[Bob Robertson]

Quoted £289.00 for a childrens nursery 112 sqm (sat job) lost out to a quote of £120.00. Did i quote too high for my first commercial  job ?


regards

tihson

[John Kelly]

Sounds fine to me. You do have to embelish your quotes either in writing or verbally. Let them know how professional you are emphasise that you are fully insured and that other operators may not be and also the benefits of the products you use. An anti alergen product is especially useful for nurseries.

[John Kelly]

Also don't fret over lost commercial work. A lot of them go on price only and you end up doing work for less than your're happy with.
If you loose out on a lot of quotes you may want to adjust your pricing slightly, but don't start price matching as you end up on a slippery downward slope.

[BRSL]

Hi Tihson

I take it your charging £2.20p a sqm

Personaly I think it's little high but I dont think your to far off the mark, for this kind of work, that should be for deoderising and sanatising,

But the problem is nurserys are cleaned every 2 - 4 weeks (well should be) and expect a price reflecting a constant stream of work, and they dont care much that you are working on a sat where as you probably do,

but unfortunatly there are a lot of people out there charging a lot less but £0.95p sqm thats just silly, (no dry strokes I expect)

Most comercial rates are around £1 - £1.50 sqm but these jobs do not have the care taken like a domestic job, but if you want to hold out for the jobs that pay well and want a proper job done then good for you, dont drop to there level, do a good job every time and be proud of that fact

The key is upselling, sell yourself more than the one srtoke wonders so they know why there paying the extra, but I dont think most people in the commercial trade care unfortunatly

James

[John Kelly]

James

You are very lucky if the nurseries in your area are cleaned every few weeks. Our main one is 4 times a year. We done a Barnardos recently in which the kids had gone down with a bug, hadn't been cleaned for over 5 years!

[woodman]

On the subject of nurserys;

The last one I did was absolutely filthy and it is in a wealthy area.

The carpets had never been cleaned and the so called daily cleaners only vacuumed the centre of the carpets not around the edges.Dust and crap had built up behind doors and units to over an inch in height.

Children and babies were crawling on a carpet so dirty the pavement outside would have been healthier (and I'm not joking) 

The manager had complained constantly for years but head office would never pay for cleaning.

Some of these nurseries are a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, the local authorities do not check them properly.

It's only a matter of time before a major virus outbreak occurs in one which will end in serious consequences for the parents of the children and the owners alike.Only then will the goverment ensure that proper inspections and santised cleaning is carried out.

[John Kelly]

We used to do one a few years ago every 6 months, I think it was about £280.
Anyway after a while they decided to hire a machine and get the cleaner to do them. She made a cracking job. Put bleach in the tank. Made some wonderful patterns on the Floatex carpets.

[BRSL]

is there not rules or laws govening this, if not there should be 

[woodman]

Of course there are, they are just not enforced.

Who cares, until a child becomes seriously ill or worse, dies nothing will happen.

It must be said that the better run and more high profile nursery's such as jigsaws have a good track record on cleanliness.

 

[HQCS (John Kastrian)]

We have the same problem down here,one operator is charging so cheaply,he is almost doing it for free,but he has more work than he can handle,and he will openly undercut any other cc just to get the job.
I have seen him clean a 2 bed house in less that 30 minutes,but complaints are coming in from all directions.
It is a sad fact that most customers go for price and not quality of service.
Prices vary so much around the country,but at the end of the day only you know how long the job will take to do thoroughly and professionally,and price it accordingly.-John

[COLIN BRIGHT]

£120.00?

WHO CARES

LET THE MUPPET CLEAN IT !!!!!!!

[Geoff Jewkes]

The amount they charge for child care you would think they`d shell out for a quality job

[mark_roberts]

Ring them in a few weeks to see if they where happy.

Offer to ring in 6 months for another chance to quote.  Hopefully they wont be happy with the £120 clean and get you in to quote and then you may get your price.

If I really want a commercial job sometimes pricing by the hour is easier.

Mark

[Bob Robertson]

Some you win some you lose i suppose . I have just got my first letting agent today after a mail shot i done last week  . They were looking for a new cc as they have just got rid of the guy they were using as his work was not to a good standard .First job for them on Monday , also told him i cleaned mattresses and he asked for the 2 doubles to be cleaned aswell  .

[andrew chrysler]

The amount they charge for child care you would think they`d shell out for a quality job

Ok I'll poke my head over the parapet......

My wife owns and runs a Day Nursery. I make more in 2 days cleaning carpets than she makes in a week after paying all the staff.

I spent £2,000 on second hand van and equipment

She spent £100,000 on purpose built premises

I'm not moaning, she loves the business, but there's more money in cleaning!

Then again, when we come to retire, the Nursery will be worth maybe £750,000, and how much will a 40 year old Astra van be worth

[Bernard Hibbs]

When doing commerical, isn't it better to charge by the time it takes.  You will always lose out if you charge by the sq metre.  But cleaning a square metre of someones tiny, cluttered bedroom takes twice the time as commerical work (big offices etc)

I personally price by the time it takes.  If its going to take only 3.5 hours, £120 is fine for me.

Just a newbies opinion...

[therapist]

I live and work within a few miles of Tihlson and clean nurseries on a regular basis, usually three times per year.

They are always cleaned on a Saturday, or Sunday morning and are straightforward, with the carpeted areas cleared in advance.

Takes about two hours for each, working alone, using Texatherm and I charge €120 for each clean, which I regard as a good return.

I've been involved in letting cleans for many years and really hate them. Just did a renovation clean in a rented flat at the weekend, which had been supposedly cleaned by someone else.

Cleaned properly, the result was excellent and well beyond the owners expectations, but, due to the circumstances, I undercharged a little, my autopilot looking forward and considering credibility, before profit.

Good luck Tihlson . 

I presume you're new to the business, whereas I 'm trying to escape.

rob m

[lyn taylor]

 Hi its Lyn Selfclean, on private Nursery work charge by the hours without doubt.........as they expcect every little thing to be lifted off the floor, what with all the spillages etc from the children, you will make more per hour.......... Council are different they MUST be measured and beleive me you will only get 1.50 per m.
But at the end of the day 150-200 job is alot of money to most some bussiness for one days work, but you have to run your bussiness as you see best.   I would charge 35.oo per hour for the nursery as they are a complete nighemare
good luck anyway.    WEATHERSPOON will only pay 90p pm. imagine that.............a pub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[therapist]

So who cleans W/ Spoons and do they do a maintenance clean, or do they work, down, to the value of the job.

rob m

[BRSL]

I used to work for the comp that does most of the weatherspoons

No messing about all gum removed and RX 20's used  with TM's

Theres some right mingers, a few of the loyds No 1's are cleaned every 2 weeks 

James