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Lately I have been charging $79.00 for 3 rooms cleaned and been getting low end people. Today I cleaned a really nasty condo that I had to climb up 3 flights of stairs to get to. I want to start charging by the Sq Ft now like most of the operators in Florida. Do any of you have any sample ads that I can see to get an idea how to run a Sq Ft charge ad next month. I also want to start cleaning boats , cars, trucks and rv’s anything to get more work as I have more time now that my son is starting daycare. How do you give Sq Ft pricing on the phone without scaring customers away? Thank You All
I price by sq ft, but still have to translate to a “per room” cost for most folks in my area. For some reason the sq ft pricing confuses people here. So, when I run a special, I put a price point (i.e. 3 rm for $89) but I also add in “up to 200 sq ft max per area.” I get better responses that way as to advertising a sq ft price.
When someone wants a price quote on the phone, I explain that my rates are typically x amount per sq ft and try to give them a rough price point number based on the info they give me over the phone. I also let them know that I will measure everything out and let them know up front what the exact price is prior to the actual cleaning.
For the most part, this has worked pretty well for me.
The funny thing is that even though my add may say 3 rm for $89, in most cases I actually end up making more with that special than I would if I were to clean according to the exact measurements. This is because most of the rooms do not reach my “200 sq ft max area limit.” It seems crazy, but the folks around here respond to the price point and not the sq ft ads, even though the sq ft ads are a better bargain for the customer…Go figure… ❓
Switching to s/ft. You may find that your spending a lot of gas dollars bidding for jobs that don’t except.
Also, your creating a hassle for propective clients. They have to pull out a tape measure to figure out what your going to charge them.I’m priced by the room. And I don’t charge to clean the closet or the first hall. By the way, I’m 3 rooms $100.00
This is a fast paced world. People want the bottom line answer.
most people have an Idea of of many square feet there whole house is. then you ask them “what percentage of that would you say you needed cleaned, keeping in mind the furniture that we don’t move” I am usualy winthin 15 dollars, and try to always hit the high side. Youll get enough experence if you haven’t already 😀 and know when people are way out in left feild. hope this helps
ok thanks guys guess im sticking with the price per room with a max sq foot charge in the fine print and get my foot in the door first dont want to press my luck and yeah people do understand the 3 room deals alot better i see now 😀
Where do I start.
I think it is best to concentrate on whats excepted in your area. If almost everybody goes by room size, go by room size. The same is true for sf. charging. You have to find the balance between you and and the customer.
I have always charged by the room. For me it just made it easier to work with easy numbers. Every city has different methods and what works for me might not next door.
I charge $50 for the first room and $30 everything after. I do this because that first room is going to be larger than the bedrooms. If it gets to big I might charge a half room or for two rooms. Just because there is not a door in between the dinning room and the family room it still counts as two. We don’t charge for reg. size hallways, but if it gets to big we have the option. I don’t have a max size, but I dont have a min for a room either. If it is to big tell them that these are for normal size rooms and they are lucky enough to have over sized rooms. I have cleaned many bedrooms that were just around the bed for $30( 50sq. ft). It seems to all work out to charge by thr sq. ft. My first job that I measured was a nightmare. By the time I figured out sq. ft. Took off for furniture. And had to check my math I think I made $78.46.
Since las Vegas we are changing are prices to include Fab. Protector. $50 per room and $3 per stair. Every one gets a spotter bottle for free. Under $130 is the small over is the large. I have all the labels on the bottles ready to go. Our cost for the bottle is a lot cheaper than most forms of advertisinglike franchise express/phone book.
We do bot. Which might sound a little weird. $20 for traffic areas in bedrooms and $25 for the master. Every thing else is per sq. ft. I feel it is to use and to the customer and works well for our area. If the house is empty then all by sq. ft. One thing that I don’t like about sq. ft. is people say that they have a 3000 sq. ft. house and only the kitchen and bathrooms aren’t carpet. That would put it over $600. When people ask the price I get what exactly each room is and if there normal size or not. Tell them that it is not an exact amount. I rarely have to give residential estimates. Yes it is a little more work but maybe adding on 5 minutes to each job. The digatape works fast and is accurate. You’ll get the good and fast at it. This works for our area and is fair and I not charging $50 for 11X12 sq.ft. bedroom. We charge for what we clean.
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