I was just trying to figure out what is a correct price for charging area rugs. I understand that some take the rugs away to an off-site location and bring it back for a certain price. If you don't have an off site facility and will be cleaning the rug on site what would be a suitable price. I was thinking in the $1-$2 sq/ft range. Does this sound right?
AREA RUG PRICING??
- Thread starter Rescue
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Guest
Guest
So if you were to charge $2 a sq ft and the custi has an 8X10 olefin rug they bought at Wal-Mart, it would cost them $160 for you to clean it?
The Preacher
Member
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- Oct 13, 2006
- Messages
- 3,401
figure your cost + % of profit you want to make.
simplest way i know to price something!
simplest way i know to price something!
No I don't believe he is being sarcastic. An olefin rug is a piece of cake to clean. The only thing that could cause some problems is cotton fringe on some of them.
You would certainly not charge $2 a sq. ft. to clean an olefin rug, but you could easily do that with wool rugs and other finer rugs.
DevilDog
You would certainly not charge $2 a sq. ft. to clean an olefin rug, but you could easily do that with wool rugs and other finer rugs.
DevilDog
How about this-
Charge 10% of the retail cost.
A $150.00 Home Depot olefin rug would be $15.00
A $5000 Chinese or Persian wool would be $500.
But ya gotta know what you are doing.
If you don't know what you are doing, take it to a professional who knows their stuff, and will do it right.
Most shops give a discount for cash and carry, that is your profit for picking up and delivery.
Gary
Charge 10% of the retail cost.
A $150.00 Home Depot olefin rug would be $15.00
A $5000 Chinese or Persian wool would be $500.
But ya gotta know what you are doing.
If you don't know what you are doing, take it to a professional who knows their stuff, and will do it right.
Most shops give a discount for cash and carry, that is your profit for picking up and delivery.
Gary
If you do not have a shop to take the rug to, then you are offering a different (maybe lesser) service by cleaning the rugs at their place. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with doing that, so long as the customer is ok with it.
There is a big difference between cleaning a $3000 oriental wool rug, and just 'hitting-up' the walmart nylon rugs with the wand in their livingroom.
The wand-in-the-livingroom/hitting it up while while we are here service, I usually go between 15 & 30 bucks a rug if the rug is a cheap one. Its easy cash & you'll have to go slow just so they feel like they're getting a good deal.
(I'm sure you're checking tags or testing fibers to see what you're cleaning 1st)
The 1 to 2 dollar per sq ft charge is justified if you are giving it the 'premium' treatment. Now you're getting into things like pick-up & delivery, hanging the rug in a shop & blasting high psi air thru the backing, maybe even running it thru a bather, etc...
Embarrassing but true story: Before we had a shop, we had this lady give us like 8 rugs to clean. we rolled em all up, took em behind a supermarket, layed em out on clean concrete, & took the wand to them, one after another. Later we delivered them rolled-up, packaged & tagged. Avoid doing this if you can help it. And if they insist on you taking then rugs away, its good to wrap them in brown-parper for delivery, as opposed to plastic. The plastic will sweat.
There is a big difference between cleaning a $3000 oriental wool rug, and just 'hitting-up' the walmart nylon rugs with the wand in their livingroom.
The wand-in-the-livingroom/hitting it up while while we are here service, I usually go between 15 & 30 bucks a rug if the rug is a cheap one. Its easy cash & you'll have to go slow just so they feel like they're getting a good deal.
(I'm sure you're checking tags or testing fibers to see what you're cleaning 1st)
The 1 to 2 dollar per sq ft charge is justified if you are giving it the 'premium' treatment. Now you're getting into things like pick-up & delivery, hanging the rug in a shop & blasting high psi air thru the backing, maybe even running it thru a bather, etc...
Embarrassing but true story: Before we had a shop, we had this lady give us like 8 rugs to clean. we rolled em all up, took em behind a supermarket, layed em out on clean concrete, & took the wand to them, one after another. Later we delivered them rolled-up, packaged & tagged. Avoid doing this if you can help it. And if they insist on you taking then rugs away, its good to wrap them in brown-parper for delivery, as opposed to plastic. The plastic will sweat.
Dolly Llama
Number 5
Rescue said:
Joe, tell me, if you're simply vaccing and wanding an area rug on "their' floor, in "their" home, just like you clean wall to wall carpet, how are figuring to charge 2 to 5 times as much just cause it's an area rug??
if you intend to use a different procedure than the one I described, please share with us what your procedure will be.
..L.T.A.
Shawn Forsythe
RIP
Prices should be based on cost (cost to clean, not value of rug) . If you are not competitive, alter your process to lower costs or differentiate your service and marketing to justify the greater expense.
Prices for area rugs generally run 2-3 dollars per square foot, retail, for general cleaning.
Prices for area rugs generally run 2-3 dollars per square foot, retail, for general cleaning.
rhyde
Member
I've never priced based on value of rug rather the service provided. I'm not going discount my time but work just as hard to get a nasty Urine soaked olefin or tufted rug from Wal-Mart clean.
John Watson
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 2,885
Raise the grain on a wood floor or an all of a sudden dye transfer to a carpet underneath and find out how much it cost to do rugs on location!!!! It doesn't matter if they are wal-mart specials or a 1950's Nickels.. Insurance won't help for negligence. A lot of help is on
therughub.com to make your own mini plant..
therughub.com to make your own mini plant..
Mikey P
Administrator
We had one the other day that was a special case.
The customer was referred by the Talisman. They did not want to take the rug out of the house because it meant hauling it up a brand new 150K hand painted/ faux finish spiral staircase.
So we were recommended to go there (up in Palo Alto about a 1:15 minutes drive) and clean it on location.
A "Shearling" wool/shag 12 x 16 with not a spot on it, over a wtw wool berber. We put some Visqueen under it and wanded/airpathed for 3.75 a foot.
We had another job not far away other wise it wouldn't have been worth even the 3.75 time wise.
The customer was referred by the Talisman. They did not want to take the rug out of the house because it meant hauling it up a brand new 150K hand painted/ faux finish spiral staircase.
So we were recommended to go there (up in Palo Alto about a 1:15 minutes drive) and clean it on location.
A "Shearling" wool/shag 12 x 16 with not a spot on it, over a wtw wool berber. We put some Visqueen under it and wanded/airpathed for 3.75 a foot.
We had another job not far away other wise it wouldn't have been worth even the 3.75 time wise.
$1.00 a sq ft and never got a complaint. One guy I quoted before I picked up($10.00 to pick and drop) when I returned them he said it cost more to clean them than it did to buy them. I told him I guess he should have bought new ones. It is not my fault he chose to have them cleaned.
Mikey P
Administrator
Make sure you vacuum both sides, bottom first.
You'll need to sweep the floor after knocking the dust/grit loose from the back.
Carry a roll of 400 by 10 painters plastic to protect wood/ laminate floors and the like.
You'll need to sweep the floor after knocking the dust/grit loose from the back.
Carry a roll of 400 by 10 painters plastic to protect wood/ laminate floors and the like.
rug pricing
Most folks are charging 1.50-2.00/sq ft for synthetic rug cleaning and 2.50-3.50/sq. ft for natural fiber rugs
Often the cost of cleaning and are exceeds the cost of some of these cheep decorator rugs.
Important thing to remember is that many clients will pay as much or even more then the replacement cost of the rug if the rug fits their decor well.
Here is exactly how we do it:
On inspection we will let the client know exactly what to expect for results and then do a satisfaction guarantee based on our expected results. It the client is not thrilled with the results we wont charge them.
On a cheep rug we will state that the cost of care will likely exceed the cost of replacement, HOWEVER, if they like the rug and it fits their decor then it is probably not worth the hassle of finding another rug which is next to impossible anyhow.
Most clients will agree with this line of thought.
I learned this by listening to my clients, and i can assure you that this line of thought resonates with my clients because we care for cheep rugs everyday where the care price exceeds the replacement cost..
Make sure you read the proceeded paragraphs again as this is money in the bank for you!
Of coarse, if the rug is not going to clean up well (or damaged) then you must let the client know this on inspection otherwise you are going to have unhappy clients. What used to be surprising to me is that some clients with very nasty rugs will still want them done, and in that case we make sure they prepay to qualify the client.
The next thing to remember is that the rug will likely need more then just cleaning.
We have a fantastic way of promoting our other services that is in the form of a draw for a hand knotted rug survey. This makes us a ton of $$
Other services to offer are:
Repairs,, we sub all that out and double to triple our cost on them and its easy to find someone that will be happy to do this for you.
Rug pad,, again double to triple and most rugs need pad and all you have to do is ask the client!
Stinkers,,, we charge as much as double for full immersion with a guaranteed odor treatment
Allergens,, again when presented well many clients will want this and masterblend makes a great formula for this.
Moth,,we charge 1.25 a sq. foot for this and masterblend makes a great moth repellent
Warranted Protective finish,, this is our big winner.
The amazing thing for us is to see a client automatically ask for these other services and then pay top $$ and go away super happy, come back the next day with more (and better) rugs and refer us to their friends.
Of coarse I don't recommend you ever do rugs on location.
1. You can never clean a rug properly
2. Your client will never respect you as a rug care expert and will only ever shop rug cleaning like a commodity.
3. It to easy to damage the floor or rug and this can be very expensive
4. If you don't want to do rugs yourself then sub them out to a serious rug plant. (We give a very healthy 40% discount to carpet cleaners and this makes it very profitable to do nothing but pick up and del the rugs)
I love rugs!
Most folks are charging 1.50-2.00/sq ft for synthetic rug cleaning and 2.50-3.50/sq. ft for natural fiber rugs
Often the cost of cleaning and are exceeds the cost of some of these cheep decorator rugs.
Important thing to remember is that many clients will pay as much or even more then the replacement cost of the rug if the rug fits their decor well.
Here is exactly how we do it:
On inspection we will let the client know exactly what to expect for results and then do a satisfaction guarantee based on our expected results. It the client is not thrilled with the results we wont charge them.
On a cheep rug we will state that the cost of care will likely exceed the cost of replacement, HOWEVER, if they like the rug and it fits their decor then it is probably not worth the hassle of finding another rug which is next to impossible anyhow.
Most clients will agree with this line of thought.
I learned this by listening to my clients, and i can assure you that this line of thought resonates with my clients because we care for cheep rugs everyday where the care price exceeds the replacement cost..
Make sure you read the proceeded paragraphs again as this is money in the bank for you!
Of coarse, if the rug is not going to clean up well (or damaged) then you must let the client know this on inspection otherwise you are going to have unhappy clients. What used to be surprising to me is that some clients with very nasty rugs will still want them done, and in that case we make sure they prepay to qualify the client.
The next thing to remember is that the rug will likely need more then just cleaning.
We have a fantastic way of promoting our other services that is in the form of a draw for a hand knotted rug survey. This makes us a ton of $$
Other services to offer are:
Repairs,, we sub all that out and double to triple our cost on them and its easy to find someone that will be happy to do this for you.
Rug pad,, again double to triple and most rugs need pad and all you have to do is ask the client!
Stinkers,,, we charge as much as double for full immersion with a guaranteed odor treatment
Allergens,, again when presented well many clients will want this and masterblend makes a great formula for this.
Moth,,we charge 1.25 a sq. foot for this and masterblend makes a great moth repellent
Warranted Protective finish,, this is our big winner.
The amazing thing for us is to see a client automatically ask for these other services and then pay top $$ and go away super happy, come back the next day with more (and better) rugs and refer us to their friends.
Of coarse I don't recommend you ever do rugs on location.
1. You can never clean a rug properly
2. Your client will never respect you as a rug care expert and will only ever shop rug cleaning like a commodity.
3. It to easy to damage the floor or rug and this can be very expensive
4. If you don't want to do rugs yourself then sub them out to a serious rug plant. (We give a very healthy 40% discount to carpet cleaners and this makes it very profitable to do nothing but pick up and del the rugs)
I love rugs!
Okay so we got the big stuff cleared up, but what about Braids & Rags, being two sided, do you charge double? Or just a premium?
And Nat v Syn., I get, BUT what about fringed v non-fringed??
In-studio cleaning of course, not in-home.
And Nat v Syn., I get, BUT what about fringed v non-fringed??
In-studio cleaning of course, not in-home.
If you can get $1.00 per square foot for cleaning an olefin area rug....go for it!!
But my goodness....what a rape charge that is. Unless the area rug has cotton fringe or is soaked with urine....you can vacumm and clean that thing in probably 15 minutes...at the most.
I did one the other day, it was 6 x 9 I believe....I vacuumed well and cleaned it really good. Looked like new when I was done...it took me 10 minutes.
I guess if you have some incredibly dumb clients that are willing to pay MORE to have the carpet cleaned that it would to replace it....go for it!!!
And as far as Forsythe's response....another dumb one from him.
It is NO different than upholstery. Please do not tell me you charge as much for a polyester sofa than you would for a sensitive cotton piece.
Shawn, again, you might be smarter than some of the dolts here....but you are not smarter than me. So don't try to push that bullshit on some of us.
No wonder you work at K-Mart.
DevilDog
But my goodness....what a rape charge that is. Unless the area rug has cotton fringe or is soaked with urine....you can vacumm and clean that thing in probably 15 minutes...at the most.
I did one the other day, it was 6 x 9 I believe....I vacuumed well and cleaned it really good. Looked like new when I was done...it took me 10 minutes.
I guess if you have some incredibly dumb clients that are willing to pay MORE to have the carpet cleaned that it would to replace it....go for it!!!
And as far as Forsythe's response....another dumb one from him.
It is NO different than upholstery. Please do not tell me you charge as much for a polyester sofa than you would for a sensitive cotton piece.
Shawn, again, you might be smarter than some of the dolts here....but you are not smarter than me. So don't try to push that bullshit on some of us.
No wonder you work at K-Mart.
DevilDog
rhyde
Member
All cleaning systems have their limitations that said you cant get a dirty actually clean in10 or 15 minutes its irrelevant what you use. There's no magical short cut or magic juice it takes time lots of water and elbo grease.You can however remove some soil and make a rug look clean or cleaner than it was but it's not what i would consider clean
This was a couple hours into cleaning on top of a couple houses dusting this was a day long washing project the rug oozed dark brown/ yellow coffee colored water for the first few hours that's what it takes to get rugs actually clean.
This was a couple hours into cleaning on top of a couple houses dusting this was a day long washing project the rug oozed dark brown/ yellow coffee colored water for the first few hours that's what it takes to get rugs actually clean.
You must charge more for a rug that takes several hours to clean in a plant or needs several cleanings to get completely clean, deodorize, clean a fringe, or is unusually delicate, double sided like a braid, or shrinks and needs to be stretched, etc, etc, compared to one done in a house with carpet cleaning equipment.
So, what a rug is worth comes into the factor, or if it has a special sentimental value to the customer (Hand made by Grandma for instance, or bought in Tibet and carried home by the customer, etc)
There are many factors in figuring out what to charge. No single price fits all, in my opinion- and I cleaned rugs for over 40 years- thousands of them.
Gary
So, what a rug is worth comes into the factor, or if it has a special sentimental value to the customer (Hand made by Grandma for instance, or bought in Tibet and carried home by the customer, etc)
There are many factors in figuring out what to charge. No single price fits all, in my opinion- and I cleaned rugs for over 40 years- thousands of them.
Gary
Nothing....we threw it in free. The client uses us on a very regular basis and refers us to many. Plus her entire family uses us.
But if we were to charge it probably would have been around $20.
If it needed fringe work or had urine that would be another story.
DevilDog
But if we were to charge it probably would have been around $20.
If it needed fringe work or had urine that would be another story.
DevilDog
a throw in you don't have to detail because you know your not charging. I treat every rug the same. I spend time on them to make sure they are perfect, some I make a ton on others require a lot more attention. I do them on Sundays mostly and people must like my service because I always have 20-30 to do
And you know we did not detail it how? How can you make such an ignorant statement.
Olefin cleans EASY. Vacuum it. Pre-spray it. Extract it. It was PERFECT.
Try to justify charging three times to twice as much for cleaning a simple rug than you do regular cleaning. How long does it take to clean a residential carpet of 70 to 75 sq. ft.? LOL.
There is absolutely nothing even slightly difficult about cleaning a averaged soiled olefin carpet that has no fringe.
Keep lying to yourself and your clients, because that is EXACTLY what you are doing.
I would love to be in the same area as you are and let your clients know you are charging a $1.00 a sq. ft. to clean something that is EASY to clean, which in most of the cases on this board is at LEAST three times more than you charge to clean something else.
God, what a bunch of crooks some of you are.
DevilDog
DevilDog
Olefin cleans EASY. Vacuum it. Pre-spray it. Extract it. It was PERFECT.
Try to justify charging three times to twice as much for cleaning a simple rug than you do regular cleaning. How long does it take to clean a residential carpet of 70 to 75 sq. ft.? LOL.
There is absolutely nothing even slightly difficult about cleaning a averaged soiled olefin carpet that has no fringe.
Keep lying to yourself and your clients, because that is EXACTLY what you are doing.
I would love to be in the same area as you are and let your clients know you are charging a $1.00 a sq. ft. to clean something that is EASY to clean, which in most of the cases on this board is at LEAST three times more than you charge to clean something else.
God, what a bunch of crooks some of you are.
DevilDog
DevilDog
steve frasier
Supportive Member
I do pretty much like what Todd is saying
just like entrance mats, generally just run the stair tool over them for free
just like entrance mats, generally just run the stair tool over them for free
I think we got to talking apples and oranges here.
I have had occasions to surface clean an olefin rug sitting on top of the carpet and did not charge additional because I did not clean the carpet under it.
Another case of a 9 x 12 Chinese wool in a dining room with a solid glass topped dining table held up by 2 marble pillars, and not movable, so could not go into a plant, and I charged $2.00 a sq ft for cleaning it on a yearly basis.
I think most of us who have been in the business a long time have had deals like this.
My point is- charge more for some, less for others. There is no set fee for all rugs.
Gary
I have had occasions to surface clean an olefin rug sitting on top of the carpet and did not charge additional because I did not clean the carpet under it.
Another case of a 9 x 12 Chinese wool in a dining room with a solid glass topped dining table held up by 2 marble pillars, and not movable, so could not go into a plant, and I charged $2.00 a sq ft for cleaning it on a yearly basis.
I think most of us who have been in the business a long time have had deals like this.
My point is- charge more for some, less for others. There is no set fee for all rugs.
Gary
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