[Neil Williams]

Nearly 100% sure I didn't get this job so let's see who would have quoted what?
Customer is moving out of property 1 which is 15 miles away. It is in her words a 2.5 bedroom property.
She is moving into property 2 which is 25 miles away (not in the same direction). This property is a 5 bed, where there had been 2 dogs and they (carpets) are beige. The total meterage on this property is 175 plus stairs and landing.
What would you have quoted on this information?
She wanted a price over the phone based on the info above.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Wouldn't get it over the phone, she's looking for about £200 as she has no value of carpet cleaning she thinks you are going to pressure wash her bins.

If I said £600 being cheap because it could be done in a day then I know it would be too much, I would insist on a survey or you could play the game with her and say "the more we do the more discount you get but I need to look first"

Depends on how much you want it as it is quite a travel.

Shaun

[Neil Williams]

I wanted it to the tune of £735.55 which included Vat although after a few years experience you can tell from the tone 'this is a price shopper'
Basically this had to be done over 2 trips because  of their moving arrangements.
It does make me wonder who got it and at what price? Whoever it is advertises in the Basingstoke/Fleet yellow pages.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I think people get a set price in mind even if they are having 1 room done or a full house, it's leathal doing that because the mind can play funny tricks.

In your mind it would have been a good job but if she called back and said will yu do it all for £400 would you? Let it go from your mind.

Shaun

[Jim_77]

Wouldn't ever consider it as one job, it's two separate ones!

Property 1, presuming an area of 600ft plus stairs and it is empty - £200 ish

Property 2 £420 ish on given area, based on empty property

If she's moving in to a house that size she ain't short of a few quid, she's probably paid the estate agent 5 times what she'd pay you to clean those carpets... and what she's paying you would be about 10% or less of the cost of re-carpeting!

It's bloody annoying, been there myself more times than I care to remember but if you've stood your ground price-wise and not caved in then you are the winner.

Imagine finishing a job and working out you've put less in your pocket per hour than some spotty prat flipping burgers at McDonalds.

[ollie]

£675 my calculations came out as. 

[ollie]

I think people get a set price in mind even if they are having 1 room done or a full house, it's leathal doing that because the mind can play funny tricks.

In your mind it would have been a good job but if she called back and said will yu do it all for £400 would you? Let it go from your mind.

Shaun

You should read "Derren Brown- Tricks of the mind"  cos your using his reasoning!

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Look around the eyes, look around the eyes,not in the eyes!!!!

Shaun

[Neil Grainger]

Neil

It was not me, Always get these types but for Jobs like this I need to see it first and wont even give a price, to many possible problems. House with 2 Dogs could be a nightmare, you could spend hours just vacing the dog hair up, and then treatin all the urine stains.

Just got my copy of Fleet and Basingstoke book, half the size of last year, if your in it you should do quit well out of the book this year.

[Mike Halliday]

I always sound a bit condecending when I say this but I wouldn't have even got to giving a price, why does anyone want to travel 25 miles to a job .....OK if you live in the Highlands of Scotland or Wales you have to travel a bit but I think most of us have enough high quality homes within a local area to never have to travel more than 15mins to a job.

but if it was local and i  had to give a price; £180 for the first house, £350ish  for the second

[Neil Grainger]

I an ideal world I would love to work like that but, I dont have a leaflet man that puts the amount of leaflets out you do, cant find a reliable no comapnies locally do this either.

Marketing is targeted to attract the types of home owners that dont all live within 3 miles of me or on estates. Lots of very big houses witin 25 miles and to be honest its not a problem driving for 45 minutes really is it. I enjoy driving and its a good chance to think things over.

I did a quote 30 miles away in Leatherhead and got the Job with a massive quote, why, because its the type of customer I want to attract. Rather do 1 big house a day than 3 small ones.

[carlton care]

Neil

Even if you'd spent half a day looking at both properties, she would still have gone for the lower quote and you would have been worse off, having spent half a day looking at the properties.

Some, no matter their social status, or apparent wealth will always go for the lowest quote.

Of course it's a pain, but do you think you might have been an equally big pain to others when you started up, getting work they would have normally done ?

It's a big cake, just getting more people nibbling at it.

[COLIN BRIGHT]

I NEVER NEVER NEVER price on the phone to new enquiries
if i cant look at the job then i dont want to do it
i find most price shoppers with hold there number when dailing
they all seem to think you can either go there instantly or that you are desperate for the job so you should do it at their price or try to beat others on price
WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG!
if you keep your standards and quality up, then not only do you get the work that you want to do, but you will find you will keep your profits up
PRICE SHOPPERS.............................PEASANTS

[craigp]

You got the right attitude Colin

giving a price over the phone is encouraging price shopping, the customer will simply take your price and look around to beat it, so your competing on a job you have not even seen! plus the customer may not even know how or why you are different from any body else, its actaully very unfair on you when customers do this.

that said sometimes they are too far away to go out:'(

[clinton]

Specialy with all the web sites now they get a price off someone and get this price in there head to how much its going to cost them,and dont think the amount of hard work you have to put in,

As the above post said it might have taken you hours to get rid of the dog hairs etc.

Be good to know who got the job and how long and how much it cost

[hotsteam]

yes price shoppers are a waste of time.
Next time I am thinking of giving a very silly low price then telling them I can do it in 3 months next Friday.
Just an idea.
Regards Hotsteam

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Give them a stupid high price and still get rid of them to a competitor which inturn may think that they can then start charging more.

Shaun

[Neil Williams]

By my standards I did go higher than normal, but that was because of the 3 elements Distance, 2 jobs over 2 dates and the tone just said 'you won't get this job unless you do it for less than £100.'
Even if she had offered for me to see the places I wouldn't have. A 30 mile round trip and time on the one and a 50 mile round trip on the other.
Neil G: The smaller job was in Fleet and the bigger one near Haslemere