[dan roberts]

Hi,

Sorry. I forgot to mention my expensive research recently, i got a guy to clean our carpets, (which were ran ragged by us and our 4 yr old girl), in a bid to get some face to face research and q and a. The guy was a saint, he not only cleaned our carpets to a colour only once seen (in the factory), and then spent at least an hour giving me advice on business in the cc sector. The painful side of this was the thirty eight quid bill I had for cleaning a 11ft by 10ft lounge carpet. My question is this....

Can I charge this 38 pound an hour, and get away with it?
I certainly hope so..
It was a price quoted by the way.

The guy was brilliant.

(name surrendered if needed!!!)

[Neil Grainger]

Dan

That is on the cheap side for cleaning, most cleaners I know work between £60 and £120 per hour.

I would have charged you £65 for that as that is my minimum charge and you would have loved the results.
I have been going a year now and have only just really started to see the upside of it after putting lots of money into marketing.  If you just read all the threads on here you will get loads of information about what to do and what not to do. Some of the Senior cleaners have invaulble knowledge in this industry. Just dont by dry though on its own, good as a secound cleaning method.

One comment that was made to me was that anyone can clean carpets but it is your customer service that will get them back again. I always clean in Trousers and open neck signed Pilot shirt and shoes not trainers, presentation is all important.

[Derek]

One thing to remember...the customer only sees the final bill as you did and the £38. for an hours work seems miraculous.

You then have to take into account the running costs.
i.e Your time, Vehicle running costs, insurance, machines and their upkeep, chemicals, Accountancy fees ad infinitum

Derek

[cleansmartsupplies]

Agree, £38 is very cheap - you would struggle to make any money charging at those prices. £65 minimum charge seems about right.

It's easy for a customer think that your earning £38 an hour 40 hours a week, but it's nothing like.

You've got to account for surveying, time between jobs, extra time in case it takes longer than you thought, time off to do your marketing/book keeping etc. etc. etc.

Plus, when you start out there might be a lot of empty spaces in your timetable.

Plus, advertising expenses which may well be very high when you start off - it can cost more than £38 in advertising just to get one job!

You can make money in carpet cleaning, but it will take time and effort to build your business up.

Matt

[Chris Bailey]

Hi Dan

Yes, £38 is cheap, so you can see £18K net is achievable.

Also, one breath, Quote, "he not only cleaned our carpets to a colour only once seen (in the factory)... another breath, quote, "£38 for an hours work".......

You get what you pay for, don't compete on price, compete on quality of service and results!! which will only come with training, experience, training... oh, and training.

Get back in touch with the guy that cleaned your carpet and ask him if you can spend a day with him, get some hands on..

Hope this helps

Chris

[the red carpet]

i charge £38 afor a lounge so must be cheap, as has been mentioned to start with at least, every job you get costs you money on advertising i find a average job costs me £20 in advertising. this figure should in time go down as if you are working to a high standard you will start to get repeats and referalls.

i am finding my average job price is £100.
and if i am busy i take £200-£250 a day.

my plan is to build up my customers so as to reduce my advertising costs and i think in time i should be left with £1000 a week to myself, and i will be more than happy with that

[mark_roberts]

I dont think £38 is cheap for a 11x10 lounge as thats .35p a sq ft or £3.15 a sq yard.

The problem is he needs a higher min charge to maintain a higher hourly rate.  Ive had a min charge of £40 for a few years now but am seriously considering putting it up to £60.

Whats your experience on this if people only want a 10x10 bedroom cleaned especially if its a previous customer.

thanks
Mark

[Ian Gourlay]

I must also be cheap as I would have charged  £45., for this size room on its own.

Dan thought that was expensive   Expensive research, Hit me with Bill, Can I get away with.

Although Carpet was restored he still thought it expensive.

Is Dan a typical customer?


Also Guy spent 1 hour with Dan telling him how to start up in opposition.

No charge

[HQCS (John Kastrian)]

£38 was a bargain,nobody has mentioned the chunk of that to be handed to the vat/taxman,and then the other overheads as mentioned.
He was practically doing it for nothing.-John

[Chris Bailey]

we are all vat registered then are we?