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Hi, all. After all this time, we are just launching our HW floor cleaning service (mailing going out to all customers today). We tried this out at our homes (Jim’s and mine), and are pleased with the results.
Having said that, as we launch this, we are curious about the way you guys are handling things. The questions we have include:
1. How much do you charge? Given that we all have different pricing structures, perhaps tell me what you charge for HW floors and what you charge for carpet cleaning.
2. What term(s) do you use when telling your customers about the service? It is obviously not refinishing. We’re considering calling the service hardwood floor detailing, but are interested in your feedback.
3. How do you ensure that your customers have appropriate expectations? For example, in both Jim’s home and mine we have pre-finished floors. There are scratches an dents in both floors that did not come out – and I would not have expected them to. However, we want to make sure that we inform our customers properly.
4. How do you budget your time for doing the cleaning? For example, I plan on 90 minutes to do a 3 area job (say LR, DR and 1 flight of steps) for carpet cleaning. Given that the number of coats required seems to vary widely, I’m interested in how you budget your time for these jobs.
I think that this covers the big questions. I look forward to hearing from all of you!
Barry
Hey Big B
So we are going to give a go at this next week. I think we are going to price at .79c/sqft to start but I’m going to experiment at my house first. If it goes well we may charge more!
One question, does the wax build up in the grooves between the boards?
Sorry for the remark about the Amex.
D
Dennis,
We’ve only done two, so we’ll await feedback from more experienced users, but I don’t see any evidence of wax buildup.
Barry
Barry,
We charge 50 cents per square foot for cleaning only. We charge $1 per square foot for cleaning and polishing. I use the word polishing most when talking to customers. I have only done 5 or 6 jobs in a couple of years but those went well. It is very hard ot schedule the time. Some floors are nice and go very quickly, some are harder and take longer. A nice floor will take about as much time as carpet for us. 45 to an hour. extra coats will add time waiting for the wax to dry, especially if you do not have additional rooms.
Jamie
Barry, I advertise Hardwood Floor Cleaning and all request I get is for polyurathane. A very easy add-on providing there is no topical coatings like mop and glow or the like. When someone calls I tell them that I can clean and polish their floors for .35/sq ft. and if there are rugs or more furniture than normal then I charge .45.
Ed H.
I charge the same as James when polishing. Double the price of carpet for C & P. I like to try to do a walk through b4 pricing. I sometimes run into old floors that need staples removed, paint drips scraped off, gum and sticky candy stuck down and of course furniture that needs moved. Many variables. When pricing on the phone, I tell them it could be up to $1.50 / sqft depending on the conditions. With carpet cleaning or hardwood, I explain to the customer that time is money and if they would like to save money, here are some things that they can do to save:
Move out as much furniture as they can, sweep debris from the hardwood and remove the paint, staples and gum.The company that I buy my furniture sliders from that I use on carpet have hard surfaces sliders as well. http://www.ezmoves.com
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