Jamesh921 said:
I know this isn't a popular topic, but the 9.95 guys can really make alot of money "and stay in business for years".
I recently met a guy who is running 4 portables, advertising 9.95 per rm and bringing in almost $100,000.00 PER MONTH!! He showed me his bank statements to prove it because I told him I didn't believe him.
His techs use their own vehicles, are outstanding salesmen, upsell a ton and get 30%. If you don't believe me, I don't blame you. I didn't believe it either until I saw his deposits. Like it or not we have to coexist with guys like this - they aren't going away and they aren't going anywhere unless it's to expand to another city. They're here to stay. Some of them are making more money than some of the more successful guys on this bb. :shock: And there are owners of companies who are making MILLIONS owning several companies like this across the nation.
And then there's the other side - the independent. Take Bryan's guy for example. He looks like a one man owner/operator. If this guy punches out 4 jobs a day @ 120.00 for 5 days a week he grosses $2,400.00. He works out of his house, has very little overhead, pays a few hundred bucks in advertisements and clears a cool $1,500+ a week. In Texas, that's a pretty darn good livin'. A cowboy can buy alot of Chicken Fried Steaks with dough like that.
With that said, I certainly don't advocate doing business that way. It's just a reality that I've come to learn over the years - most of these guys "don't go out of business" like we sometimes believe they will/do. Instead, many of them prosper and do very well......and we have to figure out how to compete with them. Lord help us if the higher end custy's ever figure this out. :shock:
I know these guys aren't going away and it seems the guy that cleaned for Brian was trying to do a decent job, but for the $160, if he was making 50% or less, thats only $80 or less GROSS for that hour. He's just out trying to make a living. For some clients that keep their house fairly neat, this guy may have repeat work for years.
A custy that sees prices like this and hires them will be satisfied for so long, till they really need a good clean.
However, these cleaners are more often a problem than a help to the industry. While they are just trying to make a living, as was stated, you cannot clean that much fabric in only one hour. So it looks clean, but with all the health issues going around, the client is being deceived about the cleanliness of their home.
AS for the 9.95/rm guys that are making $100k/mth, those are the bait and switch cleaners which this industry can do without. The fact that they make the amounts they do angers me more makes me envious. When I first started this one cleaner in town (who is still in busn btw) would impress me with his numbers, telling me he would turn a $200 job into $1200. As I was just starting out and only making $132/house, I was envious, UNTIL I learned just how badly they were scamming people.
I wonder how long Brian's cleaner has been at it? I wonder if he's had any marketing classes, or someone to come alongside and teach him about cleaning and busn, or if he's like I was 16yrs ago.
) deserve to have clean carpets too. The high end "prestige cleaners" really shouldn't feel threatened by these carpet cleaners.
