[Shaun_Ashmore]

Just come back from new York and that place is 'up sell on heat' had a meal which came to $72 on the menu then there was 20% service charge (not mentioned) then tax on top then the staff wanted a bloody tip! So $72 came to $100 and the Americans don't mind it!

I'm not sure about London and its suburbs but up selling however ethical is a bit different/harder the further you go north (or is it a mind set thing?)

Btw 2 great price calculators, I like the more indepth one On Anthony browns site my mrs says its too tedious and likes Mark Joyce's as it's cleaner and clearer both calculate carpets at a simular rate.

Shaun

[Neil Jones]

Nice website Anthony.

[Neil Jones]

I like the idea for the online booking to get rid of price shoppers but what happens if you turn up and just can't do it for the price you said online?

[Anthony Brown]

anthony where did u get the online price calculator and how much did it cost etc .. dan

http://www.yoo-quote.com

[Anthony Brown]

I like the idea for the online booking to get rid of price shoppers but what happens if you turn up and just can't do it for the price you said online?

Hi Neil, The way I see it is, lots of work is better than none or very little, i get a steady stream of bookings to keep me busy all year round. Where I live most houses are what we call standard size approx 15ft x 13ft for a lounge so i base my prices on that.

The fact that Im using such a professional looking site the customer never questions my prices and if the house turns out to be a mansion then I say to the customer that the prices on the website are for a standard size room and I will have to price your house accordingly, and they never complain. You win a lot more than you loose.

Also bare in mind that you have turned up for the job and the customer has moved everything in the room and they have their mind set on having their carpets cleaned on that day, their not going to turn you away. I never get bogus bookings and rarely get cancellations using YOOquote.

Hope this helps.

P.S. One big attraction to the customer is the 50% discount and the fact they can see your top price and when they click the cart button the price reduces by half which is a massive WOW factor to the custy. We all know we're really not giving them 50% off, but merley inflating the price like we sometimes have in the past. People are suckers for bargains.

[Anthony Brown]

Btw 2 great price calculators, I like the more indepth one On Anthony browns site my mrs says its too tedious and likes Mark Joyce's as it's cleaner and clearer both calculate carpets at a simular rate.

Hi Shaun,

Thanks for your comments on my price calculator its appreciated.

Up here in the North it works with exceptional results, but you have to look at the bigger picture, because it's not just a price calculator, it actually runs 75% of my business through automation and does a whole lot more in the back office, and the fact that its iphone, android, ipad, and tablet compatible i get quite a few bookings from customers with mobile phones which we all know is going to be the new way to connect to the internet and do business. RIP yellow pages.

I know http://yoo-quote.com is not going to be for all carpet cleaners, but the way people are doing business more and more on the internet and for those customers that don't have time to pick up the phone or wait in for you to give them a quote this is where YOOquote performs at its finest.

Since using YOOquote i have not been to a custys house since to give them a quote, so this also cuts out the price shoppers, time wasters and has increased my sales by 40%.

[Craigp]

Sounds like it's working well for you.

I have noticed quite few doing the 50% off, it's making a come back. It used to be done a lot on leaflets in the 80s and 90s by carpet cleaners. I did it when I started.

It's not for me anymore I like pricing by the square foot.

What's your average job ticket with those prices?

[Mike Halliday]

Anthony with not wanting to sound rude but your online booking works not because you give 50% off or you have a great website but because your prices are very competitive,

competitive prices sell themselves just like on any other marketing medium, try doubling your prices and see how many online bookings you get.

 you are not cutting out the price-shoppers when your price is what they want to pay...... 'price-shoppers' are the callers who won't pay your prices.... when your prices are low then 'price-shopper' miraculously becomes 'customers'

[Anthony Brown]

Sounds like it's working well for you.

I have noticed quite few doing the 50% off, it's making a come back. It used to be done a lot on leaflets in the 80s and 90s by carpet cleaners. I did it when I started.

It's not for me anymore I like pricing by the square foot.

What's your average job ticket with those prices?

Hi Craig,

My average job ticket from the quote calculator varies from week to week but to give you an example, back in June I had 32 bookings in 28 days using the calculator and that's 32 bookings I would never had have if I didn't use YOOquote. So IMO it has paid for itself hundreds of times over. I'm still currently getting an average of 1 confirmed booking a day including Saturdays and Sundays when we don't answer the phone.

YOOquote also gives you the ability to quote by the sq ft or quote by room or both its up to you. If you wish to use straight forward pricing you can also, I get much more business offering discounts.

We all have our own business models some work better than others.

[Anthony Brown]

Anthony with not wanting to sound rude but your online booking works not because you give 50% off or you have a great website but because your prices are very competitive,

competitive prices sell themselves just like on any other marketing medium, try doubling your prices and see how many online bookings you get.

 you are not cutting out the price-shoppers when your price is what they want to pay...... 'price-shoppers' are the callers who won't pay your prices.... when your prices are low then 'price-shopper' miraculously becomes 'customers'

Hi Mike, thanks for the comments, they did not sound rude, just your opinion which is valid. However I have not gone into this lightly, and what you may not be aware of. I have completed a study over a 12 month period, with the same prices and the same offers, which are right for the market in my area. And what I have found is my business has increased by 40% since introducing the calculator. Even with competitors going on to Groupon and offering silly prices.  For the 6 months when I was not using the calculator, I was still getting phone calls from customers who were haggling over the price, then going elsewhere when I would not drop the price for them. With the calculator I am finding that customers are booking online, and I can honestly say that not one has haggled over the price. Doubling my price would be commercial suicide as I would completely price myself out of the market, what I offer is competitive and the going rate. Customers love it because they get what they want, which shows that my business model is not only right for me, but it's right for my customers.

[Craigp]

The only problem is you have to be low priced for this to work, and then make up by doing a high volume of jobs per day.

[Mike Halliday]

if its working for you then great, but i always think if some one will pay £55 on your online booking then if you had the opportunity to talk to them you could get them to spend an extra £10 on the price.  with online booking you never get that opportunity.

but i do like the idea of coming home on an evening to a list of booked in jobs with no effort from me. have i read it right that the software allows the customers to book an appointment space?

[Anthony Brown]

The only problem is you have to be low priced for this to work, and then make up by doing a high volume of jobs per day.

Their is no exact science to this, and their is a bit of trial and error involved, as with life, but before you doubt anything you should try it, and its FREE for 14 days, What more can I say.

[Tony Rowley]

The only problem is you have to be low priced for this to work, and then make up by doing a high volume of jobs per day.

Their is no exact science to this, and their is a bit of trial and error involved, as with life, but before you doubt anything you should try it, and its FREE for 14 days, What more can I say.

Do you have Any affiliation to the said quotation software?

[Jim_77]

You could sell carpet cleaning to anyone at those prices, putting it less politely than Mike did

[Warren Aldridge]

That's if he's selling carpet cleaning at all. Smells like he's marketing YOOquote

[John Kelly]

They are a genuine company. Not one of my customers though. Probably Extracta guys.

[dan paton]

the YOOquote link was only put up by anthony because i asked him where he got it from after looking at his website . i got accused of this as well a while back about a company in cornwall ,when all i did was ask if anyone had a problem using their website 

[*Hector*]

Yes but....
You are a shifty character Dan 

[dan paton]

i learned it all from u hector