How many of you guys refuse a job because the carpet is
un-cleanable? I have been in touch with this real estate
company in town trying to get them to use my services, Finally I got the call a 5th story condo 1200 sq ft that
was going on the market the next day. I met the Realtor at the Condo and was shocked at what she wanted me to clean.
This place had'nt been vaccumed in a year, never mind the
carpets being cleaned, burns all over the carpet, cat urine
in every corner. The whole carpet (tan) looked like it was
covered in black soot. Now the worse part of this was the seller gave the Realtor $150 and that was all she would pay.

I gave the realtor my card and told her I could not clean
this condo. I will not take the money for a job that could not be performed the right way. She was desperate. The Condo
was going on the market the next day.

This place was so bad I would have charged $150 just to vaccumm the place. I told the realtor that I would vaccumm and then try to cimex the place but I wanted another property that I could show her how a job should really be performed. She agreed.. I did the condo (reluctantly) because she was in a bind. Today I have a whole house to do for her..no furniture in house. HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THIS JOB?


RALPH

Why do you let the cust tell you how much they will pay, yes to have work is a good thng. How long did the job take to do? If all you would do for 150.00 is vacuum then thats all you should do. If someone tells me this is what i'm going to pay and i can't do it for that i tell them to have a nice day, that will not be happy with the job. oh yea we had so and so clean it and this is what we got...



When you go buy gas do you go inside and tell them you are going to only pay a dollar per gallon.

The fact that the seller gave the broker only $150 for the cleaning of the carpet is really irrelevant. The broker stands to earn a commission of several thousand dollars on the sale of the unit. He/she now has $150 in hand
to put toward the total cost of the cleaning. In this situation the broker's argument that he/she has "only" $150 to pay for the work is a bogus one. This is just an example of a broker being cheap.

Yes we have refused work at times

To the point at hand.

There are a few options

The First was already done I have used the following

I understand you are in a bind, with your client not paying you enough to have the job done properly, at this point you need to make a desision is it worth X amount out of your commision to get this place in as good of condition as it can be or are you going to show it in the shape it is in now.

I have used similar lines when presenting with I only have X amount to spend, which is BS any how and everyone should be aware of it.

hope it works out for you in the end Ralph.

great info to know Mark D.

great thread for those of us looking at marketing to Realtors!!!

thanx --- Derek.

I have politely walked out of a customers house because they kept asking me to go upstairs and take care of this stain for free or do the whole house for $100 just continually trying to beat me down. I finally said thank you but I can't do that and walked.
Usually it's a trashed place and they want you to make it look new for nothing, I don't get why we are always the ones giving. everyone of my "cheerleaders" have been full price, good people. The deal makers I feel are laughing behind our backs.

Ralph,

Don't know what part of the country you are in, but here in FL realators are the worst ones to work for. They want jobs done for free, right away, also will use who ever is giving them the best prices! Sounds like you lost money on the job, Sorry to here that. I tell here's my price if they don't like it, i tell them have a nice day, bind or no bind. Stick to your guns on your price, and don't let them dictat to you.

Life's too short for that kind of aggravation.

How does the Marine's slogan go?
"We're looking for a few good men"
Well that has been my thought with regards to crappy jobs.
"We're looking for a few good customers"

Let the competition have the duds

Another little thing I've kept in mind through my years in business are the words of an old Steely Dan song...

Throw back the little ones
And pan-fry the big ones
Use tact, poise and reason
And gently squeeze them

There's some good business logic in those lyrics.

If you're wasting time spinning your wheels with a deadbeat customer, you can't invest adequate time to pursue and service a potentially worthwhile client.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

… and for myself

I have never met Napoleon
But I plan to find the time
'Cause he looks so fine upon that hill
They tell me he was lonely, he's lonely still
Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago, oh yeah

David Gelinas
MArbleguy

Thanks for all your input. I usually don't take these
jobs, but I was already there and it was late in the after noon (last stop). The job only took me 1 and a half hours.
I was not impressed with the results but the realtor was.
She just wanted it cleaned up a bit to sell it. I never
let someone dictate how much there going to pay me. This was a one time deal so I took it and then took my family
out to dinner.


Ralph