[ollie]

i did a job today for £157 when i quoted last week i noticed a chemdry folder but i didnt ask about it..when i finished the job today..2 small rooms  (wool)and a large hand  wool rug (all told took me 2.5 hours) she showed me the chem dry folder it was a quote  .. he had sent a very proffesional looking pack with a fridge magnet and glossy brochures etc and instructions on how not to trust someone who doesnt come out to quote etc ( although he did his over the phone!)   the quote.....£444.00- 18% discount..£364.08 - standard service ( he recommends the stain repellent service) he also says " we appreciate that our prices may be a little higher than other companies this is because like them, we know exactly what our service is worth."

does anyone else get this sort of money or is it just me who is charging low??
thanks
ollie

[Neil Grainger]

Chem dry work on their corporate reputation, People no who they are. What you need to ask yourself is, why did she come to you.

Chem dry and Service master try to make out that we independants are splash and dash and not very good at what we do. Some NCCA members operate same sort of scaremungering aswell.

Just believe in what you do and charge what you think you are worth, your prices should be set to suit you.

Cheers

Neil

[brights cleaning]

chemdry price sounds about right to me if it takes 2.5 hours to do

[John Kelly]

Chem drys overheads are astronomical.

[CARPET KNIGHTS]

They can't be that bad my local chem driers prices are quite cheap.

[ollie]

thanks for the replies ...i was a bit shocked at the price, but i suppose he gets more than enough  people saying yes to make up for the "no's"
John ..what sort of overheads do they have?
thanks
ollie

[darren72]

i wish i could get £157 for 2 small rooms and a rug up here.

[carpetguy]

£140, or so, an hour, is astronomical, but every time high prices are challenged, the same comments are made.

I always wonder about the other lives of the people who charge these prices,

How they select tradesmen
Where they get their weekly shopping
Get their car serviced
Buy their chemicals / spares
etc, etc,

In other words................do they practice what they preach, or do they just screw their customers, but become price shoppers in their own world.

[the red carpet]

Neil allthough you have a point my friend, the question should not be why did she come to you?

The question should be, why do the customers they service on a daily basis go to them?

Because surely if you could work that one out as a independent without there overheads "YOU WOULD BE ON TO A RIGHT WINNER" 

[davep]

Shocking price..  it must depend on the area/part of country you are in but i would of asked for £100 for that (depending on size of rug)

I think it is good having these high prices about, if i do a survey i suggest the customer calls Chemdry for a 2nd quote, can only help me get the job 

[Neil Grainger]

I was only making the point that you should not worry about what others are charging.

Dont come across many Chem Dry guys in Yateley Camberley area so dont go up against them much. I always go to quote for people anyway so I always sell myself as well as my service.

Price should be around £250 for 2 1/2  hours work. I always try and get £100 an hour whilst I am out cleaning but if people get more than me then good on them.

The biggest thing for me when I started was getting over the pricing of what other cleaners charge.

[the red carpet]

Dont get me wrong i would have been happy at Ollies price, but we shouldnt question how do they get away whith it in shock and disbelief from a negative point of view.

What we should question is how do they get away with it and how the bloody hell we can get in the same ball park.

Because people do pay these prices FACT

And theres more profit to be made by me or you at these prices than any franchise FACT

But what are me, you or Ollie gonna do about it?

[Neil Grainger]

Its not the price thats the problem it getting the phone to ring at the moment, thats the problem.

Its the hardest 5 months I have had this year, Feb to June. Very hard times.

[the red carpet]

First week iv turned a profit this year :

[the red carpet]

But dont worry were only halve way through, this time next year................................................................................................................................................................... :

[Neil Grainger]

Anyway goodnight all, wife has told me its bed time

[matt jones]

Red i don't know if it would be possible to get in the same ball park as these franchises look at the amount of money they must spend on marketing etc no sole trader could compete with that for a start. Also think of the mass of vans they have working all over the country constantly advertising there name, i cant see how you can ever compete with them but who would want to like it has been said their overheads are phenomenal so they have to charge these high prices in order to make a profit but they are probably not making as much as you think they are. You are probably better of as a sole trader charging a good price with very low overheads then you are being a huge franchise charging stupidly high prices in order to cover your stupidly high overheads. It makes me laugh sometimes some people talk about earning £60,000 or so turnover then you ask what their net profit is and they say something like £20,000 whats the point surely the best way to run a business is to always be looking at ways of reducing your overheads and increasing your job value.
regards
matt

[Mike Halliday]

I have no problem with chemdry, in the end they are just like us trying to make a future for themselves & there families.

But just one little niggle

here is a company that has a national & international brand, every chemdry works to set procedure and will use exactly the same machinery & chemicals no matter who you call or were they are based, its a bit like Mcdonalds every burger is the same no matter which place you buy it..

If this year I get 2 quotes one from A&A Chemdry an one from B&B Chemdry  (I've already said  both of them will do the exact same job using the exact same machinery & chemicals) but they will not quote me the same price, Why Not? they are not like independents  who will offer different services, they are exactly the same. how can they justify a higher price than the next Chemdry if they are doing the exact same job?

like that burger from Mcdonalds, same burger no matter where I buy it but more importantly it is also the same price.

you cannot portray  a corporate image of professionalism and high standard without a set pricing structure,

Mike

[Mike Halliday]

before someone says 'each Chemdry will have different overheads so will charge different' this is not fair on the customers, I bet every ford dealer ( who are also a franchise) around the UK has different overheads for their car dealership, but the price of  a Escort stays the same, same goes for a set of tyres at Quickfit they have a national pricing structure. if you are buying the exact same service or product from a national company the price has to be the same, otherwise the customer is being ripped off.

Mike

[John Kelly]

Mike, thats not quite right. Our last car was 3k cheaper from one dealer compared to another only 6 miles away. Same model, same spec, same company. Franchises like all businesses have different overheads. The franchise overhead is the same across the board, monthly license fee, minimum chemical spend, digi pen lease, tracker lease for your vans. But premises, wages etc are variable. You would still need to price accordingley. The main reason they are expensive is the high chemical cost of the clean, about £24 for an average carpet.
Spoke to one today who is totally peed at not getting any of the flood work even though he spends the same as the ones who are doing it all.