Carpet Cleaning London
Table of Contents
Professional Carpet Cleaning, How much is reasonable?
How to price your Carpet Cleaning.
1. Price per square a metre
Each carpet cleaning company will price their work in different ways, some may price their work by room, some might price it by time taken to clean the area. However the most commonly used way to price up jobs is by measurement. Charging by the square meter. This way we will take the measurements of the area that is in need of a clean and we will times it by the price we charge per square meter. There are some jobs that we may adjust the pricing accordingly, for example if the area needing to be cleaned is a high traffic area it may require a deeper clean with a more intense stain removal treatment. Other factors we may also consider is how heavily furnished the room is, obviously moving an abundance of furniture may increase the pricing slightly as the clean will take considerably longer so a small charge may be added. Don’t worry we would discuss this with you before we start the cleaning process to ensure that you’re happy with any additional charges and give you a final cost so there are no surprises at the end.
2. Price per hour/day
Another way to price a job is Hourly Rates, This method for charge can be fairer for the technician themself, for example if they have a bigger job that is going to take them a whole day they might choose to charge hourly so they can ensure to make to amount they want for a whole day of cleaning even though it is at one job. This method could also be beneficial for the customer because they could book a technician for a set amount of time even just for one room. This will ensure that a thorough job is complete in the area required without the worry of running out of time if cleaning multiple rooms. An experienced Carpet Technician should be able to estimate how much time would be needed just by assessing the area visually.
3. Price per room
Lastly and another very commonly used method is charging a set amount per room, this method is usually easiest for customers to navigate if booking online, they can list all the prices on the website and customers can total up themselves before calling or making contact to book. This allows customers to shop around multiple cleaning companies before contacting one they decide to use. This is however a tricky method to use as you are pricing a room before seeing it. This means that the carpet could be in awful condition which would require a much more in depth clean that would take a longer time to complete, whereas a lightly used carpet could only take 15-30 mins to clean.. This can sometimes result in some conflict between Carpet Technician and Customer as some customers have unfair expectations that are not possible to complete at a lower price range.
So what is a fair price for a Professional Carpet Cleaning Company to charge?
Obviously there is no right or wrong answer here however there is a sweet spot when it comes to pricing to ensure that your services are affordable to as many people as possible. We would say that for Regular domestic Carpet Cleaning using the most common charging method (charged by the square meter) that approximately £4/£5 per square meter is an affordable price for most. This will usually get you an average min price of £70. This is just for a regular cleaning of the area; this wouldn’t include any stain protection for the future. As a example on Upholstery lets say a Sofa and Armchair would take you around 1.5 Hours this would amount to £85/£90 for a Steam clean (without stain protection)
I would say from experience a newly qualified Carpet Technician should be earning approximately £250 per day, however this might not be the case everyday. Some days will be slower than others so what you do to earn out cleaning needs to cover for the days when you have no jobs booked. Don’t forget even though you’re not out cleaning carpets some days you will still be working completing paperwork and spending time in the office replying to customers’ quotes, booking new jobs and improving your webpage or socials for the company. These figures are based on a new Carpet Technician, there are many Fully qualified Experienced Carpet cleaners that would charge a lot more, but remember they have built up a trust with customers over time and may be very well known for the areas they cover thus being able to charge a little more because customers know what they are getting. Once you have built up a good name for yourself you may need to re look at the prices you charge.
Types of Customers and what to look out for.
Let’s talk about customers, there are usually at least 3-4 different types of customers.
1. Value shoppers
First you have your Value for money customers. Value for money customers are usually willing to pay more than average for the carpets to be cleaned, however they tend to be more interested in the quality of service they are receiving. These types of customers need to be shown why you’re the best option for cleaning their carpets. You need to sell your services to them, tell them you have the best of the best cleaning equipment, show them your 5 star reviews and explain in detail the method and process of your cleaning. You will need to win them over on this before they are satisfied with their choice. These customers usually have the more expensive types of carpet, wool and natural fibre carpets that require much greater care when cleaning. They will want to know what training the carpet technicians have received and may even ask for proof of this. They would rather pay more money for a reputable cleaning company, one that has been recommended by friends and family in the same nature. They are actually more likely to be put off choosing you if your prices are too low as this may make them believe that your equipment and service is cheap.
2. Price shoppers
Customer number 2, the Bargain Hunters. These types of customers look for the best price available. They look for the cheapest available price for the most amount of service. These types of customers may be easy to grab the attention of but they are actually the hardest customers to please, sometimes complaining about the service in any way possible later to try to get discounts or refunds even though the cleaning service was already priced cheaply. This makes carpet cleaning hard to earn a living from as you might not cover the price of materials ,travel and equipment if you go too cheap. Don’t forget there will always be someone cheaper than you and this means it’s hard to find loyal customers that will stick with you when targeting this type of customer. They will likely look for someone even cheaper the next time they need a carpet cleaning service.
We suggest going for a higher price and a loyal customer that is likely to use you over and over again. If you start off with cheaper prices then decide to up the price. Ask yourself are your customers going to stay and pay a slightly raised price for your amazing service or are they going to just look for the next cheapest company?
3. Premium shoppers
Finally customer number 3, The premium customers, these are the customers that just want the best service possible no matter the cost, they are actually more likely if given the option of a £100 price or a £200 price they will actually go for the higher price just to ensure the better service, They are all about just getting the job done right the first time. They will have almost always heard about your company from a trusted relative or business and because they have that trust with those people they will automatically trust that you’re the best of the best and cost will not make a difference. These are the types of customers you want to impress because they are the ones that will take the time to leave the amazing reviews and spread a good word about you if you satisfy them with the cleaning service. They are however also the ones that will not hesitate to leave an honest review good or bad so be sure to provide your best work when booking these types of customers.
No matter the customer you have to ensure that your prices are in that sweet spot that will draw in the premium customers and even change the minds of some value for money customers, once they experience your work and have been amazed by the results they will want to come back to you.
Carpet Cleaning Packages and how to appeal to each customer type.
So how do you appeal to every type of customer? Well you can offer multiple cleaning packages, just like when you book a hotel or a break away the accommodation comes in a range of packages, standard and premium. You can use the same types of packages with cleaning services. Different packages will draw in each type of customer without the worry of losing customers because your prices aren’t right for them or their service isn’t included enough. This way customers can add and remove some additional services allowing them to create a more tailored package suitable for their needs, for example standard would be your standard Steam cleaning, but you could then add Drying to the package or Stain protection options this would push that up to maybe a premium package because your offering the cleaning, stain protection for after the clean and a quicker drying time.
Some package ideas for you would be:
Standard package: Standard steam hot water carpet cleaning.
- Using the most common carpet steam cleaning method.
- Use a powerful carpet cleaning shampoo.
- Lemon scent shampoo
- Good cleaning result
- Package includes vacuuming before steam cleaning, left to dry naturally (time dependent on room ventilation conditions)
Ideally you want this package to be minimal so that it isn’t chosen so much, this is the bare minimum for a carpet cleaning package, offering good results.
Premium Package: Premium Steam Clean Hot water Carpet Cleaning.
- Using the most common carpet steam cleaning method
- Use a Premium Grade carpet cleaning shampoo
- Choice of Scent (subject to availability)
- Great cleaning results
- Package included vacuuming before steam cleaning
- Quick dry drying machines (drying in a few hours)
This package has everything the first package has and extras, this makes this package more desirable and therefore more customers are likely to go for the higher priced package. This package offers excellent results.
Offering different package options makes the customers feel they are in control with their budget of spending and also opens up affordability for a wider variety of customers.
Starting up your Carpet Cleaning Journey.
So if your thinking of starting up your own carpet cleaning service our top tips are:
- Get trained up and receive the relevant certificates to prove you’ve put in the hard work.
- Acquire a top of the range Carpet Cleaning machine (you wont regret it later)
- Start building Cleaning packages that are affordable for all types of customers.
- Find a reliable source for professional cleaning products and equipment.
Dedication, perseverance and patience is a must have when starting out. It takes time but will be worth it in the end. Get your quote today.
