$120 in 14 minutes

JohnHawkP

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John Paton
Well just finished a rental with 4 small polypropylene carps and not a mark on them.

The client needed them steam cleaned to get the bond back.

I didn't buff just a prespray and extract.

14 minutes from getting out the van and knocking on the door to job done and everything packed up.

How quick have you guys been?
 
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Jeff T
Just to be clear, you showed up, knocked on the door, greater the customer, mixed prespray, pulled hoses in, presprayed, and wanded out 4 rooms, put all hoses and tools away, in 3 1/2 minutes a room? Is there something I’m not understanding here?
 
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JohnHawkP

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John Paton
Just to be clear, you showed up, knocked on the door, greater the customer, mixed prespray, pulled hoses in, presprayed, and wanded out 4 rooms, put all hoses and tools away, in 3 1/2 minutes a room? Is there something I’m not understanding here?


Freaky I know

I have completed almost 20,000 carpet cleaning jobs and in my 30th year.

The prespray was already mixed and ready to rock.

The client met me at the front door as I approached it and pointed to the rooms as she was on her mobile.

I had another job 9 years ago that took a similar time.

So 10,000 to one where the stars lined up.

Every inch of the carpet was pre sprayed then wanded. The carpet did not have a mark on it and was clean before I started. And the rooms around 10M2 each were off a tile hallway and metres from the front door.

1 was parked a couple of metres from the front door and rolled out one length of vac hose with solution hose attached to it.

I have managed a similar time twice now in 20,000 attempts.

Funny thing was I didn't intend to do the job as quick as that. It just panned out that way.

:icon_rolleyes:
 
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Jimmy L

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Well Rob every job is different and I'm sure you've never done anything like that before?
 
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JohnHawkP

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True splash and dash. I wouldn't dare brag about that.

Hah

I started in 87 as a subcontractor knowing nothing.

I worked for a CC Company in Melbourne allied to Sears and it was called Myers Carpet Cleaning after a premier department store.

We were expected to aggressively upsell and clean fast as we averaged 7 jobs a day luckily with an offsider.

My first month i averaged 10% redos.

I had to keep the speed up and reduce the redos.

Over the next 6 months of averaging 7 jobs a day the redos went to almost zero.

I left them a couple of years later to setup on my own with the experience to work fast and thorough.

I can only recall two redos over the past 29 years. An elderly lady was unsure of the grooming marks in the days I used to groom and the other one was when there was a mysterious mark that only appeared at night. This turned out to be from a lampshade on the ceiling.

My usual process is
Inspect and educate and gauge expectation of client
Prespray
Scrub with Glomesh White
Spot stubborn stains
Extract with Steam
Buff with Bonnet

I have been doing the above process for over 20 years and use it on over 99% of jobs.

If I came across as splash and dash or bragging then that was unintended.

I didn't employ my usual process on that particular job as it only needed a prespray and extraction as it was clean before I started.

It struck me when I finished how quick it took to do and was sharing that experience.
 
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Brad Gouveia
I usually slow down when I get a job like that just to make the customer feel like they got a little bag for the buck. Maybe even check my Iphone here and there to stretch it out. I would have to here I paid you $120 for 15 minutes? Then what do you say.
 
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Cleanworks

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I often have jobs where I am cleaning 1 room only. In my neighborhood it's $120. Otherwise, it's $150. Not worth it to do it for less. Usually, these are in a condo. By the time I park, haul my equipment up the elevator, do the job and pack up, it's still 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes.
 

JohnHawkP

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I usually slow down when I get a job like that just to make the customer feel like they got a little bag for the buck. Maybe even check my Iphone here and there to stretch it out. I would have to here I paid you $120 for 15 minutes? Then what do you say.

Yeah I agree with you.

This was a very rare occurrence.

The lady today was distracted.

The only other time I was super quick that lady certainly questioned it.

But it was a very clean carpet that time and she needed the invoice for her bond refund.
 
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JohnHawkP

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John Paton
I often have jobs where I am cleaning 1 room only. In my neighborhood it's $120. Otherwise, it's $150. Not worth it to do it for less. Usually, these are in a condo. By the time I park, haul my equipment up the elevator, do the job and pack up, it's still 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes.

Yeah I get that.

We have very few condos here and mostly single storey stand alone with their own driveway.

Although I did 1 room for $200 a couple of weeks ago. Right in the middle of the CBD.

I did that after hours and parked on the pavement and ran the hoses up through a window. I felt the carpet was too dirty for VLM.

It took 40 mins to setup and break down and 40 mins for 1 room. It was really bad and the carpet eventually came clean.

I was lucky to not get a ticket.
 
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Mama Fen

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Amy Barnes
Our boss likes to tell an old carpet cleaning joke:

CC heads to a dentist's office to quote a job - two small exam rooms and a reception area. CC tells dentist it'll be about $300. Dentist asks how long it'll take, CC says about an hour. Dentist gets angry and says "$300 for an hour's work? I don't make that kind of money, and I'm a dentist!"

CC calmly replies, "I didn't make that kind of money when I was a dentist either. That's why I clean carpets now."
 

JohnHawkP

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John Paton
Our boss likes to tell an old carpet cleaning joke:

CC heads to a dentist's office to quote a job - two small exam rooms and a reception area. CC tells dentist it'll be about $300. Dentist asks how long it'll take, CC says about an hour. Dentist gets angry and says "$300 for an hour's work? I don't make that kind of money, and I'm a dentist!"

CC calmly replies, "I didn't make that kind of money when I was a dentist either. That's why I clean carpets now."

Love it.

:winky:
 

Jim Williams

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Well I had a job yesterday where I made $125 in 3 hours. Sometimes you gotta work your tail off to make a customer happy. Most of that time was spent scrubbing the boarder of a sisal rug that had been specially cut to fit a porch so I went the extra mile trying to salvage it for the lady. Didn't make much but won over a high end customer. Gave her a price over the phone and like a dummy I just assumed it was regular outdoor carpet. Sometimes you learn the hard way.
 

JohnHawkP

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John Paton
Well I had a job yesterday where I made $125 in 3 hours. Sometimes you gotta work your tail off to make a customer happy. Most of that time was spent scrubbing the boarder of a sisal rug that had been specially cut to fit a porch so I went the extra mile trying to salvage it for the lady. Didn't make much but won over a high end customer. Gave her a price over the phone and like a dummy I just assumed it was regular outdoor carpet. Sometimes you learn the hard way.

It's funny Jim but most ppl would be bored sh*tl%$$ doing that for that long.

But not a pro carpet cleaner.

Btw I heard that dipping the fringe in a mixture of baking soda and peroxide works well.

Never tried it because concerned I would end up owning it if the job went south.
 
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Jim Williams

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It's funny Jim but most ppl would be bored sh*tl%$$ doing that for that long.

But not a pro carpet cleaner.

Btw I heard that dipping the fringe in a mixture of baking soda and peroxide works well.

Never tried it because concerned I would end up owning it if the job went south.

This was a border made of something similar to Sunbrella fabric. It had gotten pretty moldy. She finally gave me permission to just nuke it with the strongest stuff I had because she would just have to have a new rug made for this odd shaped porch so I mixed up some of Cobbs brightener and some sodium percarbonate and threw a hail mary. Dang if it didn't come out looking almost new.
 
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bob vawter

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last time i went to the dentist
he said hold still now
yor gonna feel a little prick in yor mouf....
 

JohnHawkP

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John Paton
This was a border made of something similar to Sunbrella fabric. It had gotten pretty moldy. She finally gave me permission to just nuke it with the strongest stuff I had because she would just have to have a new rug made for this odd shaped porch so I mixed up some of Cobbs brightener and some sodium percarbonate and threw a hail mary. Dang if it didn't come out looking almost new.


You are a brave man

Great call and outcome
 
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