Need Help Pricing 9000 sqft of CGD

[Northstar]

I need some help pricing 9000 sqft of CGD. Im new to carpet business and don't have much experience bidding of carpet cleaning. Carpet was installed sometimes around August of last year and it is in pretty nice shape. I was thinking charging .18/sqft. What are your thoughts? I would appreciate any help. I was thinking about encaping it with 20" floor machine. That is all I have at the moment. I know Cimex would be ideal for this but price is little bit out of my range right now.

Thank you

[encapman]

Depending on your location, prices may vary. Personally I'd suggest coming in at around .15 for a job that size. In fact, since the carpet is fairly clean and it's not terribly small, you may be able to even bid a little lower than that - and possibly set the account up on a maintenance schedule.

You can encap with a 20" rotary as long as it has a shampoo tank. You could use FiberPlus pads on your machine and get good results.

[Jarrod]

I normally go in and look at the whole situation. Have 10c per sq foot in mind to start with. Then look for all situations that will slow you down. Chairs tables etc. If you bid too high you will get nothing.

[Duane]

I was wondering when you guys say .10 to .15 a sq.ft. does that include pre-vacuuming?

[encapman]

I was wondering when you guys say .10 to .15 a sq.ft. does that include pre-vacuuming?

Short answer: No.

I normally stress to the building owner that they should pre-vacuum very well before we arrive. That being said, I know they won't do a great job. But at least I've gotten them onboard to perform some of the pre-vacuuming. Then prior to cleaning our tech will run the X-Vac pile lifter through the high traffic areas. Between their staff's pre-vacuuming and our pile lifting, the combination seems to do a pretty good job of reducing the dry soil content to a level that's acceptable for cleaning.

[patrickm]

" I was thinking charging .18/sqft. "

Why were thinking this? Do you know what your cost of doing business is?

Plenty of good thoughts mentioned previously. General rule of thumb but not set in stone is: The larger the square footage with minimal obstructions (time wise)the less $ amount per square foot. Smaller the number = Higher amount.
Keep in mind those obstructions: cubicles,tight areas/offices filled with furniture to maneuver around. Entry point(s) water sources,location in building-upper floors/lower floors

Once you know your cost of doing business,taking all of the above into consideration you will then be able to give a firm quote or an estimate. Never bid. I prefer quotes-firm price as estimates are opened ended.

[Northstar]

Thank you for your input. This really helped

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Since Im new to carpet cleaning I wanted to price it little bit higher to cover myself for any unexpected issues. I do not have much experience when it come to carpet cleaning.

[Duane]

Thanks Rick❗

[AusCapper]

I used to tell the customer to make sure the carpet was pre vacc'd prior to my arrival, but when I did Id notice most of the time they'd have a change in facial expression as if to say- hey wait a minute, aren't YOU the one cleaning the carpet? And Im certain that this approach had lost me potential jobs. After all "cleaning" is taking something from being dirty to being clean isn't it?
So I started pre-vaccing every job and found that the fuss was minimal for peace of mind knowing we'd done our very best every time. And yes, to add to the reason for doing it is that we don't know what type of job they're going to do anyway.
So my answer to the pre vacc question above is YES pre vac, and if you have to, charge a little extra. Generally speaking People will pay a little more for quality.

Ned

[P Cleaner]

I agree with Ned. It is selling value. Pcleaner

[encapman]

I used to tell the customer to make sure the carpet was pre vacc'd prior to my arrival, but when I did Id notice most of the time they'd have a change in facial expression as if to say- hey wait a minute, aren't YOU the one cleaning the carpet? And Im certain that this approach had lost me potential jobs. After all "cleaning" is taking something from being dirty to being clean isn't it?
So I started pre-vaccing every job and found that the fuss was minimal for peace of mind knowing we'd done our very best every time. And yes, to add to the reason for doing it is that we don't know what type of job they're going to do anyway.
So my answer to the pre vacc question above is YES pre vac, and if you have to, charge a little extra. Generally speaking People will pay a little more for quality.

Ned

We are talking "commercial accounts". Most of them have a vacuuming program. It's pretty easy to get them to come onboard with pre-vacuuming. Here's a strategy that works. Offer a discount!

Factor in a discounted rate from what you planned to bid the job at if they will perform a thorough vacuuming. Most folks will snap up a discount. But don't run it the other way around - NEVER say it will cost you extra if we have to vacuum. Using a discounting strategy in the price that you're planning to bid the job at will often get them to happily have their staff provide some vacuuming. People love a discount.

But like I said in my post above, you should still be prepared to perform some additional detail vacuuming in the high traffic areas.

[Dave Lyall]

Other things we consider before bidding...

- Is it 9k square feet of open hallways? Or of tight office spaces and cubicles?
- after hours/weekend work? Or regular business hours?
- is this going to be a one time cleaning, or part of a more comprehensive long term program?
- how long is this going to take us to clean? Commercial cleaning is all about efficiency....the faster you can clean - the lower you can charge per square foot.
-above all else, know your own costs :-). One cleaner can get rich cleaning at 10 cents while another goes broke.

Good luck Northstar!

Dave

[Black2WhiteCarpetCleaning]

What I would do: 9000 Sqft quote @ $900.

I use a rotary machine and it gets the job done great.

Yes, Vacuum before you clean and I am sorry, no don't have your client vacuum 9000 Sqft because it's your job.
No offense but it's your job.

Know brake it down for Time & Cost.

Time: 3 Hours that's how long it would take me.
Cost: $80 product used.

At a $100 an hour it's $300 plus product is $380 your profit is $525 I don't know about you but that's ***** good.




Black2White Carpet Cleaning

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What I would do: 9000 Sqft quote @ $900.

I use a rotary machine and it gets the job done great.

Yes, Vacuum before you clean and I am sorry, no don't have your client vacuum 9000 Sqft because it's your job.
No offense but it's your job.

Know brake it down for Time & Cost.

Time: 3 Hours that's how long it would take me.
Cost: $80 product used.

At a $100 an hour it's $300 plus product is $380 your profit is $525 I don't know about you but that's ***** good.




Black2White Carpet Cleaning

Bid info: 900.00
Prices per sqft 0.10
Time: 3 Hours, 100.00 an Hour.
Cost for product: 80.00 dollars.
100 Percent Profit: 520.00



Black2White Carpet Cleaning

[Ed E]

"Time: 3 Hours that's how long it would take me."

To do this job in 3 hours (pre-vac and cleaning with a rotary) is some outstanding production. While I wouldn't necessarily disagree with quoting at .10/SF, I would caution Northstar about the expectation that this can be done in 3 hours......

[Northstar]

WOW 3 hrs to clean 9000 sft of carpet? What rotary are you using? I don't think I can clean that in 3 hrs. As Ed E mentioned that is some outstanding production. Im more in 5-6 hrs range.