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Aquakleen Restoration Services

  • Posts: 1083
Just had a woman on the phone....
« on: May 12, 2008, 06:53:46 pm »
How much would you charge me to clean a 3 seater sofa and a living room carpet. I said £95.00. WWWHHHHAAAATTTT HOWWWWW MUCHHH?
The last guy did it for £20! Well why dont you call him? I lost his number! Yeah right!


Shaun_Ashmore

  • Posts: 11382
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2008, 08:17:04 pm »
At £20 I think she was trying it on, in 20 years I have never seen an advert for £20 to clean a 3pc suite.

These people infuriate you because every call you get you think you have a decent chance of converting into work IMO all they are doing is holding up your telephone line.

Shaun

Paul Redden Countryfresh

  • Posts: 773
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2008, 08:39:17 pm »
Unbelievable..I'm glad I'm not the only one...we had wayne and waynenetter ring today.." how much one small room?" £40??? how long will it take to dry?" us.." is it short pile or long pile?   "what do you mean?" ???  ::)
Needless to say we didn't get the job...Phew
"So basically its a big vax!"

mark_roberts

  • Posts: 1899
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2008, 09:11:30 pm »
is it short pile or long pile?   "what do you mean?

Thats a fair enough answer to your question considering most dont know the type of carpet, the size of the carpet or even what the stains are.

Had one last week.  Gave her a price for a 12x12 room and then she asked did I have any special offers off that price.

Mark

Shaun_Ashmore

  • Posts: 11382
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2008, 09:29:23 pm »
I guess it's the old saying "if you don't ask you don't get" I usually tell them that if they have 2 carpets done (when they've asked for 1) that they qualify for a discount just to push the order value up, but I always stet that there are no real discounts for 1 carpet cleaning as there is no real profit after fuels etc etc etc

Shaun

Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2008, 10:11:28 pm »
My customers ask when can it be done ........ if anyone asks price, i hang up  ;D

Kidding ....... tell people it could be £4.00 a sq metre ........ they have idea of sizes and realise a maximum cost. I confirm price before starting (likely to be more like £3.50 sq m) and do job........these are customers i like and have now  ;)

steve cardy

  • Posts: 184
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2008, 07:23:07 am »
I had a call from a woman last week and i thought it was one of those urban myth for carpet cleaners. She told that me that she needed 5 bedrooms stairs and landing cleaned as her previous carpet cleaner had sadly died. Before i could give her some idea on price she said that he use to charge her £40.00 for the lot. I think you can guess my reply.

stevegunn

Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #8 on: May 13, 2008, 07:30:47 am »
There is one in the chronicle who charges 2x carpets £20 and a suite £35 the advert he puts in costs £835 per month.You do the maths how much is is making? Another way of looking at it is if on minimum wage £5.50 =£220 a week for 8 hour day,four suites £140 for a days work or four carpet jobs £80 still making more than minimum wage.

from edge2edge

  • Posts: 1507
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2008, 07:42:24 am »
I have a couple of small hire machines so if they are one of these cheap as you like types then i offer them a machine to do it themselves.Some do take up the offer so at least i get the money on offer in some cases.Alan (swindon)

Joe H

Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2008, 08:17:27 am »
I guess it's the old saying "if you don't ask you don't get" I usually tell them that if they have 2 carpets done (when they've asked for 1) that they qualify for a discount just to push the order value up, but I always stet that there are no real discounts for 1 carpet cleaning as there is no real profit after fuels etc etc etc

Shaun
That sounds about right Shaun.
The price of fuel today makes it even harder to make on the "one carpet" cleans.
We need to be realistic 1. about our own costs. 2. about what the customer will pay seeing times are tight.
Up selling by as you say "I can do a discount on a 2nd (or 3rd) carpet" sounds good sense to me.

Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2008, 08:39:11 am »
There will always be a spectrum of what people will pay and what their expectations are. The £20 woman is right on the edge and I wouldn't even bother codgetating about the whys and wherefores of her thinking, and certainly wouldn't draw any inferences about the economy and my pricing.


Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2008, 04:53:17 pm »
i try not to give prices over the phone, normally if their serious about a job, they will let you go quote

Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2008, 05:07:17 pm »
Quoted on job recently, to be told that i was twice the price of another quote she had and maybe she might use me in the future !!

If i was too dear now......... it will be worse next time she calls  :o

Emailed her back and wished her the best ........ added that i do not compete on price as my customers demands are quality driven and NOT price driven  ;D

Aquakleen Restoration Services

  • Posts: 1083
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2008, 07:51:04 pm »
Beautifully put Chris Ill remember that line for future reference  ;)

Len Gribble

  • Posts: 5106
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #15 on: May 13, 2008, 09:17:15 pm »
Most calls are from woman they hold the purse strings, if it man hang on ill talk to the misses and it’s not about when you can do it. ???

Mike

Married are we? :D ;D

Chris

Not ott on m&s samwages, greasy Joe’s ;)

Len
Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. (Sidcup Kent)

*paul_moss

  • Posts: 2961
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #16 on: May 13, 2008, 09:20:36 pm »
I would charge £75 for the sofa alone.
Paul Moss  MBICSc
www.mosscleaning.co.uk
REMOVED FOR POSTING OFFENSIVE MATERIAL

Ian Rochester

  • Posts: 2588
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #17 on: May 13, 2008, 10:20:42 pm »
We're not the most expensive but I went to do a quote on some corded commercial carpet today, 292sq m, and they wanted us to move all the furniture, tables, chairs, bins etc.

Chap told me he had to get three quotes and so far his best quoted price had been £80.00 !!

Shaun_Ashmore

  • Posts: 11382
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #18 on: May 13, 2008, 10:25:33 pm »
I bet removal men would charge more than that to move the tables alone!

Shaun

2cleanright

  • Posts: 67
Re: Just had a woman on the phone....
« Reply #19 on: May 13, 2008, 10:30:03 pm »
Lionheart - I would have asked if he had mis-read the quote. There must be another "0" in there!