Update---bidding for property management company

[TimP]

I posted a thread a month or so ago about pricing for a property manager that wanted a price to clean their properties and maintain once a month cleanings for 56 of their properties 6 months out of the year, 400 homes once a year cleaned wall to wall.

I decided not to deny the work but to give them a proposal that would allow me to make money and not work my weekends away (meaning my family time).

I was informed today that they are in fact purchasing their own Truck and equipment and have told us they have allotted 80,000 for this purchase. And they have also in fact hired someone to run the machine for them. In addition they are going to send this guy to IICRC classes. Yet they have said nothing about the management going to classes or figuring out what this guy is going to be doing and what needs to be done. All I can say is that it's a disaster waiting to happen. Anyway I kind of hope it backfires but at least they aren't in my home area and they are about 60 miles away. I thought some of you guys might get a kick out of it. I'll let you guys know if there if it does blow up in their face, of course if I hear about it.

 

[ruff]

update bidding-- property management company

Just wait a few years and buy that van cheaply from them.
They are likely to find out the hard way, that it is neither cheaper nor easy to do it by themselves.
Sometime they just have to find out on their own.
Good luck with other bids though.

 

[Dolly Llama]

budgeted $80K for a TM?

LOL
Bet there's more than a few board salesman looking to swoop down on that one with "just what they need"

Tim, don't be bitter and don't burn any bridges with them.
You never know what might happen a year from now.

learn this and save yourself a lot of grief;
Don't take your prospect's biz decisions personal.


..L.T.A.

 

[Farenheit251]

If it is like the management companies I work for they are managing other owners rentals. If they are making a profit on this venture they are walking on a thin line with ethics and the Fla. Real Estate Commision.
I heard a chain of Dennys in Va. has their own truckmount. The only way I could see it working is if the are smart enough to buy a Butler. They won't. They'll go to a distributor and get sold a slide in which the techs won't maintain propperly.

 

[TimP]

They manage resort properties on the coast. So they may be walking that line and they may be profiting from it. I really don't know all the details. However I can't see them hiring someone and this person taking care of their brand new equipment. Also as we all know just having the equipment and going to IICRC classes doesn't make you a good cleaner. As you know most employees will get away with what they can, and without them knowing what they are supposed to be doing this person will do only what they have to. I think they may be back next year. I believe I gave them an excellent deal for what I would have to be doing. I bid .22 a ft and move furniture. The guy they had now is doing it for .20 and they weren't happy. It's funny how a company will go buy their own equipment for .02 cents a ft and because I refused to work all my weekends. How long do you guys think it will be before this person they hired will not show up on the weekends because they want to spend time with their family. Like I said I'll let you know how it goes.

Also I'm not upset at them, I can care less, the only reason I wrote this is because I thought a lot of you guys would get a kick out of it since I have. I'm doing really well for a first year business although it isn't easy so I don't need the business however it would of made things a lot easier for me if they agreed. But I'm not willing to let some big company own me. In fact I increased my rates this month and just by doing that I should have a .17 % increase if I do the same amount of work next year which I plan to do more.

 

[Jimmy L]

I hear ya about them getting some cranky slide in when they should get a PTO for simplicity.

The prop management compared your prices and they see where they can save money by doing it themselves.You and I know you have to have some chemical knowledge to be successful.Anybody can learn to squirt and suck but the real professional will know the different chemical applications that would take a newbie years to understand.To do that you have to have an interest and passion for what you are doing.

Just be careful and not be too concerned about their learning curve and helping them out too much.Be available when they call for your services but refuse to "Train" their new CHIMP.And charge for your work.


Never tell them your secrets either.


This ain't rocket science is it?

 

[Chris Rudd]

TimP, must have missed the previous thread on this topic so forgive me if someone has already asked this, just wondering, is there any reason you didn't hire a tech to do the after hours and weekend work that you don't want to do.

I am with you on the family time, especially weekends but if this was a guaranteed contract, cleaning rentals on a set schedule, I am sure you could find some good help. That just seems like a pretty substantial job to just turn down??? Just my thoughts...

Chris Rudd

 

[The Cleaning Artist]

80k for truck + 40k for an employee and 1 year of headaches and they will be selling the truck and looking for a carpet cleaner.


What is the reason for weekends?

 

[TimP]

I don't believe in just hiring people to represent my business or run my truck. I've got too much money in my investment and a reputation that I'm trying to build. I'm not into the Stanley Steamer type service. And I seriously doubt I would find someone to reliably show up Saturday and Sunday to work 8-10 hours each day and that be it, in addition give the same effort and quality that I give trying to build and establish a quality business. If I were to hire someone I would have to work them for some time before I trusted them to go out on their own. And I'm not willing to do the work myself so if I were to miraculously find someone to do the work and they quit I'd be stuck. And being in the business for just 1 year I don't have enough business to begin training someone. Having a good bit of dealing with the job force in this area I have found that nobody wants to work and everyone wants a check. I am also not very optimistic as to the outlook for ever needing a helper in this area. I would have to more than double the amount of business I'm doing right now before I would need a helper. I guess I'm not ready for the headache of hiring. Plus why should I agree to work for the same price as someone who they aren't happy with, and they obviously aren't getting the same service so in my mind I'm worth more. The cleaner down there was a splash and dash, either little to no pre-spray and probably a pure emulsifier runner, all the homes I looked at were in need and after talking with the cleaners who service the houses the cleaner doing the work was a hack. They were getting hired workers (young kids) doing the work and it wasn't getting done or at least done right because nobody wants to work their weekends away.

I do understand that hiring someone is how you make the big bucks, but it isn't as easy as that at least in our community. Besides I really like what I do, I really enjoy the work.

 

[TimP]

They turn over their rentals on the weekend, to another renter. 1 wk rentals. 56 of the homes during the peak vacation season are required to be spot cleaned once a month for 6 months. They turn over on the weekends and are cleaned etc and prepped for the next renter. For 4 br home 60, 5 br 80, and 6+ br 100. So therefore it must be done on weekends. Which I wasn't into. I suggested they charge for the once a month cleaning to the clients and call me when they were dirty and I clean them for regular price during the week or a Saturday, my schedule permitting, also keep in mind a 120 mile round trip. And that if they had me come 2-3 times the would make money on it. But no they decided they would buy their own equipment and hire someone to do it how they wanted.

Keep in mind I didn't turn the business down, I gave them my terms and they decided to go their own way.

 

[Dolly Llama]

"The cleaner down there was a splash and dash, either little to no pre-spray and probably a pure emulsifier runner"

welp, then they'll likely get just as good or better by doing it in house.
Who ever sells them the equipment wants to sell them chems too
(that's where the money's at over the long haul)
It's likely they'll offer advise on how to and what chems.

I surely would if I was a disty that sold them a TM


..L.T.A.

 

[The Cleaning Artist]

if it were not for the weekends, I would take it in a minute for $0.20 sqft.

If they had enough for every weekend for $1000 days, I would do it and take a few days during the week off.

 

[TimP]

if it were not for the weekends, I would take it in a minute for $0.20 sqft.

If they had enough for every weekend for $1000 days, I would do it and take a few days during the week off.

I have a wife that works during the week, and I don't want to spend my days off while she is at work and her days off while i have to work. That's not worth any amount of money to me.

And you wouldn't have 1,000 dollar days, and remember you have 120 miles to drive and have to spot clean all day. And if it needs it you have to clean wall to wall. Some of the houses were very big and they would only pay 100. Also remember all these homes are on pylons. Anyways I decided if I was going to do it I was going to make money at it. If they would of met me half way I would of done it too, at .21 but they didn't even try to negotiate and remember I wasn't going to do their spot cleaning so that probably lost me it in the first place.

 

[The Cleaning Artist]

I understand where you are coming from. Back when we did a lot of apartments, the painter got $70 per unit no matter if he just touched it up or had to paint the whole thing. Kinda similar to your deal.

 

[Craig Lindquist]

Who are they?
I want to buy that Vortex cheap when they are done with it!

SHIT!
That Chem Dry ad is at the bottom of the page! I'm clicking it...that'l cost them money!

 

[rhyde]

remember...charge appropriately when they call to for help out of a problem.

 

[Trevor Truitt]

I didn't read 100% of this thread so forgive me if I am off base.

Why don't you offer to train their new employee to do the spot cleaning and offer to take care of the off season wall to wall cleaning.

You'd be saving them an $80k layout and minimizing their headaches. Even with classes, the new employee is going to f it up.

 

[Jimmy L]

Never train your competition.

Its THEIR problem not yours.

Sounds like jumping thru a bunch of hoops to me so let them do it their way and you head on down the road ya hear?

 

[Guest]

That sure would be a nice acct.. Maybe your bid was too high..

Maybe.. Just maybe the guy thats going to do the work has many
years of experience and does good work..

Im sure they asked there acct. if they would save $$ in the future..
And he/she said Yes you will..

 

[Jeff Madsen]

Just because their chief bean counter might have said so doesn't make it so. Don't confuse bean counters with brilliant business people. They are rarely one and the same.

 

[TimP]

It's funny how half of you guys agree with me with what I did. And the other half tell me how dumb I was. It doesn't matter at this point because it's all said and done and out of my control. I know these people would of treated me like property and I would have way too much fruit in one basket. They had our carpet store do work for them for a while but when we wouldn't jump when they wanted us to they went elsewhere. I think I bid it to where I would make money and I know it's a fair price. Other property management people said .22 was low.

Now if this was all local and all single story homes, which none of the carpet is on the ground floor. I would of jumped on it for .20, but no I'm not going to drive 2-2.5 hours a day burn 20-30 bucks in fuel driving down there and do it for the same price as the local hack. In addition leaving my local higher paying customers without service cause I don't want to loose my big account. I don't need the headaches.

If you guys want to know another funny story I lost a bid today, one that I didn't want. I just don't do any job that comes my way, I look at what it will take to do it and this job was bid exactly what I thought it was worth. I bid $800 to do about 1300 ft of carpet. The bid wasn't so high because of the carpet but because the customer was in my opinion crazy, she got the aggravation and crazy woman charge. She wanted everything in the home moved beds and all. And it was packed full, in addition she wanted me to come back and remove the tabs and blocks the next day. Also she was a groupie for the last local hack and thought he was a saint who paid for his crimes (he was a convicted child molester who left because our state has posted offenders on the web). And because she was a groupie everything I would do would be gone over and criticized because her other cleaner could do no wrong. I couldn't convince her to leave the large furniture and piano etc because the water from the cleaning would ruin her furniture, of course the last guy left it wet for 1 and a half days according to her. And he supposedly moved everything and block/tabbed everything. I tried to explain that I do this every day with no problem and that the carpet will be dry in in less than 6 hours. This customer was also one that had my in-laws carpet store remove her carpet before it flooded here and then thought we would put it back in for free. Also keep in mind she also knew exactly when every stain happened and what exactly the stain was So if I was going to go through the aggravation and deal with her pickyness I was going to make it worth the trouble.

I'm sure you guys probably think I'm nuts bidding so high but I didn't want to do it and at that price I could look past everything and do it with a smile.

 

[The Preacher]

for a guy with duct tape on his hoses, you sure do pretend well!!! :shock:






















LOL

 

[Gary Taylor]

I think you should recontact them and offer to consult on their cleaning operation. You will not be training the competition as mentioned earlier, because you don't want the work anyways.
One of my customers operates a property management company in Chicago, and they wanted to take the cleaning in-house. She asked if I would be willing to consult them on product, equipment, and train their personnel. I did, and enjoyed it. I am thinking of pursuing that line of work more next year.

 

[TimP]

If anyone has duct tape on their hoses you would Danny. You and your little wimpy 33 blower. Remember I didn't buy used equipment like you, mine is all new only been used 1 year now.

Danny if you get a big job that needs a real blower give me a call I can help you out with those long runs of hose