[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

wow that's cheap even we charging 80 for a full house in London at the minute

[Paul Evans]

little ole daddy give you that mind set Susie.

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

little ole daddy give you that mind set Susie.

yup just like the 30 acre of land we built our house on 

[Paul Evans]

  nice one Susan,
Hope the best for you

[homenclean]

Company near us offering low prices on end of tenancy carpet cleans trouble is they aren't great but when tenant produces a receipt the agent is in a bit of a corner and when they call them to say job isn't great they refuse to go back. I get a lot of work from this agent and they are now giving out my number explaining I am their preferred contractor and any sub standard work will result in me going back and them been charged again.

These idiots kill it for us using good gear and solutions to do the job right. Think they are blind and can't see that you have to offer good work at a fair price not poor work at low prices

My rant
John

[ian harper]

With respect you should not make assumptions about others businesses as you dont know the inner workings and how they can provide a service at this price. they might just have their numbers and marketing setup better than yours.

The mistake your making is your competing in the market, and dont like what the market is telling you. what you need to do is switch to selling and then you can get whatever price you choose.

marketing and selling are two different places one is where people are looking and the other is where you get someone to buy your services when its not on their list. design your marketing so its attracts people the JP irresistible offer is the concept your looking for.

One last thing you cant compare someone that only cleans carpets to someone that does say hard floors or windows as well. or part time. its these things that in my view that tell you something about other cleaners. if i want to compare i need to find someone that only cleans carpets , rugs and sofas.

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

Company near us offering low prices on end of tenancy carpet cleans trouble is they aren't great but when tenant produces a receipt the agent is in a bit of a corner and when they call them to say job isn't great they refuse to go back. I get a lot of work from this agent and they are now giving out my number explaining I am their preferred contractor and any sub standard work will result in me going back and them been charged again.

These idiots kill it for us using good gear and solutions to do the job right. Think they are blind and can't see that you have to offer good work at a fair price not poor work at low prices

My rant
John

john you say killing it for you how ?  its a free market and if you cant compete or don't want to then being self employed is not for you its all part of being in business whats not right for you is right for someone else ,

[davep]

Why charge £80 when you can get much more?

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Dave I think you know the answer, £80 is easier to sell than £160 if you have multiple vans you need a 'buy it now' price you don't need to romance the customer and you can't afford to let them go when they call, where as a single operator can be picky as they need to utilise their time to get the most out of their working day.

Shaun

[Craigp]

Also the customer wanting to pay extra for a top job wants an owner operator, not an employee.

There was a good article in the NCCA newsletter by Mr Coker saying that. Very interesting reading it was too.

[David Ware]

The self employed sole trader as a carpet cleaner only will be a thing of the past in years to come. There are more multi trade cleaning firms that offer house cleaning, EOT, window cleaning, oven cleaning, drive cleaning now. Also crunch the numbers with employing people like Susan and they can make a profit charging a lot less than the sole trader.
David

[homenclean]

In response to Your comments I am more than capable of competing in any market place and adapting to various markets what I am not prepared to do is lower my standards to compete with companies offering sub standard work. I have been cleaning carpets for 24 years and it is my choice that we no longer play a numbers game with multiple staff high overheads, business premises and tax and paye. Been there done it and can't be bothered with the hassle any more at our peak we employed 15 people doing everything from kitchen cleans to valeting caravans on the haven sites across the east coast.


John

[Shaun_Ashmore]

It wasn't for me either the multi van thing but looking across the pond where we usually end up anyway perhaps it's something we should consider.

Shaun

[gwrightson]

Just had a customer call me back , she had agreed a price today t/l   stairs landing, and another flight of stairs ,
as she works for a company who,s office carpets I clean I gave her some discount total price £100


the call, sorry my husband thinks its expensive m we still need it doing but we will get some more quotes

Geoff

just had another call, same customer .
"sorry to mess you about, can I book you in for next week "
Apparently didn't like the attitude or the sound of some of them, that or they were all more expensive im thinking.
Geoff

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

Why charge £80 when you can get much more?

because I m not doing the work its that simple why work when theres lots of others willing to do so for bowl of dripping and some beard 

[JandS]

Good reply.........

[peter maybury]

not all own operators are competent carpet cleaners.

Peter

[David Ware]

Never tried dripping on beard always on toast with salt great.

[stuart_clark]

Neil
I was looking at the video on your website, you removing the draught marks which is very good!
Try using a platters brush mate if you can get one from Prochem, they are easier to use and get right  into the crack of the carpet and will probably speed up your cleaning, but very good all the same mate



stuart

[JandS]

Neil...is that UR your using on draught marks.