Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Colin Day on November 08, 2010, 09:21:20 am
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I've just had a phone call from a very good customer, a regular who used to be a neighbour rang this morning to cancel after her husband had the bad news that he's suddenly unemployed.
It makes you feel quite helpless and very sorry, especially as this guy has worked hard all his life and worked his way up to a top job with ROK.
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There will prob be more colin spec in the public sector or were having cuts at the town hall here..there again the busy bodies at the town hall dont have my sympathy ::)
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Gutting !!
Think everyone is cutting back,had to call one of the agencies i work for today,just to check that everything is ok,not done anything for them ,coming up for a month now,normally do over a grands worth a month,with this one,they had run out of rental stock,had 1 house left,say prob 2 or 3 weeks they have a load coming up,but i normally have a grands worth of work that gets paid 28 days later.
Another agency owe me about £600,but not got anything coming up for them either.
My diary is empty,apart from 1 job on Thursday,and one on November the 30th,and a school to ring and book in on the 19th November,other than that it`s looking pretty sketchy
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Got to my first job this morning, custy came to door and said,
sorry will have to cancel, electric has just gone off.
Slid van door open showing new maxx 470, and said dont need it.
Happy custy :)
Colin, just got back from Keswick, river looks high, better tell your brother in
Cockermouth to batten down the hatches :(
All fell tops covered in snow hear this morn :o
Andrew
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If you have a lot of public sector employers in your area and been fine up until now I would be worried.
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My diary is emptier than a hermit's address book.
Got 3 jobs this week, but one of them is one I was supposed to do last week, but couldn't because the machine went belly up and another is a small one that was booked weeks ago.
I'm busy thinking of ways of trying to drum up some much needed business. These are dificult times.
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Whats happened to the supposed Xmas rush?
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Got to my first job this morning, custy came to door and said,
sorry will have to cancel, electric has just gone off.
Slid van door open showing new maxx 470, and said dont need it.
Happy custy :)
Colin, just got back from Keswick, river looks high, better tell your brother in
Cockermouth to batten down the hatches :(
All fell tops covered in snow hear this morn :o
Andrew
I think I'll buy our kid a diving kit, he won't even have to leave the house ;D
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I have work every day for 2 weeks... But it's 80% oven clean work... I'd much prefer carpet cleans, but I'm not complaining!
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Whats happened to the supposed Xmas rush?
Too early from my experience Wayne
and I said some time ago that this year would be tougher then last year - ok, it may just be starting the tough bit.
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Residential is very competitive and from a dwindling customer base. Laminate, leather, hire machines, bissels and falling hygiene standards all contribute.
Mate of mine does wheely bins, doing very well indeed, and he knows how much he will make next month!
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I don’t do a right lot anyway, other than jolting to beautiful women. Shame it’s an open plan office.
You see, I can do positive posts.
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Whats happened to the supposed Xmas rush?
Yeah, where is it?
I'm not holding out much hope for a Xmas rush to be honest. Things are tight at the moment and if people are looking to make savings, having their carpets cleaned is probably something they could quite happily do without.
I was expecting a decent spell after the kids went back to school following the summer holidays, but that never materialised either.
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You need to MAKE IT HAPPEN .................the successful people in this business never stop their marketing activities, whether it's regular leaflet drops or whatever method they use to stimulate interest.
Too many eggs in one basket can also be a problem. Many just advertise " carpet cleaning "and believe it or not, you can clean someones carpets for years without them realising you also clean upholstery.
I was shocked a couple of weeks ago when a hotel owners wife who happened to be present when I arrived to clean chairs and benches was surprised to find I also cleaned upholstery............Entirely my fault because she should have known !!!!
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The xmas rush will come ::)well i have got bookings but they are regulars and referals not newbies..
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Whats happened to the supposed Xmas rush?
Yeah, where is it?
I'm not holding out much hope for a Xmas rush to be honest. Things are tight at the moment and if people are looking to make savings, having their carpets cleaned is probably something they could quite happily do without.
I was expecting a decent spell after the kids went back to school following the summer holidays, but that never materialised either.
I too was expecting to get busier when the kids went back to school in September but it never materialised.Like you Matt I'm a newbie and up to now have been doing OK,the last 10 days the phone has hardly gone and although I have about 6 jobs this week they were booked in a few weeks ago.Just hope that people are putting off having carpets cleaned a week or so and have them done before Xmas.
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Phew,booked a couple of return customers now,and also a new one,finding it`s mostly 1 or 2 rooms,as opposed to entire houses,but it all helps,needed a couple of days off to sort out fitting the wood burner anyway ;D
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You can moan about how quiet it is due to redundancies, xmas, school holidays - or you can do something about it.
It's your business and it's down to you to constantly generate work, not waiting for the phone to ring.
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..... Or, add Oven Cleaning on to your Carpet Cleaning business and upsell the carpet cleaning while you're there scraping cack out of an oven ;D
Joking aside.. It works for me ::)
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Colin's correct in his approach in today's c/c market which has been eroded to a fair extent by the spread of hard flooring. There's still a huge " cleaning " market and by following the example of others on here you can ensure you have a " drip feed " from one market even when your main source has quiet times.
L A's are one source, Solicitors are another, Property managers is a third and their are others, but you have to go to them as in most cases they might need the service but have no idea who to approach.
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..... Or, add Oven Cleaning on to your Carpet Cleaning business and upsell the carpet cleaning while you're there scraping cack out of an oven ;D
Joking aside.. It works for me ::)
Hi Colin
I think you right ,I,ll try that ;D
Neil
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There's plenty of ovens for us both Neil ;)
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Wonder why you have lots of work for that Colin. I know it's unpleasant but its something people feel they could do just like CC.
Could it be the price point, what are you looking at 40-50 quid?
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Yeah, £40 for a single and £50 for a double.... Only takes an hour to an hour and a half now, so not as profitable as C/C ing... But hey, it gets me out of the house :D
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Sounds like its your strenghth colin the oven cleaning and maybe concentrate more on it if your doing well mate:)
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People put up with shabby looking carpets for all sorts of reasons, you should see mine!
But when the oven starts smoking when its not been cleaned for a while and you cant see across the kitchen when your cooking, well you tell her it needs cleaning then! Brave eh!
But you say I'll call that nice oven man that comes and cleanes the oven and your on a winner!.
I do some EOT cleaning and if I can get away with some Mr Muscle or liquid Brillo I will do it, anything worse and I call the oven cleaning man, just isnt worth it otherwise, and he knows how to take the numptys off and the glass out, I dont so I leave it to the pro's.
However it must be a great way of getting extra work in, once your in the house and doing your kitchen sink marketing and it keeps you busy on one side while the other is quiet.
And yes, I have just rung our oven man up to book him before Crimbo, the power of advertising.
Murky
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Could you get him to come and do mine Murky? Mine's minging.... ;D ;D ;D
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How times change, wasn't all that long ago it would be done by the Mrs. Of course nowadays that would be unthinkable after spending all that money down the nailbar. ;D
If you can get 3-4 a day even at £40 that will see you through the recesion.
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Cant find a good un when you want one, can you Colin?
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So long as you can concentrate your oven cleaning to the Helston area ie. close proximity then £40 is good otherwise travelling time drops that hourly rate and then it becomes less appealing! well done mate see you in December!
Cheers Goron