[the red carpet]

I quote all my work from the internet over the phone for two reasons, one is they come from all over the place and it wouldnt be worth driving say twenty miles to quote only to be told they dont want you. Two i think theres enough info on my site to close the sale for me anyway theres not much i could tell them face to face thats not on my site.

Leaflet inquries i try to go out and quote as there all local and there not as much info on the leaflets so it helps to show them some before and afters and insurance ect.

As for survey, you can do it when you get there it only takes a couple minutes

[gwrightson]

survey 2 mins???
what are you surveying? 1 scatter cushion
takes me at least 10 mins , just to look for tears and suspect areas
 
Geoff

[Kinver_Clean]

I live out in the sticks- its a nice place to live but its 4 miles to the nearest town and 10-15 to the next largish town/city. It would be nice to see every job before doing it but its not practical. I find that quoting on the phone does not stop me charging a good price, I always say that there may be an adjustment when I see the job and sometimes I put a fair bit on. There have been three or four jobs in 15 years that I have refused on arrival, one was where the people allowed pot belly pigs in the house.
I do a lot for a posh building company and travel all over the West Midlands. Cheltenham to Leicester but mainly in Birmingham.

trevor

[spindle]

i never quote over the phone.................i will offer an estimate but i insist seeing the carpet b4 i  give them a quote!!!!
estimates are meant to be a rough price guide
quotes are a firm price!!!!

with a quote over the fone u dont know just how dirty the carpet really is or what the carpet is made of.........so would u clean a axminster for £35?


customers looking for the cheapest cc (i have found, maybe some of the others have too) normally have the dirtiest and cheapest carpets.
which means that you have to spend longer to clean them
how can u quote over the fone when u havent seen them???

any how..............once you have given a quote over the fone when u get the customers house..............u have lost the chance to charge for more!!!!!!

[craigp]

so you like to get there and then bump it up?

[spindle]

not necessarily.........................but at least they understand that the estimate that u gave them was just that. an estimate!!!!!

if for example....u have quoted £35 for a room...........and when you arrive it is much dirtier than u expected .............do still charge £35 when you have to work twice as hard??? 

do you have set prices that are the same for a axminster as for a cheap polypropelyne??

 isnt that where your sales skills come into play???
would you like odour, anti bac, etc.............extras!!!!!!!!!

you can earn as much from the extras as u can  can from the basic clean

i am not having a go at anyone .........just expressing my opinion

[Liahona]

Cheap carpet cleaners are worth having around as they clean the carpets that on the whole most of us dont want to clean anyway. As for the debate on pricing over the phone. I dont, ever and would suggest to other cleaners not to either but each to their own. My theory is that if I priced  over the phone I am sure I wouldnt get most of the customers that I do get. As I get every customer I see so to speak to it is worth it for me to go and see them. Again why should we work for price shoppers, let the cheap carpet cleaners have them, all of them!!! Best, Dave.

[Kev Loomes]

Just got hold of a leaflet yesterday - you wont believe this!

Lounge, diner, hall, stairs, landing, 3pc suite........wait for it...... £90!

Sponge and a bucket, and rug doctor me thinks I feel sorry for the custy...

[AquaMagic]

I dont feel sorry for em, as one of Sheffield Shaun's customer  says "You pay cheap you pay twice" you get what you pay for in this life, sometimes less!!!!

[stains-away]

Just got hold of a leaflet yesterday - you wont believe this!

Lounge, diner, hall, stairs, landing, 3pc suite........wait for it...... £90!

Sponge and a bucket, and rug doctor me thinks I feel sorry for the custy...

  Bit expensive that, weve got one round here, 3 bed house £36.50, 3 piece suite, £25, £61.50 for the whole house and the 3 piece then, unless you would like to haggle 

[Kev Loomes]

 

Ouch!

[calmore]

It must be remembered that they are quoting stupidly low prices simply to get a foot in the door.

That rug that was going to cost £2 to clean ends up costing £20 by the time they have put 'invisible' stain protector on it. before they leave they have also convinced you to have your sofa cleaned and 'protected' for a further £80..etc..

[calmore]

Just got hold of a leaflet yesterday - you wont believe this!

Lounge, diner, hall, stairs, landing, 3pc suite........wait for it...... £90!

Sponge and a bucket, and rug doctor me thinks I feel sorry for the custy...

I'm a newbie and it's always difficult coming up with a price..

I had a phone call t'other day asking for an estimate on a 3 bed house (No hall or kitchen) no stains but dusty carpets and I said it'd be roughly £220 to £250 plus.

She seemed quite happy and says she's phoning back in a couple of weeks.

Was I way off with the pricing?

[Mike Halliday]

I would'nt hold your breath about them calling back.

the biggest lie in carpet cleaning "I'll call you back : : :

Mike

[Kev Loomes]

Calmore

As Mike said, forget the lady now - she wont be ringing back. As a newbie its very easy to feel that to do the right thing you should give a price over the phone. This is why she wont be ringing back!

Dont be tempted to give her a price. If she is shopping around for the cheapest price (ask her) then dont bother - you wont get it - or want it.

However, you can turn a good percentage of these calls into prospects by explaining that you cannot quote over the phone because you need to: see what your cleaning, how many square metres/feet there are, level of soiling, fixings/seams - are they ok?, wet clean or dry clean, insurance purposes (if it goes wrong insurance may not pay out unless you can prove that you have surveyed the work first), you do a very high quality clean using all the correct machinary/chemicals, you have guarantees - and that you are not a cowboy!! etc etc the list goes on, but the lady may then start to see where your coming from and respond to the fact that she will only get what she pays for. If she doesnt - dont worry about it!

As for the price, for a newbie thats about right. I think seasoned professionals would be charging approx £275.00 - £325.00 for an average 3 bed semi (with no kitchen).

Hope this helps

[conallon]

Geoff,
          Whats wrong with two minutes survey ? plus ten minutes telling what a dog and cat lover you are, then the decor ten minutes, then the kids ten minutes, then you cant get out of the door, theres thirty two mins,
 
Mike
         classic - have to ask my husband when he gets home 

Conrad

[stains-away]

Quoted one today, asked if they had had any other quotes, the reply, just Chemdry, their quote, 62 metres of carpet and a 7x4 rug, £100, (£1.61 a metre and a freebie on the rug) tossers!

[carpetclean]

i suppose adding to the last post its worth considering how long the job would take and if you are happy with earning the amount in that time. as we  all know some jobs take far longer than others for several reasons . so it does not necessarily depend on the area size . 

[stains-away]

i suppose adding to the last post its worth considering how long the job would take and if you are happy with earning the amount in that time. as we all know some jobs take far longer than others for several reasons . so it does not necessarily depend on the area size .

3 bedrooms, move all furniture and theres lots, a living room/diner same again and a b*stard shaped set of stairs.

[Cleantime Europe Limited]

All day job - would have gone in with a price of £180 BUT would have asked them to move all furniture for H & S reasons (where carpet cleaners not removal men)