[Richy L]

I have just been to see a house to clean. Im pricing the job for my wife to work on. Its just a basic weekly clean.
     The house has:
     Two double bedrooms and one single babys room.
     One bathroom and one shower room en-suite with toilet and basin,
     Two living rooms, a kitchen and hall way.
This isnt a massive house. just a "normal" 3 bed.

They want hovering, dusting(including the skirtings), mop all wooden floors after(all down stairs has wooden flooring), basic clean on kitchen and bathrooms.
Oh yeah, and its once a week. How much would you guys charge? in South Wales.

Thanks guys

(i need to give her the price tonight really!)

[Richy L]

anyone  please?

[Jonny jones]

hi i do domestic and i charge £12 per hour, if its local,  we usually do a house like this in two hours, if you change the sheets charge for 3hrs

good luck

[Joe H]

How many people live in the house? just 2 + 1 baby?
What is there lifestyle like - tidy, messy?

Whats your hourly rate £10, £12, more

Say 2.5 hr going up to 3 if messy, with internal windows on a rota. No bed making.

[Richy L]

yeah, just two people and a baby.
They seem to be clean, but there is quite a bit of clutter.

Would you include clearing all clutter away in a two hour job? like kids toys, books, cds?
Also, would this include washing dishes?

Thanks

Richy

[Jonny jones]

definate 3hrs regardless if you are keeping their toys and washing dishes.

[JJdomestics]

Hi

Did you give a time scale to your client?  I would agree, say 3 hrs per clean to allow yourself time. If you feel that there is time remaining once you get into a routine then you can always ask them if they would like to add any other jobs ( cleaning the fridge out etc). It is alot harder to get extra hours after you start so my adivce would be 3 hrs.

[Richy L]

ive told them we charge for the job, not by the hour. She was happy with that. So ill just be giving a price, then if my other half wants to work hard she can get in done quickly.
I think ill say £30 for the job. especially as it is our first job. And its in a nice area, so we may get some recommendations.. i hope!

Thanks everyone. Ill let you know how it goes.


Richy

[Art]

Richy, i'd say £30 and when your wife gets into a routine she should be able to knock it out in around 2 hours easily.

Good luck

Arthur

[Richy L]

thanks guys.

i just rang her now and told her the price - £30 and she was happy with it. My wife starts there on friday. shes happy too. She was on about £5.50 before tax working as a nursery nurse. so shes doubled her money on this job, and hopefully we'll be getting a lot more work.

I'd like to get into EOT cleans. What is the best way to get these? is it just a case of calling letting agents?

[Art]

Richy, one thing to bear in mind. Don't be tempted to charge low prices just to get the work.
 By that i mean price work well enough so that if you get to a point where you need to take on staff, there's got to be a profit for you, to make it worth while.

Never under value your service. Do a good job and the work will come.

Arthur

[Richy L]

I think I would have a problem charging to much. I mean, EOT cleans are bigger money, but for house cleaning, i assume you cant really charge more than £30 for a once a week clean for a 3bed.

And after having spoken to her, she says she will tidy up before my wife goes there, so its really just cleaning. she said there will be no washing up to do either. so £30 seems like a fair price to me. does anyone else charge over £30 for a regular clean? in a house which doesnt get too dirty?

[Jonny jones]

why  not try holiday let cleans, try to approach holiday cottages,  try to stay away from caravan parks, lots f work, different type of clientel on holidays there,  at least when you get holiday cottages you know that they will not leave a mess,   end of lets can really be dirty,   ask to look at the job before saying yes to eot,  

[Richy L]

yeah. Mind you, I dont mind mess and dirt, afterall, thats where the money is!

Ill try getting on to some holiday homes, although, i dont think there would be many in Cardiff!
ill start googling now...

[myvanwi]

I would charge £29.80 for the three bed home cleaned every week. I would send two cleaners in who would do it in 1.5 hours for the first few times, then do it in an hour after that. I try not to take on jobs under two hours though as they not worth it. Don't take clients word for it when they say they will tidy up/ wash up/ not leave washing all over kitchen etc as invariably they do completely the opposite and think that if they are paying for a cleaner they can stop caring about the house.

[Joe H]

yeah. Mind you, I dont mind mess and dirt, afterall, thats where the money is!

My sister in law in the States is gobsmacked when I tell her about some of the dirty cleans we do.
Her philosophy is "I only clean clean houses - if its dirty when I go to preview I tell them no".
and it work. She has very nice clients on her books who take her and her work partner out for days on their yaughts etc....... and pay very well too.

[Richy L]

now that would be nice. I wouldnt mind a couple of days on a yaught. But id be lucky to get a discount for staying in a caravan i think!

I got to price another house tuesday or wednesday now. a five or six bedroom house. One of my window cleaning customers wants their insides cleaned every week too. keep 'em coming!!

[myvanwi]

now that would be nice. I wouldnt mind a couple of days on a yaught. But id be lucky to get a discount for staying in a caravan i think!

I got to price another house tuesday or wednesday now. a five or six bedroom house. One of my window cleaning customers wants their insides cleaned every week too. keep 'em coming!!

How are you finding your customers?

[Richy L]

thats the first window cleaning customer i have asked about inside cleans. so so far its 100%!

[Richy L]

my mrs did her first clean earlier on today. And they were very happy.
We charged £30 and it took bang on 3 hours. so shes happy to earning better money. hopefully she will be able to get a little but quicker too after a couple of visits!

I had another confirmation for a 4 hour clean going up to 8 hours in autumn, and her friend wants the same thing!

you never know, this time next year, i could have someone else working for me!!