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I have an operator who called, and asked his state owner, what pricing he should charge, and what are the reasons for charging at these rates? I gave him some advise and told him I would post it here. This is an operator who has had a hard time getting enough work and is not charging enough. Note: he does a great job of cleaning. Can you help out “junior master jeti cleaner ABC”? What do you charge and why?
Gordon
My full rate is $.25 per sf which I charge for jobs less than 300 sf, very soiled carpets, moving all the furniture, and medium jobs where the customer doesn’t want protector. I usually discount it to $.20 and sometimes $.18 if the carpet isn’t very soiled. Protector is priced at $.12 and discounted to $.10. Stain removal that requires addtional labor or special process is extra which varies by the type and size of stain. Hope this helps your guy.
Dear Master Cleaner:
I’ve been doing this for just over 3 years now. In hind site would have done things differently. Brian Sutton’s example is the way to go. He includes protectent on every sale period… I would have followed his example.
I started my pricing out pretty low just hoping to break into the market. I cleaned a lot of dirty places for very low profit. Probably around the .10 per sq ft area.
But over time I have raised prices to now at .20 to .26 per sq ft and when I can sell the protectant for another .12 per sq ft. on top of regular price. (This is for residential areas. Commercial accounts go from .16 to .20 per sq ft.)
Each area has its own characteristics to deal with. What works for the Fargo/Moorhead area may not work for a franchise area in California.
You must decide where you want to be/working what customer level. Be patient with that decision.
Trust the info coming from Gordon. He’s pretty good at what he does.
Best wishes to you!
I am fairly new at this and up here in Alaska, the market is quite a bit different. I usually charge about 35 cents a square foot. I have gone over that once or twice though. The lowest I have ever gone has been about 20 cents and that was because I was new and price matched some apartments. Actually they are the ones that I live in. Still have them and they continue to be profitable for me. I went and cleaned a fellow BNI members home the other day and he had about a thousand square feet of carpet, set of stairs and 50 square feet of wool rug. I charged 33 cents for the cleaning, 3.00/stair, and 17 cents to protect the stairs and hallway. The bill came to 570 dollars. I cringed a little bit when I called him with the price. Much to my surprise, he paused and then said Baden, are you cutting me a deal? I stumbled over my words and said, well, my full rates are at 35 cents a square foot. He really wasn’t saving much at that either. I asked him why he was surprised. He said that Stanly Steemer last year came in and charged him 800 to clean and protect everything I did. Once we figured it out, if I had protected the whole thing, it would have come out to about the same. DON’T JUDGE THEIR ABILITY TO PAY BY YOURS! I have had several customers tell me that I charge too little for the caliber of work that I do. BE BRAVE.
This is true, I include protector in the price no matter who or where. In 2005, I was unable to sell protector to 7 customers (most of them home sellers). So far this year, I’ve missed 2 (also home sellers). It’s really a very simple concept. When a customers calls for a quote, I tell them that I charge by the sq.ft. as I feel this is the fairest for my customers. This gains intant trust and respect. I can usually retrieve approximate room sizes from the customer on the phone. (example) Say they have 500 sqft, I calculate the price, figure the percentage discount (example 15%) and say, “Maam, my current special is 15% off to clean and stain protect, therefore, at 15% off to clean and stain protect 500 sqft, the price would be $212.50 plus tax. This is usually where the price conversation ends, but, If she says ” How much would it be w/out the stain protector? I then figure the cleaning price with no discount because my special is 15% off to clean and protect. I tell her to clean only it will run $175.00 plus tax, so, for only $37.50 more, you can get the whole thing stain protected. Works almost every time. (This is why I like to run %off specials). Even after I quote the price w/ protector, some ask if I apply “scotchgaurd or whatever?” I then get to tell them “Yes, it is already included in the price”. My base price to clean and protect is 50 cents / sqft. for residential and 30 cents commercial. Note: Upholstery works the same way. My average invoice for last month was $209.00
My average invoice for last month was $209.00[/quote]
That’s great! How many jobs a week you do?
Standard Rates;
Carpet cleaning = .34-.44/sqft
Protectant = .10-.18/sqft
(protectant for upholstery usually 1/2 of cleaning price)
Stairs = $60 flat rate
Couch = $100-120
L/S = $80-100
Recliner/LgChair = $60Commercial Jobs = I do an on-site inspection, usually is determined on amount of time required to clean, condition of carpet & frequency.
Our current min charge is $125. The only specials we run are; 10% off for Seniors, Teachers, Government Staff, Chamber. Also, 10% off if cleaning carpet & upholstery at same time.
So, these prices are derived primarly from compitition, time involved, experience, cost of operation, or amount of cleaning being done? Good looks?… customers or yours? How about some thoughts…
Yes!
Laura,
Do you guys take into consideration the space under the furniture? If a room is 110 sq ft but half is covered…do you only charge 50 sq ft?
Ron:
We measure the entire room. We move items such as; couches, chairs, coffee tables, night stands and other small items. Although we do not move beds, we normally vacuum underneath (providing they have cleared space). By the time we are done with the detailed cleaning and moving of items, we are practically cleaning most of the living space. This has worked well in our area.
Hey Gordon good question thanks for asking it, I learned a few things this morning!
When it comes to most furniture to be moved fine. I think we are all okay with that. When it comes to entertainment centers, piano’s, desks, filling cabinets, or china hutches, I say “my insurance does not cover that unless all things are removed from it”. So, I guess piano’s are out. I only charge what I clean. I give a discount if they remove all furniture in the areas to be cleaned. Any other suggestions?
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