Hi all,

I am really starting to advertise and hope the calls come rolling in.

I am doing door hangers at a fixed rent senior complex in a day or two and will be doing a flat fee for them which I think is fair.

However my real ? is what is the current cost for doing a reis home per square foot using a challenger or is it better to do a flat rate, say two rooms for $99.00

I mean I can deal with cutting seniors a break I think that is a just thing to do but I don't want to do it for a homeowner that has a 250,000 house.

Either way if I did two rms for 99.00 it's still more then I make now as a custodian at $80.00 a day. Wow just think if I did two jobs a day at 99.00 whoa
I can live on that.

Let hear from you guys.

Thanks

Joe M I 'm not sure what to say here but you should market as much as possible.
Drive around putting out flyers on mail box posts, continue to do what your doing, put on some nice close and go call on business about commercial business. I worked this biz part time and did all the above and have gotten a pretty solid customer base now. The most important part is marketing,marketing ,marketing,sales,sales,sales. I did everything I could but made sure to keep my costs down. For commercial customers offer to do a demo and if you are using releasit pick a rug that has a lot of colors in it The customer can watch the colors POP right out. Ca Ching easy sale if you can get the demo. Then after you wow them with your cleaning sell them on a maint plan.
Your well on your way to MUCH over $189 per day. By the way I would change the $99 dollars to a $99 offer or special that gives you some room in the future to change it.

Joe,
What Rick is right about Marketing. Get out there
and you'll be surprized. As far as price you have to
put out a price that your comfortable with. What I
mean by this is have you ever under bid a job and then
started doing the cleaning "how do you feel when cleaning"
I am upset with myself and the customer and the cleaning
suffers. When I give a fair price for them and myself
I feel they will get the best of service and I am happy.
So price is what both party's are happy with.


Ralph

Rather than a cleaning company, be a marketing company that happens to do consulting, that happens to clean.

It will help you avoid a lot of pitfalls or at least recognize them. Don't quit your day job just yet!
Best of luck.

Thanks for all the help but no one has answered the burning question.

How much for res sq foot do i charge.

Joe

Your question HAS been answered. You have to decide for yourself. Check the going rates for the area. Call ALL of your competition and price yourself accordingly. When I started, I chose to be the "Highest" priced. I was pre-vac'ing, and hitting all of the steps. But i will tell you this much...I wasnt very busy at my prices. I called all of the other cleaners and adjusted accordingly. Likewise, if anyone were charging $99 for 2 rooms in this market, they would SURELY starve. Average price here is around $15-20 room. Disgusting, but i can still pull down $300-500/day. Whoever says you can't survive on that, is most definately a fool!

*Note: The above mentioned income is based on RESIDENTIAL work. Commercial is a whole "nuther" ballgame! Me likey mucho!

I'd still charge by the square foot, at a lower price then HWE. Then I'd offer a discount of 1-2 cents per sq ft for seniors.

Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care

I'd start at .20 and go lower from there, if there is enough sq ft to make it is worth your while. But also have a minimum charge that it takes for you to make money. I'll do another post in a minute of what I am thinking for my new price structure.

Good luck,


Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care

For one, working for seniors will be the toughest money you will ever earn, at least that is what i have experienced! And as far as Price per sf...it all depends on where you live! It seems to cost more up north than down south...always call the competition, but remember if they think you are price shopping they will try to low-ball their prices..at least that is what i have come across so far!

Every region is different as far as price but I will say this;cleaning tool doesn't dictate price,fiber and soil load does.No one but you can determine what your cost of doing business is.
Patrick

There's more to pricing than just looking at the competition in your area. Really, what you should consider is this:
1. The cost per hour for running your machines, include your van or transportation in this.
2. The cost per hour for an employee working for you. Do this even if you don't have an employee you pay. You are an employee of your company.
3. The cost per sq ft. of the product or products you are using to clean and protect.
4. The cost of the insurance and licensing you are required to have for your state.
5. The cost of all the training and certifications you have attained to maintain a quality and thorough service for your customers.
6. The cost of any advertising and marketing brocheres, newsletters, business cards etc. that you need in order to attract good customers.
7. The list can go on and on.

Don't compare yourself to the companies that run ads for "$6.95 per room" or the $99 whole house special. Believe me, when these guys arrive the cost will suddenly rise if the customer actually wants the "extras" that they say will clean the carpets.

Come up with a nice presentation, include valuable information and really be an advocate for your customers. You'll attract cheerleader customers that will want to refer you. The other companies need to advertise low ball prices because they don't have repeats or referrals. Their market is the price shopper. Cheerleader customers perceive value by the total package. If all they want is price than it really won’t matter how cheap you are, they won’t be loyal to you. They’ll call someone else next time or try to get you to drop your price to match someone else’s.

We start our carpet prices at .31 but will usually get around .40 to .50 with protection. And yes we use low moisture methods as well as HWE when necessary.

Thanks for letting me get my .02 in.
-Patrick's Wife Jeanette

Hello , I read your comment on Carpet Cleaning pricing, I am serously getting into this field and I already have been doing janitorial contracts for years but I want to add carpet cleaning. I used to work as a carpet cleaning tech. using HOST but I am not using that. I am planning to buy a truckmount machine in trailer. could use tips, opinions, CASH, hehe..... anything would help. Thanks.. god bless

Darrell.

The Challenger is excellent for residential & small commercial, I have the machine, 100 pads, pump up sprayer, 4 gallons of Punch & a couple of buckets and I'm good to go! What to charge is an individual decision. I have very low overhead so I can be flexible with my pricing and still make a profit.