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I own a license to use the cherubs and I have been using them up until the new logo set came out. I still like them, and they have done well by me, but our new look is much better, I think.
I want to make clear that I still love the purpose of the seminar and the new direction of the franchise, but it’s not right to spring these fees on us in November when we were initially told to have made our reservations by the end of October. I also want to be clear that I don’t think it is unreasonable to require a fee for a convention. However, to ask for it after the reservations have been made for room and airfare is poor form.
We’ve never had to use a contract with property management companies for apartments. Typically, you’ll agree to rates and they’ll call you when service is needed. There really isn’t a need for a contract.
When your service is completed at the job site, you have the on-site manager sign your invoice detailing the charges, you keep the original signatured invoice and give them the copy, and that is your contract.
Dump the sales rep and buy locally! Even 2-3 weeks is too long to wait. Just understand that this isn’t something that our franchise can control. You made a wise investment in this franchise, but realize that it is usually best to make things happen yourself and not rely on arrangements that you have very little control of.
Good luck and I hope to meet you in Vegas.
Hey Greg.
The uniforms are good. No problems, good comments from customers.
I would hold off on the signs, however until you get a 100% guarantee that Sign-A-Rama has their act together and you have an installer that can do it properly. With an expensive purchase like this, I would call Cody directly to see what the best course of action is. Make no mistake, just because someone bought a sign franchise, doesn’t make them qualified to install these logos.
ALWAYS CARRY A PUMP SPRAYER! Redundency is essential! You never know with these machines what is going to happen. Otherwisw, these guys are giving good advice.
Ron, Time to Hire help.
Andrew, I’m a big proponent of including protector in everything you do and not as an upsell.
For instance, my local Chem Dry competitors are charging approx 25 cents per sq ft and upselling protector, like you are, for about 12 to 15 cents. I’m sure they get some takers on the protector, but I know they don’t get it as often as I do–100% of the time.
My rate is 30 cents per sq ft and protector is always included. This way I’m competitively priced, however, I’m giving the customer a better value. I’m making an extra 5 cents on every sq ft that we clean and it doesn’t give the customer the opportunity to say no. Also, by giving the value added service, we feel that it helps our retention rate. When our customers compare apples to apples, we’re a better value.
When we started including protector, our average job went from approx. $145 to approx. $180 without having to upsell anything.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I didn’t think we were the only ones who kept the originals.
As for the electronic scheduling, The main problem that I’ve seen with the PDA is that it’s difficult to see multiple days at once and navigate the schedule as easy as it is with the good old fashioned book. I haven’t used a new PDA in a while though. I recently found a scheduling program that works with our Quickbooks program called QXpress I think. Anyway, I’mm hoping before too long there will be a program out there that is just as eay to navigate as “the book”.
Sorry to chime in Late.
I operate a huge area of well over 1.5 million people. All that means is that yellow pages are more expensive and we use more fuel.
Our first 12 months we did just over $55k with only 6 months of yellow pages. We knew we were going to flounder for a bit until we got some YP ads out to support any mailings or inserts that we did. Our first calendar year we did just over $84k with 8 months of yp ads. We just finished our second 12 months and did just over $110k. If you count just yellow page months, our first year was just over $91k and our second full year of yellow pages is on pace to be somewhere in the $140k range. Our second calendar year should be around the $120k range.
My point is that it’s great to know where your at and where you’re heading. There are also different ways to measure your growth when you’re starting up.
I’ve always set volume goals daily, weekly and monthly to reach our benchmarks annually. Set goals, plan how to reach those goals, and remember them with every call that comes in. Sometimes you’ll find yourself taking that less than desireable job to make your daily or weekly mark.
I’m with Ron. Quick Boost and lots of pads.
We used to use FAE, except for the FA portion of the equation took too long. We pre-mix the QB, standard dwell time and you’re on your way.
I’ve been considering a washer at home. I too use commercial machines at the laundy matt. I havn’t actively been searching, but I did run across a guy at a show that talked to me briefly about leasing a commercial machine for about $75 a month. Anybody know anything about that?
We send out mailings to all of our lists at least 3 times per year highlighting our services. This seems to get a great retention rate. When customers ask, I usually tell them if they’re in an active home to have it done every 6-8 months or when they’re sick of looking at it. The beauty of our system is that it doesn’t adversly affect the backing of the carpet so it can be done much more often than a steam clean. We can come in and make it look almost new again as often as they want.
