How many times did I say this?

[Brian R]

Mikey Wrote

This thread was Shawn's idea.


His only request was that no one else was allowed to participate.

I agreed and yes, I have made millions with the V.



But I could have made the same exact money with two slide ins in a well forumlated Box Truck.

 

[Chris A]

...or the exact same money with two slide ins in two vans with two well-formulated technicians and two well formulated assistants...

 

[Brian R]

...or the exact same money with two slide ins in two vans with two well-formulated technicians and two well formulated assistants...

Actually, that's more what I said.
You can "dual wand" across town from each other.

Never understood spending that much money on 1 rig when you can make just as much money with a smaller rig, and twice as much money with 2 smaller rigs.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of Mikey's big Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop Head?
The Cleaning World may never know. :mrgreen:

 

[truckmount girl]

Because then you have the headache and complication in your life of techs, going to jobs you aren't at, the general headaches of employees or "contractors", relying on someone else to maintain your standards and level of professionalism, service, skill, and people skills, etc., etc....The last thing in the world I EVER wanted was a second truck on the road without me in it.

Some of us are cut out to be multi-truckers and managers, some of us are meant to be O/Op's. I could have never been happy in Ken's or Brian's shoes and they'd have never been happy in mine. By the way, I'd have given my right arm to have a V when I was cleaning. Why? Because of the image it presents to your customers. And yes, even the ladies notice.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Brian R]

With image comes growth. If you put yourself out there too much then you might get too much work to stay a single truck operation.

 

[truckmount girl]

You remedy that by raising your prices until you have the level of workload you are comfortable with...and/or people wait a little longer for service.

If you've only got your family to feed and a fairly low overhead business with little to no advertising and marketing expenses you can make enough money to support a family with a simple lifestyle just fine. You don't have to grab every job that comes along, you can be pickier. Mentally, it's a healthier business model if you are like me.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Brian R]

I hear ya Lisa. There is some comfort in that.

 

[Ken Snow]

So--- In other words "because I want to make X money and do not want to do more work, you, my customer, will have to pay me more money". Is that another way to interpret your response Lisa?

 

[Brian R]

Well, yea!

 

[truckmount girl]

If you would prefer the skills, quality of workmanship, professionalism, personal relationship, level of trust, service and knowledge (I was a certified Master) I possess, you will be prepared to pay for it and/or wait a little longer for me.

If I wanted to I just could keep the prices the same but limit the number of jobs per day by only accepting clients or jobs that I wanted.

If you want your kid in the best schools, you will pay more and/or wait and/or have to pass screening.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[rhyde]

your cost would be higher so if you make the same your net would be lower

 

[Ron Werner]

if you're going to have surgery, do you look for the surgeon that subs it out or is highly sought after because of his expertise? And you would pay the extra money for him.

 

[Ryan]

if you're going to have surgery, do you look for the surgeon that subs it out or is highly sought after because of his expertise? And you would pay the extra money for him.

Dude there is a HUGE difference between sucking dirt out of rugs and performing surgery. One of the things being your life isn't at stake. I agree with your point, but that analogy is just a little extreme.

 

[Mikey P]

I would prefer for Gupta and Kareem at Hagopian to perform my hysterectomy with their paid for Butler.

 

[Bob Foster]

I would venture a bet that the Hagopian family has more than its share of doctors and other professional people.

 

[Ron Werner]

if you're going to have surgery, do you look for the surgeon that subs it out or is highly sought after because of his expertise? And you would pay the extra money for him.

Dude there is a HUGE difference between sucking dirt out of rugs and performing surgery. One of the things being your life isn't at stake. I agree with your point, but that analogy is just a little extreme.

The way some cleaners operate makes me wonder if the custy's life isn't at stake, with all the crap they leave and put into the carpet.

I know its an extreme example, but pick something, and auto mechanic, a electrician, a plumber, a roofer, you get what you pay for.

If an owner operator is getting really busy then by supply and demand they should be able to raise their price and make a good income working at the pace they are comfortable with. If people stop calling then the owner will need to re-evaluate their service/value and their price.
There's a place for the low price cleaner, but its hurting the industry more than helping. If they would market that they don't do a complete job and thats why they are lower priced there wouldn't be the "commodity" view of cleaners. But they market that they get it "just as clean" for a lower price when in fact they are misleading the customer. Customers can't tell the difference between the good cleaners, the bad cleaners, and the "good enough" cleaners. Everyone says they same thing in their marketing.

 

[Jeff Madsen]

So--- In other words "because I want to make X money and do not want to do more work, you, my customer, will have to pay me more money". Is that another way to interpret your response Lisa?

Not all of us poor, uneducated members of the hoi polloi are looking to run our business on the WalMart model. The goal is to keep expenses low, run revenue high and correctly position yourself as a limited commodity. My clients, who of course are not poor or uneducated, seem to find value in that proposition. Not because they care a whit about my internal goals or pricing policy, but because they place a premium on me showing up to do the work. Why do you find this concept so hard to accept?

 

[Brian R]

if you're going to have surgery, do you look for the surgeon that subs it out or is highly sought after because of his expertise? And you would pay the extra money for him.

Ugh...Hospitals have more than one Surgeon. The guy who does it right, gets the task.
How is that different than sending it to another cleaner. My subs clean way better than I do.

Do you want a Surgeon who takes the money even if he isn't qualified? Or would you rather him "Sub out" to a better Surgeon?

 

[truckmount girl]

Brian, I'd rather choose the surgeon myself, meet or speak with him or her and decide whether or not I trust them and whether or not they understand the issues that I'm experiencing. And if I'm getting my gall bladder out, and my mom got her's out last year and Dr. X did it and she loved him - the way he cared about her pain, the fact that he personally followed up, that he did a good job technically and she had no complications - then I might request Dr. X (providing of course my insurance would let me request anyone, which they probably won't).

OKAY.... let me amend that. I would go to whichever surgeon my crappy insurance company would make me go to....probably the one who got D's all through med school, talks to me like I was an idiot and tries to sell me his personal line of (private labeled)colon cleanse and skin care products on my way out the door.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Brian R]

Brian, I'd rather choose the surgeon myself, meet or speak with him or her and decide whether or not I trust them and whether or not they understand the issues that I'm experiencing. And if I'm getting my gall bladder out, and my mom got her's out last year and Dr. X did it and she loved him - the way he cared about her pain, the fact that he personally followed up, that he did a good job technically and she had no complications - then I might request Dr. X (providing of course my insurance would let me request anyone, which they probably won't).

OKAY.... let me amend that. I would go to whichever surgeon my crappy insurance company would make me go to....probably the one who got D's all through med school, talks to me like I was an idiot and tries to sell me his personal line of (private labeled)colon cleanse and skin care products on my way out the door.

Take care,
Lisa

LMAO...sounds like flood work

 

[Ron Werner]

[quote="Ron Werner":2rgkv64n]if you're going to have surgery, do you look for the surgeon that subs it out or is highly sought after because of his expertise? And you would pay the extra money for him.

Ugh...Hospitals have more than one Surgeon. The guy who does it right, gets the task.
How is that different than sending it to another cleaner. My subs clean way better than I do.

Do you want a Surgeon who takes the money even if he isn't qualified? Or would you rather him "Sub out" to a better Surgeon?[/quote:2rgkv64n]
Thats the whole point Brian. The person that's qualified to do the work can usually charge a little more than the one that isn't. There might even be that guy/gal that got A's all though school but they do "just OK" work. Or the guy that has all the latest in tools and equipment, but again they do "just OK" work.

 

[The Great Oz]

You're selling your time. If your service is perceived as "better" due to your experience, equipment, schmoozability or anything else, you can charge more for your time and the customer will see the value. Purchasing a Vortex-load of self-confidence might be worth the price!

Not all of us poor, uneducated members of the hoi polloi are looking to run our business on the WalMart model. The goal is to keep expenses low, run revenue high and correctly position yourself as a limited commodity. My clients, who of course are not poor or uneducated, seem to find value in that proposition. Not because they care a whit about my internal goals or pricing policy, but because they place a premium on me showing up to do the work. Why do you find this concept so hard to accept?

The uneducated hoi polloi would not use the term hoi polloi, or whit, unless they were A) NOT uneducated or B) hanging around Tony too much. 8)