[domestic.diva]

OK, I called a dozen local competitors today to ask for a quote to gauge if the prices I am looking to charge are OK.  I have also e-mailed 3 other - 15 in total.

Do you know how many I have spoken too - NIL!!!!! Either a basic BT or 1571 answer service (no nice hello I am Freddie the Cleaner, please leave your number type message), no answer at all or left a message with no response back from them.

This begs the question are they:

Too busy with work, don't need mine?
Gone bust due to lack of work?
On their hols?
Or just not offering customer service?

I hope this means the market is mine to grab!!!! How do you operate? I hope to utilise forwarding to my mobile so I never miss business.

Also, to those with websites, have these helped or hindered your business?

Your thoughts appreciated.

Tired and jaded
DD  

[Alex]

Diva,

I would suggest you look into the cost for call forwarding as I did it for 2 months and decided to stop as my BT bill was £253 for the 1st month and £323 for the 2nd. I didn't get my bill until I was in the 2nd month - I answered all the calls and got most of the business, however, I had to stop due to such a high expenses.

May I suggest you look into a answer phone where you can enter a pin and pick up you messages.

Hope the business takes off

Alex

[Fox]

To get over this problem I leave a voice mail saying that the call can not be answered at the moment and leave my mobile number, otherwise they can leave a message, which I pick up by remote.

I must agree not having a personal message recorded for a business is not professional as for not having your calls returned (if you left messages) depends on the message you left.  Personally I will not return calls asking for pricing details (not that I deal with domestic anymore) but have always felt they were 'info only' calls.

Want to find out about the competition? Be crafty!  

Fox

[domestic.diva]

Thanks for your responses and advice, great food for thought.

I actually want someone to come to my home to give a quote and have given them all my details, this is why I am baffled.  

My hubby said the best way to see how the competition works is to pay them to do what they claim to do, and this is what I am prepared to do, so at least they would get a few quid out of me! I would not be wasting time.

Yep I may have to go down the crafty lines  . . . maybe camp outside their houses and stalk them!

Best wishes and thanks
DD  

[MR WHEELIE CLEAN]

Hi Diva,
I did something very similar to you when I started the wheelie bin cleaning.  I had some friends phone the main competiton's freephone number.  They did not respond which led me to ask the same questions that you have. I came to two conclusions, 1. they did not care about the business and 2. they did not care about customer service.  I have always taken the view that if someone has taken the time to phone or contact your business you should always take the time to contact them, even if its just to say sorry cant do the work for whatever reason. You never know what other work may come to you just from that converstion.  Also, for the first few months of operating my business I was obsessed by what the competition were doing.  This meant that sometimes I wasn't focused on what I should have been - i.e. building my business.  My tip would be to now forget about the competition.  Have confidence in your own service and charge the prices that you want/need to achieve to have a good living. After all if you are finding it difficult to contact the competition then so are any potential customers.

I would also suggest a simple answer machine attached to your telephone line and that you return calls each evening when you return home. After all most people are at home in the evenings.  If people do not leave a message then the answer machine sometimes will give you their number, so you can phone back anyway.  You will only miss a small percentage that withhold their numbers.  I have also purchased an 0800 freephone number via the internet.  This cost me 39 pounds plus vat and then I have to pay each month for callls used - only a few pounds per month.  This can be diverted to your home phone where you can have the answer phone attached.  If you are advertising anywhere and you are up against other companies the freephone number will just give you that edge that may make the customer choose you.

Hope this helps,
Nev.

[domestic.diva]

Hi Diva,
I did something very similar to you when I started the wheelie bin cleaning.  I had some friends phone the main competiton's freephone number.  They did not respond which led me to ask the same questions that you have. I came to two conclusions, 1. they did not care about the business and 2. they did not care about customer service.  I have always taken the view that if someone has taken the time to phone or contact your business you should always take the time to contact them, even if its just to say sorry cant do the work for whatever reason. You never know what other work may come to you just from that converstion.  Also, for the first few months of operating my business I was obsessed by what the competition were doing.  This meant that sometimes I wasn't focused on what I should have been - i.e. building my business.  My tip would be to now forget about the competition.  Have confidence in your own service and charge the prices that you want/need to achieve to have a good living. After all if you are finding it difficult to contact the competition then so are any potential customers.

I would also suggest a simple answer machine attached to your telephone line and that you return calls each evening when you return home. After all most people are at home in the evenings.  If people do not leave a message then the answer machine sometimes will give you their number, so you can phone back anyway.  You will only miss a small percentage that withhold their numbers.  I have also purchased an 0800 freephone number via the internet.  This cost me 39 pounds plus vat and then I have to pay each month for callls used - only a few pounds per month.  This can be diverted to your home phone where you can have the answer phone attached.  If you are advertising anywhere and you are up against other companies the freephone number will just give you that edge that may make the customer choose you.

Hope this helps,
Nev.

Hi Nev

Thanks for the words of support, yep I still wait!!!!! As you say the competition are not worth worrying about and at least it has given me pointers on how NOT to conduct my business.

To those who are in competition in my area, watch yourselves, a good dose of customer service is on its way!!!!!!

I have gleened information from others websites out of my area.  These rates of course are not the same as what I can charge but gives me an idea on the kind of profit to add in, etc.

Thanks too for the 0800 information, this could prove useful!

Best wishes
DD  

[garyj]

DD, have a think before getting an 0800 number.
I had one for a few months from BT and its main use was for staff letting me know why they couldn't make it to work!! Nearly all existing clients and potential ones used the normal number.
As for 'the competition', if I had worried about what they were up to I would never have got the business off the ground.

[Just a cleaner.]

Can I suggest that if you want an 0800 number try Telecom Plus https://www.telecomplus.co.uk/store/freephone.taf?exref=815002#buyform
THE NUMBERS COST NOTHING TO OBTAIN AND NOTHING TO SET UP.
All you pay is  £2 per month plus the calls which are cheaper any other freephone service.

I've had mine for five years with no problems.

[domestic.diva]

Thank you for the advice on the 0800!

DD  

[martin19842]

i did the same thing, and same thing happened.

but also you will be amazed at the number of supply companies that seem not to need NEW customers.

get in there and do the business would be my advise.

regards

martin

[domestic.diva]

i did the same thing, and same thing happened.

but also you will be amazed at the number of supply companies that seem not to need NEW customers.

get in there and do the business would be my advise.

regards

martin

Oh yes I still wait!!!!

Mind just started some commerical cleaning for extra pennies whilst setting up, plus looks more convincing whilst selling your domestic services that you are a good grafter and in chatting to the other cleaners you get to find out tonnes of other stuff, like rates their friends Brother's Cleaning business charge or what they used to earn, do this is paying off dividends, so I am going on gut feel.

As I said, competition watch your butts!

Cheers
Bev

[mr hewett]

Hi everyone,is there any one out there how can help please
im currently looking for information concerning wheelie bin cleaning,im thinking of starting a round in my local area,im looking for a manufacture that i can contact with regard to the hydralic lifting equipmemt and the water recycleing system as i wound prefer to do it this way than to have to commit my self to a franchise.also are there any associations i have to be a member of.I will be extremly gratfull for any information thanks!!!!

[George-Reid]

Mr Hewitt

Check out my web site

www.reallywheelieclean.co.uk

Then give me a call.
I will send you a pm.
Cheers

George

[josie]

what i did when i started was worked for a cleaning comp for a month to see how they did things, then started up on my own. i didnt take their customers or anything, just watched and lerned!