Why hasn't anyone created a 20+ truck co. that...

[Mikey P]

.... actually does great work?


Is there a market somewhere that would be willing to pay enough so the techs could take their time?


Will there ever be a 30 truck company that pre vacs, pre sprays, aggitates, rinses and speed drys?

Is there a city with enough people that not only know quality but are willing to pay for it?

 

[Jeremy]

San Jose?

 

[Mikey P]

You would think.

 

[Jimmy L]

No


This line of work only attracts the lower end trailer trash .......as employees.


Or EX-military in a transitional phase to become acclimated to the REAL world. And then they find out they don't want to work that hard and find
a security guard position.

 

[Ken Snow]

According to our customers in the Detroit we are doing it every day at 28 trucks. What others in the industry thinks of us is of little to no concern.

Ken

 

[adamh]

I feel you have to settle for good when growing big. One maybe two employees can produce the top clean we are doing. After that quality will have to suffer.

There is only one 5 truck company in our area and he does apartments and low end stuff.

I think owning 2 companies would cover all areas. 2-3 trucks with high paid Techs doing very high end work. The other company would be better than most but still cheap with blast and dash. The 2 companies could refer each other. The high end people would be sent to the one and the cheap low ball people could be sent tot the other.

About 5 years ago I thought I would do the 3 different package deals.

1. Basic
2. Silver
3. Gold

The first day (and only day) I did that I cleaned for a lady that when offered she went for the cheap deal. When I got home that night one of my good custys ( that had referred her) called me and said " hey Adam I told my friend what a good cleaner you are and her carpets is still a little damp, what the heck, you getting lazy?" The person I cleaned for never cared to tell her friend she only paid for the basic clean, no speed drying.

I think that type of thing can damage a companies reputation. I think its high end or "better than most." You can't have it both ways. IMO

I am sure Ken runs a top notch company, but NO WAY his guys are doing the clean that I know my custys are getting. I am sure Ken settle for "better than most." But at the end of the day who has more money in their pocket. Ken or me. I am sure its Ken and he isn't breaking his back
sucking rugs like I am.

I don't know how I could ever learn to let go enough but "better than most" is where the money and less stress is really at.

 

[Ken Snow]

Jimmy- I have no employees who are trailer trash and they would highly resent that implication. They are professionals, well paid and live better than most carpet cleaning company owners I believe.

 

[Greenie]

The problem is customers don't really know the difference between clean and really clean, just as long as it looks better and doesn't smell.

You would do better to be a marketing company that cleans, with some clean cut young motivated techs than actual cleaning gods.

Just look at the successful business models, they are just that.

Stanley Steemer has a loyal repeat customer base in some cities, and when you ask them why Stanley, they will straight up tell you, we like to get the carpet cleaned twice a year, and it's under a hundred bucks, and they are quick. It's not Mikey's market, but it's a big market.

 

[hogjowl]

EXCELLENT thread, Mike!

Let's be honest here. There is a serious disconnect between what a customer expects, and what BB cleaners think they want. Folks like Ken understand that.

Idiots like the rest of us just keep posting.

 

[Mikey P]

I agree with Adam in that Packages are the sure fire way to ruin your reputation.




Ken,

Do you take the same approach with your inplant rug cleaning?

Wack em out as cheap as possible or do you take your time and charge top dollar?

I've heard more then once that your On Location department is there only to keep the rugs and the real money flowing in.

True?

 

[-JB-]

Why not?

one word.

egomaniacs.

Mommy's special little boys need to grow up.

 

[Ron Lippold]

YES

Mikey, yes

I'm working on a plan for that right now, and yes I would hire you I would put you in a brand new 7000 hat, I would even give you a good wage.

 

[Scott Hayward]

Howard Partridge runs a company like you spoke of Mikey. I am not sure how many vans/technicians they have now but it is a lot. Last I heard, it was 13 plus vans. Very high end and top dollar. Independent reviews have proven this.

I would say it is all about having good systems in place to be a large company but still give the quality of work that a lot of us strive to do.
Does anyone know how many vans Howard is running these days?

 

[alazo1]

I totally agree with Greenie. Most people couldn't tell the difference between a good and great cleaning unless you tell them. I had my house bonnet cleaned for years and thought they did a great job and didn't bother to look elsewhere.

Albert

 

[GRHeacock]

I heard of a company in San Jose (I think) that ran over 50 trucks. Olsons was the name I recall. I don't know if they are still in business.

Gary

 

[harryhides]

Last I heard was the Howard's Company had only grown from 2mil to 2.4 mil in the last 5 years and now has 11-12 trucks. Do the math - that's about $200,000 per truck per year assuming no income from WD or Rugs. Not exactly high end top dollar customers especially when you consider that he operates in oil rich Houston.

 

[Scott Hayward]

I don't know all the numbers but if you can get over 50 cents per square foot through referral only then I would say that is a customer who values their carpet and the level of service they get. Last I heard it was .60 cents per square foot with guard being extra. If somebody knows, pipe in.

Anyways...he has been listed in Angie's List (I think that is what it's called) and the service they give is high end. Different methods for different folks. Works great for him. I wouldn't be surprised if they hit the 20 van range down the road. I'd be happy with $200,000.00 per year per van charging over .50 cents per square foot giving good service and everything is by word of mouth/referral only.

The company I used to work for had a lot of vans but they spent $30,000.00 plus per quarter on advertising. (That's the rumor I heard at least). They got price shoppers and I don't think one of their vans ever generated $200,000.00.

 

[Jim Martin]

If you live in a large metropolitan area and know your market area.

I would be willing to bet you could blow every one out of the water

Take Minneapolis/ST Paul area for a example....Very large.....if you were to open 4 to 5 different shops in different geographic areas and have each one managed buy someone and have them all under the same umbrella.....the potential for growth would be out of this world......if you were to work it right.......

 

[Fon Johnson]

I especially like to see how the one horse show bdcc comes here to tell Ken how he is doing everything wrong. These bulletin boards are especially good for humor. :shock:

 

[hogjowl]

No doubt Mike has been talking to the same source of information concerning Ken and his business that I have. A while back, that source (wishing to remain anonymous) told me that same tale. That Ken's carpet cleaning business was not profitable, but was a loss leader for his other, actually profitable, divisions. So, instead of working off that gossip, and forming my opinion of Ken, and the worth of his information, based upon false information, I simply went to Ken and asked him about it. His response to me was that that was false. Ken said his carpet cleaning business was a stand alone profit center, and surmised that the source of my information might actually be a fairly local competitor.

While not revealing my source, I did tell him it was standard procedure on the boards to try and ruin the reputation of any cleaner not conforming to the ICS image of a successful cleaning company.

 

[Mikey P]

Jimmie his on the real problem.



I could find the right type of clients right here in the bay area. Plenty of them if you're willing to drive. Hit up the retailers, decorators, real estate agents Like Howie does.


But Where on earth do you find 20 to 40 clean cut English fluent, hard working, conscientious, nit picky, driven and loyal young men to do the work for you? Ain't gonna happen around these parts. If I could find just two within the same year it would be an act of god. Let alone 20.


I spent 13 years at Coit being ac lean cut English fluent, hard working, conscientious, nit picky, driven and loyal young man and in that time I saw maybe three other guys come and go whom I would call the same.




Ken will argue this but I bet if he raised his price to .40 tomorrow and all of a sudden asked all his guys to pre vacuum, edge behind the door, do four dry strokes and post pad those dingy traffic lanes that didn't come out with HWE with the same pay they would like hell.


Whew! that was one hell of a run on sentence.

 

[Dolly Llama]

"Why hasn't it been done yet?"

I figure the answer is pretty obvious.
Cause it's impossible, or near impossible to achieve.
Other wise, you'd see plenty outfits that have accomplished it.

even in a "millionaire" market, I'd suggest it would be a tall order to keep 20+ trucks busy when a walk in closet will cost an extra $50 to clean


..L.T.A.

 

[-JB-]

Marketing to your client base, and stopping in to give retailers & designers donuts, and pizzas, IS marketing, how we try to sneak this past as no marketing is amazing, I've been doing it for years now, and it is DEFINITELY marketing, and a lot of work, anyone who tells you otherwise is full of it!

 

[406]

20+ swell working trucks promotes entrepreneurship

 

[steve frasier]

I can relate to what Adam says, we did a ladies carpet and windows the other day(blue collar type) and her friend wants her carpets and windows done also(white collar type)

her bid came in twice the amount, they live in the same neighborhood

they moved all the furniture and had 2/3 the amount of carpet and prevaced the carpet, she calls and asked why so much more, she felt kind of embarrassed referring us until I told her why the price was so much more

she calls her friend a ditz

some customers live with perceived value over services, different strokes for different folks
different business models for sure

 

[Ken Snow]

Mike~ you are the second person who has made that comment about our on-location business and the other is another bulletin board person here. He claimed he heard this from another bb person here who is in my market. I am not sure what motivation there is for someone to manufacture lies, and in your case I am sure you are just repeating what you have hear.

For the record~ our On Location Cleaning Division is far and away our most profitable business unit. It, along with our Rug Care Division has been carrying the load for our company for a number of years as we have struggled with increased competition at retail, expansion, and a challenging Metro Detroit economy.

Ken

 

[Guest]

Ken,

Why do you keep on using thee phrase "Challenging Metro Detroit economy"? Is this a mindset on your own to keep you from growing even more?


Chad

 

[Ron Lippold]

I was wondering the same thing

 

[Mikey P]

Gotcha Ken


Ididn't think it sounded right.

 

[minuteman]

Hasn't Bane Clene already proven this over in Indana. I think this could be done in any city with a pop of at least a mill. But you had better have one solid business plan and the best cridet in the world

Greg