[Mrs Nicholls]

the reason why i ask is that i have been when quoting asking for feedback on pricing and eco products over standard products and current marketplace views.

I have had feedback of customers just having an idea of £15-20 for max 2hr tops domestic cleaning, making it £7.50 to £10 per hour. How are people charging that?

There is no way i could charge £10 anymore i started with £9-10 p/h in 2005, which increased to £12 p/h in 2007-8 ish

Minimum wage is £6.08 plus say 20% for nics and hol pay (maybe a small bit out but not much) makes £7.29 thats 72% of £10 p/h income - whats the point in all the hard work?

say i charge £15 per hour, pay more than nmw as i want my cleaning team to value their work and do a fab job, say my wage bill inc nics and hol pay is £9 per hour, that leaves £6 for travel, cleaning materials, insurances, training, running the businesses, advertising and marketing etc etc.

am i missing something? Please tell me i'm not pricing myself out of the market, i don't think its too expensive considering the service customers receive. I'm an associate member of BICS don't you know lol (well almost, waiting for decision)

Lisa

[Griffus]

It'll be the cash in hand brigade.

No point trying to compete with them on price, remind the prospect that they'll not be insured, are unlikely to match your service, and are fiddling the system (whether tax or even benefits). 

They're all over the domestic market and if all that matters to the prospect is bottom line then it's not actaully a potential customer anyway so no big deal.

One other issue is the nationals, economies of scale dictate that they earn via volume. They can therefore charge as low as £9 and still earn. They also hide a lot behind their t&c's small print, so point tthat out to the prospect too.

[Mrs Nicholls]

Hi Ian

It is rather worrying when potential customers have the magic £10 per hour idea stamped in their mind. Makes me wonder if i am charging too high, but then i do offer much more in the way of insurance, training, standards etc eco products, full customer service backup.

Maybe i'm offering too much? maybe i should grab a can of pledge clean the kitchen and bathroom with rags forget what i used where and smear nasty bugs around peoples homes and make them all ill. I'm being over dramatic lol I'm sure others aren't all like this.

The agencies and their 9 plus 2.50 fees or whatever it is. Clever marketing.

Lisa

[Anna Warren]

I do. Still, been thinking about increasing for a while. I've just started to employ staff, I know I need to charge more. £15/h seems to a bit too much for area I live, I heard people saying "What?!!" on my £10/h. I want to pay £7/h to my staff. What's about £13/hour?

[GEMclean services]

hi i gave up on the domestic we started at £10 and got alot of customers but one woman tried for a new cooker on the insurance, the cleaner made the door fall off with a scourer and some grease remover, soon gave up when i threatened legal action against her, then customers not being in or not leaving lever locks off with key holding jobs so i had to pay that cleaner even though no entry was made now i charge £15 minimum of 2 hours for spring cleans ,end of tenancy etc i tried £10 to get a foot in the door but now you v got poles for £5 per hour cleaning the roof aswell ! in hind sight i should have gone in at £15 for a minimum of 2 hours but iv got a bad taste for the regular cleaning now .

i also like your idea pay a little bit more for quality staff i paid £7 before tax moved them onto commercial stuff its good to have people whop actually want to work very hard to find reliable staff