Do any of you run two cleaning companys?

[Mikey P]

One for high end and one for the middle/lower end stuff?
I am in an area that will only support so much "High End" work" so I've given thought to use my second truck to go after the apartment/renters and tight budgeters with a different name and employees.

I would love to hear how you refer your other company to price shoppers and handle the phones.


What are your thoughts?

 

[renegade_cowboy]

So it sounds like your not able to keep busy being a "high end cleaner", so why dont you meet in the middle and offer resonable prices that majority of the people can afford. Why do you think SS is so successfull, because they are affordable to most everyone and there system is so easy and streamlined for the custy, just like a McDonalds.

I know ego's are big in this industry and they want the customer to pay the $price$ for it. Thats cool if your gonna stay a O/O, but its obviously harder to grow a "high end" cleaning business as you are finding out.

You have to ask you self what do you want for your company years down the road. Do you still want to be a O/O that cleans carpet or do you want to be a business man that owns a carpet cleaning company?

I have never heard of anyone owning two carpet cleaning companies, one for the "high" and the "low". I think there would be alot of wasted time and resources doing that. Basically a big mistake, one will fail. It would be easier and less stressful working on the one you got and making that work to be successful and busy.

I think high end cleaners fill a small nitch of the carpet cleaning pie. Sure you charge more for your time but its harder to get those jobs and keep doing them year after year. It is hard to get an honest opinion from "high end" O/O because the ego gets in the way and want to come off as successful people, but I wonder how many BB people out there that do that, are on the verge of losing it all are going insane.

IMHO I wouldn't waste your time on owning a second carpet cleaning business. Just make the one you have work better to keep that second van of yours busy.

Brent

 

[TimP]

For Mikey I think it's a brilliant move. He can stay out on the truck and make money doing "premium" work. While his other truck and workers run around making him some good money doing mediocre work. He wont have to expect the best and he wont have to worry about his reputation being hurt with screw ups. And if it fails no big deal.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

timmy

He wont have to expect the best and he wont have to worry about his reputation being hurt with screw ups. And if it fails no big deal.

I do hope your kidding. He still has to worry about his reputation because he owns that low end company, it gets a bad rap, he gets and bad rap along with the high end company. It just seems shady. And why would you want to own a lesser company than the one he has. And it is a big deal if it fails because he could lose his reputation, money and time doing it.

 

[DUSTY]

I gotta aggree with Papa. Not worth the hassle and mess made by the low end company.

My question for Mikey is how do you know that you have reached a saturation point for the high end market?

 

[harryhides]

I've run two companys for years.

One is middle of the road - mini-Haggopian type and the other is a "Specialty service" for Carpet Dealers, Designers, Insurance and Mill claims along with small flood restoration, Leather, stain removal, color and carpet repairs or iffy fabrics, antiques and rugs that no-one else around here wants to touch. Most of these are taken on "at owners or customers risk" and cleaned . This Company also gets a lot of referrals from the minim Haggopian.

It works for me. If someone like Mike was to do this, I'd suggest keep the high end Biz and run a middle of the road alternate Company - but not a low end one. Apt owners are not worth chasing, period.

 

[Art Kelley]

I would argue that you should go in the opposite direction. If you feel you've plateaued, you could fire your help and work alone. You'll make more money and enjoy life more. Isn't that what you want?

 

[TimP]

Look I don't care what anyone says. Employees will never do work like an owner. Especially to the caliber that Mikey demands, and also more importantly if they aren't supervised. He has a niche market for the absolute best cleaning and he definitely don't want to screw that up. Also I don't see how people would know it's the same company. But what I'm saying he can't get the same quality as he does with employees and having a different division is the only way I can see that he can charge less and not get into a confusing battle with a customer who will all demand the cheaper cleaning when he's called out to a job. It's not shady at all it's a smart business move. Protect what you have, and experiment with employees and if it don't work he has a buffer over is main business. And for some reason I'm getting the impression that you guys are thinking that I'm saying send em out let the screw people over and make a disaster it don't matter, and that's not what I'm saying.

To Mikey anything else other than what he does is mediocre. I'm trying to say, priced right in the middle and give them what they pay for. Of course he's going to have to find someone to manage the extra load cause it will be hard to do while working his own truck. But in theory the idea to me is Golden. And he wont have much to loose other than paying employees and insurance, all businesses have a risk and I believe having an established business like he has if he fails it's no big deal just a learning experience. Also what keeps people from making the big bucks is that they don't try to make it happen.

I've tossed the idea around with some other cleaners about offering a budget cleaning. It's hard for us to legitimize doing it, but that is what some customers can afford and demand. That's why SS still is in business. But to risk our reputation and having to deal with the low end customer is something I don't care to deal with. Plus I personally don't care about running around town to splash and dash. And you guys need to get off the one size fits all service for our industry, there are different levels of service and some customers only want so much even knowing the difference. I think Mikey is smart cause he recognizes that there is only so much business at the top, I would say most of the customer are in the mid priced range, just like most people are middle class workers. He could potentially grow into a huge company and knock coit out of town.

 

[hogjowl]

High end service- vacuum, prespay, rinse

Low end company- prespray ,rinse

Anything more than that is nothing more than method masturbation.

 

[Mikey P]

Anything more than that is nothing more than method masturbation.

maybe for a slow learning like your self.

IMO it would work like this:

High end service- vacuum,edge, pre scrub i/n, prespray, rinse, post pad i/n groom w/ 2 techs = .50 and up

Low end company- Vacuum, pre spray, scrub i/n and rinse with detergent using cheaper, paid for truck and one tech. .30 and up

 

[LeeCory]

Are you planning two different phone numbers and different people answering the phone?

 

[hogjowl]

I understand what you're saying Mikey, but to tell you the truth, I feel there is a point at which you get diminishing returns. From a customer perspective way. Let me explain.

Friday, I serviced a referral who came to me with high expectations. I measured and gave her a fairly high price, which she hesitantly accepted. I gave her the bells and whistles cleaning. I vac'd, edged, preprayed, rotary scrubbed and rinsed. I moved almost all her furniture. She really got a great job!

However, when I left, I evaluated what I had just done and realized that, while giving her high quality service, I had spent the entire morning there, and it was in fact 1:30 PM before I left. I made my $100 per hour target, so the job was very profitable, but I had only impressed one customer. I COULD have impressed her with a simple vac.,prespray and rinse. The cleaning would have been just as good, AND I would have been able to fit in another customer that morning and made TWO cheerleaders.

So, did I do the smart thing? Not sure, but in my market I can fully impress my customers by simply adding the vacuuming step, and you and I both know (if you'll actually think about it) that with a high quality prespray (like JJ), you RARELY have to prescrub. So ... is all the other stuff just fluff that causes you to unnecesarilly over price yourself out of a large part of your market?

Like you, I don't want to chase the low end, but there is only so much high end here in Prattville, Alabama. The vast majority is right in the middle around here, and if I am going to successfully build a multi-truck business, it's the middle market that will have to be my base.

 

[Dolly Llama]

IMO it would work like this:

High end service- vacuum,edge, pre scrub i/n, prespray, rinse, post pad i/n groom w/ 2 techs = .50 and up

Low end company- Vacuum, pre spray, scrub i/n and rinse with detergent using cheaper, paid for truck and one tech. .30 and up

Mike, you're doing no more than offering different levels of service.
No different than offering a full blown scrub and extract or giving them an option of encRap scrub'n run sCampoo.
(you offer that now, no?)

as far as "paid for", that stuff will need replaced eventually.
Then what happens???

give them "options" and expand in the "middle"


..L.T.A.

 

[Jimmy L]

"High End" gets the vacuum treatment "Four corners techinque".

All the rest get the vac and prespray on the wand forward stroke.

 

[Mikey P]

Mike, you're doing no more than offering different levels of service.
No different than offering a full blown scrub and extract or giving them an option of encRap scrub'n run sCampoo.
(you offer that now, no?)




..L.T.A.

NO, I don't offer vlm in the home but I will do it if they ask.

Maybe your right. Offer packages to the price shoppers and for my repeats and snooty clients just give them the Full Monty and ding em.

 

[Rex Tyus]

Maybe your right. Offer packages to the price shoppers and for my repeats and snooty clients just give them the Full Monty and ding em.

That is exactly the thought process I have been leaning towards. I haven't made the move YET. But I was telling TimP the other day the next price shopper I get I am gonna ask "do you want it cheap or do you want it right?" I can give them whatever they want. Just gotta decide on the details of the packages.

 

[diamond brian]

I have interests in a low-end operation as an investor. Silent partner. Very silent.

If the buying public knew you owned both, it would dilute the Con-i-sewer brand you've worked hard to develop.

 

[Mikey P]

So you package guys, how do you deal with the cheapo customer how insists on the Basic but need the Premium?

Then when the carpet doesn't look so hot she wont tell her inquisitive neighbor that she was too cheap to pay for what it really needed?


Do any of you package co.'s have a description of each you'd like to share?

 

[Rex Tyus]

Then when the carpet doesn't look so hot she wont tell her inquisitive neighbor that she was too cheap to pay for what it really needed?

You will have to drop that soft water rinse mindset.

Emulsifier baby!!!
The look you want at a price you can afford.

 

[Mikey P]

No kidding.

No softener anyhow.

I'll be running some stpp for sure.

 

[Dolly Llama]

So you package guys, how do you deal with the cheapo customer how insists on the Basic but need the Premium?

there's a difference between a "cheapo" custy and a "value" conscience custy.
Don't confuse the two.
One you don't want, the other can put plenty bread in your jar.
If measured by dollar pr hour gross, "maybe" as much as your vac, spray, scrub, post pad , groom, jobs.

the "value" custy doesn't want, need, (or can't afford) Hicks, Rampage, vEEgs and Co to massage her carpets into glory.
She wants a "decent" cleaning at a decent price.

She's been happy with the SS and Hagopians of the world.
If you can't make her happy, you're in trouble....


here's a suggestion if you want to make happy peeps AND money with "value" price custys;
skip the vac unless it's obvious "to the eye" it needs it.
Get a slot glide.
limit the amount of furniture moved (or let them know you charge more for that)
use strong pre-sprays
run emulsifier thru the TM.
(now that you have a TM that will actually meter chem)
Nuke the trashed ones and turn up the heat to "hissssss and spit" temps

..l.T.A.

 

[Scott]

So you package guys, how do you deal with the cheapo customer how insists on the Basic but need the Premium?

Then when the carpet doesn't look so hot she wont tell her inquisitive neighbor that she was too cheap to pay for what it really needed?


Do any of you package co.'s have a description of each you'd like to share?

Mikey -

The expectation of the customer, no matter if you charge .80/sqft or $6.99 a room, is the cleanest carpet possible. If a customer pays $6.99/room and has to go back over the carpet with a Rug Doctor because they perceive it's not cleaned thoroughly, they're going to feel they were overcharged because the expectation wasn't met. (expectation = clean carpet)

So if the cleanest carpet possible is the expectation, I don't believe it's viable for professional cleaners to package levels of clean, but rather we should package value-added items instead.

Protector, deodorizer (I don't like this one, but it's an option), moving furniture, cleaning credits, volume discounts, spotter bottles, etc. are all packagable items that aren't attached to the basic expectation and therefore are much easier for customer to choose from. But allowing them to pick a lesser cleaning just invites trouble and diminishes your value.

That's my .02.

Scott

 

[bob vawter]

"Emulsifier baby!!!
The look you want at a price you can afford."

WHAAA HOOO BABY!

Come out here and i gives you the skinny...!

HA

 

[Rex Tyus]

Yea Bawb but it has to look good for more than a week. I saw your pictures. A sincere thanks but no thanks.

 

[hogjowl]

I did the package thing for years. All it did was confuse the customer. Scott is right on the money when he says they want it clean. Clean is clean in their minds. Heck, only here is clean defined in some ICS circle jerk, orgasmic way.

If you can't compete in your market place by pricing a basic vac, prespray and rinse method, then you seriously need to re-evaluate your business practices. In my opinion, the way to do this is to price the basic three steps at your expected profit margin, base you prices on that figure and upsell everything else NEEDED on the job site. If it needs rotary scrubbing, suggest it and price it extra. Deodorization, scotchgard, urine treatments, etc. are all extra.

This whole subject comes around every couple of years, we beat it to death.

 

[Ken Snow]

I agree with Scott. we all want to percieve quality for our money spent regardless of how much that is.

 

[joey895]

If you are upselling rotary scrubbing when it's "needed" then aren't you upselling your level of "clean"?

Just curious. That's something I've questioned myself about. As of right now I include it when it's needed, which is rarely.

I've recently switched to sf pricing and at the same time made the switch to packages. I have three packages with the only differences being how much furniture is moved and whether or not protector is applied.

 

[hogjowl]

Do you always pay for car detailing even when a car wash will do?

 

[gasaxe]

id offer my opinion but im just a hack..
according to new customers and local carpet shops im the best "hack" around and i cost more than everybody else but im worth it...
I service high end golf course doctor,lawyer types as well as property managers and lower end rentals with different price structure accordingly and they seem to understand the value of what they are getting..

 

[joey895]

Do you always pay for car detailing even when a car wash will do?

No, but where I'm torn is if it really "needs" rotary scrubbing and I don't do it and the carpet comes out mediocre, then when the customer tells their friends about me or if someone asks them about the job, they are going to say I did a mediocre job. They will conveniently leave out the part about them turning down paying a few extra dollars for a rotary scrubbing and better result. I'm a terrible advertiser and need excellent word of mouth so for now I don't ask I just do it when it needs it.

I was trying to answer your other question but the post was gone. But lets just say that most days a few extra minutes pre-scrubbing a carpet will not kill me and it would be me doing the scrubbing.