[Mike Halliday]

We all keep mentioning Ken, he'll start to get paranoid

[Gerry Styles]

A lot of our pricing problems come from the "splash & dash" brigade. I had a leaflet in my letterbox today "standard lounge from £9.00" then the extras were listed stain removal £2.00 per stain etc etc. My minimum charge is usually £55.00 and I do not charge extra for stains. Commercial starts from £2.50

[mark_roberts]

Jasonl

How many staff would you say youd need to make the same profit as a £80k + turnover sole trader.  Cleaning staff and admin staff.

I like your concept although £40 is very low but as you say you need more for a sole trader.

For the rest of you all theres no right or wrong only what you can get the customer to pay.

Mark

[Ken Wainwright]

Shaun

I'm not a typical business model as I have lower personal and business overheads than most, so I know where your'e coming from. I don't see your comments as being personal, but just highlighting my position so that others don't follow without consideration.

As for Mike's routine of 3/4 monty, with his system and equipment I would expect us both to achieve similar standards of clean. But whether he offers the same level of eco-friendliness as me and a quaranteed Woolsafe Approved service as me I don't know.

I think that what this thread highlights is that we all have different needs, costs, marketplaces and ambitions. That's healthy. We have many different ways of costing our work. We have different ways of adding value to our work. Our business' are at different stages of development.  But most importantly, some of us have higher levels of confidence not only in our ability as tradesmen, but also as businessmen.  By educating the new(er) starts of what's achievable as a business is a positive way of helping our industry to not only thrive but also flourish and grow. That has to be a positive thing to do.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[Ian Gourlay]

Ken 

Are you saying some people have bigger heads than others

But you are right it does depends on Confidence.

Problem that a lot must overcome is telephone qoutes as It is very hard to convince of your supperior cleaning powers without people seeing you in action.

hence i suppose the famous Free Room offer.

For instance today the customers were amazed about how good helpful and what a miricle worker I was, but if i had not closed her and allowed her to phone someone else she would never had known and I would not now have the potentential to sign up three Football Teams

[Goldfinch PCS]

Ian
Three football teams? Are we talking fantasy league? Well anyway I have sign up with the daily mirror fantasy football manager they changed the name this season. Lets hope I win some bucks I need to retire early.

Oh, Hello Affordable Clean - that guy is a Liverpool fan. I support the GUNNERS so there it is conflict of interest. How did the IICRC leather result go? I passed and then completed Alan's LTT, good stuff son. Anyway good luck this season.

[derek west]

dove
90 % average pass, 100 % on ID, let meself down on history but i'll live with that, gonna do the rest with ltt in september if there not all ready booked. sorry about your early exit from the champs league last season, better luck this year me old gooner, or young gooner, whatever the case maybe.
get a tenner on el nino for top scorer this coming season, its a cert.

[spindle]

just a tenner on el nino ............with robbie keane feeding him clever balls i'd expect him to score 35+ this season


btw
is anyone thinking of doing the fantasy football league on here as last year

[COLIN BRIGHT]

after giving a price of £300 the other day, the lady asked how long it would take to clean
i said about 2.5 to 3.5 hours
OOOOOOOOOOhhh thats sound expensive then she said
Tradesmen around here can only charge £150 per day
says she stood in her bloody great farmhouse
 

[Ken Wainwright]

Sounds about right Colin. But that's for labour only. Materials and consumables are extra. They probably only have a bagfull of hand tools and a van.  A CC is not only supplying labour, but supplies too. Thers's about £20k of van and kit investment for a typical porty owner, and perhaps £30k plus for a T/M. These are expensive to run and maintain, they depreciate and need replacing. serious reinvestment in the business is ongoing.  You can't always compare one trade with another.

Now you'll have an answer the next time this objection pops up

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[derek west]

colin, what have you quoted her for, job wise?
derek

[Jim_77]

6 dining chairs

[ollie]

I started by aiming for a daily amount first it was £50 per day then 70 then 90 now I try and do at  least 150 per day. ( i have very few overheads) Ive recently started EOT cleans too so I get 400 some days. I dont bother with per hour prices to be honest.

[jacko]

I start at £3.45/sqM and add on according to soiling, furniture moving etc. With protector £5-£6/ sqM easily attainable.

Suites vary from £125 upwards depending on amount of loose cushions , soiling etc.

Twice this week customers have said (after seeing the results)i should charge more!

Having said that i do get the ones that expect a room done for £20 or suite for £35....these are NOT my customers but someone elses.........

Went to quote for a smallish bungalow last week only 25 SqM of carpet they had had someone to do them just a month ago - charged £15! All the stains had re-appeared.
The same people are quoting £40 for a 3 bedroom house. Their main business is car valeting. Anyway i got the job at my rates.

My advice - don't go cheap guys!

[Gerry Styles]

after giving a price of £300 the other day, the lady asked how long it would take to clean
i said about 2.5 to 3.5 hours
OOOOOOOOOOhhh thats sound expensive then she said
Tradesmen around here can only charge £150 per day
says she stood in her bloody great farmhouse
 

The more they got, the less they want to spend

[PaulKing]

pricing is a matter of whatever works for you, but if your never get knocked back on price your charging to little!

[carpetworx]

Ken 

Are you saying some people have bigger heads than others

But you are right it does depends on Confidence.

Problem that a lot must overcome is telephone qoutes as It is very hard to convince of your supperior cleaning powers without people seeing you in action.

hence i suppose the famous Free Room offer.


I like the free room idea

For instance today the customers were amazed about how good helpful and what a miricle worker I was, but if i had not closed her and allowed her to phone someone else she would never had known and I would not now have the potentential to sign up three Football Teams

[homenclean]

Nobody has considered the regional differences in price.

In the north people will not or can not afford to pay the same as in the south as incomes vastly differ.

Saying this i do appreciate that the cost of living in the south is higher.

As for what you charge it is a very personal thing as 1 guy may work smarter than another or as many have stated have lower overheads.

Having been cleaning carpets for 17 years now i am of the opinion that some carpet cleaners out there string the job out in order to inflate the price.

John

[nevil]

I start at £3.45/sqM and add on according to soiling, furniture moving etc. With protector £5-£6/ sqM easily attainable.

Suites vary from £125 upwards depending on amount of loose cushions , soiling etc.

Twice this week customers have said (after seeing the results)i should charge more!

Having said that i do get the ones that expect a room done for £20 or suite for £35....these are NOT my customers but someone elses.........

Went to quote for a smallish bungalow last week only 25 SqM of carpet they had had someone to do them just a month ago - charged £15! All the stains had re-appeared.
The same people are quoting £40 for a 3 bedroom house. Their main business is car valeting. Anyway i got the job at my rates.

My advice - don't go cheap guys!

Sorry to pick Jacko. but from what I have seen, most instances of stains coming back are caused by the offending substance penetrating the pile perhaps even the backing and underlay. unless you can lift the carpet and flush out everyting it can happen to anyone regardless of price.