Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Tony Stewart on November 20, 2012, 05:22:18 pm
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Visited a couple of Indian Restaurants near me to try and get some business. I know you guys will say move on there are plenty of others -especially in Birmingham but I was taken aback at this.
Indian 1: Had a company in a month ago. He was a customer.
How much was it
£50.00 (and he had a truckmount)
But he hasn't cleaned the carpet.
What do you mean?
Well you see all that black stuff sitting on the top of the carpet that should have been removed so you can see the actual carpet.I am happy to come in and do a free demo to show you how clean it should be.
But that means it will cost me more and we have just spent £50, and he is a customer of ours, he eats here.
Indian 2
We had the carpet done on Sunday
How much did it cost
£65
But the carpet is still greasy, look you can feel it on your hand and it's still damp. Also the seams have split on the carpet as it's a Belgian Wilton and it has been over wet.
But it only cost £65 look here is the cash receipt.
But what about the carpet that it split?
We are going to get a new one because customers like to see a change.Goodbye.
Indian 3
We use him to clean the carpet.
But he's a waiter.
Yes we hire a machine and he uses it.
But all that black stuff that is leading from the kitchen you have not removed and covered with mats by the bar, should show the carpet underneath.
Will you do it for the same price as a hire?
Italian 1
We have just had it cleaned
But can you see the black marks on the carpet where the traffic areas are? I will come in and show you by cleaning an area for free to show you the quality of my work
You mean you will clean the room for free?
I gave up because I was obviously having a bad communication day.
I am not upset at not getting the business just that some of these guys are so hung up on the price they are oblivious to the quality and the poor cleaning they receive.
Mind you the waiter had one of those smiles that beamed from ear to ear and the restaurant is right opposite where I live. Every time I drive out to go to a job I smile at the thought of him moonlighting as a carpet cleaner.
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Your trying to sell your services to people that dont want it mate, if they ring you for a price then yolu have a little more chance.
saying that i avoid them like the plague, not worth hte hassle and time wasting.
I would spend your time leafletting houses or going round offices and offering a free demo etc.
Good luck ;)
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on the way out, i would of picked up a menu and said "£6.99 for a curry?????? get em in tesco's for £1.99 with rice. could you match that and i'll book a table?" ;D
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Your trying to sell your services to people that dont want it mate
Spot on Mark.
Tony, why do you want to clean filthy carpets?
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Nice one Derek!
Without seeming to be rude, when you are relatively new building a customer base is really hard and sometimes you older guys still comment that you wouldn't want to start now in this climate. it was only that these establishments need regular cleaning.
My domestic side is really easy but for someone who has come to me as a new customer who has had her carpets done for the first time in 12 years I would have to wait a while to ask her if she needed them freshening up again.
Gary - why indeed!! ;D ;D
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We've all been there. It's maddening at the time but quite funny when you look back.
The thing is you are probably more upset with yourself than anything because you are in a position of having to try and reason with these folks. It's the same with those who get angry with letting agencies.
There are miles and miles of carpet just waiting to be cleaned by you at good prices for nice people.
I think you had a lucky escape myself. :)
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Tony this is why we have a problem in this industry there are too many idiots doing a poo job for peanuts, both commercial and domestic.
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Tony,
I had a family of five brothers (in five huge houses in Edgbaston) as customers and they were a nightmare. They really would have had me working for free if they could.
I went to the Alltec Extravaganza and listened intently to Joe Polish's talk on "Sack the customer"
I went home and "sacked" all five of them... then panic set in; "would I ever get any work again? What have I done?" etc.
Within two weeks I had replaced them with nice people who paid a fair price and did not view me with contempt as the others had.
One of the beauty's of being self employed is the ability to get rid of people like those energy suckers.
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Gary you are right. Had a lovely customer today, easy clean at a fair price. Neighbour booked a clean when she saw the results. Just need more!
It was just that I saw the cart before the horse in the sense of looking in a window and seeing a carpet that needs cleaning.
It's so funny went to a letting agent and ended up cleaning their office carpet - if they have all those carpet cleaners doing the EOT cleans why not employ them? Probably because they are cheap and wouldn't want their office personnel working in an office they had cleaned.
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Professional hazard. See a carpet, can't help but look see if it needs cleaning. Have a day out with the family, look at every carpet under your feet. Go on holiday to relax, look at every carpet under your feet. Ahhhh, can't get away from carpet.
Seriously, and i know it's easy to say when you have a diary full of people HAPPY to pay your price, you're selling your time, not carpet cleaning. Sell it to those willing to pay you your worth. Not those who would just as soon use the next Groupon deal.
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Professional hazard. See a carpet, can't help but look see if it needs cleaning. Have a day out with the family, look at every carpet under your feet. Go on holiday to relax, look at every carpet under your feet. Ahhhh, can't get away from carpet.
Seriously, and i know it's easy to say when you have a diary full of people HAPPY to pay your price, you're selling your time, not carpet cleaning. Sell it to those willing to pay you your worth. Not those who would just as soon use the next Groupon deal.
Could not agree more with that
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Problem is there's no use in trying to sell them something they don't want.
All they wanted was a quick freshen up for good value and the carpet cleaner provided just that. The carpet cleaner could have been a real pro but just giving what is required.
I'd go spend 30 minutes there blasting the carpet for £60 if that's all they want. Simple as that really.
Sometimes I get my car cleaned for 3 quid by the machine at BP, sometimes I pay £11 and get humans to do it and sometimes I do it myself for free.
Horses for courses.
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Tony,
Welcome to the learning curve :) :)
Don't dwell on the negative, hold on to the positive - you have learned something. 90% of indian restaurants are a waste of time unless you are a cheapo splash n dash outfit.
However I think your sales approach is wrong. You need to AVOID PRICE.
Go in and ask them a direct question... "I'm a carpet cleaner and I do free demonstrations, when can I come in?"
Obviously the next question they will ask is how much do you charge. Avoid it, tell them you will only know after you've done a demo.
As soon as you've got the chance to make a lovely clean square patch on their greasy blacktopped carpet then they can see why you will get it a lot better than their £60 cheapo man or waiter with a rug doctor. Then you can talk price because you have the ultimate bargaining tool. Start high and do not drop lower than the price you want for it.
By the way I'd avoid the belgian wiltons like the plague, simply a non starter, let them ruin them on their own.
Realistically you might only get the agreement for a free demo from 1 in 10, maybe 2 in 10. But they could be customers for a long time if you get it right.
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Tony this is why we have a problem in this industry there are too many idiots doing a poo job for peanuts, both commercial and domestic.
Exactly!
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belgian wiltons got to love them in restants stright in with the drm , 600 psi full heat goodbye black death and no movement ;)
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Problem is there's no use in trying to sell them something they don't want.
All they wanted was a quick freshen up for good value and the carpet cleaner provided just that. The carpet cleaner could have been a real pro but just giving what is required.
I'd go spend 30 minutes there blasting the carpet for £60 if that's all they want. Simple as that really.
Sometimes I get my car cleaned for 3 quid by the machine at BP, sometimes I pay £11 and get humans to do it and sometimes I do it myself for free.
Horses for courses.
Warren, How do you run a TM on £25 a lounge carpet, I'm curious?
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£25.00 - Lounge (12x12 feet) Is the current deal.
Rooms have to be clear before arrival and we don't move furniture for that.... besides... 12 x 12 feet is tiny
If customers opt for another service they get it and pay another price... Like I say horses for courses.
How much does it cost to run a Truckmount anyway? Its not a jet
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£25.00 - Lounge (12x12 feet) Is the current deal.
Rooms have to be clear before arrival and we don't move furniture for that.... besides... 12 x 12 feet is tiny
If customers opt for another service they get it and pay another price... Like I say horses for courses.
How much does it cost to run a Truckmount anyway? Its not a jet
man after my own hart dont get fooled buy that i charge this i charge that , if you makeing plenty and your happy carry on we doing the same and its workjing well !
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Hi guys
Price always has and always will be a diificult area for a new starter.
Personally I would no more want to do an Indian restaurant for £300 or £30, not worth the hassle but I did in the past and learned the hard way.
CC is a hard business to get established in but if you are able to face to face sell, then sell the quality of the clean not the price, remember to accentuate the benefits to the customer.
Cheers
Doug
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There's no way I make £125 doing 5 jobs. I have a min charge of £60 anyway. Not a chance I'd consider doing any work for £25... I'm no fool
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Warren, when I read your posts on adwords, I thought, this guys switched on. Thats why I was supprised to see you do a lounge for £25.
Maybe some like Susan can make that work, I honestly don't know how they do it.
I used to charge £35 for a lounge, I never made any money :'(
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I have made it a point to not clean for those who don't respect their own carpet, they always turn out to be bad custys.
If they care, I show extreme care for their flooring, however if they don't care, I don't bother.
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Thanks for the help - I thought it was just me doing the wrong thing.
Jim I think you are spot on - I got the letting clean because I started to clean a demo patch and the guy said keep on cleaning (after I got my price ). It's just like Cheshireman says I look at a carpet see the need and try and turn it into a sale. Sometimes we all have to accept that maybe the guys do not want it, but still actually need it!!
I do not want to argue the finer points but Warren it is hard pricing up a Chinese Restaurant at say £320 only to be told that the guy then uses a portable and does it for £190. That is what you think the job is worth to do properly with a truckmount etc etc. You struggle to come back and say "Oh so you want a freshen up then" I know that is a bit simplistic but at least with Jim and Doug you are in a much stronger position because they can see the difference.
p.s. John.....you're right when another Indian restaurant owner said I had it cleaned 3 years ago for £100 and a free meal for two, I managed to keep a straight face and say my wife hates Indian food but what I meant was if your restaurant floor is like that what must the kitchen and the food be like?
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Well to be honest I don't think I've ever won a job for a restaurant because they always want complete restoration.
I quoted a double story pub the other day £1200 and the person who won quoted less than half.
I asked what they wanted to achieve because there was black top and gum everywhere... they wanted all of that to be removed and after office hours so I quoted what it was worth to me in order to do a proper job.
But if they only wanted a quick freshen up and didn't worry about the blacktop and gum then I could have done it for considerably less.
Qualify what the customer wants and what the budget is and then set the expectation. You don't have to do complete restoration is they don't want it
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I find most Indian people very difficult to do business with, at the end of the day they know what they want to pay and if the price you give them doesn't match the price they have in their heads you will never win!
I have seen some absolutely filthy carpets in some of my local Indian restaurants and they use every excuse in the book to avoid having them cleaned... should be tighter rules on restaurant cleanliness enforced by local councils!!
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I find most Indian people very difficult to do business with, at the end of the day they know what they want to pay and if the price you give them doesn't match the price they have in their heads you will never win!
I have seen some absolutely filthy carpets in some of my local Indian restaurants and they use every excuse in the book to avoid having them cleaned... should be tighter rules on restaurant cleanliness enforced by local councils!!
I personally have no problems with Indians,I do a job in a Hindu temple in Manchester,on the other hand Pakistanis and Bangladeshis I find very difficult.
I believe that most "Indian" restaraunts in the UK are run by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.
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im with warren,i price the job to do properly and make a profit
if they want it done great ,i always think they are settling for second best
i used to take it too personal when i priced a job and never got it,
my customer base is full of people that are satisfied with what i do and are ok with the price,you cant win them all !!!!! ;D ;D