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Less For This, More For That?
#1
From time to time I come across posts in which cleaners claim they charge less for VLM cleaning and more for HWE.

Why would a cleaner charge less for encap?

Seems to me that from a commercial clients perspective encapping offers some benefits that HWE cannot provide - again especially in a business setting.

Not trying to start a method debate (I don't think it matters much in this context), just want to figure out the reasoning behind the pricing.
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#2
In commercial setting each method has its place. Encap is great interim maintenance that keeps client's carpet bright and unmuted year round. However in some cases soil load gets to be heavy and a good flushing is needed annually. Thats where the HWE comes in.

Now to HWE 50,000 s.f. is a lotta work every 3 months. So one would charge accordingly, and could lose the bid. Too High!

Encap is such a breeze for 50,000 square feet. Plus you get superior results, plus you can bid an economical rate and win the account with high productivity. Wow the client! Your happy with the rate you charge. WIN WINSmile
Cleaner Carpet. Cleaner Planet.

If you value life
Do not squander time.
Time is the stuff life is made of.
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#3
Without getting into a debate re; pricing, I'll wave a red flag and say that some premises, (such as what I have just booked in for their yearly clean), that are maintained well, STILL DON'T require a HWE, or good flushing.

This particular client that I have had now for about eight years, has their two levels of carpet vacuumed well every working day.

Every three months, I go through and do a spot check, whether it needs it or not. ;-)

Each six months, traffic lanes are Encapped;


As an experiment a couple of years ago, they got in an up market carpet cleaner to clean a section.

The day after he had finished, they got me to Encap; a similar area.

Then they got me to go over the area cleaned by the other bloke.

All of my clients have expressed their desire for me to only Encap; NOT HWE, even though I have explained that this step should be done periodically.

Maintenance of the carpet in between cleans is very important in my mind.



As an aside to this, the building manager of this high rise property, now gets me for all of their carpet & upholstery cleaning whenever possible.

L.A.T.W.T.T.B. :-)
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#4
(11-03-2012, 03:22 AM)Cairnswun Wrote: All of my clients have expressed their desire for me to only Encap; NOT HWE, even though I have explained that this step should be done periodically.


L.A.T.W.T.T.B. :-)

I have always been of the opinion the encap either traps the soil which is removed by vacuum or it doesn't. I have several clients who have never had HWE. The carpets are beautiful, no traffic lanes (yet), and no sticky funk.
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#5
(11-03-2012, 08:01 AM)britelifecc Wrote:
(11-03-2012, 03:22 AM)Cairnswun Wrote: All of my clients have expressed their desire for me to only Encap; NOT HWE, even though I have explained that this step should be done periodically.


L.A.T.W.T.T.B. :-)

I have always been of the opinion the encap either traps the soil which is removed by vacuum or it doesn't. I have several clients who have never had HWE. The carpets are beautiful, no traffic lanes (yet), and no sticky funk.

Is that why you selling your SD?
Cleaner Carpet. Cleaner Planet.

If you value life
Do not squander time.
Time is the stuff life is made of.
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#6
[/quote]

Is that why you selling your SD?
[/quote]

Yes. Encap does a deep down, good job of cleaning carpet. A crb, which is what I use, pulls soil out of the carpet.

I think a well trained professional can do just as good job with a Steamin Demon, but he's got to believe in what he's doing.
  Reply   Purge Spammer
#7
I would price encap the same as HWE. What I've come to understand is that many cleaners price encap lower because they feel that encap is somehow a "lesser level" of cleaning or is in some way inferior to HWE. One example is the comment above that HWE is more work. While I understand the point of view and certainly agree that HWE is more work, I choose to price my jobs by results rather than physical effort - and I've always gotten just as good results (if not better) with encap as I ever did with HWE.

As for the old debate of "where the dirt goes" or "you're just moving the dirt around" - I took part in this debate for several years. These days I simply don't care. The fact is that I'm happy with what I'm doing and, more importantly, my customers are extremely happy with what I'm doing. That's why they keep me coming back. We can all sit for years and argue the validity, legitimacy and effectiveness of one method over another. Over the course of those years of arguing, I'll still be cleaning the same accounts with superior results and no adverse effects to show up in that entire time. And my customers still won't care which of us wins the argument because their carpet looks great, smells great and performs great.

HWE extraction is excellent with the right person behind the wand. Encap is excellent with the right person behind the scrubber. Choose whatever method works best for you and your customers.

But base your prices on the results and service you deliver, not the amount of sweat you lose.

(As a side note, I've always thought that if a carpet cleaner is charging less for encap because he/she feels that encap is inferior or less effective, then why are they offering a service they don't believe in?)
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#8
David, I completely agree with you. Well said.
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#9
(11-05-2012, 06:56 PM)David Edwards Wrote: ...

HWE extraction is excellent with the right person behind the wand. Encap is excellent with the right person behind the scrubber. Choose whatever method works best for you and your customers.

But base your prices on the results and service you deliver, not the amount of sweat you lose.

(As a side note, I've always thought that if a carpet cleaner is charging less for encap because he/she feels that encap is inferior or less effective, then why are they offering a service they don't believe in?)

Bravo!
  Reply   Purge Spammer
#10
Great post. Pretty much sums it up, imo.
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#11
It is good to explain what you do and why for the customer .
I have never found it wise to discuss method with the customer for too long.
It would be like the surgeon having to justify what kind of scalpel he is planning to use.
You deliver clean carpet. How you get it there is your business.
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#12
I agree 100% - well said Lee! Smile
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