So I walked!

[PrimaDonna]

What's fiddlebug, tell me more.

No PM's!

Online booking software.

https://www.fittlebug.com

 

[Nomad74]

Online booking software.

https://www.fittlebug.com

I was kidding. The fiddle bug guy likes to drop PM's every chance he gets.

 

[hogjowl]

Chandler Thompson says it works for him.

He's not an idiot.

 

[encapman]

You did the right thing Sam! You're in business to take care of people and to make enough profit to stay in business. You don't need to play those kind of games.

 

[SamIam]

Did a last minute shopper yesterday 4 rooms $180. If I had seen it first I would've charged more.

Just moving in and furniture on its way. She let's me in and leaves to get cash. Husband comes home and wants me to move van so he can put his muscle car in garage. Pissed me off with his attitude and waving cash around so I move it.

Bought some skyrocket junipers for the end of my fence line on the way home. Get to plant those today.

Oh yeah it took a little over an hour to clean.

Just to qualify $35 per up to 200 sq ft $70 up to 400 sq ft.

So if it's a big living rooms $70 3 avg bed rooms $105 a small straight hall $15

A total of $190 plus more for pet treatment ect ect.

 

[Cleanworks]

No body can tell you how to run your business Sam but it does look like there is room for a price increase. Having said that, a lot guys are struggling to make $6000 per month, never mind in a week.

 

[Wayne Thompson]

I would have stuck to my price or walked. I guess I am lucky , I hardly ever have anyone say anything about price. I am word of mouth only after 24 years and do not have any advertising. I stay totally busy, as much as I want. When I started out I might have dropped the price because I was unexperienced but I have learned much about people over the years.

 

[Loren Egland]

$100 first two rooms $40 each additional. Moving furniture is extra treating pet stains and odor extra.

I still get price shoppers wanting it cheaper because because of beds and dressers in bedrooms but traffic lanes are usually worse and it takes just as long due to being careful of the furniture so Noooo no discounts for furnished rooms.

Just lost one a week ago because "the other guys" are wayyy cheaper. They can have it, next time she will pay my price maybe.

One of the advantages of charging by the square foot is that the customer is informed that they will not be paying for the whole room to be cleaned but only for the cleanable space. They like that, and you don't have that objection about not cleaning the whole room when you charge the same for an empty room as one with only part of the room being cleaned.

 

[Loren Egland]

We're shutting down Saturdays, I'm old and tired.

Yet if my week is slow because the weather 105-110 all week, I booked a couple jobs before I had to help my daughter move.

First job 4 rooms $140 quoted over the phone.

$35 per up to 200 sq ft.

Get there and she's has 4 areas but insist we don't move this or that.

So I drop 10% and say fine $126.00

She says BUT, your not doing the whole room!

Eventually I broke it down to 3 rooms hall $120 10% off $108.

She's how about $100?

At this point t I don't even want to work,

So I said you know when you were quoted the $140 over the phone?

If that was to much you probably should've shopped around.

She says if "your going to be rude we don't have to do it."

Fine have a nice day!

I don't think she even realized she cost me $20 with gas and my helper making $12 an hour to help me.

I just hate the Monty Hall let's make a deal.

When you room price and quote before you go it's supposed to weed out the idiots.


And I'm fine with that.

You might have informed her that you have $xxx minimum charge that she owes you for your service call and she would be better served to have $xxx minumum amount of cleaning done.

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and leave for nothing like you did. But when it comes to dickering with a customer, my warning attenna goes up because these are usually a problem customer who is never satisfied.

 

[Wayne Thompson]

Sometimes they are unhappy people and you are the next target, RUN

 

[rhino1]

I have had these kinds as well... I say that I can figure the job by the square footage price and see if that is cheaper. It rarely ever is, and makes the customer happy when they see how much they really could be paying if we charged our standard square footage rate with charges for pre-treatment, stain removal, power scrubbing, etc. This also works with folks that want to have more furniture moved than I figure on. I can tell them our prices we quote are for normal furniture moving- what the average person wants to have moved. If you would like those 2 pianos and 15 buffets moved I am happy to work it out for you, but that would be at our square footage rate. I know nobody really likes cheap customers who want to negotiate your rate, but it is becoming more common - I think in part because of the influx of certain cultures who always like to negotiate for everything- it's simply a part of their everyday life back home, and the "website advice" that folks get. Just remember that trying to save money doesn't make somebody a bad person or even a bad customer unless they turn into a scammer.