[fitz2kleen]

We are getting loads of leaflets through doors in our area for cheap carpet cleaning.
When i say cheap.... i mean CHEAP!
This guys is quoting a whole 5 bed house inc deodorising for £80.
How the hell are we meant to compete with that?
He's Quoted another custy £25 for a whole 2 bed house.

[richy27]

We are getting loads of leaflets through doors in our area for cheap carpet cleaning.
When i say cheap.... i mean CHEAP!
This guys is quoting a whole 5 bed house inc deodorising for £80.
How the hell are we meant to compete with that?
He's Quoted another custy £25 for a whole 2 bed house.

you dont have to compete i dont think he would be doing 5x more work thanyou so at the end of the week WHO IS THE BUSY FOOL

had a guy just up the road from me bought himself a RD and was doing whole houses including the suite for £50 he didnt last long  compete on service and results people who pay these prices will only get a cheap job . I actually did a job in the next house he was working in ( tm versus rug doctor ) same house size exactly  funny had a call from both the custy i cleaned from and her neighbour a year later. I am not saying i am he best at what i do always so mch to learn but i know how much it costs to run a PRF CC business and its not these silly prices .

[Steve. Taylor]

Relax we all have um never compete on prices like that its quality that counts.

And like most cowboys they move on to another town yee haah  

[adimarsh]

Don't panic. Have you heard of bait and switch? These guys come and go all the time. How do you clean a whole two bed house at £25? I'll answer the question for you. It'll be cleaned poorly.

Could try a leaflet of your own, something like......Have you recently had your carpet cleaned. Did the price seem to good to be true.? etc,etc,etc.
Follow the cowboys round with your leaflet. You'll be amazed at how many will not have taken up their stupid offer in the first place and also get to hear of horror stories that you can use as testimonials later on.

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

Plus when custy realises they have been burnt, they will then ring a professional
when the penny drops, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

[Neil Williams]

Plus when custy realises they have been burnt, they will then ring a professional
when the penny drops, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

I don't totally agree with this statement and I'll tell you why.
When the word builders is mentioned how many straight away think "Watch out for the cowboy?"
Of course only a small minority of builders are cowboys but this small group basicaly spoil it for the vast majority, and this is the danger than cowboy carpet cleaners can bring, ie once you've used one of these it puts you off the whole profession.
The difference between us and builders is that builders good or back generally hand over a bill for £1,000's and the damage left behind HAS to be corrected. Carpets costs hundreds and in 10 years of doing this I think I've gone behind cowboy carpet cleaners twice.
So without going on and on people will fall for and pay £25 to have a £150 carpet cleaned and just accept the results as standard for the profession. No one would fall for a builder saying £500 will get you an extension built.
Without writing an essay I hope this makes sense.

[derek west]

you don't compete against someone who doesn't give the same service.

i don't see rolls royce saying "how we gonna compete with these skoda prices"

think about it.

ps... sorry if ive repeated anyone as i aint read the whole thread.

[markpowell]

This guys is quoting a whole 5 bed house inc deodorising for £80.
How the hell are we meant to compete with that?

Do it for 70

[Ian Gourlay]

you don't compete against someone who doesn't give the same service.

i don't see rolls royce saying "how we gonna compete with these skoda prices"

think about it.

ps... sorry if ive repeated anyone as i aint read the whole thread.

How many Rolls Royces are Sold to Skodas

What is the UK Sales Revenue in Rolls Royces Cars

What is Uk Sales Revenue in Skoda Cars

[Jim_77]

honestly, just chuck those bloody leaflets in the bin and stop worrying about them.  Some people will always go cheap, plenty others will always see them for what they are and go for a company with a bit more class.

Don't lose any sleep over it, these operators should NEVER impact on your business as you shouldn't be aiming at the same target market as them

[derek west]

you don't compete against someone who doesn't give the same service.

i don't see rolls royce saying "how we gonna compete with these skoda prices"

think about it.

ps... sorry if ive repeated anyone as i aint read the whole thread.

How many Rolls Royces are Sold to Skodas

What is the UK Sales Revenue in Rolls Royces Cars

What is Uk Sales Revenue in Skoda Cars

not got a clue ian, just trying to put it in a simpler way.

[mark_roberts]

As above dont worry about these guys rather worry about the guys doing a great job for £80.  You cant beat that.

Mark

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I know cleaners who do a good job for less than I charge, I also know a cleaner that charges more than me and he's crap at cleaning BUT he's far better at selling than the cheap guy and me.

Learn to sell, ask Roger

Shaun

[GlynE]

Just on the point of charging £80 for a whole house, how long would you say it should take, on average, to clean a standard 2 bed semi (Lounge, dining, HSL & 2beds) using porty HWE & MS

[JandS]

If it's empty 2 hours plus set up/down time.
£80 would be around my price.

John

[colin thomas]

i agree with neil, it's not that some guys are stupidly cheap that is the problem it's that when they do a bad job we are all tarred with the same brush, the customer will tell all her friends not to have their carpets cleaned as it will be a waste of money, this is the problem we have, getting through to the customer that it IS worth cleaning,

colin

[adimarsh]

Just on the point of charging £80 for a whole house, how long would you say it should take, on average, to clean a standard 2 bed semi (Lounge, dining, HSL & 2beds) using porty HWE & MS

Not an easy question to answer as the degree of soiling and the carpet type will affect the time taken. Also access, parking, layout etc will be a factor. Are you pre-vaccing? Are you pre-spraying and agittating or pre-spraying and extracting straight away? Not going to get involved in the "how much" debate as some seem to think only they charge properly and everyone else is an idiot.

Best you can hope for is a clean PP carpet in an empty detached house with own drive and open plan living. In that instance you'll be in and out in no time...........as the actress said to the bishop.

[Neil Williams]

If it's empty 2 hours plus set up/down time.
£80 would be around my price.

Did an EOT this morning. 2 bed property with most of the carpets being choc brown in colour and totally empty, already vacuumed. Customer doesn't give a hoot about quality as long as they get their deposit back. Total time from arriving to going.... 1 hour 30 minutes
Now clearly if this was a home owner and the carpets beige in colour then it would have taken a lot longer, common sense really.
Trouble is most of these cheap cleaners are treating all jobs like EOT brown carpets and that's dangerous for the rest of us, when the word goes around neighbours, friends and family.

[richy27]

i am afraid things will never change in fact why should they imo  most genuine prospective custy who hav anything between their ears see right through any bait switch price schemes and low priced leaflets. and if they dont then do you really want them anyways.

we all forget the other end of the spectrum perhaps the same could be said of ccs who charge a hugely over inflated price dont meet the custys expectations and bang goes another person who will never go near a prof cc company again. just to put a spin on things.

[Reno's Carpet Care]

This guys is quoting a whole 5 bed house inc deodorising for £80.
How the hell are we meant to compete with that?

Do it for 70

Better yet, outsource your cheapskate accounts to him and make sure you get a marked down price for the trouble.