Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: AquaMagic on May 22, 2007, 06:28:23 pm
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Does anyone know the national average cost per square foot or per square meter for carpet cleaning?
Dene
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no, a simple answer, but true.
no one does know the 'national' average, people can guess but an official figure doesn't exist.
Mike
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National averages are what politicians talk about, in other words FICTION.
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Just wondered if any of the NCCA directors had a rough Idea?
Ken????
Dene
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To find a national average, would require people to give information, honestly and freely, it simply does not happen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Dene
I would have to agree with others here that this sort of information is not available.
I'd have to ask Who would compile it? Who would supply the information? What would be the criteria? Who would pay for the process? What would be their gain?
Safe and happy cleaning :)
Ken
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Dene
contact NCCA they should know
Respect
Ian Harper
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I wondered if maybee the NCCA had reasearched this kind of thing, it would be a great advertisment to our trade if you could suggest carpet cleaners on average earn say £40 an hour (for example). Another possible source would have been one of the larger franchises. I was hopining one of them had reseached an average cost to help set thier own prices, im sure they wouldnt share this info but thought maybe an ex disgruntled frenchisee would reveal all. Another reason i asked is becuase im sure ive heard someone mention a figure before but cannot remember if it was on here or at a training course, open day etc.
Dene
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Ian, Ken is an NCCA Director.
Dene
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If everyone was totally honest, you could work your own average ticket price over, say, one year, then poost it on here and call it The CIU Average or whatever.
It would be too complex to do an average per SqM or whatever, hourly rates are not usually recorded plus some will include set up and travel time and others don't. For myself, I've got better things to do than go through all my old invoices and work out a typical ticket price.
Safe and happy cleaning :)
Ken
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Oo ken you bad man!
The best businessmen (that includes you) know thier figures, you yourself endorse the charging of better prices to make an honest living in our industry so you must know your figures somewhere.
As for a national average how would you work it out? there are so many different ways, ie if you have multiple items at a job 3pc, lounge, diner, hsl, 3 bedrooms you may want to discount your price as the work won't take as long in 1 trip (breaking it up) as 7 trips with travel and expenses.
I got a pack from DP print and some cleaners on their leaflets had prices of from £15 a carpet, I start from £59 there is too much difference to work an honest average out.
Shaun
PS don't start on suite prices!
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I dunno if a national average is relevant at all. What's important to me is what my local competitors are charging, and how their service compares to mine.
If I can offer a better service for the same price then I'm on to a winner.
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Calmore i coudnt agree more, ill tell you what got me wondering, i saw a post on a US forum about dealing with price shoppers, there was a guy who said " i can sell you it will cost you no less than $55 other than that all i can say it it depends on size of area but i am less expensive than the national average" He quoted thoer national average which got me owndering about ours.
Dene
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Hi
On that basis you know yourself if your slightly higher or much higher than average by how many quotes you convert.
If you want every job you need to be very good at selling yourself be average priced an quote on site.
Change any of the above & your convertion rate would go down.
If i were starting again I would charge higher than average prices, but i accest that is simplistic.
Dave
PS If you say to Mrs Brown that will be £100 & she say thats much to dear, you may as well have said £200.
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Well, I expect the national average is on the high side, what with Ch*mdry and whatnot.
When faced with the question of prices you could always reply: "In the long run far cheaper than a splash and dash merchant that will leave you needing a new carpet"
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If you say to Mrs Brown that will be £100 & she say thats much to dear, you may as well have said £200.
Very true.
Whilst on the subject, why is it that it's only the middle earners who don't moan about the cost?
Low earners you turn up and quote £100 and they say "too expensive". I can understand that, they don't have any money.
Middle earners you turn up and they accept whatever price you quote..
High earners however, will quibble over a couple of quid! "will you do a £5 discount for cash?", "can I pay by monthly installments?" " can I get you to do it at 3am Tuesday morning for twenty quid and a packet of biscuits?"etc..etc.
Despite the fact there's a £45K Audi on the drive and the house is worth £500k they still want to argue about pennies!
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That's why they have "Pennies"
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true, they are the worst ones to work for pain in the axxe
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Interesting reading lads but have any of you ever asked the client what they think it should cost when they say its to expensive?
Lets say the job total is £100 and they say they will only spend £80!
Your now faced with two things either you turn round and leave or stand your ground and sell the extra £20, after all in their mind they have already spent £80 so the difference between them having the job done or not is £20.
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Hi Guys
In expensive to live areas like the South East and especially London, quoting anything to do with the national average would be counter productive as almost everyone accepts prices generally, are above this average.
Remeber price is also associated with quality so advertising below the nat av. would only get you low quality work.
Cheers
Doug
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In one of Alltecs leaflets they quote a National Average figure, as part of their Fast-track pitch.
I remember a few years back I filled a survey in for Alltec to get some freebies.
But its hard to admit you charge 10p a square foot.
You may laugh bit if you look on Extractas web site that is the price they quote. Unless they have updated it.
If someone did a survey on this site I would be inclined to reduce the average buy 25%
When I studied Market research I was told you need to survey at least 1000 people.
Also you would have to build in regional bias ie you could not have a survey with everyone in North West cleaning Wayne Rooney's carpet to come up with a meaningful figure.
Usually we get about 30 to 40 people responding to polls so it would be a meaningless exercise.
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I got some literature at Alltec on a course i did run by Paul Pearce and it had a national average per square foot in there
from memory i think it was 33p
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It may have been Paul Pearce i heard it from as he and Pawlo run the NCCA course i went on.
Dene
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I think Dene will say the same as me in our area 33 p per sq ft is very high even within the YP, talking to some cleaners I know I would say 15p per sq ft is a good or better average to start. When you start meeting cleaners who go on training courses whoever they are run by because of their professionalism (not the way they clean but the way they want to enhance their knowledge) the average price in that room goes up.
Shaun
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On a course attended last year with Paul Pearce we had some hand outs one of them quoted a .32p per sq. ft. as an national average
Regards
Mark
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Hi
In my area there is a CC who charges 14p.
There is WC who charges 21p.
I charge more than both, but not added together.
Dave
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what's a W.C.?
I thought it was water closet :o
Shaun
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Hi
Window Cleaner, do try to keep up.
Dave
PS I would say Shaun Ashmore charges more than average.
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did a carpet job today for £135.00 took 45 minutes
next job was a suite, cost £182.00 took 2.5 hours
thanks for advise Shaun.
id rather just do carpets but the guy that had the suite done has just booked in £244.00 worth off carpet cleaning
some days are better than others, and so are some jobs
it seems to me that there is no north- south devide when it comes to cleaning
people are either willing to pay or not
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i did a £150 yesterday took two hours, but you know what their thinking when they give you the cheque.
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worth every penny? ;)
Mike
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lol ;)
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Yes Shaun, id say 33p is top end here other than perhaps Chem Dry, im not that expensive yet, but aim to be once ive built a decent size customer base and of cousre when i am knowledgeable to justify theese higher costs.
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Dene if you have 1 week full then try for higher prcing, that's what I did because the jobs are all already there for you to clean and the money is nearly in the bank so you can afford to experiment a bit.
One thing I did learn is that if you are booked to saturation how can you earn more and improve? well it is to increase your price, if you are getting price resistance then firstly alter your technique of selling if that doesn't work then you can always go back to your old price structure. Higher prices are good when you want to offer a good customer who refers you alot a discount and also if you get a price resistor and you really want the job you can always knock a bit off and make a decent living.
Shaun