Q for you restaurant pros..

[Mikey P]

Im looking to up the frequency of two very popular joints we currently do and reduce their cost to help them out.

If one place is currently paying me $657 to clean their carpet (8 AM start) based on 3 visits a year (.40 instead of .50) how much would you reduce it if they were to bump up to 4 visits a year?


They move and vacuum everything.

The other place is charged $459 same situation but they have another location 5 doors down that I'd like to add on the same day once it starts needing attention

 

[Steve Lawrence]

If you're getting .50 psf for a restaurant I think you should be teaching us about resty pricing.

 

[Mikey P]

noting to teach Steve, just have a better reputation and do a better job than all the other schleps they have gotten soaked by..

Hi *******


I've been thinking of ways to help my restaurant owners out this coming year.

How does this sound…

Currently we are charging you $657 for a full cleaning based on you having us out 3 times a year. (the carpet looked great in your Santa Cruz Magazine write up, btw) if you were willing to commit to having us out 4 times a year, which I'm sure you'll agree that the carpet would benefit from, I'd be willing to drop the rate to $525 per visit

3 visits @ $657=$1971
4 visits @ $525 = $2100

So essentially for an extra $129 you would get an extra cleaning in each year. You save money, your carpet would look and smell better year round and we would have an easier and quicker job to perform.
Most busy and successful restaurants clean their floors at least quarterly. If using an inferior or rushed method the frequency goes up considerably. As an example I’ve heard El Palomar down town has theirs “dry cleaned “once a week..

Anyways, just though I would toss that out there. If you would like to stay with the 3 visit option I can bring it down to $600 per visit to help you out some.


Let me know..

Mike @Connoisseur

the real reason for doing this is to not lose the job to one of the local hacks that sits at the bar there all day...


new pricing comes out to a bit over.30 for prespray, 175 scrub and wand rinse and leaving 3 airpaths so they can open by 3PM

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Mikey,

If you like their food why not take $100 each cleaning in trade and leave the price alone and push for 4x with the trade.

 

[Chris A]

I would ditch the specific reference of the place having it dry cleaned to "a restaurant downtown" , sounds kinda cheesy to mention it by name.

 

[Mikey P]

Mikey,

If you like their food why not take $100 each cleaning in trade and leave the price alone and push for 4x with the trade.

About half the time we do some trade.

 

[hogjowl]

Soon as the hillbilly gets his power back on, I am sure he will post a real answer to your question.

 

[BLewis]

Mike your ideal of cutting price a tad and going with 4 cleaning vs 3 is good. They are saving a bunch and keeping their floors cleaner ( plus easier on you). I would also not mention the other place at all, restaurant folks are a proud bunch! So if my calculations are correct your cleaning a little over 1,400 sf. (Shit the bed!). We get approx .12 -.15 psf when cleaning monthly and usually pull down about 150 per hour. If your starting at 8 am I don't know why u would need to use fans. We clean two at 7 am and they are dry by 11:00

Oh, and I also agree that we should be taking lessons from you!

 

[Mikey P]

that particular restaurant is "on the sand" so drying takes longer and they have lots of round/metal/flat bottomed tables to move back in asap

 

[hogjowl]

He must have power now ...

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Build the trade into each cleaning so he'll get the value always.

 

[steve frasier]

if you are at .50 and you are better then all the competition then why lower the price so the bar fly rug soaker doesn't get it. Kind of goes against what you told Steve.

I have no problem with your letter, if you are looking to up it to 4 times per year but I wouldn't mention the cheaper price for 3 months. If you are willing to drop it down to $600 per visit, I think you are cutting your own throat. Whey would he take the quarterly offer when he can get the 3 month option cheaper?

It is one or the other for me or quarterly for $2000.

If he is complaining about price, I would just drop the price and have him cook lunch for all of you.

I think you are getting a pretty sweet deal for all they do before you get there

I don't have any restuarants anymore but the couple I use to do would have a dinner for us when we got there.

 

[rwcarpet]

If you're getting .50 psf for a restaurant I think you should be teaching us about resty pricing.

Let's remember, Steve.......Mikey lives in an area that has a cost of living at least twice if not more than us Northern tier cleaners. I'd take it just so the bar fly doesn't get in there and f&%k it up.

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Good point, Robert, and another good reason to keep the price up there and sweeten the deal with part trade.

 

[Lyman]

I tried this a couple years ago with all my commercial clients. None of them went for it. They were happy with the intervals that were in place. One thought I was trying to get more money per year out of him. One couldn't understand how I could clean the same area cheaper one time from the other. Even after explaining the whole deal to him. Good luck.

 

[Shane T]

How much cleaning time can you really reduce going to quarterly cleaning?

 

[steve_64]

noting to teach Steve, just have a better reputation and do a better job than all the other schleps they have gotten soaked by..






the real reason for doing this is to not lose the job to one of the local hacks that sits at the bar there all day...


new pricing comes out to a bit over.30 for prespray, 175 scrub and wand rinse and leaving 3 airpaths so they can open by 3PM

let them use the other guy. if he is a hack the quality will show and when they call you back, up your price.

its almost a reflex to me now to tell people i will raise my price if they threaten to use someone else. it may be too late to tell him upfront now though. i use that at the first mention of using someone else and i say it with confidence. i go into selling mode and solidify my standing with them. either im thier cleaner or im not. give me my respect or pay more for my work, not that i charge much now lol. but it really does work. i think it gives them confidence in you and makes them feel they doing the right thing by using you. sometimes thats all they are looking for is justification in price.

 

[Chris A]

let them use the other guy. if he is a hack the quality will show and when they call you back, up your price.

its almost a reflex to me now to tell people i will raise my price if they threaten to use someone else. it may be too late to tell him upfront now though. i use that at the first mention of using someone else and i say it with confidence. i go into selling mode and solidify my standing with them. either im thier cleaner or im not. give me my respect or pay more for my work, not that i charge much now lol. but it really does work. i think it gives them confidence in you and makes them feel they doing the right thing by using you. sometimes thats all they are looking for is justification in price.

I think if your talking to the customer the way that it comes across here than you sound kinda arrogant. No offense but I would try to take a look at how your sending that message to them. We always face price objections/negotiations with an attitude of we can either do it or we can't. A lot of times it just depends on the timing and how bad we need/don't need the job.

 

[Shane Deubell]

Can't really gain any production going from 3 to 4 cleanings unless maybe they are flexible with scheduling and you can place it on a day you are already in the area.

To me it comes down to what gross profit is left and IF it is big enough then you can reduce it a little for the extra volume. Sounds pretty dam profitable to me, not sure if i would even want to.

 

[idreadnought]

I wouldn't do it. You severely cut your profit margin per man hour doing that. You get very little in the way of benefits and the customer could look at it as a negative.

What I would do aside from getting the hack 86ed somehow is to spend some pr time with the customers. Ask them how the process is working and if there is anything you can do to make the process better or less hassle. Let them know you appreciate the business from them and they are very important to you. Business's will very rarely change a service based off cost. They already know how that turns out. But they will change if they don't believe they are getting as much service as they expect or want.

And how about a seminar at mikeyfest on how to look a restaurant owner in the eye and bid 50 cents a foot. I am with the others. I just bid a well known restaurant out at .16 per foot for 2000 feet. I am very hopeful to gain the contract. It will fit very well for my expected profit margin on per hour cleaning costs.

 

[Dolly Llama]

And how about a seminar at mikeyfest on how to look a restaurant owner in the eye and bid 50 cents a foot. .

with nothing to move and no vac to boot

he better worry the dude in the bar doesn't have a large bar tab ...cause he might offer a FREE demo to get the account @25 cent to scrub 'n extract



going from fiddy a ft to 30 a ft for just one extra cleaning might just make you look look like you've been an overcharging schmuck to them all along ...but Ca is a different world ...so who knows what you can convince those weirdos of...


..L.T.A.

 

[Mikey P]

the place is five minutes from my house.

no other cleaner is going to leave them 3 airpaths

scrub and extract wont cut it, needs pre scrubbing due to the olive oil..

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Then why are you afraid of losing the contract? You're the best and they know it.

 

[Mardie]

It may help to look back to the kind of results they where getting before you came along. Chances are good that they have been horrific for many years and they where never looking forward to making the call to get their carpet cleaned.It was just somthing they had to do and they hated it. Now since you have been their they are exited to make the call to get their carpet cleaned because it will look amazing and they know it ( even though you are not VS ing it ) You have taken all their worries and hesitation away and replaced it with exitment and enthusiasim.

The point is you should try to see the situation from their eyes.

 

[steve_64]

I think if your talking to the customer the way that it comes across here than you sound kinda arrogant. No offense but I would try to take a look at how your sending that message to them. We always face price objections/negotiations with an attitude of we can either do it or we can't. A lot of times it just depends on the timing and how bad we need/don't need the job.

i have a good relationship with my customers. every now and then it comes up, especially with my apartments. they start trying to con me into lowering my price with the threat of price shopping. they know i do good work for a good price already but they get shopped a lot. ive had 3 complexes come back to me and a couple others have made comments about it. even some residential have tried to get a better deal but my prices are already low imo. especially for the quality i provide, i know it and my customers know it.

when i reply im not an ass about it. im usually smiling if not chuckling already. its happened enough i know the routine. i just let them know how i feel about it and like i said it usually ends up they never mention it again. one complex i raised the price 10% when they called me back and they didnt complain. now im locked in and i have a better relationship with the owner. we had a long talk about it.

maybe its a good time to build a more solid relationship with that customer.

with restaurants its a repeat job so they get a better rate i tell them. if i have to skip a few cleanings and or fix someone elses poor work my cost goes up so i have to charge more to make up the difference. its an easy sale imo. most people dont like change and if they understand the possible consequence they will be reassured by your explination. they just need to be resold. they forget why they are using you in the first place.

i tried to increase frequency today at a dealership i clean. i also tried upselling protector. he has to talk to the owner but i will mention it again next time. starting to plant that seed.

 

[hogjowl]

Mikey is always arrogant.

I have no idea why, or how, but he always is.

PS You have to use the word arrogant to describe Mikey, cuz if you use the term ""big head" everybody just thinks your talking about his super sized Herman the Munster head.

 

[Mikey P]

Chris was calling Steve arrogant, not me you ignorant wand pansy

 

[Chris A]

Chris was calling Steve arrogant, not me you ignorant wand pansy

Yup, I was. Although I still wouldn't mention that other restaurant by name, but you already knew that.

 

[steve_64]

Yup, I was. Although I still wouldn't mention that other restaurant by name, but you already knew that.

i wouldnt bring the other place up neither.

 

[handdi]

mike think about this also
lower your price and i bet ya they will start blowin ya off more frequently also
let the bar fly do it a couple of times and he wont show up
leave the place soaked down
be a good lesson for them