[Stoots]

Prices are very subjective.  I want my car cleaned this week at my office!  I was very specific when getting quotes. Nothing complicated

Wash & Dry outside (no polish)
Vacuum Interior (no washing of seats)
Clean all door shuts
Clean and vacuum luggage area
Clean all glass inside and out
Finally check exterior and remove any oil or tar marks left after normal wash



I insisted on no tyre or dashboard dressing or sprays.
Finally I told them all if it was cold or wet they could do it inside my unit!

I got quotes from 5 different mobile valet services ranging £25 up to £175???

I valet cars

I personally would have charged £40 for this, about an hours work at most

However i dont do mini valets anymore only full valets and above starting at £70

I could name a few companies round here that would do that for about £25

2 and a half hours for the above is crazy.

15 mins to wash with D.I water - let it dry whilst doing interior
30 mins to do glass, vac it out and wipe everything down
15 mins to go over outside with a tar remover

I don't care if it takes him an 1, 2 or 3 hours, all I care about is he does it and does it right!  My main concern is that it's clean, the door shuts are clean and the glass is immaculate.  The outside will be filthy on Thursday cos I am driving to Devon for a Boys Weekend away

Glass is a nightmare to clean no matter what you do. It's my pet hate

Thankfully most people don't really inspect the car in that much detail.

[Smurf]

Kev being a cheapstake will still want a perfect job and all for 30 squid 

[Kev Martin]

Kev being a cheapstake will still want a perfect job and all for 30 squid 

Smurf

The word your looking for is "Cheapskate" and I think you are either mixing me up with you personally or Mike Halliday

[Mike Halliday]

Me a cheapskate!!!  I'm the opposite....... A spendthrift!!  My wife moans at me for buying the most expensive available.

But this post raises a very interesting point about prices, that is how we impose our own budget or belief onto customers......... we think we can look at a potential customer and magically work out how much they are able to afford before they even speak a word.

So we walk into a home or office and think....... " these  people are skint,  no way will they want our premium gold service so I will just give the budget option"

It happens to me all the time, it happened  last week. I went to a curtain sider company to get a new fitted cover for my trailer, the guy straight away looked at me in my scruffy clothes ( I had been cleaning out my unit so put on some old gear) and decided I was after a cheap job so pitched me a thin tarpeline cover with bungee ties at a low price. 

But I had already decided I wanted a cover that would last and secure the trailer, price was not my major concern I wanted the best he could make.

I ended up spending double what he first quoted me.



 

[Kev Martin]

I am the complete opposite:

When  I am quoting for a job, the quote is based on how much it will cost me in wages, materials and a sensible profit.  I don't care if they are rich or poor, in a council house or a mansion or whether they have a Lada or a Ferrari on the drive!  My price is my price take it or leave it!

When I am buying I buy the best, but appropriate to what I want it to do!  When I am looking for work to be done I do the same!  So today I wanted the car valeted to have a clean car to go away in for the weekend with my mates so £30 did it and as it happens the result wasn't bad for what I paid!  If I had wanted it cleaned to use as a Wedding Car then I would have paid more because I would have wanted it polished and all the seats cleaning and dressing as well.  But ultimately I got what I paid for!

Now shoes are a whole different matter

[Aqua Power Solutions]

Kev , agree 100% . Give a price then be prepared to walk away if its not accepted . However not sure about the shoes !
Ed

[Mike Halliday]

I give a price roughly  based on Kevs formula( apart from the 'sensible profit' I aim for 'huge profit' ) but also have a minimum price In my head that I will do the job for, if the customer is willing to be flexible on when the jobs done and what preperation they will do before I arrive then they can get a lower price.

Plus OAPS tend to be treated more favourably on price and usually gets extra work thrown in for free

[Smurf]

For god sake don't mention bloody shoes or they will be taking hours about them 

[Kev Martin]

For god sake don't mention bloody shoes or they will be taking hours about them 

Shoes are a very important part of my life, they have to be mentioned

[Mike Halliday]

What do the say about good shoes & good beds.?

'Never wear your good shoes in bed'......Nope that's not it

[Smurf]

 

[clarkson]

I give a price roughly  based on Kevs formula( apart from the 'sensible profit' I aim for 'huge profit' ) but also have a minimum price In my head that I will do the job for, if the customer is willing to be flexible on when the jobs done and what preperation they will do before I arrive then they can get a lower price.

Plus OAPS tend to be treated more favourably on price and usually gets extra work thrown in for free

Hi  mike
I agree we all have the same cost base roughly speaking , the only. Big variant I suppose is the owner operators  working on the tools don't have wages..

The variants come from  the profit margin on top , kev says reasonable  you,say huge .  But that's  even subjective  kevins reasonable might be  1000%.

I think the guy smurf spotted is way off but if he does 2 properties a day he is probably  stripping his window cleaning  money which to him is huge profit?

John