Those who do more than three jobs per van/day

[Russ T.]

It sounds like we are pushing in similar directions Brent.

All cleaning is a matter of degree and we, as biz owners, have to decide what degree we will aim for. Like I said earlier, lots of ways to make $ in this biz. You almost have to pick QUALITY or VOLUME.

I really don't want to misrepresent my company as a premium service provider. I normally vacuum residential carpet and use agitation in at least the living/dining, halls. I usually use a RotoVac 360i for that but will be using my 175 more soon.

I learned this craft from other companies that taught me to be a hack, without me realizing it. Over the past 2 years I have become a MUCH better cleaner. I now have the freedom and ability to experiment with different equipment and techniques.

Word is getting out. My customers believe we are the best. We do too. My wife answers the phones and can pretty easily convince a prospective customer WHY we think we are the best, that's priceless! My wife and I believe in what we are doing more than ever before. We are much more than slick talking salespeople. We educate people about carpet cleaning and the difference between us and the rest.

It hasn't been uncommon to have residential carpet jobs that I bill $400-$$700 for lately. I could NEVER command that in the past. That's great $, here in the MidWest. I was a hack.

I stopped catering to the price shopper. That's Stanley Steemer (and others) game and I don't have to play it. I can't compete with the marketing dollars spent by these huge companies.

They can't compete with the quality product and service we put out every day.

I don't want a huge carpet cleaning company with a bunch of slick talking hacks. That would make me crazy. I'm 38, love what I do, and don't want off the truck anytime soon.

My dream is to run a small, well oiled, machine. 2-3 trucks with well paid craftsmen who love this craft doing the work.

As far as what vacuum, right now I use a Hoover Commercial vac. It's fine, very light and has been pretty durable. I'm considering upgrading to a dual motor upright like the Windsor we saw at MF10. There are cheaper versions by Pro Team or Pullman Holt.



The Clean Machine of Iowa
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com

 

[Desk Jockey]

I also have a hard time finding a good vacuum that will last..

We buy cheap ones. Use them hard and replace them when they quit working well.

 

[Johnny]

We buy cheap ones. Use them hard and replace them when they quit working well.

Royal Commercial (all-metal). I have two, one more than ten years. They are the best performing and most durable I know of. More powerful (bigger motor) than Kirby, MUCH lighter, and handle locks for stairs. And they look professional. Can't believe every pro doesn't have one.

 

[Russ T.]

The handle locks? That's a big deal...seriously. That's the biggest knock against Kirby.


The Clean Machine of Iowa
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com

 

[Art Kelley]

Next to ultra high heat, prevacuuming is the most overrated step in carpet cleaning. On a residential job I will use my vacuum to remove debris or pet hair, otherwise it sits in the van. On a commercial job I will blast through with two Orecks, one is each hand. Otherwise what do you do with your other arm while vacuuming, jerk off? It's insane to have a 500 CFM vacuum machine sit idle while you Warner away trying to justify your prices with a pathetic little electric vacuum.

 

[FB7777]

I thought you never turned your truckmount off, hence your using a full tank of gas everyday

Oh yea , that was before you decided to shut your truck off for half your jobs and run a portable

So you don't pre vac when you use go electric?

 

[Art Kelley]

Is there a question there Fred?

 

[Johnny]

The handle locks? That's a big deal...seriously. That's the biggest knock against Kirby.


The Clean Machine of Iowa
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com

Yup. Locks in the fully upright position. Doing stairs with a Royal Commercial is a piece o' cake.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Is there a question there Fred?

A whole BOX of questions Art....

 

[SamIam]

Russ, like you I am looking at raising my prices and that is why I am deciding on the whole prevacuum procedure.. I am around $75 a room (clean&protect) and only prevac when needed.. but that is to inconsistent for me and the brand I am working on. I also feel if someone is offer premium priced services they should be AT LEAST doing the cleaning the way the industry guidelines recommend.. if not, that is more like a premium hack, something I don't want to be. I also have a hard time finding a good vacuum that will last..

Vacuums don't that why you replace every 6 months!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[SamIam]

I agree with Becker, Often hear when pre spraying whats that or the last guy didn't do that.

I hear all the time we pre vacuumed, only to bust out my shark 2x capacity from Walmart for $120, Wow was that still in the carpet????

Here's a thought maybe your machine will get that dry soil! but what kind of filter are you using and how fast will you have to clean it out with all the extra soil and crap left in the carpet that a vacuum would've removed?

Now your losing airflow and increasing dry times

We all know the sound our machines make especially when things aren't right.

Vacuuming first keeps you from packing your filter or machine with a ton on crap.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Able 1]

No filters here.. I do use my devastator to suck out my waste tanks, works good!

 

[renegade_cowboy]

It sounds like we are pushing in similar directions Brent.

All cleaning is a matter of degree and we, as biz owners, have to decide what degree we will aim for. Like I said earlier, lots of ways to make $ in this biz. You almost have to pick QUALITY or VOLUME.

I really don't want to misrepresent my company as a premium service provider. I normally vacuum residential carpet and use agitation in at least the living/dining, halls. I usually use a RotoVac 360i for that but will be using my 175 more soon.

I learned this craft from other companies that taught me to be a hack, without me realizing it. Over the past 2 years I have become a MUCH better cleaner. I now have the freedom and ability to experiment with different equipment and techniques.

Word is getting out. My customers believe we are the best. We do too. My wife answers the phones and can pretty easily convince a prospective customer WHY we think we are the best, that's priceless! My wife and I believe in what we are doing more than ever before. We are much more than slick talking salespeople. We educate people about carpet cleaning and the difference between us and the rest.

It hasn't been uncommon to have residential carpet jobs that I bill $400-$$700 for lately. I could NEVER command that in the past. That's great $, here in the MidWest. I was a hack.

I stopped catering to the price shopper. That's Stanley Steemer (and others) game and I don't have to play it. I can't compete with the marketing dollars spent by these huge companies.

They can't compete with the quality product and service we put out every day.

I don't want a huge carpet cleaning company with a bunch of slick talking hacks. That would make me crazy. I'm 38, love what I do, and don't want off the truck anytime soon.

My dream is to run a small, well oiled, machine. 2-3 trucks with well paid craftsmen who love this craft doing the work.

As far as what vacuum, right now I use a Hoover Commercial vac. It's fine, very light and has been pretty durable. I'm considering upgrading to a dual motor upright like the Windsor we saw at MF10. There are cheaper versions by Pro Team or Pullman Holt.



The Clean Machine of Iowa
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com

I do think we are on similar paths now.. I would say that my prices are slightly average/above average for my area but I also do things that the vast majority of my competition don't do. I like to create an experience for any customer that comes through our company.. doing that helps sell my company in ways that I can never do. With raising my prices I get more into the premium price scale I don't want to be a company that charges the higher end of the prices scale and not even do the job the right that our industry guidelines recommend. Its something to think about for sure.

 

[idreadnought]

jobs per day? that is a misleading question. Cleaning 5 livingroom and halls in 1500 sq ft houses a day would be a breeze. Cleaning 3 entire homes that are 4k square feet a day would be tough. And all jobs are different. This past week I had to train a new guy and was on the truck. It has been a while and was kinda nice getting out there again. My observations were that most customers are easy. Our customers carpets really are not that dirty and go fairly quick. We do vaccuum all the carpets but this doesn't take that much time we don't werner the carpets just go over them quickly most the time unless there is a buildup of pet hair. We scrub the carpets on every job and again this doesn't take that much time. As a matter of fact I believe the time it takes to scrub is a wash because the extraction process goes faster.

For those who are wondering how many houses we clean a day I can break it down easier. We clean about 400 sq ft of occupied carpet an hour and about 600 sq ft of empty. That is with a one tech truck. We average 7-8 hundred in carpet cleaning before protector on each truck each day.

 

[Nate The Great]

We buy cheap ones. Use them hard and replace them when they quit working well.

I hope we're still talking about vacuums... Cuz once the suck stops, the buck stops....

I prefer the Windsor/prochem/sebo vacuums...

 

[ruff]

On a commercial job I will blast through with two Orecks, one is each hand. Otherwise what do you do with your other arm while vacuuming, jerk off?

The mental picture alone, is the reason I keep coming back.

Art is to Mikey's board, what the jack rabbit is to Duracell- Indispensable.

I'd very much like to be like Art (don't we all?). Though, I am terribly afraid that I lack both the mental and physical dexterity.

 

[GCCLee]

Next to ultra high heat, prevacuuming is the most overrated step in carpet cleaning. On a residential job I will use my vacuum to remove debris or pet hair, otherwise it sits in the van. On a commercial job I will blast through with two Orecks, one is each hand. Otherwise what do you do with your other arm while vacuuming, jerk off? It's insane to have a 500 CFM vacuum machine sit idle while you Warner away trying to justify your prices with a pathetic little electric vacuum.

Some Vacuum Salesman Somewhere is gonna be awful upset with dat statement, lol


If it looks like Im fixin to make Mud or I don't feel like doing a gazillion squats to snatch up chunks actin like a crackhead carpet picker

Or Or I see.....





Them Darn Crayon Chunks.......eeeeeeewwwwwiiiiieeee they MELT : (


A Good Vac is handy to have : )




Give some Theatrics with your Quality!
People remember it.

 

[Art Kelley]

On a commercial job I will blast through with two Orecks, one is each hand. Otherwise what do you do with your other arm while vacuuming,

But seriously, why use one vacuum when you can double your efficiency on a large job using two?

 

[ruff]

Orecks or imitation Orecks may at times vibrate, but they are certainly not vacuum cleaners.

 

[Art Kelley]

I hear what you're saying Ofer, but you can't beat their durability. I tried the Sanitaire 886 because of the board recommendations, actually two of them because I broke the first 886 in a couple months. The second one lasted less than a year. Flimsy handle and parts couldn't take the abuse in my truck. The Orecks will last for many years. A broken vacuum is useless on a job and the Oreck will pick up everything in it's path and clear an unvacuumed restaurant or pet hair loaded living room when you really really need to prevacuum. I value reliability most of all.

Orecks or imitation Orecks may at times vibrate, but they are certainly not vacuum cleaners.

 

[Ron Werner]

BTW, its "Werner" the carpets.
And if I didn't keep getting tons of soil from carpets that were already vacuumed, I'd stop doing it. That cheap vacuum of mine just keeps pulling the darn stuff out of the carpet. I guess I could paint the canister black then I could vacuum like most others. For all the soil you get with those Orecks, you'd do better time wise to put a hybrid glide on the wand, crank the PSI to 600, and have at it. Anything those machines will get up moving that fast your TM will get up.

I've heard of some guys going over 3+ whole houses in one day, heard one guy did 10 jobs in a day, but anyone can clean enough off the top to make it acceptable to a custy that doesn't know any better.
And if appearance cleaning is all you're doing, why waste all your money on a TM. You can be more efficient with a OP.

 

[ruff]

Welcome back. Up from hibernation, Ron?

 

[Ron Werner]

some what. My mind has been on the new install these past 6mths. Finally got her running.

 

[Chris A]

Ron you build you're business to the point where you have 3+ jobs a day to do and you'll figure out a way to get them done.

 

[Able 1]

some what. My mind has been on the new install these past 6mths. Finally got her running.

6 months for an install!! Wow you not only clean s l o w! What did you use when you were down? The longest I was down was, oh never.. Actually one time I had a heat exchanger go out on me, and I was like an hour late to the next job. Today my blower fan went out for my vans AC put a new one in between jobs and back and running cool as possible..

8 a day is my record with one truck, this isn't whole houses.. My average job is 4.5 rooms. With one truck(2guys) I could clean 3 whole bigger houses in a day, but I now will bring two vans and three guys(picked up a new guy) to the bigger jobs because my customers do not like to be held hostage in there house ALL day..

My SM repeat rate is 63.51% and have been growing at about 20% a year, right where I want to be.. I think SM should consider referrals as repeats, because, come on!

 

[Ron Werner]

would have had it done in less than 2mths but for some "issues". One being a 4week delay because a new Kohler crapped out from a bad oil pump. Twernt my fault.
I think I've done 5 jobs in a day. Loooong day.
If I got to a consistent 3jobs+ per day, then I'd get a helper, and I'd raise price. Too many cleaners go for speed. People don't want speed, they want it clean. And they can tell, not that day perhaps but it shows later on.

 

[Able 1]

If I got to a consistent 3jobs+ per day, then I'd get a helper, and I'd raise price. Too many cleaners go for speed. People don't want speed, they want it clean. And they can tell, not that day perhaps but it shows later on.

Well, you arn't going to get more consistent at your price point and the time you take on a job.. Hey if it's working for you and you are "happy" who am I to say? Why would you have to raise your price if you hired a helper? You will get way more done in a shorter amount of time which would pay for it self two fold for what you charge.. I'll tell you that people like things running like a well oiled machine,and love efficiency. People are busy these days, they really want it done now and want you out of their house yesterday!

 

[Vivers]

Well, you arn't going to get more consistent at your price point and the time you take on a job.. Hey if it's working for you and you are "happy" who am I to say? Why would you have to raise your price if you hired a helper? You will get way more done in a shorter amount of time which would pay for it self two fold for what you charge.. I'll tell you that people like things running like a well oiled machine,and love efficiency. People are busy these days, they really want it done now and want you out of their house yesterday!

So true! Clients love efficient companies

 

[Ron Werner]

Guess its a Jerry McQuire issue. Fewer clients, higher quality.
I've mentioned the "speed" or "efficient" issue to some clients. They all said they were more than happy to have it take a little longer to know they got a good job. Most of them have had the "other" companies.

And those companies that went bigger, they NEED those jobs to keep their techs busy during the slow months. And then they are over worked and work too fast during the busy months.
And then there's Howard, who has the microseal rights in his city, so its no wonder his techs are bringing in $3-5000 in a day. Its not duplicatable over the long term. Good salesmen.

 

[ryankettering]

I had 7 jobs yesterday. Man I smelled after lol. Had a tech for 5 of them and then did the last 2 alone. I shoot for 2-3 jobs a day, but sometimes I get those ones that "need it ASAP" and they seem to all come at the same time. I had a guy call me at midnight last night wanting the carpets cleaned today. Told him I could get him in at 8pm at the end of the day, he called this morning and said he had already found someone that could do it right then. I hate losing a job based on availability. Very tired of the people that need it ASAP because we know they really don't. I try to leave "holes" in my schedule to accommodate them.