Minimum Charge Questions

[Bill Morgan]

I tried minimum charges in the past without much success. Seemed I spent more time explaining how a minimum charge worked than anything else. Always got mired down with the debate/arguement over how can I charge $100 for just one room or "I only want the open areas in two small bedrooms done.. so and so cleaners said they have a flat $35 per room.. Somehow, it always devolved into some sort of pissing contest with the customer.

Usually I ended up doing "extra" work to bring their invoice up to the $100 minimum and spending A LOT more time than it was worth. Maybe that's the whole point of a minimum charge on small jobs and I let price shoppers wear me down rather than me letting them go to someone else.

Should I increase my minimum? How do you explain your minimum charge to your customer without getting off track and having a discussion about room pricing vs. sq ft, etc etc...

Thanks for the help.
Bill

 

[Desk Jockey]

$140.00 (400 sq/ft minimum ), we will do all we can to give them full value.

Even if that means traffic areas in bed rooms or what ever else they want, but we won't roll a truck for less.

It's not an ego thing.......we just can't afford to.

 

[Shane Deubell]

We have gone back/forth from $75-$99 and are back to $99.

Pretty much have to in our market, the geographic territory is too spread out.

 

[hogjowl]

It sounds like YOU are not comfortable with a minimum charge, and spend too much time justifying it to a customer who really doesn't care. Or, if they DO care, you are spending too much time trying to justify a minimum charge to a customer who is not worth the effort.

 

[Shane Deubell]

We didnt see too much change going back/forth from $75-$99.

Thought we would pick up all these extra jobs but it never happened so we just raised it back up.

 

[Mikey P]

Marty nailed it.

If a first timer is giving you grief over your charge, they are not your desired long term client.

Save the headache and $4.00 profit and refer them to some other loser.

 

[Mikey P]

Fyi..
In town $150
Mountains/barrio $165
Tile/stone $225
Over the mountain/other side of bay $500
Up the San Francisco peninsula $1500

 

[Torrey Express]

Where are you getting the leads?
I think that may be the frontline reason why they may be even asking so much.
CL shoppers and people reading a ad that says "20 for bedroom" may get the impression that you can do just that.

I thought about raising from 100 to 150 but am afraid that I will loose out in a handful of quick jobs a month when my second tm is on the road full time and could use it.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Where are you getting the leads?
I think that may be the frontline reason why they may be even asking so much.
CL shoppers and people reading a ad that says "20 for bedroom" may get the impression that you can do just that.

I thought about raising from 100 to 150 but am afraid that I will loose out in a handful of quick jobs a month when my second tm is on the road full time and could use it.

Good point,that definitely plays a role.

 

[Desk Jockey]

If I were an owner op I'd decide upon the least I'd be happy with and go for that amount.

Be it $50.00, $75.00, $100.00 or $150.00, and I wouldn't get too caught up with what these liars...I mean posters say here.

Of course if I were on my own I'd be a cleaning whore.

 

[Shane Deubell]

I really don't mind a low min in the city, the houses are tiny and 5 minutes away but the suburbs are 5-10 miles plus traffic.

 

[Jack May]

Ranges between $75-90 for my cleaning and repair related business. $180 plus travel and tax for my inspector work.

Marty is right, never try and justify your prices, answer a brief genuine question, but never try to justify it.

John

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

I tried minimum charges in the past without much success. Seemed I spent more time explaining how a minimum charge worked than anything else. Always got mired down with the debate/arguement over how can I charge $100 for just one room or "I only want the open areas in two small bedrooms done.. so and so cleaners said they have a flat $35 per room.. Somehow, it always devolved into some sort of pissing contest with the customer.

Usually I ended up doing "extra" work to bring their invoice up to the $100 minimum and spending A LOT more time than it was worth. Maybe that's the whole point of a minimum charge on small jobs and I let price shoppers wear me down rather than me letting them go to someone else.

Should I increase my minimum? How do you explain your minimum charge to your customer without getting off track and having a discussion about room pricing vs. sq ft, etc etc...

Thanks for the help.
Bill

We get this a lot with price shoppers , they want us to give them our great cleaning for the competitors price. We always tell them that the other company has a great price and they should take advantage of it.

 

[floorguy]

$140.00 (400 sq/ft minimum ), we will do all we can to give them full value.

Even if that means traffic areas in bed rooms or what ever else they want, but we won't roll a truck for less.

It's not an ego thing.......we just can't afford to.

Bingo.....

and whats to explain???

takes the same amount of time

to drive there and back

pull hose for 1 room or 10

THESE 2 THINGS ARE SET......

only time i bump off my $100 min, is if i am in the area, then i tell them $75....

aside from driving over 30 miles, its alll the same....

just explain it that way, and if they balk....tell them to go ahead and call the other people...thanks

 

[Jim Williams]

I've never really had a problem with customers not understanding it. Most people with half a brain realize I have to cover my gas and set up time. Sometimes they ask what they can get done for my $85 minimum and I break it down a little, but no big deal.

 

[davegillfishing]

yea..not really up for discussion here..100.00 to put the key in the ignition..that gives you 100 sqft..then its .45 a sqft after that for carpet..

 

[boazcan]

$100-150 for carpet and $200 for tile. Rare exceptions but we do it depending. Normally minimums are not worth the minimum anyway......long term.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 4

 

[Papa John]

Our marketing, pricing structure and Minimum charge of $150 in San Fran. and $175 + $50 and up trip charge outside San Fran. are designed to WEED out un loyal price shoppers, And to make a profit.

The Sad truth is that many OPs don't know the true costs of running their "business" to where their "Business" becomes more then Just a Job. Most OPs don't have a business but only a Job.
I understand that costs of living/ running a biz are lower in just about anywhere but California- so your Minimums and prices can be lower then ours.

In this next part I will be referencing the book "Cash Flow Quadrant" in the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" series of books:
The Quadrant concise of four quads of course-- 1st is "E" for employee. 2nd is "S" for sole proprietor. 3rd is "B" for business owner. AND the 4th is "I" for investor. The "I" Quadrant is where the wealthy 1%ers are, and is where I plan on being in 5 years.
All four quadrants have their levels of risk and rewards. Not everyone has the personality traits to make it to the "B" or "I" quadrants. and many should only stay in the 'E" quadrant. OPs should READ the book if you want more the JUST A JOB.

This question is for OPs: If you take the day off, How much money do you earn? If you are not in the "B" quadrant your answer is ZERO income... this Same as an Employee or Job holder.
Yes their are many challenges to being in the "B" quadrant but I LOVE the rewards.
BTW--I'm writing this while at my vacation/retirement home in the rice fields of Thailand.. and my business made over $2000 today and I made a nice profit as well.

 

[TomKing]

We respond, plumbers, electricians and appliance repair companies all have trip min or trip services charge. We are no different we have min charges that allow us to bring the top level service to all our customers.

We have 1 in 100 not be satisfied with that. I have never heard our office staff get negative feed back with that explanation.

We charge $100. We have several customers a month who bring us out for just one room. We instruct our techs to look for a small added service to add to give a better value to our customer.

 

[ruff]

One of the issues with the minimum is people's belief (hope) that the little $50.00 job, in the future will lead to large jobs for same client.

Almost without exception, in my experience, it hardly ever turns into a good client.
All the clients that wanted the "one room" only this time or the 3x5 rug etc. never turned into large jobs. On the contrary, they always wanted another tiny below minimum job.

Part of it is feeling (knowing) that you deserve that minimum. Part of it is that your clients need to know/feel that you're worth it. Within the minimum I always try to maximize their return. In other words, my minimum includes up to 300 square feet of carpet cleaning, so if they need less done I'll clean another room or spot etc.

My only exception to the minimum is if it is done in less than a year (10% discount) or if they just did a job and something happened, for which I will lower my minimum (still a minimum) just lower as a token of appreciation for their loyalty.

 

[Bill Morgan]

Thanks to everyone who replied.. even Marty Everyone has offered great insight and advice. It's true, I am uncomfortable with it. I do know my cost of doing business since I got a spreadsheet from distributor exec.. it helped a lot. I just need to grow a spine.

For the sake of this discussion..

What if my basic service charge is $125 and that covers 200 sq ft. I've cleaned everything for the customer and she is pleased.
What do you do when she asks you as you are finishing carpet cleaning " How much to clean my husband's recliner " ? It's not bad, moderately clean, microfiber, couple spots of dried jelly from him eating his donuts in his chair rather than at the table which aggrevates her to no end... blah blah..

Assuming you clean a moderately dirty recliner for $45..
Do you:
A. Clean it for your regular price and be psyched you got an extra $45 for another 30 minutes work?
B. Clean it for slightly less since you're already there?
C. Tell her you have $60 service charge because this was beyond the scope of the initial service call when scheduling the cleaning?
D. Tell the customer you normally have a $50 service upcharge but you'll do it for $40 as a one time courtesy to look like a hero.

Yes I'm slipping hairs but if you've got a minimum charge to just put the key in the ignition where do you draw the line with minimumcharges? You have to out to the van, mix up upholstery solution, change cleaning tools, adjust your machine, bring in furnature blankets, sliders, paper to rest the cushions on, etc etc...

Thanks for playing along guys. I REALLY appreciate your advice!!
Bill

 

[Desk Jockey]

I think you should have a simple flyer that you can hand to your customer, once you hit the door.

It should offer them a discount (10-20%) on any additional services they book "Since you're already there". Upholstery, tile, area rugs, additional rooms, etc.

After all once your overhead of getting there is covered, anything you can heap on to the pile is just gravy.

Don't wait for them to ask you, why not initiate the thought of them saving more money by prodding it out of them. Everyone likes to save and this is a legit savings, you all ready covered your costs of getting there!

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

To answer you question unlike Richard , A.

Just charge them your normal price for the recliner, they already met the minimum charge.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Well Bruce....there's always the wrong way to do things.

It won't work for all especially if you have a busy schedule.

And yes like you I hate hate hate to discount our service buttt I'll take a little bit of something than all of nothin.

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

 

[Papa John]

Hi Bill..
If you ALREADY loaded up your truck when custy asked about Add-On and its almost "Miller-Time" you should charge more then the $45 due to the extra re-setup work. This will train the custy not to do last minute add-ons and to respect your time== especially if you have to get to another custy- because then You would be disrespecting the next custys time.

Perhaps the best thing to do in the future is-- During the post cleaning, Quality Walk through, which is done BEFORE you load up the van, You ask if everything is to her satisfaction. You can then touch up any areas of concern as well as any add-ons. Performing the Post cleaning, quality walk through, will reduce call backs and shows respect to the custy.

 

[ruff]

Bill, having a policy is nice and handy, however part of being an O/O is the ability to do the right thing and avoid rigidity.

So, the minimum is there to avoid working at a loss, being taken advantage off and projecting value. However, lets not forget that we are there to help the clients (be a problem solvers) and after all, their business enables our life style. So don't be a stickler for protocol, it is just a guideline, a tool.

Make it simple. Keep it simple. If you can do it, do it. If it is less work than usual, give them a discount. If it isn't, don't. If you do give them a discount, put it in writing on the receipt and let them know that they are getting something special. Otherwise they will not appreciate it and expect it the next time.

The less time you spend 'disciplining' the client (and sometime you will need to) the better. It will allow you to form a warmer, friendlier, longer lasting relationship. And it will make your work a lot more fun.

 

[Vivers]

We currently have $140 minimum but I want to raise it soon

 

[davegillfishing]

if you have met the cleaning scope to cover your min charge going rate for chair..if you dont the next time you go out you will have to do it cheaper..

if we are doing under a min and they add the chair we we charge reg for chair and the sqft they are doing..

so if the chair is 45 bucks and they clean 100sqft at .45 a sqft thats 90.00..we offer to hit the mats in a car or some protector or something to help make up the min

 

[Barry-QDCC]

I recently raised my prices and thus my minimum charges went up too. I've always been a charge by the room guy (that is a story for another time). My minimum was $100 for 3 rooms. I didn't really have higher minimums for cities that were a bit farther drive away. But we moved to a new house and I decided I needed to raise price, raise my minimum and charge higher minimums for outlying areas. I now charge $120 for 3 rooms (225 sq ft max) and my furthest area that I'll go to (about 30 miles from my home) my minimum is $175. I was worried there would be problems with the higher prices but so far not so. In fact both sales and number of jobs are up. I've always had the attitude that my minimum will be what I charge, no matter if I only clean one spot in one room or the 3 room minimum.