Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Mike Halliday on January 12, 2010, 09:51:39 pm
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how many times do you answer them? do you just return their email or do you email them again a few days later or a week later?
and are your enquiries from ignorant people who just write how much to clean my livingroom? or my suites not too dirty, how much would it be?
is it some thing about email that means the normal etiquette of communication goes out of the window
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Usually if they don't leave a telephone number then I delete it, I will contact them over the phone but I must admit alot of these aren't ready to buy the ones that call you are ready buyers.
Shaun
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Hi Mike,
If the enquiry is from someone who has provided their details I will respond, but not with prices. If the enquiry just has a name i.e. Dorris, it's normally from another CC trying to find out my charges and will not get a reply.
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The problem with email or text is a question just leads to another question.
on your contact page you could ask them please leave your name & number if their keen to have the work done this should not present them with any problem if not chances are there tyre kickers. :-\
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this is the email I received today and my reply;
I have two rather large sofas which require cleaning.
Can you let me know roughly how much it would cost?
Cheers
Dylan
my reply...
Hi Dylan.
the cost depends on the type of material, how big they are and how dirty.
it always better for me to give a free home inspection then I can give you a solid price rather than just an uneducated guess.
this also allows me to give you an indication on what we can achieve, we want you to be 100% happy with the result so its better to give you an idea right from the start on how clean it will be on completion,
but don't let this put you off!! we are experts in fabric cleaning & usually exceed our customer expectations
why don't you give me a call on 0800 2989079 and I'll pop along and give you a free quote.
I look forward to hearing from you.
best wishes.
Henry Halliday Jnr
ps; did you receive our £10 off January voucher?
am I wasting my time give such lengthy replies? should I just ask them to call me to discuss the cleaning in person
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Mike
No I don't think your wasting your time. If we give the option of sending an email then we should (unless obvious time waster) respond. Don't see any problem with your response either, ball back in their court, cost you nothing.
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If you have a standard reply you could cut and paste it and just change the rest, I did see a cc who on his form submission page asked for the persons details and then a pull down for carpets, upholstery, rugs etc etc but gave no space for details and it was up to you to follow it up.
I have on my form submission a space for tel no. and best time to call (which tells them I will)
Shaun
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Theres nothing i can see wrong with that reply you could ask them to leave there nunber as well as giving yours
The thing that always makes me laugh is when they say oh i didnt want to bother you
My reply if nobody bothers me then im unemployed.
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Lengthy??! That's a brief post-it note by my standards ;D
I agree you should never give prices by email, and Shaun is right that unless they call or give you their number they're probably time wasters.
It's easy to send an email to 20 carpet cleaners, imagine how long it would have taken in the old days to ring 20 up and get 20 quotes!
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It would be interesting to see how other guys who get the work from email quotes do it. There's a guy who's a fast tracker could be Kevin Barber and do £15000 a month.
Shaun
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Mike, have you been copying my e-mail replies ;D because this is much along the lines I send back.
the cost depends on the type of material, how big they are and how dirty.
it always better for me to give a free home inspection then I can give you a solid price rather than just an uneducated guess.
this also allows me to give you an indication on what we can achieve, we want you to be 100% happy with the result so its better to give you an idea right from the start on how clean it will be on completion
I tend to play them along for a while not giving a price until I'm satisfied that they are serious in getting the work done. If they can't be bothered to answer my questions then I know they can't be bothered with getting it done properly.
Last week I 'fished' one along for a full suite clean as I proved to her that we know our stuff on various materials and methods. Then when I sent her the price £90 and 15 miles away she didn't reply again :D
E-mail enquiries in general are price shoppers and a waste of time chasing.
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maybe she thought you were too cheap ???
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maybe she thought you were too cheap ???
You'd have to be a top notch salesman along the lines of marc d ;D to get anything above that figure in this area.
On the phone I've heard people faint when I've said £90 before
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Well maybe the phone is the problem Neil ??? I refuse to believe nobody could sell a suite clean for more than £90 in your area, there are probably half a dozen firms charging up to £160 or more!
Do you try to go out and quote for most jobs? Why not try it out?
Maybe try to quote your next 10 suites in-home at £130, see how much money you make compared to quoting 10 suites at £90 on the phone. By typical standards you'll win a few less BUT it should work out roughly that you do less work for more money!
In Basingstoke you've surely got to be angled in towards London for a lot of your work? You've got a kind of triangle made up by Staines, Reading & Farnham which must have a really good demographic. It is a little tricky but if you can work in your quotes on a round trip they don't actually end up costing you too much time or money.
Obviously a lot of people work in the day so they're not home. I often have one evening like a Monday or Tuesday where I'll book a few quotes around tea time, so you can economise time and fuel by doing a round trip.
Basingstoke itself is a commuter town isn't it? From google maps it looks like there's a big chunk of those nice estates full of 4 bed detached houses with an Audi and a BMW on the drive. Prime market!
It says under your photo "To solve a problem confront it... so stop digging". If you think about it, isn't it a problem leaving at least £50 behind every time you clean a suite? Confront it by taking radical action :)
"nobody can get those sorts of prices round here" is a comfortable lie that a lot of business owners dig themselves in to!
Sorry to be so direct, I know you'll probably be defensive about this but I really do think you're worth a lot more than you charge! Why not give it a go?
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I've had quite a few jobs that have come directly from my contact form but I find that most tend to be price shoppers. If they don't provide a telephone number I'll send an email asking them to provide one or, alternatively, for them to call me. Funnily enough the ones that come through late at night tend not to turn into jobs! One thing that does annoy me though is when you provide a quote by email and then follow it up most people can't be bothered to respond to let you know if the price was competitive or not.
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Sorry to be so direct, I know you'll probably be defensive about this but I really do think you're worth a lot more than you charge! Why not give it a go?
No problem Jim, I'll happily take advice, tips and the proverbial 'kick up the backside' from people with the experience that you have.
A lot of what you said is correct but some parts weren't. Basingstoke isn't quite as rich as some people think. For every estate with Audi's and BMW's on the drive we have 1.5 estates which you wouldn't want to walk alone at night.
But getting back to the topic heading, I think we'll stop in it's entirety giving out any prices by e-mail, at the very least it will be by phone.
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Liking the sound of those no price replies.
Though - the job I did last Friday came from my website contact us form – it went like this,
“Hi, am interested in a quote please for carpet cleaning at a property recently acquired
It is a terraced property in Middlesbrough 5 smallish rooms plus staircases
Could you provide a rough estimate please?”
Knowing January is quiet I kept estimate prices cheap to get the work – my reply was:
“Hi Keith
Estimate will be a rough estimate as I have no sizes to work with, tho one thing I will mention is 5 carpets and Staircase will attract some discount.
Total around £100 - £120
Please remember you can compare the price of a like for like carpet, but you cannot compare the quality of unkown service providers - I am not the cheapest splash n dash type cleaner - what you will get is top value for money and a proper result.
Thanks for your enquiry.”
He then foned me and I quoted £140, He explained the rooms were all small but very dirty so I said I needed to see the job so went to quote and got the job for £120 cash. He was over the moon that I saved his carpets and he will be calling me again. He also let me know his other quote had been £50 and that the bloke didn’t seem at all professional like me....
The job was a small terrace that they had converted into a 4 small furnished bedsits and 2 staircases (was a clean around furniture) It took me just over 3 hours and the before and after pics of one of the staircases was so good its now on my web homepage ;D
regards Stu
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If the client leaves a phone number then I will phone them and thank them for their e-mail enquiry, then continue with my questions.
If they don't leave a number then I treat the enquiry the same way as if it was a phone enquiry. I go into a lot of detail, sell the benefits and give as accurate a price as I can from the information provided.
It takes 5 minutes to type it out and, if nothing else, it sets me apart from the guy that replies with a one line answer.
Steve
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Hi Guys
If you respond with a one line, no punctuation reply, then you will get nothing.
It's like any other enquiry, if you deal with it professionally then you have more chance of success.
I picked up a thousand pound job just by email, the first time we spoke was when I turned up to do the job!
Cheers
Doug
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What % do you get Steve when you do an email reply compared to a tel call?
Shaun
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Shaun
At a guess, around 75% - if they don't reply the same day then I usually don't get the job.
Steve
PS: where did you get the free info from Mark (re: last night) ?
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pm you on ccdo in a bit.
Shaun
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I get P..... off when i email a detailed reply and they dont even bother to respond with a thank you is it asking to much to say thanks will get back to you, i think im going bloody stir crazy wheres the work :P :aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I feel like Jack Nicholson think i might right a book eeemmm wheres my axe.
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just as an update;
just now this guy emailed me back with his address and mobile number, I've just rang him and I'm going to give him a quote.
2 things spring to mind
1) I asked him to call me but instead he went to the trouble of emailing his numbers for me to call him, why didn't he just call me? it would have been quicker
2)its took 5 day for him to get back to me, I thought the internet & email was making the world quicker, if he had just rang his sofas would probably be cleaned by now
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just as an update;
just now this guy emailed me back with his address and mobile number, I've just rang him and I'm going to give him a quote.
2 things spring to mind
1) I asked him to call me but instead he went to the trouble of emailing his numbers for me to call him, why didn't he just call me? it would have been quicker Why should he pay when you will?
2)its took 5 day for him to get back to me, I thought the internet & email was making the world quicker, if he had just rang his sofas would probably be cleaned by now Some people plan months ahead for things
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Ive got around 6 email enquires that are just jumbled letters all from different email addresses.
EG. YUNHnmoOOI
My contact page is working as Ive just tried it so who and why am I getting this nonsence.
Mark
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I get them as well Mark.
I can only assume its from those who have nothing better to do, or automated emailers.
Overall, I probably get as many of them as I do genuine enquiries.
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Same here i get those jummbled up ones too ::)
I think if they are interested they would phone me or give a contact number ???
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Is an e-mail enquiry the same as text msg’s when you have good hearing. ???
Len
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Hi Guys
It's worth bearing in mind that a lot of peoplewho send eamils are at work and sitting at computers, they can quickly send an email but would raise eyebrows if they started chatting on the phone about CC.
Cheers
Doug
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got another email today...... best for a long time just 6 words ::)
how much do you charge?
Jade.
my reply..........
Hi Jade
"........ how much do you charge?......."
as a male escort I charge £200 an hour
as a deadly Ninja assassin I charge from £50000 per victim
if you are referring to our cleaning service then we need to know what you actually want cleaning as our prices differ according to what the work entails.
it might be better if we call at your home or premises to discuss exactly what you require then we can give an exact price.
Henry.
Ps; we are doing a 2 for 1 special this week, (but only for the deadly Ninja assassin services)
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i just call them as soon as i can, if they don't leave a number i delete.
trouble with that reply is like on here mike, sometimes the written word can be taken the opposite way to how it was intended. and also not everyone has a sense of humour.
i get a lot that just say "how much for cleaning", so i take it that they don't want to write all the measurements down, they just want me to get in touch, you'll be amazed how true that is and ive had many a good and well paid job from them.
but like all email enquiries, some you win and some you lose, but initially i take every enquiry seriously, i have too! its my job, my life, my livelyhood.
thats just the way i do things, not knocking your way, in fact if i was fully booked all the time like you, i may be tempted to go along the same lines. heres hoping.
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Hi Guys
Derek by deleting you are missing the ones who want to communicate by email and are serious prospects.
As for Mikes example if the person doesn't really make any effort then they are unlikely to be a future customer I would want, so I would ignore them.
Cheers
Doug
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trouble with that reply is like on here mike, sometimes the written word can be taken the opposite way to how it was intended. and also not everyone has a sense of humour.
eeerrrr sense of humour??? my reply was serious...... I am a deadly ninja assassin :D :D :D (and a male escort)
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trouble with that reply is like on here mike, sometimes the written word can be taken the opposite way to how it was intended. and also not everyone has a sense of humour.
eeerrrr sense of humour??? my reply was serious...... I am a deadly ninja assassin :D :D :D (and a male escort)
no wonder your fully booked, or should that be bully fff, ;D
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Mike i will take your ninja assassin 2 for 1 offer. The missus can go first then the mother in law.
When your finished with them, i will book you myself for the male escort service
Do you charge by the hour for this or just splash n dash ;) ;)
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Mike i will take your ninja assassin 2 for 1 offer. The missus can go first then the mother in law.
When your finished with them, i will book you myself for the male escort service
Do you charge by the hour for this or just splash n dash ;) ;)
i'm sure he'll stay and clean it up, thats probably the extras ;D
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I find that some enquiries would just want an email quote and nothing else are price shoppers,I have 2 websites and I have them leave the same details on each so that tells me that they are contacting everyone.
Shaun
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Mike i will take your ninja assassin 2 for 1 offer. The missus can go first then the mother in law.
I'll do it for half Mike's price and you get my guarantee:
The most thorough assassination ever - or it's free! ;D ;)
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Dennis will you rush back at break neck speed? (there's not yours)
Shaun
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Mike MALE escort you mean you take Men out :o :o :o :o
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He's got good hip movement and pulls a funny face at the point of no return.
Matt
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Got a classic email today from a hotmail account: What are the charges for your service?
That's it, nothing else! ::)
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In my book a leads a lead. We answer all emails no matter how short on information they happen to be. I think we need to realise that lots of people have never dealt with carpet cleaners before and don't know what information we need in order to give them a price. Also, many people think we have set prices per room or for a suite and that tends to make their initial enquiry seem odd or short of info.
Simon
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my experience is that web enquires are mainly price shoppers. i like to think that my reply to e-mails is pretty informative and tells the customer why they should use me but to be honest not many people follow up. i think that web enquires are the new yellow pages,
colin
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......... from a hotmail account. .......
Definition of 'hotmail' - A FREE web based email service. Doesn't that say it all?? :-\
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I had an email the other day asking 'how much to clean the carpets in my two rooms'. No telephone number or anything else. I emailed them back saying that a tad more information might be useful but they didn't get back to me. Why do some people bother?
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you could bait and switch them ;D
2 rooms would be £5 per room, this is for a dry clean (vac only) but we offer other cleaning techniques which cost a little more ;D
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Might just try that the next time!
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I too dont bother to reply and spec if there is no contact details either..If they are interested they will give you a number of some sort..
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Hi Guys
I have lots of email enquiries via my numerous sites and sometimes it can be a bit frustrating when nobody seems to book. However I then get a run of four booking on the trot and all is sunny again.
Answering them is a bit like taking calls, if you start by saying 'yep what do you want,' you will not get many bookings, always best to be as professional as you can.
Cheers
doug
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I always put myself in the custy's shoes, and treat each and everyone they way I like to be treated. In our profession, it's paramount that we are courteous at all times.... Well, apart from when they are rude, I just don't tolerate rudeness :)
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The largest portion of my work by far comes from the internet and so we have to take all enquiries seriously. I think that many people are themselves like me and would prefer to talk over the phone it is easier to gauge a customers reaction to price, expectation, and experience of past cleaning services. Many people want to email for whatever reason they have and that is a fact. Whilst we are not as comfortable in emailing as a way of selling we accept that this is how things have progressed we try to use a similar vocab and grammar as the people in their e mails to us and to convert as many as possible. If we are given a telephone number then we use that route straight away
but many customers book us after a succession of questions and answer via e mail.
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com