One of THOSE customers

[Ron Werner]

Yes, first time client
No, he never even asked about price
No, I don't think he was aware I was high end
Yes, I do give the price ahead of the work,

Lots of thing went wrong with this job.
I had just come from working with a friend and I forgot to throw on my uniform shirt
He wasnt there at the start, so to save time I thought I would begin, at least the vacuuming (being nice)
I should have separated the area rug and the house/furn cleaning on separate quotes. All he could see was the final number. Even when I pointed out that $400 was for the rug.
I quoted $4/sf for the rug ONLY because his pup had been accidenting on it. I wasn't going to charge him 50 cents/sf and then spend 2hrs and all sorts of deodorizer on a pissy 8x10 rug, syn or not. I didn't know if the rug was "worth it" to him, but it was a nice syn rug. I gave him the price and he erupted before I could explain anything. Even AFTER explaining things too him, he was lost.

Even if I had done everything right, my price still would have been too much for this guy. He wanted everything cleaned for $300, INCL the area rug.

I don't get many blank cheqs, but I do get quite a few which just leave me a key and tell me to go for it. These are repeat clients, not new. How many NEW customers do you get like that Dave?
The NEW clients I get that leave a key have been given a rough idea, and I do call them with the quote, and if I can't get a hold of them, I'll clean it anyway, regardless.

 

[Burtz]

first you have to get over yourself

you charged way to much and you got called on the carpet and kicked out

END OF STORY!!!!

got a question

do you take your car or trucks to the Dealer to get fixed by ASE certified mechanics

you know for the white glove treatment.

what if the mechanics on part of the bill was to wash the engine of your truck for two or three hours you know just to get to the plugs and air cleaner.

some thing tells me your the kind of guy who is going to shop around for errrrrrrrrr best price???

get over it you got your ass handed to you on a plate

 

[Ron Werner]

well, come on over Alex, you can pay my bills.

So you're saying I should become part of the problem rather than try and stand apart from the mediocre cleaners in the area that would come in, quickly steam clean it, collect their $300 and leave?

Sure I could do that, if I could forget about everything I've been taught and learned and experienced in the past 18yrs!

Is that how you do it? You just don't give a rip about how its done as long as it looks clean enough for the custy to pay you??
I expect you to never complain about a cheap cleaners work again, if you want to remain consistent with what you're telling me.

 

[ACE]

I am always thinking about value. I want to always find a way to provide a good value from my customers point of view.

It's had to do this with some services like WDR were at best it looks the same as before the damage. After it's all done the customer looks around and ask what did i get for this huge bill?

I would have sugested replacing the area rug if cleaning cost was more than replacement cost. I think if you started with that we would have been polite when he kicked you out .

 

[Burtz]

in 18 years what have you really learned?

when did you learn to spend double or triple the time to take an extra 5% more dirt out of your customers rugs and charge 50% more is not exactly giving them their moneys worth????




How about the inconvenience or them having to spend most of their fooking day with you and your noisy ugly truck. Didn't someone pissed off neighbor turn off your noisy truck just the other day? What would you think if a electrician took all day to install a new breaker for your house? Wouldn't you be kind of curious what took so long and what else you could be doing instead of this slow guy working at your house?

 

[Royal Man]

18 years experience can sometimes be repeating the first year 18 times.

I would think he would of learned in the first year that cleaning without a written or verbal Ok of the total order is a no no.

 

[XTREME1]

New customer I would as a high end anal cleaner you know you are the exception if I am right, right Ron? You have an obligation to make the consumer aware of what you are obligating them to.

What did you do to this 8 by 10 rug in such a short period of time that required $400? and in the future you should make new contacts aware of your charges

 

[supersoaker]

I've personally cleaned synthetic rugs for more than they are worth but the customer always knew the price before hand and most know that they could buy a new one but to decide have it cleaned and deodorized anyways.

I've been getting a ton of people getting mad because I have a $100 minimum and won't come out for $45.00.

 

[Ron Werner]

Good grief, can you guys read!!!???

I gave him the quote BEFORE I did any work except for some pre-vacuuming.
WHere are you getting that I did the work and THEN gave him the bill???
I hadn't even touched the rug, hadn't even rolled it up.


What would you charge to take away a rug, its all pissy and need deodorizing?
Plus I take it to another company's shop, they charge $3 for syn, plus at least $100 for the urine decontamination.
How are you guys able to do it so cheap??


Now, while were on this subject, what the hec is the job worth?
Is it only WORTH a quick prespray and rinse?
But then, what is that worth?
Is it worth 20/hr, like an average house cleaner
Is it worth $50/hr?
$100/hr?
$200/hr?
what separates you from Stanley?
WHy aren't you cleaning a whole house for $100, guaranteeing your work, coming back if they spill something? Are you moving all the furniture? Are you hoping your tm wand is going to suck up all the lint, dust, hair, sand, drywall dust, whatever else is in there? Are you cleaning corners, closets, etc?
How many steps of the Standard are you leaving out?

You say 5% more soil? Really?! Like how would you know? If you're just P&R the carpet, you've barely removed 5%, so IF I DID remove another 5%, thats 100% more than you removed.

 

[lust1kiddo]

I would find a different guy to take the rug to. I pay 1.50 for washing..and doesn't matter if its synthetic or natural. I charge the custy about 3.00 unless its silk, or we have to do repairs.

 

[Ron Werner]

There are only two main guys to take the cleaning to. The one is around 2.75/sf for syn, the other 3, a little more for the guy with the Revolution and big wash machine. Does a bang up job on urine jobs.






Seems to me you critical guys are living in areas where it doesn't cost a lot to live, thus you can charge those prices and still afford supplies, payments, and a home, etc. Keep that in mind while you're bashing me for trying to make a living doing a little extra work and not just "giving" my work away.

 

[lust1kiddo]

wow man..that's expensive for rugs. I would open a rug plant of your own and just take them to the cleaners. I have never heard of prices so high..you could have just taken that rug and done it yourself..or do it on site. Find the pee ( i use the moisture detector, **** that flash light shit)..soak it with an acid rinse and let it sit for a little..grab the claw and suck that shit out..then rinse with an enzyme. That approach works for me on everything. And the thing isn't wool? Even easier. Just my experience.

 

[Bob Foster]

wow man..that's expensive for rugs. I would open a rug plant of your own and just take them to the cleaners. I have never heard of prices so high..you could have just taken that rug and done it yourself..or do it on site. Find the pee ( i use the moisture detector, **** that flash light shit)..soak it with an acid rinse and let it sit for a little..grab the claw and suck that shit out..then rinse with an enzyme. That approach works for me on everything. And the thing isn't wool? Even easier. Just my experience.

Oh really.....

 

[lust1kiddo]

If i was a client with an 8x10 synthetic rug..and i was to pay 320 to clean it..I would just get a new one.

 

[Royal Man]

If i was a client with an 8x10 synthetic rug..and i was to pay 320 to clean it..I would just get a new one.

At Target most are $300 or less.

 

[Ron Werner]

Oh yeah. Sir, I'm going to flood your carpet and then extract the water. Your carpet will be fine but you may experience some buckling in your laminate, which may take a week or so to totally dry. Btw the buckling will be permanent, but shouldn't be too much of an issue since the carpet is covering it. :roll:

And yeah, but would you spend a couple hours cleaning a pissy rug, guarantee odour removal, and do that for less than $300? You're prostituting yourself if you would. Is that what your work is worth??



Love listening to all this.
One, it reminds me why I do what I do.
two, it teaches me that I need to follow my own advice, ie the line at the bottom of my signature.
three, I need to choose Who I listen to.
four, if you're not charging what I am, maybe you're not doing anything which separates you enough from your competition to justify charging a higher price
Five, if you're not doing anything to separate yourself, don't tell me I'm charging too much
six, my clients appreciate that I am in there longer, they KNOW I'm doing a good job and that good work takes time.
seven, that 5% extra soil I remove is what causes the other cleaners ALL KINDS of grief because they are too much in a hurry to take the extra 5-10 mins to remove it. Thats why all these cleaners are bonnet cleaning after HWE.
eight, the only reason I mentioned about this customer is to help some other cleaner that is trying to separate himself from the crowd at the bottom and to give them encouragement that YEs, you're going to run into a lot of negative, from potential customers AND from other cleaners. Stick to your guns, be confident in what you do because the custy is just after a cheap job and doesn't really care about how things are done or what it costs, and the other cleaners? well, who knows what their issue is! Their full of hot air and may clue in one day.

BTW, if it were Mike that mentioned this, you'd all be talking about the customer, not the cleaner.

 

[lust1kiddo]

A couple of hours to get piss out of a rug? You're not serious right? Maybe I'm missing something.
step 1..find pee. If its tufted, flip it over and look for stains..if not use moisture detector. 5 minutes..
step 2..get my acid rinse to break down the salts which are causing the smell..and saturate the areas. 5 minutes.
step 3..I go clean something else..maybe a love seat. 30 minutes..
step 4..go back to the rug and use both the claw and upholstery tool to remove the pee.
step 5..rinse the rest of the rug using upholstery tool. ( this is obviously just a surface cleaning..but that's because its done on site)
step 6..done and leave it to dry..will probably take a few hours.
step 7..collect my loot. 8 x 10 rug cleaned on-site = 160 + 25 for urine extraction = 185 for about 40 minutes spent on the rug..plus the other 75 I made for the love seat in the meantime = 260 in a little more than an hour. NOT BAD..

Everyone had their own way of doing things..that's just mine. I'm sure you are very successful and I am not busting your balls. My rug guy that I bring it too actually charges 50 cents more than the other guys who only want a dollar or so for wash. But my dude is the best and I never have problems that he cant fix. And I only bring about 15 - 20 rugs per month to him. But hey man, if you're making all that money than fantastic. The job i described up top is ok for me and i normally do about 2 per day..nice and easy.

 

[Ron Werner]

not reading too well again, are you!!
its on LAMINATE
If you're willing to clean that on laminate, esp the waterclawing, you go right ahead.





If I could have cleaned that inhouse I would have only charged him $1/sf+deodourizing, but there was no where to clean it, unless I was a HACK.

 

[Ron Werner]

BTW you're copying my numbering my points is pretty lame

not to mention, I had distinct points, you're just describing your method. WTF I know how to water claw a urine spot, WHEN its appropriate to do so

 

[lust1kiddo]

I'm sorry man, I was just being general and participating in a conversation. I also said I wasn't busting your balls, sorry you took it that way. I guess 1000 bucks is a lot of money for you.
Take Care Pal,

 

[Padden McFadden]

I've had a few calls to clean pee soaked rugs. Found on the phone that rugs were worth $150 brand new at the home depot. I told the customers to just toss the rug and buy a new one. Now if the rug was $5000.00 then your price to restore it for $400 would be a great value. Sometimes common sense is needed in our pricing. And at $5.50 a stair , I would think some people could get new carpet on the stairs for about that. Now if the carpet is real high end then it might be worth it for some to pay high for good quality work on it.

 

[lust1kiddo]

Agreed.

 

[B&BGaryC]

When I started out I had the can't miss sales pitch and spent forever vacuuming, mixing the perfect pre-spray, specifically for the job, treat and scrub, spray a little bit more, extract, drypass, drypass, drypass, extract, move the fan a little bit, take moisture readings, extract again, drypass, move the corner guards, take my shoe booties on and off as I entered and exited the carpeted areas, protect, dry the carpet in an area, grab the customer and show them that the protector was now repelling water, show the a few half-taken out traffic areas and half taken out stains, give them a bottle of spot cleaner, groom something, neatly coil the hose perfectly by the door, move the corner guards, make sure they could see I was being careful around their furniture, wipe the baseboards, move the fan a little bit, extract drypass drypass drypass....

What I got was a bunch of people wondering why the hell there was some big sweaty fat guy dinking around in their house for hours and hours. They got the best cleaning they ever could have had but I couldn't get them to do anything but cut a check and kick me out of the house. They didn't have time for that crap, and they definitely didn't have time for my play by play recap and another sales pitch about referrals and how I am the best. The carpet looked the same to them as it did when the last guy did it save a few minor things and the fact that it was dry... But of course it was dry, I spent the whole day there!

I'm not Ron. I can't do it. All I ever did was piss people off two ways, by costing way more and taking too long. I don't think I get carpets quite as clean now, but I can't be sure. I haven't started totally hacking the work out or anything. I just don't scrub unless people pay for it, I use less variations in my pre-spray and I don't put booties on until the job is done and the truck is off. By speeding the cleaning process up I have a customer who is much more inclined to spend 3 minutes talking with me about what I did and why their friends should have me clean for them too. And I still can't tell the difference (sometimes) between my work and the guy who does the work for 2/3 the price and gets it done in 1/2 the time. Well that's a lie. I can tell the difference. My customer can't. All they care about is if it overall looks better and if I get the spots out. The other guy gets the spots out too so our work is the same in the customer's eyes.

 

[Ken Snow]

I am sure you really can't tell the difference either gary and the carpet stays clean just as long.

 

[Ron Werner]

depending on the soiling, you can make the carpet look quite clean moving the wand faster, but you can see a difference again if you move the wand slower. I've tried that a few time, move the wand faster and then slower. You'll never see the difference if dont do anything different. Customer will never know either. It'll stay clean enough till the next cleaning

I am sure you really can't tell the difference either gary and the carpet stays clean just as long.

Are you're saying Ken that there is no worth in doing the job better, only in doing it adequately and quickly? Only have to make it stay clean "enough" for a year, ensures repeat busn for sure.

 

[Mikey P]

BTW, if it were Mike that mentioned this, you'd all be talking about the customer, not the cleaner.

Why is that Ron?

 

[Ron Werner]

You're the guru Mike. If you watch your posts, what you say carries more weight than if said by someone else.

 

[Ken Snow]

You're the guru Mike. If you watch your posts, what you say carries more weight than if said by someone else.

Mike gets crap all the time, but usually doesn't get into these types of arguments.

Ron, I am not saying that it isn't possibly a little better to do what you do, though I don't believe most will pay for it. The product/service level, just like with hamburgers, steaks and everything else will fit consumers wants- business 101 baby (no shaming intended). Frankly the best thing would be to uninstall the carpet, bring it to a shop and clean it 3-4 days in a row vacuuming in between. I don't think any homeowner will pay for that- but who knows maybe you can create a boutique business doing this.

My point really is, there are lots of ways to service the customer and they can all be very successful and highly competent. I know cause we are doing this 1200-1500 times a week with a 90+ % retention rate.

Ken

 

[Out of Character - 0]

I didn't put too much into this and of course there are many variables to consider. But it is possible to deliver the exact same quality for less. Your aversion to growing out of owner operator combined with your standards for cleaning is in my opinion causing you to charge your customers more than someone like myself who delivers similar quality.

Solo: 1000sf x.55 = $550. $550 / $100hr = 5.5hrs 2 jobs = 11hrs + 1hr driving = 12hrs and $1100: $91.66hr

2 man crew: 1000sf x.35 = $350. $350 / $170hr = 2.0hrs. 3 jobs = 6hrs + 2hr driving = 8.5hrs and $1050 $123hr

If you stay busy at your price point, keep it that way. If you book 10-20% of your calls due to being too pricey and your not busy enough you may want to consider doing things different.

Just a thought.

 

[Ron Werner]

and how much would the 2nd person cost? with all the extras (ie workers comp etc)
Keep in mind, that employee needs to make enough to support a family...HERE, not in Detroit.
So that $123/hr will drop to....??