"LOW BALLER" pay scale stops where???

[B&BGaryC]

I would like to get more for commercial. Try as I might, I have a hard time getting 20 cents a foot unless they have seen my work. Otherwise I get told I charge to much. Big ego carpet cleaning charges between eleven and fourteen cents a foot on most his commercial. He has well trained veteran techs and runs respectable looking 4.8 CDS machines.

I would much rather clean commercial for 25 cents a foot, but rarely get that. If I could, I would do it. I would also be able to spend a little more time on spotting if I got paid more for my commercial jobs. Every once in a great while I get 50 or 60 for commercial with protector and some pre-scrubbing and post padding, but it's never worth it. Whenever somebody is ready to pay that kind of money to get it clean, it always takes forever.

A small percentage of my clients pay 90 cents a square foot. I would say I get 1 to 4 of those a month. My average client pays 43 cents a foot for cleaning and protecting. I measure wall to wall and move 4 pieces of furniture in a house 1000 sq ft or more, 2 pieces of furniture in a house smaller than 1000 sq. ft.

However, every now and again I get a customer that has to have the best. They think that by buying all of my add on services they are getting a better cleaning. If you need the add ons, yes. If not, no. I try to talk them out of it, but it doesn't always work. 60 cents a foot to clean with prescrub and post pad, 15 a foot for protector, 15 a foot for deodorizer. Another 10 cents a foot for an extra application of deodorizer after I am finished cleaning. I can usually talk them out of that one though, otherwise it would be a buck a foot. If it looks like it would go quickly using a floor machine, I have been known to lower my pre-scrub post-pad cleaning price to 45 cent/ foot.

I don't mean to sound like a high-price snob, I don't think I charge nearly enough for my cleaning services. I was just echoing Doug Heifferman's sentiment on carpet cleaning. He made every single one of us promise that we would never charge less than 28 cents a square foot to clean carpet. He said that is barely a living wage and we are just cheating ourselves if we don't charge at least that much.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Gary is just blowing smoke. It always amazes me how everyone insists that what they do is the only way to do things and anyone else doing something different is inferior or a huckster. I assume we all strive to make cheerleaders, well let me tell you it can be done and very profitable for a lot less than the numbers thrown out here.

Ken

Not blowing smoke. I rarely get 90 a square. The people who want to pay that don't need to and I try to talk them out of it. You're not a huckster if you charge less. You are just charging less than you need to.

 

[Chris A]

some of you guys must clean carpet really F*cking slow to not be able to make money at $.28 a square. C'mon Larry, you know your guys can rock out comm. faster than residential. No BS steps, no wowing Mrs. Piff, less obstacles to move around.