residential cleaning by the room or sq-ft.

[Brian R]

I think once someone realizes that there is no absolute to this whole call versus price thing etc.
They won't bitch about it so much.

 

[Ron Werner]

I'm by the sf. When charging 55cents per/ the job can easily get up to $300 for 3bdmrm, hall and stairs. Telling ANY potential client that over the phone immediately makes them a price shopper, unless they know about you and/or they have tried other cleaners and realized they get what they pay for.
I've been "stung" a couple times, where I estimated 3 rooms over the phone is one example. Told me 3 rooms, one large, 2 small, figured about 200sf or so, about $120, then get there and the one room is almost 300sf, almost doubled the price. Then what? This is why, esp when they tell me they have a house 2000sf or bigger, its well worth the time, even if I don't get the job, to go and talk with them and measure it up. I may not get the job THIS time, but in the future...who knows. New owner calls and I've got the measurements in my laptop so I can tell them, yes, I know the house, here's what it will be. In a small town, tend to do the same places.

I like to do a in- house- quote so there are no surprises for the client, OR me!

 

[Brian R]

Plust during the drive over, someone may see your van in the neighborhood and give you a call.
That's better advertising than it sitting in your driveway.
Someone will feel more comfortable using the guy who is actually in the neighborhooe...even if you didn't land the job you were going to...they don't know that.


You do have logo's on your van right?? This question is for everyone.

 

[Ron Lippold]

well said ron that is what i do. no price over the phone at all. if they wont let me see it they are not a customer for me. I dont have to clean everyones carpet to make a good living.

 

[B&BGaryC]

I put myself in the customers shoes and give them what I think they want. A service that is simple, easy to use with nothing to worry about.

I do per room and dont end up move alot of stuf in the rooms. The carpet on average is in good shape, dont really do rat nasties. The people are nice, the set up is easy and I have never had a redo.

If you've never had a redo you don't call back every customer.

 

[B&BGaryC]

We are doing $25 a room $75 a sofa while there is snow on the ground... Advertising it on the CW. $5 an ad if you buy $300 in advertising. We have a good commercial. Funny, cute kid spilling a rootbeer float while mother gets ready for company, us saving the day... It hasn't run for more than three days so I don't know how the spot is going to work. So far I have gotten much better customers than I expected... but a few flakes. Definitely lower income homes, but not necessarily too many goofs.

 

[Dolly Llama]

We are doing $25 a room $75 a sofa while there is snow on the ground...

wow..that's quite a contrast, Gary
I "thought" you had mentioned many times the company's biz model was on the high end of pricing...like .40-.60sf and up?

..L.T.A.

 

[B&BGaryC]

It is quite a contrast, however not to the extent you think. I charge 28 cents a foot for full service and then some. I charge 52 cents a square foot for restorative clean. Up to 25 cents a square foot for two stage deodorizing, however it starts at fifteen cents. 12 to 15 cents a foot for protector.

And the contrast mirrors the contrast between the owner of the company and myself. His answer to lack of call volume is to lower the price. I told him that doesn't work in the long term. He listened the last two winters, this time I didn't care to argue. I'm calling it an experiment. If it yields all the problems it shoul (aside from us losing money or breaking even) I shouldn't have to do it again next year.

 

[Dolly Llama]

It is quite a contrast, however not to the extent you think. I charge 28 cents a foot for full service and then some.

AHH...OK
That's a little different , cause those really aren't "high roller" prices in my market .
That would be in the mid to upper mid level pricing here, I guess

..L.T.A.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Some people jumped on me about my pricing, because I said 28 a square didn't make me much money, and I counted on protector sales to boost it to 43 a square. Or maybe it was the post about the old lady who treated my service directory like a pizza menu and insisted on having one with "everthing on it" for a whopping dollar five a square. I was psoting that I felt bad I couldn't talk her out of it and somebody yelled "dog-pile" and I got squashed and branded as an ICS-er.

 

[hogjowl]

That might have been me.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Well, when I started out I wanted to be the best, so I looked around the boards. The guys who CLAIMED to be the millionaires also CLAIMED to be using booties, corner guards, pre pad agitation, post pad, full spotting, red stains, move furniture, tab, use complicated concoctions of 32 different products to treat each individual situation etc etc...
So, I ACTUALLY did that. It didn't have the payoff I thought it would. Everybody just wondered why this fat guy has been at their house for four hours doing what took stanley steemer 45 minutes while waxing poetic about all sorts of chemestry terms they know or care nothing about. They just wanted me out of their house. No millianaire carpet cleaner, no repeat business. I have toned it down a bit, but still do extra stuff for my customers.

 

[Nate The Great]

I put myself in the customers shoes and give them what I think they want. A service that is simple, easy to use with nothing to worry about.

I do per room and dont end up move alot of stuf in the rooms. The carpet on average is in good shape, dont really do rat nasties. The people are nice, the set up is easy and I have never had a redo.

If you've never had a redo you don't call back every customer.

Or you don't do much work. As in low volume. With a small customer list, I can see not having to do a redo. Best not to ASSume anything though.

 

[ascrubabove]

I quote over the phone, by bedroom size areas. I ask if living room is twice the size of a bedroom. I do not quote stains or pet related problems over the phone cause you never get the truth from the custy!!