[Craigp]

Why do you want to know what others are charging, if it's for undercutting that's a really daft way of setting your price.

I don't think knowing what others are charging will help you, I would not have asked.

Just worry about what your getting.

You can't win them all.

[Steve Rothwell]

You can't win them all.

good job airline pilots don't have that attitiude when trying to land a plane



 

[Craigp]

I'm not the one running around for pennies!   

People in glass houses...

[Steve Rothwell]

wind yer neck in muppet
 

[Craigp]

Hit a nerve did I?

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Hector do you work as a one person cleaner ie no helper?

45 mins for 2 rooms and a hall is impressive.

Shaun

[Steve Rothwell]

The Mrs works with me, but if there are no stairs to do, she talks to the custy whilst I get on with the work.

Simon was there today when I did a large lounge 2 bedrooms and a hall, in about 40 mins, however the place was empty, which makes it a lot quicker, as no furniture to move about.

[garyfindlay]

Had a call today for a quote. Living room, stairs/hall. Asked if she was looking for the cheapest price etc, and she replied £25.  Someone doing a buy 1 get 1 free deal.

[Phil Taylor]

The Mrs works with me, but if there are no stairs to do, she talks to the custy whilst I get on with the work.

Simon was there today when I did a large lounge 2 bedrooms and a hall, in about 40 mins, however the place was empty, which makes it a lot quicker, as no furniture to move about.

40 mins to do all that Hector now your talking splash n dash  

So obviously no prep work there then, straight in and out?

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Do you clean stairs like Jason with hwe?

I've lm cleaned for 20 odd years on various jobs but I must admit Jason has got it to a fine art IMO furniture is still a time consumer.

Shaun

[Steve Rothwell]

The Mrs works with me, but if there are no stairs to do, she talks to the custy whilst I get on with the work.

Simon was there today when I did a large lounge 2 bedrooms and a hall, in about 40 mins, however the place was empty, which makes it a lot quicker, as no furniture to move about.

40 mins to do all that Hector now your talking splash n dash  

So obviously no prep work there then, straight in and out?

please define splash and dash for me

[Mike Halliday]

Hector. phil won't be able to answer you for a few days as I've temp' banned him. Not because of his posts but because of his constant name changing which although is allowed was done to ridicule fellow members and was not in the positive spirit we try to encourage on the forum.

 But i' m sure he' ll give you a full explanation  on his return

[Steve Rothwell]

thanks Mike

[Steve Rothwell]

Do you clean stairs like Jason with hwe?

I've lm cleaned for 20 odd years on various jobs but I must admit Jason has got it to a fine art IMO furniture is still a time consumer.

Shaun

No Shaun, I LM stairs as well

with a brush to agitate and then a small OP machine

[mike roberts]

Why do you want to know what others are charging, if it's for undercutting that's a really daft way of setting your price.

I don't think knowing what others are charging will help you, I would not have asked.

Just worry about what your getting.

You can't win them all.

Amazed by that daft quote !! Who said I used it to set my prices?
So you have no idea what other people charge ... er ok!

Always good to know what local comp charges in all aspects of our business.
We will always try to beat like 4 like quotes but must be like 4 like and sensible!

[garry22]

Mike, back to the original question.

Nowadays, the use of e mail has lead to a potential customer's expectation of an almost instant reply.

Here's what I set up for a client (who is a nightmare for not answering e mails quickly!).

Every e mail enquirer triggers an instant answer from an autoresponder (where the site is hosted). By return they get this message...

"...Hi,
 
This is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Many thanks for contacting us. I hope you enjoyed looking through the website. I also hope we can work together shortly and have your "pride and joy" looking fantastic.

Maybe you could have your own "before and after" photo's on the site?

At this point we must explain something to you about what may look like a delay in replying.

We are (thankfully) quite busy at the moment, which means that both myself and my technicians are "on site" virtually all week.

Many of the locations that we are working in are remote/rural areas, where both mobile phone and broadband reception can be poor or even none existent.

If you do not hear from us straight away this may be the reason so  please bear with us, and we will contact you as soon as we possibly can.

Regards,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx .."

We've found it works well and potential customers DO wait for a reply (as long as it is not left for days!). The main thing is that their question has been acknowledged.

It would be fairly easy to come up with a similar message, customised for carpet cleaning.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I recently bought a battery operated op buffer for leather cleans I find it adds a bit of professionalism tried it on stairs it's okay but I think a full rotating brush not oscillating is better, which buffer do you use? The one I use is from eBay came with a lambs wool pad I also have a maguires op but it shakes the bloody hell out of my arms.

Shaun

[Steve Rothwell]

Can't remember the make at the moment, it is mains powered and also came with lambswool bonnet.
I use that for leather, but use these bonnets for the stairs and upholstery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370532066383?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

(there are other bonnet providers) 

[mike roberts]

Mike, back to the original question.

Nowadays, the use of e mail has lead to a potential customer's expectation of an almost instant reply.

Here's what I set up for a client (who is a nightmare for not answering e mails quickly!).

Every e mail enquirer triggers an instant answer from an autoresponder (where the site is hosted). By return they get this message...

"...Hi,
 
This is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Many thanks for contacting us. I hope you enjoyed looking through the website. I also hope we can work together shortly and have your "pride and joy" looking fantastic.

Maybe you could have your own "before and after" photo's on the site?

At this point we must explain something to you about what may look like a delay in replying.

We are (thankfully) quite busy at the moment, which means that both myself and my technicians are "on site" virtually all week.

Many of the locations that we are working in are remote/rural areas, where both mobile phone and broadband reception can be poor or even none existent.

If you do not hear from us straight away this may be the reason so  please bear with us, and we will contact you as soon as we possibly can.

Regards,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx .."

We've found it works well and potential customers DO wait for a reply (as long as it is not left for days!). The main thing is that their question has been acknowledged.

It would be fairly easy to come up with a similar message, customised for carpet cleaning.

At present if an enquiry is sent via website the website acknowledges it ... with std text ....a thankyou plus someone will contact you shortly etc.... something we may have overlooked is an 'acknowledgement' email .... would you expect this as well ??
Most if not all email enquires are from site..
thks mike

[JandS]

Where'd you get the battery operated buffer Shaun.
Looking for something like that myself.

John