Clean It Up

UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: C.C.S. on November 04, 2008, 10:22:53 pm

Title: prices
Post by: C.C.S. on November 04, 2008, 10:22:53 pm
do u carge perroom orper sq metre .wic one is better and how much?cheers
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Russell Morgan on November 04, 2008, 10:52:52 pm
£3 per sq/mtr is average, iv got a £40 minimum charge, but you should ideally be looking to earn around 360-£70 per hour minimum
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Russell Morgan on November 04, 2008, 10:53:33 pm
you cant really charge per room coz rooms vary in size
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Shaun_Ashmore on November 04, 2008, 10:58:11 pm
preference is yours as long as you get what yu want.

I charge by the sq ft as in the customers eyes it looks honest :o

Shaun
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Russell Morgan on November 04, 2008, 11:04:10 pm
what machine are you using johnny
Title: Re: prices
Post by: C.C.S. on November 04, 2008, 11:08:44 pm
i do have an alltec and a prochem power max
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Russell Morgan on November 04, 2008, 11:12:00 pm
cool, what you need to do is clean your own carpet and find out how long it takes for the size of the room (sq/mtr ft etc), including getting everything in and out of the van, then work out an hourly rate from that and work it into your sq/ft pricing
Title: Re: prices
Post by: C.C.S. on November 04, 2008, 11:17:01 pm
i was wondering first how much others charge?as i wanted to make a differance between sq metre rate and hourly rate
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Russell Morgan on November 04, 2008, 11:18:54 pm
its like playing golf, concentrate on your game and you will play better, doesnt matter what other people charge, you charge for the quality of job you do!
Title: Re: prices
Post by: C.C.S. on November 04, 2008, 11:27:06 pm
it will be helpfull to make myself an ideea first.i see alot of people charging by rooms .i don't find it very helpfull.and would u charge differnt and separate for spots and stains?
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Russell Morgan on November 04, 2008, 11:35:24 pm
yes, you should never give a price over the phone either really unless you have to, always check the carpets thoroughly before giving a price, iv got a little laser measurer, ten quid off ebay, to measure the rooms, gives you the sq/ft or sq/mtr, and looks professional too, if there are lots of stains and you think they will need special treatment then charge extra, its all down to what you want to earn.
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Neil Grainger on November 05, 2008, 05:54:21 am
Why do you guys always charge on size or per room.

What about condition of carpet, amount of stains, is it trashed.

A clean carpet just having maintenance will be easy to clean and not take to long, A trashed carpet could take twice as long, so why do you have a fixed price for anything you do?
Title: Re: prices
Post by: carlton care on November 05, 2008, 07:05:33 am
Means they don't have to think too much ! Or, they are more likely to offer, what appears to be a lower price, to the prospect.

I have always priced by the job.

When you mention sq feet, some are going to come back at you with the well known phrase, " It's only the bit at the door / around the bed / at the kitchen door, etc, that's dirty "

Yeah, sure......................So, do you only clean the collar on shirts, as thats the only bit that APPEARS to be dirty, but we know it's not the case, so the whole shirt goes in the wash.

robert m
Title: Re: prices
Post by: suffolkclean on November 05, 2008, 09:02:17 am
Hi Neil
We have a laser measurer which looks really professional, I get a lot of comments on it. We charge per m2 for a Bronze or Silver clean. As you said the carpet may need a standard clean which takes less time than if its badly stained etc. Reducing the price per m2 for larger areas.
Barbara
Title: Re: prices
Post by: C.C.S. on November 05, 2008, 09:24:30 am
how much would u charge per sq metre ,barbara.i'm trying to make myself an ideea i just had some training and looking to start.thanks
Title: Re: prices
Post by: suffolkclean on November 05, 2008, 02:49:21 pm
Hi johnny I don't think I could share that info. you are too close to home! sorry
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Russell Morgan on November 05, 2008, 04:04:59 pm
Means they don't have to think too much ! Or, they are more likely to offer, what appears to be a lower price, to the prospect.

I have always priced by the job.

When you mention sq feet, some are going to come back at you with the well known phrase, " It's only the bit at the door / around the bed / at the kitchen door, etc, that's dirty "

Yeah, sure......................So, do you only clean the collar on shirts, as thats the only bit that APPEARS to be dirty, but we know it's not the case, so the whole shirt goes in the wash.

robert m
who are you reffering too when you say they??
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Mike Osbourne on November 05, 2008, 05:17:46 pm
all people want to know is what you can do for them better than the other joe and how much it will be. :)
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Kev Loomes on November 05, 2008, 07:34:17 pm
.....but you should ideally be looking to earn around 360-£70 per hour minimum

Where did you get that figure? so for a 6hr day = £2,160.00 - £2,220.00. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong ::)
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus) on November 05, 2008, 08:04:43 pm
Kev

I think thats supposed to read £ 60 -£ 70 per hour

Just a typo.
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Mike Osbourne on November 05, 2008, 08:20:03 pm
Sorry if I'm going slightly off topic, but

Does anybody sometimes think the lengths you have to go to to get business in such a competitive job, the marketing and sales skills you have to have could yield tons more money applying it in something else (even though you love cleaning carpets ;D)
Title: Re: prices
Post by: andrew christopher on November 05, 2008, 08:44:05 pm
Sorry if I'm going slightly off topic, but

Does anybody sometimes think the lengths you have to go to to get business in such a competitive job, the marketing and sales skills you have to have could yield tons more money applying it in something else (even though you love cleaning carpets ;D)

I certainly do! but what! I sold art up until recently as well as running a cleaning company, then felt driving around in my van with no time constraints, no huge overheads earning some cash cleaning a few windows on houses was most appealing!

Andy   
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Kev Loomes on November 05, 2008, 09:02:35 pm
Kev

I think thats supposed to read £ 60 -£ 70 per hour

Just a typo.

I'll let him off then ;D
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Shaun_Ashmore on November 05, 2008, 10:10:13 pm
I was once reading a plumbers forum for fun and they stated that the price what they charged was the price that they could get away with!! but I think we are all like that to an extent, if you are booked up months infront all of the time surely you are too cheap for the quality of work you do??

Shaun
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Ian Rochester on November 05, 2008, 10:33:12 pm
£70/hour and bragging about it, you're just opening yourself up for someone to run in there and undercut you.  Especially a young Romanian, Polish or Latvian lad who's willing to work hard, learn from others on these forums and go out there and take your business away from you.

I defy anyone to be doing that level of work, 37.5 hrs a week
Title: Re: prices
Post by: John Kelly on November 05, 2008, 10:52:00 pm
There aren't many businesses where you can earn the potential of a sensible carpet cleaner. In fact many earn more than professionals who spent 4-5 years studying for their career.
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Ian Rochester on November 05, 2008, 11:01:05 pm
I agree the earnings can be very good, but to say you are earning £70/hr means you are turning over £136,000/year and there aren't many areas in this country where that level of work can be maintained as a sole trader
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Mike Osbourne on November 05, 2008, 11:03:09 pm
Your absolutely right John, but 'professionals' still swap time for money which is the limiting factor whatever the hourly rate.
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Buster Ingram on November 05, 2008, 11:50:48 pm
Mike I can see where your coming from there are other professions that pay far more with less effort but what you have to realise is you are in full control of how much or little you earn. For example I have just spent a little over 12 months as a instalations manger for a vehicle tracking company where the engineers earn well over £100 an hour most are on at least 7 grand a month and all they carry in the line of tools is a screw driver soldering iron and wire stripper. The down side is they have to travel all round the country at all times of the day and night fitting tracking units to vehicle that employed driver don't want fitted!
For me carpet cleaning is the place to be, you can't beat putting smiles on peoples faces. It  served me well for nearly 30 years when I was in Wolverhampton rearing a family and hopfully it will serve me well here in Newbury.  The only down side to the profession are the braggers on the boards who fantasise about what they earn. The next one who asks me what I charge an hour I will swiftly tell them to mind their own business.
How many solicitors do you hear swap storries of how much they have charged a client ?
Yet there are those on here and other forums who open bragg about how well they are doing. Yet if I looked at most of their chemical accounts with suppliers I bet there are not many who  are in credit!

My rant over.   
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Mike Osbourne on November 06, 2008, 12:21:38 am
One of the reasons I like carpet cleaning is I get a great deal of satisfaction when a Client is visibly happier for having me clean their carpet, although for me part of that is the whole experience not just how clean their carpet is.

I strongly believe that value to the client is more to do with your interaction with them more than cleaning the carpet! :o

Have you seen the Argos advert with the bells and whistles department store, well I think most (ok some) people ultimately want that experience, not waiting for your ticket to come up and a spotty teenager hand you a cardboard box.
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Buster Ingram on November 06, 2008, 12:26:37 am
Mike that's the part of the job I missed the most and the reason i'm starting from scratch here in Newbury, the interation with different people every day and not the same old sad face's you get in an office . its great to be back in the real world ;D
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Mike Osbourne on November 06, 2008, 12:30:36 am
Been there done that, worked in office in Reading for yonks, wouldn't swap back for the world, politics and tossers promoted to the level of their incompetence.

Even met David Brent once, or someone just like him. ;D
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Buster Ingram on November 06, 2008, 12:34:04 am
Funny you should say Reading that's where I had to suffer must be the place not to be. Cleaning carpets there is far different than working in an office
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Mike Osbourne on November 06, 2008, 12:48:16 am
If only my future me could have come back in time and said ditch the suit. Money makes you do stuff you don't want to do. Had a nice place in Wokingham 5beds leafy close, all gone now  :'( but happier  :)
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Buster Ingram on November 06, 2008, 12:53:29 am
I was told once that you have never lived unless you have had your arse out once or twice. Those that succeed have gone broke at least once!
Title: Re: prices
Post by: Mike Osbourne on November 06, 2008, 01:01:21 am
Yep your dead right there Dave and I think the credit crunch is actually a good thing for the younger generation.

God that makes me sound old. ;D

My first experience of financial shock was when I did some work for Oracle and they let about half their Consultants go in Bracknell. They lost their job, their beemer and their highly prized fuel cards. An old wise Guru said to me - Son, always have six month money in the bank and never expect more than a months severance.  ;D

Off to my pit now, crafting begins at eight!
Title: Re: prices
Post by: suffolkclean on November 06, 2008, 09:21:44 am
Hi Johnny - I just have to say I'm slightly P***** off with what you've tried to do!

Johnny has emailed me - carpet cleaners near to him, pretending he wants a quote for carpet cleaning. I was a bit suspicious as its the first quote enquiry I've had with each room and the measurements in metres square. I called him to find out where the property was and oh its near Colchester and I knew thats where you were from, the lack of the english accent and your telephone number matching your website?????? I'm not Silly!!I was trying to be helpful in my original post and you've been caught out.