another bid

[Roman Cleaning Services]

first off....whats with these people that don't want you coming to their house that do estimates? kinda makes me wonder. needless to say, i did a phone estimate. 2bd, 1 1/2ba, 3 dogs, she wants laundy (i told her by the hour), here's the catch....no washer and dryer!!! so, she wants one of my ladies to take here clothes to the cleaners, wash, and return. whats the deal? think i underbid. for the regular cleaning i told her $60. i guess this is where that "price increase" clause comes in handy. what would you have bid? did i screw up bad?
I'm thinking $20 an hour for laundry.

[Roman Cleaning Services]

OH CRAP. The situation just got worse. I was sitting here going over her info I got from servicemagic and when we talked she said she wanted WEEKLY service. According to what I just read, she wants it TWICE A WEEK. I gonna have a breakdown in a min. j/k I totally lost now. Someone save the day.

[Kevin]

Some of those Servicemagic leads coming through are also for Housekeepers. That sounds like what she wants, I would call her and go in depth. If she wants a service or keeper, you might end up making dinner a couple of the days too. $60 sounds fair as long as the house is not in to bad of shape, I would then add on a $15 fee for the laundry plus a hourly rate.

[rclllc]

i would only give a rough estimate over the phone until i looked it it. very strange. maybe a competitor is checking you out...

[Kevin]

I always like to do a real good phone conversation, before dedicating time to go to someones house, dedicating time for a bid. A couple of questions we will ask is? What is your budget for cleaning? Have you had a service before? How would you describe the condition of your home? Do you have any special features in your home? Ex: Marble, Stainless. I think a good warm conversation on the phone prior to the estimate also gives that small opportunity of the customer warming up to you, the small hump in the road giving you the extra advantage when it does come time to quote price.
P.S. (not to go off topic) Always ask if there are pets, and if so talk about the pet for a few minutes, people love their animals, and one of the major concerns of all homeowners is how will their pet react to you in the home. I think any home owner would agree, if there is a problem with you and the pet, you'll go first. On this note this reminds me that this might be a nice addition to your website or flyers. Maybe on your website make a page that describes how friendly your service is to pets. My page will be done later this week

[logan5127]

I try my best to never give price over phone. To what is small and simple to the customer may be large and hard to the cleaner. If they insist over the phone I always charge my highest rate possible and tell them that. This way if they are serious and want a lower price they will let me look at the job.

[Kevin]

Dan,
That is something I would disagree with. I think if the customer would insist on the price. Explain an average price, but without seeing the house you can state thats a rough estimate. Your business might be very busy, and you can turn down jobs but to the newbie, they should go one every estimate possible just to gain experience, and get the job. I would almost suggest the newbie on the phone to state the lowest price possible then, when they see the house bid at fair price.

" you do not want to scare the customer with sticker shock"

[logan5127]

Thanks Kevin, I guess I was looking at it from where I am and not where I was when I started. I remember the days of almost paying a customer to do the job. And to; this is just my way of doing business now. Again thanks for your comments.