Lo$t Bid...for now

[Mike J]

This is the "free" cleaning I referred to and got roasted. But Im gonna do it and will post the honest results.

Situation:

I bid around $1200 for a job that called me a few times to please come out and give a quote. It is a large company with many satellite facilities. Since I could not do the job, I bid to the heavy side instead of lighter side.
Nothing crazy, just rounded up.

Week later I see an out of town CC there working. Obviously I lost.

Since we kind of accomodated by giving an hour of time as we were backed up with repeats, I will contact the same person who called us multiple times.

I will tell him I seen the carpet cleaning truck, ask him if he could give me the reason why I lost, no harm no foul- good business.

IF he is willing to listen, I will ask him if I could come in and see if I could win the next bid by doing an area for free, and check out the detail work that they just paid for.

IF he goes for it and IF the results show to my favor, we will have to hire.

I will post the results ASAP.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Examining why a sale is lost can be a difficult experience for some, but if you have the intestinal fortitude for it, you can learn a great deal to improve your chances with other proposals, as well as possibly being available to be on the list for the next RFP.

One thing that I've learned to handle very carefully is the "let me show you why I'm better" routine.

If your competitor did a terrible job, then of course it is a great way to shine. But in most cases, they do something that is acceptable to the buyer of the service. IF it is acceptable to them, an attempt to "show the other guy up" will also make the person who decided to hire them feel like they made a bad mistake.

Put more simply: "There isn't any good way to tell a prospet or customer that they are stupid"

Even if you are tactful, creating this negative emotional experience might make them choose ANYONE else but you and the "faulty" cleaner the next time.

Here is one thing that cleaners who are good at this say:

"I'm sorry we lost the opportunity to serve you, and hope all goes well. If for any reason the other guy fumbles the ball in anyway, can I ask for the first opportunity to pick it up?"

What you'll learn is that most people who buy commercial cleaning are more concerned about things like: Showing up when you promise, leaving things orderly when you leave, conduct in their place of business, professional and accurate handling of payment, etc. People expect a good cleaning job at any price they pay. What drives them nuts is all the other stuff.

 

[BIG WOOD]

I don't understand why you're going out of your way to get that job, since you didn't have time to do it in the first place.

I understand if you're in desperate need of the work to get more steady repeat commercial business, but if your schedule is always full, I think you're wasting your time.

Did you take it personal seeing your competitor fill in what you thought was the slot for your van at that business? IF so, then just take Jim's advice and move on. There's only so much an owner/op can do

 

[AlienAgent]

Is this the highest and best use of your most valuable resource, time?

If they want you, great. If not, NEXT!!

 

[FredC]

I don't understand why you're going out of your way to get that job, since you didn't have time to do it in the first place.

I understand if you're in desperate need of the work to get more steady repeat commercial business, but if your schedule is always full, I think you're wasting your time.

Did you take it personal seeing your competitor fill in what you thought was the slot for your van at that business? IF so, then just take Jim's advice and move on. There's only so much an owner/op can do

Is this the highest and best use of your most valuable resource, time?

If they want you, great. If not, NEXT!!

I agree with these.......but it might be worth knowing why. Was it solely price or was it perceived value or some other reason that he can adjust for future bids...not just this one

 

[Kenny Hayes]

I’ve bid so many commercial jobs doing floors and carpet that I don’t do much any longer. Almost every time I didn’t get a particular job, I would get another. It never failed, ever. You can’t be concerned what you didn’t get if you have business. I could give you a spiritual reason, but that’s not for here.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

I seen where Sam cleaned 5k feet for $1200. That’s funny, I had a church call me for over 5k and I told them .15 per ft for their sanctuary. They told me they would get back with me They didn’t, who cares

 

[Papa John]

sometimes a loss is a win.

 

[Austin Willoughby]

sometimes a loss is a win.

Agreed. Sounds like they would be customers that you'd want to fire for price haggling or shopping around if you did end up with them.

 

[Mike J]

Examining why a sale is lost can be a difficult experience for some, but if you have the intestinal fortitude for it, you can learn a great deal to improve your chances with other proposals, as well as possibly being available to be on the list for the next RFP.

One thing that I've learned to handle very carefully is the "let me show you why I'm better" routine.

If your competitor did a terrible job, then of course it is a great way to shine. But in most cases, they do something that is acceptable to the buyer of the service. IF it is acceptable to them, an attempt to "show the other guy up" will also make the person who decided to hire them feel like they made a bad mistake.

Put more simply: "There isn't any good way to tell a prospet or customer that they are stupid"

Even if you are tactful, creating this negative emotional experience might make them choose ANYONE else but you and the "faulty" cleaner the next time.

Here is one thing that cleaners who are good at this say:

"I'm sorry we lost the opportunity to serve you, and hope all goes well. If for any reason the other guy fumbles the ball in anyway, can I ask for the first opportunity to pick it up?"

What you'll learn is that most people who buy commercial cleaning are more concerned about things like: Showing up when you promise, leaving things orderly when you leave, conduct in their place of business, professional and accurate handling of payment, etc. People expect a good cleaning job at any price they pay. What drives them nuts is all the other stuff.

Just to let you know, I would never undermine another fellow carpet cleaner. My thinking was actually to stay connected, and maybe even stick up for the dudes that cleaned it (brown or wand drip or a miss) If it was an over the top great job and experience more importantly, I would be able to refer them, network with them.

Also, I do understand that the way I roll, (actually used to roll, thank you Mikeysboard) would be impossible to run employees successfully and am (was) no way a roll model for students, or even a couple trucks. And all you veterens, all the respect in the world for calling me out, doing it, and to be able to retire.

Im on it now.


"On the edges of a fading afternoon, I heard a voice within my head. And the echoes of forgotten words from all the dusty books I have not read. And I wondered if by chance I should have listened back to what they said in school...It occurred to me I might have been the classs clown then but now I'm just a fool." Billy Strings.

You guys rock!

 

[Clean Rug Doug]

They don't know you saw the other van there. You could just do a follow-up call then tactfully ask what you want to know when they say it is done already.

 

[Ludwig]

I seen where Sam cleaned 5k feet for $1200. That’s funny, I had a church call me for over 5k and I told them .15 per ft for their sanctuary. They told me they would get back with me They didn’t, who cares

I think I've cleaned one church in the last ten years. I try to avoid even bidding on them as I don't have the time and they typically have a board of decision makers that didn't want to spend the money in the first place.

As to the original post, I agree with others, let it go and move on. It's a numbers game.

 

[bob vawter]

I think I've cleaned one church in the last ten years. I try to avoid even bidding on them as I don't have the time and they typically have a board of decision makers that didn't want to spend the money in the first place.

As to the original post, I agree with others, let it go and move on. It's a numbers game.

OK....can someone describe the feeling you get when you drive by a steady customer AND SEE A NEW CC TRUCK IN THE DRIVE

 

[Luky]

Examining why a sale is lost can be a difficult experience for some, but if you have the intestinal fortitude for it, you can learn a great deal to improve your chances with other proposals, as well as possibly being available to be on the list for the next RFP.

One thing that I've learned to handle very carefully is the "let me show you why I'm better" routine.

If your competitor did a terrible job, then of course it is a great way to shine. But in most cases, they do something that is acceptable to the buyer of the service. IF it is acceptable to them, an attempt to "show the other guy up" will also make the person who decided to hire them feel like they made a bad mistake.

Put more simply: "There isn't any good way to tell a prospet or customer that they are stupid"

Even if you are tactful, creating this negative emotional experience might make them choose ANYONE else but you and the "faulty" cleaner the next time.

Here is one thing that cleaners who are good at this say:

"I'm sorry we lost the opportunity to serve you, and hope all goes well. If for any reason the other guy fumbles the ball in anyway, can I ask for the first opportunity to pick it up?"

What you'll learn is that most people who buy commercial cleaning are more concerned about things like: Showing up when you promise, leaving things orderly when you leave, conducting in their place of business, professional and accurate handling of payment, etc. People expect a good cleaning job at any price they pay. What drives them nuts is all the other stuff.

With every job lost, we learn something about ourselves. Conducting a successful business is not only about the losses and gains; it's about the speed of progression. As business owners, we should dissect every aspect of our business, from planning, goal setting, marketing, and advertising to execution. It's a long, strenuous road, but what makes our journey worth it is that we can track the progress.
With a hundred competitors operating nearby, it is impossible to learn why we lost that particular job; we thought that no one could do better. For example, if my conversion rate is 1% and so is the rest of the 99 cleaners, we all achieve 100% performance. In a way, we have to wait our turn, no matter how many five-star reviews or years in the business we have. This is a very simplistic perspective, but we can't ever achieve complete control of circumstances surrounding demand and supply processes. All we can do is go to the next one.

 

[Luky]

sometimes a loss is a win.

Yes, sir; I wholeheartedly agree.