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I’ve been out of training for just under two weeks and have finally decided to really firm up my pricing. I know, I know. I can be a slow learner at times 😀 . I really like the idea of setting all of my pricing by the square footage. I want to be able to balance my routine as much as possible between commercial and residential and want to have a universal pricing structure. It’s also the standard that’s been employed by my HB neighbor in my town and it’s worked really well for him. Yeah, I’ve been mooching off of a lot of Jim Wilson’s ideas. I owe him a lot for taking the time to try to help me avoid a lot of his earlier mistakes. Anyways, back to what I was saying. I do move the furniture for my residential customers. Should I still estimate a reduction in total sq. footage cleaned for items that I will not move. Granted the things that take up most of the room like the sofas, loveseats, coffee tables, recliners, and so on I will move so they can get the most sq. footage cleaned. The things I won’t move are like a loaded entertainment center or cabinets that may contain family heirlooms or other such breakables. I’m just not getting involved with that kind of potential risk and liability. If I should deduct that out is there a set percentage that some of you would employ instead of measuring out each piece of furniture that is not moved. Does the fact that I move the other pieces of furniture at no extra charge justify me in charging for the entire sq. footage? I really want to give all of my customers honest value, but I don’t want to get into the tedious routine of trying to measure out one or two pieces and deducting. I want to leave feeling not only like I didn’t rip them off, but that I streamlined the job for myself as much as possible at the same time. I know, I want my cake and I want to eat it too! I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.
Dan,
Unfortunately there is really no easy answer for that one in my opinion. I subtract out everything by either measuring it. Most couches/beds/etc are the same size, so you get quick after a while. I know some just take the overall number and then take a percentage off of it to factor the area of the furniture not being moved. Others charge for the full area as they feel the time spent going around furniture slows you down and justifies it. See what works for ya and go with it. I have yet to ever have anyone question my measurements, so I wouldn’t worry on that aspect too much. If you want to give the customer a fair price, do whatever method allows you to sleep best at night.
On a similar, but separate note, just an FYI that everyone’s idea of what “moving/cleaning under some furniture” consists of is different. In my experience, the elderly seem to want EVERY piece of furniture moved and cleaned under (even piano’s and china hutches sometimes) when they mention on the phone they want you to clean under the furniture. Just had one of those today. Thank god he didn’t want me to move the organ…..it was a FULL organ and the pipes were located in 2 adjoining rooms behind the main part. Never seen that before in a house.
I appreciate the feedback. I guess what you’re saying is that the most important thing is to do what I feel the most comfortable with. We do, after all, provide a full-service cleaning experience for our customer so I shouldn’t be as overly concerned as I am. It’s just that owning a business is new to me and charging customers is really new. It’s not bad it’s just different. I just don’t want to get into ‘nickel and diming’ my customers or short-changing myself by making my time more tedious than it has to be. Don’t get me wrong I’m in it to make top dollar because I truly believe that we demand of ourselves the utmost in customer satisfaction. My customers will expect nothing short of the best and I fully intend to be well compensated for it. I guess the main thing is it doesn’t really matter how I price as long as it’s done straightforward with no surprises. None of that really matters if I don’t set the proper expectations from the start and that begins with the phone call. Properly prescreening every customer is the key. I think that is what you’re saying and I see the logic in it. Thanks. I guess I’ll just have to see.
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