Received a call to clean a 4000 sq ft commercial job

[idreadnought]

So I get this call today asking if I clean commercial carpets. I answered yes. I then was told there is a building that has about 4,000 sq ft of carpet. Then the kicker..... We are offering 4.5 cents a foot. Is this a company that subs out work or what? And who can make any profit cleaning for 4.5 cents a foot? Heck my costs are way over that. Who would call and offer that?

 

[ACE]

So did you tell Brian R no?

 

[idreadnought]

even the hacks in my town that do work cheap charge double that. Im sure even brian would pass

 

[floorguy]

WAY over???

then you are doing something wrong

 

[bigchuckie]

Would be profitable if it was a lg open space and using a Cimex. I dont know if even the set up and clean up would be worth it though

 

[joey895]

Re: Re: Received a call to clean a 4000 sq ft commercial job

Would be profitable if it was a lg open space and using a Cimex. I dont know if even the set up and clean up would be worth it though

The problem is they usually specify hwe.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[idreadnought]

Then you guys can have it. I would rather spend those 3 hours of cleaning, billing, and cashing the measly check to find a job thats worth more than 4.5 cents a foot. Slumlords and chinese restaurants look great in comparison. Do people actually clean for that price? 10,000 ft, open area, cimex, possible, but thats not even a big job.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I'd do it if it were CGD and open area, as long as it could be encapsulation cleaned and customer prevacumed.


Two guys each with a Cimex, chems premixed so they can hit the ground running. They should be able to knock it out in an hour or a little over.
$180.00 for a two man crew for an hour or a little over. Not bad! 8)

 

[boazcan]

and you can wait for your for 60+ days....... blowme

No thanks - waste of time.

 

[Royal Man]

When I started 30 years ago commercial was going for .10-.15

Besides a house in the slums of Detroit and commercial carpet cleaning. Can you still buy anything else for less thn the price of 30 years ago?

Cleaning at that rate just brings down the industry as a whole.



I just got a commercial encap today for .22

 

[Desk Jockey]

Cleaning at that rate just brings down the industry as a whole.

LOL I'm thinking about paying people just to let me clean. :shock:

 

[Contemporary Carpet Clean]

A company called CLEANWAY called us years ago wanting us to clean for them. We had to fax over our equipment list. They paid 4-6 cents a square ft. We do HWE mostly truckmounted, but portys if need be. Another company called NEST asked me to fax our our insurance papers, so I did. They want me to work sometimes for 5 cents on jobs 10,000 sq ft and more. Oh by the way I have to travel to areas an hour to an hour and half away each way. I say no thanks. They say that they pay as much as 16-20 cents a sq, but I havent seen or been asked to do it yet.

Doc Holiday.....check this math out.....2 guys an hour each....I would say at least an hour and half each for 4000 sq ft. lets say a tech makes 10-15 bucks an hour and most likely you will have to work after hours and your guys are not going to work for $20 each to work an hour and a half after hours. So you at least have to pay them 30 to 40 bucks each to do that 4k sq ft from 5 to 7pm or 6-8pm. Thats 60 to 80 bucks. Soap and other chems 20-40 bucks. Gasoline to and from job(add travel time to pay for techs if need be). So lets say minimum cost would be as follows 180-60pay-20chems-10gasoline=90 profit roughly then uncle sam takes 30% of the 90 which is 30 bucks. You did 4000 sq ft of carpet for less than 60 dollars profit....NOT BAD!!!!! I want to hire you to work for me in this case. This is how people go broke in our business. Just saying.

 

[Chris A]

Your math is correct, but what if there was enough volume to set up a part time crew, 2-3 6 hour nights a week for $10-12 an hour each (sorry I'm in the Rust Belt so that's still good part time money), and still kept your superstars cleaning during the day? Then I can see it. Why not put that truck out there since it's just gonna be sitting in the garage anyway?

 

[XTREME1]

I had someone call yesterday for a 3200 sq ft facility and wanted steam cleaning and I explained the process and said it would be $600 and that was a $.02 discount and they said I was atleast $120 more than anyone else and could I come down on the price because I come highly recommended. I said No sorry the price is the price. They are going to let me know today

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL
You’re changing my math there, a tech should be able to clean at 2000sq/ft hour with a Cimex in open areas, or he is doing something wrong.

I personally wouldn’t care what time of the day we clean it, because I would have them cut time that week. We wouldn’t pay overtime, unless it was WDR work or some other emergency work then they can keep the OT.

But that’s ok, we will go with your numbers
$60.00 is still $60.00 and if you could line up 10-of those jobs a week it’s $600.00.

$600.00 x 4.33 =$$2598.00 a month

X 12 months= $31,176.00 profit a year off those jobs that nobody wants.

Now I’m not suggesting working that cheap, we don’t.

But I did the math to show that it can be done that cheap and still make a decent profit, especially if you are an owner operator.

It’s easy to become Prim donna’s and snub your nose at low rates, meanwhile passing up dollars that can pay bills, fund vacations or buy a new van.

$31,176.00 is more than pocket change, I’d rather have the money than the satisfaction of knowing I wouldn’t stoop so low as to clean at those rates.

Something to consider!

 

[GeneMiller]

smart guy that Doc. maybe that's why he has all those great trucks.

gene

 

[Contemporary Carpet Clean]

Richard,

So you would pay your guys 10 or 15 bucks each for one hour worth of work and they go home happy? If 1 guy can do 2000 sq ft an hour why send 2 guys? Have the one guy do the work for 2 hrs. There is no way you would clean 4000 sq ft each night or day 4+ days a week. That work does not happen NO WAY! Thats why it does not make financial sense to send a guy(s) out to work for peanuts! We work for peanuts when we do apartments, but they usually have 2-3 apts for us to do in one trip. The 2-3 apts in one trip would be less than half the square footage cleaned and double the profit...and its Monday through Friday during normal working hours.

Im not trying to be an asshole...but I am saying that some jobs just aren't worth the effort when the come along every so often. If they come along like this every day....then YES you do have a point! But this post originally got started by someone "getting a call today" meaning that it was random at best for this request.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Richard, don't worry it's all hypothetical and I don't think you're an asshole and hope you don't think I am one either. I grew up with three brothers and if you didn't fight and argue you didn't get anything. So this stuff is more fun than it is serious.

Would I maroon one guy there for four hours, no I wouldn't do that unless we were so busy we didn't have a choice. We are fortunate to have extra equipment and we have the technicians, so no I would still send two guys to knock it out.

As far as them being thrilled about working for an hour, probably no, we would want to line up other work so they could maximize their time. Again if they wanted to cut out of here early the following day or make a short Friday, they could.

We tell all technicans when we hire them we work when there is work, it' not always 8-4:30 and if they have a problem with hours they probaly won't work out here.

We do like to process the work quickly, being in the emergency business, you truly never know what the next hour will bring and I'd rather have the job done and out of the way that be strapped as to what to do now that I have this job and a water loss, or two.

I'm not suggesting it for everyone, hell I wouldn't even do it unless everything worked out to where you could actually process the job at that those numbers. I'd also want to be secure about a payment and in reasonable time.

 

[harryhides]

smart guy that Doc. maybe that's why he has all those great trucks.
gene

Doc was a gunslinger with a reputation as a fast draw - could be why he and big nose Kate weren't welcome anywhere for very long and few folks ever called him an asshole and lived to tell the tale.

Just saying.....

One thing about this job that has not been mentioned is how much of that 4,000k is actually cleanable carpet?