[dustee]

Yes I know this is a can of worms & probably been asked so many times

Do you charge by the room or sq metre , & typical cost of both

[Robin Ray]

Sq ft here. Rooms vary in size alot. for example a lounge in a 1 bedroom semi and a lounge in Buckingham palace will obviously be different.

[wayne zabel]

There is such a thing as an average lounge which I would say is 12x14ft . Through lounges which I would say are 23ft ish x 12/14 ft ish,therefore I'm quite happy to quote on my average sizes for rooms.


I cant understand CC's pricing at any room or any 2 rooms @ a certain price irrespective of size

[Mike Halliday]

Hourly rate is the only way to price anything, no job is the same. It can only be done when doing an in-house quote for every job.

You could take an average over a number of jobs and come up with an average price per room or square metre but really it's unfair to customers (some will pay more than they should some will pay less)

[Ian Harper]

dustee

depends if you quote over phone or in person. room by phone and measure in person. also you need to think about other items like, stains, moving stuff, vacing, these all add to your time. this works both ways if you want to make your life easier then having specs/packages has advantages for you and your customers.

below is an example of a unit based system and you just work out a price for a unit

[Elfyn]

Over the years I've tried a few different methods of pricing, but I keep coming back to pricing per square yard. It seems to be the fairest for the customer and to myself. I vary the price per sq yard according to the situation and conditions.

[Steve Chapman]

A turning point in my business years ago was to stop charging per room and charge per sq ft.

A 13 x 13 ft room will will look similar to 12 x 12 room but thats another 25sq ft, which is extra money in your pocket.

My turnover went up by a third just from these small extras, and if you work it out in front of the customer they will understand how you arrive at your price and more often than not be comfortable with that.

Steve

[Hilton]

So if you quoting by the hour , what do you do , complete the job and then present them with invoice for your time ?

[Mike Halliday]

i can judge most jobs once I see them and give quite an accurate quote. Existing Customers do just get presented with a bill on completion

I do get the odd job that goes a lot quicker than I expected then I will be honest with them and either lower the price or offer to protect the carpet in with the price, the only time it takes longer is if something unexpected happens like they don't clear the room or I need cars moving of the driveway or on the road side.

anyone who prices by the room or by the area but 'adjusts it once they see it' is really pricing by the time it takes.

The only good thing about measuring to work out the price is the customer is more likely to accept the price as its not you creating the price out of thin air but the room size & the price is more of a random number.

[Hilton]

Its  not the only good thing,

A customer seeing a room being measured and a written 'quotation' provided on that basis has evidence supporting the price.

Walking in taking a look and then giving a price sounds more like plucking a figure out of the air, (I am not suggesting that's what you do, yours is based on experience) which does not look very professional and quite frankly is a lazy method of pricing which I would argue would not install confidence in the prospect, plus of course your quote is also a marketing tool.

[Mike Halliday]

I couldn't agree more about physically measureing a room to create the price, it's much more believable in the customers mind.

I have gone one further with my pressure washing quotes (which are often a much higher value than carpet cleaning) I sketch the area work out the area then let the customer help me work out the price, I tell them....

"It's £4.20 a metre  there's 345m2...... What's that work out to?" If they say the price it comes from them not me

[elliott cleaning]

..."..........then let the customer help me work out the price, I tell them....

"It's £4.20 a metre  there's 345m2...... What's that work out to?" If they say the price it comes from them not me

 . Your Yorkshire clients must be alot more mathematically savvy than the dizzy clients I have down here in London.  4.20 times 345 isn't that hard for me to do in my head  - but irrespective whatever I came up with they would just say "that's OK"