MicahR
Member
Here's the story:
After reading this post on the ICS forum
HAS ANYONE EVER HAD A CARPET & TILE CLEANER HONOR THE PHONE ESTIMATE?? (LAS VEGAS)
Date: 2009-07-27, 5:15PM PDT
Reply to: serv-qtvpj-1292380325@craigslist.org
Has anyone ever had a carpet & tile cleaning company honor the price they quoted over the phone?
Probably not. The reason why is, the guy answering the phone quotes a low price- usually $45.00 for 5 rooms or something like that to book the job.
What he doesn't tell you is that's his fee for scheduling a sub contractor to goto your house. The sub contractor doesn't get paid unless he up sells the job which is known as his commission- or "Hard Sell" which in turn ruins your day and makes you feel taken.
Now lets assume for fun that you reluctantly agree to pay extra money based on the notion that something is not normal in your house. He pushes the ticket price up to $75.00.
That is $30.00 commission to the guy that comes and provides the service. Do you think he is going to do a good job? Of course not. The only thing he says that would be true is the carpets will dry in one hour or less, because he barely cleaned it while flying through your house and out the door.
For this reason I never use a sub contractor- I only use owner operators. Ask to see their Business license, insurance certificate, honesty bond or janitorial service bond before you let them in your home.
I just had a young guy come and clean my daughter's home, which was a foreclosure. He was referred by a friend who used him to clean 3 rental properties and he is hard to please so I thought I should try him out. He quoted me $75.00 over the phone.
I already had two cleaning companies come out for estimates and they refused to do the job for less than $275.00-$325.00 so I was sure he would change the price after seeing the filth, gum, grease and stains.
He was on time, in uniform, polite, and had an ID badge with his picture on it- that is how I remember his name. He began immediately and after cleaning for 30 minutes I felt bad for him as the sweat pored over his face and glasses. He cleaned for a little over two hours like he was possessed with each spot- going over and over until they were gone. I kid you not, the carpet looked like new- I thought I would have to replace the first floor, that's how bad it was.
He put up his hoses and began to write the invoice, I hesitantly asked him "how much?" he replied "we agreed on $75.00 over the phone" I asked if there was any additional charges? he replied "for what? You called me because the carpet was dirty- if it was clean you wouldn't need me." I couldn't believe it. I work as a real estate agent and for the first time in a long time a vendor actually had common sense and used it. He later told me that his company estimates jobs based on time and materials, not the condition of the carpet- some jobs take longer than others but in the end it all works out.
Just wanted to post this for other CL readers to let you know that there are still a few good guys out there.
Sara Bruce
Reality Executives.
* Location: LAS VEGAS[/color]
I made this reply:
Now this Realtor believes that carpet cleaning is cheap.
Ignorance is bliss and even though he's a good guy he's an ignorant moron that needs to find another line of work. Take his expenses out of the money he earned and he'd be better off working for McDonalds. He may even get health ins.
Someone needs to find this guy and get him to a marketing class with Doug Heiferman or a SFS class.
Then this morning when I get into the office I have this email waiting for me.
Subject: What a pompous ass you've become
“…ignorant moron that needs to find another line of work.”
What right do you have to call anybody that much less on a public bbs and much less somebody you don’t even know.
You remind me of John Olson.
Go f*** yourself Micah. *edited for content*
Joe Bristor
Guess that makes me part of an elite club now.
After reading this post on the ICS forum
HAS ANYONE EVER HAD A CARPET & TILE CLEANER HONOR THE PHONE ESTIMATE?? (LAS VEGAS)
Date: 2009-07-27, 5:15PM PDT
Reply to: serv-qtvpj-1292380325@craigslist.org
Has anyone ever had a carpet & tile cleaning company honor the price they quoted over the phone?
Probably not. The reason why is, the guy answering the phone quotes a low price- usually $45.00 for 5 rooms or something like that to book the job.
What he doesn't tell you is that's his fee for scheduling a sub contractor to goto your house. The sub contractor doesn't get paid unless he up sells the job which is known as his commission- or "Hard Sell" which in turn ruins your day and makes you feel taken.
Now lets assume for fun that you reluctantly agree to pay extra money based on the notion that something is not normal in your house. He pushes the ticket price up to $75.00.
That is $30.00 commission to the guy that comes and provides the service. Do you think he is going to do a good job? Of course not. The only thing he says that would be true is the carpets will dry in one hour or less, because he barely cleaned it while flying through your house and out the door.
For this reason I never use a sub contractor- I only use owner operators. Ask to see their Business license, insurance certificate, honesty bond or janitorial service bond before you let them in your home.
I just had a young guy come and clean my daughter's home, which was a foreclosure. He was referred by a friend who used him to clean 3 rental properties and he is hard to please so I thought I should try him out. He quoted me $75.00 over the phone.
I already had two cleaning companies come out for estimates and they refused to do the job for less than $275.00-$325.00 so I was sure he would change the price after seeing the filth, gum, grease and stains.
He was on time, in uniform, polite, and had an ID badge with his picture on it- that is how I remember his name. He began immediately and after cleaning for 30 minutes I felt bad for him as the sweat pored over his face and glasses. He cleaned for a little over two hours like he was possessed with each spot- going over and over until they were gone. I kid you not, the carpet looked like new- I thought I would have to replace the first floor, that's how bad it was.
He put up his hoses and began to write the invoice, I hesitantly asked him "how much?" he replied "we agreed on $75.00 over the phone" I asked if there was any additional charges? he replied "for what? You called me because the carpet was dirty- if it was clean you wouldn't need me." I couldn't believe it. I work as a real estate agent and for the first time in a long time a vendor actually had common sense and used it. He later told me that his company estimates jobs based on time and materials, not the condition of the carpet- some jobs take longer than others but in the end it all works out.
Just wanted to post this for other CL readers to let you know that there are still a few good guys out there.
Sara Bruce
Reality Executives.
* Location: LAS VEGAS[/color]
I made this reply:
Now this Realtor believes that carpet cleaning is cheap.
Ignorance is bliss and even though he's a good guy he's an ignorant moron that needs to find another line of work. Take his expenses out of the money he earned and he'd be better off working for McDonalds. He may even get health ins.
Someone needs to find this guy and get him to a marketing class with Doug Heiferman or a SFS class.
Then this morning when I get into the office I have this email waiting for me.
Subject: What a pompous ass you've become
“…ignorant moron that needs to find another line of work.”
What right do you have to call anybody that much less on a public bbs and much less somebody you don’t even know.
You remind me of John Olson.
Go f*** yourself Micah. *edited for content*
Joe Bristor
Guess that makes me part of an elite club now.
