I received a phone call from a local carpet cleaner yesterday asking if i had heard about another local carpet cleaner that is charging £15 per room and advertising this on Google, the guy was quite upset and irritated, so much so that he has contacted the NCCA to complain about this guy who is a member. he is also a member of this forum.
The guy asked all the usual questions that have been asked many many times on the forums but i think he was taking it quite personally as he had has lost a customer directly from this guy and he is struggling after many years in the business, he is now off work because of illness, tennis elbow i think he said it was.
I have only been going for three years now and i have mixed feelings about this, my average price for a room is £50 and i do discount on further rooms but £15 for cleaning a room would not cover my overheads let alone make a profit, my overall feeling is that it devalues what we do, i understand its only carpet cleaning but i honestly think i provide much more than that, i go above and beyond to be thorough and do the best job i can and i think i am worth at least what i charge.
If i am honest though it does depress me as this guy i know is highly qualified, and could easily command a higher price, what he is doing is not only cheap prices but a "cheap shot" and the easiest marketing tool to use.
listening to this guy i imagined that could be me in a few years and i felt quite sorry for him.
PS The NCCA said unless he is "Bait and switching" they can do nothing