Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Phil @ Extreme Clean on November 30, 2011, 11:16:31 am
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very cheap prices i thought i was cheap but i can't beat that.
http://egscleaningandmaintenanceservice.weebly.com/
I mite phone them with a 100 x 100 they dont state the size just per room lol.
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and they are giving an extra £5 off in december :D :D ......... you can get 2 rooms cleaned for just £20
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If you zoom to 200% that "after" carpet is far from clean and there are mysterious tracks like you might get from one of these domestic machines.
This guy was mentioned on here recently and I posted that one of the most expensive guys on here is local to that area.
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I see he is charging £15 for a large rug i did a 12x10 rug the other day £120 and i thought that was cheap considering it was collect and return.
How long before someone comes on saying "how do you know he's a cowboy he may do a very good job" if i had charged £15 to do that rug i would have made a considerable loss, i would make a loss if i charged any of those prices doing what i am doing, i would have to provide a very different service even then i dont think i could keep afloat, besides i work bloody hard to do the very best job i can and would never leave a job thinking i could have got that cleaner so i like to think i am worth more than £10 per room, obviously he doesn't or is incapable of selling at a higher price. hes probably busy though but surely its better to make £200/300 a day doing two or three jobs than doing six and very nearly killing yourself.
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I could have 10 companies charging these prices in my town and i would'nt bat an eyelid, the only companies who i worry about are the ones who are charging £130 to clean a suite or a living room at £60....... these are the ones who might take work away from me.
if one of my customer got 3 prices for 2 average rooms of carpet cleaning @....
£20
£70
or my price of £85 I would never lose out to the £20 company, my usual customers would never consider using a company who would only charge £20, but they might use a company charging £70. So my competition is that company
this will be the same as most of us......our true competition are the companies who charge just enough less than us to tempt our potential customers away.
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I think you are spot on Mike, that explains why i dont get too upset when i lose out to these sort of prices, do you really want customers who are looking to have the whole house done for £60 or a 3 pc suite cleaned for £30 ?
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As has been said you are not up against these, at least you don't want to be. Let them tattle on at the bottom of the market and just don't worry about them. Charge decent money for a decent job and you will succeed, provided you do your marketing right. This is the most important aspect of this industry.
We were talking about minimum charges on here last week. I was with the guy who has £90 minimum and he's on about putting his prices up by 20%.
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What a muppet ;D
The problem is they get on these type of forums and gleem abit of info and then go out and do something like this. The country is full of the plonkers ;D
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I lost out on a job yesterday to a company who quoted and got a full house of carpets for £700 they had taken the time to position themselves in the market properly the customer informed me that she was happy with what they had to say my quoted was nearly half their price.
Shaun
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I lost out on a job yesterday to a company who quoted and got a full house of carpets for £700 they had taken the time to position themselves in the market properly the customer informed me that she was happy with what they had to say my quoted was nearly half their price.
Shaun
They obviously knew you were the first person in the uk to use a glide, so probably thought you weren't man enough to do a full house in a day!!!! :-* ;D ;D ;D
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Great marketing here ???
Www..burnleycarpetcleaners.com
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Great marketing here ???
Www..burnleycarpetcleaners.com
and those prices include VAT..
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Great marketing here ???
Www..burnleycarpetcleaners.com
That picture looks lke Simon Gerrard. I thought he had a powerfull truckmount?
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and and and ..... they use porti's, how very very dare they!
Shaun
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i posted a topic on these couple of weeks back, im in preston area, not effected me though at all.let them have those kind of customers saves them ringing me. i wouldnt worry about it. have you seen there before and after pic. :P
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very cheap prices i thought i was cheap but i can't beat that.
http://egscleaningandmaintenanceservice.weebly.com/
I mite phone them with a 100 x 100 they dont state the size just per room lol.
Phillip,
You don't see this guy as a threat, do you?
Simon
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well only if people want cheap job but i'm fairly cheap offering dry fusion minimum charge £20 but £1 a ft so a 10 x 12 = £22 i'm happy with that price i think it's fair but on commercial i go off the same but i add extras ie.blacktop + longer time and more chemical
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Phillip,
I am surprised DF will allow you to be so cheap. You should be charging a minimum of at least £45. It's no wonder you can't afford the training or equipment you need when you charge half of what you should be. Just because some of your competitors are cheap doesn't mean the only way of competing with them is to match them. You offer the DF system, none of your competitors do, so you can charge what you like.
Simon
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cheaper doesnt mean more work, id say maybe less an if it does it doesnt mean more profit.
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£15 FIRST ROOM SUBTRACT
Insurance, tax, fuel,transport,chemicals, wear & tear
I reckon if he boils the kettle in the morning to make a flask of tea = A loss ;D ;D :P :'(
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Philip, I can't get my head round how you are happy earning £22 I was earning that 20 years ago then I realised I was too cheap. You'll never may good money which is achievable in this industry why sell yourself short. I'm surprised DF haven't educated you to this.
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Phil, you are obviously trying hard and I'm sure you are going to get there as you seem to have the right attitude. The cheap price thing which seems to be in vogue at the moment on here can be taken so far that you kill your business, or rather is a slow death.
Competing only on price means lots of competition
Competing only on price makes you feel comfortable but not successful (I hear the word 'honest' used a lot in this context)
Competing only on price means you only have one tool in the box (otherwise you would use the others)
Competing on price is poor man's marketing. It's lazy and doesn't serve you or your customers best interests in the long term.
When you stand back and think about how you can build more value into your service and how much more you feel you are really worth, you will find customers are willing to pay you more than the sea of 'cheap' carpet cleaners flooding our industry.
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All comment's taken on board but like i say if i go on a job and earn £50 in an hour then i'm happy maybe as my business grows my prices will grow i just don't think people are willing to pay more because i use Dry Fusion when they are not bothered aslong as the carpet is clean.
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Philip you say that "people wont pay more because you use fry fusion" go onto the dry fusion site and i guarantee you wont see anything that implies that dry fusion is anything less than a premium service.
Sorry to be blunt but thats a very negative statement about the service your business provides, and if you dont think its worth more neither will your customers, i think you need to rethink your marketing strategy because your already admitting you provide an inferior service, instead of promoting the amazing benefits of dry fusion that your customers will benefit from. you have to sell it as the best thing since sliced bread.
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i understand what your saying but customers don't want all the speal of i can do this and i can do that they just want there carpet looking clean and at a good price.
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"the speal" is what is often needed when they question why you are more expensive. dry fusion is a great marketing tool, yes they want clean carpets but the speal can clinch it.
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Phillip,
One of the best peices of advice given me a few years ago was, dont assume all customers are you or like you.
In other words you may think people want cheap if you are always looking for a good deal yourself or think you would only pay £20 or so yourself. Thats a big mistake, you have to think outside of your own lifestyle and realize theres a certain section of people who dont want cheap they just want a good professional job.
I used to go for the real cheap market but now i regularly get customers who dont even ask what i charge but just want to be reassured i know what im doing, am insured and trained and have some decent equipment.
Some would be absolutley insulted if i tried to charge them £20.00 for lounge etc.
Believe me theres alot of people where price is not the main consideration.
The trade of is you do have to look the part and talk the talk otherwise there not convinced.
i.e. give quality and you can ask a quality price.
Some of the customers we do i would never dream of paying what they pay for cleaning etc but it doesnt mean its not right to charge it, they often want someone they can trust so they dont have to worry about anything, they wont be looking at the £20.00 a room guys for that !
Regards
Steve
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thanks Steve i think in the new year i will reprice everything and sell myself better it's just now customers have used me will expect the same price again.
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Phillip ....................
over 90% of the people on here who have tried to advise you how to run your business, are the same ones who will tell you not to take any notice of what other people are doing and to do your business your way.
I say if you are happy with what you charge and can live well enough on it carry on mate.....
They tell you about overheads:
insurance
mortgage
heat
etc etc etc
these overheads are the same if you sit at home all day, or you go out to work they do not change
however the ones that do change are the chemicals (dirt cheap these days) and fuel (expensive)
If as you say you can earn £50 in an hour then after 1 hour you have covered your fuel and chem costs so you are in profit.
Fair play to you....
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Phillip ....................
over 90% of the people on here who have tried to advise you how to run your business, are the same ones who will tell you not to take any notice of what other people are doing and to do your business your way.
I say if you are happy with what you charge and can live well enough on it carry on mate.....
They tell you about overheads:
insurance
mortgage
heat
etc etc etc
these overheads are the same if you sit at home all day, or you go out to work they do not change
however the ones that do change are the chemicals (dirt cheap these days) and fuel (expensive)
If as you say you can earn £50 in an hour then after 1 hour you have covered your fuel and chem costs so you are in profit.
Fair play to you....
Thankyou :-)
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well only if people want cheap job but i'm fairly cheap offering dry fusion minimum charge £20 but £1 a ft so a 10 x 12 = £22 i'm happy with that price i think it's fair but on commercial i go off the same but i add extras ie.blacktop + longer time and more chemical
Just to correct this;
10x12 @ £1/ft is £120 you actually charge 10p/ft.
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well only if people want cheap job but i'm fairly cheap offering dry fusion minimum charge £20 but £1 a ft so a 10 x 12 = £22 i'm happy with that price i think it's fair but on commercial i go off the same but i add extras ie.blacktop + longer time and more chemical
Just to correct this;
10x12 @ £1/ft is £120 you actually charge 10p/ft.
10 x 12 i add the 2 not times = £22 :-)
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sorry Phlilip didn't realise you were rewriting the very basis of elementary calculus :) :) to turn your actual 10p into a £1
GUESS WHAT!!!!!!! I EARNED 3 GRAND TODAY!!!!!!......... WOOPEEE!!!!!! AND I'VE GOT A 2FT LOVE TRUNCHEON AS WELL!!!! THE WIFE WILL BE HAPPY
I love your way of adding up ;D ;D
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And were do you get the 10p a foot from???????????
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Philip, people are not telling you these things just for the hell of it. I have seen so many cleaners come and go and it is heartbreaking, no I would say annoying, to watch them flounder because they won't take on board the advice offered to them. Most of them fall by the wayside and the primary cause is because they are too cheap.
There are some long established guys as well who are cheap and have been happy just plodding along but they usually buy second hand machines and keep them long past their sell by date. They tend to use just use one or two products. Thing is it doesn't need to be like that if you just put a little effort and thought into the marketing side of things and most importantly get out of the mindset of what you think people will pay.
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10 foot X 12 foot = 120 sqfoot
therefore at £1 per foot it will be £120
at 10p per foot it will be £12
so you actually charge nearer 20 sqfoot..
:o :o
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And were do you get the 10p a foot from???????????
10x12xx = {q + [q2 + (r-p2)3]1/2}1/3 + {q - [q2 + (r-p2)3]1/2}1/3 + p= 10p
or what hector said ;)
I might have got the 10p wrong sorry...... but from a man who quoted 10x12 as 22 its easy criticism :D
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Phil
If you are happy doing what you are doing then keep going but the problem you have got is you are cheap and not buzy its your decision how you run your business I think I am average for pricing and have the same problem so its time to stop and sort out my marketing my advice to you would be to do the same.
Jim
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Phill..When i was using the dry fusion years ago when it first came out i did sell it as a premium with all the sizzle..ie carpets dry in 30 mins disinfected,deodorised etc..People will pay for that too mate..
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the easiest way to increase your price without fear of losing the job is to give them the option to pay more if they want
if you are using D/F then it protects as well as cleans so you can honestly say.....
"we can clean, deodorise & protect your carpet for £37 or we can do a basic good quality clean for £22.... which would you prefer?"
I guarantee you will not lose any job saying this as an alternative to just giving your normal £22 price and i bet at least 25% will go for the higher price.
you have absolutely nothing to lose by saying this and it is totally risk free !!!!!
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Mike,
Good point.
Simon
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Phillip,
Why only £22?
Simon
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Phill mikes post is spot on mate..
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Phillip,
Why only £22?
Simon
Because most rooms are only small and i'm only there 20-30mins.
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the easiest way to increase your price without fear of losing the job is to give them the option to pay more if they want
if you are using D/F then it protects as well as cleans so you can honestly say.....
"we can clean, deodorise & protect your carpet for £37 or we can do a basic good quality clean for £22.... which would you prefer?"
I guarantee you will not lose any job saying this as an alternative to just giving your normal £22 price and i bet at least 25% will go for the higher price.
you have absolutely nothing to lose by saying this and it is totally risk free !!!!!
That is a good approach iv'e been thinking this for a while so just sell 2 packages one better than the other but still use the same gear ;)
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I find most customers realise that £40-50 is reasonable for anybody to call out and carry out any service around the home as a minimum charge.
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Just to correct this;
10x12 @ £1/ft is £120 you actually charge 10p/ft.
So are you are telling us you regularily charge £9/sq yard.
I can assure you even in this so called rich south you won't get £9/sq yd (or £1 sq ft)
Granted the 10p/ft or 90p/sq yard seems cheap but Phillip seems to be in the situation of gaining experience at present and better he gains jobs/experience at that rate before he starts trying to sell at a much higher rate. Confidence and experience is readable by potential customers and if he goes in trying his luck at a price he's not confident at these customers will notice and not use his services.
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Good post Neil.
Phillip. You are one lucky guy, people are taking the time to give you some great advice. I wish I had got this advice 20 years ago when I first got into it.
Good Luck
Rab.
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Neil,
Not sure I agree with that. Agreed he obviously needs to gain some experience, but at those prices he could well put himself out of business. The DF system is pretty straight forward and provided he's had the training and adheres to it I don't see why he shouldn't be charging full prices.
Simon
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Philip said that NOW his customers have come to expect these prices, when i first came onto this forum it had acres of stuff about pricing and one of the things i remember reading many times was if you start with low prices its difficult to then raise them with your established customers, this made very good sense. i did start charging 0.35 pence per ft from the outset i do offer discounts for multiple room and vacant properties but manage a good hourly rate. i knew it would be a slow start and it was but also knew that my customers would be expecting to pay a good rate and i would eventually build a good client base which i am on my way to doing.
My point is that the forums offer a wealth of information some of it very useful and for people to say that we should not be telling you how to run your business is is quite frankly ridiculous, we all have ideas and we are sharing our experiences with you that's the point of a" forum" i am not saying i am right i could have gone out of business very quickly it was a gamble but i decided that it was a long term decision to build a quality client base rather than lot of customers who want the cheapest job.
I think John Kelly made the best point that some are happy to plod along making a living using older equipment, charging less, other may want to build a carpet cleaning empire.
I am happy doing one to two jobs a day and earn what i consider to be a good wage meeting nice people willing to pay me well.
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I'm sure I read earlier Phil was very happy with £50 an hour. I think that's a good price, it's geting 4-5 hours in that's the problem. Most people don't lose work because of price, they don't get work because they are not marketing to enough people consistently enough.
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Phil
I’m up against the cream of the crop carpet cleaners down here DF/porty and the mean machine TM, dose it worry me NO what dose is the cost of fuel only get 28 to the gal there and back could cost me £12quid :'( out of my min price
Len
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Neil,
Not sure I agree with that. Agreed he obviously needs to gain some experience, but at those prices he could well put himself out of business. The DF system is pretty straight forward and provided he's had the training and adheres to it I don't see why he shouldn't be charging full prices.
Simon
Your completely wrong Simon the DF system is the only carpet cleaning system that cleans deodourises and protects all in one process. it produces amazing results and will leave your carpets cleaner fresher and drier than other methods of cleaning carpets, no more soaking wet carpets it dries in less than 30 minutes. well thats what i will tell my customers if and when i invest in DF give you carpets the DF treatment prices from ?
OH and my porty is much better than that ruddy great truckmount you got to, surely we all have to convince the customers we are the best, dont we ?
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reading many times was if you start with low prices its difficult to then raise them with your established customers,
Window cleaners have established regular customers, we don't really have established customers. If we do, we only see them once a year if that for the same job as previously so there's nothing to say you have had to put your prices up for x,y,z reasons.
I started off at a pricing level that (a) bought a customer (b) kept me in work (c) gained me confidence. If I'd started at some of the levels 'some' on here claim to achieve then I'd have been cacking myself at quote stage of having to achieve that level of perfection required for that price.
Because I'm now confident in all aspects I can sell a quality service knowing they will be satisfied. Today I did a leather clean 3-2-1 for £144, I sold the confidence, I sold the quality, I sold the experience, you can't do that when you are new to the industry. (well you can but you'd better live up to the hype).
Simon. I agree the prices are low compared to the rest of us, but if at this stage he can keep his head above water whilst gaining experience of products/machinery and gaining experience of speaking to customers the rest will follow over the years.
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James,
Sorry, I don't get your point. If DF is so good and so desirable from a customer perspective why sell it on the cheap?
Simon
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Neil,
Not sure I agree with that. Agreed he obviously needs to gain some experience, but at those prices he could well put himself out of business. The DF system is pretty straight forward and provided he's had the training and adheres to it I don't see why he shouldn't be charging full prices.
Simon
I done 3 jobs monday and earnt £100 i used a litre and half of chemical it costs £30 for 5 ltrs so i don't think i'l put myself out of business and as for training i went on the day course got my certificate and my df licence and iv'e got over 2yrs experience using df. ;D
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James,
Sorry, I don't get your point. If DF is so good and so desirable from a customer perspective why sell it on the cheap?
Simon
I was jesting Simon ::) and making the point that if i were selling DF it would be the bees knees or that is what i would be trying to convince my customers. if you go on the
DF website it contains the "speal" to sell this as a premium service and charge considerably more, i agree with your comments :)
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Neil,
Not sure I agree with that. Agreed he obviously needs to gain some experience, but at those prices he could well put himself out of business. The DF system is pretty straight forward and provided he's had the training and adheres to it I don't see why he shouldn't be charging full prices.
Simon
I done 3 jobs monday and earnt £100 i used a litre and half of chemical it costs £30 for 5 ltrs so i don't think i'l put myself out of business and as for training i went on the day course got my certificate and my df licence and iv'e got over 2yrs experience using df. ;D
Philip having read that you sound like you have the "speal" to me so how much will this amazing DF cost me it must be expensive ?
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The thing is if I was Phil I'd feel really badgered right now. There are some real nuggets for him to digest here but it ain't going to change him over night. The main thing is he's got a good attitude, he will come round in the end. :)
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i get what your saying James and Wynne i will succeed from new year things are gonna change i'm gna still have a cheap option or the premium option WHICH OPTION YOU DECIDE (in a big brother voice lol) cheers for all the advice i will take it all on board and learn and get better in my field and not worry about saying if you want cheap and cheerful then dont phone me haha.
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I done 3 jobs monday and earnt £100 i used a litre and half of chemical it costs £30 for 5 ltrs so i don't think i'l put myself out of business and as for training i went on the day course got my certificate and my df licence and iv'e got over 2yrs experience using df. ;D
You need to up your prices bro... That 5 litre should be earning you more!