Where do you draw the line?

[Rex Tyus]

This charge for prespray thing has me thinking. We should NOT charge extra for heavily soiled carpet as opposed to lightly soiled carpet right?

But it is OK to charge for KOOLAID stain removal?
It is OK to charge more for pet urine as well right?
It is even OK to charge extra to have an airpath speed dry?
What about a post bonnet fiber shine?

Do we charge the maximum price, an ALL or NOTHING structure? Or do we taylor the service to meet the customers need and expectation? If I ever figure this out I think my phone will start ringing more frequent again. As it is right now I have an identity crisis and I know it is showing. Maybe just pick a price in the middle and take the good with the bad?

 

[TimP]

Don't forget the extra charge for protector!


It is really hard to decide how to make your business model, especially in these times where everyone is freaked out by doom and gloom from the media.

I choose not to go the SS route and not charge for prespray myself. Even if I do a cheaper clean. I feel my reputation is on the line, and everyone knows PS makes a huge difference and it isn't overly costly. However I'm not and probably wont ever do all the frills for a customer. But when price is an objection I will lower my price to get the customer at the expense of leaving some things out like vacuuming, and furniture moving.

I still haven't found the people on this board who charge for airpath drying....and that's something I was thinking/wanting to offer.

 

[royalkid]

I'd say that over the years I've been doing this, 95% of spots/stains come out with general, deep cleaning (RX-20). But on occasion, yes, a red stain that requires a specialty treatment should be $5-$10 more...or urine (no ?) that should be extra...but I think most people advertise that these problematic issues will be additional in their ads. The idea of charging someone $35 per room for pre-spray is NUTZ!! Especially when your ad says $85 for 3 rooms...oh yeah, but if you want something to loosen/emulsify the soil, well, that's gonna cost you another $105 for the same 3 rooms...now $190.

Just find a good price either by sq ft or per room that's good for you and use that...you'll be good. Sometimes you'll get lucky and get a lightly soiled carpet, then the next job might be heavily soiled...but it all balances out in the end. I've spend 3-4 hours on 5 rooms and also 1.5 hrs on 5 rooms...take the bad with the good. You can't hit a home run on every play.

 

[Joel D]

good topic

Im starting to throw sq ft pricing out the window on some jobs and more focusing on -How long is this going to take?

Also its not fair to charge the same for those who clean regularly and those who dont

im still trying to work all this out too

 

[TimP]

Sometimes you'll get lucky and get a lightly soiled carpet, then the next job might be heavily soiled...but it all balances out in the end. I've spend 3-4 hours on 5 rooms and also 1.5 hrs on 5 rooms...take the bad with the good. You can't hit a home run on every play.

In our carpet biz our installers forget this idea....funny thing is we fired our last one. :roll:

 

[Warren Wallace]

If it's really dirty we charge .10 cents more ...

 

[GeneMiller]

I include everything that has to be done in the job. I have no extra charges unless someone wants protector. I had a job today that had a room of urine and I pulled the carpet up and cleaned front and back and treated the pad. I didn't charge a penny extra. She paid to have her carpets cleaned and that's what she got. If she calls and says the room still smells then I will go back on my dime and fix it. That's the reputation that I built and it's rock solid. Tomorrow I have to redo a room because I let my helper clean it while I did the furniture. She said that she didn't think he did as good of a job as I did. I told her I would gladly come and redo it for her. Things like that get around quickly. I have entire neighborhoods where nearly everyone uses me. By the way, I am very expensive and they don't seem to mind.

Gene

 

[Mikey P]

Wow Gene, that's going way beyond the call of normal "duty"... I'm impressed.

just how much are you charging, or better yet what are you averaging an hour if you don't mind me asking?

 

[royalkid]

hell, i'll be calling Gene for my carpet cleaning! I can see you getting lots of referrals/repeats going that distance with cleaning. But if you're charging high and making $$ good for you!

 

[Mike Draper]

good topic

Im starting to throw sq ft pricing out the window on some jobs and more focusing on -How long is this going to take?

Also its not fair to charge the same for those who clean regularly and those who dont

im still trying to work all this out too

I concur! This is how I bid out almost all jobs....by what type of cleaning they will need and how much time it's going to take. This way I can take my time and do a quality job and I don't have to rush through it to be profitable. Of course, if they can't pay the price then it's just a wand only cleaning.

 

[Brian R]

I have one price for cleaning


but I can give a discount if it's not that dirty.


So I don't "raise" the price for dirty

I "lower" the price for not so dirty.

It's all relative...and it's all about time...which of course it what, Class??


That's right...Time is money.

Now take out your books and turn to the marketing room.
Read chapters 1 through all and get back to me on that.

 

[steve frasier]

use to charge for it when we cleaned some apartments but it was more of a way to get a higher price for the cleaning

I find for the most part that if I prespray and crb it, it comes clean, some carpets may need an extra cleaning pass but that is about it

general spotting is included but stuff like urine, red, filtration are extra

 

[Curtis Pennington]

We charge extra for pre scrub or post pad but that is discussed before we book the job(part of the packages we offer). Red kool aid and gum we charge extra.......

 

[Dolly Llama]

guess each individual owner has to decide "where to draw the line"

Further, a "basic" clean can be subjective to the biz owner. (or prospect)
To some, it's the full blown 37 step multi-process.
To others, it's wand scrubbing with detergent thru the TM.

a "basic" clean to "us" is pre-spray and extract and every job "starts" there

personally, we have different pricing based on custy's needs/wants.
Because of that, our prices are all over the scale as well.

However, in res, we generally charge enough that the occasional problem stain like red dies isn't an additional charge.
However, if one or two rooms are full of large red stains, additional charges may apply and discussed before proceeding.

same for filtration, a wall or two gets done at no additional, but if 500 lineal ft of filtration, that's another matter.

Apts and empties are a little different.
In general, the pricing is much more competitive and profit margins thinner.
We charge additional for anything deemed "excessive".
In essence, anything that adds time to our normal production rates, get's an additional charge.
Sometimes I itemize the added charge..ie excessive gum, paint, red spots etc.
Some times i list it as "restoration/slavage" charge.
Anytime we have to bring in the rotary, that's "restoration" cleaning to "me"


I know that really didn't answer your question, but it's all subjective to one's biz model/price structure and there isn't a "one size fits all" answer, IMO


..L.T.A.

 

[Guest]

I offer fan drying, demudifying, and odor control measures(Ozone Generator) for extra charge. But Prevac, prespray, and post grooming are standard.

 

[XTREME1]

stains are part of the cleaning.......PERIOD

 

[steve r]

i figure if the carpet has been taken care of then i dont have to work as hard.if they trash it then they should expect to pay more to have it cleaned because its harder for me to get it done and it takes longer so i should charge more.i also have to use more products.

i have been noticing the regulars are taking better care of their carpets since i started cleaning for them too.

i start at my lowest price and let them know it can go up if there are pet stains n odors or stains that need special care.or if i have to vacuum or move furniture and so on.the more i do the more i charge plain and simple and almost everyone agrees with me.it gives them options and many will remove all the furniture for me to save say $25.

 

[hogjowl]

My business practice is the same as Larry's is.

However, as long as what you do is not intentionally deceptive, I really don't GAS how you guys choose to charge.

To each his own.

 

[Jack Zipper Zerkie]

I think pricing charges only comes with time just like learning to be a quality carpet cleaner some guys never get either one right. I,have always used a quality pre spray on all jobs. Then I know that the job should be as uniform as possible.The local paper in Fort Myers Fl. just wrote about a company that mailed out fliers.Horizon carpet cleaning $6.95 per rm. 2 rm min.The $6.95 is with steam only ha ha. They cleaned 1 rm for an eldery lady,the had to do a deep scrub the price $275.00 wow the lady was able talked them down to $125.00. Then I have Stanley Steemer ads fo 3 rm $99.00 or 4rm $119 basic cleaning.I know some calls are low price only don,t care about a good job, so I ask to come out and look and price out what you need.then the phone goes blank and their gone. But after many years I,m still here and enjoymost days. jack z

 

[GeneMiller]

Mikey,

I'll tell you on that job it was 5 rms and I made 580. The check was for 600 because she threw in a little tip. I am one of the highest priced cleaners in town. I never send out coupons and I never discount even if I just have to go next door. I spent a lot of time and energy the first few years getting and maintaining a quality customer base. They don't want the cheapest they want the best. That is what I portray to them. I always listen to what their concerns are and try to address them. IF a customer calls with a concern about anything including the way the carpet looks because of the stroke pattern I go back as soon as possible. I re cleaned an entire room because the lady thought that the dark area under a chair was dirt. The carpet was just pushed forward. It's great customer service, plus its advertising. How many think that way, when a customer calls and you have to go back. Yes, it's free advertisement. Why, because your truck has now been seen again in the same neighborhood, plus she is going to tell everyone how happy I was to come back and take care of her.
Something to think about,and I'm not looking for people to post an answer but just to yourself. When you leave a house have you really done the best you can. I am a very anal person and I am rarely happy when I leave a house. I always think that their is something I could of done better.

Just one other thought . I think the biggest problem in our industry is that it is male dominated. The problem is our customer base is female dominated. Women have a much hired standard for clean then most men. You are supposed to be cleaning to their standard.

Gene

 

[harryhides]

Here's my 2 cents for what its worth:

If it takes extra time over our basic service then the customer is advised of the need and given a choice to have the extra service and to pay for it.

If I was a customer, I'd expect both water ( even low moisture ) and detergent to be part of the basic service. I expect this myself from either a car-wash or a laundry service. I suppose if your basic service does not include any pre-spray and the customer knows this then it would be OK.

So the way we operate is if it is a small easy stain that will come out with regular cleaning - no extra charge. If it large, tough or time consuming like filtration soiling, large pet treatment, wood stains or red dye stains, post padding or super trashed areas due to neglect then we charge extra.
The optics of charging more just for using a stronger pre-spray is neither justified by the extra cost or even time involved. But if a pre-scrubbing involving a scrubber or equivalent AND more time is utilized then it is much easier to charge more.

I do not feel that it is fair to our reg custys to charge them the same as we do those who are having their carpets done for the first time in 10 yrs.