Price is fine.....UNTIL...

[PrimaDonna]

Redemption.... Different client, but about the same average hourly rate....

And 3 other Of our clients posted in this thread how happy they are too.

Closed 'community' Facebook group with over 8,000 members. You can't put a price on this kind of post on a page like this

 

[Joe Appleby]

It's not a playpen for the average wannabe carpet cleaner. It's serious money in this county.

Wiki
Sellersville, Pa
The median income for a household in the borough was $46,500, and the median income for a family was $55,313. Males had a median income of $38,018 versus $27,056 for females. Theper capita incomefor the borough was $19,970. About 5.4% of families and 5.2% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Ofer, it's time to triple our prices.
Meg, you go girl...

 

[Bryan S. Bennett]

Wiki
Sellersville, Pa
The median income for a household in the borough was $46,500, and the median income for a family was $55,313. Males had a median income of $38,018 versus $27,056 for females. Theper capita incomefor the borough was $19,970. About 5.4% of families and 5.2% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Ofer, it's time to triple our prices.
Meg, you go

Serve everyone in the data above and you get regular invoices like the rest of us. Tighten up your marketing and serve only the best with the best service, get higher respectable invoices that sets the pace for the industry.

 

[Russ T.]

Meg,

What you guys are doing is great. We are striving to deliver the complete experience too, and are proving to ourselves that people will pay FAR more than what we used to charge, even just a few years ago.

But we have gotten better...a lot better. From the way a call is handled to the service I perform in every residential situation. The uniform, wrap, corner guards, Seal a Door, rotary extractor, Royal vacuum....

I wonder though, are we setting the bar so high that it will seriously limit our potential for growth?

What I mean to say is that what YOU and JOHN are doing is special. Really special. I feel like Mel and I are on a similar path (although not pulling in numbers like you showed).

Our challenge will be training our replacement to be as good or, dare I say BETTER than us. Otherwise our company will fall to a place of mediocrity that so many others have.

It's this fact that causes so many customers to be so thrilled when they encounter greatness, whether in our industry or another.

You charge that much more because you're that much better!

 

[Bryan S. Bennett]

Also the income data above is for Sellersville Borough. Like many PA towns the high end customer is living outside the boro/city limits so it's very possible too that their data isn't even in these numbers.

In my town, it's very poor, but I serve the high end in that group as well and really cash in on my main market 25 miles away.

 

[ruff]

Ofer, it's time to triple our prices.
Meg, you go girl...

People here seem to be upset at what Burdicks charges.
I love it when people charge more than I do. Though they are hard to come by. It makes it so much easier to compete.

 

[PrimaDonna]

Also the income data above is for Sellersville Borough

Really not the "best" example. Sellersville is not one of the "better" areas - we moved up here because it is "cheaper" (which is a relative term in this area).

Doylestown is the biggest "town" we service in the area:
The median income for a household in the borough was $46,148, and the median income for a family was $71,988. Males had a median income of $48,553 versus $31,703 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $32,249. About 2.5% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Bucks County:
The median income for a household in the county is $59,727, and the median income for a family is $68,727. Males had a median income of $46,587 versus $31,984 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,430. About 3.10% of families and 4.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.80% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.

Montgomery County:
The median income for a household in the county was $60,829, and for a family was $72,183 (these figures had risen to $73,701 and $89,219, respectively, as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $48,698 versus $35,089 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,898. About 2.80% of families and 4.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.60% of those under age 18 and 5.10% of those age 65 or over.

Chester County:
The median income for a household in the county was $65,295, and the median income for a family was $76,916 (these figures had risen to $80,818 and $97,894 respectively as of a 2007 estimate).[17] Males had a median income of $51,223 versus $34,854 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,627. About 3.10% of families and 5.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.10% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.

So here is another comment from that same post.

In house cleaning of $1749.53 (wall to wall wool, and upholstery, pet issues) and we did $1831.43 worth of rugs in the shop (all wool). $3,580.00 first time customer and that is what she had to say!

It really is amazing to me. We have a great team and because of that, we are able to achieve this kind of feedback. We really are fortunate, and I don't take it for granted for one moment.

 

[PrimaDonna]

I wonder though, are we setting the bar so high that it will seriously limit our potential for growth?

Depends. You need to determine how many people in your ideal demographic are in your service area. How many of them will use you? How often will they clean? Is all that enough to keep you busy or will you top out?
Do you desire to have multiple tucks on the road, or are you happy and will you make enough for the lifestyle you want if you just have 1 or 2 big jobs a day and you can work "normal" hours.

We live in an area that we could never service everyone in our demographic if we had the opportunity. At least not at the size we are now, and I don't know that we want to be a 10 truck operation. Not sure we could still offer that personal level of customer service - which seems to be the golden ticket and is what all the feedback from clients points to as to why they use us (and are willing to pay our prices). I guess with the proper systems in place, we could, but man it's hard to have it run smoothly when so many other people are involved...and FINDING the right people to deliver that like we do.

Work smarter, not harder. Nothing wrong with setting it high. If it's too high, you'll know when you've reached your threshold. You can always scale it back....but why not push the limits now. You may be surprised where it leads you and what you can get. I know I am!!!

 

[Jim Pemberton]

It really is amazing to me. We have a great team and because of that, we are able to achieve this kind of feedback. We really are fortunate, and I don't take it for granted for one moment.

There is so much truth to what you said there beyond what most people might "get" at a glance.

Your team's commitment to deliver what you sell, and your sense of dimension and humility that enables you to recognize the vital place they have in what you are doing, make all the hard work you do in sales and marketing "work".

 

[Hoody]

Meg,

I'm impressed - do you know how many people I talk to a month that have no clue about that type of data? Somewhat boggles my mind how clueless a lot of people are about their demographic and the area they service. One of the research things I do when I'm dealing with service companies is finding where the money is. This is especially true when we're dealing with a larger metro area. When a high end cleaner comes to us wanting to market online we find the outer suburbs that have the money and let the coupon guys compete in the big city. Or we at least hit those areas first while we're building reputation and strength in the metro area. I wish more people would do their research it would help them in their print ad campaigns as well.

 

[PrimaDonna]

And they keep on coming...

I'm really am in awe.

 

[Desk Jockey]

And they keep on coming...

WOW....you have a big family there Meg!