Question for Sq ft pricing guys?

[PTMatt]

Time to raise my prices and I'm going to try sq ft pricing. I was wondering whats the best way to measure a furnished room? Do you measure each section of carpet that is to be cleaned around beds, couchs etc? or do you measure the entire room than subtract the sq footage of furniture in room?

 

[Brian R]

The latter....it's not an exact science so it's usually a guesstimate.

I was always generous enough to give half the room to furniture on average.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

viewtopic.php?f=104&t=13585&hilit=room

 

[Ken Snow]

Move it all and you won't have the issue.

 

[davegillfishing]

ken do your guys move beds a lot? i hate moving
beds more than anything in the world..it is a pain in the ass
and usually becomes more a hassle than it is worth..

 

[PTMatt]

Move it all and you won't have the issue.

We dont move alot of furniture, maybe a sofa, love seat, chair, tables, small stuff, but thats about it.

 

[Ken Snow]

Unless they are platform beds yes and we move everything else unless advised not to. Exceptions are pianos, washers & dryers, loaded cabinets (china and electronic).

Ken
Ps we use all 2 man crews.

 

[ruff]

I charge for the full size of the room (unless the actual cleaning size is ridiculously small.)

We all know that cleaning a room working around lots of furniture, takes a lot longer than cleaning an empty room. Why charge less if it takes longer?

I explain it to my clients and tell them that if they empty the room, though I'll have more square feet to clean, I'll give them 10% discount. Because I will be able to get it done much faster.

Most of my clients understand, every once in a long while I get one that doesn't. Usually they don't make the best of clients (at least in my experience.) Usually I refer them to Ken who flies a crew from Motown.

On the other hand I move furniture ('within reason'- like coffee tables, sofas, etc) without charging them anything. I don't charge for closets and try to make the whole cleaning experience as simple and painless as possible.

 

[Ken Snow]

shiteatinggrin

 

[woodsey]

Matt, in sq ft pricing I use a wheel tape and " square off the room" with my best guess on furniture that wont be moved. I write down the measurements of each area on the invoice if the custy wants to check my figures. In 6 years I have never had a customer question the numbers. This keeps things simple fast and honest.As I am measuring I am inspecting the carpet for issues and pointing them out or making notes. It wont take long to learn the method. A few things to remember is dont leave the roller tape at the custys house. Dont cut the measurement to short and cheat yourself. Let the customer see your figures. Have a small calculator attached to your clipboard for figgerin. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to do the math but it is better to take the time in front of the customer and let them see there is a fair formula rather than quickly pulling a number out of your head with no supporting reason. I know there are other methods but this one works well for me. Woodsey

 

[Brian R]

I use a laser measuring device. $30.00 at Lowes or The Home Depot.

I use it for the image because can usually eyeball a room....and really if there's furniture....it's all eyeballing anyway.

I always let them see me running the numbers...it does look legit and it keeps them from haggling....sometimes.

I usually let them know at that point what my sqft price is AND the sqft I came up with so they know where I'm getting the numbers.

The beauty of this is....the home owner almost always knows the sqft of the entire house. When you give them a number well below what they thought the carpeted areas would be...it sets them at ease.

So no matter what price you give them (within reason) won't seem so bad....this works for both price shoppers and regular customers as well.


Setting the customer's mind at ease is truly what's important in the price giving dept. Let them know what you're doing, why you're doing it and the benefit to them.
Once you get done telling them that....they will expect a $500.00 bill (for example) but when you let them know it's only $285.67....they feel much better.

I don't care what kind of customer it is....a lower price than they expected...at any level...is going to make for a better experience.






With all that said...make sure the first price you give them is the highest price. If needed, you can work your way down a bit.
You really never know who you are dealing with until you give them that first price.

 

[Out of Character - 0]

Wall to wall measurement. Furniture or not, it doesn't matter. The furniture is there whether you price by the ft or the rm. You don't have a different room price for varying amounts of furniture do you?

Don't buy the $30 sonic tape with laser sight, they catch other items and give false readings. The Stanley for $90 uses the laser to measure and it's good for 100ft. The laser only spreads out to the size of a dime while the sonic thing might be 6ft. If you do lot's of commercial work then get a Lacia Disto, they are good for hundreds of feet.

 

[Ron Werner]

I have my laptop with which I print out an quotation right there.

I measure the full room then adjust the price to take into account reduced cleaning area due to furniture or extreme heavy soiling etc. I tell my clients its 55 cents "per cleanable sf". Most rooms with beds etc I charge 30-25cents but based on the whole room sf. I like to keep the whole room measurement in my database.

A friend of mine uses a calculator and paper and writes out a quotation, he determines what percentage of floor space is cleanable and adjusts the square footage, then multiplies by the sf price.

Use a laser measure tool. I've been using a sonic tool and am going to upgrade to the laser. It impresses customers. Wheel tools are inaccurate, a tape measure is too old fashioned and too slow, and some times you may not have access to the whole room to use those tools. A laser is just two quick measurements, hit a button and it gives you the sf.

I'm looking at the Bosch tool, good for 130ft, less than $100
http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-DLR130K-Dig ... 396&sr=8-1

 

[Becker]

Sonic around things not being moved.

Have been thinking of messuring whole room and having to prices per sq.. one move, one not.

But I can ball park bids over the phone pretty well.

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

It's real easy to move furniture when it's an employee that does it. I measure sq/ft all the time. I lean in and get the bulk of the room with my Hilti laser. Bam done. Along the way I chat about prep and furniture. Works for me.

 

[topnotchman]

I have my laptop with which I print out an quotation right there.

I measure the full room then adjust the price to take into account reduced cleaning area due to furniture or extreme heavy soiling etc. I tell my clients its 55 cents "per cleanable sf". Most rooms with beds etc I charge 30-25cents but based on the whole room sf. I like to keep the whole room measurement in my database.

A friend of mine uses a calculator and paper and writes out a quotation, he determines what percentage of floor space is cleanable and adjusts the square footage, then multiplies by the sf price.

Use a laser measure tool. I've been using a sonic tool and am going to upgrade to the laser. It impresses customers. Wheel tools are inaccurate, a tape measure is too old fashioned and too slow, and some times you may not have access to the whole room to use those tools. A laser is just two quick measurements, hit a button and it gives you the sf.

I'm looking at the Bosch tool, good for 130ft, less than $100
http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-DLR130K-Dig ... 396&sr=8-1

How are wheel tools inaccurate??

 

[Ron Werner]

They don't ride on the carpet properly.
I discovered the need to retire my wheel (good pun :roll: ) when I was measuring a long room. Measured 35 ft. Decided to double check it so I measured back, got 28ft! O K. Measured again, 35ft. Back, 28ft. Well, measured again, 35ft, didn't pick it up but rolled it backwards. It should have zero'd out but I was 7ft short. So I paced it, 32ft. Discovered the wheel wouldn't grip the carpet.

Within the week I had a sonic tool (didn't know about laser ones and no board at that time to find out)

 

[Walt]

Wheels normally measure short by a couple of inches. Assuming you are doing some rounding (because of figuring the fraction) you will easily pay for a laser in a week or two. Also its way faster.

Sonic is lame and inconsistent
Stanley is better but chews expensive 9 volt batteries
Bosch is most accurate and batteries last forever.

 

[idreadnought]

I started with a sonic measuring device when i went to sq ft pricing. That thing was so annoying. It would sometimes bounce of the wrong thing and be very inaccurate. I then bought craftsman laser measuring devices. They are great. measure within 100th of an inch, and calculates sq footage for me. Customers are also very impressed that we look so professional with a quality tool. It is usually a great talking point to relate to the customer. From the cat that likes the laser to the guy that loves tools, it seems everyone loves these things

 

[steve frasier]

Sonic is lame and inconsistent

yup

Bosch is most accurate and batteries last forever.

yup, I have this one after dumping the home depo model

 

[Nate The Great]

Lacia Disto 2 is the one I have and it's excellent! Expensive but well worth it for me. Small, slim, and adds the sq for you. Adds up to 10 room measurements.