[AshWhite]

Anyone watching Watchdog?

[Simon Gerrard]

Well I reckon if you take a job on at whatever price you should do a professional job, it's not the customers fault you've chosen to work for nothing.

Simon

[jasonl]

If he looked at it from the start and was honest he knew he was selling a crap service I mean goods 

Of course he was but let's go back to basics.
On average I and many others work between £40-£50/hr
If I got involved in these schemes I/others would be getting about £10/hr

There's only going to be one outcome

I have had a decent "muppet" day today , just got in , have cleaned 6 Groupon customers , all delighted , all nice homes intelligent consumers , all but one paid for extras , total takings for the day £375 , plus £126 to come from Groupon , my total ad costs £0 .

I am happy with that , I am sure most would be.

Not all Groupon customers are good , they are in the minority , and I can quite happily clean to the same standard for them.

[AshWhite]

That's the only outlook to take Jason, anything else is a shortcut to a ruined reputation and an appearance on Watchdog.

[Simon Gerrard]

Jason,
So you're getting an average of £62.50 in extras per customer, is that because your are only doing three rooms at 12 sqm each? £126 from groupon for six jobs, that's £21 each, your deal is £28 less groupons cut?
Simon

[jasonl]

My Groupon is £34 less their cut , most people will have 3 carpets cleaned which may be a lounge , which will be in excess of 12m , hallway of 5 or 6 m 2 stairs which are £2 each and a study or downstairs toilet.

I have cleaned 6 Ikea type rugs today which we all know are easy to clean and probably my most profitable line item.

[Colin Day]

But then to me what ever price you do it for you have to have job satisfaction, or why get up in the morning. 

What a "Wet" and "Cringe-worthy" comment... And yet, one I completely agree with...

[Simon Gerrard]

Jason,
So in total people are paying on average £100 including the £39 groupon deal plus the extras?
Simon

[jasonl]

Yes , some more some less . 

I was always taught at Chem dry , customers want a deal , they feel valued when we put in an effort to meet their needs in price and quality , most of the Groupons I have done have bought through convenience  , using it as an easy/lazy way to find a carpet cleaner  that they were not really actively looking for but saw the offer .

[robert meldrum]

Think you've hit it on the head Jason...............most Groupons are spontanious buyers who see " a bargain " and go for it rather than the other users who decide they need cleaning done for a reason and seek out their local c/c or usual business.

You are an exception to the rule in the sense that you've made it work for you rather than become a slave to it.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Jason the lady who was having her carpets cleaned when I saw you the other day was she groupon or a regular? she looked as though she could talk

Shaun

[Simon Gerrard]

Jason,
As you are only doing rooms  up to 12sqm each, do you get the room measurements from the customer at the time of booking and agree the extra charges in advance, or do you sort that out when you get there? Also, if they think they are getting three rooms done are they not peed off when they find they have to pay extra as most rooms are bigger than your size limit?

Simon

[jasonl]

Every customer has been fine with the terms , it is clearly laid out in the offer , they understand that a tradesman cannot call out and work for £34, they expect to pay more ,  almost every customer has asked for a card , and the normal price .

Once I get to site I walk the job and set out the costs on my invoice pad in writing , and leave it in their hand, asking them to tick the payment method , they then normally have payment ready the second I finish.

I think people buy people , they like a friendly laid back attitude , no hassle at a fair price , and that is part of what I offer.

[robert meldrum]

It's always been a " feature " of this forum to knock those who charge low, even moderate prices, but with trading in general taking a hammering and people becoming a lot more savvy, the world of commerce is changing rapidly and those who imagine " only a fool would work for, or even get out of bed for less than £100 an hour are in for a shock.

Sure the ideal of working from 9am till 2pm sounds great, but can only work for the high charging rip off merchants who try to kid everyone of their " platinum " service standards and superior " 20 times more powerful machines.

Jason has clearly worked out.... What the customer's expectations are...  and not only meeting their expectations but winning them over by .............as he says, and others have said before,

[wynne jones]

Robert, the only person on here I've heard talk about £100 an hour was Mike Halliday and I don't think he was saying he earns that every hour. Who are you talking about, or was that an exaggeration?

[jasonl]

Jason the lady who was having her carpets cleaned when I saw you the other day was she groupon or a regular? she looked as though she could talk

Shaun

She was a groupon , cleaned her sister today , got to go back to clean her suite.  Yes she could talk.

[Simon Gerrard]

Jason,
Have you never had someone who was expecting to get all three rooms done not having read the t&c and being upset at having to pay more? If so, what do you do in those circumstances? What troubles me is that your deal is for three rooms yet most rooms are bigger than 12sqm's so they could feel conned if try to charge more.

Simon

[robert meldrum]

Wynne

There were a lot of posts about £100 and more per hour over the past 3-4 years and a lot of criticism of anyone who disagreed and it was domestic work that was being discussed.

At the time ( 3-4 years ago ) I averaged around £35 - £40 per hour occasionally rising to between £75 and £90 and that was was regarded as some to be no better than shelf stacking earnings.

Over the past couple of years a reality has set in with fewer claims of excessively high charges and the forum became a bit more tolerant and helpful as a result.

Think the posts you refer to were about jet washing but I could be wrong anyway Mike H is one of the totally grounded people on here and runs a very efficient business and actually runs a FULL TIME business unlike a few who think charging a lot to make up for their lazyness is acceptable.

Anyway this thread is really about how to get the best from modern marketing which Jason has apparently succeeded in doing. He could have kept quiet about his methods but has been generous in his openness and honesty. However not everyone will be able to emulate his success as much of it is down to savvy, past training and personality.

 

[Mike Halliday]

2 or 3 jobs a week I hit the £100/hr mark this is a 2 man team. most are a T/L and one other area...... usually the H/S/l I'm not saying this to brag or make out I'm some super-duper carpet cleaner its just we are a very effective team .

pressure washing its 8 out of 10 jobs go over a £100/hr.  its the pressure washing that has opened my eyes to high prices and what people are willing to pay.

[Simon Gerrard]

What are we talking here, £100 per hour from when you leave home in a morning to getting back at night, or just on the individual job?

Simon