lost a prospect - LOW pricers

[Derek]

7294 sq.ft. carpet @ 20¢ = $1458.80

the prospect emails me politely saying he used his last vendor for the CC'ing, and the fella also stripped and waxed the VCT....all for a mere $600

he no doubt thinks i was trying to rip him off :roll:

should i reply to the email or let it go?

what would u say if u replied?

i dont want the job now, but did use a neighboring business, which is a current client, as a reference.

 

[XTREME1]

hwe or other?

 

[hogjowl]

I'm not sure what I would do, Derek, but I know I would try hard to stop my first reaction, which would be to call the dude and tell him he's an idiot. I fought that compulsion once a few years ago when I lost a pretty large account. I got them back two years later and was sure glad I didn't burn any bridges.

I might email him telling him that I understand his apparent need to shop for the lowest price, but would be happy to work with him again if in the future he feels the need to upgrade to higher quality work. (But ... that may be tacky, too. LOL!)

 

[XTREME1]

here is the e-mail I sent to the last prospect I lost but got back right away
I was 8 cents more per sq ft
Good Morning,

I apologize for e-mailing this information but I could not find a fax number for your company.
I wanted to quickly breakdown what you would be getting for your money spent at Xtreme Carpet Cleaning and point out all carpet cleaning companies are not created equally.
For your $3005.00 you are going to get
Step 1
Pile Lift with a Certified Pile Lifter
Step 2
Prespray with an earth friendly yet powerfull prespray which is the first part of the Judson o2 System
Step 3
Treat Stains and problem areas
Step 4
Prescrub with a heavy duty floor machine with a carpet brush attached. What this does isworks the cleaning agent through the entire fiber of the carpet to make sure you get the most thorough cleaning possible
Step 5
Steam Clean and rinse with the second part of the o2 system balancing the Ph of the carpet to prevent resoiling
Step 6
Post pad high traffic areas to prevent wick back of spots and faster drying times and start drying process with Airpath Dryers

Thanks you very much for taking the time to call me and allow me to bid for the chance to serve you. I usually am one of lowest priced(not always) but I do the best job.

Thank You,
Greg Crowley

 

[TimP]

I agree with Marty and I would treat them as a future prospect. I would say that if for any reason they are unhappy with the cleaner to call me and I would help if I could. I know they aren't going to make money at it so the people doing it this time will be out of business soon unless they are doing a encap clean. You can be competitive this way.

Also for that sq ft .20 seems high to me except if it's a bunch of smaller rooms. If I'm in bidding against others I'll come down to rock bottom to get the job especially if I need the work also keep in mind commercial jobs are good repeat customers. However I'll bid it so that I will make money too. You can get a lot of sq ft done quick in open rooms with a helper.

 

[hogjowl]

Can you do all of that for 20 cents a sf?

 

[XTREME1]

22 cents to 28 cents depending on the place. This one was 22 cents a sq ft

 

[hogjowl]

I bet you have a helper.

Just yesterday I did a three hour job in only five hours working by myself. :shock:

 

[Lyman]

That is alot of work for a portible or use your cimex and charge 10-15 and laugh on the way to the bank.

 

[Rex Tyus]

I would reply and thank him for his consideration. I would also mention if his needs ever changed to please consider me again.

It is business it ain't personal. No need to burn bridges. The guy he is using may die at a young age(related to over working trying to make a profit) or go out of business.

 

[Art Kelley]

I would happen to drive by when the bottom dweller is doing the cleaning and park and wait and watch. If he dumps his waste water get a sample (put a lil dab o mercury in it) and take a picture and call the EPA. You won't see him around anymore.

 

[Jimbo]

Wow, Art...I see you've been to the 'phriendly photography' class at SCRT...no doubt taught by Mr Brumit himself!

 

[Farenheit251]

Is the other guy going to produce good results now? 90% chance it is going to be a spray n suc w/ dry strokes optional. Sometimes that is what it takes for them to see the value in what you are doing.
I'll usually try to innoculate them when I bid by letting them know that I can do a bonnett cleaning or a simple prespray and rinse for a lower price but that it will not be as good of a clean.

 

[TimP]

Brian,

I've actually had that conversation with a 3,600 ft commercial carpet client. I told them I can do the same as SS and run an emulsifier with a spray suck. They wanted the better clean. And at 30% higher than my competitor SS to do it. I also offered encapsulation....they chose HWE with me. Moral of the story is that it does work! Always try to bid apples to apples and not apples to oranges! It's our job to teach the customer what an apple is and what an orange is when selling ourselves.

 

[steve r]

well i got a scrub and run job at the library and got paid over twice as much as he hwe guy.in fact im doing it twice a year instead of once like they were doing.8000 sq.ft. for $800 other guy was getting $350 go figure.it must be my charming personality. :?

 

[Derek]

thanx fellas.

i will treat like Marty and Rex and others said and be kind and point out how i'd like to help him in future.

i am not ticked about it, i know it happs no biggie...part of doing biz. normally i never respond to these replies, but after your ideas i will from now on.

BTW i did do a demo so he knows what to expect with our services.

thanx again --- Derek.

 

[Derek]

off topic:

lemme guess, my avatar offended someone and had to be removed?? :?: :?: :x


:? --- Derek.

 

[Craig Lindquist]

Let it go. At that much difference you won't persuade him and you'll just be wasting your own positive energy which could be better focused in another direction.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

A polite note thanking them for the opportunity to bid is always appropriate.

When someone gets the shaft because of a poor quality job, they rarely call back the guy who was a sore loser. In fact, they rarely call back the other higher bidders unless they are made to feel that such a call is welcome.

You gave a hint to the problem when you mentioned the stripping and waxing:

Commercial contractors who offer both services price based on marked up labor only; they clean the carpet while each finish ("wax") coat dries, so they feel that by doing both they can use labor more efficiently.

When you're a carpet cleaner using the standard costs and mark ups of our industry competing against commercial contractors using a "labor markup" system, its difficult to get such bids.