Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Mike Halliday on May 11, 2014, 09:56:05 am
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What would your response be to a customer who says to you"......
" that seams an awful lot of money for 2hrs work"
I've had something similar twice over the last 3 weeks and it's hard to justify the price in a way that makes the customer change their mind, they paid me but I could see they were not convinced.
The problem is if they think they have been overcharged ( ripped off) then no matter how great a job you did they will no use you again or recommend you.
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Although I wasn't in your position as every conversation is different but you could build cost into the equation ie the best chemicals, expensive to run machine, also you could say that it would take longer if you brought your smaller machine but that would leave it wet through which actually means you are offer quality and not the poor inferior wet clean.
Shaun
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Or the old, "You're not paying for what I do, you're paying for what I know". i.e. experience.
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If you wanted a huge trench dug in your garden, would you want someone to use a spade or a JCB?
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Your not digging a huge trench though your probably cleaning a bog standard lounge/diner.
Most customers don't care about your overheads...they don't care that you have to charge for the days when you have only one small job on....after all why should they pay for the times when your sat on your ar*e.
Just as low prices bring poor workmanship (usually) which puts people off having it done again as they think it's the norm......so too does too higher prices, they get a £50 per hour type quote and think "is that how much it costs, sod it I won't bother" and don't bother as they think that is the norm.
This is purely in the domestic sector, commercial is a whole new ball game.
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When I was in sales we were taught that 80% of what we say to a customer is not believed,
if we show them something visually (eg: a graph showing heat loss through a single glazed window) then 30% still will not believe it.
The only way for a customer to believe something is if.......they say it.
So from this I I've stopped trying to explain it I just accept they probably won't call me again or recommend me.
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When we try to explain it, we say that "because we dont bring in a small machine that needs constantly filling and emptying, and because there are 2 of us - we are much more efficient than someone on their own - so we should be done by approx 1pm as opposed to 3pm. That way you can also get on and do other things in the afternoon".
It is hard though when sometimes they say "oh, you've finished already?" Do we lose any clients because of this misconception of 'I paid ££ and they were done by so and so time, so was I ripped off'? Who knows, but I suspect maybe one or 2 definitely. But then I hope they use someone else and then they say to themselves: "I preferred the other company because they did a better job - and they were quicker, I'll call them again next time" I think we actually had one of our clients do exactly this a while back.
It's a numbers game and you just have to try and do your best.
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I say it would have taken an ordinary man much longer ;D
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Last year i was asked to go and give my opinion after another carpet had cleaned it (a truck mount incidentally and one of the larger franchises). As it was quite local to where i live i said i would go and take a look. The lady explained that she had her whole house done, 3 beds and it took 2 of them less than an hour to do and she was not very happy as it had cost around £200 and she was not very happy with results. I went round around 3 or 4 hours after they had left and carpets were still damp and to be fair the carpets had seen better days. I explained what i would have done, how long it would have taken me (around 3 1/2 hours for high powered portable and one man) but i did say considering the age and condition of the carpets i doubt i would have got them any cleaner. However she did say that next time she would book me as she thought that although i would have been a little bit cheaper she perceived i would do a better job as i would take longer to do it.
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How much are we talking?
Simon
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The one last week was £220 for just short of 2 hrs, this is for 2 of us. It was a good rate but the job went perfect with no problems .....and it was worked out on the size .
he got a lot of cleaning for his money and he was happy with the work, he just was really sarcastic about buying some kit himself and "making a fortune"
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Hi Guys
I have had a few recently where I have thought that was quite a lot of money per hour but in each case the customer has been really pleased and the expected 'wow that was quick' has not come up.
If it does I just say something like, it's going to be a bit more expensive with a TM because of the cost of buying/running but you have got a much better job, usually does the trick but most customers will not come back for a whole host of reasons, so it's not worth worrying about providing you are happy you cleaned it to the highest standard.
Cheers
Doug
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Think you're focussing on the wrong thing. If you only get 3 people say that in a blue moon you don't need to be bothered with these people. In fact I bet much cheaper people than you are getting it said to them all the time.
You are only a cleaner though at the end of the day so you can understand why they think that. It's not like you have a trade or anything.
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It's when they say "Is that all?", I get upset! ;D
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I don't understand, I have never had that conversation !! Why would it even take place.
You go to quote and qualify results.
job is £x amount.
You do the job and get paid.
So where does this conversation come into it?
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This has been mentioned to me a few times this year.
I just tell them that before we even start on a job that each job costs me £10 in advertising per job and not every job is of high value.
If their is 2 of us I just explain that we use 2 machines as well and 1 operator would normally take more than twice the time.
If they are still on about it I will them that we travel about 25mins to and form each job so you can add an hour on to the working time and then their is the cost of vehicle fuel/tax/mot/insurance/business use insurance/tool insurance/vehicle maintenance then their is tax/national insurance/bank charges/insurance/chems/uniforms/stationary/machine parts,labour/mobile/phone direction/travel and training costs and on and on and on. :P
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Paul .... but do you work on your own or with another operator. This has only happened to me when we have 2 on a job with 2 machines.
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From time to time it happens the answer has to be fulfilling and probably a bit smart, like 'well you've left me to it so I've got on with it' or 'these machines are very expensive but they do clean well' the idea is to move the conversation in a different path or to give an acceptable answer some people have to have the last word or say something just to say something like Kev says it is a bit of a numbers game.
Didn't you use to give approx timings of jobs? Perhaps you could say ' it could take between 2 and 3 hours on my own or if my son/helper comes the half that time' then you have pre warned them at quote stage.
Shaun
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I don't understand, I have never had that conversation !! Why would it even take place.
You go to quote and qualify results.
job is £x amount.
You do the job and get paid.
So where does this conversation come into it?
my thoughts exactly - never do a job without either the customer having had a price beforehand or trusting us to do a good job for a fair price - if people ask for a cheaper price I say very sincerely and politely "which part of MY service do you want me to leave out?"
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Paul & Buck'. You are not understanding the situation.
the customer knows the price before hand what they are questioning is the amount of time it took, not the quoted price or the quality of workmanship.
They are not even asking for a reduction in the price.
hence my first sentence and title ....'an awful lot of money for 2 hrs'
In essence the only thing I could have done wrong is not tell the customer exactly how long the job would take, but unless someone ask I don't discuss the time scale of the job
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The only thing to do is go into the room in your white coats and Masks tell customer for saftey keep out Seal the doors and read the paper for an hour :o :o
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"That's a lot of money for 2 hours work", I'd just say "Yes, if only it were all profit". I don't get into justifying things, like that. They don't understand the business side of things, just the amount of money they are parting with, often comparing it to their own income and rate per hour. Another thing they don't realise is how much their employer, is charging per hour for their labour. What they charge per hour at your local garage is much more than they pay the mechanic, it's the same thing.
Dave.
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I always state how long it will take beforehand .
This job was 4 hours (2 men x 2 hours) plus travel = 5 hours , 220 is not a lot for that.
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Think you'll find, Jason, that 95% of people who aren't self employed and a lot who are would disagree that £110 for 2 hours work is not a lot.
My Father and my Brother are both self employed builders so I see a lot of tradesmen when they are around and believe me if I told them £55 an hour was not a lot they would laugh.
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We spent 2hrs leafleting to get the job 1 hour driving to do the quote, 2 hrs to do the work 1 hours travel time so really it was 11 man hours...... I should have charge more :D :D
But all the customers sees is you got here at 9 and left at 11 .......2 hours
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Plumbers and other trades regularly get paid a lot per hour for completing simple jobs to them but impossible for others. Sometimes its the set up and machinery being used that dictates the price not just the knowledge.
I would of politely explained to him that yes you could go and get some equipment and do it yourself - but explain that investment for van, TM and everything else needed will cost him probably 20k and then years of experience to acheive what you did.
So to turn up and earn what you did isnt over the top when you think that for him to do the same would of cost him thousands in equipment and interest repayments.
Now if you had turned up with a Vax machine that would be different but believe me if a plumber turned up to his house and had to use the same value machinery to do a 2 hour job, it would of cost a lot more!
Dont take no poope, tell them how it is - it amazes me how some people fart when you tell them a perfectly reasonable price almost expecting you not to make any living. Normally the ones that do can be living in a much bigger house than i could ever afford and driving a brand new BMW or something - we all know how much it costs to run a house so how much disposable income must they have?
Remember - turn over is nothing to do with profit. You can have a massive turn over and just be a busy fool with no profit. He is looking at the turn over of the job, not your profit. We can also be lulled into thinking the same but after all expenses paid, you arent going to be threatening Sir Alan Sugar in the rich list so let them think what they like if they cant understand.
Next time he may well go for a cheapo splash and dasher but sometimes thats the only way they will learn our trade is a PROPER trade!!!
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Exactly Mike, the aren't the least bit interested in the story behind it.
And to be honest I aren't with other tradesmen either.
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The plumber down the road from me charged a customer of mine to fit only an outside tap £100 as it was his min charge.
Don't know who's right?
Shaun
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Plumbers and the like have more of a monopoly than us.
You can do w/o your carpets cleaning but usually if you need a plumber you need a plumber.
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do quote, give price... book it in .. or they have to THINK ABOUT IT... most book it in... dont justify the hourly rate thing.. people who argue very rarely book .. so does it matter.. move on to those who do want your services...i used to argue and try an justify to the peasants .. i mean people.. cant be asked anymore.. lifes to short.
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Here´s what I say when they mention the time/cost...
Guy goes to the dentist and asks how much to remove a broken tooth.
50 quid says the dentist.
How long does it take? asks the guy.
You get 50 quid for 2 minutes work?
If its the time that bothers you I can take as long as you want !! says dentist.
Simples
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It's £50 for one filling but it's also £50 for 10 fillings.
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Quote the price, then when they book, just pre qualify the time by saying something along the lines of " just to let you know Mrs Jones , so you can plan your morning , the job will take 2 / 2.5 hours"
Now they have all the info , the price of the job and how long it will take, if they say anything about the price after the clean just remind then you mentioned how long it would take at the quote.
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I just got a quote from a plasterer for a job that will take one man a full day, £170 including materials.
So £200 for two hours work is surely extortionate given that we are only cleaners ;D ;D ;D
Simon
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A lot of money com paired to what? Did they factor in your travel time, equipment expense, insurance and the time it took you to become educated?
Dont let it bother you.
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I just got a quote from a plasterer for a job that will take one man a full day, £170 including materials.
So £200 for two hours work is surely extortionate given that we are only cleaners ;D ;D ;D
Simon
Blimey Simon, what his number. I got a plasterer to do a job in our kitchen, he was recommended. I had to get all the materials beforehand, he was just charging purely for his labour. He charged us £280.. cash and it took him 3 hours. it was a weekend foreigner for him, as he worked on building sites during the week for a big name builder.
Dave.
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And you paid it????
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Yawn
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And you paid it????
Yes, he gave us the quote a few days earlier. I had no idea what sort of charges plasterers made and he did come highly recommended. Paid then got out of the way for the day to let him crack on. It was neighbor who told us what time he left. He did a good job so we didn't feel ripped off, but when you hear about what other get a job done for........... but then again that's always the case with anything.
We would only have felt ripped off if the job was a bad one.
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Dave Lee has been a carpet cleaner for many years so of coarse he paid it.. cause he's extremely minted