kevinj61 said:
had a new customer call me on Saturday, wanted his carpets cleaned next day which is Sunday and a holiday weekend 4th of July>
location of his home 35 min drive each way so 1hr and 10 min drive time for me. He knew my per room, hallway and stair charge before he called, gave him the price over the phone and added $35 to it due to drive time, short notice, a Sunday and holiday weekend--he said well i think thats too much, said he'd call me back. took him an hour to call back and i assume he tried to call other cleaners, when he called back he said i'll pay you but not the extra $35 because it's not my problem to pay you to drive around.
explained to him reason for extra charge, said sorry that's my price, you don't have to use me and are more than welcome to call someone else--So what would you have done??
I am not working today or tomorrow, but I have worked many July 4ths, Memorial Days, Labor Days, and plain old Sundays. If I had had the chance, I would have worked. But no one called requesting either today or tomorrow. Had they called, my policy is simple - any day of the year on which I choose to accept work which is not a Monday through Friday, non-holiday, I have a non-standard minimum, which is significantly higher than my standard minimum. That does not mean I work any time someone calls and offer me a work order. It simply means that if I
choose to do the work, and
if the customer requires that work to be performed on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, my holiday minimum is in effect. Anytime I pull the truck out of the driveway to go clean, I am happy to do it for that price,
if I choose to do it.
Here is how I see your situation today: I have a price that
if I choose to work, that is my price. You advertise your price as $21.95/room, $9.95/hall, $1.50/stair. If
you are willing to clean for that price, then
you should be willing to clean for it no matter what day of the year -
if you choose to clean that day. You can choose to say, "sorry, I am off this weekend," or you can say, "sure, as you know I charge $21.95/room, $9.95/hall, and $1.50/ step, so based on the information you provided me your total will be $XX.00."
As far as the drive time, do you usually service that area or not? If not, then a travel charge is acceptable. If yes, then it is a part of your normal service area - do you usually charge a $35 travel charge to service your service area? If yes, then he either pays it or you do not do the work. But if you do not usually charge it any other day of the year, why do it today?
As I see it (again, you asked):
1)
you choose either to work or to take the day off. If
you choose to work, then that is on
you,
not the customer.
2) you need a
policy pertaining to your service area and trip charges. You should not randomly pull them out of your ear based on whether you want a holiday or not.
3)
You need to price your services so that you are happy to receive that price whenever you choose to accept a work order. I think that today shows that you yourself think your pricing is too low, even if you haven't admitted it to yourself.
All of that to say this: Your minimum is $75. Are you happy working for that amount? If not, raise it. If yes, but not on holidays or weekends, then do you have a holiday/weekend minimum? If not, then you need one. That way, when a customer calls in requesting a holiday or weekend appointment, you simply need to ask yourself 1) am I available? 2) Do I want the work? and 3) Is the customer willing either to order sufficient cleaning to meet your holiday minimum, or, willing to pay that minimum even if the amount of work falls short? Then you will not have to ask us what we would do, because you would already have done what you ought to have done.
