Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: tomh on June 19, 2006, 08:09:34 pm
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just ready to start trading now & have some adverts coming out in several parish/town mags & have put on a typical price guide as cheaper than printing leaflets & delivering them somehow.
i have put a price of £40 lounge £55 through lounge if they want it protected £60 - £78ish which is not printed, but how do you go about pricing odour control & alergy treatments ? as a guide please
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It's always good to charge for sloutions man power to get the job done all included or you will come across as bait and switch (is that the corect phrase ::) ) we offer packages
James
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ok yeah i see where your coming from there James & thanks !
but say you or i have been asked to clean someones carpets get the job & a week later phone rings it's them & they spilt a glass of red wine which has stained no chance of complete removal on there wool carpet
they go but it say's stain protection on your advert ! or something simlar that you have not been invited to price for.
of course we are going to sell our add on's but really most are just going to want clean carpets & if you price for all these chemicals & there aplication's you would be priced out of every market.
if we were a plasterer's & were asked to skim a wall we wouldnt be able to say ok well i've price to chase back to brick work & damp proof as well !
Tom
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not sure if i am reading it right. but surly you would have it on the survey report. what you are doing exactly. it would state if it was guarded or not and signed by the customer and you
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the question was as a guide how do you price for add on's like odour & alergy treatment ?
as a guide i have been told to add half the cost to clean a room on top to protect it too ! so my prices would be lounge £40 clean only & £60 clean & protect !
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If you work out the price of protector I do not think you will leave yourself enough profit.
Dont forget the people who told you to add half the price for cleaning a room could be charging more than £40.
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As Ian has said you really need to be charging more for the protection. I know I deal in a higher paying
bracket but that shouldnt make any difference. The cost of protection to us is very high compared to
that of any normal cleaning chemical so why would you want to give it away so to speak. As for
cleaning a room for £40 I think you need your head read anyway. As Ian suggested to give the
protection away at half price would only work to a degree if you were charging considerably more in the
first place. I.E. if you charged £80 or £100 and then £40 or £50 to protect you are then somewhere
where you need to be to make a profit. £20 to protect a lounge and then may have to provide free spot
removal isnt going to make you any money. I have to admit that sometimes I do only charge for half
the cleaning costs but my cleaning costs are shall we say a wee bit above 40 quid for a room, of any
size. Anyway a through lounge if done correctly will cost you more than £20 to do if you are using a
good protector and most important, applying it correctly Best, Dave.
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ian and dave are right, cus your price is low, (same as mine) when it comes the protect i charge just a nats ass under price to clean say 35 for lounge, so 40-45 to clean 35 on top protection.
using prochems flouroseal costs about £15 to protect average (15-20sqm) lounge, so 20 s not enough. ;D
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Dave
I know Tom would seem to be pricing on the low side, but I've noticed that your charges are considerably higher than most (not knocking that). I know your using a t/m but my question to you is How does your prices compare with other professional cleaners in your area? Do you struggle to compete sometimes or have you got a strong client base that will support your pricing policy?
Regards, Andy
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ok thanks maybe double the prices for protection ! as i am just starting out many would say charge as you mean to go on, but at £40 & £55 there is some money to be made & plenty of scope for word of mouth !
maybe as i gain confidence in cleaning & more importantly selling myself & services, put my prices up ! dependant on how busy i am
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ok thanks maybe double the prices for protection ! as i am just starting out many would say charge as you mean to go on, but at £40 & £55 there is some money to be made & plenty of scope for word of mouth !
maybe as i gain confidence in cleaning & more importantly selling myself & services, put my prices up ! dependant on how busy i am
In my opinion its better to start as you mean to go on, if you offer a service at a price now then get called back by a customer a year down the line to do a repeat how do you explain a hike in prices, a lot of people appear to sell protection at half the price of the clean, but when you look at the costs involved in materials the clean is considerably cheaper (material costs only).
If the protection was sold at the same price as the clean then the profit level taking time into account for both clean and protection would balance out better (ie more time on the clean, less chemical cost, less time on protection higher chemical costs), Andy
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Tom, if you are just starting out then why would you start charging only the 40 or 55. Believe me it is not enough and
you would be best to start higher. I think most people would agree and as above Andy thinks the same thing. For
those who only pay 40 or 50 only would be glad to pay 30 or 40 to the next person..... As for the word of mouth, you
might be absolutely right but do you want to do a lot of lounges for 40 quid? If you do then thats fine but as you are
just starting out you have the perfect chance of charging say 75, getting the job and then getting referrals for 75.
Again as Andy has said you will find it harder to charge more a year later to the same customer as opposed to the 75
now. Hope that makes sense?................... Carpetmate, for the record it has nothing to do with the truck mount as I
charge more for using a portable. Just that the truck mount is a far superior machine........... I dont compare my prices
with anyone but having said that I work all over the British Isles and I also have a job to do back in California.
Therefore who would I compare too?..........I do know though that near where I live most cleaners try to be price
competitive both the fast trackers and non fast.......... As I dont compete with anyone I dont struggle........... My prices
only appear high compared to the "norm" ...
........ But I do work on some hideously expensive textiles so in fact the "norm" charge more than I do on a percentage
as to the article being worked on............. My client base as you would cal it compiles
of just 4 people. My client base in California is just 17 after 13 years in business there. Best, Dave......
Tom, where are you looking to find your customers? and I meen location not advertising........
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Dave
If you've got to travel to clean carpets all over the UK and to California, its no wonder you got to charge those prices! ;D
Regards, Andy
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As someone said to me when I started out in my previous job (subcontract welder/fabricator), why be a busy fool?
You can work cheaply and work a lot of hours or you can work at a decent rate and work less hours for the same income, whilst it is sometimes hard when you are quoting work and getting some knock backs on price it is easy to lower your price to land the job but,
a) If you feel a job is worth x amount then why do it for y?
b)Once you have lowered your price any prospects you have been recommended to will have price expectations given to them by the recommending client.
c)Once you have lowered your price to land that job, what do you do when the next job comes up, lower your price by a further 5-10% to land that as well?
Better to set your stall and stand by it, if everyone in the business did this then maybe the trade would realise the prices that it deserves.
Although fairly new to carpet cleaning I regularly see customers who ask why I charge what I do when there are some local cc's working at less than a fifth of my prices,and I'm not what I would consider expensive, its all about finding a market for your service at your prices, not chasing the herd, Andy
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hi dave, looking to be based in & around berkhampstead & surrounding villages redboure harpendon hertfordshire inc. parts of hemel ! there is money in these areas but as always getting people to part with it is another thing !
there was a post on here where a guy put up his prices by half & lost his client base yet still managed to make 24k more in that year by doing so.
so will be looking to gain experience as well as make a few £££ then assess the pricing side if things go well with it for me !
people around here are very price sencitive & think nothing of having round 4-8 people price on any job !
i have a small house removal co & work 3 day's max aweek & make a resonable living just but quoting over the phone as most move thusdays- saturdays so this would fill in nicely
my guess is that you work for insurance companys who are more than happy to save a few grand on replacing a carpet whilst still paying you a large amount of money for your front to ask for it or for national trust who have a money to burn & do & people like that ! am i right ? as there really the custy's we should be looking to get
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Andy
I know what your saying BUT the price some cleaners will charge to clean a lounge carpet, the customer can have a brand spanking new one for that and fitted. There's prices & prices. Too high and you lose for a new carpet. Too low you don't make money. A well balanced sensible pricing policy is all that is needed.
Regards Andy
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Andy, I agree, its about a well balanced pricing structure, one that allows for all of your running costs, not forgetting that you dont clean for 8 hours a day, 48 weeks of the year and you dont get paid holidays etc, also there are thigs such as machinery and van costs/depreciation/replacement to consider, and hopefully at the end a bit of profit, Andy
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Do you think insurance companies would pay Dave's rates? not likely :)
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John is actually quite correct. There is no way an insurance company would pay what I want to clean, if
there is I havent met them yet. Specialist stuff is a different subject but cleaning on the whole...not a
chance in hell of me getting what I would want. So I dont touch them with a barge pole..... Carpetmate,
I charge the same wherever it is that I clean. A lot of cleaners wont travel more than a few miles to
clean which is fine whereas I may travel to Edinburgh as I recently did but came home with £3,000. For
a fuel cost of about £120, bed and b for £75..... and all for two days work. That is why I travel so much
and dont have a problem doing so. Remember I am a yank so to travel a few hundred miles for what I
can charge is never a problem. I would love not to have to travel as much as I do but where I live the
average house to clean would be maybe 250 or 300 if you could clean everything. Best, Dave.
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I know what your saying BUT the price some cleaners will charge to clean a lounge carpet, the customer can have a brand spanking new one for that and fitted. There's prices & prices.
That's true Andy, but it depends on whether you're cleaning a Carpet valued at £4.00 sqm or £40.00 sqm or whatever, that determines whether the customer thinks you're expensive, and therefore cheaper to replace the Carpet.
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but it depends on whether you're cleaning a Carpet valued at £4.00 sqm or £40.00 sqm or whatever, that determines whether the customer thinks you're expensive,
Very true Martin, however in my experience the custy often only goes by the size of the room/carpet to be cleaned and not the quality of the cloth. Many ARE consious whether its a wilton, axminister or a cheap nylon felt back to be cleaned but most just want the carpet on the floor cleaned thouroughly & professionally.
Your point is right and valid but my point above is the other side of the coin.
Regards, Andy
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Agree Andy, but it's down to us to 'educate' them. It's not difficult to do when you go into the why's and wherefore's of splash 'n' dash etc.
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Martin S, I agree with what you are saying as to the 4 or the 40 a square yard. Carpetmate, I work on
carpets that cost upwards of 4 or 5 hundred a yard and believe me the customer wants to pay because
of the value of the carpet not just the size of the room it is in. Accordingly any cleaning price wouldnt
come near replacing the carpet. I have a customer that doesnt believe in cleaning his carpets and
therefore replaces it every year to the tune of just over £40, 000. Funny old world isnt it? Best, Dave.
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Dave
Arent you the lucky one to have 4 high profile/value customers that you are able to charge what you do, however for the rest of us we have to charge the prices that are acceptable & sustainable to us and the area in which we work. A newbie reading your posts on pricing can be led into a false sence of get rich quick symdrome which is far from the truth.
I'd love to find just one customer that I could charge £300 to clean their lounge carpet!
Regards, Andy
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so you work for Lex Luthor then ! knew i'd work it out ! he only wear's his sock's once too ;D
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I dont know how to or even want to, quote other peoples posts, however, if you go back and read
Andy A's posts he pretty much covers everything to do with why we should price as we should do...
Carpetmate, I dont feel I am lucky, I put a damn lot of work in to be able to clean what I do. The 4
customers that I have now took me all told about 8 months to get in the first place. You made the
comment about the area that you work in......so change the area..... dont knock me because I go to
where the higher paid jobs might be..... I am not trying to mis-lead anyone by anything that I am
saying, as to the get rich quick my point has always been, you wont get rich even slowly if you are only
charging 40 for a room...... As to the 300 per lounge, do you look for that customer? I think the biggest
difference between what I do and most cleaners is that I go to find the lounges to clean for 300 as
opposed and I pressume which I know I shouldnt, that most cleaners dont...... on a comment of yours,
you mentioned about prices being acceptable and sustainable to us......it is you that accepts and
sustains your prices not the customer...... just the same as I am, its just I wont be dictated to by either
a customer or a market in general as to what they think is acceptable, I charge what I want to do it.....
My suggestion to you and anyone else new or old is to charge what you want to do it not what anyone
else says you should..... Even a starter cleaner can make a thousand a week so it might not be get rich
quick but even at such low pricing it isnt a bad wage is it?.....Last thing, you commented on some
cleaners pricing a similar price of replacing a carpet or at least a price that would have the customer
maybe considering buying a new one. Might I suggest if this is the case you are cleaning the wrong
type of carpet and maybe going after the wrong type of customer. As always, best, Dave.
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Dave,
I would say is a Special kind of Guy.
He is a Smart thinker.
He is not afraid to knock on the right doors.
I am looking forward to him being a Guest Speaker and some event.
If Woodman is not organizing it perhaps it could be one of Kens NCCA days.
Ideally I would also like Gary from Cleaning Co as he has alternitive way.
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Dave,
I would say is a Special kind of Guy.
He is a Smart thinker.
He is not afraid to knock on the right doors.
I am looking forward to him being a Guest Speaker and some event.
If Woodman is not organizing it perhaps it could be one of Kens NCCA days.
Ideally I would also like Gary from Cleaning Co as he has alternitive way.
That could be interesting Ian, 2 very different approaches to running a business,
both appearing to work very well, there could certainly be a lot worth listening to, Andy
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Gary from Cleaning Co is packing in, moving abroad. His gears for sale on here.
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Dave, while I dont want to get into a continued debate with you on the subject of pricing , I feel that the following points need to be raised.
You made the comment about the area that you work in......so change the area..... dont knock me because I go to where the higher paid jobs might be
I live on an Island which is the 7th richest independent Island in the world. We have many thousands of wealthy residents all with fine fabrics & carpeting, however when my telephone rings, I dont pick & choose my customers. Every customer, rich or poor, is important to me whether its a small bathroom or a full house everyone gets treated the same. I dont seek out high paying customers as you appear to as I would not want to 'put all my eggs in one basket', or in your case 4 baskets.
I am not knocking you for what you charge, what I am saying is that from your posts in this forum on pricing, it might give a newbie the impression that they can earn that sort of money in their own areas per job when its just not the case. This business is hard work & competitive.
Like Ian says, it would be very interesting listening to your marketing & pricing strategy as a Guest Speaker somewhere because we all must have alot to learn from you!
Regards, Andy
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John
We could all pop over to Garys pad in Spain.
However as he is moving to Spain he would not be shooting himself in the foot by telling us his Years of experience/
Good luck Gary
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Andy, its alright mate I dont think of it as a debate. I know the Island where you live as I have been a
couple of times, sadly work related but oh well. Of all people you have such an opportunity to do well in
this business for indeed the wealth is all around you. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said
you dont pick and chose your customers. The difference that I see if you are going to make the
comparison is that I do pick and chose my customers. With regards all the eggs as you put it, why not
have all nice baskets? ....... and also my point is that if you treat all customers the same then you are
not going to get into a higher paying customer bracket so to speak, sorry but you just arent. They want
and expect to be treated differently and they will pay accordingly. As for this business being
competitive, again I understand........ so offer a better service or at least a different kind of service so
that you have no competition. If you and by that I meen all cleaners, price the same as most other
cleaners do and provide the same or similar type of service, then you will be just the same as everyone
else and so struggle to get your 50p or 75p a foot. I dont struggle as I have said before but then I
dont do things the way everyone else does. I am not a salesman in anyway shape or form. I am not
any better at what I do than most people I would imagine, purely and simply I clean for the people
most cleaners would want to clean for but dont go and find them, for whatever reason and I dont care
what they are. If I can get the customers that I want then so can most anyone. Of the 4 people I clean
for, not one cleaner of any description had ever approached them to offer their services, this is not my
fault. Not that you are but in general dont knock me for asking these people to be of service to them....
and as long as on the whole we as cleaners dont ask for the work we wont then surprise surprise, get
it. Best, Dave.
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Dave,
I give in - I'll buy you a pint when your next over ;D
Regards, Andy
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Dave
I read your posts with a mixture of envy envy and disbelief. The former for obvious reasons and the latter for..... obvious reasons :). But seriously on the latter would you share who you approach and how? I know for certain that if some of what you say could work for me then I would be a much happier man!
Nigel
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Nigel
I wouldn't even bother going there with Dave. He is a one off yank in a British cleaning market. Stick to what everyone else is saying & doing on here & price accordingly to your area.
Regards, Andy
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Nigel, too much information for me to reply on here and I post enough as it is.... So drop me an e-mail
and I would be happy to go through what it is I do to get what I do...... Carpetmate, might I suggest
you listen to what some people say on here as opposed to attempting to slag them off. I have only
ever tried with my postings on here to get people to maybe change their ways to what I feel might be
a better way of doing them. It is not for everyone to change as each to their own but if someone asks
a question of anyone, particularly for some sort of advice, why on earth would you discourage that
question....... Your last post suggested for Nigel to stick to what everyone else is doing on here and
price accordingly to your area. If that is the case then Nigel will end up the same as you and a lot of
other cleaners who struggle to get 50 or 75p a square foot. At least he has the dangly bits to ask of
someone else with an answer of it maybe, just maybe being of some help for him. Might I also suggest
it is your lack of dangly bits that keeps you where you are and posting what I feel is nonsense. If we
dont aspire to want to be better then we wont. As long as you or anyone else is happy where you/they
are and doing what you/they do then that is fine. From what I gather from most people on here as
well as cleaners in general, that is not the case. Hence the question from Nigel. It would be a bummer if
Nigel ended up going to the Island you are on to clean a house you should be cleaning.......but as long
as you dont want to go and get that job, then it will be me or people like Nigel that get the customer.
As always, best, Dave.
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Dave
I don't slag people off, even when they deserve it, Im too professional for that. For your information my business is not struggling at all. Last year my company turned over £326,000 and Ive added cleaning as an additional service. I sold my previous business for £270,000 three years ago, so I must be doing something right.
When I place a post on here you dont seem to read it thouroughly enough and forge ahead with a reply which is completely irrelevant. Continue with your 4 customers and high prices but dont keep talking down to cleaners who want to charge a fair and reasonable price to their customers. The other day you quoted me £500 - £700 to clean a lounge carpet 4m x 4m, how ridiculous.
Are you trying to live the American DREAM in Britain! Well dream on!
Regards, Andy
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Andy, your last comment was a bit mis-leading...... You asked for an idea of what a job would be and
wanted a middle to upper quote to clean a "bad" carpet. As it was a "bad" carpet I suggested £250 to
clean it...... I then suggested for you to charge 7 or 8 hundred to fully restore it.... Carpet up and taken
away to be cleaned......underlay taken up and thrown away..... sub-flooring treated as needed.......
maybe even new gripper rods............new underlay supplied and fitted.........carpet re-fitted and maybe
even cleaned again at this stage ... As I said 7 or 8 hundred not sure where you got your 5 to 700 that
you had said I said. As regards reading a post thoroughly I refer to the above........ If I have ever talked
down to anyone on here then I openly apologise as it has never been an intent to do so. Gary and I
have gotten into a few discussions on pricing but it has never been a down talking by him or me to the
other. On the subject we may differ as is good to do so but we have never talked down to each other...
As regards your last comment, I came back to this country for various reasons, none at all related to
cleaning issues or to have anything to do with this industry. My dream as you call it is related to being
in the U.K. not the U.S. again for various reasons. Best, Dave.
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Dave,
We'll put this subject to 'bed' and let it drop down the grid to the bottom of the pile. It's obvious we are both strong charactors with different views (of which as I have said, always respected yours).
Regards, Andy