Clean It Up

UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Chris R on November 23, 2005, 07:06:11 pm

Title: Not like last year !!
Post by: Chris R on November 23, 2005, 07:06:11 pm
This time last year I was fully booked up until Christmas  ;D

Not so this year  ???

Booked up next week and got lots of bookings spread out through December, but still quite a few vacancies  >:(

How is everyone else finding it this year ?

Cheers

Chris

ps  God help us in January  :o
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: cleaning co on November 23, 2005, 07:28:16 pm
yes i think the whole country is very slow at min  ,prob my slowest xmas time in over ten years
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Glynn on November 23, 2005, 07:48:23 pm
Verrrry busy here.
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Shaun_Ashmore on November 23, 2005, 08:07:09 pm
If there's time to breathe there's time to fit another carpet clean in, or am I being greedy?

Shaun
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Elite (Ben) on November 23, 2005, 08:47:36 pm
i've been trading for 2.5 months so have no comparisons, but i am receiving a minimum of 2 calls per day, 6 jobs booked in and 5 quotes to do.

ben
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: John_Flynn on November 23, 2005, 08:55:10 pm
My mate thinks all his birthdays have come at once passing him 3 jobs a day yesterday and today, never known it as busy in last 6 years!!
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: COLIN BRIGHT on November 23, 2005, 09:01:02 pm
for me, this month the phone has not rang as much , but the calls im getting are from repeats or referals = more bigger, better jobs
less time waster thus more profit!! Horahhhhhh
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Neil Grainger on November 23, 2005, 09:07:06 pm
Start of November went mad but has gone very quiet over the last few days.

I think that the phones ring at the start and end of the month when people have the cash available. So hopefully it will start ringing soon.

This is my first year so have no idea about Xmas but was told that this is when you will do very well. It better start soon.
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: HolmansUKLTD on November 23, 2005, 09:53:52 pm
Busy here also fully booked untill Jan 06 :P
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: mark_roberts on November 23, 2005, 10:34:59 pm
Very good November and spuratic (sp) throughout December.  To be honest Ive never found December to be the busiest month especially as only three odd weeks.

Mark
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Stephen SWC Cleaning on November 26, 2005, 09:55:47 am
Been a good year all round for me, Would be better if the money would come in a bit quicker though.  I stick to mainly commercial work these days as there are way too many £10.00 a carpet firms in this area .
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: stevegunn on November 29, 2005, 08:54:33 pm
Getting busier now but why do people ring up to have their carpet cleaned next week when i reply nothing before 20th December but you did it last year.Am I supposed to drop everything so i can do it for them ::)
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: COLIN BRIGHT on November 29, 2005, 09:00:50 pm
unfortunatle i get more cancellation this time of year than the whole of the rest of the year put together

these people are pesants and i hope they die
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: stevegunn on November 29, 2005, 09:08:06 pm
Theres the Colin Bright punchline
"they are peasants" love it ;D ;D
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Fintan_Coll on November 29, 2005, 11:30:41 pm
Busy at the moment, what I do dread is when the book is full in December and people do not want to take no for an answer. However you must draw a line somewhere. When I first began cleaning , January and February were always slow months. Now I find them to be just as busy as the rest of the year.
i you do find yourself unable to cope in December try to get you customers to put the work off until after Christmas by offering them something like a free room of cleaning.
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: mark_roberts on November 30, 2005, 10:10:49 pm
No mornings free until Christmas apart from one Saturday which I need for shopping >:(.  I dont work Sundays but have about 7 free afternoons but they will all go by next week.  Lost one job today as lady wanted it done next week but fully booked.

Over the last few days Ive been booking 6-8 jobs a day which is helpful.  New yellow pages out this week too and  a few good jobs with good feedback on the ad.  Had a newspaper ad designed last week but am going to shelf it until January.

Mark

Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Shaun_Ashmore on November 30, 2005, 10:22:10 pm
I market to my database October so I can get them out of the way for the November and December run in to pick up new clients. It really helps me develop my database that way.

I've already made a start on January with a total of £1850 in it already, some new clients will wait not all but some, I'm still getting a high frequency of calls coming in but the ratio of turning them into bookings is low because they NEED it done before the big day.

I do quote over the phone but am finding most jobs over £200 need to be 'audited' so next year I will be endevouring to see every new client regardless of what they need doing.

A very good cc friend of mine says that you don't know the real life time value of a client over the phone, well he calls them Cash Cows but same thing.

Shaun
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Neil Grainger on November 30, 2005, 10:24:41 pm
mark

could you e-mail me your newspaper add as I use one and it would be good to see how others are done.

regards

neil
Title: Re: Not like last year !!
Post by: Chris R on December 01, 2005, 07:23:34 pm
Shaun,
I also usually send out a mail shot mid september, didnt do it this year and the difference is huge ! :(

I put a note on the mail shot saying that my prices will be rising mid November, this encourages them to book early, and costs me nothing  ;)

Chris