Rug cleaning pricing- what can you charge?

[Chet]

I think this interesting, I saw this rug in a clients home when inspecting some other work. Our competitor cleaned this rug and I know that they get 1.00 a foot to clean and 1.00 for every additional topical treatment they sell and apply to it. The little tags stapled to it are each worth $1.00 additional per square foot. This rug apparently was cleaned for about $7.00 per square foot. They have a system where a salesperson calls every client and tries to sell them additional services and as you can see they have a very good salesperson.

We can all charge more than what we are charging and the customers are ok with it as long as you perform a great service. I see a lot of these flag tags on my competitors rugs all the time , this is not an isolated incident.

This photo shows the rug with the tag attached.


This photo shows close up of how many additional tags it has on it.

 

[Mikey P]

1.protector
2. moth treatment
3. flame retardant
4. main area repair
5. color correction
6.fringe repair
7. blessed by the Pope?

 

[ruff]

From previous threads & discussion on this board, don't they call it "added value" in Detroit?

 

[Cleanworks]

If you are providing a beneficial service t the customer, I see nothing wrong with that. Fiber protector looks great. I don't know if ther is a true moth proofing agent. We us a moth larva killing agent and that is applied 3 day before cleaning. Urine treatment is fine to charge for but flame proofing is a rip off on the wool carpet. Repairs are always extra but you have to balance the cost with the cost of replacement. I have several firms here that start at $4.50 psqft for a wool rug and climb from there.

 

[rhyde]

Which color represents the ....Happy Finish?

 

[Mikey P]

Didn't Dusty use to charge for running an OP over a dry rug for Fluffing purposes?

 

[Brian H]

I think this interesting, I saw this rug in a clients home when inspecting some other work. Our competitor cleaned this rug and I know that they get 1.00 a foot to clean and 1.00 for every additional topical treatment they sell and apply to it. The little tags stapled to it are each worth $1.00 additional per square foot. This rug apparently was cleaned for about $7.00 per square foot. They have a system where a salesperson calls every client and tries to sell them additional services and as you can see they have a very good salesperson.

We can all charge more than what we are charging and the customers are ok with it as long as you perform a great service. I see a lot of these flag tags on my competitors rugs all the time , this is not an isolated incident.

Now now Chet, all you had to do is call and I could have explained it all for you. Your post almost makes you sound jealous.

Yep, there are a lot of flags on that tag. It's a 5' x 7'10" silk (kind of funny since the customer's last name is Silk) Turkish Herekey with an appraised value of $8500. It was noted as being heavily damaged with urine when it was brought in.

The cleaning price on that rug was $156.00 less 25% for them bringing it in or $117.00.

Flags:

1. Protosil- soil and stain protection $24.99
2. Deodorizer $12.99
3. Microban disinfectant $19.99
4. Specialty stain removal for urine stains $95.00
5. Appraisal $75.00
6. Pad $66.00
7. Special Handling (silk rug) Included in price

For the cleaning, odor treatment, specialty stain removal and stain protection of that 39.5 square foot silk rug = $269.97

Of course the padding and appraisal are elected and have nothing to do with the cleaning.

All those services were discussed and agreed upon at the time the customer dropped them of in our Birmingham showroom. The only system we have to call and offer additional services is done by our pick-up and delivery crew when the customer is not home at time of pick-up.

Chet, what do you charge to do the same type of work?

Also if you have any ideas on how we could improve our services, I am open to suggestions.

 

[Mikey P]

Protosil?

 

[Brian H]

Did I put Protosil, my mistake it's Protasil!!

Our name for a solvent based soil and stain protection.

 

[Mikey P]

Oh...I thought you were offering hemorrhoid treatments for rugs..

 

[Brian H]

Oh...I thought you were offering hemorrhoid treatments for rugs..

What do you think we could charge for that?

 

[Ron K]

I don't understand the $1.00 for cleaning is?

 

[Chris A]

Yeah looks more like $4 minus the 25% lug yer rug discount, still almost $3/ft

 

[The Great Oz]

Our price would have been $346.40, not including appraisal. Seattle is an expensive place to do business though, so the profit margin may be close.

Brian, we're going to start using a tag printer, and I like the idea of attaching "flags." What are the flags made of?

 

[Cleanworks]

Now now Chet, all you had to do is call and I could have explained it all for you. Your post almost makes you sound jealous.

Yep, there are a lot of flags on that tag. It's a 5' x 7'10" silk (kind of funny since the customer's last name is Silk) Turkish Herekey with an appraised value of $8500. It was noted as being heavily damaged with urine when it was brought in.

The cleaning price on that rug was $156.00 less 25% for them bringing it in or $117.00.

Flags:

1. Protosil- soil and stain protection $24.99
2. Deodorizer $12.99
3. Microban disinfectant $19.99
4. Specialty stain removal for urine stains $95.00
5. Appraisal $75.00
6. Pad $66.00
7. Special Handling (silk rug) Included in price

For the cleaning, odor treatment, specialty stain removal and stain protection of that 39.5 square foot silk rug = $269.97

Of course the padding and appraisal are elected and have nothing to do with the cleaning.

All those services were discussed and agreed upon at the time the customer dropped them of in our Birmingham showroom. The only system we have to call and offer additional services is done by our pick-up and delivery crew when the customer is not home at time of pick-up.

Chet, what do you charge to do the same type of work?

Also if you have any ideas on how we could improve our services, I am open to suggestions.

I think that is a really decent price, especially with the reputation you have. I was in one of my customer's home and they had a 6x8 silk rug cleaned by one of our local rug cleaners and they charged $800.00 without having to remove urine or any serious stains. They badly distorted the fiber as well. The rug was valued at aprox $8000.00. These people have a rug duster/washer/centrifuge/etc. but obviously don't know how to use the equipment. The only thing I would question about your pricing is you charged separately for deodorizer, microban, stain removal. Wouldn't it be better to roll that into one category and charge one lump sum?

 

[Chet]

Didn't Dusty use to charge for running an OP over a dry rug for Fluffing purposes?

Brian, I was jealous. I try to get my technicians to charge more for rugs all the time and explain the benefits of topical treatments and the necessity of urine treatment on 98% of the rugs we clean. I also want everyone else here to know that you can, and should charge for your services and the customers are willing to pay, (if you give them a reason too). Most cleaners undervalue their services.

We used to only offer a full service charge and customers always said that we charged a lot more than you, but over the years we changed to a system more like yours, it gives the customers options and makes us competitively priced on the base cleaning. Then it's up to us and the customer to decide what options they want or need.

 

[Chet]

Wrong quote came up. I was trying to use Brian H. post.
By the way we have Al-a -cart pricing and full service. Alacart = $2.00 foot and Full service is $4.00 per foot.
They can add other additional services like repairs, Rug pad and other labor intensive services like blocking.

 

[Brian H]

Our price would have been $346.40, not including appraisal. Seattle is an expensive place to do business though, so the profit margin may be close.

Brian, we're going to start using a tag printer, and I like the idea of attaching "flags." What are the flags made of?

They are printed on Permafiber paper. The only real issue we have is that they occasionally discontinue certain colors.

 

[rhyde]

Didn't Dusty use to charge for running an OP over a dry rug for Fluffing purposes?

What was that machine He was pushing the rug finisher with the square pad on it?

 

[Mikey P]

Orbitec I'm sure..

 

[Ron K]

Brian,
So how long did it take to Hand Wash?
Or did you put it through your Moore Machine?

 

[Mikey P]

Mor.

 

[T Monahan]

Floor sander with a pad on it. The finisher!!

 

[Brian H]

Brian,
So how long did it take to Hand Wash?
Or did you put it through your Moore Machine?

I am not sure about that particular rug, but many silks are put through the Mor machine. They require a lot of hand grooming afterwards though.

 

[Ron K]

So about 2 minutes washing? I heard they can process about 8'-10' per minute.
Brian,
If you get a Tumbler from Tom Monihan you'll process them better and faster. Although not all rugs can go in the tumbler with a little experience you'll be amazed at the final quality.

 

[T Monahan]

Let's face it, dusting out the dry soil saves time on the wash floor and improves the end product. Sometimes post dusting helps too.

 

[Nate The Great]

What was that machine He was pushing the rug finisher with the square pad on it?

Yorkster500...

Post dusting does help too...

 

[T Monahan]

ARCS emphasizes the standard for rug care to be offsite and in-plant so one can appropriately dust, wash, dry and finish.

 

[Ron K]

ARCS emphasizes the standard for rug care to be offsite and in-plant so one can appropriately dust, wash, dry and finish.

Been doing that from the start ! Are there people that don't?

 

[Mikey P]

Please define a proper finish process.