How do you do this?
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Category: Carpet Cleaners Discussion
Forum Name: Carpet Cleaners Hangout
Forum Description: General discussion on anything related to carpet cleaning
URL: https://www.kleenkuip.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4663
Printed Date: 24/February/2025 at 7:02pm
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Topic: How do you do this?
Posted By: safety1910
Subject: How do you do this?
Date Posted: 01/February/2008 at 9:35am
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Ok barbarians of browning, soothsayers of stains, o wizards of wicking, I need some help. Since being in business for 1 month, I am still trying to find out if my prices are competitive. I have made a few calls and I believe they are.
Now, I charge per square foot of cleanable space, not total square feet of the room! One customer actually did a little thinking and liked that idea. However, all the guys advertising around me charge per room only---like $64.99 for 3 rooms or $110.00 for the whole house!!! I don't even get in my van for less than $125.00.
With a portable, I cannot foresee me lugging my crap into someone's house, work on three rooms, and pack it all up for a meer $64.99. Do you all charge per square foot or per room or both? Also, how do you handle a quote over the phone if you charge per square foot and the lady of the house has no idea how much space she has?
Thank you---
Dan
P.S. I am looking for angel investors! HA!
 ------------- Dan |
Replies:
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 01/February/2008 at 10:01am
We charge by the room for residential so that we can quote on the phone. It has worked out pretty well for us. We charge by the sq ft for commercial and measure before we quote ------------- 
The STD Meter |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 01/February/2008 at 10:40am
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same here ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: cleanex
Date Posted: 01/February/2008 at 11:29am
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Not all but most room prices also do a lot of upselling once in the home, so that 49.99 suddenly turns into 250.00, depends what game you want tp play, long term the bait and switch approch does not work if you are trying to build a solid customer base. ------------- DON ELDRED YOU CAN "STAND" ON OUR REPUTATION |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 01/February/2008 at 2:49pm
| Nor is it appreciated by the true professionals in this industry. It is not honest business! |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 01/February/2008 at 5:32pm
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what does charging by the room have anything to do with ripping people off??
------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 02/February/2008 at 12:08am
| I'm referring to Bait and switch |
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 02/February/2008 at 1:28am
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No pressure sales here. Just a simple "Would you like to have us apply protector to your carpet today" -------------
The STD Meter |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 02/February/2008 at 9:09am
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Saftey I think you are full of sh*t. sounds like you belong on the Red Bored. I also agree with Don on this one. Room pricing is nothing more than a practice to get you foot in the door. But as long as people preceive they are agetting a deal and not getting fu**ed their will always be a place for room pricers I would guess. ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 02/February/2008 at 4:06pm
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huh???? huh??? Doug if the customer can give you the dimensions of the room, whats the difference???? I remember you saying that you charge .38 cents a sq ft. at 10x10 room would cost 38 bucks right????
I think charging per sq ft is confusing for the customer, most don't even know the dimensions so they are suprised when guys like don or doug give them the bill. There is much more room to crook people when you charge by sq ft.
TRUST ME I KNOW. ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 02/February/2008 at 4:20pm
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Mr. Steamer if I could get $0.38/sq.ft. I would not be in la la land?? Another thing I very seldom trust peoples measurements. I stated my case in my previous post. That's my stroy and I'am sticking to it. I know how you have to do business in the city may be different than in smallsville. ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: CCandmore
Date Posted: 02/February/2008 at 4:23pm
OK now I'm a little confused. I settle the price before I start cleaning. Do most of you guys do it differently?
|
MR. STEAMER wrote:Posted By: LilNiteRidrhood
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 8:10am
| We now ask the cutomers if they want an in home estimate or a price on the phone. Approx. half want an in home estimate. |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 8:23am
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you guy where the ones who changed the topic... saying people who price by the room rip the customer off. How can one??? if you price by the room your price is written in stone.
If you price by sq ft you can easily add a few sq feet here and there.
I've been doing the tile and grout cleaning... sometimes to get the job I'll under estimate...if the customer is wanting to much I'll over estimate.
remember it's only a ESTIMATE ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 9:40am
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written in stone? a closet, oh yeah That's another room and oh yeah i forgot the front door closet that too is a extra room. and of course the hallway and did I mention the master bath 3x 3 area that too. " No the
area attached to your living room with the chandelier handing down that too is an extra room.... get my drift... these are some of the things that I was hearing from my new customers about the competition years ago and so I decided I would go by the square foot. Each to his or her own . Right now it is not to bad because I have established a pretty good higher end clientel.... they seldom ask price. But I am at .25 per square foot so it is length times width divided by 4. If they have no clue I usually ask if they happen to know the real estate square footage when they bought their house. surprisingly most people know that they have a 2500 square foot house or a 1800 square foot house.... that gives me a starting point and I can usually estimate within 15-25 dollars over the phone. I honestly have not given an in house estimate a long time . It's not that I disagree with that method , as I believe that it is probably a better way to do business and you would get more one on one time to educate the customer and end up with a bigger ticket price! But sometimes I guess I have to admit I'm a little Lazy and don't wish to drive to each customer twice. although it would probably pay off. IMO |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 9:47am
| by the way where did the edit button go? |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 10:27am
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I had a person tell me that the room company used their 5 room special up just in the master bedroom room over 200 sq. ft. counted as 2 rooms 2 closets and carpet in the master bathroom all 5 rooms used up then the sky was the limit for the rest of the cleaning after they used up the special. Same story with the upholstery their's was a special fabric not vcovered under the special went from $69.00 for the couch and chair to almost $200. Just get your foot in the door and get the meter running??? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: safety1910
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 11:47am
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Ok DOUG, I asked a simple question that people have been answering whole hearted and I am full of Sh*t??? Doesn't make sense buckaroo! Go borrow some comprehension and reply when you can understand the question.
GO GIANTS!!! ------------- Dan |
Posted By: safety1910
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 11:49am
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Did that comment make anyone perk up??? hehehehe Thanks for all the answers guys!!! ------------- Dan |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 12:06pm
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Well saftey I think anyone who brags about what they charge is full of s*it? Just like the millionairs on the Red Bored? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 1:23pm
Click on the post options, top right corner of reply box. ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 1:25pm
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[QUOTE=safety1910]Ok DOUG, I asked a simple question that people have been answering whole hearted and I am full of Sh*t??? Doesn't make sense buckaroo! Go borrow some comprehension and reply when you can understand the question.
Where does someone borrow comprehension???  ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 2:21pm
But these are the down falls of doing an over the phone estimate....I rather do it over the phone than waste my time driving to every customers house that wants a price for cleaning.
It's always easier to price what you can see no matter how you charge by the room or by the sq ft.
what it really comes down to is doing estimates in house or over the phone
I'm not like most of you who only do a few jobs a week... I'm in and out of 1500 houses a year at least. ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 3:49pm
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I prefer to be just called to do the job. I tell them I will give a price before starting if that is not good enough then keep calling because i am not driving 25 miles to look at what i consider a small job. whole house that s different. ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: duckcountry
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 8:52pm
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Just joking if I say I ask them how much they have in the bank account and how much they have available on their credit cards before determining price. I price it out fairly but I will say I start with a base of room, add or subtract based on how much work the house will be and add for anything special needed which these days is our friend red food dye. Most customers just want to know how much the total is that I am going to charge them and then they write out the check and take off. Grooming rakes sell themselves if the customer stays around. I kid about the lifeguards who get the beach sand so perfect every morning just to have someone place their footprints in the sand and how on their beach I will let that person be them. Always keep perkys in the van , good for $25-25 extra. Free spotter seals the protection add on. Whether a cleaner does is with a computer program, with a fixed pricing schedule or just by gut feel based on experience, as long as the price matches the perceived value of services delivered you are the carpet cleaning god to that customer, right? |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 03/February/2008 at 11:44pm
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One of the most important " pre job" Preparation Questions when scheduling a customer is " Are their any specific concerns that we should be aware of before we arrive" . " Any specialty spotting issues that may be required , such as urine contamination, red dyes or Any OTHER specific concerns that you have " .
This question asked 100% of the time when you are scheduling the carpet will save you many many headaches. It gives you an opportunity to PRE_EDUCATE the customer....you get to explain the normal limitations that exist in each spotting situation that they have . You will never end up with a customer who says" if you can't get it out I'm not paying " because you already took the wind out of his or her sail by PRE_EDUCATING. THEY NOW HAVE REALISTIC expectations! and that is where you want all customers to be . You also will make sure you have all you chemicals and equipment aboard to take care of the special needs. Getting a customer to have realistic expectations and then exceeding them = A Success growing business! |
Posted By: duckcountry
Date Posted: 04/February/2008 at 1:01am
| And if you can't get them to mutually agree with you and sign the estimate with a statement like "all known spots and areas of concern have been clearly identified with the customers decision regarding what course of action or treatment will be taken defined" walk away. |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 04/February/2008 at 4:49pm
| A persons word is still good enough where we live so I haven't had to get to legalistic yet ....hope that day never comes here! |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 04/February/2008 at 5:30pm
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but we are talking about charging per room versus per sq ft.
------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 04/February/2008 at 8:13pm
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when did that topic comeup ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: Superglide Ken
Date Posted: 04/February/2008 at 9:55pm
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If you guys would just charge .50/sq the way I do, you would not need to waste your time debating this subject. Charging by the sq ft is the best system. I have done it both ways and know I would never go back to charging by the room. By the sq ft is also the most fair for the customer. They pay to clean only what they have in area. ------------- Inventor of the Teflon Wand Glide and the Turboteck Rotary Air Duct Cleaners for TMs. |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 04/February/2008 at 10:08pm
| do the survey.... |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 12:28am
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what survey? ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 12:40am
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Who room charges and who charges by the square feet. ( that survey)
I'm with ken on this steamer, square footage is the fairest pricing |
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 1:36am
Wow. When did you cut your price in half? I remember $1.00/sq ft not too long ago  -------------
The STD Meter |
Posted By: Superglide Ken
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 10:40am
$1.00/sq is when the carpet is Power-Dri cleaned, using the RX20. Carpets dry in 10 minutes. For .50, all they get is 1 hr dry times with the Ti wands.  ------------- Inventor of the Teflon Wand Glide and the Turboteck Rotary Air Duct Cleaners for TMs. |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 2:58pm
 I hate to have to quote this slim ball.
But most people who price by the sq ft measure the whole damn room. you'd loose money if you only charged for the available sq ft...
Thats how I know that this a**hole and danmark or what ever his name is has no idea what they are talking about.
Gentlemen your inexperience shows  ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 4:46pm
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Steamer;
I used to always charge by the sq/ft, if people had an issue with the fact that I wouldn't be cleaning the whole room I would explain that it was more difficult to clean around furniture as it requires more detail. ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 5:08pm
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I think you missed the point. the point is normal people measure the whole room. not just the available cleaning area ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 05/February/2008 at 5:38pm
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I guess I did. ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 06/February/2008 at 6:05pm
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I always measure the entire room steamer . So what the hell are you referring to when you say I don't know what I'm talking about. I charge for the entire bedroom . I tell the customer up front on the phone " even though we do not clean 100% of the bedroom carpet you will be charged wall to wall because of the detail work and trimming involved. We will be cleaning 100% of the visible carpet .
Sorry if that did not come across in my post. |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 06/February/2008 at 8:02pm
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Sorry DanMarck....I mis-read Ken's post and your subsequent agree's with his. I thought he was only charging for the available cleaning area(traffic areas) ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 06/February/2008 at 9:16pm
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what are traffic areas?? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: Hammy
Date Posted: 06/February/2008 at 9:17pm
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You have to drive into the city to get that answer ------------- Could somebody just clean my carpets! |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 06/February/2008 at 9:51pm
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areas with high traffic ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 06/February/2008 at 11:53pm
Good answer -------------
The STD Meter |