Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: garyfindlay on September 11, 2010, 07:14:45 pm
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Did a quote, last week while out doing leaflets. In fact got 2 jobs in 10 houses, so in theory I should get 200 jobs in 1000 leaflets, but would settle for 1/2 that, ANYWAY Booked in a 3 x kids bedrooms job, in a large 6 bed house in good area. 1 room was pretty bad, so would treat it as a rental property. Turned up yesterday and found sweety papers, bras, bottle tops, all over carpets. hoovered and was looking better. Since last quote, carpet had more black marks, looking like spilt drinks on carpet. Pointed this out and custy replyed kids are not allowed drinks upstair, and it would be water. Must be pond water I thought, holding in my laughter. Used the trusty rotowash/powerburst combo, and noticed slight foaming when being aggitated. Finished 2 rooms, and came to the midden. Started extracting, and husband popped head round door, and commented how good it looked. It is taking me longer than quoted, I replied, cos it is full of soap. No worries he replies. Hit my first of many soap patches, that when clean left bleach marks. Managed to extract all soap, and used loads of defoamer. Cleared up and went to collect money. I explained that I would have to charge £10 for extra time and she went mental, shouting and being aggressive. She insisted that the kids used hair shampoo to clean the carpets, and not vanish. I hate people like you she said, quoting 1 price and then changing it. I did get a word in to tell here I had mentioned it to the husband, but she yelled, I should have told her, and how could I change my price. I let her rant for a while, just catching the end of her aggression with how she had seen in the paper people doing 1 room for £12, so I was pretty dear. By this time I couldn`t be arsed arguing. I calmly said to her why don`t we just call it the original quote, cos I could see she was upset and I would rather have a happy customer, and I could learn from this experience. She ranted no, I`ll go and get the extra money, and disappeared upstairs. She came back calmer and explained that how could she recommend me if I changed my price etc. I took the money. Gave her cards and walked between their 2 brand new jeeps, 1 bmw x5, 1 audi q7, as I went to the van. All the way home I felt bad about what happened, and couldn`t decide what to do next. A free spotter maybe. I got home, and went to count my money for the day. Her wad, when counted had £10 short, thus being the original quote. My feelings changed. How dare she give me all that pooe, and grief and then shaft me over £10. rant over ??? I hear a bud calling.
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Hi Gary
I think you handled that well. When this happens to me (which is very rare) I just remind myself of the little touches I have had and when you think it through you will probably find that you get more of them than the bad ones.
Pete
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Think it was wrong to increase price when finished, if job had changed you should have qualified it with the old bag, I mean customer when you got there :D
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Cheap skate, I would have not felt bad and would not have given her any cards. Infact, what i'd do is write her a letter (on letter headed paper, make it look professional etc) stating that she should dispose of your business cards as you wont be cleaning for her again, that she's a thief and that you have tons of customers and dont need fannys like her on your books! << In a round about way of course :) Its only a tenner i know but will make you feel better ;D
Personaly i dont charge extra if the job takes longer than planned. Swings and round abouts and all that....
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you shafted her first, good on her i say. nothing worse than people putting the price up after they'd started.
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Did you quote or estimate.
If it was a quote I don't see how you can sneak the price up. She had a point really, did you tell her you couldn't be sure what was in the carpet and that the price might rise if you come up against something difficult. If you warned her this may happen when you quoted then maybe you have some justification. If not then you really needed to stick to the quoted price.
Different if it was an estimate.
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A lesson learnt mate prob for next time..least you got your money..
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Have to say that it's not really a good idea to increase your price halfway through a job, even if it is only by a tenner. It's not something I would ever do. On the rare occasions that I have sold my self short by giving a price over the phone, only to find that the job is far bigger than expected when I arrive, I still stick with the orginal price. This happened to me only yesterday and the customer actually gave me an extra tenner.
Having said that, to go off like she did is uncalled for. Thank God I have never had a job like that.
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Having said that, to go off like she did is uncalled for. Thank God I have never had a job like that.
Well perhaps she'd been ripped off before ;) I've never had a job like that either-because once I quote a price that's it, if the job is added to it needs to be requoted or done at the same price in my view.
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Sorry you've had a bad experience Gary, but I agree with the other guys - I wouldn't have put the price up and certainly wouldn't have got my knickers in a twist over a tenner !
You win some, you lose some - this mornings job worked out at around £35 per hour, whereas this afternoons was nearer £55 per hour.
This is why I can't quote over the phone and certainly not per room - I did a bedroom last week that was 55m2 !
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I agree with steve, go to look at jobs, and never ask for more money once you've started cleaning!
Mr B
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Hi I can't believe you didn't check her payment before you left her house :o Gordon
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A quote is a quote . Never try and bump up the price , your fault for quoting wrong and not allowing for contingency , I always tell customers they need to move small items.
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Zero sympathy.
Putting the price up after a quote is what drags our industry down. It's a cowboys trick.
I spent 5 hours on a suite that I'd estimated 2 hours on recently because it was a delcate fine fabric. Wouldn't have dreamed of putting the price up. Personally, I think it's shameful.
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Have to agree with the others, if we underquote a job thats our bad luck and the customers gain.
Dont we all rant and rave about the cowboys who offer cheap prices per room then upsell other bits to wack up the price??
Quote blind and thats the risk we take but its swings and roundabouts all the way, what you lose today on one job you will definately gain tomorrow on another!
Never ever ask for more than you have quoted if you want a good reputation.
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I agree with the other comments the only time I will increase a price is if the customer has been dishonest with me as regards sizes etc. Any devaition in price would always be discussed before the job was started , you could not start the job and hike the price half way through.
The rouges in this industry promise cheap prices then try their best to extort more from the customer on arrival. These tactics do leave a bad taste in customers mouths, understandably. How can you quote a price for a job then ask the customer for a different amount. If a job takes longer than anticipated you just get on with it without complaint, it is up to you to foresee the situation it is about being professional.
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com (http://www.carpetcleanercardiff.com)
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We price over the phone, and give a ball park figure for an average room size! but we have been to the odd mansion and them priced accordingly as you would expect, but we cover too large an area to go out quoting for domestic jobs,
must addmit though once we give a price we stick to it, and never change it, i dont think its very proffesional to do anything else
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Very interesting reading. I had quoted in the house, and stated I would be hoovering the carpet, not pick up bottles, bras, general rubbish etc. when I went to do the job, 2 new large stains had appeared on the carpet, the size of a small dinner plate. She had stated that the carpet had not been cleaned before, then changed her story, which took me a lot longer to flush out.. I will learn from this. Thanks for the bait switch comments. The general opinion seems to be adding on at the quote to cover these hidden extras, am I right in thinking that?
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Even though it was an in house quote if things have changed inform
them of the change in price prior to cleaning.
However for the sake of a tenner I would have left it.
How many times have you got to a job and found it's going to take you
30 minutes less than you thought, more times than the other way I'll
bet, and never offered money back.
John
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Ok, you did a quote one day, then turned up another day and the "scene" was different - bits everywhere. If that meant substantially extra work you need to mention this BEFORE you start and agree extra cost.
If as you are working you find the carpet is full of vanish or whatever then that tough, IMO.
If you get agreement for anything before you start then thats fine, but afterwards....... not really on.
I mostly give ESTIMATES over the phone, if it looks substantially different when I get there I have to mention it and agree with the client if there is a significant extra charge. Most times its about right, very rarely have I increased, but I have on rare occasion decreased (if they really guessed the sizes on the phone and they were way too much).
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For the sake of a tenner you have lost a customer who may have recommended you to others, when you think of the cost of marketing and getting that customer in the first place, that satisfied customer in my experience may lead to several more jobs, it snowballs.
As Joe suggested if the situation was very different mention it before you start.
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I did mention it to her husband, cos she was on the phone most of the time. Maybe he passed on the message, maybe not, I never got a reply when I asked. She`s not my kind of customer, better off with the £12 a room merchants she quoted.
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If I'm unhappy with something I tell em before I start. Kids toys all over the place is the classic. I tell them I can move them but will be extra.
Another one is you quote and they say they will have you in after decorating. If you turn up and there's paint all over the carpet I tell em, that's extra and can't guarantee it will come out.
If I quote over the phoe I ask loads of questions so I can commit. If they have misled me I tell em... that will be extra. If however in my mind I've assumed something and it turns out worse, I put my head down, smile and suck it up.
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Gary might I suggest you didn't quote enough to start with?
You said it yourself, large house, posh cars.... have the balls to go in high! If you exude confidence and expertise they won't think twice with a £100k/year income to spend ;)
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Your totally correct Jim, but I usually charge everyone the same price. Where can I buy these big balls, ans will joe polish them for me ;D