[Paul Heath]

Anybody else had a last minute rush....had a few calls today to ask if we could fit anything in before xmas...I hate turning down work, it just means some late nights (weather permitting) and working over the weekend...that really hurts.
It just seems strange after an average December they all seem to have a few bob left over and thinking they will have there carpets cleaned after all.
Not complaining it just means i won't have time to go xmas shopping......very dissapointed 

[Ben Lugg]

Getting the same thing here. quite happy to work weekends etc but will stop xmas eve untill 3rd Jan.

Ben.

[pablomorias]

Online shopping is the way out.
If I'm desperate I even do it through mobile phone internet while working. Iphone is very handy.

[Hilton]

This is the time when the credit card gets hit,

We take a lot of orders on CC this time of year and especially as they rush towards christmas.

[MAX Carpets]

more like last minute slump  down here!

[gwrightson]

Well
i got to admit , i am not that busy, got a number of jobs booked in ,but not like other years,
having said that took 4 calls last night all regulars wanting work done before xmas, just hope the calls come into day 

geoff

[Helen]

Well
i got to admit , i am not that busy, got a number of jobs booked in ,but not like other years,
having said that took 4 calls last night all regulars wanting work done before xmas, just hope the calls come into day 

geoff

Steady, but not to full capacity (probably just as well seeing the weather forecast again )
Had our "peak" xmas rush in November and first week of December...

[Neil Grainger]

Its rushed past us this year again, as it always does. Jan is booking well though which i can understand more as why people get carpets cleaned before xmas has always surprised me.

[M.Acorn]

Been my worst Dec since starting,i have had to be really pro active just to get the jobs i have.
This time last year i was running around like a loony,working on xmas eve right up until 7pm.
Nothing from the agencies over the last month,so no one owes me money.
The jobs i have done have all been pretty big ones,so going to just scrape through ,but will be well into my overdraft.
Thank fick my tax bill is minimal

[MAX Carpets]

Is it recession or Enerprise.............

[Ian Rochester]

We've got a few new carpet cleaners started up here in the last couple of months, just lost a job that was booked in for Tuesday, all carpets in a 4 bed house.

She phoned me today and said she'd found someone who would do it cheaper than us, I asked how much they were charging?    £60.00 !!!!

For 4 bedrooms, ensuite, bathroom, HSL, Lounge Diner and small study room!  Fine.

Got a space for Tuesday morning, will probably get it filled with a proper client by the weekend

[Matt Seymour]

I am absolutely dead and have been for weeks.

Got a report from one of the online directories I am on the other day stating that people searching for carpet cleaners in this area has gone from well over 200 in July to just 2 in December. I know that's only one directory, but it's pretty bad.

I'm getting absolutely nothing from the internet, not a sausage.

Leaflets have faired no better.

[JD Calhoon]

Here's a marketing tip from an old timer.... as they say in marketing circles find a hungry crowd! And it ain't cleaning carpets these days that's for sure.

[clinton]

Its def much slower than a good few years ago.

I used to work 7 days a week.

As ian said its many factors from cheaper cleaners starting up to people cutting down on there spending and less carpets to clean nowadays i guess.

Dont know how the newbies are getting on?

[Neil Williams]

Last minute rush?


let me think about this.....


No. I don't comprehend that phrase

[MAX Carpets]

not just us then.

[Matt Seymour]

Its def much slower than a good few years ago.

I used to work 7 days a week.

As ian said its many factors from cheaper cleaners starting up to people cutting down on there spending and less carpets to clean nowadays i guess.

Dont know how the newbies are getting on?

I'm a newbie, which I think is a big part of the problem. I've noticed that a lot of the newbies like me are having trouble at the moment.

Given that so much of the work in this game comes from repeat customers and referrals we are at a distinct disadvantage. I wish I had an extensive database of previous customers to phone right now that's for sure.

I don't know about everywhere else, but there seem to be loads of new carpet cleaners in my area. I suppose that could be because a lot of people are being made redundant and using their redundancy to start up as a carpet cleaner. Let's face it, it's a pretty inexpensive and quick business to get into. That's basically why I did it. Unfortunately, everyone else seems to have had the same idea!

As has been said an awful lot of people have laminate flooring nowadays as well. Tough economic times, an ever-growing number of newbies and less carpets isn't a great combination really.

[derek west]

last minute rush?

hell yeah, i aint got the wife ewt for xmas and ive only got wednesday or thursday to go shopping, now thats last minute, especially when i haven't got a clue what to buy her, any ideas guys,

i was thinking of asking her, "why don't we buy our own presents, wrap them and then give them to each other to give back on xmas day without letting on what we've bought"
its a no brainer.

we both get exactly what we want.
we both get a surprise as cos i don't know what ive got her and she don't know what she's got me.
and we both don't have to grimace and say "thanks darlin, just what ive always wanted"

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Be a surprise if I DID buy er in doors a pressy for Xmas, she doesn't even get a lump of coal at the end of her bed not unless the kids ave bin darn t'pit!

I hate Xmas

Shaun

[wayne zabel]

I'm a newbie and luckily i have done OK since I started with the exception of a couple of weeks in November I have been doing better than I first planned.I have been steady for a few weeks now,but my steady might be someone elses slack.

There are lots of CC's round here too,so as I said perhaps I'm having a lucky streak amd will hit a brick wall in January.

There seems to be a bit of doom and gloom in this thread,but has it been a bad year for you experienced guys or is it just that the Xmas rush hasn't materialised.Its only a few months ago that lots on here were saying that the year hadn't been as bad as they feared.Perhaps its just that people are spending on xmas and also the weather.