A service fee; cleaning fee, call charge call it what you will...

... would you could you?

$25

$50

$????

Could you sell it?

Not sure what you are connecting the fee to? We have a minimum service fee. Which is a flat rate we will come out for. It has a set amount of work up to a certain amount.

If your wanting to charge a fee and not attach it to a service then I would guess that would not go over well with your client.

I agree with Ryan on this one. I have a flat minimum charge before I will roll the van otherwise it isn't worth it. The only added fee that I may charge is an out-of-area fee to off-set fuel costs, but that doesn't happen too often as those jobs are normally large ones to begin with.

I call it a "Min Charge" or min Job/Trip charge. Usually that is $120, but I do go a lil lower or higher sometimes depending on the job/situation.

Emergency Charge - If they want you out there ASAP

After Hours Fee - If they want you out there late at night, Sundays or Holidays

Minimum Service Charge - If the just want this" little" are cleaned

Pet Odor Decontamination Charge - If they need the pet urine in pad extracted

Moving Furniture Fee - If they want you to move every single piece of furniture in their house

Driveway Access Fee- IF they have all the cars in the driveway when you get and you don't have easy access to the front door

Pet & Child Sitting Charge - If they let theirs kids and dogs run wild while your cleaning

Deception Charge - If they tell you over the phone they just have a couple of spots and when you get  there the carpet is trashed.

Mooch Fee- When they says can you just pass your wand over this little area, cany ou just cleaned these rigs really quick


I would be rich if I actually charged all of those fees. Just make sure you charge enough so you don't have to fee people to death.

Mo that has to be the most accurate description of what we all deal with that deserve an extra charge. While reading I was having different job sites pop up in my mind.   

Just to be clear here y'all, I'm NOT talking a  min charge.

I'm talking a "set up/clean up fee" (service charge) if you will, which is included in your minimum charge, but separate, so say you have a $99 min, includes a $29.99 "basic cleaning fee" ~ that's the term I use for it~ then the cleaning (the additional $69.01) on top of that until it at least reaches at least the min order charge $99.

There are several reasons I like this, for one, it has made me a lot of $ in the past 4 years that I've charged it. Also it can be used as an incentive for the customer to do more, given that if they spend over $300 you can offer to "discount" that fee off the total as long as the total stays over $300.

Isn't that better than worrying about a minimum charge after all?

the freakin deacon wrote:... would you could you?

$25

$50

$????

Could you sell it?

Sounds Like My Bank    Would be nice to be able to add fees and collect them, but mostly you will probably end up breeding contempt and ill will with your customers.   

...or as I've discovered from doing it; it will lend an air of professionalism to you/your company that your competitors lack, presuming you operate in a more professional manner that they do.

Think about it... what other service company pulls in their driveway ON TIME with the technical skills, experience, and $40-$100K worth of equipment in tow ready to do the job like a good OO does?

I cannot think of any one customer that has ever complained about it, and percentage wise, if a few had?

So what?

They weren't yours to begin with then in reality, they didn't value your service.

As with any business transaction, as long as the costs are all right up-front and agreed to, I don't see a problem. If they accept that fee method, all the better for you. I am not comfortable with alienating a customer, however, and would not want to lose even a small percentage over the policy.

I do love your stance on being treated as the professional...just like any other service business (plumber, electrician, hvac, etc.). If all cleaners did more of that, maybe we would elevate the public's perception in the end and garner better rates.

Just value ALL your customers, someday they might be the ticket to greater things...or at least pay the bills.

So what is this fee again?!

Sounding like a 'Confusing Fee' to me!?   
But I'm old and easily confused, so I'm sure it's just me.   :geek: 

A "basic cleaning fee" whereas you get a set fee for being a professional.

Not sure why so many CC's have such a problem considering themselves professionals.

If CC is your primary source of income, guess what?

YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL!

we do that but our is communicated in a higher cost per sq ft than others in our area. when questioned about the cost of our services we gladly explain why our services differ from the others and advise them how to ask questions to find out exactly what type of services will be performed at any given quote. we believe empowering your client with knowledgeable information will most likely guide them back to you.

thats our approach. i do know some in our area that us this form of pricing

Sounds to me like we are confusing "Fees" with "Pricing". I am all for everyone pricing his services at whatever he is comfortable with. I absolutely agree with Milspec - as long as your up front with the customers about all pricing and fees all is good and you will be perceived as a professional. Keep in mind you will still most likely lose jobs to those that don't charge the extra fees depending on your market. If your ok with that and it fits into your overall business strategy that's good for you. On the flip side, if you advertise or quote one price for your service(s), then at the end of the job tack on a "fuel fee", a "shop fee", a "service fee", etc.  :thumbs down:  , then you will most likely be perceived as a thief regardless of how well you clean.

This is how I do it.

The prospect calls for a price. I explain in detail verbatim (could do this in my sleep) what we agree to provide to them, what we expect of them, the benefits of WHY we do what we do, as well as the guarantee we offer.

Then we get an idea of the scope of the job through a series of carefully crafted questions, generally takes less that 10 minutes to explain everything to a new prospect.

Only then will I give them an gueestimated price (over the phone) giving them a clear understanding that it is ONLY an guesstimate, based on the accuracy of the information gained through the answers they offered us. Generally as I almost always figure high, the actual price comes down once we get there 90% of the time just so we don't come off looking like a "bait & switcher".

The benefit is then two fold.  

1) You look like a superhero, because they likely have NEVER had a contractor show up on time, much less DROP the price once they get there... do you think they will tell others about that?

B) You INSTANTLY gained a 100% of their trust.

So; when we quote the Guestimate, I will reiterate the scope of the job, then just offer the GRAND TOTAL .

That's it.

They don't have any idea what any of the charges are for, they either like the total or they don't.

You've either built a perceived value into your offer of service or you haven't.

Then ask, "will that fit into your budget?" It's either gonna be yes or no.

You want to set yourself apart form your "competition"?

Do things differently then, act more professional, BE more professional.

YOU ARE the PROFFESIONAL!

Deacon, I love your attitude about the importance of professionalism in this industry. I preach the concept daily about looking, acting, and thinking like a professional if you want to be one. I am always being asked why my bids are higher than the "other guy", but the other guy looks and acts like a kid out working for beer money...I do not.

The only concern I have is that you referenced your potential customers as a "prospect", which is a correct description, but it leaves an after-taste if you know what I mean? I know that you didn't mean it in a negative way, but I would be careful with that description on a board as there are eyes everywhere.  

Glad to have you on-board and I like the avatar...gave me a good chuckle.

Prospect - you have never serviced them.

Customer - you've serviced them, but they do not schedule on your maintenance program; you may, you may not service them again.

Client - books on your maintenance program, forms an on-going relationship with your company.

the freakin deacon wrote:Prospect - you have never serviced them.

Customer - you've serviced them, but they do not schedule on your maintenance program; you may, you may not service them again.

Client - books on your maintenance program, forms an on-going relationship with your company.

I don't disagree with the definition, you are using them correctly. I am just a word snob (one of my failings) and it jumped out at me when I read it...no offense intended. No harm, no foul, no shoes, no service...something like that.  

I like you Deacon you got some spunk with a little attitude  

I'm trying to understand this:

Freakin Quote

" I'm talking a "set up/clean up fee" (service charge) if you will, which is included in your minimum charge, but separate, so say you have a $99 min, includes a $29.99 "basic cleaning fee" ~ that's the term I use for it~ then the cleaning (the additional $69.01) on top of that until it at least reaches at least the min order charge $99."

So in this scenario your minimum is $60.01 + 29.99 set up/clean up fee = $99.00. So your telling the "prospect" it's going to cost you $60.01 to go to your home and another $29.99 to set up my equipment. If that's is the case wouldn't it be a better approach to just set your minimum to be $99.00?

But I do agree we have to charge for the services that we render and if we itemize those charges in writing it may help justify the bottom line quote. I know someone that charges .15 cents per square feet to vacuum with the Turbo Cat. He explains that vacuum is attached to his TM so it's like having an 18 HP vacuum with a lot of suck and brush speed etc. I don't charge extra for vacuuming but maybe I should.

A scenario;

Prospect has 3 rooms totaling;

  650 sq. ft.
X .35/sq. ft.
 $ 227.50   Subtotal
+    29.99   Basic Cleaning Fee
 $ 257.49   Grand total

The only thing a GOOD prospect really cares about is that  their guestimated grand total is accurate, and within their "budget"

They don't care how much we charge per square foot.

Unless you tell them too!

It's either a value for them, or it's not.

If it's not a good perceived value, I didn't do my job communicating our service level to them, and I wouldn't expect them use us anyway, I already let them down.

OR it's truly and simply just out of their budget.

Certainly you can re-examine the scope of the job and try to draw it back into their budget, but bear in mind, our objective as service people should be offering the best value for the money spent, that doesn't always mean being the cheapest.
You should build your packages with as much value as your target market allows.

We as business owners benefit from higher average tickets, that's where your focus needs to be,
not on price per square foot!

I completely understand what you're doing and you have every right to set your price structure, here's my opinion, I always like to keep things as simple and short as possible on the phone or email, people like simple, easy to understand, now don't get me wrong, I understand how it work the first time you explained it, but that's me, how many do you think need a second or third explanation of your price structures ?
All I'm saying is if 90 % or more of your customers didn't need second or third explanations, then you're doing a heck of a job in explaining to them and you should keep doing what you're doing but if more than 10 % are confused at the first explanation, may be change is needed ( I'm not telling you what to do though, like I said this is just my 2 cents :-) )
As for me, my minimum is $ 99, like davey said I adjust it from time to time to a lower price if it's a home and it's an easy access, however if they need specialty cleaning like pet accidents, I always tell them on the phone that it's going to cost extra, most are ok with it and some are not ok with it, like you said if they're not ok with it, then they don't value your service and they're not yours to begin with, not your blessings :-)
By the way, what's your name and what city and state are you located ?

the freakin deacon wrote:A scenario;

Prospect has 3 rooms totaling;

  650 sq. ft.
X .35/sq. ft.
 $ 227.50   Subtotal
+    29.99   Basic Cleaning Fee
[b] $ 257.49   Grand total

I'd just charge .40 sf and cut the bullshit fees (and do).....and stick the extra $2.51 in my pocket.

I agree with DP, KISS!...........and don't nickel 'n dime people to death.

But that's just US.