rug pricing
Most folks are charging 1.50-2.00/sq ft for synthetic rug cleaning and 2.50-3.50/sq. ft for natural fiber rugs
Often the cost of cleaning and are exceeds the cost of some of these cheep decorator rugs.
Important thing to remember is that many clients will pay as much or even more then the replacement cost of the rug if the rug fits their decor well.
Here is exactly how we do it:
On inspection we will let the client know exactly what to expect for results and then do a satisfaction guarantee based on our expected results. It the client is not thrilled with the results we wont charge them.
On a cheep rug we will state that the cost of care will likely exceed the cost of replacement, HOWEVER, if they like the rug and it fits their decor then it is probably not worth the hassle of finding another rug which is next to impossible anyhow.
Most clients will agree with this line of thought.
I learned this by listening to my clients, and i can assure you that this line of thought resonates with my clients because we care for cheep rugs everyday where the care price exceeds the replacement cost..
Make sure you read the proceeded paragraphs again as this is money in the bank for you!
Of coarse, if the rug is not going to clean up well (or damaged) then you must let the client know this on inspection otherwise you are going to have unhappy clients. What used to be surprising to me is that some clients with very nasty rugs will still want them done, and in that case we make sure they prepay to qualify the client.
The next thing to remember is that the rug will likely need more then just cleaning.
We have a fantastic way of promoting our other services that is in the form of a draw for a hand knotted rug survey. This makes us a ton of $$
Other services to offer are:
Repairs,, we sub all that out and double to triple our cost on them and its easy to find someone that will be happy to do this for you.
Rug pad,, again double to triple and most rugs need pad and all you have to do is ask the client!
Stinkers,,, we charge as much as double for full immersion with a guaranteed odor treatment
Allergens,, again when presented well many clients will want this and masterblend makes a great formula for this.
Moth,,we charge 1.25 a sq. foot for this and masterblend makes a great moth repellent
Warranted Protective finish,, this is our big winner.
The amazing thing for us is to see a client automatically ask for these other services and then pay top $$ and go away super happy, come back the next day with more (and better) rugs and refer us to their friends.
Of coarse I don't recommend you ever do rugs on location.
1. You can never clean a rug properly
2. Your client will never respect you as a rug care expert and will only ever shop rug cleaning like a commodity.
3. It to easy to damage the floor or rug and this can be very expensive
4. If you don't want to do rugs yourself then sub them out to a serious rug plant. (We give a very healthy 40% discount to carpet cleaners and this makes it very profitable to do nothing but pick up and del the rugs)
I love rugs!