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Mark I do appreciate the info and for the most part I agree with what you stated, but as far as the seminar goes it was not a carpet cleaning seminar is was just a round robin sort of group I belong to (no cost, other then traveling expenses that each member pays for themselves) and I find that much of the info the guys give out to be very good. The whole reason I mention the low price is just to hear peoples opinions and to hear what if anything people have done with Heaven’s Best and low pricing. It appears that most everyone on here wants to be the higher priced carpet cleaner but I guess I was trying to see if anyone has ever tried the opposite and actually lowered the prices and if so did it make up in volume for the lower prices. The example of 5 rooms for $99 by Ken’s company is not a low price bait and switch type of business, they have such a huge volume and so many trucks going out per day that they are able to route with stops being only a few blocks apart for the guys most everyday and that fact alone saves him a ton of money. I know for a fact that as a single truck operator that I am traveling around too much and burning more gas (cash) then I should be. As far as my current pricing goes I did exactly what you suggested and have stayed with it from the start.
I really appreciate the comments each of you have made as you discussed this topic. What is right for one person, may not be right for another. The key is finding what is right for you and your situation. I feel there are basically two ways to increase your business. # 1 is to make more profit on each job. That means you ask for more work from the customer you are currently cleaning. Giving a greater discount for additional work to an existing customer can really be a win-win situation. When you leave they are praising you for saving them so much money. When you leave you have more money in your pocket. #2 is to get more customers. This requires marketing of one kind or another. Commercial accounts usually use us because we have sought them out and asked for their work. We explain and show the benefit to them for using us.
I feel it is very important to maximize the effectiveness of each van. There is no sense in letting your van and equipment sleep in the garage from 5:00pm to 8:00am the next morning. Unlike us humans, your van and equipment do not need to sleep. You have already paid for the van, equipment, insurance, logo wrap, products, etc. To me it makes great sense to keep that van and equipment running 20-22 hours a day rather than 6-10 hours a day. This can only be accomplished with employees.
A lot of our international seminar in Orlando in March 2012 will address these issues. It will address why and how to get commercial accounts on a regular maintenance program rather than just a once a year restorative cleaning. Most of our operators have a lot of territory and yet they are trying to cover the entire area with just the owner and one van. All of our operators have so much more potential than they are capitalizing on. Our operators need employees to move their business past a certain level.
In regards to the pricing structure, either way can work, but Most of our guys will prefer a higher rather than a lower pricing structure. You will get better quality of customer if you are not playing the low ball game.
I have found people pay based upon their expectation level, employees, services, etc. For example: I wouldn’t pay $3 plus oil for an oil change. I don’t buy a 99 cent hamburger at a gas station. It is true, McDonald’s sells the most hamburgers of any chain. So, do you know of anybody that’s proud to work there over the age of 20? Would you rather work at Texas Road House? At which place would you get paid better? Which place gets better tips? Would you feel good about being a slum lord? Or how about working for Donald Trump?
It’s not really about profit as much as it is about “quality of life” and who you chose to spend it with. Am I right?
You can’t expect to get quality at minimum wage. I don’t need a full time chemist doing my finish work. I don’t mean to bash any one, or demean. It’s like this…
I choose not to spend my time with cheap… Cheap car (not dependable), Cheap date (air head) (PS My wife is my 27 1/2 years my better half!), cheap employees (no drive for quality), cheap customers (why can’t you get the 25 year old carpet looking like new? The last guy did 12 years ago!!! And you call yourself a professional?). I will choose quality. I choose Heaven’s Best!Hey, Sorry I didn’t realize there was a page two. My previous comments were based upon the 1st page.
I think Gordon has hit the nail on the head, Quality of Life is what it’s all about.
I’ve pondered this for days. In the Heaven’s Best Mission Statement, the first paragraph says something to the effect- To provide the best cleaning the customer has ever had. So often the quality of cleaning decreases with employees and therefore the biggest concern. Owner operators feel it is a hard adjustment to trust someone with their livelihood. The fact of the matter is, it’s more about checks and balances then it is about trust. There are a lot of ingredients to success. Three main ones are Getting appointments, Service the appointments, and Quality Control. These are fundamental! Very successful people KNOW WHAT THEY WANT! Learn everything they need to DO and BE to be successful and DO IT! Others simply DON”T.
Greg, the answer to how to do less travel is in the getting appointments. It would be cost and time effective to hire the salesman to book appointments in the same neighborhood for the whole day. call me and we can discuss a plan! (541)975-9456.
im wondering how big some of your areas are ,and what is your population you service we have about 40k and by base rate is .30 per sq.ft my crew is myself and one fulltime guy with a few that can help out on large commercial jobs . you have to make some pretty tough decisions ,but at the end of the day you have to be comfortable with your choice . i hate the room special game ,but that’s just me!
Back to the multi-truck when?
I am on my 9th year and back to being a single person operation. My 4 year employee quit just over a year ago and I’ve elected to fly solo for a while. With an employee, I ran two vans, myself in one and Tortoise Tom in the other. The problem was the obvious. It is very hard to make money with a lazy employee. In my operation, I needed $600/day from each van to run a slightly profitable business. My employee was only capable of $400. I now average over $800/day myself with much less expense and anger. The volume of work I am doing is too much to continue on my own and plan to add a helper next spring. It has been fun trying to better my best on my own. When do we add employees? When we are worn out or when we want to run a business rather than simply creating a job for ourselves.
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