So you’re worried about trying to save money? Of course you are. So is everyone.
What you should really be thinking about is, are you really saving any money by hiring cheap carpet cleaning company?
Let’s explore that question for just a moment. There are around 40 carpet cleaning companies in the Coeur D A’lene/Sandpoint area. I say “around” because I can never be sure. There are so many fly-by-night guys who buy cheap portable machine, put it in the back of their truck, and call themselves carpet cleaners. No joke. Out of the 40, possibly only a dozen of them are full-time, bona fide companies.
When you call around to get a carpet cleaning estimate, how many of these companies answer the phone? Or do you get an answering machine? Most companies don’t have a dedicated office person. Typically, it’s the owner who is out on the job answering the phone between cleaning. These companies don’t stay busy enough to afford to have office staff.
And how many times have you booked a cleaning appointment only to have the cleaning company not show up at all? This happens a lot. Without a genuine office staff, mistakes like this are sure to be frequent.
3 rooms for $59.99? You think you're getting a deal, but think again. There are many carpet cleaning companies in the Coeur D A'lene/Sandpoint area. It's cheap and easy to start a carpet cleaning company. All you need to do is go down to the tax office and purchase a business license. Then, you're instantly in business.
The license office doesn't require proof of insurance, background checks, workman's compensation, or any training. Yes, anyone can start a carpet cleaning company. There's no regulation.
The companies that come out to clean your house for a cheap price often fall into one of several of the categories above. How do I know?
Here's the average breakdown of dozens of companies around the U.S.
Depending on the size of your job, the technician should be there for nearly two hours if he has a truck mounted machine. It may even be an hour longer if he has a portable machine. On average, it takes twenty minutes to locate your home on a map and drive there, and another twenty to drive from your home.
Do you want the technician to have clean, maintained equipment? If you do, he should spend another twenty minutes per home in cleaning his truck and maintaining his equipment.
Before he even gets to your home, you had to call to make an appointment. It takes an average of twenty minutes to book an appointment on the phone and record the information in a computer.
So, the time involved with your home would be about THREE HOURS AND TWENTY MINUTES.
You're thinking, well that's $29 an hour. But wait, that doesn't include all the expenses.
The techs have to get to your home. If you want them driving a vehicle that doesn't leak oil on your driveway, that trip will cost $12. This is an average business cost according to the I.R.S. at $.52 per mile with an average of 22 miles driven for the round trip.
If you want the company to have liability insurance should they ruin your beautiful carpet, rug, or upholstery, it will cost about $3 per job.
If you want the company to have newer maintained equipment that does even a decent job, this breaks down to about $6 per job.
They'll need telephones to book your appointment and communicate with you. The office phone and cell phone usage breaks down to about $2 per job.
Do you want the technician to be trained? If so, the cost associated with training averages out to about $1 per job.
If they use chemicals on your job, they will spend an average of $2 on decent chemicals. The sad part is, many companies skimp in this area and purchase the cheapest chemicals possible.
How did you hear about the company? The average carpet cleaning company spends $30-60 on advertising just to acquire ONE new client. This is why we strive to do everything possible to keep you as a client once you have us into your home.
Okay. Now we're up to $56 of cost before labor (assuming they only spent $30 on advertising to acquire you as a client).
If the technician gets paid $8 an hour for the 3.33 hours it takes to book your appointment, do the paper work, maintain his equipment, clean your home, and drive to and from your home, he will get paid $27. Then, we have to add workman's compensation and taxes to total $32.
Total cost with a technician getting paid $8 an hour=$88. If you pay $99, there is a net profit of $11.
But wait…what happens if you have spots return and you need the company to come back out? They can't afford to return! This is why the cheap companies don't have guarantees and there's a HUGE possibility something will go wrong. Believe me.
So how does a company clean 3 rooms for $59?
If a company charges cheap prices they are either skimping on your service or they're on their way out of business. There's no other way to look at it
If Ace charged anything less than we currently do, we'd have cut our expenses. Liability insurance isn't cheap. Background checks cost money.
I know of dozens of carpet cleaning companies in the area that don't do background checks at all.
At ACE, we have dedicated office personnel to answer your questions and give you a friendly advice over the phone
Won’t you give us a call right now at 610-5179? We’d love to serve you in the Sandpoint, Post Falls and Coeur D Alene Areas.
Call or Text & Clean Today!
(208) 610-5179