[CMS]

Yeah right!

[lynngc]

now now boys, no squabbling.

YOUR ALL FIRED PMSL

peace at last.

now i can get on with my scrubbing

lynn

[Sir Squeaky]

Shall we drag Pj back to the window cleaning forum now?

Or should he start some more threads like this one?

If you fancy more tomfoolery get onto the chat section and listen to some of the drivel on there!

Cheers, Rog.

[AJCleaningServices]

Shall we drag Pj back to the window cleaning forum now? ...

  Do not let him out 

[ross-kesava]

Soory but to go back in time a bit - CMS posted something relating to 57% of the total cost and wage bill for staff.

I'm interested in why that figure. Why 57%?

I'm just curious that's all.

Sometimes odd comments like that hide something of value.

Cheers and thanks.

[CMS]

Hi Ross-kesava

57%.......................

Well, years ago (1981 to be precise) when I started to sell cleaning I was trained by two guys called Julian mcGregor and Derek Hopwood. They both went on to hold VERY senior positions in Rentokil before the merger with Initial.

They were brilliant salesmen and even better teachers. They taught me that to get the charge for a cleaning contract you just doubled the wage bill. That would mean that the wage 'content' was 50%. This worked for a few years but then it became more competitive and companies had to narrow their margins.

For about 10 years I shifted the wage bill to 55% of the charge which made me more competitive but less effective operationally.

If the wage bill becomes 60% of the charge you are struggling to operate properly AND make any money. At 50% you are not competitive so a happy medium needed to be found....................

..........................57%!

If companies keep reducing their prices the customer will come to accept that they can get a promise of a 'loaded' cleaning spec for little money. What will happen then is the customer will get a poor service and will look elsewhere (expecting to pay even less) and the cycle starts all over again.

We MUST collectively, as an industry, maintain these sensible margins. If we don't we will reduce them to the point where we are providing a crap service, changing Clients every five minutes and making no money.

Then, I feel, it will be all over and customers will drift back to employing their own cleaners for about the same cost!

[Tim Downer]

Hi Karl

I agree with your thoughts there about educating the customers to the service levels they should be getting.....and to get it they need to pay for it.

I think that this would be a good subject to cover in one of your monthly journals that you mentioned in another post yesterday.

The more we professionals can educate the customer, the better all round for the professionals i say......

Kind Regards

Tim

[rosskesava]

Hi CMS again

Thanks for that.

I'm in the window cleaning business and we're at that point where either we stay as we are, as we cannot fit anymore work in, or we employ people. I guess the difference in trade doesn't really make that much difference in terms of operating profit.

I've been trying to work out for ages how to not only work out what to pay in wages, but what profit to make on the job.

Educate the customer? That is a problem in window cleaning as well. What I can never understand, and which helps no one in the long run, is the w/c who undercuts another w/c to get the work.

I think that has to be a problem in the entire cleaning industry as there are very few other trades/business's where you get the one man band sometimes working to earn a few bob extra right up to the large national companies.

Cheers

[Ian Gourlay]

All very interesting.

Egos Yes I do wonder if we all develop Egos from being on Forums.

Being a bit of an Adict I often do searches on Forums and goback to the earlier days.

A lot of people fade away but those who stay it is interesting how they progress and their opinions change.



Shelton

Well done do you realise you actually charge more for cleaning than Karl (mr Sugar himself)

While on the subject of charging domestic.

Looked at a Franchise Yesterday where the customer only pays an hourl rate of £7.50 which includes the Franchise Management Fee.

Interesting they ask for the Management fee to be paid every quarter in advance, and then client pays cleaner.

Personally I cant see how you can Leaflet with full colour leaflets advertise and pay your monthly fee to the Franchisor on these margins.

But maybee you can as several had Management fee income over £100K

[CMS]

?