very dirty stick.

To be honest those sort of pubs do tend to be the ones that put job adverts up in the window, also they pay all staff cash in hand, with no conditions of employment, holiday pay etc etc.

My advice was meant for the large pub chains that do tend to use contractors, all correspondence would be from the head office, who certainly wouldn’t pay cash and would sign a contract, I would never ever take a job on before a contract is signed, clearly stating all terms and conditions and notice period, this is a must giving your employees some security and most importantly enable you to give them statutory notice.

By the way even with my comments in the above paragraph, I still choose not to take on this type of work for the reason Garyj gives above.

Regards

BSF        

[Lesley J]

We have cleaned pubs, toilets are usually gross after weekends, we have a Mon-Fri rate and a week end rate, cleaners in my area will not work weekends without an incentive, I have lways charged same rate as domestic. 

[garyj]

BSF, although they pay cash there is still VAT added and everything is above board. I find they prefer to pay this way as most of there business  is cash sales and by paying weekly they do not have the large debt at the end of the month.

[BSF]

Yea go for it cash is good, i'm not knocking you Garyj....

what do you do pop in to collect it on a Sunday night? or does he come to you with the dosh?

I'd be tempted to ask to be paid in beer, crisps and pork scratchings

All I was meaning was that any pubs I have ever had enquiries from have been the larger chains, the enquiry has come from the head office.

[Fox]

B.S.F - One of the pubs I do is from one of the 'larger chains' and yes they pay cash weekly on receipt of invoice.  If you wanted to be paid in beer and pork scratchings for cleaning services who am I to argue! 

I find that alot of the chain pubs have an 'in-house' budget which they can spend as they see fit on running the pub, this particular pub have used our services for over 12months and we have had no problems.

I don't always take on pubs, restaraunts etc that make an enquiry as yes seven day a week cleaning can be a pain but luckily I have an exteremly good staff base and if one person can't make it to work then another will, at least two people are trained for 7 day jobs so cover is usually there and besides I enjoy laying in bed of a weekend knowing I am still making money! 

Every job we take on has it's pros and cons, understanding what these are is half the battle.  Anne and Vicky make sure you keep us updated.

Fox

[BSF]

Hi Fox,

Your comments have been noted and accepted, I just presumed they wouldn’t pay in cash, one of your points is excellent and the main key to running and building a thriving business….    good reliable staff.

I also am interested in how you both get on (Vicky and Anne) keep us updated, let us know what the lager and pork scratching’s are like

Regards

BSF   

[Paul Kettless]

We have two current pub contracts and have had others in the past.  IME it is impossible to set an "across the board approach"  It appears to me that most of the people that have posted comments at the moment clean pubs where a majority of the clients leaved pi$$ed, and trash the place

The two contracts that we have at the moment are frequented mainly by walkers and cyclists.  Thus, a large percentage of the business is food and letting rooms.  Therefore, very rarely will we deal with sick etc.  Therefore, the cleaning is much the same 24/7.

Both contracts have been tailor-made for each client, and the price is also different per hourly rate.  It interests me to note that some of you can charge a different rate for weekends, in my experince pubs do not pay there staff extra, and beleive that it is standard practice that we do the same, after all they are a public service....   Shop, restaurant staff et al, all get paid the same irrelevent of day, so why should our industry be any different.

When working out what to charge, we calculate the costs of wages, consumables, travel etc, and finally add a profit figure.  One thing I would mention, is do not do yourself out of pocket, as you are offering an invaluable service, we have not let the customer down one single day since commencing the cleaning contract.  Previously the manager was having to get his bar/restaurant staff to clean as and when the cleaner(s) never bothered to show.

I was chatting with the manager at the weekend, and he commented to me that his average takings have been the same for the previous four years.  However, he has noticed a considerable increase (20%) in pre-booking of his letting rooms for this coming financial year, and this easter has been the best ever. The visitors comments book of late, constantly has reports being made of the cleanliness/standard of the rooms.

Off course we do not have anything to prove it, but both feel that it is due to the fact that he now contracts the cleaning work.

Both our pub clients pay in cash and weekly.

Regards

Paul