Please give me your approx. number.

[Ken Snow]

It is about tight routing and we also pay on commission with no pay for reservices to minimize the risk of going too fast. Also I think 2 good men (people) can produce so much more than 1 can, plus it is safer for them and the customers furnishings in my opinion.

 

[steve frasier]

it surprises me they don't ask for green cleaning

when I worked for local school district we easily came in under $.04 psf with 2, 2 man crews, 405 performers in 1 ton vans

everything was prevaced, nuke it and pull it, ran air movers but we didn't need to make a profit and sometimes it isn't about making a profit it is about keep employees and making money on the next job

so I guess the quote of, do you own a job comes into play

a second person can increase productivity anywhere from 25 to 50%

there is no mention about quality in your post so why would you try to bid quality, a lot of people already know what they are going to get when it comes to low bid

you might want to consider options to weigh the bid in your favor, a sq ft per hour cost slower pull vs faster pull = better cleaning, light chemical prespray vs heavy spray, prespray dwell time, etc, this is what we did when it came to gettiing some things we wanted vs a low bid item,

we wanted the 405 performers but there was only one supplier in the area and we needed 3 bids so we had the same guy submit bids from his store, corporate office and an out of state company

 

[Ken Snow]

I agree with your 25-50% increase in productivity with 2 people. For us it equates to about a $300 a day increase in productivity on avg. Our second person cost is about $175 (all inclusive) on avg, giving an additional profit of $125/day before minor increase in gas/chemicals etc. call it $100 conservatively increase in profit by running 2 person crews over 1.

 

[hogjowl]

There's no way Ken is going to make it in this business at those prices.

:mrgreen:

 

[minuteman]

The company that cleans for .04 a SF is full of it.
They would have to hire wetbacks with fake green cards,and lie like hell to workers comp. to do it at that price.

Mr. Olson is on the money on this.

Gas in L.A. is $2.96 or more a gallon alone & must be the same or more up in San Francisco.

Labor cost alone will break them.

What's the time frame you have to complete this project in & how often will it be cleaned?
Do they want you to pay prevailing wages.
Oh, how are you going to get paid? With a Voucher, California is broke & so is every city & county in it.




Greg

 

[Ken Snow]

Greg, why do you (and sometimes John) speak in absolutes rather than ask questions, or simply state as an opinion?

2 of us have already explicitely shown how it can be done, at least in our region, and have done it profitably. Do it or don't do it, I don't care but to state things as fact that are really opinions~ and wrong at that~ makes you seem ignorant and leaves no room for discourse and perhaps learning.

Ken
Ps We not only have all legal employees, but we have likely the highest paid ones in the midwest, that also have a terrific benefit plan. We are also a Drug Free Workplace and run criminal and driving record checks on all employees. We pay for the best, we feel we get the best and our reputation is one of the best.

 

[alazo1]

I bid a job 160k at .10 cents. They called last week and said they went for someone else.

This is San Jose, Joe. Same neck of the woods as you. It was also for padcapping not hwe. They didn't allow hoses after hours. It could have also been the upholstery prices I quoted, will never know.

Albert

 

[minuteman]

Thanks Ken, I appreciate that!


Greg

 

[Ken Snow]

Sorry Greg- got triggered a little by it and shouldn't respond to posts that trigger me at 10:30 at night (a couple Hieneken into being on the bb). My position hasn't changed this morning but I regret my wording.

Ken

 

[minuteman]

All is good Ken, Have a great day.


Greg

 

[Ken Snow]

Thanks Greg- you too!

 

[Desk Jockey]

Great thread guys.

Dan and I fight this same battle within our company daily.

We have always considered ourselves upper end cleaners, so Dan has a hard time cleaning commercial carpet at low rates. Despite him understanding that it's production per hour, he still grimaces when he asks at what rate.

He always wants to see it job costed to make sure we are making a decent return.

I look at it from a bigger perspective, once I've covered all my overhead for the month, anything else is gravy, so why not do it. We wouldn't go as low as .04, but we might do .08 if the numbers were right and the opportunity came up.

Much less than that and I'm not sure I'd want the risk on that little return.

 

[Joe Appleby]

Got a call from the county today. They are accepting our bid. I submitted this thread to the buyer and she presented it to the powers that be. With your replies, the county saw the light. Thanks guys!


P.S. They did ask if the guy from Detroit was willing to travel...

 

[Nate The Great]

Good job getting the bid. Nice meeting you at Connections.

 

[rick imby]

You are my Hero---Using a thread on Mikey's Board to sell a carpet cleaning job...

I have never heard of such a thing but great job.

Thanks for the posts and the numbers in your posts.

Rick


*********************

 

[minuteman]

Congratulations Joe! Your Buying Lunch... Right?


Greg