[james roffey]

"cheap carpet cleaning how do we beat that"

                                                                     Simple
 Sell something different/ better, the trick is convincing the customer that what you do, is different/ better.

Customers want value well the vast majority do, a small minority will want the cheapest whatever you do, do you want those people as your customers, i dont..

[mark_roberts]

To be honest I dont think there are too many cheap and rubbish cleaners about but there are many cheap and not half bad cleaners who have been around for years.

IMO its these guys who suppress the market and pricing.  They work from their car, use a small portable, cash in hand etc and are happy to turn £20-£30 an hour all in.

Question is how big is their market share over the moderate to higher priced cleaners.

Mark

[JandS]

And what's the problem with £30 an hour??

John

[GlynE]

Not an easy question to answer as the degree of soiling and the carpet type will affect the time taken. Also access, parking, layout etc will be a factor. Are you pre-vaccing? Are you pre-spraying and agittating or pre-spraying and extracting straight away? Not going to get involved in the "how much" debate as some seem to think only they charge properly and everyone else is an idiot.

Best you can hope for is a clean PP carpet in an empty detached house with own drive and open plan living. In that instance you'll be in and out in no time...........as the actress said to the bishop.

Yes Prevaccing, prespraying, agitating, cleaning, additional stain removing. Moving & replacing furniture

[derek west]

did a carpet today and the custy said, "wow, the last guy didn't get it anywhere near as good as that, it looks like new"

there is a difference, its up to you guys to convince the custy that your worth the extra. i know i'm the best there is, and when i quote i make sure the custy feels my confidence. plus a good joke doesn't go amiss.

[Joe H]

Did a job last week in a ground floor flat where the main door was straight off the pavement, and together with a young child you can imagine what the carpets were like - black.
Firstly she told me she had hired a Rug Doctor.
I asked what did she think.
Didnt clean the carpet and it was wet for 3 days and beginning to smell.
Then I saw some powder on the floor so I asked what was that.
Shake and vac. 

Trying not to laugh too much I set up and did the clean - watching her and hubbys jaw drop as I went over the worst bit and it lifted clean.

I asked could she remember how wet the carpet was after the RD episode. Very wet she said.
So I invited her to touch the carpet (in an area that I had to do more work) and she was amazed at how dry it was (it was damp).
Never again will I hire a Rug Doctor, she proclaimed.
Times like that you just wish you had a microphone and recorder.

[M.Acorn]

Did a regular customer this morning,amazing 15th cent cottage,very topsy turvy,round beds in 2 rooms,small corridor,stairs and rug,said as your reg it`s £90.
Halfway through he made me a coffee,and we stopped for a chat,he said my prices were very reasonable,and he said i should charge more !!

[mark_roberts]

JandS

On average you will clean for 5 hours a day = £150 a day.

To run a successful business with all the expenses and setting money aside for investment you will not have much change from £70-£100 a day.

With £50-£80 left you have to pay tax, holiday pay, pension etc.

And IMO at those rates its not worth the hassle.

Mark

[Joe H]

and of course its not 100% usual to be working 5 hours a day for 5 days a week, is it?

you have to earn enough in the hours you work to be able to pay the bills, put a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food in your belly, and put some aside for the future.

I am fortunate in one way that my mortgage is paid for, but I am still aiming for a lot more then £30 for every working hour.

[richy27]

when i divide my hours my tm has been running since january into what i have turned over dam it looks good but thats not the bigger picture its what you as an indivdual need to earn to run your business then your life  . the tm was best thing i have ever invested in. I enjoy my days much more now and not a bucket in sight. dont think i do any better job than when i was using the porty full time but i certainly get the result quicker means if have a chatty customer i have more time to talk to them before of to the next.

[JandS]

Said I would be happy with it although if I could squeeze more out
it would be better.
£750 a week less expenses like ads, diesel etc tops £100.
Bit of tax and NI leaves about £520 so call it £500.
Call it £2000 a month, I can live off that ok and that's without
wife's wages.

John

[derek west]

£100 a week?

for everything?

and not only will it run the business but that will generate £750 quidsworth of work everyweek? .

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Don't get me started about the wife's wages!

Shaun

PS Derek is there any chance of a sneeky peeky at your leaflet?

shaun_ashmore@lineone.net

[JandS]

Derek

What else is there where you would spend more than
£100 a week keeping the business going.
£35 a week for my paper ads.
Most of my work is usually 3 - 4 miles distance so fuel isn't
a big issue. 3 jobs yesterday and did 13 miles.
So let's say £20 a week on diesel and that's generous.
So £45 on the rest, insurance etc.
Of the £2000 left say £700 into business account the rest
for bills and food.
Oh and then there's the wife's wage!!!!
By the way there's only the 2 of us to feed and water.

John

[derek west]

£35 a week on ads and that generates £750 a week???

my ads in local papers get me 2 jobs a week, if i'm lucky.

[JandS]

Didn't say it generated that amount of work.
Usually get 9 or 10 calls from it though and
convert that to 6 or 7 jobs.
Also get work from website and postcards.
Have even started getting more repeats and
referrals.
My ads go in 6 different local (not free) rags
with a readership of roughly 120,000.
Yours must hit a smaller audience.

John

[derek west]

so do your website and postcards cost anything?

[adimarsh]

Derek

What else is there where you would spend more than
£100 a week keeping the business going.
£35 a week for my paper ads.
Most of my work is usually 3 - 4 miles distance so fuel isn't
a big issue. 3 jobs yesterday and did 13 miles.
So let's say £20 a week on diesel and that's generous.
So £45 on the rest, insurance etc.
Of the £2000 left say £700 into business account the rest
for bills and food.
Oh and then there's the wife's wage!!!!
By the way there's only the 2 of us to feed and water.

John

Of the £2000 left say £700 into business account? Surely that should be £2000 into business account  and £1300 for tax, NI, wages etc. Do you have an accountant?

[derek west]

120,000 in a 4 mile radius, where do you live again john, tokyo?

ps.... just shootin the breeze with ya john, don't take this as arguing, don't do that anymore, i'm a changed man

[JandS]

Derek
6 local areas with rough total population of
240,000 all within 5 mile radius.
The papers also cover 2 other areas with rough total
population of 70,000.
One of these is a suburb of Leeds which gets me bits
and bobs from surrounding areas of Leeds.
Another a suburb of Wakefield etc.
Compared to the mileage I hear some do on here
I'm lucky I guess.
How's the pressure washing going, it's nice having 2
jobs for variety, I'm the same.
After summer hols going to try a third option with the
4 day leather course, do you get much of it or don't you
advertise as such.

John
ps   never take offence at you Derek, at least you have
the balls to speak your mind.
You should have been a Yorkshireman.