Clean It Up

UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: emmaedj on January 23, 2006, 10:31:31 am

Title: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: emmaedj on January 23, 2006, 10:31:31 am: Can someone please save my sanity!! I was asked to quote for two function rooms at a large golf club last week, i currently do lots of different cleaning work for them so i thought to keep them sweet i would give them a really good deal........or so i thought!!

The space in total was 504 sm. i normally charge between £1.50 and £2.00 per sm which i thought was a good rate. i decided my great deal would be to do the job for a measly £1 per sm. Mad yes but anything to keep them happy!!!! I just had a phone call from the GM asking if i had made a mistake with the quote, no, i said, i have just decided to give you a great one off deal. What are you talking about was the reply i think its way over the top he said!!!
He then informed me he had just got a quote for £250.00!!! Thats like £0.50p a metre!!!

Please tell me that this is not normal, it just doesnt seem right to me. how can you justify £0.50p a metre, its not worth starting up the van!!

Do any of you guys charge this little, please tell me you dont

Cheers

ED
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on January 23, 2006, 11:27:59 am: you need to ask them who it is who is charging this amount ask if they have asked them what their procedure is. do they vac, pre-spray etc what equipment they use and if they belong to any trade body.you may not get any answrs but they may ask the person charging 50p a lot of questions !!!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: scott. on January 23, 2006, 01:02:50 pm: Sounds like a newbie...I've only been doing this for a few years now, and It sounds like something I would have quoted back then..I've learned since...I also had similar recently..a quote for 3500 sQ ft of occupied offices on 3 floors..I quoted £1250..and someone undercut me ! ..another on..500 SQ ft empty office...£150..they got Quoted £70 from another, and wouldnt tell me who it was...serves them right if it gets buggered up, I say.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 23, 2006, 04:56:46 pm: hi emm ,i tell u what theres guys on here who charge £3.50-£4.50 sqm or so they say i charge about same as u and think that is good money ,o and iam put in the splash n dash league at them prices ::)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Doug Holloway on January 23, 2006, 04:59:56 pm: Hi Guys,

Unfortunately this will come up and there is little you can do about it.

I has a BW in a golf club , already showing signs of shrinkage.

Quoted to do a very careful clean, club got someone else much cheaper, you guessed it , big time shrinkage.

Just have to move on.

Cheers
Doug
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 23, 2006, 05:11:55 pm: one thing i will add this person maybe only charging 50 pence sqm but he do it in less than half day not bad £250 pounds, off couse u cant charge this in domestic houses for say coulpe carpets, but on big area like this u can the people who recon they charged £4.50 sqm meter would hav wanted £2250 !!! ::) i be very surprised if u earn £500 day normally so u could hav really done this job for £250 and bin happy , just a thought
gary
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Neil Grainger on January 23, 2006, 06:28:40 pm: Prehaps she does not want to be splash and dash, thats why she quoted the price she did. Not all customers want the cheapest job. Some customers beleive that the £3-£4.5 price range is not ripping people off and you do pay for what you get in this industry.

Want cheap pay Skoda prices want the best pay Rolls Royce prices. Its the same the world over.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: CLEANEAST CARPETS on January 23, 2006, 07:02:51 pm: Hi Gary,
I was at Alltec today having wand fixed,Rotovac checked,pat testing,and restocking chemicals.I was talking to Steve and he reckons that as we have been getting 90% of our on-site quotations,and we are now using the Rotovac giving an even better service we should increase our price to £4 sq/m,what is your opinoin of that ??? ??? ???
Also he reckons we should spend less time on the boards and more time marketing and cleaning!!!
However at these prices I don't need to knock myself out ;D ;D ;D

Thanks Barbara
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 23, 2006, 07:07:16 pm: Quote from: Neil Grainger on January 23, 2006, 06:28:40 pm
Prehaps she does not want to be splash and dash, thats why she quoted the price she did. Not all customers want the cheapest job. Some customers beleive that the £3-£4.5 price range is not ripping people off and you do pay for what you get in this industry.

Want cheap pay Skoda prices want the best pay Rolls Royce prices. Its the same the world over.
neil if u read the post again the prices she qoutes norm are regard as splash an dash by some
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 23, 2006, 07:28:18 pm: sorry not being rude but some people on here talk load tosh, £4sqm yer right o ,u do one job month if u lucky ::) certain on domestic work u talking about £80-£100 for ave lounge ::) do two rooms n hsl in ave house u upto £300 ::) yer right o there gos flying pig !!! ::)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: D woods on January 23, 2006, 07:37:24 pm: When I was involved in carpet cleaning the best price for a domestic property I got was £800 plus vat for a two bed flat .
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 23, 2006, 07:47:02 pm: lol and i got £35000 once lmfco !! ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Neil Grainger on January 23, 2006, 08:17:10 pm: Gary theirs is a guy that charges £10 per sq m in Bradford and he gets the work. Ask the fasttrack boys based up north and they will tell you about him.

Why is £4 per sq m out of reach.

I bet you could start a fight in a empty room. why are you so agro, just because you cant get these prices does not been any of us cant either.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: garyj on January 23, 2006, 08:21:12 pm: Why on earth would anyone in Bradford pay £10 sq m to have there carpets cleaned when they could get new carpets cheaper than that!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: D woods on January 23, 2006, 08:29:28 pm: Hi Gary
as an experiment why dont you charge an extra 50% on the next ten jobs you price up and see what the results are you may be shocked ?
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: CLEANEAST CARPETS on January 23, 2006, 08:30:25 pm: You can't put a price on QUALITY and CUSTOMER SERVICE

However you can put a price on a new carpet-£10 sq/m
underlay-£7 sq/m
fitting-£2 sq/m

Barbara
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Matt Read on January 23, 2006, 08:32:20 pm: its commonly accepted by most carpet cleaners that £35 to £40 per hour is what you should earn as a carpet cleaner..actual on site clean time.I would say thats under 4.50 psm for an experienced carpet cleaner.We can all charge what we like theres no rule,its what you feel comfortable with.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on January 23, 2006, 08:34:41 pm: Just a thought.

WHO IS GIVING BEST VALUE.

The business who offers a service, or product at a price which gives a REASONABLE return and still works to a high standard, or,

The business who charges what most would regard as RIP-OFF prices claiming to do a superior job, but maybe not.

There are frequent postings on here about the cost of chemicals, etc and where to get the best prices for machines, spares, etc.

What makes you think you are entitled " morally ' to charge the hourly rates that you claim to charge and would you really be prepared to pay someone to clean your driveway, cut your grass. or whateve

Like hell, you would !

Garages, with their massive overheads charge around forty pounds per hour and I've always felt that if I could achieve around 75% of that I'd be doing extremely well

Nothing to do with my standards or my perceived personal value.

I believe in giving value for money........

r m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: garyj on January 23, 2006, 09:03:07 pm: Mr Woods, I expect I would be shocked, I doubt if I'd have any work.

Barbara, where did you get those prices, not my local Carpetrite store thats for sure!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Shaun_Ashmore on January 23, 2006, 10:08:08 pm: I went to my local carpet shop today to look for a carpet for my daughters bedroom, it is 12 ft x 11ft cost to supply 80/20 twist in 'barbie' pink with new gripper and underlay and fitted cost £344.00.

That works out at £2.60 a sq ft so my 40p per sq ft looks cheap.
I was suprised how much carpets have gone up in price, it's been over 3 years since I have bought one.

If you compare your services to other cleaners prices you will always think that you are losing work because you are too expensive but if you flip the coin you could say that restoring the carpet is very cheap for the customer in comparison to replacement.

Shaun
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: the red carpet on January 24, 2006, 01:03:03 am: Shaun your right,
compared to replacing a carpet getting it cleaned is a hell of a lot cheaper at most if not all of our prices.

But that argument could be used about cleaning anything.
Cheaper to clean a car than replace.
Cheaper to clean your windows than replace.
Cheaper to clean your drivway than replace.
I as a customer would only be happy to pay a fraction of what somthing was worth to have it cleaned.

Il tell you the truth though i was looking to get new carpet for my lounge yesterday and when i realised the prices i was tempted to push my prices up a touch.

I think anyone whos a one man band using a portable and trying to pull in much more than few hundred pound a day is pushing there luck a bit imo, if people want to earn more they can upgrade to t/m or start hiring staff.

In most peoples opinion we are just cleaners at the end of the day, specialised cleaners yes, wich is why carpet cleaners can expect to earn more than normal domestic cleaners etc.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 01:57:21 am: Quote from: Neil Grainger on January 23, 2006, 08:17:10 pm
Gary theirs is a guy that charges £10 per sq m in Bradford and he gets the work. Ask the fasttrack boys based up north and they will tell you about him.

Why is £4 per sq m out of reach.

I bet you could start a fight in a empty room. why are you so agro, just because you cant get these prices does not been any of us cant either.
grrr !!! yer probally lol, neil u made laugh so much tonight my sides hurt!! 10sqm lmfco !! thats the most daft thing i ever heard anyone say we are talking about cleaning a carpet right? thought so thats about £180 pounds to clean a 12x12 room lol lol mmm about £1100 pounds to clean a ave 3 bed house !!! lol (again) imo anyone who charges more than £2.50 sqm is giv carpet cleaning a bad name its semi skilled, really easy trade the only reason people hire us is we hav the eqp and if most people thought it was that hard y do they hire machines from supermarkets drycleaners etc ,if u wanted a room plastered how many people would try themselfs ? not many y? becasue its a skilled trade that takes years to learn and how much could u get a plaster for ? £150 day no probs for a really hard days hard graft thats about,£17 hour !! and remember carpet cleaning is a luxury u can live with a dirty carpet u cant with a broken car,burst pipe,plaster falling of u walls etc etc ive never know a trade talked up so much or is that just to justife these so called over the top prices some people say they get ? and if anyone is charging £10 sqm and getting away with it they should be on rouge traders !!!!
gary
p.s gary j, luv the pig, that made me sides hurt as well !!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 02:26:51 am: Quote from: the red carpet on January 24, 2006, 01:03:03 am
Shaun your right,
compared to replacing a carpet getting it cleaned is a hell of a lot cheaper at most if not all of our prices.

But that argument could be used about cleaning anything.
Cheaper to clean a car than replace.
Cheaper to clean your windows than replace.
Cheaper to clean your drivway than replace.
I as a customer would only be happy to pay a fraction of what somthing was worth to have it cleaned.

Il tell you the truth though i was looking to get new carpet for my lounge yesterday and when i realised the prices i was tempted to push my prices up a touch.

I think anyone whos a one man band using a portable and trying to pull in much more than few hundred pound a day is pushing there luck a bit imo, if people want to earn more they can upgrade to t/m or start hiring staff.

In most peoples opinion we are just cleaners at the end of the day, specialised cleaners yes, wich is why carpet cleaners can expect to earn more than normal domestic cleaners etc.
repace or clean
car £5000+ or £5 to clean
windows £4000+or £10 to clean
driveway£2000 +0r£30 to clean
bedroom carpet ave size from as little as £100 or as some would say £4sqm about £70 pounds or £10 sqm about £175 to clean
imo u cant put carpet cleaning in the same context as the examples above, and yes u are right we are just cleaners but only specialsed in fact we hav expencive gear
gary
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 24, 2006, 09:17:06 am: Hello stress head ;D £4.50 a metre squad here. This whole week is booked up solid. I was out till nearly 10 last night doing on site written quotes. Next week is booking up and Feb has already got some new interest.
Stop stressin', Increase your prices! Are you shy of a challenge?
Re; original post about large commercial room. When I first started carpet cleaning my sub contract rate was .50p per metre for commercial work.
I personally charge iro £2 per M sq. for one off commercial work discounting for area's approaching 500M sq and above.

Regards
Alan
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: jasonl on January 24, 2006, 09:38:49 am: its 9.34 am, this morning , I have dropped my daughter at school, driven 2 miles to a house , cleaned .5 m of carpeting, albeit with a small lipstick mark on it , I have driven home, checked my e-mails and read this post, and have £48, given to me by the customer who i charged £96 a metre to clean her carpet, ANYBODY CARE TO CALL ME A RIP-OFF MERCHANT?. She booked a £230 job in for friday she was so happy. ITS ABOUT VALUE NOT PRICE OR COST.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: BRSL on January 24, 2006, 10:07:00 am: Hi guys been away fo a couple of days but wot a topic ive missed, :o

one thing is taht every one is arguing over price, how many people here are in compition with each other in the same area, not many, so how can you compare prices, it's like everything pice is according to location half the time just anouther way too look at it imo
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 01:22:43 pm: hi alan buddy ;D me stressed? no way i just like writing posts and replying to them as i find them so amusing somtimes the bxxxt on here is more funny the little britan ;D and u lot bite so so easy lol
p.s whats value for money then if it ant price or cost ???
yours happly gary
p.p.s long live spash n dash were the best!!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: D woods on January 24, 2006, 03:43:31 pm: Hi Cleaning Co
I have to agree with you about the amusent factor, on the forums.It is better than watching T.V.
cant agree with you on pricing though. to run a serious business you need
to charge enough to cover not only your wages but all the overheads as well
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 04:18:37 pm: hi mr woods, ive run my carpet cleaning over 10 years and on my prices i cover my costs and imo make very nice wage 8)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Mike Halliday on January 24, 2006, 05:20:34 pm: "I was out till nearly 10 last night doing on site written quotes. "

its alright charging high price but who wants to be doing quotes until 10pm, I'd rather earn £150 a week less and have my evening free.

I remember meeting the bloke from bradford ( Walker I think his name was) who earns £10/sqft he had a Steamway with a 50gl water butt ::) ::) you'd think if he earnt all that money he could afford a proper watertank :) :)

Mike
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Dave_Lee on January 24, 2006, 07:43:00 pm: Hi All,
Im pretty sure you would find that the £10 per sq yard charged in Bradford, is not for a one off clean but, for several cleans throughout the year on a maintenance plan.
Dave.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on January 24, 2006, 07:55:17 pm: It's a long time ago, but I remember in my early training - on the marketing side - being given a guideline to use for pricing, cleaning work.

The suggestion, was to charge in the region of 10% of the value of the carpets or suite being cleaned, which I've always regarded as a fair method and a fair return, with the client able to relate to such a charge, as good value.

Anyway, this has turned into a useful discussion providing, food for thought for many. In my case, I'm just treading water, so won't be affected.

Good luck to you all.

r m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: mark_roberts on January 24, 2006, 07:57:00 pm: Price is all in your head.

Theres people out there who buy cars for £100,000 and suites of furniture for £5000+. Thats the people who will pay quality service. Now the standard of cleaning thats provided will probably be the same as most of us at £2 a metre but its the way its sold to the customer.

And thats the bottom line. We need to become better sales people to achieve higher prices.

Asking for the size of the room over the phone and giving the price is not the way.

What type of jeans do you wear?? Do you buy them in Tescos for £10 or in the Diesel shop for £80+. Now ask yourself why.

Mark
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: mark_roberts on January 24, 2006, 08:02:08 pm: Therapist

How do you calculate your pricing if your aiming for £30 or so an hour.

I figure I have 5 hours a day in the customers home actually cleaning carpets so i base my prices on those 5 hours. If I charged £30 and hour that would be £150 a day. If we're honest about our expences + profit etc then well need around £100 a day so thats leaves me £50 a day. Id get more in Tescos.

Working out your expenses etc, I find, can be a difficult and challanging task.

Mark
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 24, 2006, 08:06:33 pm: Hi Mark

£10.00 for a pair of jeans in Tesco, get over to Batley 6 miles from Bradford ONLY £3.00 a pair!!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 08:09:25 pm: lmfco,u sayting that the geezer who charges £140 to clean a room gets it cleaner than my £40 clean? yeh i dont think so we use the same water dont we? our does hav better water than me ? or has he some amazing powder he puts in ? but as for jeans u dead right
gary
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 08:12:58 pm: lol john,u allways make me smile mate ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 08:18:52 pm: o by the way were is this carpet cleaning world? ive never gone past it in me van lol
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: mark_roberts on January 24, 2006, 08:22:22 pm: Cleaning co

Youve missed the point. There may not be a difference in the end result ie. clean BUT the whole service package has been sold as higher quality added value and so is worth (in the customers mind) £3 a metre instead of your £1.50.

Penny dropped yet?

Mark
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 08:28:43 pm: SO U ADMITING RIPPING A CUSTY OFF THEN LOL ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: COLIN BRIGHT on January 24, 2006, 08:29:43 pm: SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN

READY

0.50 PER SQUARE METRE

LET THE MUPPETS DO IT
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 24, 2006, 08:33:56 pm: i am going down the pub before me sides split with laughing so much !!! ;D"
p.s u calling me a muppet "not so bright but dim colin"
lmfco no i really am !!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 24, 2006, 10:23:22 pm: I'll get you a pint at carpex. :oYou're turning into more of a wind up than Len ;D
Smiles all round. Just came home with £427 for 3 bed house wool carpets restoration cleaned inc. stain protection and stretching a ripple out of lounge carpet. Property in Croydon, client travelled down from Cambridge as per the on site quote last week. They're letting out the property. Job took a little over 6 hours :D
Luv it!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 24, 2006, 10:50:17 pm: What's brown and sticky? ???
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 24, 2006, 10:50:52 pm: A stick ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Ian Gourlay on January 24, 2006, 11:54:20 pm: Barbara,

Just read your posts about spending less time on the boards.

Since I came on to Cleanitup I have clocked up two weeks.

I recon Alltec is not keen on these boards. ;D ;D ??? ??? ??? ???
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: COLIN BRIGHT on January 26, 2006, 07:50:33 pm: Cleaning co

dim but very very rich!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Steve Chapman on January 26, 2006, 09:19:40 pm: the word greed comes to mind!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 26, 2006, 09:36:50 pm: Gary

Mark is trying to tell you that

YOU ARE RIPPING YOURSELF OFF!!!

You are hopefully in the C/C job to make money for your services NOT to give them away at low low prices.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on January 26, 2006, 11:59:47 pm: The arguments about pricing and what, or who does a better job will never go away and in reality makes for a lively forum.

Mark,

When I and started in this business around 1983, my pricing resulted in earning around 10 pounds/hour, which increased to double that figure, by 1993 and gradually increased to around thirty three pounds/hour, a decade later.

Throughout, I've priced domestic work on a per job basis, as every one is different and no two houses are the same.

Commercial work I've always priced by the square foot.

Although I did all the training and marketing, I admit to not vacuuming the majority of domestic jobs and only selling protection when I knew the customer would genuinely benefit. This obviously results in spending much less time on the job, which might upset the purists, but over the years I've thrived on referrals and always achieved a high standard, through, experience, experimentation, getting the best out of tools, modifying manto get a better performance.

My approach was always based on building a strong client base and the fact that I.ve had no advertising for around two years, but am experiencing a very busy January proves something.

I would love to walk away from this business, as my back is truly wrecked and I have other interests to keep me busy.

rob m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 27, 2006, 02:37:45 am: Quote from: John_Flynn on January 26, 2006, 09:36:50 pm
Gary

Mark is trying to tell you that

YOU ARE RIPPING YOURSELF OFF!!!

You are hopefully in the C/C job to make money for your services NOT to give them away at low low prices.
??? sorry john u got me on that one, i make very very good money for cleaning a "carpet" imo i know very highly skilled people who make half what i do and they are amazed what i earn for cleaning a "carpet" if i charged what some claim on here id be ashamed of myself,its just cleaning a carpet for god sake
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 27, 2006, 10:45:31 am: Gary

So what you are telling everybody is that you are charging

"What you think you are Worth"

Study this for a day or two please.

'If you Think You Can You Can, if You Think You Can't You Can't'

It is all in the mind!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: D woods on January 27, 2006, 11:00:52 am: Well put John, I just can't understand why anyone would not want to
maximise their earning's it makes no sense at all
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 27, 2006, 11:11:38 am: i think i charge to much as it is lol 8)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 27, 2006, 11:24:53 am: So Be It !!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: COLIN BRIGHT on January 27, 2006, 02:18:01 pm: JUST CLEANING A CARPET?

YOU COULD SAY THAT PLUMBING IS

JUST CHANGING A WASHER OR JUST STICKING SOME PLASTIC PIPES TOGHETHER

LOOK AT WHAT THESE GUYS CHARGE!!!!!

P.S I THINK MY SERVICE IS WORTH EVERY PENNY

WHATS MORE IS MY LOYAL CLIENTS AGREE!!

IM SURE EVERYONE IN THE BUSINESS THINKS THE SAME.

AND IM SURE EVERYONE IS RIGHT

RIGHT?
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 27, 2006, 04:01:13 pm: lmfco !!! carpet cleaning anit nowere near the skill of a plumber !!! not by a long shot mr bright, if u wish to think that well thats up to u, to be a plumber,sparky etc u talking about going to college 2 -3 years and prob 5 years before a firm will let u out on the tools on your own,whats the longest carpet cleaning course u know of ? who on here can truthully say they werent out cleaning carpets forthemselfs within two weeks of buying a machine? get a grasp lol
regards gary
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: craigp on January 27, 2006, 05:44:46 pm: but colin and john, in garys defence, knowing what i know, if i was not in this bus. i would choose Gary to clean my carpets over you two.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Neil Grainger on January 27, 2006, 05:50:44 pm: Why?

Dont make a comment like that without explaining yourself.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: craigp on January 27, 2006, 05:53:41 pm: because his prices are fair, obviously.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 27, 2006, 06:17:46 pm: hi craig u wanna join my club ? (mate ;))
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: COLIN BRIGHT on January 27, 2006, 06:23:58 pm: if cleaning was soooooooooooo simple then every one would do their own and we would all be out of business!!!!!!

im proud of mine and think that the service i provide is not only fair but exceeds our clients expectations every time

WHAT COULD BE MORE FAIRER!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: craigp on January 27, 2006, 07:05:01 pm: ok gary mate ;)

i agree with Gary, though i do see that costs got to be covered and there are some out there charging silly low prices, hard to see how there viaible businesses, many on here would say my prices are low, but on a good day i can earn easy double a spark or chippy, and they start at 7.30, i start at 9!

and im cheap!!! and garys right i know trades men whos spent 5 years learning there trade.

i wonder if some who charge really high prices that its maybe they are not busy so the work they do get HAS to be high??

just a theory.. any body say if there any truth in that. whats think gary?

regards, craig.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: garyj on January 27, 2006, 08:00:22 pm: People wouldn't clean there own carpets because they are not going to spend hundreds or thousands on the equipment. I know a very good well qualified carpenter who did a 4 year apprenticeship that doesn't make this sort of money!!
Can't believe that Gary is being knocked for making a very decent living, offering a good professional service at what is a good rate for both him and his customers.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 27, 2006, 08:10:30 pm: garyj. u in too mate !! 8) if u want to be in our club mate that is ? ;D
p.s that pig !!! lol
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: craigp on January 27, 2006, 08:12:03 pm: gary we got another in our club ;) welcome aboard garyj ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 27, 2006, 08:15:02 pm: decided to call our club "the flying pink pigglets" lol
what u recon fellow members?
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: craigp on January 27, 2006, 08:16:36 pm: Quote from: Ian Gourlay on January 24, 2006, 11:54:20 pm
Barbara,

Just read your posts about spending less time on the boards.

Since I came on to Cleanitup I have clocked up two weeks.

I recon Alltec is not keen on these boards. ;D ;D ??? ??? ??? ???

i think your right ian, fastrackers pay alot of money to share ideas, this is free.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 27, 2006, 08:32:10 pm: Gary. You tried putting your prices up yet? :o ;D
Another £390 in the pot for a three bed two storey appartment in Clapham. Restoration clean and stain protection. Spent the day. Client well happy!

Well? Your machine is the same as mine isn't it? ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: garyj on January 27, 2006, 09:55:19 pm: Yep, I'm in the club :P ;D

Can I be Fozzie Bear as we're all muppets.

PS, I was cleaning carpets the day after picking my machine up from Alltec, it paid for itself within 8 weeks.

Alan, not knocking what you do, but around here people just wouldn't pay that, call me a fool but I'd rather have 5 clients a day at £50 than 1 client for £250, for a start there is more repeat work and secondly more referrals.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: BRSL on January 27, 2006, 11:38:48 pm: Hi Fozzy

Quote
for a start there is more repeat work and secondly more referrals.

V good point there I must agree ;)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 27, 2006, 11:39:03 pm: GaryJ

You forgot to add And a SHORTER LIFE !!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 04:57:05 am: shorter life john ? carpet cleaning ant hard mate ive done jobs 3 times as hard ,its a stroll in the park in imo,
alan my punters wouldnt and couldnt pay your prices i would be sitting on me ass 4 n half days of the week if i asked them prices, dont forget u work for a building matinance company for toffs, and u dont price the jobs the bird who runs it dos, try giving them prices to mrs smith who lives on houseing estate down the rd from u,then we c whos in the real world
gary
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on January 28, 2006, 07:53:35 am: out of interest gary whats your rates as i tend to agree with your strategy.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 08:24:08 am: i charge £30 12x12 £40 12x18 £40 h/s/l £80 3pc
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 08:43:16 am: carpetclean u wanna be in are club as well? 8) lol
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: BRSL on January 28, 2006, 10:50:02 am: Quote
carpet cleaning ant hard mate ive done jobs 3 times as hard ,its a stroll in the park in imo,

Garry wait 20 years and we will bent over with our backs buggered like John ;D
how is your back John holding up I hope ;)

2 of us the other day done a commercial job took 9 hours at £280 does that put me in your club 8)

James
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on January 28, 2006, 10:51:00 am: cleaning company not sure how you are pricing as the square metres are a differnt stucture from the 12x12 and the 12x18 . whats the minimum charge!?
regarding joining the club i must be a muppet to get in to this game after earning a good living with my other business.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 11:24:35 am: james my boy u in, what a star !!! 8)
carpet clean, about 16 sqm in 12x12 room at £3o so thats about £1.9o sqm ? i think lol
my min charge is £3o
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 28, 2006, 11:26:09 am: Cleaning co. Gary, What are you on about? Who said anything about a maintenance co? I do a small amount of subcontract commercial work for a company in the city and to be honest it's only because I've got an eight year history with the Guy and it get's me into some big glitzy places but to be honest the rate is rubbish - ready..... £0.80 per M sq. All after office hours one night a week. Hard graft but a good portfolio.
My £4.50 for a restoration clean and I do mean RESTORATION not a couple of passes of a twin jet scrub wand and £6 for restoration and protect is directly to mr and/or mrs smith and I'm at work 5+ days a week.

Until I did my formal training recently and got all my accreditations I sounded EXACTLY like you.....

Think about it
Alan
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 11:26:59 am: p.s carpetclean what was your prev bizz?
i was a plaster for 12 years and no what i would rather be doing 8)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: BRSL on January 28, 2006, 11:35:41 am: Gary

12 x 12 room = 144 sqft
144 = 13.4 sqm

@ £30 = £2.24 sqm

Thats not splash n dash :o
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on January 28, 2006, 11:46:12 am: hi cleaning co . i was and still am a dulux registered decorator.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 11:48:32 am: sorry alan if i hav got wrong guy,but a guy was talking about some matinace co they worked for were a bird got trades people for posh people and took a cut of the money, our am i going mad lol now who was that ?
pileprofile
well acording to the people who charge inbetween 3.5o-£4.5o it is lol
p.s what is your name pileprofile?
gary
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: BRSL on January 28, 2006, 11:53:10 am: Gary

It's James :)

Carpet clean

So whats the plan decorate someones house spill paint on the carpet and put in two bills not a bad idea ;D no seriously how come you do both there not realy linked, and which is the better earner
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 11:53:49 am: must say sorry again alan,it was neil :-X
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 12:05:33 pm: here u go james just took a booking which is typical type of booking i get and by the way it was a recom, h/s/l l/r two beds emty house £14o , now i will do this in under an hour i think thats very very good money but the big chargers on here would say thats crap ::)

p.s sorry about me naughts but i am using the o as i just sucked the naught button on me keyboard whilst in my wisdom thought id giv it a hoover :P lol
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: CLEANEAST CARPETS on January 28, 2006, 12:11:01 pm: So you vacuum your computer,but not the carpets you clean ??? ??? ;D ;D

Barbara
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: BRSL on January 28, 2006, 12:18:20 pm: Gary

Bab's has got you there, there is no way you could do that in under an hour, ive got a TM and wouldent come close ??? ??? ???

but even if it took 2 hours it wouldent be bad ;D ;D

James
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 12:18:32 pm: i am vacuming as i clean anit i 8)
p.s if i knew how to get poxy hoover undone i rescue it lol
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 12:20:31 pm: i giv u some lessons if u want james ;)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: craigp on January 28, 2006, 12:20:52 pm: i was a steel fixer for eight years (concrete reinforceing)

carpet cleanig is bliss!!! 8)

i too min charge 30, HSL 40 L35 TL45

good money, got to be busy though.

a slow week is a poor week.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on January 28, 2006, 12:22:21 pm: pileprofile YOU GOT IT IN ONE I like to spill paint and offer to clean for a small fee !!!!
Both businesses are linked as i was often asked to recommend a carpet cleaner. you will be suprised at how many people clean carpets after decoration. So I though sod this rather than pass on work i looked in to it and set up the carpet cleaning. i did all the required courses which i think is a must for anyone starting out from scratch. its too early to say which is most profitable as at the moment my decorating is paying for the equipment and training of the carpets. i have done quite a few jobs and people are very happy. almost every one i decorate for i get me to clean their carpets so i have a ready client base as peoplei i decorate for have deloped a relationship and trust. i can earn quite good money decorating as i am very quick, unlike the carpet cleaning as i want to impress i take my time , we all need experience to develop speed with out compromise to quality. so i will answer your question again in a years time. what i have noticed though is that the old clients from decorating who trust me , after cleaning their carpets and happily pay me usually comment on the poor quality of the previous cleaner and especially the expense. im not saying for one minute all c/cs are in the bad rogue league but like decorating i think its full of chancers that gives us all a bad name and lack of trust from the clients. its up to the likes of people on this forum to change the way the people who have been stung think and put their trust back in to the true professional
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 12:24:04 pm: yes craig in my eyes its peice of cake 8)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 12:31:04 pm: hers one for every one to chew over,done job other day,and custy was telling me she had it done the year before by firm that charge her 3 times what i charged her , but it wasnt that what botherd her so much it was the fact that i got it done for her in hour or so to a standerd she was more than happy with,it was the fact they were their all day and after half day she just wanted them to p off !!! ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Doug Holloway on January 28, 2006, 12:36:30 pm: Hi Guys,

One thing that doesn't get much of a mention in these pricing threads is how much time is taken on quoting.

If a job takes an hour to quote including travelling then you have to take that into consideration as time on the overall job.

E.g 1 Hour to qoute , 2 hours to do job Price £150

Money per hour £50 not £75.

Cheers

Doug

Gary ,

You must be the fastest CC in Essex ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 12:41:15 pm: doug i dont charge for walking to pick me phone up ;)
i challenge any truckmount user to beat me even hav wager on it 8)
gary
exuse me doug ? essex ? england mate lol
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 28, 2006, 04:59:00 pm: Hopefully did my LAST job this morning ;D ;D ;D

Commercial low profile tiles, I decided to Charlie Pad, WOW took me 2 hours 20 minutes and I charged £325.00, got rid of every stain and mark, I could not believe my eyes. ::) ::) ::)

I quoted for the job last September, should I have charged another £75.00 for the extra Muck ??? ??? ???

There could me some money in this'ere Low Moisture Cleaning :o :o :o
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: the red carpet on January 28, 2006, 05:14:28 pm: cleaning co,
have to say i agree with a lot of what you say
dont know how you manage h/s/l 2 beds and lounge in under a hour you must be quick, i would book that in for about 3 and a half hours, (half a day)

i would charge about £170 normal but as im doing special offer leaflets at the minute about the same as you.

i would fit two of these in a day and earn £250-£300 i think myself that thats good money,
i cant think of any other way to earn that sort of money from home with very little training and with just a couple of grand investment.

i charge h/s/l £60 lounge £38 through lounge £60 bedroom- single £35, double-£38, upholstery £20 a seat
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 06:22:18 pm: it all depens on how u were first shown to clean carpets 1 the bullpoop way or 2 the real world way
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 28, 2006, 06:29:50 pm: Cleaning co.
What she meant was she couldn't bear the thought of you being there that long ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 06:36:06 pm: just looked at that u post again red carpet , u winding me up 3 half hours ? :o thats nearly an hour a carpet, what are u doing to them? just spray it on and suck it up and go , its clean honest and they still phone u up next year trust me, ive bin doing it same way over 1o years still in bizz still getting recoms, if u wanna stay there that amount of time start charging £4.5o sqm if u can get it, just out of intrest what do u do in this time spent at custys house?
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 28, 2006, 06:38:16 pm: lol alan , no she was ped with noise ,cold house,and wanted to go out, she told me this as she was writing me the chq ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: the red carpet on January 28, 2006, 07:18:02 pm: i allow 1/2 hour for stairs same for landings and halls
about 45 minutes for bedroom
around a hour for a lounge

i have to set up and pack away, and refill water when it needs it and empty waste all of wich i know you dont have to do with your setup.

apart from that i dont usually pre-vac unless i think it needs it
i pre-spray
go round all the edges with hand tool
move furniture if needed
clean with power-brush using overlapping strokes

i guess im just thorough i wont leave untill i know the jobs done properly

ive done two jobs today both took 2 hours

1st job 2 lots of stairs 2 landings
2nd job h/s/l and single bedroom

im happy with it though i know im taking a couple of hundred pound a day, all my customers are happy
and as i get busier i will upgrade my equipment making me faster, meaning i will earn even more
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Alan Brooker. Aqualink Carpet Care on January 28, 2006, 08:15:11 pm: If a customer specifically states that they dont want the house cold then I pass the two leads and the hoses through a slightly open window somewhere out of the way and pull the door to in in that room. Et viola, noise and cold kept at bay. Otherwise people seem quite happy to go out and leave me to get on with it for the day if the job's that big. This is where going to site before hand to inspect and quote play's a major role. A trusting relationship is built and customer tolerances are assesed.
Got to say that ever since I've been using a powerbrush on restoration cleans the joib has really slowed down (hence the price). When you think you've got it clean with a wand then stick a powerbrush over it (one with a view window) you wont believe the crap thats still coming out of the carpet when it looks clean. I'm starting to see why a truckmount is the be all and end all of carpet cleaning systems. I don't think that they clean better than the ninja just quicker, more rinsing ability in less time. No I'm not buying a truck mount. I'll take my time and enjoy the job I do now.

Alan
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on January 28, 2006, 09:49:24 pm: Just read your post John - Last job!

I've been trying to escape the business for years, for similar reasons to yours, but have yet to sell my main equipment.

Like yourself, I've been trying 'Charlies' and Dry System cleaning, purely as a means of continuing to earn regular money, but, I find the Rotary, can be more damaging on the back and have still to try a couple of lighter machines, eg, Contra rotating brushes, either barrel, or rotary types.

Used a Klanz in the past, which has two 'floating' contra rotating heads which can be used with 'powder' or 'microsplitter' and on hard floors.

Due to the state of my skeletal structure, I must stop heavy lifting and the Klanz, or Host type of machine would allow me to continue, but, change can be hard to accept...............

Best wishes

robert meldrum
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 28, 2006, 09:59:03 pm: Hi Robert

Yes, lifting the Rotary did cause me probems but the actual cleaning process was easier than HWE, all thing been equell my Truckmount travels north on Sunday, I can then get myself commited to my new venture.

Look after your back my friend because no other B*gger is bothered about it!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on January 28, 2006, 10:41:38 pm: Delighted to hear you've finally sold tho beast, John.

As I mentioned before, the NHS are absolutely hopeless with back prob's and even Osteos and Chiros
have their limitations.

That's why I started training in Spinal and Muscular problems 8 years ago.

Before letting anyone near you with a knife, give me a call....

robert meldrum

01505 690041
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 28, 2006, 10:49:33 pm: I will call you for a chat very soon.

Regards

John
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 29, 2006, 05:17:39 am: i hav a power brush thingy a prochem,pluged it in once then sat down and watched the little clear screen on the front and watched a bit more ! nothing !! not a thing ! can u not get sky one on it ?
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 29, 2006, 05:37:34 am: red just out intrest, how much water do u use to do say h/s/l ?
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: psg on January 29, 2006, 08:45:18 am: hi mate,
we have a simular problem ove here, just remember when they get their dole, income support, dla, rent payed for them i suppose its only beer money to them
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: the red carpet on January 29, 2006, 09:33:35 am: hi gary,
with regards to water,
when i clean, if i use my hand tool very little, but when i use the power brush it really go's down quick.

on stairs im obviously using the handtool so it hardly touches it, and if the landings small rather than unplug the handtool and carry the powerbrush upstairs and plug it in i would usually just go over it with the handtool as well.

if the landings a fair old size or particually dirty il use the powerbrush and then as i say i notice the difference with water.

i rekon on a average say half a tank, give or take

do you use a handtool to go round edges and under and around furniture?

ps. i dont know why everyones going on like your mad charging what you do and making out as if your making peanuts, if your doing £130 jobs in under a hour and you have no staff to pay and you only have a 3grand machine to mantain as oposed to 10-15 grands worth like some people, you must be doing very nicely for yourself ;)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 29, 2006, 12:31:33 pm: hin red yes i am more than happy what i make, if i was still doing plastering (gav it up over 1o years(i would hav to work me nutts off allday for that
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 29, 2006, 01:01:57 pm: Quote from: cleaning co on January 29, 2006, 12:31:33 pm
hin red yes i am more than happy what i make, if i was still doing plastering (gav it up over 1o years(i would hav to work me nutts off allday for that

PLASTERING

Well that says it all doesn't it :o ::) ::) ::) :o
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 29, 2006, 01:05:05 pm: what dos that say mr flynn ::)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 29, 2006, 01:48:27 pm: ??? ??? ???
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 29, 2006, 11:36:06 pm: Quote from: John_Flynn on January 29, 2006, 01:01:57 pm
Quote from: cleaning co on January 29, 2006, 12:31:33 pm
hin red yes i am more than happy what i make, if i was still doing plastering (gav it up over 1o years(i would hav to work me nutts off allday for that

PLASTERING

Well that says it all doesn't it :o ::) ::) ::) :o
what do u mean by thats says it all ?
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 29, 2006, 11:53:14 pm: I'll leave you to think about it for a few week.

If anybody knows the reason, Please tell him!!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 30, 2006, 12:08:34 am: sorry john u lost me ::) and whos "him" the names gary or cleaning co :o
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on January 30, 2006, 08:25:38 am: hi gary i think john is just having friendly banter with you as everyone knows especially me being a decorator for god knows how long that we are blamed for all the spots and mess on carpets like plasterers have a name for messing the house so do decorators. i dont think he was being offensive
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 30, 2006, 05:13:44 pm: 10/10 goes to Carpetclean. Good man!!

Honestly does anybody ever leave such a mess as Plasterers do??, then they have got the cheek to tell you that they have cleaned up.

6 years 9 months of their 7 year apprenticeship should be dedecated to cleaning up.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on January 30, 2006, 05:40:04 pm: evening john lol ok i get it now lol thought u was being horrible to me :'( but all better now ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: John_Flynn on January 30, 2006, 05:54:51 pm: No I still luv ya ::) ::) ::)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: ABLECLEAN on January 30, 2006, 11:24:58 pm: Therapist

Cor blimey mate, the garages in your area are cheap!!

Even though I only pay £22 per hour to a one man band garage most of the main dealers charge £70-£80 per hour
and a full service at our local BMW dealer does not include checking the brake pads!! They charge £10 per wheel to do this!!
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on January 31, 2006, 09:10:53 am: I gave up BMWS and the like ages ago and don't care about the car I drive as long as it does what it's supposed to.

We have a number of garages offering ' fixed price servicing ' around here, forced, parhaps by Arnold Clark who is probably the most successful motor trader in the Uk.

Arnold Clark is a Scottish business, incidentally and anyone interested in marketing could do worse than study this business, also , perhaps, another few Scottish success stories of recent years,eg,
KWIK FIT , SMILEY ( NOW NATIONWIDE ), JJB SPORTS ETC.

What they all include in their marketing strategy, is PRICE AWARENESS.

Think about it.

r m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Len Gribble on January 31, 2006, 08:43:50 pm: Rob

Agree but who owns them now! One on you list thinks of me as a nightmare, do like life time guarantees. In my former life most if not all overseas managers were Jocks (this a team of endearment)

Len
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on January 31, 2006, 09:01:39 pm: The point of who owns them, now, is irrelevent Len. The point being, that their marketing skills resulted in massive success and these gents becoming multi millionaires, as a result.

Just used a couple of well known companies to illustrate a point, could just have aesily been Branson, or Dyson, or ????????????

Sad old world, when you have to qualify the use of the common term Jock !

rob m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Len Gribble on January 31, 2006, 10:05:00 pm: Rob

Point taken Branding is a must! Will I go back after the warranty runs out a big NO! Silly old sods I keep old motors and store

Yes a sad NEW world! Just being PC some people get so upset! So I thought I had to quantify and not be termed a as you know what! Which I, am not Dose citizenship comes before nationality, what a quandary

Len
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Spot On cleaning on February 05, 2006, 09:52:51 am: I have put in 2 commercial quotes recently, and nothing back from them. I think the answer has to be something along these lines.

I never worry about time. I your goal is to make £200 a day in 4-5 hours great. If it takes you 6-7 so what. You are still making your £200. In other words, if in the back of your mind you think that they will think your price will be expensive, lower it. I don't know what equipment you are using, but obviously after spending £20000 on a new Truck Mount, i am not going to keep oosing work.

Three years ago i was made redundant from the cable industry. I worked for Pirelli and made very expensive optical cables for them. In 1991 because of my shift pattern i was earning £25000 with overtime a year with some on the other shift patterns hitting £34000 with overtime. Big money in 1991. However 4 years later with a change to shift patterns, my basic went down to £17000. Redundant in 2002, i finished up on £20000 basic which was under £10 an hour for a skilled job.

What am i earning today? £40 - £60 an hour when i can get it, but if i work a bit longer to get it then so what if i am then working for £20-£35 an hour. Look in your local jobs pages. Dont be too greedy.

I quoted £340 for a large doctors surgery with lots of consulting rooms. The carpet was dirty and i explained that removing marks was time consuming. Nothing heard from them. I wish id have gone in with £240 and worked a bit quicker. Still good money for a days work. Chemicals cost pennies and my fuel bill for my Truck Mount is only 8% or approx £19. Good profit and maybe they will have you back.

Another thing i do is to ask them how long since the carpet was last cleaned and if not how old. Then i use this method. I dont know whether it works well as yet though.

Cost to clean = £240 Divided by age in weeks or date last cleaned in weeks
say carpet is approx 4 years old and never been cleaned so is 200 weeks old

Example 240 divided by 200 weeks = £1.20

Tell them the carpets upkeep is £1.20 a week and if it was not left so long it might have been cheaper.

In your case though, £250 was very low for what you have described. Would you have done it for this price? Do you have lots of work to write this job off, and was the md bluffing you with this quote to force your price down.

It's a difficuly business. Sometimes you have to hold your ground, but don't go overboard to the detriment of our business. I hope this helps you in some way. I would like your feedback off this please.

Dave
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Doug Holloway on February 05, 2006, 10:42:09 am: Dave,

You have made the classic mistake , made by people who come from salaried employment into running their own CC business .

To run a successful business you need to invest and repair and replace equipment.

Your £20,000 set up will be worth , say £5,000 in five years time, thats depeciation of £3,000 a year ,£60 a week!

Repairs approx £1000 a year,insurances £1,000 a year,etc

Point being that when you were salaried all expenses in relation to your job were taken off before you were paid , now its the other way round.It probably cost Pirelli £60,000 a year to employ you.

I am a great believer that the maths when done properly never lie , so don't underprice yourself , your worth more than that.If you want to offer a low price on a particular job because you need the money thats fine but don't fall into the trap of being too cheap.

cheers

Doug
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Spot On cleaning on February 05, 2006, 10:57:21 am: Good point Doug

When you look at it this way you are right. I used portable for 3 years which i spent 5k on. All i ever spent out on was a new vac motor which i fitted, so profits were good. I've had a tm since Aug 05 so am moving hopefully in a new direction. As i have been in the business only 3yrs six months, it's still early days. Surely a business succeeds from a certain point then it's relatively down hill of sorts and you are established.

Dave
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: cleaning co on February 05, 2006, 11:08:14 am: dave imo to go from a porty to a truckmount u hav to hav the amount of bizz to justifie it , a truckmount will not and i repeat will not get u more work it might make your jobs more easy and faster but u got to get more work if u can just to pay the extra expence it cost to buy and run a truckmount, when u was using a porty and earning say £500 week with low costs did u not think if i buy a truckmount ive got to find £800 to make the same profit as my porty ? just a thought
gary
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Spot On cleaning on February 05, 2006, 01:06:53 pm: I went to a tm because a lot of my areas where work came from was now being service by a second hand unit that i could have bought. When i first became self employed, i kjnew that if i earned x only, the working tax would be y and wed survive. On the basis of this, our earnings needed to be kept low or receipts high.

In a way, it can be a millstone because i need a lot of commercial work to achieve what i would lose here plus an additional sum on top to make it worth while to loose it.

There must be others in a similar position out there. When i first started i only needed to earn £79 a week to pay all my committments. The tm is bought outrigt and we did this on the house because we had a small house with a lot of equity on it. As a qualified motor vehicle technician, this tm will last more than four years, that i am determined. As for the vehicle, it's 3 years old and could last another 7 years. We'll wait and see.

Dave
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on February 05, 2006, 05:20:18 pm: hi doug holloway
glad you pointed all this out. i had a job passed on to me the other day he asked me what i charged for a 4 bedromm townhouse carpeted through out plus a 3 peice suite with 5 seats after i told him he said he had a quote of £260 to do the whole lot including scothguard. i told him i doubt that very much . he said he would get back to me. 10 mins later he rang back and aslked me to do the whoile thing for £280 i told him no . i dont want him to play me off with other c/cs tryiong to undercut to a level thats quite ridiculous. we all need work but i refuse to haggle to such an extent with such ar###les. i have spent quite a lot of money in the last few months as an investment not to let some chancer take advanyage of the equipment and training i have laid out for.
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Doug Holloway on February 05, 2006, 05:30:28 pm: Hi Guys,

We all go through tough periods and CC is a hard business to get established in.

However once established you can be choosier in who you work for and at what price.

I have always found it better to have pretty much fixed prices and to stick to them , this gives you confidence and reassures the customer that you are not just plucking figures out of the air.

Its worth working out what your true costs are because it's very easy to think what you receive , particularly if its cash , is your wages., it's not :'(

I certainly did this in the past.

Having higher prices also allows you to buy better equipment , get better training etc

Cheers

Doug
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on February 05, 2006, 09:51:10 pm: Carpetclean

Why is someone who is seeking the best deal an a/h, do you honestly never attempt to get the best price when buying a product or service!!!!

In spite of the many posts on forums about targeting people with high income, the reality is, the people with money are more likely to try to beat you down, unless you appear to be competetive in the first place.

Nobody gives a damn about your outlay, your overheads, or running costs and many tradespeople have considerably higher running costs than c/c s.

What your prospect wants, is value and different people perceive value differently.

You should be flexible in your approach. Being stubborn and inflexible will only result in other people getting profitable work and .........what about the referrals

You can't win them all and you are being offered a pretty good return for about three hours work

r m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: the red carpet on February 05, 2006, 10:26:34 pm: i would of done a 4bed house and 5 seater suite for £280 and been happy enough about it, even with your overheads theres gotta be about £200 profit there for 1/2 a day to a days work depending how quick you are and what equipment your using.

(i done a 4 bed house today £210 took me 5 hours)
( and iv gotta 3 bed in the morning £190 will take me half a day)

i think a couple hundred pound a day is good money.

what do you aim to take in a day
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on February 05, 2006, 10:40:34 pm: Completely agree Red

r m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Spot On cleaning on February 05, 2006, 10:46:13 pm: This is what i am saying. In future when i price for commercial jobs i am going to be more flexible as well. £200 a day for 8 hours is still good money.

Dave
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: scott. on February 06, 2006, 03:21:37 am: Dave
Had to give a quote for a commercial, last friday. It was 1000sq ft of carpet tiles and was in a terrible state, with water stains, black stuff, and lots of other nasties all over. Normally I charge £3 a sq meter for a job like this, as it would take around 3-4 hours..around £275 without the nasties..I had to quote them £700 for the extra time it would take to try and rectify it......so flexability is good.....I think they got a quote for £200 in the end...good luck to whoever didnt survey it first :)
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on February 06, 2006, 06:12:14 am: therapist point taken i suppose you are right.
But i admit to not being as quick as some people on this forum though as you say it is a good wage for the day but where do you draw the line it was saturday i have two young children who needs my time and to be honest i did not like the persons attitude i have been in business for many years and learnt to read the signs. i have done very well with the same approach in decorating ,without going in to details there was one main reason i did not want to work for the man. also there would be no referals from him. but i respect and take on board what you are saying
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on February 06, 2006, 06:35:45 am: scott win some lose some
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on February 06, 2006, 10:18:30 am: The only time I walk away, is when someone attempts to get considerably more work without additional cost or attempts to get a lower price than previously agreed'

This is common to a particular ethnic group and where I previously overquoted, slightly, to allow for the ' bargaining ' I got so fed up with it, I now quote the work at a rate which guarantees they will look elsewhere.

This is not bad business and I will not elaborate on a public forum, so you can draw your own conclusions.

r m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: Ian Gourlay on February 06, 2006, 10:37:42 am: Quote from: the red carpet on February 05, 2006, 10:26:34 pm
i would of done a 4bed house and 5 seater suite for £280 and been happy enough about it, even with your overheads theres gotta be about £200 profit there for 1/2 a day to a days work depending how quick you are and what equipment your using.

(i done a 4 bed house today £210 took me 5 hours)
( and iv gotta 3 bed in the morning £190 will take me half a day)

i think a couple hundred pound a day is good money.

what do you aim to take in a day

I am told it is possible to do 10k a month working single handed

So that means I would like to take £1200 a day.

Would that be nice ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: HolmansUKLTD on February 06, 2006, 11:31:31 am: To be fair to carpetclean i passed the job onto him and i have recieved £3.50p perm2 of this client before, so i think he was definantly trying it on, also i told him he wouldnt get a price over the phone, he did and then played it against another companys price. I would have gone and priced on the job and offered him a take it or leave it price he had people moving in at 4pm!! he was probably telling fibs about the other companys price! but you learn this with expierence Allways try to quote the job insitu you never know what you can get. ;)

Regards

Nick
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: therapist on February 06, 2006, 07:34:35 pm: Ian

I can see how a female might make 2.5k per month ' single handed 'not so sure about a male.

Damn, my tongue seems to have lodged in my cheek.

r m
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: carpetclean on February 07, 2006, 06:33:27 am: thanks nick
whats this about your fascination with leather!!!??
Title: Re: Is the carpet cleaning world going mad
Post by: HolmansUKLTD on February 07, 2006, 08:02:04 am: If you Watch Andy Allcock on the course he is very hands on!! the way he rubs the products on etc!! now i know why ;)