[daysdeepclean]

A foreman from George Whimpey asked me to look at some paint splashes which were successfully removed and he was over the moon. It saved them time and (more importantly) money, as the new carpet that was due to be fitted could be cancelled. I let him have it as a "Free" demo and now he has more new homes with stains (Rust, paint etc).

That first job took a whole 5 minutes of my time (The house is 2 doors down) but I was wondering how much to charge. I have said that if I fail to remove the stain, I won't charge, which seems fair!

[derek west]

£30 call out and then a £1 a minute.
anything over an hour and the call out is ditched.

derek
ps... just made that up but it sounds good to me.

[daysdeepclean]

Sounds bang on to what I had in mind Derek... I thought £35 initially.... If they moan about it I suppose I can quote how much it costs for other tradesmen's call out fees. i.e. Plumber £60 etc!

Cheers Derek...

[pete sween]

If you have to set up your machine or get TM running you should'nt be charging less than £50.

Did one yesterday for regular. Took 20 mins to do (not inc. set up) and had told her £55 and when did job said make it £45 as it was so quick and she said she'd rather give me the £55 because a, she was so pleased and b, she would want me to go back again for same if she needed me. Don't underestimate yourself.

Pete

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Hi Colin

Yes I would agree that's somewhere around £50 to £60 would seem fair/correct. But sometimes some jobs will take longer than an hour to remove and you should be alive to this and qualify it so that you can charge more if you go over the hour.

FOr example, nail varnish can be a slow job. I explain that it'll be £55 for the first hour and then if necessary £15 per quarter hour thereafter, although I always check back with the client at suitable time breaks to ensure they want me to continue and that they can see improvement. Obviously it may not become cost effective after a while. I did a general clean of some offices recently and they had been recently decorated with lots of white pain splashes on a dark blue carpet. I advised I would be charging extra for this and explained that at a best guess the extra cost would be between £100 and £120. It actually came in at £112. The cleaning itself was £248.

If you set the discussion up correctly you should be charging for your time and skill irrespective of whether you remove the stain. Having discussed the pros and cons and probability or removing the stain/improving it I'll finish by saying something like "the worse case scenario is that you will be £55 poorer and will still have the stain-but we'll work from there". It makes everything abundantly clear and puts the ball firmly back into the custy's court to make the decision to employ you as opposed to you appearing to force yourself on them. And you've made it clear you expect to be paid regardless of the end result.

In any case if you fail to get the stain out and they decide to claim on their insurance then your costs of attempting to remove the stain simply become part and parcel of the claim together with the cost of any report you might write to the insurance company. The only thing therefore the custy is out of pocket for will be their excess. So always take payment even if you fail to remove the stain.

Roger

[COLIN BRIGHT]

i would NEVER guarantee to remove a stain
i would charge regardless whether it came out or not, but make sure you say that at the time
sometimes they just wont shift but if its took time to try then its only fair that you charge

[Ken Wainwright]

What Colin said.

You ALWAYS charge to treat a stain, never remove a stain, so you ALWAYS charge, irrespective of the success.

I typically charge £50 for the callout and upto an hours work, but I'll also add £10 for Sat. or Sunday and at least another £10 for an "Emergency" callout.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[clinton]

I also would charge,i do a commercial in salford queys and the water dispencer is always leaking so takes me about 15 mins to get the watermark out and always get £60 and they are always happy to pay me

[daysdeepclean]

Some very interesting points, I was under the impression that it was a case of no removal no charge.... I have changed this policy with immediate effect! Thanks fella's....

[derek west]

sorry to throw a spanner in the works but if it don't come out i don't charge, thats only for local though. i do state that if i improve it to a reasonable point then i will charge.
not been in the game long but starting to know what comes out and what doesn't so i do occasionally turn jobs down if i'm 90% sure it won't come out. and i must admit, theres a few i didn't get out that i could now.
and before ken and colin have a cow on me, i'm not knocking your way. each to there own, thats what makes the world interesting.
just got back from an emergency red wine stain on poly, no problems. charge?
£20
why?
she's a client.
any one i didn't know it would of been £45
10 mins there
10 mins cleaning
5 mins set up and pack away
10 mins home.
i'm happy, she's happy,  jobs a good en.
derek

[Simon@arenaclean]

Some very interesting points, I was under the impression that it was a case of no removal no charge.... I have changed this policy with immediate effect! Thanks fella's....

I do stain 'treatment' not removal. Regardless of success or not as a professional we must charge to cover expenses if nothing else. Customers will value your service more. It is important to state a minimum charge upfront, I do it so it includes I hours labour + travel etc £45. Colin your point about a plumber is apt, customers expect to pay at least £60 + vat before the van door is opened. I consider we are skilled professionals and the difference between the splash and dash brigade and us is quality, skill and honesty and that is what a customer pays for.

[derek west]

arena clean
are you saying that if you don't charge for none removal then your unprofessional and therefore splash and dash? which is basically saying, i am
derek

[mark shannon]

£75 but will offer to clean the room.

Free or £50 for good clients.

Mark

[Ken Wainwright]

So, a carpet cleaner doesn't charge if he can't get the stain out.  Next thing your accountant wont charge you if you have to pay tax  and your solictor wont charge if he doesn't win your case 

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[derek west]

thought you'd have a cow ken.

ever heard of no win no fee, and no accountant gets you zero tax, thats just the most pathtic analogy ive ever heard.
might as well carry on now seeing as youve pushed me,
most of us do a free survey, i do. its free, no charge and they don't have to use me. is that un professional?. is that bad business practice?.
to me thats no different than assessing a stain, takes me 5 mins to know if it will come out or not. and i don't charge for that.
if i know i can move it, i give them the price.
if i know i can't move it, i tell them.
if they turned round and said have a go anyway, then i'd charge them.

a tv repair man will come out for free and tell you how much its gonna be to fix your tele, he won't just take it away and bring it back a few days later saying, "sorry mate, it can't be fixed, now that'll be £60 cos i tried"

like i said each to there own, but you decided to knock my way so why should i sit in silence just cos youve been around the block a few times.
seems to me that any newbies on here, and on most forums are there to be put down by so called experts.
from now on we should be called ego fodders not newbies.
i might not be up there when it comes to cc knowledge, but when it comes to PR and marketting you should try listening to some of us ego fodders, you might learn something.
rant over.
feel better now.

[Mike Halliday]

Derek I do it your way, if it doesn't come out I don't charge (as long as I haven't been seriously inconvenienced)

 but i work a small area so a call-out to a stain can be easily fitted in without me going to much out of my way, if I was travelling over 8 miles to a stain I would charge a fee but it would be a nominal fee ( £10-£20) if the stain was'nt improved

I used to tell customer it cost nothing for me to look at it, but if machinery comes out of the van then I would charge even if it didn't come out, but this dwindled out over time.

[Tony Gill Carpet Smart]

I ALWAY'S tell them there is no guarantee that it can be removed but if they want me to i will try.They make the choice and PAY for time and effort.

CHEERS TONY

[Simon@arenaclean]

arena clean
are you saying that if you don't charge for none removal then your unprofessional and therefore splash and dash? which is basically saying, i am
derek

Don't think I did Derek. I was just saying I charge for my time. I never called your professionalism into question. This is general discussion and the views vary, which is great. I was trying to stress that WE should be thought of in the same way as other professionals. Yes I do quotes for free but that is not what we were discussing, if I get called out for a stain that's an appointment, that's a minimum charge, if I don't think it can be removed I will tell them on the phone that's where honesty comes in. It's then the customers choice if they want me try.

[Ken Wainwright]

Ouch Derek

My post wasn't directed to you. It was, I consider, a valid contribution to the topic offering a view different to some on this forum. It's called debate.

Perhaps poor analogy on my part, but no win no fee is mainly used in the personal injury sector and then only after consideration. But you wont get that arrangement for divorce, disputes, criminal acts, etc. etc.

I think though that you will appreciate and understand the point of view that I'm taking. As business people we will invest in our education and training, our equipment, our chemical stocks etc. etc. etc. What's the point in being trained in stain removal procedures if we were to have a poor or no return from that investment? We are in business to make a PROFIT, and profit is not a dirty word.

Having said all that, I too occasionally give freebies, but only for spot removal (different to a stain) for existing customers, only if it can be done with a quick squirt and rinse with a spotting machine and only if I'm passing close by. Anything else and it's a charge.

Free survey? Surely you can't do your job without a survey of some sort? If it incurs a cost, then most people will have that expense taken into consideration in the costings of their quotation. Quotations are typically free with most service industries, but there are obvious exceptions such as when a report is required with a quotation for remedial action eg insurance report.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[derek west]

ken
apologies for thinking you were directing your post at me, (and apologies to arenaclean for thinking he was insinuating i was a cowboy)all though you did (thats ken)laugh last time i posted cleaning a rug with red wine on  it, which i didn't get out and didn't charge, that was still in my mind when i read your post and thats my excuse for my (controlled) outburst.

maybe you should apologise for laughing and belittling my methods with the rug freebie or can't you remember. don't worry, i won't hold my breath.

ps... your methods for charging regardless of removal are totally fine with me, its just not how i want to do business at the moment, maybe that will change but for now i'll keep my business how i planned it, which is, if it don't come out, i don't charge, and same goes for carpets cleaning, if i don't get the result i told the client then its free or at the least, discounted,

derek