I keep raising my prices

[Charlie Lyman]

In September my TM went down and I had to replace the motor. I told myself after paying the bill I had to start charging more. I went from .25 up to .30 psf. My customers didn't even blink. The last couple of jobs I charged .35. Customers aren't even batting an eye. I live in a right to work state that pays slave wages, so the cost of living is low. I didn't think I could go this high, but once I built up the confidence, it is no problem.

So to the guys that don't think you can, try it and see what happens.

 

[Blue Monarch]

Wall to wall, or actual footage cleaned?

Right now, I'm at $.33 for actual footage cleaned. Not too much resistance, but the jobs are small. Job average blows.

 

[Greenie]

Footage cleaned can get you into doing a lot of trashed traffic lanes, this is a set up for a fall, the TLs is where all the work is, and some are left less than perfect, and somehow the connotation is it's your fault.

On wall to wall pricing, you get paid for the clean stuff as well as the dirty stuff, I always told customers everyone has a soil load in a given room or area, but when it's 100% of the soil in 30% of the room, it's not easy to make look new, and in fact likely damaged from abuse.

It's also quicker to give estimates, and I will take an empty room any day over a furnished one.

Best thing we ever did was raise rates by 50%, it makes some cringe but it works for the guy who is actually doing good work and has a personality and can communicate trust.
Actually we doubled rates over 2 years time, so it can be done.

 

[hogjowl]

Why stop at .35?

Keep going until you can retire.

 

[floorguy]

well i dont charge by the sqft on homes....ha and latly i havent charged the sqft on commercial jobs..

I give them a price based on how long i think..(been pretty damned close latly) or on some i just charge when i am done..

and your right no one has blinked much...

i have been 25-50% higher then usual..

and its been kinda nice...


though this was the year to raise prices on all my reg custies anyway...and i have been going up 5-10% on all them...I usually up my regulars about every 2-3 yrs...and in that time i find ways to cut costs and time..so thats how i get raises in between.

 

[Ron Werner]

I remember my first trip with Piranha Marketing, they kept telling me to raise my price. Eventually it was 2 cleaners at the bar that convinced me to raise them. I went from .33 to .40, booked 2 jobs withing 24hrs of getting home. I've never looked back.

Now, in listening to everyone here, and realizing I need to be concerned about $/hr, I'm at .55/sf, sometimes .60, and my hourly rate is about $111 on ave.

I get quite a bit of price reluctance at this rate but I also get a fair bit of work. This tells me my price is about right for the market. If I was getting no resistance at all I would be upping it a bit.
I don't make any excuses for it now either. Its what I need to charge in order to stay in busn, and to survive here. I bought 2 small bags of groceries and dropped $70!! With my minimum at $150, it allows me to eat. If I was still at .30 or .40 and $100 min, even this board would seem expensive.

 

[Derek]

good job Chuck. and only 1 year in biz...confidence goes along way.

some say their market won't pay certain prices...maybe that is true for some. but def not all.

thanx --- Derek.

 

[Matt King]

Jeff's words.. "Do good work", "Have a personality", "Communicate Trust"... It doesn't get much better than that. No need for scare tactics or marketing hype. With those 3 things you'll get called back year after year.. Customers will consider you trustworthy, reliable and maybe even somewhat of a friend. I still believe it's the best way to build and maintain a business of any kind. Call it 'Old-Fashioned'.... :wink:

 

[TimP]

Rex and I had this discussion the other day. I think we both came to the conclusion that we both need to be at .30 a ft. He measures wall to wall and I've been doing actual sq ft that I clean. I kinda feel guilty measuring a BR that only has like 50 ft and charge for 200 ft...but that's just me. But I suppose I'm leaving money on the table. But I feel at .30 we would be better matched to the times anyhow mainly gas and it not being the 80's.

 

[Rex Tyus]

Now, in listening to everyone here, and realizing I need to be concerned about $/hr, I'm at .55/sf, sometimes .60, and my hourly rate is about $111 on ave.

So in Canada after taxes that is like $15 right.

 

[Greenie]

Tim, don't feel guilty, that same 50 sq. ft will end up being a teenage girls room, and in front of the mirrored closet door, it will be covered in make up and god knows what, you will earn your money that day, only to turn around and clean the 175 sq. ft. family room that looks twice as bad.

It all comes out in the wash, and you must admit NOT measuring fractional areas is much more appealing, heck even room pricing works if you apply common sense to a reasonable customer.

 

[Rex Tyus]

I frequently tell customers I will discount the price if they remove all the furniture prior to our arrival. I have no guilt as I measure and give price quote before the work is done. I would much rather clean an empty room than around stuff.

 

[TimP]

I agree cleaning around stuff is a pain. But then again I do feel guilty when the carpet is already clean and charge for a whole room. But I'm new at this so I need to try to get past that. I guess I'm honest to a fault. I have cleaned the daugher rooms with makeup all over the place....bridgepoint all solv was the hero that day. I will definitely work on that....my old customers are probably gonna be pissed :shock:

 

[Ron Lippold]

way to go on raising your prices it just takes a little longer to decrease the knowledge deficit.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Tim.

I am not trying to be rude or put you down, but I don't think it's honesty, I think it's stupidity. If your conscience won't let you charge for the whole room, lower your price slightly and measure the whole room. Keep your measurements on file so you never have to re-measure.

Every time they get a new piece of furniture you won't have to give another estimate, it's a waste of time any other way.

If I run into it where I have 3 bedrooms that don't have much actual exposed carpet, I measure them up, and then subtract one room, tell them I'm giving it to them for free.
Let them know time is money, and you will discount for empty rooms that save you time, but if YOU spend more money cleaning a full room, why should you discount for it? Discount when they save you money. Also, write in a little policy about moving furniture, give them 2 pieces on a smaller house, and anything over 1200 sq. ft. give them four pieces. What if they have just one or two more pieces? "Well, I'm only supposed to move 2 pieces, but I'm not an ogre, OF COURSE I'll move those extra pieces for you."

You will be getting paid enough on your jobs to be the hero, to give them things for free. Why are giving them free stuff? Because you're a nice guy. They want to get their carpets cleaned by a nice guy like you, they'll call you year after year.

Instead of measuring up tiny parts all over the house, you just measure it, and make up for it in free areas. Give them their closets and a bedroom for free, and move that one or two pieces of furniture they just have to have moved, and you'll do fine. They'll be happy, and your job averages will go up. Not to mention, it is a lot easier to raise your prices when you need to raise your prices by just not giving a freebie next time.

 

[Jim Williams]

My prices are about the same as yours Charles except by the room and I get alot of folks saying I am a bargain. My room prices will go up in January,,,,or heck, tomorrow for that matter.

Somebody on the poor side of the county told me he paid $600 to have his house powerwashed so heck, why wouldn't they pay big bucks for carpet cleaning?

 

[duckster]

I try to average $40/hr. I own my equipment and vehicle. Marketing costs work out to $15/account.

Jobs are priced based on how long I think it will take. Each job, each room in each job are different. SqFT and per room rates are a simple way of doing a price and I think that is great for some guys businesses. For mine knowing how long my experience tells me the job will take (and I am usually close enough for government work) keeps my prices fair and accounts for the uniqueness in every home.

2 rooms & hall = $49 and I am out of there in one hour. Easy money. And since they pay in cash we usually get 3x$20 bills. Nice tip. No high pressure sales but if I see something that is an area I can improve I will educate them and give them a fair price for the additional services like most guys here would I believe.

 

[Ron Werner]

Don't forget your overhead/indirect expenses Duckster. I finally learned about why I wasn't making any money and I've been cleaning for 13 yrs!

As for moving furniture and giving discounts, Mike West was the first to get me onto sq ft pricing and told me of the ad he ran all the time. Just a simple ad but had the promotion: 20-40% Off
He would measure the entire room, then take 20% off his price if they moved all the small stuff and he had to move the big stuff, and 40% off if he had nothing to move.
So my 55 cent price, I just lower that to say 25-30 if I'm cleaning a bedroom full of furn, or I raise it to 60 if I'm doing wall to wall.

Oh, that $115/hr is Canadian $'s, That buys me $130US. Bought time we got some good buying power! Bugger is, I still pay more for the same product you guys in the US buy cause I have to pay shipping across the border!!

Any of you Canadians what to start a chem/equip manufacturing plant up here????

 

[duckster]

I do like the discount idea. I had been thinking of a 35% OFF deal and you just gave me an idea of how they can get the discount. I like empty rooms.

 

[Greenie]

Duckster, are you serious.
You've got a nice job, but how about running a for profit business?

My average customer in your area charges twice what you do, so quit giving it away. wait...does your profile Say you clean with mytee and what ever is cheapest? I take that back, you are probably doing ok, it's just you are working slower than the other guys. How are you dry times?

 

[Out of Character - 0]

I try to average $40/hr. I own my equipment and vehicle. Marketing costs work out to $15/account.

Why so hard on yourself? Your charging below the direct cost of having a single low waged employee do the work.

Example:
Marketing- $7 hr (if your average job is 2 hrs) Low, from my experience.
fuel: $3hr (assuming use of 2 gallons to commute to a 2hr job) Porty, I know.
Chems:$3hr (varies alot from co to co. We burn $5-10hr worth.)

$40hr - $13 hr above = $27hr. Pay 1 guy $15 and it'll cost ya about $19hr.

Now your left with $8hr . If you payed your guy for .5 hrs total commute for a 2hr job that just cost you $5hr off the remaining $8hr.

Take your (way high estimate) $3 per hour profit, maintain your equipment, pay your insurance and other overhead. Don't worry about paying taxes cause you lost money. What are you going to eat and where are you sleeping?

Not to offend, just trying to help.

I could have probably made my example easier to follow but I don't have the time. I really feel that my above estimate is unrealistically optimistic.

 

[Charlie Lyman]

I posted this to let the low price guys know that you can get the higher prices.
After the $3000 repair bill on my TM, I knew that I HAD to charge more. I did not have the money to pay for the repair and had been working my butt off. The only solution was to go higher.
Just did a lady's house for the second time. Cost her $50 more this time. She didn't question it. I'm sure someone will and I will have to explain the rising cost of doing business.
2 jobs a day making $50 more= $500 more a week. That helps for the slow times and the unexpected costs.

 

[duckster]

Duckster, are you serious.
You've got a nice job, but how about running a for profit business?

I am referring to 35% and not doing $49 jobs. Quote $.50 and take 35% off for empty room. Min $125 /job.

Not 35% off $49. And most of my jobs are within 5 miles. That is where I market on a consistent basis. So gas costs me next to nothing per job.

Just wanted to clear that up.

 

[Greenie]

Somebody once told me If you are an owner operator and still getting tips, you NEED to raise your prices, even your customers are telling you, you work cheap and they are willing to pay more.

Raise your rates 25% tomorrow, don't think about it, just do it, and you just might retire a decade sooner, cause at those rates I know you aren't socking much away for retirement.

 

[joey895]

I try to average $40/hr. I own my equipment and vehicle. Marketing costs work out to $15/account.

I just want to know what kind of marketing you're doing that each customer only costs $15 to aquire?

 

[duckster]

I just want to know what kind of marketing you're doing that each customer only costs $15 to aquire?

Nothing more than coupons professionally designed and printed which are distributed to the same neighborhoods every month. Its the Xerox formula for learning. See how many different ways we can find to say thing until everyone gets it.

 

[Wayne Miller]

We had the same experience, Charles.

I was talking with an old customer back in Maryland today. She's had a miserable time finding someone she's happy with. She said something a lot of cleaners don't fully appreciate.

She said, "[the carpet cleaner] is going to be in your house for a long time. You want to feel comfortable while they're in there with you."

It took me a years to understand that while I'm thinking I'm selling one thing, my customers have a whole different perception of what they're buying.

It's not just the cleaning, it's the whole of the relationship people are buying.

People will pay a premium for an automobile they perceive is safer. People will pay extra for a doctor with a better bed-side manner because they perceive he's more concerned and attentive to their needs. People pay $35 for a hunk of cow that'll be gone in fifteen minutes. People will also pay a premium for services delivered with the same sorts of comforts.

When someone likes you, they buy you. When someone trusts you, they don't want someone else. Just MHO based on my own experience, one of the best things anyone can do is to just raise your price five cents PSF, don't say a word about it, and watch what happens. Have a little guts and see it through.

Granted, if you've got stable full of price-shoppers you'll no doubt catch a lot of grief. That's a whole nother issue. There's a large pool of buyers who value the stuff they have, who choose to live in clean surroundings, and who are frustrated because they can't find anyone willing to do the little extra it takes to give them what the want. If you've been building relationships with those folks, raise your price a nickel and watch. If you have the resolve to stick with it you just might have the same pleasant
2 X 4 between-the-eyes moment I had.

 

[Dolly]

Why tip toe through the tulips.

I get anywhere from 30 to 75 per room. I just go around, price in my
head from the looks of the condition, add up what I want for each room and give them a total after I explain my procedure and what can be accomplished.

don't remember anyone turning me away. I have gotten the jobs right on the spot and got to work.

Feel Guilty? naw..............Why...........they are to lazy to keep it clean or clean it up......

I feel I should get what my time is worth..............